Chapter 104

Right after the Emperor vacated the seat, Yuwon went straight out to solve the task assigned to him. Yuwon tracked the whereabouts of the “fruit” the Emperor had mentioned.

‘Hmm… fruit… fruit, huh… Then let’s try.’

First, Yuwon climbed to a somewhat higher place and looked down at the Grave of Swords.

What greeted him there were only nameless weeds grown as tall as a person.

“tsk… This won’t be of much help.”

Climbing up to look down from a high place was not of much use.

‘It’s just thick with weeds… Is something like that really here? No, no… the Emperor isn’t someone who would joke about something like this, so there must be something… Should I really dig around the ground myself to look for it…?’

At the moment Yuwon wondered whether he should physically search everything himself—

Bii— Bik!

Something wriggled inside the chest pocket of Yuwon’s upper garment, and the Hatchling of the Dragon-Scaled Serpent crawled up onto his shoulder.

“…Hm? Why is it…?”

When it had first hatched, it had been so small one couldn’t tell if it was a snake or a worm, but now it had grown to roughly between one and a half to two handspans in length, looking quite dignified on the outside—the Dragon-Scaled Serpent.

Unless Yuwon took it out and set it down himself, this creature normally stayed still at Yuwon’s side as quietly as a mouse. Yet now, for the first time in a long while, it began to move on its own.

“Wait… You shouldn’t roam freely around here like—”

Slide—

Before Yuwon could finish speaking, the Dragon-Scaled Serpent slid down from him and began darting around the Grave of Swords as if it were its own personal room. Yuwon could catch it if he wanted, but he only let out a small laugh.

“Hoo, fine. From your point of view, I guess there’s no place better than here. It’s a full playground.”

The sight of the excited hatchling racing through the grass looked quite adorable even to Yuwon.

At that moment, as it scampered alone through the corners, the Dragon-Scaled Serpent turned its head and signaled toward Yuwon, who was standing there smiling.

Biiik— Bii—!

“…?”

Just as Yuwon wondered why it was behaving like that, the serpent lifted its tail and pointed sharply in a certain direction.

“You… don’t tell me? Did you find something?”

It was a creature that had already proven it understood human speech from birth.

At Yuwon’s question, the hatchling nodded its small, cute head with a proud expression.

The face it was making surely showed that it was impressed with its own performance.

“Ha, haha… Right. You must’ve been listening to everything in my chest pocket.”

The serpent gave a dainty nod and began to move again, and Yuwon followed slowly behind it while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

The hatchling in the lead stopped several times along the way and turned its head to check that Yuwon was following properly.

‘I don’t have a better idea, so I’m following, but… can it really find it…?’

A snake that understood human speech had stepped forward claiming it knew the way—Yuwon couldn’t exactly refuse to follow.

Deep inside, he hoped its animal senses—no, its creaturely senses—would amount to something, and so he trailed after the Dragon-Scaled Serpent. And thus began a treasure hunt with the serpent in front and Yuwon behind.

It was something Yuwon hadn’t realized when he went straight toward the stone tablet where the sword was embedded.

Following the serpent’s path made him realize the Grave of Swords was far wider than he had felt at first.

‘If I tried to search for it myself, it would’ve taken forever…’

After about five minutes, the hatchling finally stopped as if they had arrived at the goal.

Even with its sharp sense that allowed it to pinpoint the target and lead Yuwon straight here, it had taken this long. Searching blindly for something he didn’t even know the location of would have taken dozens of times more.

“Hm… Is this it.”

What the serpent had found was a small orchid roughly the size of a palm. On it hung a tiny fruit no larger than a thumbnail.

Yuwon gently stroked the serpent, who looked up at him with bright expectant eyes as if waiting for praise, and without hesitation plucked the fruit and held it in his hand.

‘Usually, if it’s a spiritual herb or elixir, it gives off something, but this has no magical energy at all… Is this really it?’

Yuwon was someone who no longer feared ordinary poisons. Even if he accidentally ate the wrong thing, there was nothing to worry about.

As far as he knew, no naturally-occurring toxin in this world could harm him.

‘Still, eating it right here is a bit much, isn’t it?’

Even though he felt no energy from the fruit, Yuwon exercised caution one more time.

He had several experiences of mistaking medicine and collapsing on the spot, and he had no desire to lose consciousness in a place like this after eating something he couldn’t identify.

“Let’s go back now.”

Yuwon reached out to urge the serpent. But for some reason, the serpent shook its head vigorously and even rejected Yuwon’s hand.

“Hm…?”

The hatchling then wrapped its tail around the orchid that had borne the fruit and made a gesture of uprooting it. Yuwon understood instantly.

“Move. I’ll do it.”

And a moment later, Yuwon held the herb that had borne the fruit in his hand. But something about its appearance felt familiar.

“…? This isn’t an orchid—it’s ginseng?”

Toxin study could never be separated from poisonous plants. Though Yuwon didn’t know much about plants beyond poisons, he at least knew the basics. He had thought the fruit-bearing plant was an orchid, but it turned out to be ginseng.

“Right, if it’s ginseng, you can’t miss the root. Good job, little one.”

Today the Dragon-Scaled Serpent had truly done its part. Yuwon stroked it gently in praise, and the serpent made an odd, incomprehensible sound, seemingly pleased by the gesture.

“Then let’s really go now.”

Yuwon, having taken both the fruit and the herb together, finally said it was time to leave. But the serpent bit onto his collar and fussed noisily.

Biiik—! Bikk-bik!

‘Why is it acting like this today…? Was it always this assertive?’

The serpent kept acting as though telling Yuwon he had to eat it right away, even mimicking chewing on the herb beside it.

“You’re saying I should eat this right now?”

To Yuwon’s question, the hatchling nodded vigorously.

Seeing that cute thing nod so hard, Yuwon couldn’t help himself.

“Right. Since you’re saying so, there must be a reason. If it weren’t for you, it would’ve taken me ages to find it… Eating it won’t kill me, surely?”

Even though eating some unverified plant in a place like this still weighed on Yuwon’s mind, watching the Dragon-Scaled Serpent’s reaction made him think that perhaps delaying might cause the medicinal effect to fade.

At the very least, when it came to this plant, the serpent seemed to know more than Yuwon. Yuwon trusted the hatchling’s choice.

“Then, without hesitation, let’s try it.”

Yuwon’s eyes flashed for a moment, then he immediately tossed the tiny fruit and the herb entirely into his mouth.

Gulp–

‘Ah, this is kind of tough…’

He ate it thinking of it as medicine, but chewing raw herbs was never pleasant.

‘Ah, wait, this again…!’

Right after thinking the herb was tough, a familiar sensation struck Yuwon’s mind.

Thump–

Overwhelmed by the surge of medicinal energy, Yuwon collapsed on the spot.

Sss–

As if it had expected this, the Dragon-Scaled Serpent was not surprised at all. It climbed onto Yuwon’s chest and coiled up small.

A posture like a guardian spirit standing watch.

Small and cute, yet harboring fearsome venom, the Dragon-Scaled Serpent kept guard at Yuwon’s side.

At the same time, after leaving the Grave of Swords, the Emperor and Ipalim faced each other inside the Emperor’s office in the main palace.

“So, where do you plan to begin? Do you have a plan? In my opinion, pretending not to know and striking all at once seems best.”

“I do have something in mind…”

“Then speak.”

Wanting to convey his intent, Ipalim, who had already been standing close, stepped one pace nearer to the Emperor. Just as the Emperor leaned in and Ipalim was about to open his mouth—

Whoosh–!

“…!”

Ipalim’s hand moved like lightning, followed by the sound of wind being torn apart.

His hand extended toward the Emperor’s chest. In it was a dagger—no one could tell when he had drawn it.

The blade drove itself into the area of the Emperor’s chest.

Puk–!

“Khuk–!”

Stabbed out of nowhere, the Emperor turned wide eyes toward Ipalim.

“…Ipalim! You wretch…! What are you doing!”

An attack from someone he had trusted. Shocked by Ipalim’s sudden assault, the Emperor looked back and forth between the dagger stuck in his chest and Ipalim’s face gripping the hilt. A chilling smile curled on Ipalim’s lips.

“To think Your Majesty would let this land at that distance… You have lived away from the battlefield so long, yet your skill remains unchanged.”

Ipalim’s tone, his expression, every spoken word—all proved his betrayal.

Even the dagger lodged in the Emperor’s chest could not deliver a more certain message.

“You bastard…!”

The shock of being betrayed by one he had trusted most. Furious, the Emperor gathered all the magic in his body at once to confront the traitor Ipalim.

Fwoooosh–!

Waves of magic surged around the Emperor’s deep blue eyes, which held the vast sea.

The Emperor was the sea.

Capable of becoming threatening at any moment, yet choosing to remain peaceful, embracing the world warmly.

That sea was enraged. A tidal wave, a storm rose.

Crack– craaack–!

His collar fluttered fiercely, and the wall near him split with a terrifying sound.

Before being an Emperor, he was a man who had reached the realm of superhuman.

The power of Yulaios Aphahiel exploded.

“I, too, have gotten dull. To take a blow to the chest from the person I trusted most… It seems it’s time to quit this.”

How could a human take a blade to the chest and still release such overwhelming force? The Emperor’s rage surged like waves threatening to swallow Ipalim whole.

“…Of course, before that, the trash obstructing the next Emperor must be cleared away.”

Magic became visible, flickering like flames around the Emperor’s gaze. His murderous intent shot toward Ipalim all at once.

“…It seems our connection ends here. Go ahead first.”

The Emperor declared the end of their bond with his own mouth.

Wrapped in the Emperor’s overwhelming aura, Ipalim forced himself to draw up his own magic to resist.

‘To take a poison that could kill an elephant in five seconds head-on and still be this fine… How can a human be…!’

Yet even that effort was not enough to endure the Emperor’s pressure fully. Even Ipalim, who had been raised from birth as a predator, was nothing but prey before the Emperor.

Once an absolute powerhouse who feared nothing in the world, Ipalim now felt something he had long forgotten in the face of the Emperor’s burning eyes—fear.

‘…This is not a matter of strength. This is the majesty chosen by the heroes of Imperial history.’

The first page of the Empire’s history.

Long ago, when monsters and fairies thrived across the continent, the First Emperor and his companions rose with their swords, slaying monsters, subduing dragons, and establishing a new order upon the land, naming it Aphahiel.

Over the ages, nations rose and fell.

The kingdom founded by the snowmen of the North flourished and faded into history, and the southern natives who commanded beasts like limbs of their own dreamt of invading the continent but met extinction.

Across time and history, new powers rose and fell throughout the land.

Through such change, Aphahiel wavered at times but always remained. From beginning to end, Aphahiel existed with the history of humanity.

Aphahiel was such a nation, and its Emperors were the ones who led it.

And now, Ipalim, defying the fate given to him, had turned the Emperor of Aphahiel standing before him into his enemy. Facing the Emperor’s gaze, Ipalim’s own eyes sharpened.

‘…I won’t regret what I’ve done. Here, today, I write a new history.’

Steeling himself, Ipalim pushed away his fear and forced arrogance into his stance.

“Do not say such frightening words, Your Majesty. You sound weak.”

“Unusually talkative of you, Ipalim. You’re afraid.”

As if reading his mind, the Emperor pinpointed the fear within Ipalim. Instead of denying, Ipalim urged the ones behind him.

“…Come, all of you. For his sake, it is time for us to rise.”

Srrrk–

As if that were a signal, those who shared his heart revealed their hidden forms one by one.

At a glance, there were more than ten.

All were members of the Owls who had worked for the Emperor and the Imperial Family.

The elite problem-solvers of Aphahiel, capable of handling any task, now pointed their blades at the Emperor.

Seeing them surround him, the Emperor wore a cold smile.

“All familiar faces.”

Though stabbed and poisoned, the Emperor looked more composed than the ones threatening him.

Ipalim disliked that composure.

“…There won’t be another chance like this. If we drag this out, things will get complicated. Kill him quickly.”

The Emperor had sent away his escort knights under the pretext of doing something with the Fifth Prince.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Ipalim, who intended to kill him. Of course, if the fight dragged even a little, someone would notice. Ipalim had to act quickly.

Shiiing–

Following his command, the traitors drew their swords from their scabbards, creating an eerie chorus.

In broad daylight, at the very heart of Aphahiel’s main palace, a battle that would decide the Empire’s fate erupted.

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