Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 394



Only Noblemtl

394. Negotiation (4)

Nate swung the salmon without a moment to breathe. He must have felt pain and even numbness in his arm, which was being restored in real time by the strong divine power.

Another problem was that fatigue built up rapidly in the mind that had not been able to rest even for a moment.

Still, the invaders continued to surge forward.

The twisted dimensional boundaries have been opened and closed thousands of times already. In the meantime, Nate has created countless [GAME OVERs], and some game companies have suffered from fierce protests from consumers, but that doesn’t seem to be a very important issue.

After moving without rest for several days, we finally ‘almost’ defeated the dimensional invaders.

Suddenly Nate felt a strong force pulling at his soul.

‘What is this…?’

What was meant to happen has come.

Nate, who had grasped the situation, felt no need to resist and simply surrendered himself to the force. Soon, his soul was enveloped in thick fog and dragged away somewhere.

Blink.

The sight that unfolded before my eyes after a while was a huge hallway that was already familiar to Nate. And-

Charurk… … .

It was a golden chain that wrapped around his entire body and restricted his movements from all sides.

[… … .]

The total number of chains is four.

This meant that all remaining borderline race representatives, excluding the currently absent Lycanthrope Lord, had activated the key.

Instead of violently resisting the restraints, Nate slowly raised his head and looked around.

He was currently standing in the center of a large hallway. The members of the [Council of Six] surrounding him, each standing on a platform of varying heights, looked down at him.

[Haha, are you a little surprised?]

Mitra, who was nearby, raised a large bottle of wine as if greeting.

The scales of this Draconian, who is always drunk, had recently turned a dull blue like corroded bronze.

[But please understand our position, Nate. It’s hard to look at your face without doing this.]

A giant stingray follows him, shrieking.

[Huh?!]

Its heavy body, covered with small corals and barnacles, looked more like a piece of land lifted from the seabed than a living creature.

This poor representative of the race, who had lost his essence and completely lost his reason, seemed anxious and ground the [Key] with his teeth, making an incomprehensible noise.

[Kyaarbyalllalaak! Crack! #%kack!]

The giantess with the storm on her head also didn’t miss the opportunity to criticize Nate.

[I don’t think you’ll dare complain about the treatment. It’s all your own fault!]

As if reflecting the woman’s emotional state, her long hair was waving madly in the air in the windless corridor.

The hem of her clothes, which must have shone as beautifully as a rainbow, had already lost its luster, soaking wet from the heavy rain she had caused herself.

Perhaps Nate must have been going through a lot of mental anguish over the past month or so as he was being negligent.

[I knew you would do something like this! You neglected your duty as a guardian, abandoned the dimension, and in the end, you even interfered with the life and death of humans, greatly disrupting the law of cause and effect! How on earth are you going to fix all this karma!]

There was another unfamiliar face there.

One of the members, with the elongated body typical of the tree race, greets Nate politely.

Now, a young tree had taken over as the new representative of the tribe, replacing the old tree that only repeated echoes of its thoughts.

[I am very sorry to meet you in this manner, Guardian of Delcross.]

At first glance, he seemed like a man of great dignity.

The branches that extended gracefully from his crown were as majestic as a deer’s crown, and his cloak, finely woven from dry grass, had a silvery sheen like melted gold dust.

[It just so happens that this is how it turned out, but please understand that our intention was to provide a forum for dialogue.]

Nate, who had glanced over the faces of the race representatives, turned to the old man standing in front of him, the Goryong, who was the representative of the six-person meeting.

It was truly a remarkable thing.

The only ones who were extremely nervous about this situation were the members of the [6-person meeting], but Nate, who had become their prisoner, had an extremely calm attitude.

[Sir, what does this mean?]

[… Nate.]

[Does this mean that all the races of the border have agreed to side with me? Does this mean that from now on, you have decided to personally protect the Delcross dimension?]

Then the old man flinched and, unusually for him, became angry.

[Ah, stop it! Isn’t this all because of you? Why have you been shutting yourself up in the palace all this time, ignoring the invasions from outside and not even responding to calls?]

[…there were circumstances.]

[Don’t be ridiculous! If there was such a thing, shouldn’t they have at least explained it properly to our members who are wary of the dimension!]

[… … .]

[What on earth do you want us to do? No matter what we do, there is no answer, so we have no choice but to use the emergency summons to hear your voice!]

[The 6-person meeting]’s reaction was not incomprehensible.

As the sole guardian of the dimension closed off communication and remained silent, hundreds and thousands of troops simultaneously charged towards the Delcross dimension.

They were caught in the twist of the gap that Nate had created, and they rushed fiercely toward Delcross at different speeds.

For the representatives of the races who had to face the destruction that was slowly creeping upon them from beyond the dimensional boundary, the past month must have felt like a nightmare lasting hundreds of years.

[And what did you do in Cyprus recently? Why did you just sit there for a while and then suddenly cause a huge accident that interferes with the life and death of humans!]

[…I’m not particularly involved in anyone’s life or death.]

Nate protested in a rare, uncertain voice.

That was partly true. He had simply vaporized a small portion of the flammable fuel prepared by the Council by applying slight changes in temperature and pressure.

Since the fire was started by the son’s will anyway, it wouldn’t be a big problem if the vaporized fuel caused an additional small explosion.

…maybe.

[Hey, Nate. What’s wrong with you these days? You’re not some kid who can’t communicate!]

It seems like a lot has piled up over time, and the more he talks, the more the old man’s face turns red and blue.

[Haven’t things been going well for a while since the last ‘agreement’? There must be a good reason why you’re suddenly acting like this.]

[… … .]

[Now, it’s not too late. Please, please explain to us properly! What on earth has happened to you?]

When Nate stubbornly kept his mouth shut and refused to answer, the old man sighed, noticing his sallow expression like a ghost.

[Ah, yes! There is only one reason why you would come out like this. It must have been related to ‘that’!]

The old man’s long irises, looking at Nate, constricted so tightly that they could no longer get any smaller.

[Again, for ‘that’, I’ve wasted my precious cause and effect on something so useless!]

[… … .]

[So you thought it would be a nuisance if we found out, so you refused to communicate at all! And by leaving us alone until the invaders were within reach, you made it so that we couldn’t even summon you here!]

hmm.

Nate, who had nothing to say in response to this, lowered his gaze and gently pulled at one of the chains wrapped around his body.

Then, beyond the boundaries of gray space, somewhere unseen, a long golden chain follows his movements, scraping heavily along the floor.

Charrrrrr… … .

[Hey, Nate!]

The chain was sturdier than it looked. Perhaps they had used the key to borrow some of the power of the racial barrier.

but-

‘If you put your mind to it, there is nothing you can’t break.’

If you do this, you will be in complete conflict with the representatives of the races from now on.

[Nate! Are you listening?]

It’s also a bit painful to know that the barrier connected to the chain will be broken, which will in turn greatly weaken the dimensional boundary.

[Nate!]

[I think you don’t have to try any harder, sir.]

When their conversation made no progress, the Storm Lady intervened between them.

The giant woman’s sharp eyes blazed with rage, and as if in agreement, small lightning bolts shot out from the raindrops on her head.

[I knew my boss would make such a fuss someday. He always puts his own duties on the back burner, and is obsessed with his own selfish goals, which leads to mistakes every time. So this time, I will have to get a clear answer from him so that I can feel at ease!]

Well, if that woman were to take the lead in the meeting, it was obvious that this place would become increasingly tiresome. Nate protested to her halfheartedly.

[It’s too much interference, heavy rain. It was delayed due to some circumstances, but in any case, all the invaders have been dealt with and the dimension is still intact. What on earth is the problem?]

[…what?]

[Now that everything is over, please let me go. I have to go see my children right away.]

[No, I can’t do that!]

This time, it was an old man who interrupted their conversation.

[Everything went well? The results are good, so there’s no problem now? Nate, please don’t make me laugh!]

The old man glared at Nate with a mixture of anger and concern in his eyes.

[Do you think we’re nagging like this for our own good? Please worry about your own limitations! Nate, you’re only human after all!]

Distorting hundreds and thousands of dimensions at the same time, and making them delicately hover within the gaps of time so that they are not easily noticed.

That enormous mental task is not something that even an Oracle, known as the ideal of the race’s essence, can easily handle.

Nate has been enduring such reckless behavior on his own for over a month.

[Do you know how much I’ve been worried about you?]

What if the guardian he appointed ends up going mad? What if he loses his mental and emotional balance and lets go of the power of disaster he holds in his hands?

Of course, he will destroy the Delcross dimension, as well as everything he loves, with his own hands, and in the end, he will completely destroy his own soul… … .

[You’re about to become Delcross. This dimension can no longer survive without you! And why don’t you know that?]

[… … .]

[Why don’t you try to preserve causality? Why do you act like such a foolish person, ready to throw everything away without hesitation at any time?]

Nate stood there quietly, his mouth shut.

This is because he knows very well that no matter how long the conversation is, the difference in opinions between him and the old man will not be narrowed down and will remain parallel forever.

For Nate, it is not he who determines the survival of this dimension, but… … .

[You are already wrong, sir.]

At that moment, Mitra gulped down the wine and opened his mouth in a cheerful voice.

[Look at that guy’s expression. He has no intention of listening to us at all. He looks like he’s thinking, “If I try to break one of the barriers, it won’t be a problem!”]

Killkillkill!

The drunken Draconian’s self-deprecating laughter shakes the heavy air of the hall.

At that moment, a young tree, unable to bear to watch the heated atmosphere, took a step forward and looked around the crowd.

[Okay, everyone, calm down. I feel like things are getting a little heated right now. I don’t know the details of this meeting yet, so I dare ask… … .]

[Hatasu Titi.]

[Although we were a little late in responding, I believe that our guardian has done his duty well. What should we do now? After all, we have no other option besides him, right?]

[If you don’t know the details, at least try to get a feel for the situation, young tree!]

The Storm Lady shouted angrily at the tree.

A young lad who has just shouldered a heavy responsibility, isn’t she a representative of a race that doesn’t need to show any particular respect to her, who is a seasoned veteran?

[Listen carefully. That arrogant person is relying on the empty name of the Oracle to test his own limits and threaten the safety of the entire dimension!]

[haha.]

Then Nate started walking away, letting out a soft laugh for the first time.

Charurk-

As he moves, the long chains sway gracefully, as if they were decorations adorning his robes.

[How dare someone who is not an Oracle arbitrarily judge and criticize the Oracle’s limitations.]

[What?]

The upset giantess was about to shout at Nate.

[Wait a minute, this is… … !]

Suddenly sensing something strange, she opens her eyes wide and stares into space.

Then after a while-

[What is this! What is going on? Why are they in our territory… …!]

He screams at Nate.

Soon, one by one, the members of the [6-person meeting] also realized the situation and became greatly embarrassed.

A large island where giants gather.

Above the sky where the heavy rain was not stopping, a new black vortex was forming.

It was a gate.

[… … ?]

[A Demon Lord from another dimension? Where on earth did all those troops suddenly appear… …!]

Then they naturally realized the cause of the situation.

The dimension of the invaders, where the timeline has been greatly distorted and twisted over the past month.

One of them, having belatedly regained the flow of time, is rapidly moving towards Delcross.

[Isn’t it over? What the hell is going on, Nate!]

The dragon asked Nate urgently.

[Oh, no.]

However, Nate, who received all the members’ reproachful gazes, opened his mouth calmly without even blinking.

[Sorry, my calculations seem to be a little off.]

[…what?]

[Didn’t you just do that? Heavy rain. I am only human. As you were worried, I blindly trusted the Oracle’s power and ended up making this mistake.]

[… … !]

No one there knew that it was bullshit.