Chapter 89 – Stories of Those Who Left – The End

Stories of Those Who Left – The End

“Damn it-!”

Emperor, the leader of the Villain Association, cursed.

The island where he was in seclusion.
Moreover, that place, which could be called the headquarters of the Villain Association he established, was engulfed in raging flames.

Those flames were created by the Hero Association that attacked the island.

The attack of numerous heroes, led by the Sword Emperor.

That’s why Emperor fell into doubt.

Just how.

“Where did the information leak from?”

Emperor muttered as he got onto his wheelchair, moving urgently to escape the island.

This place was known only to a select few chosen villains.
And that too, with only extremely limited information.

Yet, the Hero Association.
No, more precisely, the Sword Emperor was acting without hesitation, as if certain that Emperor himself was here.

Every time the Sword Emperor’s sword swung, at least three, and up to five of the soldiers Emperor had raised were dying.

“Could it be Illuminati?”

For a moment, Emperor thought that one of the nine villains of the now-vanished Illuminati might have passed on information about this place to the Sword Emperor.

But soon, Emperor denied that thought.

From that day three years ago, not only the Illuminati but also the nine villains who could be called its ringleaders.
All of them had disappeared without a trace.

As well as the Hero Association led by the Sword Emperor.
The Villain Association ruled by the Emperor.

No one could find even a trace of where the nine villains of the Illuminati were.

If they had contacted the Hero Association, he would surely have known about it.

No, even more than that.

“To begin with, they have no reason to pass information about this place to the Hero Association… no, to the Sword Emperor.”

The Emperor, sitting on a wheelchair that kept turning its wheels, muttered softly.

Why would they be so desperate to hand over their information, or more precisely, the Villain Association’s information, to the Hero Association?

With these thoughts, as the Emperor sitting on the wheelchair was moving towards the emergency escape route he had prepared just in case,

Slash-.
Rumble-.

A razor-sharp light slash came flying from somewhere, barely grazing the Emperor.
At the same time, the corridor cut by the slash collapsed with a rumble.

The Emperor, escorted by soldiers, emerged unscathed from the debris of the collapsing corridor and his expression hardened.

Before him stood a young man.

A young man dressed in white robes like a martial arts master from a wuxia novel.
On his back was embroidered a golden dragon ascending through the clouds, and in his hand was a sword with a blazing white blade overlaid on the original blade.

The Emperor muttered as he looked at the young man with an appearance so out of place in the ‘modern’ world.

“Sword Emperor…”

The young man in white robes.
He was none other than the Sword Emperor, the pinnacle of current heroes.

The Sword Emperor appeared to be in his mid-20s on the outside, but his actual age was already over 80.

It was just that the Sword Emperor’s physical age had been reversed due to his incredibly powerful ability.

Yes, through the nickname “Sword Emperor” and the “rebirth of the body” that could only exist in martial arts novels, just like his attire.

The young man, the Sword Emperor, chuckled at Emperor who was staring at him with blazing eyes.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

“I don’t have time to play with you.”

“How sad. This old man came all the way to this distant island just to meet you.”

Grind-.

At the Sword Emperor’s leisurely words, Emperor gritted his teeth roughly.

Sword Emperor.
As his hero name suggests, he was literally like the emperor of swords.

Such a Sword Emperor did not have a good compatibility with Emperor, who summoned and controlled numerous soldiers like his limbs.

If they were far apart, Emperor would have the advantage, but if they were close to each other like this, Emperor couldn’t defeat the Sword Emperor.

That was the general assessment.

Meanwhile, Emperor spoke while raising soldiers around himself.

“How did you get information about this place?”

“Tsk, why would this old man have any reason to tell you that?”

“Is it Illuminati?”

Emperor asked again.
However, the Sword Emperor just chuckled without giving an exact answer.

But even with that reaction, the Emperor could tell that the one who leaked information about this place was not from the Illuminati.

Then.

‘The traitor must be inside.’

The Emperor thought.
If he could escape from that old man wearing the skin of a young man, he would have to refine the Villain Association once again right away.

And if the traitor appeared during that time, he would make them beg to be killed instead.

With such determination, the Emperor pointed at the Sword Emperor and said.

“Kill him.”

Kugugu-!

The Emperor’s order was so simple and concise.
Following that order, the soldiers raised by the Emperor rushed towards the Sword Emperor.

Swords and spears. Axes and maces.
Knives and halberds. Clubs and chakrams, and so on.

Soldiers wielding various weapons charged at the Sword Emperor.

The Sword Emperor looked at the soldiers rushing towards him, grinned, and then swung his sword, which was now covered with a blazing white blade.

“Do you think you can escape from this old man without even two legs?”

Skagak-!

The Sword Emperor’s sword swung from left to right.
It was such a simple horizontal slash, but the result it produced was far from simple.

The soldiers rushing towards the Sword Emperor.
The hundreds of soldiers raised by Emperor collapsed with their waists split in half by a single swing of the Sword Emperor’s blade.

“Tch.”

Emperor clicked his tongue lowly as he watched the hundreds of soldiers he had raised crumble from a single sword strike.

Even though they were hastily created, the strength of each individual soldier just now was easily comparable to that of a 7th-grade hero.

To clear hundreds of such soldiers with a single swing.

‘Has he gotten stronger?’

Emperor muttered inwardly.

The Sword Emperor’s strength had become even greater than when he had taken his two legs in the past.

It shouldn’t be possible.
The Sword Emperor was already a being that could be said to have reached the limit of what humans could achieve.

Such a being shouldn’t be able to become even stronger than now.

However, the situation unfolding before his eyes was a stark reality.

The Sword Emperor had brought down hundreds of his soldiers with just one swing.
And the fact that the Sword Emperor’s eyes were now fixed on him was reality itself.

“Don’t be ridiculous-!”

Kwaaah-!

Die?
I’m going to die?
Me, Emperor? The one who reigns over all villains in the world, this Emperor! Die by the sword of that old man?

That’s impossible.

And.

“This should not be happening!”

Once again, the Emperor let out an angry shout and clicked! He pressed a button on his wheelchair.

At that moment, the Emperor’s shadow stretched out, and soon various monsters emerged from within the shadow.

These monsters were the Emperor’s secret trump card.

These were the monstrous creatures that began to appear on Earth since that day three years ago.

Based on various folklore and urban legends, they were thus named ‘Oddities’.

The Oddities that emerged from the Emperor’s shadow rushed towards the Sword Emperor without hesitation.

A toad as big as a house spewed out thick poison mist.
A snake made of flames darted its tongue and charged.
A jumping rabbit aimed for the Sword Emperor’s head with a pestle.
A giant goblin swung the club in its hand.

The sight of dozens of powerful Oddities attacking all at once was enough to make any observer’s knees weak.

However.

“I wondered what you were up to, but I never thought you’d be commanding Oddities.”

The Sword Emperor said.
However, the Sword Emperor’s voice was overflowing with composure, as if saying that such Oddities could never kill him.

And that was indeed the case.

“Rather than wasting time on this, you should have honed your own ability further. If you had done that…”

At least you wouldn’t be in such an unsightly state as you are now.

With those words, an alien sound of ‘click!’ resonates from the motionless Sword Emperor.

The sound of drawing a sword echoes despite no action being taken?

It was at that moment that Emperor’s eyes narrowed at this contradictory situation.

The actions of dozens of monsters rushing towards the Sword Emperor suddenly stop.

Simultaneously, lines began to be drawn on the bodies of the monsters.

One became two.
Two became four.
Four became eight.
Eight became sixteen.

The lines that started to gradually increase eventually grew to an uncountable number….

“Wh-What-!”

Emperor shouted in disbelief.

The moment countless lines covered the bodies of the monsters.
Dozens of monsters summoned by Emperor instantly evaporated without a trace.

This is!

“Impossible…!”

Emperor shouts in a suppressed voice.

And that was Emperor’s final death cry.

The lines drawn on the monsters’ bodies were similarly drawn on Emperor’s body.
The moment those lines completely covered Emperor’s body.

The Emperor, like the monsters before him, vanished without a trace.

If there was any difference between the Emperor’s end and that of the monsters.

“Hmm, I still have a long way to go. Next time, I should even erase the bloodstains, leaving no trace at all.”

In the eyes of the Sword Emperor, who muttered those words, the thick bloody mist that covered the place where the Emperor once stood could be glimpsed.

“By the way, controlling monsters… What do ‘you’ think about that?”

[There’s nothing to think about.]
[Don’t ever put me on the same level as those worms again. Otherwise.]

I will devour you.

An angry beast-like roar echoed within.
The Sword Emperor merely chuckled at the voice shaking his mind.

The Emperor was dead.
The leader who reigned over the Villain Association was dead.
At least for the next few years, the Villain Association would not function properly.

However.

“Heh, even this is just a temporary phenomenon.”

The Sword Emperor muttered as he walked away sluggishly.

The emergence of the Villain Association was inevitable from the start.
Something that would have been created by someone, even if not the Emperor.

Probably in the near future, another villain will appear to succeed the Emperor and create a new Villain Association. Perhaps by then, the name of the Villain Association will likely be different.

That’s why the Sword Emperor.

“Until then, I must strive harder. At least until I can fully handle your power.”

[How could a mere human possibly handle my power?]

Once again, the voice of an angry beast echoed from within.

The Sword Emperor just chuckled while listening to that voice.