Translated by Wook
Edited by Wook
I saw them.
The dead and buried kings move and speak as they were then they were alive. They still reigned in the Black Lands.
—Welcome, granddaughter. You’ve come all the way here.
Among them was the 5th king of the Gracia dynasty, my great-grandfather, Heems Gracia.
—Come on, everyone, let’s stop for a moment. My granddaughter came all of a sudden.
The attack stopped at the king’s request.
I asked in confusion. Then, not only the previous king, but the other kings also came and answered me.
There were five kings in that land.
The 1st King, ‘The King with Many Hearts’, said.
—This is the Tomb, the place for the kings who had ruled above to still rule even after death.
Then, ‘The King Who Swallowed the First Cry’, added.
—There is rest in the grave. This is Hell, where longing never ceases even after death.
My great-great-grandfather, ‘The King of Burning and Scorching’, also pitched in.
—True, there is no end to thirst in this underground, so we covet the earth again.
The most ferocious ‘The King Who Imprisoned the Lion’ also growled.
—Everything will be defeated. I was just kicked out of time, so you’ve never inherited anything from me.
Finally, ‘The King Who is Unforgiven’ spoke.
—I will go back and rule over you. The living cannot bear the dead.
I realized then why the dead constantly crawl to the ground.
They just wanted to get it back.
The glory of the past, invaded by future generations.
***
“After that, Nihil Gracia, who returned to earth, established an empire and unified the continent. It was to protect the fragile nation from the dead who were aiming for the earth.”
Saying so, Clavis glanced at the Eastern Duke, a native of the colony.
At this time, the knights of the East tried to pretend that they did not know that the eyes of the Eastern Duke were going wild.
“The empire grew stronger by enduring the invasion of the dead. After a century of refinement, Her Majesty finally commanded us to destroy the Tomb.”
As Clavis continued, this time the Southern Duke clenched his jaw tightly. Even Rena felt surprised and said,
“That man is so shameless.”
“Actually, of everyone, I hate him the most.”
The Southern Duke growled.
He gets upset every time that bat-like bastard crushes everything and glorifies the Empire.
The South nearly died in isolation. Moreover, the Western region, which had been Clavis’ territory, was already devoured by the dead. It was surprising that he, who was not able to do anything, still had the face to say that.
While Clavis was telling the story, the priests assembled the altars gathered by the East and the North into the broken stone slab.
Since they were originally a part of that stone slab, the altars were restored to fit the broken part exactly.
As a result, the wide and flat stone slab, which had been partially destroyed, regained its original shape to some extent.
“This is the gate Her Majesty made 100 years ago to block the way to the Tomb.”
Clavis said in front of the stone slab.
“According to Her Majesty’s supreme will, we will open the door that has been sealed for a long time.”
As Clavis beckoned, a cute-looking boy priest came out holding a silver cup,
“Everyone, get ready.”
The knights of the East, South and North silently drew their swords in preparation for what would happen next.
“Under Her Majesty’s glory, new horizons…”
At the signal of Clavis’ declaration, the boy priest tilted the silver cup on the slab.
Red blood poured from the pure silver cup. The knights raised their swords and watched as the stone was soaked with blood.
It was not long before the rotten smell began to permeate, and a strange crevice began to form on the stone.
It sprouted out across the air like a thunderbolt from the sky, like cracking on ice, like splitting a tree.
Beyond that gap was a world no one had ever seen before.
It was a strange and ominous world with a sky redder than twilight and a land blacker than night.
The gap that stretched out without knowing the limit eventually widened as large as the gate.
Looking at the crack that looked like a broken window, the Southern Duke moaned,
“I’ve spent my whole life only to restore that thing…”
The old man felt like his heart was being torn apart in a million pieces.
There was a gap like that at the end of the southern territory. The South made countless sacrifices to close that gap.
So, when he saw it open again before his eyes, he felt like his feet were shutting down.
“They’re coming,” The Eastern Duke murmured in a low voice.
At the same time, the smell of sulfur became stronger and there was a vibration.
Du-du-ddu-du. As if an army was coming, countless footsteps echoed and were spread on the ground. From beyond the crack, the dead, who smelled the blood, were flocking together, looking like one big black monster.
Recognizing the appearance of the enemies, the knights prepared to charge.
The Northern Prince stepped forward.
“I will start.”
Rubid took a step forward and pulled out his rapier,
“Get out of the way.”
“Your Highness, please wait a minute…!”
As Rubid raised his sword, the boy priest, who was still standing in front of the stone slab, screamed.
Rubid’s eyes were already glowing blue as the boy ran away.
Rubid swept the rapier, which was thin and beautiful, and mostly only seen for decoration.
There was a ping and a cracking sound. At the same time, the knights felt a light breeze.
Immediately after, the heads of the dead who were still far away fell.
‘That’s the Northern Slash.’
Rena looked at Rubid’s strike with great emotion.
Emperor Nihil imparted her marvelous power to the dukes of the North, East, West, and North.
Among them, the North took the slash. It was the power to split the land and cut the sea.
That was the one that split the champagne lake in the ballroom.
Shortly after the Rubid’s strike fell that day, the champagne lake split into several forks. It wasn’t simply broken, it was cut very sharply to pieces.
To use that kind of power just to vent. Rena shook her head nervously while admiring.
The Northern Prince had too much power to be human.
Rena thought so and looked at Rubid, however, Rubid also turned to Rena. Rena was a bit startled as their eyes met.
As Rena looked at him with surprised eyes, Rubid, who had become somewhat arrogant, snorted and turned his head again.
‘… What does he mean?’
While Rena was sulking, the other dead flocked from behind the beheaded ones.
“Stop them. Keep them out of the door.”
The knights responded to the cardinal’s carefree orders.
The appearance of the coming dead were different.
Some walked on all fours like a beast, some others had very skinny limbs. There were also ones who were covered with scales and some others had wings.
They had all kinds of ugly shapes, but nonetheless they all had human faces.
The fastest dead, the one who walked on all fours, crossed the rift.
Immediately afterward, several swords slammed into its body. It was the knights of the North doing.
They skillfully pinpointed and restrained its movement and struck any dead that approached.
On the other hand, the knights of the East were lazy and insincere. They did not even try to cut the dead, they simply beat them with a scabbard and sent them to the North.
They were actually messing around.
Rena, who was startled, asked the Southern Duke,
“Is the East always like that?”
“That, that…!”
The Southern Duke also burst into tantrums over the East’s action.
However, it was not the time to meddle in other people’s affairs.
“Get in line!”
“Uwaaaah!”
“Go away!”
The knights of the South shouted out loud. Unlike the East and North, who responded leisurely, they were floundering without measures.
At that moment, a huge shadow escaped from above the rift. It was a dead which resembled a dragon.
It flew over the Northern knights and landed where the Southern knights were.
Gwang! As the dead fell with a roar, someone shouted in vain.
“Get in…!”
That earnest cry was interrupted the moment the dead spread its wings and swung them.
The dead blew away all the knights around it with its wings, and the knights who were flung away were unable to move due to the impact caused by the wing bones.
Meanwhile, the dead opened its mouth once more and charged.
Towards the Southern Duke.
“Keuugh…!”
The Southern Duke widened his eyes. His energy had already waned, and he had no strength left to face a dead of that size.
Time slowed down as the dark, deep throat of the dead reflected on his eyes.
The Southern Duke felt that death was coming, but suddenly, a sound rang out.
Gwang! The mouth of the dead, which had opened wide, was closed again with an unexpected sound.
The Southern Duke opened his eyes and raised his head. A young man clad in clothes blacker than the dead stood, trampling on its head.
The Southern Duke, who received help at the moment of crisis, realized that the other party was the Eastern Duke. He lamented,
“Why are you…”
“How about a thank you?”
Lynn muttered without expression. Thanks to this, the face of the Southern Duke, which had been blank for a while, became severely distorted.
Lynn turned around before he burst into anger. And Rena, who was next to Southern Duke, smiled quietly at Lynn’s secret greeting to her.
Thousands of dead came, but not a single one jumped over the crack.
It was thanks to Rubid, who slew almost half of the flock, and the Northern Knights who did the rest.
With that, the situation was soon settled.
As all the dead died and disappeared, only a red crack remained.
“The road is open.”
Clavis said in front of the bright red rift,
“We will take turns monitoring this path until the conquest is over. It probably won’t happen, but it will be difficult if the kings of the dead come out.”
What he said with a smile was actually an ominous hypothesis that could chill one’s spine.
It was because of such a crack that the South suffered for a long time.
Such a crack was created in the Imperial Palace, not anywhere else. The dukes knew how dangerous this was.
But the cardinal looked happy, without any worries or concerns.
“The first expedition is ten days later. Go take the crown and show your loyalty. Her Majesty will repay you with a greater reward.”
Clavis, who was speaking with his back to the red light, was solemn like an angel descending at dusk.
But no one was deceived by it.
Because one who laughs while pushing people into hell is definitely closer to a devil than an angel.
.
.
.
It was time for each camp to disperse as the schedule at Doom Palace was over.
Someone shouted at the back of Lignan Aetherner’s head,
“Stop, you dog.”
While the knights swallowed their breath, Lynn paused and looked behind him.
It was none other than the Northern Prince Rubid who called him.
“I’m going to fix your manners before you leave,” Rubid said with a cold smile.
It was a sentence said because Lynn had stepped all over the North’s altars.
At that, Lynn whispered to Deca, who was by his side.
“You really want me to say that?”
Deca asked back in surprise. Lynn nodded softly, and Rubid, who was watching, frowned.
As Rubid’s curiosity grew, Deca reluctantly said,
“My lord says he won’t mix words with an idiot.”
“An idiot?”
“It means stupid, you stupid bastard.”
Lynn answered Rubid, who did not know if it was a curse even after being cursed. Then, Rubid, who had been bewildered, immediately turned wild.
“Since you’re a dog, bark like a dog, don’t speak arrogantly in the Imperial language.”
“You can’t understand me even as I speak in the Imperial language, so why bother?”
Rubid was speechless at Lynn’s calm mockery. But after a moment, Rubid, who had been chewing on his lips, revealed his teeth again and laughed.
“Could it be that you’ve forgotten how to bark? My apologies if that’s the case. It might help if you catch your fellow savages and make them bark.”
This, too, was a trivial provocation. But this time it worked.
When the story of his clan came out, Lynn’s expression
hardened in an instant.
Rubid knew Lynn was reacting to it and he babbled even more,
“Choose, will you bark on your own or with the other dogs?”
Lynn shut his mouth firmly and glared at Rubid.
Annoying stuck-up guy. A guy who has a bad brain and is only good at pointing out other people’s weaknesses. A Northern rascal who has no manners and no sense of decency.
Lynn looked over Rubid’s shoulder with squinted eyes. Everyone was watching this side with interest.
Perhaps the dukes were feeling refreshed. When Lynn, who had always acted recklessly, met a guy worse than him and was humiliated by him, they couldn’t help but be happy.
As always, there was no place for the East here.
Lynn took a deep breath to withstand the stingy enmity. Then he took a step closer to Rubid, and whispered softly.
“Then try to bite me, you bastard.”
Lynn and Rubid stared at each other without concession.
It was then, an unexpected voice intervened between the two of them.
“Your Grace Duke Aetherner.”
With a gentle voice, the person approached the Eastern Duke.
“It’s my first time meeting you. I’m Rena Ruber from the South.”
It was Sir Rena Ruber, the representative of the South.
Translated by Wook
Edited by Wook
I saw them.
The dead and buried kings move and speak as they were then they were alive. They still reigned in the Black Lands.
—Welcome, granddaughter. You’ve come all the way here.
Among them was the 5th king of the Gracia dynasty, my great-grandfather, Heems Gracia.
—Come on, everyone, let’s stop for a moment. My granddaughter came all of a sudden.
The attack stopped at the king’s request.
I asked in confusion. Then, not only the previous king, but the other kings also came and answered me.
There were five kings in that land.
The 1st King, ‘The King with Many Hearts’, said.
—This is the Tomb, the place for the kings who had ruled above to still rule even after death.
Then, ‘The King Who Swallowed the First Cry’, added.
—There is rest in the grave. This is Hell, where longing never ceases even after death.
My great-great-grandfather, ‘The King of Burning and Scorching’, also pitched in.
—True, there is no end to thirst in this underground, so we covet the earth again.
The most ferocious ‘The King Who Imprisoned the Lion’ also growled.
—Everything will be defeated. I was just kicked out of time, so you’ve never inherited anything from me.
Finally, ‘The King Who is Unforgiven’ spoke.
—I will go back and rule over you. The living cannot bear the dead.
I realized then why the dead constantly crawl to the ground.
They just wanted to get it back.
The glory of the past, invaded by future generations.
***
“After that, Nihil Gracia, who returned to earth, established an empire and unified the continent. It was to protect the fragile nation from the dead who were aiming for the earth.”
Saying so, Clavis glanced at the Eastern Duke, a native of the colony.
At this time, the knights of the East tried to pretend that they did not know that the eyes of the Eastern Duke were going wild.
“The empire grew stronger by enduring the invasion of the dead. After a century of refinement, Her Majesty finally commanded us to destroy the Tomb.”
As Clavis continued, this time the Southern Duke clenched his jaw tightly. Even Rena felt surprised and said,
“That man is so shameless.”
“Actually, of everyone, I hate him the most.”
The Southern Duke growled.
He gets upset every time that bat-like bastard crushes everything and glorifies the Empire.
The South nearly died in isolation. Moreover, the Western region, which had been Clavis’ territory, was already devoured by the dead. It was surprising that he, who was not able to do anything, still had the face to say that.
While Clavis was telling the story, the priests assembled the altars gathered by the East and the North into the broken stone slab.
Since they were originally a part of that stone slab, the altars were restored to fit the broken part exactly.
As a result, the wide and flat stone slab, which had been partially destroyed, regained its original shape to some extent.
“This is the gate Her Majesty made 100 years ago to block the way to the Tomb.”
Clavis said in front of the stone slab.
“According to Her Majesty’s supreme will, we will open the door that has been sealed for a long time.”
As Clavis beckoned, a cute-looking boy priest came out holding a silver cup,
“Everyone, get ready.”
The knights of the East, South and North silently drew their swords in preparation for what would happen next.
“Under Her Majesty’s glory, new horizons…”
At the signal of Clavis’ declaration, the boy priest tilted the silver cup on the slab.
Red blood poured from the pure silver cup. The knights raised their swords and watched as the stone was soaked with blood.
It was not long before the rotten smell began to permeate, and a strange crevice began to form on the stone.
It sprouted out across the air like a thunderbolt from the sky, like cracking on ice, like splitting a tree.
Beyond that gap was a world no one had ever seen before.
It was a strange and ominous world with a sky redder than twilight and a land blacker than night.
The gap that stretched out without knowing the limit eventually widened as large as the gate.
Looking at the crack that looked like a broken window, the Southern Duke moaned,
“I’ve spent my whole life only to restore that thing…”
The old man felt like his heart was being torn apart in a million pieces.
There was a gap like that at the end of the southern territory. The South made countless sacrifices to close that gap.
So, when he saw it open again before his eyes, he felt like his feet were shutting down.
“They’re coming,” The Eastern Duke murmured in a low voice.
At the same time, the smell of sulfur became stronger and there was a vibration.
Du-du-ddu-du. As if an army was coming, countless footsteps echoed and were spread on the ground. From beyond the crack, the dead, who smelled the blood, were flocking together, looking like one big black monster.
Recognizing the appearance of the enemies, the knights prepared to charge.
The Northern Prince stepped forward.
“I will start.”
Rubid took a step forward and pulled out his rapier,
“Get out of the way.”
“Your Highness, please wait a minute…!”
As Rubid raised his sword, the boy priest, who was still standing in front of the stone slab, screamed.
Rubid’s eyes were already glowing blue as the boy ran away.
Rubid swept the rapier, which was thin and beautiful, and mostly only seen for decoration.
There was a ping and a cracking sound. At the same time, the knights felt a light breeze.
Immediately after, the heads of the dead who were still far away fell.
‘That’s the Northern Slash.’
Rena looked at Rubid’s strike with great emotion.
Emperor Nihil imparted her marvelous power to the dukes of the North, East, West, and North.
Among them, the North took the slash. It was the power to split the land and cut the sea.
That was the one that split the champagne lake in the ballroom.
Shortly after the Rubid’s strike fell that day, the champagne lake split into several forks. It wasn’t simply broken, it was cut very sharply to pieces.
To use that kind of power just to vent. Rena shook her head nervously while admiring.
The Northern Prince had too much power to be human.
Rena thought so and looked at Rubid, however, Rubid also turned to Rena. Rena was a bit startled as their eyes met.
As Rena looked at him with surprised eyes, Rubid, who had become somewhat arrogant, snorted and turned his head again.
‘… What does he mean?’
While Rena was sulking, the other dead flocked from behind the beheaded ones.
“Stop them. Keep them out of the door.”
The knights responded to the cardinal’s carefree orders.
The appearance of the coming dead were different.
Some walked on all fours like a beast, some others had very skinny limbs. There were also ones who were covered with scales and some others had wings.
They had all kinds of ugly shapes, but nonetheless they all had human faces.
The fastest dead, the one who walked on all fours, crossed the rift.
Immediately afterward, several swords slammed into its body. It was the knights of the North doing.
They skillfully pinpointed and restrained its movement and struck any dead that approached.
On the other hand, the knights of the East were lazy and insincere. They did not even try to cut the dead, they simply beat them with a scabbard and sent them to the North.
They were actually messing around.
Rena, who was startled, asked the Southern Duke,
“Is the East always like that?”
“That, that…!”
The Southern Duke also burst into tantrums over the East’s action.
However, it was not the time to meddle in other people’s affairs.
“Get in line!”
“Uwaaaah!”
“Go away!”
The knights of the South shouted out loud. Unlike the East and North, who responded leisurely, they were floundering without measures.
At that moment, a huge shadow escaped from above the rift. It was a dead which resembled a dragon.
It flew over the Northern knights and landed where the Southern knights were.
Gwang! As the dead fell with a roar, someone shouted in vain.
“Get in…!”
That earnest cry was interrupted the moment the dead spread its wings and swung them.
The dead blew away all the knights around it with its wings, and the knights who were flung away were unable to move due to the impact caused by the wing bones.
Meanwhile, the dead opened its mouth once more and charged.
Towards the Southern Duke.
“Keuugh…!”
The Southern Duke widened his eyes. His energy had already waned, and he had no strength left to face a dead of that size.
Time slowed down as the dark, deep throat of the dead reflected on his eyes.
The Southern Duke felt that death was coming, but suddenly, a sound rang out.
Gwang! The mouth of the dead, which had opened wide, was closed again with an unexpected sound.
The Southern Duke opened his eyes and raised his head. A young man clad in clothes blacker than the dead stood, trampling on its head.
The Southern Duke, who received help at the moment of crisis, realized that the other party was the Eastern Duke. He lamented,
“Why are you…”
“How about a thank you?”
Lynn muttered without expression. Thanks to this, the face of the Southern Duke, which had been blank for a while, became severely distorted.
Lynn turned around before he burst into anger. And Rena, who was next to Southern Duke, smiled quietly at Lynn’s secret greeting to her.
Thousands of dead came, but not a single one jumped over the crack.
It was thanks to Rubid, who slew almost half of the flock, and the Northern Knights who did the rest.
With that, the situation was soon settled.
As all the dead died and disappeared, only a red crack remained.
“The road is open.”
Clavis said in front of the bright red rift,
“We will take turns monitoring this path until the conquest is over. It probably won’t happen, but it will be difficult if the kings of the dead come out.”
What he said with a smile was actually an ominous hypothesis that could chill one’s spine.
It was because of such a crack that the South suffered for a long time.
Such a crack was created in the Imperial Palace, not anywhere else. The dukes knew how dangerous this was.
But the cardinal looked happy, without any worries or concerns.
“The first expedition is ten days later. Go take the crown and show your loyalty. Her Majesty will repay you with a greater reward.”
Clavis, who was speaking with his back to the red light, was solemn like an angel descending at dusk.
But no one was deceived by it.
Because one who laughs while pushing people into hell is definitely closer to a devil than an angel.
.
.
.
It was time for each camp to disperse as the schedule at Doom Palace was over.
Someone shouted at the back of Lignan Aetherner’s head,
“Stop, you dog.”
While the knights swallowed their breath, Lynn paused and looked behind him.
It was none other than the Northern Prince Rubid who called him.
“I’m going to fix your manners before you leave,” Rubid said with a cold smile.
It was a sentence said because Lynn had stepped all over the North’s altars.
At that, Lynn whispered to Deca, who was by his side.
“You really want me to say that?”
Deca asked back in surprise. Lynn nodded softly, and Rubid, who was watching, frowned.
As Rubid’s curiosity grew, Deca reluctantly said,
“My lord says he won’t mix words with an idiot.”
“An idiot?”
“It means stupid, you stupid bastard.”
Lynn answered Rubid, who did not know if it was a curse even after being cursed. Then, Rubid, who had been bewildered, immediately turned wild.
“Since you’re a dog, bark like a dog, don’t speak arrogantly in the Imperial language.”
“You can’t understand me even as I speak in the Imperial language, so why bother?”
Rubid was speechless at Lynn’s calm mockery. But after a moment, Rubid, who had been chewing on his lips, revealed his teeth again and laughed.
“Could it be that you’ve forgotten how to bark? My apologies if that’s the case. It might help if you catch your fellow savages and make them bark.”
This, too, was a trivial provocation. But this time it worked.
When the story of his clan came out, Lynn’s expression
hardened in an instant.
Rubid knew Lynn was reacting to it and he babbled even more,
“Choose, will you bark on your own or with the other dogs?”
Lynn shut his mouth firmly and glared at Rubid.
Annoying stuck-up guy. A guy who has a bad brain and is only good at pointing out other people’s weaknesses. A Northern rascal who has no manners and no sense of decency.
Lynn looked over Rubid’s shoulder with squinted eyes. Everyone was watching this side with interest.
Perhaps the dukes were feeling refreshed. When Lynn, who had always acted recklessly, met a guy worse than him and was humiliated by him, they couldn’t help but be happy.
As always, there was no place for the East here.
Lynn took a deep breath to withstand the stingy enmity. Then he took a step closer to Rubid, and whispered softly.
“Then try to bite me, you bastard.”
Lynn and Rubid stared at each other without concession.
It was then, an unexpected voice intervened between the two of them.
“Your Grace Duke Aetherner.”
With a gentle voice, the person approached the Eastern Duke.
“It’s my first time meeting you. I’m Rena Ruber from the South.”
It was Sir Rena Ruber, the representative of the South.
