episode_0336

Someone spoke.

“…The Ubiet is over.”

A dark room. No candles, but natural light filtered through a large window. Even that was little help, as the sky was overcast.

Several people sat around a round table. Among them was an old man with a long, white mustache and a young blond man with taut, smooth skin.

Their bodies were different, but the clothes and ornaments they wore were all extravagantly luxurious. The jewels scattered throughout the room gathered the little light, sparkling brilliantly.

“My soldiers… no, there’s no such thing anymore. They were all conscripted into the Imperial Army.”

“So, how many died?”

“All of them. Men, armor, swords, horses—everything vanished without a trace.”

The men began to recount the damage from various parts of the empire. About half of the army sent to the front lines died, and surprisingly, the support units sent to the rear were completely annihilated. This was not a normal situation.

Despite this unprecedented defeat, which they might have forgotten, the Ubiet Empire was a country of aggressors. Most of their losses were suffered on foreign battlefields, and the homeland was largely unaffected.

“The impact… is negligible. Yes, for now.”

The only things unaffected were the territory, buildings, and the lives of ordinary citizens. Having lost a war of aggression where victory excused everything, it was now time to pay the price.

With the Imperial Army under the Royal Family annihilated, security had collapsed. All that remained were civilians who couldn’t fight and surviving soldiers, most of whom were wounded.

The justification for war now lay with the enemy. They held the swords, and the empire had already been disarmed. Even the survivors were barely clinging to life, waiting like livestock in a slaughterhouse for their turn.

“This is all… because of that damned Moriarty…!!”

“Spitting on a corpse won’t make it get up and solve the problem, you know?”

“Are you mocking me? Ah, yes. I remember, you were the loyal dog of Duke Darius.”

As the conversation became heated, everyone stood up and tried to calm each other down.

“…Enough. This isn’t the time to fight amongst ourselves. Now more than ever, we must keep our heads clear.”

“Yes… it was a disaster. Something beyond our ability to control…”

“The wind was too strong, so we huddled together, only to suffocate ourselves…”

The men described Moriarty as a disaster. In many ways, this was true.

Duke Darius’s foresight far surpassed human comprehension, as if he’d made a pact with a ‘devil’. Because of this, even the most powerful figures were vulnerable to his manipulation, as he could read every possible outcome.

After seizing complete control of the empire, he carried out human experiments and weapons research. Research based on future information was always successful, and the empire accumulated immense technological prowess and wealth.

Having grown reckless, they invaded the Naifrantz Kingdom and were utterly defeated. With their puppet leader’s head cut off, the remaining body was paralyzed.

If they’d only been livestock capable of eating scraps, they wouldn’t suffer like this. As superior humans who knew the future and death, they could only agonize in their utter despair.

“We must persevere. The Kingdom will send people soon…”

“Using what cards we have left, we must somehow escape with our lives…”

Just as they were struggling to survive,

“What is it, everyone’s already gathered? Have you eaten?”

Someone appeared in the center of the round table. Without any warning whatsoever.

They expected a messenger, but a grim reaper had arrived.

The air froze. The wise men were filled with a terrifying question. Was it safe to look at that presence? Should they bow their heads to the ground first?

However, there was one young man whose wisdom was not suppressed by fear; his voice revealed the identity of this being exuding intense killing intent.

“Baek… Baekgwi…!!”

“Are you a fan? I’ll give you an autograph. Come here.”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah—!!”

The men quickly straightened their backs and bowed their heads, never making eye contact.

They offered their condolences to the young man who was running wildly toward the door.

“You know my face and name… but you don’t know what happens if you run away.”

Crack!

Something pitch-black crawled across the floor, its jaws opening wide at the young man’s feet. A giant, shadow-like pike swallowed him whole, then vanished without a trace.

“I was worried about where to sit because the place was full… but now there’s a perfect opening.”

Thud- thud- thud-

Baekgwi walked to the edge of the round table, to the warm seat the young man had just vacated. Sitting down, she placed something on the table in front of her.

“What are you doing? Lift your heads, now.”

A soft and gentle voice. The men looked at the object placed before Baekgwi. It was the young man’s head, seemingly gnawed on by a gigantic monster, covered with teeth marks. Bright red blood flowed onto the table.

The men gulped. Just… do as you’re told. They had to breathe so quietly that they wouldn’t make a sound.

“Now… shall we begin our ‘conversation’?”

To survive… they needed to appease this devil disguised as a pretty girl with white hair.

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“I won’t conquer.”

“…Yes?”

“I’m full now. I don’t want to chew on your heads again, so understand me quickly when I speak.”

“Y-yes, ma’am…!”

Baekgwi crossed her legs and put them on the table. The man next to her swallowed slowly with her lips tightly shut. If he were just 20 years younger, his eyeballs likely would have been popped out.

“So… you’re all inconvenienced because your heads are gone, right? I’ll be your new heads.”

“T-then… what more should we do?”

“Bring the money. I emptied my pockets on the reconstruction costs, so you replenish them.”

“Yes, yes…”

Baekgwi, trimming her fingernails with the teeth of the shadow monster that had risen from the floor, quietly looked around.

“And, continue what you were doing. Do exactly as you did before the war.”

“Do you mean… economic development and military buildup?”

“Yes. The Kingdom will be formally visiting soon, and—as I’ll be directly intervening—I’ll let you know in advance: the universe is about to collapse.”

“…”

The man staring at Baekgwi in silence became the food of the ‘Shadow Devil’, and Baekgwi continued her explanation to the man next to him.

“I killed your former leader… and apparently, their friends are all furious.”

“So, the same level of deities as Tenebris…”

“Are coming to invade this planet.”

“The exact timing… do you know?”

Baekgwi shook her head. The men still wore distraught expressions, heads bowed in sighs.

“Protecting this planet from them is my job. You don’t need to worry about it. If I die, that’s just the end.”

“Our duty… seems to be to quell the chaos.”

“Glad your head works fast. Let everyone know this: I’ll take care of the protection. Do whatever you can to ensure humanity’s survival after the fact. Some rough methods are permitted.”

The surviving scholars exchanged glances, and finding implicit agreement, nodded.

“…Understood. But, how should we address you, Baekgwi-nim? Mas—”

“If you call me Master, I’ll twist your three tongues. Call me Baekgwi, as usual.”

“Y-yes, ma’am… Baekgwi-nim…!”

‘Master’ is a title I haven’t heard from Yuri a few times, and I can’t sully my ears with the men’s voices.

Baekgwi leaned back deep into her chair under her black shadow, her body sinking into the darkness like she was falling into a swamp.

Splash-

Nothing remained where Baekgwi had been. The men stared at the emptiness for a moment, then began to speak one by one.

“What… shall we do now?”

“There’s no chance the remaining bloodline of the royal family… still exists. Since we frequently brought in people from outside, I’ll temporarily take control. Any objections?”

“None. If you’re taking the lead, I’ll gladly follow.”

“Good. You will gather specialists from each field. The factories remain, but the workers all died in the war… we’ll need to reorganize the technology first.”

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“Her Royal Highness, Narita Florain Naifrantz, Crown Princess, is entering!”

Ignoring the farewell greetings pouring out from everywhere, Narita proceeded straight along the red carpet to the King. She bowed slightly, placing her hand on her chest.

“You’ve taken another woman, I hear.”

“This is the last.”

“I don’t care. Ten or a hundred, get on with it. So… what is it you wanted to say?”

After exchanging a brief, Naifrantz-style witticism that replaced pleasantries, Narita nodded.

“First… the position the Naifrantz Kingdom must take in this continent going forward.”