Chapter 47: How To Deal With The World (1)

—Only a king and his subject were left, but the one who broke the silence was neither. It was an emperor. The emperor’s solemn voice...

“...Mr. Sword Emperor, do you really have to Sword-Emperor right now?”

The dude had a real knack for breaking the mood.

—Yeah...I should. No, I don’t really want to... To be honest, I really want to stay as far away as possible from you two and pretend I don’t know either of you. Gosh, but I’m the only one who can say this.

The Guardian looked mentally tortured.

“Get to it already.”

—What the heck are you two doing?

I didn’t get the question at first, but it looked like this was what the Sword Emperor had been wanting to say.

“What do you mean what? As you can see...”

—Yeah, you killed the Demon King. And you revived her with your Skill and then you named her... Speaking of which, why would you name a girl Preta? If you really had to name her Preta, then you could have gone for something cuter like Pretia and called her Tia. How adorable is that?

“Now you’re picking a fight with me over how I name people?”

—Forget about the name. My next question is... why are you guys playing master and servant?

The Guardian looked back and forth between me and Preta as like we were the greatest mystery he’d ever seen.

—What bond do you guys have... Fine! Let’s say you feel some kind of bond with her since you defeated her, right? “You’re my slave. I got you~ under my skin.

[1]”

Like something out of your world’s old pop songs.

“Do you listen to k-pop?” I asked.

—One of Gramps Marcus’s hobbies is listening to po... No, forget about it. Anyhow, I can understand why you would be like that, But I really don’t get why she would go “Yes, master.”

Today I learned one of the Sword Star’s hobbies. I would have preferred not to... but that wasn’t important right now.

“So you don’t get why Preta would serve me as her master, is that it?”

—Yes. Zombie, let me list what you did to her one by one, from an objective perspective.

I nodded.

—You stopped her in every way possible.

“That is how it began.”

—You erased everything she’s done one by one. And you broke her psychologically with truth bombs.

“That is how it went.”

—And then you slit her throat. The cherry on this madness cake is you dragging her out with Monster Legion Reincarnation against her will.

“That is how it ended.”

—Ha, you heartless bastard. Do you have poison for blood?

The Guardian shook his head in disbelief.

“Who knows? Cobra venom, maybe. But you left out one thing for some reason: someone told me to show a sham what a proper swordsman’s ending was, so I even shattered her sword.”

—That was necessary. Someone had to do it—if she still has a spark of desire to become a proper swordswoman, I’m sure she’s grateful too. She just isn’t saying it out loud,

the Guardian solemnly said.

I used to think that this ghost was only good at bullshitting, but he would make a great con artist.

—Anyhow, I was expecting her to hurl her grudges and anger toward you, so why is she prostrating on the ground and waiting for orders? Is the end of the world actually the biggest masochist in the world?

Although the Guardian said that he wanted to get away from me and Preta, I was the one who took a step back from him. The way the gorilla thought was... Nevermind.

“Whoa... Mr. Sword Emperor... There’s a reason why Preta is obeying me right now.”

—What reason?

“She knows.” I glanced at Preta. “You’ll also find out soon enough.”

Drops of Preta’s tears—tears of anger, sorrow, and despair—fell onto the forest floor.

[Searching for a demon king’s presence on the twentieth floor...]

Yes, Preta knew perfectly well what was going to happen next.

[Unable to locate a demon king]

Preta’s shoulders twitched in surprise.

[It has been confirmed that a demon king is not present on the twentieth floor.]

On the road and the acacia trees—everywhere—drops of light fell. The twentieth-floor stage was small to begin with, so it took no time at all for the entire floor to be covered.

[Initiating History Reformation.]

The world expanded.

[The twentieth-floor stage has been revised.]

The buildings in the village at the end of the road used to be a pile of burned debris. They had been restored. The wheat fields and orchards were flush with life. The boisterous laughter of children danced over the village once more.

A paradise and its beautiful people had been resurrected. In other words, the time had been rewound to before Preta had become a walking font of waste and became the Demon King of Autumn Rain. However, Preta was grimacing as she knew what was going to happen to this paradise.

“

Ahhh...

No. Please, no...” Preta moaned, shivering. However, it was no use. What we knew would happen did happen. She looked into the distance, her face wet with tears. “

Ah...

”

Something was approaching from the opposite side of the village. Each footfall on the forest road made their armor clank threateningly. Flags of various colors flew above them—war banners. I also heard fluttering wings. The world’s united army had just entered the forest.

“Please... Again. The village is going to burn again... Burn again... No, please, n-no.

Ahh...

” Preta sank to the ground again and bowed to me. “Master...”

Just like the Guardian said, I was Preta’s mortal enemy. She wanted to kill me in the cruelest way possible. No doubt bowing to me like she was right now made her stomach turn.

But she bowed because she had to.

“Master! I won’t harbor grudges... I won’t even consider revenge...”

She had no other choice but to accept her servitude to me. When the powerless had something to protect, they were willing to become pretas and swallow any kind of humiliation.

“I’ll follow any command... I will become your loyal servant—no, slave.” Preta bowed and scraped desperately. “Please. My paradise...”

“Okay, I will.”

I left it at that and walked away, the Sword Emperor trailing behind me. The goofy look he had when he was teasing me and Preta was gone; his expression now was as serious as a judge.

—I see.

“Yeah, now you get it.”

—A subject has a duty to obey their ruler.

“A ruler has an obligation to protect their people,” I answered.

—I’m sorry for the sarcasm.

“You also lost the bet. Just think about how you’re going to pay me back.” I stepped in front of my subject and took a deep breath, gathering my aura.

“Halt!”

The acacia blossoms fluttered as if an invisible giant had slammed the ground. The sound of dragon’s wings flapping and armor clanking faded away along with the noise of hooves and the clatter of weapons.

I stood on the narrow road to the village. The only thing between me and the army was the acacia blossoms.

***

Blossoms made no sound as they flew. That was why when blossoms covered the world, it seemed like the world melted into sleep. However, all blossoms were fated to eventually meet the ground once they’d left the branch.

The commander-in-chief of the Aegim Empire’s army came forward. His armor was the color of the ocean, and the symbol of the sun was engraved on his breastplate. I knew who he was.

“I am General Sarbas Aegim! Who are you to stand in my way!”

And of course, he had no idea who I was.

“Well...” I trailed off. I had fought monsters by the hundreds and thousands. I had also directly faced the wrath of the Demon King of Autumn Rain in her prime. Not many people in this world had experienced as much danger as I had. Even then, I still had to take a deep breath and touch the hilt of my sword.

“I could ask you the same question. What business brings you all to this countryside?”

“My people and I are here to carry out our emperor’s will!” General Sarbas Aegim thunderously answered.

His army of soldiers shouted in response and brandished their weapons in the air. Instead of blossoms, the air was filled with startled birds.

“We heard tell of the presence of a witch corrupting the innocent people of the continent! There are also monsters who foolishly fell for the witch’s temptation and plunged themselves into the pits of evil! We have to do something about it!”

“So?” I asked.

“The witch and monsters shall be purified with holy fire!”

I quietly looked at the blue dots on my minimap.

“This is not just the will of the Emperor of Aegim!”

Thousands of blue dots painted one side of the map. Like an ocean wave, more and more of them arrived with every moment.

I knew who they were.

“Our great pope tasked us to punish the heretic who dared to call herself a saintess!”

Those were the paladins I had saved on the thirteenth floor.

“The Forest Monarch bequeathed us with this mission. All of the elemental spirits shall bless us on our mission!”

They were the forest elves I had saved on the fourteenth floor.

“The Mermaid Queen’s gem shall validate our execution!”

The wizards of waterfalls. I had saved them on the fifteenth floor.

“The dragons of the Primordial Volcano are here to keep their oaths of honor!”

Those were the warriors of the volcano that I had saved from the sixteenth floor.

“The merchants from the Free City Alliance, the riders of the plain, and soldiers of all the empire’s colonies are here too!”

I could see the armed merchants of the seventeenth floor and the nomads of the eighteenth floor. There were soldiers from the small and smaller countries on the nineteenth floor too.

“The world is with us!”

I had been through the eleventh to the nineteenth floors and saved all of them. Those floors had dozens to hundreds of major characters involved in their stages, and all of them were now here, waving their respective flags. I knew all of them, but none of them knew me, just like Sarbas Aegim.

“I’ll ask you again!” Sarbas Aegim shouted. “Who are you to stop our mission!?”

I looked at my quest window.

The Hero of the Paused World

Difficulty level: Unknown

Goal: You have decided that you won’t accept a single victim. It’s said that justice is about not asking for the price of salvation, and devotion is about not seeking recognition from those you save. A person who devotes themself to justice is called a hero.

Hero! The world will never know your justice or your devotion. However, it will not change the nature of your justice and devotion.

The wounded Demon King fled but couldn’t get far. If you wish, you’re free to chase after her. What remains now is your choice: will you continue to be a hero in the paused world?

Of course, I already made my choice.

“General Sarbas Aegim.” I called out. His eyes widened slightly. I pointed, my nose pompously thrust into the air. “Did you say you’re here to uphold imperial orders?”

“W-what? I’m the general of the empire acting under imperial orders. How dare you address me with that tone?”

“

Haha

. You’re funny. That’s one hell of a story. You know the situation the Aegim Emperor is in right now better than anyone, so don’t try that imperial order nonsense with me.”

“H-how...?”

I saw your trauma when I got killed by you to take your Skill. I know the power struggle between the princes is also getting intense. A rumor was circulating among the citizens of the empire’s capital around the time I saved the twelfth floor.

Instead of answering him aloud, I just glared at him. He was now silently panicking and furtively scanning the other leaders of the united army because I was openly discussing the Imperial Family of Aegim’s weakness.

However, his panic didn’t last long. The leaders of the dragons, paladins, and nomads frowned slightly, but the rest of them were scowling at me as if they hadn’t heard me.

Sarbas Aegim, general of the world’s strongest empire, cleared his throat and gave me a glare. “...How dare you make such a presumptuous claim! Are you sent by the witch from this village?”

“Presumptuous claim?

Hah.

I didn’t expect to hear that from the man who is trying to oust the Crown Prince so that the Third Prince can take his place.”

Sarbas Aegim panicked once again, and stronger this time, so it broke his poker face.

“You know, you shouldn’t live like that. Have you forgotten how much grace the Aegim Emperor has bestowed on you? Did you really forget? You were just a bum who was destined to spend your entire life weaving nets in the harbor.

“You know that you’re called the emperor’s uncle and your position was ultimately only possible because of him. Yet you’re just obsessed with power...”

I kept talking with my nose in the air to provoke Sarbas Aegim. And it was successful.

“

Ahhh!

I get it now,” Sarbas Aegim roared. “You’re from the Amber Palace! The entire world is united right now, so you and your people are trying to use this situation to change public opinion! If you are a true citizen of the empire, you know that His Highness the Third Prince is the only true heir to the empi—”

“You fool!” I seized upon his moment of anger and immediately pressed Sarbas Aegim. “The Amber Palace!

Ha!

Do you seriously think I’m the dethroned queen’s stooge? Did you weave your eyes together during your net weaving days? You’re a true fool!”

“T-then who sent—”

“You want to know who I am?” I shouted confidently. I held up my sword. “See for yourself!”

Sarbas Aegim stopped panicking. Instead, his jaw dropped to the ground.

“Do you see it? I’m sure even you can see this, Sarbas Aegim!”

Yes, I held up

Lefanta Aegim’s Holy Protector Sword

!

Lefanta Aegim’s Holy Protector Sword

Rarity: Legendary

Description: The saying, “The one who possesses the holy sword shall have the continent,” comes from the legend of the Aegim Empire’s founding emperor. In the legend, the goddess bestowed the holy sword to him.

However, the sword also comes with the saying “The one who has the continent will be bound by fate.” The founding ancestor left after choosing his successor. It is unclear if he killed himself or was murdered. The legend and history are yet to determine his true fate, and his and his holy sword’s whereabouts still remain unknown.

Only a single line of prophecy has been left to guide everyone: “The wielder of the holy sword shall arrive on the day of destiny.” Whoever possesses the holy protector sword gains absolute trust and support from the people of the Aegim Empire.

“I am the herald of Lefanta Aegim, the Great First Emperor of the Aegim Empire!”

Sarbas Aegim trembled. His quivering spread to the knights wearing the symbol of the Aegim Empire, and then it reached the soldiers. Finally, the entire army of the empire began to tremble.

I glared at them like a hawk. “Sarbas Aegim!”

“Y-yes...”

“I understand the chaos in the imperial family and have witnessed the Crown Prince’s unruly behavior and evil deeds! I’m also aware that you stand by the Third Prince’s side purely out of loyalty to the empire! But I said earlier that you’re obsessed with power to test you! Did it upset you?”

Sarbas Aegim’s eyes, which used to be filled with shock, slowly reddened. “N-not at all! I’m grateful... that you acknowledge my loyalty... But I’m such a fool to give in to my emotions. How should I pay for this crime... herald of the Great First Emperor?”

“You say that you aren’t upset and have no reservation addressing me by that title. If so, why are you still on your horse and looking down at me!”

“M-my apologies...!” Sarbas Aegim was in such a rush to get off of his horse that he fell off of it. He quickly got on his feet and, without brushing off the petals and mud on his armor, got on his knees. “The Great First Emperor guards the rising sun and protects all life between the earth and ocean! The Aegim Empire shall shine forever! I, a humble descendant of the Great First Emperor, offer my greetings to his herald!”

Sarbas Aegim’s ardent voice whipped the entire imperial army into motion.

“Greetings!” The knights with the Aegim Empire’s symbol on their chests got off of their horses.

“Greetings!” The soldiers dropped their knees.

“Greetings to the herald of the Great First Emperor!”

Some even bowed down to me! The strongest faction of the united army sent to suppress the witch kneeled to me.

—Wowie... Kim Zombie, I thought you were only good at bullshitting, but you would make a great con man,

the Guardian exclaimed.

It took you this long to realize?

I scoffed.

Just like the time I had dealt with the Tower’s six pillars, the choices I could take when dealing with a strong adversary or many opponents remained the same: fight them or persuade them. But there wasn’t only one way of fighting.

And there are many ways to persuade someone.

Now was the time to deceive the world I had saved.

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