Ch.139 How Do You Know That?
The Death Knight’s appearance froze Giovanni and his soldiers in place.
After all, it was a Swords Master transford into an undead—a being of terrifying power.
“Everyone, stay calm!”
Giovanni shouted to steady his troops.
‘We have a dragon on our side. He told us not to reveal himself unless absolutely necessary—but this is an ergency. There’s no other way.’
Giovanni raised his voice and called out,
“Lord Eltakantara! Please help us!”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a black-haired man appeared.
“So… a Death Knight. The King of the Dead truly commands a formidable army.”
“This isn’t the ti for idle talk! Quickly defeat that thing and evacuate the villagers to the Imperial Capital!”
“Understood. You gather the civilians.”
With that, Eltakantara charged toward the Death Knight.
Seeing their battle begin, Giovanni urgently shouted,
“Rescue as many people as fast as you can! Move!”
They rushed into burning, collapsing buildings from which screams echoed, pulling survivors out.
“Please! Save my daughter at least!”
A desperate cry reached Giovanni.
He sprinted toward the sound and found a man pinned beneath flaming wreckage, with a young girl—presumably his daughter—trapped beside him.
Giovanni unslung his canteen, doused the roaring flas, and heaved the heavy debris upward.
“Aaagh!”
Even after dousing the fire, lifting the blazing timber seared his hands.
He bit down hard on his lip, stifling the pain with clenched teeth.
Creak…
Gritting through the agony, Giovanni cleared the rubble.
“Get up quickly! Every second counts!”
If the King of the Dead himself appeared, catastrophe would surely follow.
Once the father and daughter were on their feet, Giovanni led all survivors and his entire force toward Eltakantara.
Eltakantara bore fresh gashes across his body, blood trickling from above his black eyebrows.
‘Is the dragon actually losing to a Death Knight?’
Giovanni couldn’t hide his shock at Eltakantara’s visibly exhausted state.
Of course, if Eltakantara revealed his true draconic form, the Death Knight wouldn’t stand a chance—but to avoid drawing Lord Roy’s attention, he was forcing himself to fight in human form, causing this predicant.
“Lord Eltakantara! We’re ready to move!”
At that, Eltakantara—who had been locked in a grueling duel with the Death Knight—instantly blinked to Giovanni’s side.
Though the distance was far, he appeared in the blink of an eye.
“Understood. We’re heading straight back to the Imperial Capital. Teleport!”
Blue light erupted—and they vanished.
***
The King of the Dead rested briefly after destroying a Seal Stone.
He sensed his soldiers—sent to raze the village—being annihilated one by one.
‘Who dares?’
He closed his eyes, syncing with his subordinates’ senses.
Through their vision, Giovanni and his troops ca into focus.
Seeing their formidable aura, he’d dispatched a Death Knight—surely nothing short of that could stop them.
Just as he prepared to savor their miserable deaths…
a black-haired man appeared and intercepted the Death Knight.
‘So they sent a powerful knight to counter the Death Knight. But he won’t last long.’
Roy watched with amusent as the black-haired man clashed violently with his Death Knight.
‘Not bad…’
Soon, a deep gash opened across the man’s forehead.
‘But that alone won’t be enough to defeat a Death Knight.’
Noting the accumulating damage, the King took a sip from the goblet of wine beside him.
The black-haired man was gradually overwheld.
—Lord Eltakantara! We’re ready!
In that mont, the man vanished using Blink.
‘So he’s a battlemage? Impressive.’
But then the man spoke words that made Roy’s eyes gleam.
—Understood. We’re returning to the Imperial Capital now. Teleport!
“So… it was a dragon!”
At the sa instant, Giovanni’s group disappeared.
“Puhahaha! Hahahaha!”
The King burst into roaring laughter at their vanishing act.
“Davinus! Summon Cardinal Davinus at once!”
Roy urgently called for him.
“Yes, Your Majesty… You summoned ?”
Davinus entered, bowing respectfully.
“Yes. A dragon has revealed itself.”
At those words, Davinus’s shoulders flinched.
“Then…?”
“Bring
a map of the Imperial Capital and its surroundings.”
Davinus rushed out of the throne room at once.
Shortly after, he returned with a large table and an expansive map, which he unfurled before the King.
“This shows the villages near the Imperial Capital.”
The King rose from his throne and approached the map.
“Hmm… Very few villages remain.”
He’d already ravaged most nearby settlents.
Only three wall-less villages were left.
“Three chances, then.”
Even with his undead legions, attacking walled cities or fortresses would demand staggering sacrifices.
He fell into deep thought.
‘If they attack my troops again, I can respond imdiately. And if that sa figure appears—I’ll instantly know which dragon it is. Then… we can use the Breath.’
If Roy obtained a dragon, he would gain the strongest offensive ability on the surface:
In Destiny, the undisputed supre attack was ‘Dragon’s Breath’.
Though not as powerful as the attack used by the last Champion, it would still easily shatter the Imperial Capital’s sturdy walls.
‘Once the Imperial Capital falls…’
He could destroy the Papal See—and more importantly, the ‘Ark of the Covenant’ hidden within, which symbolized the sacred pact between the heavenly gods and humanity.
Shattering it would eradicate divine power from the world.
The End of Holiness.
With that alone, the King was certain he could bring about the world’s demise.
Actually, destroying the Ark wasn’t strictly necessary.
His true goal was to break the Seal Stones and open the gateway to Hell—
to resurrect the god imprisoned there.
Once the God of Death awakened…
his absolute dominion would reduce all life to death in an instant.
‘Still… destroying the Ark is important.’
The mont it was shattered, divine authority would vanish, and holy relics would beco ordinary objects.
No matter how powerful the Champion—whether clad in the ‘Arbiter’s Armor’ or wielding ‘Equality’—
without divine power, he would be nothing but a mortal.
“I look forward to it—the mont your arrogance crumbles as you lose every ounce of power.”
The King smiled coldly, his face morphing into ‘Selena’s’.
***
Back in the Imperial Capital, the rotation system for the Hero Party was finalized—
and ‘Scarlet’ was chosen to be the first to co here.
Cecilia and Leah were too vital to the frontlines for now, so Scarlet would serve as a test case. If it worked well, this would beco the permanent arrangent.
“Icira, I’m counting on you.”
She shot
a glare.
“Bothering a dragon with such trivial tasks?”
“Haha… They’re human too, you know. Even heroes need rest.”
They couldn’t defend the capital properly without proper recovery.
I received daily reports about their relentless battles—and though the Empire’s casualties remained low thanks to the capital’s impregnable walls, the psychological toll was imnse.
For the Hero Party mbers, the fatigue and ntal strain must be even worse.
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
Beside her stood the lich ‘Edward’.
“Edward, I’m leaving her in your care.”
“Don’t worry! While the Hero rests, I’ll crush every undead that dares show its face!”
Edward bead with a bright smile—but it felt strange.
The creature I once knew as a bare-boned lich now appeared as a handso blond human.
In the middle of a war against the undead, letting a lich wander around would invite unnecessary panic.
“Alright. Go safely—and don’t die.”
I worried briefly that the mind-linking artifact might malfunction…
But… it should be fine.
Icira answered, eting my gaze calmly,
“Don’t worry. I’ve already fully grasped the principle.”
“Oh… really?”
Well, I certainly couldn’t tell Edward it was fine if he did die.
Now that I thought about it, Icira seed a little… off ntally.
“Then we’re off. Teleport!”
With her incantation, blue light flashed—and the two vanished.
So Scarlet would be arriving soon.
I’d already instructed the maids to prepare her room.
It was warti—but I hoped she could truly rest here.
Monts later, blue light shimred in my office.
Icira, Scarlet, and a travel bag appeared.
“Welco, Scarlet.”
“It’s been a while!”
She greeted
with a radiant smile.
“This is your first ti in my domain, right?”
“Yes!”
Her cheerful energy was infectious.
“I’ll give you a tour of the mansion.”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
She grabbed my wrist and pulled
out of the office.
After showing her around the estate, I led her to her room.
“Make yourself at ho—treat it like your own.”
Scarlet looked around, then sat on the edge of the bed.
“This feels better than the Imperial Palace’s guest quarters.”
“Don’t be silly. That can’t be true.”
I’d never actually visited the Palace’s guest quarters in person—but I’d experienced them in-ga.
Compared to that, this place was utterly ordinary.
“By the way… I’ve heard your garden is famous for being beautiful.”
“The garden?”
I was surprised such rumors had spread in the capital.
“It’s just… ordinary.”
She gave
a sly smile.
“Then show
the garden.”
“Really? Aren’t you tired?”
“No! I’m not tired at all!”
She seed unusually lively—was that my imagination?
Well… if she wanted to see it, fine.
“Alright, then.”
I opened the door.
“I’ll show you—but don’t be disappointed.”
“Don’t worry!”
She quickly stepped beside .
Why was she so eager to see an ordinary garden?
As we stepped outside, lush green leaves and soft grass greeted us.
“Here it is. Nothing special, right?”
She scanned the area—then gasped at the fountain directly ahead.
“Wow! There’s a fountain!”
“Yeah. When I built the mansion, the center of the garden looked too empty, so I added one.”
In this world, a private fountain was practically a bourgeois luxury.
It had cost far more than I’d expected—I’d almost skipped it. But seeing Scarlet’s delight, I was glad I’d built it.
After all, everyone who visited always praised the fountain.
“Hmm. I see.”
As we strolled through the garden, I spotted a familiar figure.
“Scarlet? You just arrived?”
“Oh? Mia! Long ti no see!”
She greeted Mia warmly.
But… sothing felt off.
Was it just , or did her tone carry a faint chill?
“Wasn’t it only a week ago?”
“Hah! We’re party mbers—we used to see each other every day. Being apart even for this long feels like forever!”
Scarlet smiled sweetly—but there was an edge in her voice I couldn’t ignore.
“By the way… I heard you two have gotten awfully close lately?”
Scarlet asked playfully.
Mia shrugged.
“Really? I wonder where you heard that rumor.”
“Oh? So the part about you two sharing the sa room every night is also a rumor?”
Silence fell between us.
…How do you know that?
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