Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 369



Only Noblemtl

369. The Return of the Prodigal Son (4)

Roman, who was sitting inside the cave, frowned as he felt a sudden chill.

‘…what?’

It wasn’t just because the night air was cold. His current dull body wasn’t his true self, so it was hard for him to even sense the cold unless the temperature difference was quite extreme.

“What’s the matter, Romain?”

The girl with the long hair squatting across from me, Greed, asks curiously.

Roman closed one eye for a moment, looked around carefully, then shook his head.

“It was nothing, Lord of Greed. I guess it was just my imagination.”

Having lost the cabin that had been his comfortable hideaway for so long, Romain had to hurriedly find a new meeting place due to the nagging of the two Demon Lords.

It was this small cave located just south of Delcross.

A place that is somewhat distant from the zodiac, and also quite far from the Bathurst Range, which is currently the center of everyone’s attention.

It was a cold and shabby place, without any proper furniture as it had been hastily put together.

It was fortunate that the two demon lords, who were insensitive to human senses, did not feel much discomfort. Of course, the sight of them crouching together in a narrow cave was extremely pitiful.

“Oh, by the way, I’m really going crazy!”

The sower, who looked like an old priest, exploded with anger.

“How could things have gotten this bad? I was just taking a quick trip to pay off a debt, and how could things have gotten this bad in such a short amount of time?”

While he was forced to log into the Pangea Chronicle due to Ae-yeol’s urging, So-jong lost a huge amount of magic energy.

If it had gone a little further, it would have been so serious that the demon lords under his command would have risen up and said they would change generations.

“Why did this happen? Why did the seeds that were planted around the zodiac wake up on their own at that moment and cause such chaos?”

“There are quite a few ‘Traces of Cracks’ around here. Traces of [disasters] that defy cause and effect and destroy laws and boundaries. Sowing, did you happen to carelessly hide seeds near those traces?”

At the little girl’s remark, the old man suddenly became angry.

“Hey, Greed. Do you think I’m that thoughtless?”

“Your clan clearly seemed to have run wild under the influence of the crack.”

“Oh, of course I planted some seeds near the rift! I thought I would have to use the rift’s power to shake Delcross up later! But I’ve prepared myself!”

The seeds that Sojong planted near the Imperial City were products of the world of Gyusang, obtained at great cost from Ae-yeol.

The physical body of the regular world, which never becomes active unless there are set conditions, was perfect for secretly hiding the thick magical energy exuded by the high-ranking Demon King’s retinue.

Thanks to this, none of the countless priests who have traveled to and from the zodiac have noticed the existence of that seed.

“Of course, I anticipated that the ‘Trace of the Crack’ could destabilize the clan. That’s why I even went to the trouble of creating a separate controller and hiding it nearby, just in case!”

“Controller?”

“Yes. That too was something I bought expensively from Ae-yeol. If I were to take it, it would be an absolute item that would allow me to control my followers regardless of conditions. I buried it well near the seed and covered it with a large rock so that no one could touch it!”

Perhaps that rock was the place where Seongjin had his knights stack red stones one by one.

Of course, now that everything had collapsed without a trace, there was no way for Sojong to know that fact.

“Profit! The more I think about it, the more I feel like I could die from the regret I feel for them!”

Romaine, who couldn’t stand to see Sojong getting more and more excited, tried to calm him down.

“Calm down, Sower. What has happened has happened. Fortunately, what you have lost this time is only one of the seeds you have arranged.”

“…what?”

“There is no more time to dwell on what has been lost. It is time to predict how Seonghwang’s attitude will change as a result of this incident and to think of ways to respond quickly.”

It wasn’t just Sojong who lost everything he had planned. Romaine also lost most of the foundation he had been preparing for over the past years.

The elaborate circuitry that had been constructed to abduct Princess Amelia was shattered along with the cabin.

Elton, who had been recruited to take over Baron Cadogan’s salon, was so shocked by the appearance of a powerful demon that he ran away.

What about the Countess of Bathurst, who was thought to be a turning point someday? Didn’t she lose her life in an avalanche while Romain was momentarily out of control due to confusion and shock?

Even the ‘Traces of the Crack’ are about to be discovered. Aren’t all the paths from the demon cult’s haunts to the Count Bathurst’s residence already occupied and thoroughly searched by the knights from the palace?

‘How did things get to this point?’

Roman somehow seemed to know. Even now, whenever he closed his eyes, the image of a young boy riding a giant wolf and charging toward the demon species came to mind vividly.

‘Prince Mores… …!’

The rumor that the Third Prince rode the divine beast [Wind] mentioned in the scriptures and exuded the divine grace of the Lord to finally sink the demon race was already known to everyone on the continent. Even now, whenever the two of them gathered in the imperial capital, they would talk about it.

There are ridiculous rumors such as Prince Mores being the reincarnation of Saint Bastian, or a new saint being born in the Holy Family.

‘There must be a Guardian of Delcross behind all this.’

A new word for Seonghwang.

One that the Dark Church has been preparing for a long time.

And, an absolute variable that no one dares to predict.

Romain could not just stand by and watch an unknown entity arbitrarily manipulate the already complex situation.

“Now, can you not see it even after seeing it with your own eyes? Great monarchs. The Third Prince has already escaped the influence of the Dark Cult and is nothing more than a puppet who moves according to the Holy Emperor’s beckoning. Haven’t I told you this before?”

That is why Romain has always taken risks and secretly advised the high-ranking demon lords to exclude him from the battle.

“As you can see, the existence of [the Reserved Ones] is by no means beneficial to the monarchs… bang!”

But before he could finish his words, a strong hand grabbed his robe with all its might. It was a seed that had risen as high as it could go.

“How ridiculous. Now is not the time to be leisurely talking about [the Reserved One].”

The old man, who was squeezing Romain’s windpipe with one hand, thrust a stone in his other hand in front of his eyes. It was a red stone with an incomplete code flashing around it from time to time before disappearing.

“Look at this, you worthless doll. Do you know what I found in that mess?”

“Ugh… … .”

“Why are these things scattered in the place where my people ran wild? Why do I sense your wretched presence here!”

Romain quickly made an excuse, sweating profusely.

“This, this is a coincidence, Sower! I was just trying to set a trap for the Guardian of Delcross… … .”

“Shut up! Isn’t this obviously suspicious? Are you sure you can tell me with certainty that this situation is absolutely not your fault?”

On the surface, he pretended to ask questions, but it seemed that Sojong had already made up his mind that everything was Romaine’s fault. The strong murderous intent pouring down from his half-mask was real.

“Now, tell me. Why should I tolerate your arrogance any longer?”

“Huh!”

Romain gritted his teeth as they trembled.

He had denied it for a long time, but his true nature was still that of a mere human. Compared to the high-ranking demon lords who control the existence of even one dimension, he was nothing more than a tiny insect.

It is a fate where one could be crushed flat and killed at any time just by their strong gaze.

‘But… it can’t end like this! We must never let go of our ties with these high-ranking demon lords!’

In the grip of the absolute being who could kill him at any moment, Romain tried to maintain his composure and opened his trembling mouth.

“How could I lie in front of the great monarch who sees through human lies in an instant? I can tell you for sure that this situation was not something I had intentionally planned!”

“So you admit it was your fault?”

“I do not deny the possibility that my preparations may have had some unexpected influence on the plans of the great monarch.”

Flash-

Roman quickly continued speaking as he saw the ominous green light flashing in the priest’s eyes.

“Rain, even so, I have a right to seek your mercy, Lord of all diseases! For you owe me a great debt!”

“…What?”

“If it weren’t for me, wouldn’t all your arrangements have been for naught? You would have been summoned back to the Delcross dimension, and would have had to wander outside the dimension for a long time, waiting for the chance to descend.”

“… … !”

The sower slowly opened his mouth.

Surely that happened. Just when I was about to be summoned back, engulfed in strange flames, didn’t that cheeky doll give me my current body?

“No, no matter what, what debt can I owe this pathetic body of mine… …!”

Pajong frowned, but soon the strength in his grip on the romaine let go.

Even though he had aged and fallen, the body of this old priest was the only thing that kept the seed that was almost thrown out of the dimension attached to this world.

The Guardian of Delcross is wide awake, so when will he have another chance to perform a large-scale offering ritual and descend to this dimension?

“Ugh… … .”

When Sojong finally stepped back with a displeased expression, Romain, who had been staggering for a moment, carefully straightened his clothes.

“Thank you for your mercy.”

“Huh! Don’t be proud. This is all I can give you.”

Pajong, still not completely relieved, glared at Romaine with sharp eyes.

“Since you are a doll that can imitate your master so well, I think you might be of some use, so I leave you alone. Everyone is too lazy to tell the difference, so we just call you a [puppeteer] for convenience, but isn’t the original puppeteer still alive and well? If you don’t, we can abandon you and join hands with you.”

“well.”

The corners of Romain’s mouth, still trembling, curled into a crooked smile.

“Haven’t I already proven that I am far superior to the original [Puppeteer], Lord of Diseases?”

“What? When did you?”

“You are holding the evidence right now.”

Pajong was dumbfounded and looked back and forth between the stone in his hand and the half-mask of Romaine.

“The only ability in all dimensions to overlay codes onto objects in the real world.”

“Huh?”

“At first glance, the stone looks like an object from the real world and functions like an object from the real world, but that’s not really the case. I just drew the code directly on the stone from the real world.”

“… … !”

Pajong, who had been dazed for a moment, finally understood the meaning of those words and opened his eyes wide.

“… You draw the laws of the world with your bare hands? How on earth? How did you do it?”

“Well, before I became a doll, I was quite a talented programmer.”

As Romain shrugged his shoulders slyly, Pajong turned to the little girl with a bewildered expression.

“Oh my… … .”

The old man’s eyes narrowed, and deep wrinkles formed in his sparkling gaze.

“Then that’s right. Greed, I wondered why you chose the abandoned doll instead of Sigurd Sigurdsson. So that guy had this secret… … .”

* * *

Seongjin had a high fever and was unable to recover.

Time passed quickly without him realizing it, and before he knew it, two weeks had passed.

By then, the Holy Spirit had finally allowed Logan to leave the temporary treatment room.

“I think I have been truly reflecting on my actions. Perhaps Abamamama has taken that into consideration as well.”

Logan seemed to think that Seonghwang had ordered him to stay in the treatment room purely as a warning to self-restraint. However, Seongjin knew the truth behind Seonghwang’s decision.

‘Logan, you seem to have suffered some serious soul damage back then.’

It seems unlikely that a living person could easily burn his own soul, but perhaps the Sword Master’s superhuman will made such a tremendous feat possible.

Of course, Seonghwang would have noticed this. Every time he came to treat Seongjin, he would pour out his divine power to Logan as well.

And then, finally, it was determined that the guy’s soul had been completely restored.

‘I wish I could see it with my own eyes… … .’

But it was difficult to get the Demon King’s cooperation.

The Demon King, who had been locked in a salt crystal recently, only occasionally sniffled and hardly responded to Seongjin’s calls.

‘How long is this guy going to be depressed? I’m starting to get sick of eating bear meat soup every day.’

While they were staying in the temporary treatment room like that, the day finally came for Logan and Sisley to leave for Cyprus.

“It’s a shame that I can’t see Brother Owen. I wish he could stay in the palace until we get back.”

Not long after the demon species outbreak, good news arrived from the Southern Front.

Prince Owen attended the Great Council of Warsaw and brought about a fairly long and stable truce agreement.

Thanks to this, Owen returned to the Imperial City after several years, and the palace was now busy preparing for his triumphal entry.

“Sisley, do you still have no intention of staying in the Imperial City? Brother Owen was especially fond of you. If you were not here after coming to the Imperial City, he would be very disappointed.”

Sisley shook his head firmly in response to Logan’s question.

“I wrote to you a while ago that I was leaving for Cyprus. The truce is likely to be quite long, so I’m sure Owen will wait for us to return.”

Sungjin already knew what Sisley was worried about, because he had had this conversation with the kid before.

-Ever since I heard that a punitive force was being formed, I’ve had a nagging feeling. I have a feeling that something sinister is lurking out there on the black coast of Cyprus, trying to devour Logan Brother.

Seongjin stroked Sisley’s hair, which grew rapidly every day.

“Okay, take care on your way, kid.”

“What? Brother. Since when have you been secretly calling me a brat?”

“Then you call a brat a brat, what do you call him?”

However, on the day when the large-scale punitive force was to leave the capital, Seongjin suffered from a high fever again and was unable to see them off, and had to languish in the treatment room.

Then one day it happened.

Chuck, chuck, chuck!

Suddenly, I thought I heard brisk footsteps, and then, with a bang, the treatment room door opened wide.

“Mores, you son of a bitch!”

What appeared there was a familiar brat with a bunch of ugly cormorant feathers stuck into his head.

“You bastard! No matter how sick you are, you didn’t even say hello to your brother… …!”

Owen, who had been shouting loudly, opened his mouth blankly the moment his eyes met with Sungjin’s, who was lying on the bed.

“…Mores?”

“Yeah. Shut up, idiot.”

“… … !?”

When Sungjin responded in a blunt manner, Owen’s pupils shook violently as if an earthquake had occurred.

“You… you, Inma… are you okay? How much pain did you have to endure to become half a person?”