Emperor Kaikilia – 2

In this fleetingly brief encounter, the player gets a taste of all the fragments of the NPC Emperor’s personality.

That is, they intensely dislike bothersome tasks, utterly abhor monsters and demons that pose a threat to humanity, and possess the Empire’s strongest combat prowess.

And one last thing.

“I was truly impressed by your actions just now. I shall personally commend you.”

That they were also a human capable of committing any cruel act without batting an eye, if it meant satisfying their curiosity and proving their thoughts.

That was the Emperor of the Empire.

‘That was close.’

I wiped my sweaty palms on my pant leg. My hands were still trembling slightly. Looking at the deep gash on the scabbard, the fact that I had almost died just now felt half real.

Honestly, the other half felt like I was still so dumbfounded that I just had to accept it.

Beyond the black uniform, I saw Aurora, mouth agape, with a startled expression, frozen like a statue. The sight of her panicking with me when Kaikilia was interrogating me was nowhere to be seen.

Unlike Aurora, who was stiff as a stone, or me, whose knees were half-buckled, Kaikilia, the very person who caused this, looked completely unfazed.

She even seemed somewhat pleased.

“Just now, even the Imperial Palace Knights would have needed to be fully prepared to react to that attack, yet you blocked it in a situation where you had no preparations whatsoever. I have never before seen anyone like you.”

The Emperor, who had returned the holy sword made of light in her hand back to light, stared at me with her characteristic sharp and chilling smile.

Blocked it without any preparations, she said.

That was a lie, as I hadn’t let my guard down from the moment she arrived and spoke to me. It was a situation where her actions were clearly predictable, so I couldn’t afford to be negligent for even a moment.

The reason the Emperor was one of the most difficult bosses in all of B-Dark 4 was precisely because of her fast attacks, which had virtually no wind-up or recovery frames.

Among users, it was commonly called the ‘pattern that tests the limits of human reaction speed.’

There was no wind-up, no recovery, the motion was incredibly small, and there was almost no pre-motion. Such attacks were randomly mixed in throughout the pattern.

If you couldn’t defend? You’d get hit directly and die from a continuous attack. If you couldn’t parry? Your combat fatigue would explode, and you’d die. If you kept your distance? The boss fight would drag on for an extremely long time due to the Emperor’s unique healing field.

The easiest way to deal with her was to wield a greatshield or an ultra-greatshield, cast enhancement magic on the shield, and raise your guard unconditionally whenever you felt something was coming. That said it all.

‘If I really have to face that kind of thing as a boss here… fuck, just imagining it is terrifying.’

The reason the Emperor suddenly did this to me was absurd.

If something related to a demon was dropped, it must have been a very strong monster, so a knight who single-handedly defeated it appeared, and she wanted to personally confirm how excellent their skill was?

‘Besides, if I don’t block it, I die.’

In Vanilla, even if you failed to react to that attack and got hit, you would survive with exactly 1 HP remaining. The lore explanation was that the Emperor meticulously adjusted the depth of the sword’s penetration so as not to kill the protagonist.

But in the Darker Mode, you just died. It was either react with all your might, or just die and end the event.

“Aunt-nim, just now, what in the world…?”

Aurora’s voice was trembling slightly.

“I heard that you single-handedly dealt with a monster that regurgitated a demon-possessed book, so I tested your skill. Had you not blocked it, my suspicion would have deepened, but it seems you are indeed a human of proven ability, so I shall let it pass. What are you doing, not helping them up?”

Kaikilia gestured to Aurora. Aurora rushed over to me in a fluster.

“Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt or cut anywhere?”

“…No. My arms and legs are still a bit shaky, though. And if I had been hit by that, I wouldn’t have been hurt or cut; I would have died.”

“How in the world did you block it? All I saw was a flash, and then Aunt-nim was holding her sword, and you were bounced all the way over here.”

“I don’t know either, so don’t ask me.”

I waved a hand at Aurora, who was trying to put her arm around my waist to support me, indicating I was fine, and stood up on my own. The grip on my arm tightened considerably.

As we returned to our original spots, Kaikilia gazed at me with a faint, almost imperceptible upturn of her lips.

“You have talent. If you hone that talent, you will become an excellent knight. I look forward to your growth.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

At first glance, it seemed like a light remark, but the underlying meaning was by no means light. I could tell just by seeing Aurora, who had been subtly supporting me, flinch.

Praise for having talent and an expectation for my growth came from the mouth of a being at the pinnacle of the Empire’s military power. These were not words to be taken lightly.

Considering the player’s future actions, it was also an accurate assessment.

“Aurora.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“That is enough. Guide them.”

“I understand.”

It was a command with all the context cut out, but it was obvious where she meant to be guided. Aurora bowed her head and released my hand.

“You, too, follow.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Kaikilia said that without even looking back at me.

There was no right of refusal.

“The resentment that has accumulated must be overflowing by now. I can fully understand.”

“No, well, that is…”

Iris stammered, sweating profusely with a deeply flustered expression. Behind her stood Rije, Erica, and Claudia, also in rigid attention.

All four of them had unusually bewildered expressions. It was understandable, as they had been caught treating the Lord like a punching bag by the Emperor.

The Knight Commanders had been gleefully beating up the Lord right up until the Emperor arrived in the basement. Given that the basement hadn’t collapsed and was perfectly fine, perhaps they still had enough reason left to control their strength to a minimum.

The problem was that the Emperor had witnessed the Lord being beaten in every conceivable way.

‘Given the Emperor’s personality, that statement about fully understanding isn’t sarcasm; it’s probably genuine understanding.’

However, Iris, Rije, Erica, and Claudia didn’t seem to interpret it that way.

In fact, it was natural. Those were words from His Majesty the Emperor. How many people could interpret them literally? Naturally, they would assume there was some deeper meaning.

“……”

Even after being beaten for several hours straight by four skilled individuals who were Knight Commanders, the Lord, weakly writhing on the floor, looked no different from when I had stabbed him with the blessed dagger and left him.

He was instinctively sensing the divine power emanating from the holy sword, wriggling his limbs and trying to distance himself from Kaikilia, though.

“So, is that the demon who was once my brother?”

“Yes! That’s right! Your Majesty!”

Iris answered with a crisp voice, standing at attention. Kaikilia walked past the knights standing rigidly on either side and slowly approached the demon.

‘Tsk, her expression and the atmosphere don’t match at all.’

If you only looked at her expression, the atmosphere should clearly be chilling and cold, but because of her attire, it didn’t feel that way at all. For starters, the knights standing rigidly on either side were dressed in white sleeveless tops and dolphin shorts.

Moreover, the Emperor’s uniform had a top that fully exposed her cleavage and lingerie, and a skirt so short it barely covered the bottom of her buttocks, with a garter belt on her thigh.

If an ordinary person saw her, they would believe she was a cosplayer with an Emperor concept, not the Emperor of the Empire.

Most of all, just like other female NPCs, her buttocks, encased in the tight uniform skirt, wiggled obscenely with every step she took, as if saying, “Look at this.”

Can’t something be done about that damn motion?

“……”

Whether I thought such things or not, Kaikilia, who had approached right in front of the Lord, silently closed her mouth and stared at it with an expressionless face.

Soon after, a very small murmur was heard.

“So that is what happened.”

‘……What is it?’

This was a sight never before shown in the game, so even I couldn’t understand the true meaning of those words.

At this point, comparing this event to the game was futile, as the intermediate processes had been twisted too much. All I could do was assume the overall flow was consistent and that the outcome would be similar.

The Emperor’s personality itself had also changed too much from the original NPC, just like all four Knight Commanders.

“It’s time to end this. You pathetic thing.”

A cluster of light gathered in Kaikilia’s right hand and soon transformed into the shape of a holy sword. As divine power comparable to the sun appeared right nearby, the creature thrashed desperately, trying to retreat.

Of course, it was futile. The holy sword easily pierced through the Lord’s body, and the demon let out a diminishing screech, “Kiiiiiiii…,” before its movements ceased lifelessly.

Compared to all the deeds it had committed so far, it was a rather anticlimactic end.

Kaikilia left the holy sword embedded in the body, pulled out a blue bottle from her waist, and poured its contents over the corpse. Then, the blue liquid that had spilled onto the floor gathered on its own and drew a magic circle.

The completed magic circle shot a small pillar of light towards the ceiling, and the Lord’s body began to be teleported somewhere. The spot where the pillar of light had faded was empty.

Kaikilia, who had been calmly watching the scene, opened her mouth.

“Where is the book it used?”

“It is strictly stored in a temporary warehouse that was built for it.”

“I will retrieve it, so prepare.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Aurora bowed her head slightly and went up the stairs first.

“And, before you go, there is something to be done. Knight Commander Iris.”

“Yes! Your Majesty!”

“Only you remain here; everyone else, leave.”

At those words, Iris flinched.

The others wore bewildered expressions. However, there was no way to disobey the Emperor’s command. We left Iris and Kaikilia in the basement and went up the stairs.

This, too, was a development I had never seen in the game.

In the basement, where only the two of them remained, Kaikilia’s characteristic emotionless and chilling golden eyes stared at Iris. Iris remained standing in a rigid posture.

Her expression was stiff.

A heavy silence, as if pressing down on the heart, spread everywhere. It felt as if the very air filling the space had gained weight. Iris forcibly straightened her shoulders, which kept wanting to slump.

“I will give you a command.”

“Please command me anything!”

Kaikilia, who had paused for a moment, tapping her forearm with her finger, opened her mouth, her golden pupils gleaming.

“Tell me everything you know about that new knight.”