#208
Prelude to Chaos (3)
Undead were beings that had no choice but to be rejected by the world from the very beginning.
Leaving aside their fundamentally grotesque appearances, the sight of dead corpses moving as though alive could only be unpleasant to the living.
Moreover, undead who defied the providence of the world instinctively yearned for life, and when they faced the living, they went beyond envy and even came to hate them.
Peaceful coexistence between them had never been possible in the first place.
And here, deep within the northern mountain range.
The vicinity of the Immortal Castle was a place where such undead were gathered in staggering numbers, truly no different from a “holy land of death.”
The deathly energy emitted by their overwhelming numbers had already withered every mountain, river, tree, and blade of grass, and the surrounding air was so polluted that even a sturdy man would vomit blood and collapse before long.
Anyone who beheld this sight would surely not hesitate to choose this place when naming a hell descended upon the mortal world.
Clatter— clatter!
[Kyaaaak—!]
Crunch—!
At that moment, the densely packed horde of undead split to the left and right.
And through the gap, two beings exuding especially powerful deathly energy approached the entrance of the Immortal Castle.
[I do not know how long it has been since the king last summoned us. Let us make haste.]
There was the knight of hell clad head to toe in black armor, standing over three meters tall, Doom Knight Drexler.
[...He always summoned only a few officers. What is it this time?]
And there was the dragon-tooth soldier clad entirely in equipment made of bone, from a helmet shaped like a dragon’s skull to skeletal armor, General Spartoi Trev.
As usual, they had been hunting monsters at the outermost edge of their territory when they received the sudden summons and were now hastily returning.
Quite some time had passed since the undead poured out from the Abyssal Boundary and the Immortal King began to move in earnest.
During that time, the Immortal Army had steadily continued gathering not only the forces in the western part of the continent but also troops scattered across other regions, and thanks to that, most of the surviving legion members had now gathered in one place like this.
Naturally, among them were not only ordinary undead but also a considerable number of high-ranking officers who had rendered distinguished service under the previous Immortal King.
The two beings present here were also among them.
Trev, the dragon-tooth soldier who had even been created using a Dragon Heart, was a top-ranking officer within the top ten of the combat hierarchy. He was a monster who had suddenly been dropped into the middle of human society, yet had roamed the continent for a long time before joining them relatively recently.
‘Back then, I was quite looking forward to it, thinking something would begin right away.’
On the path through the entrance of the Immortal Castle toward the grand hall.
Trev recalled the thought he had already had countless times and chewed over his dissatisfaction.
When he first heard that the Immortal King had revived and established himself in the northern mountain range, he too had rejoiced, raced here at once, and willingly joined the Immortal Army.
To burn this body once more in the plan to conquer the continent that they had failed to complete in the previous generation.
And yet...
‘If it was going to be like this, it was better before I came here.’
He was an undead with an especially strong desire for slaughter compared to the others.
So immediately after escaping from the Boundary, even in an environment where everything around him was an enemy, he had spent fierce days steadily massacring humans.
‘...What kind of childish game is this? This mighty Immortal Army, instead of waging war against the human world, is holed up in these mountains hunting monsters!’
To him, who had intended only to join the Immortal Army, stand at the vanguard of the war, and enjoy slaughter to his heart’s content, the order from the Immortal King not to “kill humans recklessly” had truly been a bolt from the blue.
For now, he was barely soothing his thirst by hunting monsters, but mere demonic beasts tainted by such madness could not satisfy his desires.
‘Ah, it isn’t enough. Humans, I need humans! I want to hold a festival with their screams and blood! Just how long must I spend my time like this...?’
He had also heard about the three-year grace period supposedly agreed upon with the Hero.
It was something that could only make him laugh hollowly, but since it was a decision made by the king, he had tried hard to accept it, thinking there must be some deeper meaning behind it.
However...
‘And after that, what kind of bizarre act is it to send only half-baked rank-and-file rabble! Does he truly have any intention of conquering the continent?’
On top of that, when they were selecting forces to dispatch to the continent, he had asked many times to be sent, yet even that was ignored.
Meanwhile, all they sent were hollow undead whose only merit was their numbers, and dim-witted dark mages of unknown origin.
From his perspective, he had no choice but to be unable to accept the current situation.
[We have arrived.]
As Trev was suppressing the frustration that had risen to the top of his head and doubting the Immortal King’s true intentions—
Creeeak—
Seeing Drexler beside him open the massive doors of the grand hall, he quickly composed himself.
No matter how much dissatisfaction had piled up, he could not dare show it in front of the Immortal King.
[Are we the last?]
Inside, nearly twenty high-ranking officers had already gathered and were prostrating themselves on the floor.
Each and every one of them had been within the top fifty of the former Immortal Army’s hierarchy, humanity’s worst archenemies who had caused countless casualties.
The two naturally slipped in among them and paid their respects to the empty throne situated on high.
This Immortal Castle was a space created solely through the king’s authority, so if he wished it, he could appear in that seat at any time...
[Has everyone gathered?]
...just like now.
[Indeed... my king... Upon receiving Your Majesty’s summons, everyone...]
[Ah— enough. You must all be busy, so I shall keep this brief.]
In reality, aside from a few officers including Olivia, the head of the intelligence department, none of them had much to be busy with, but everyone simply lowered their heads in silence and waited for the king’s next words.
[The amusement is over.]
And the words that followed from his mouth were—
[I have grown tired of playing around, so now I shall take this continent... this world.]
Considering the way the king had behaved until now, it was a somewhat abrupt declaration.
But there was no way a being such as the Immortal King would go out of his way to joke about such a thing.
As the officers finally realized that, their momentum began to heat up little by little.
[Kuhuhut— Of course, this time you will be taking action personally.]
And at the king’s words that followed, several of those prostrating themselves trembled greatly—
‘...My faith was lacking. As expected, His Majesty...!’
It was the one sentence that many officers, including Trev, had long been waiting for.
***
The undead, whose numbers had been increasing aimlessly, began to be organized one by one under the high-ranking officers of the Immortal Castle.
It might not matter as long as they were quietly holed up here as they had been until now, but for a full-scale invasion of the continent, it was more efficient to take on the form of an army.
While everyone was busily moving about like that—
‘It would not be good to break the promise of a three-year grace period after all. What a shame. There should be nothing better than an all-out war for acquiring karma.’
The Immortal King Hannibal sat leisurely on his throne, observing the progress of the work and reviewing his future plans once more.
‘In any case, this body has no need to care about humans’ opinions of it, so it would not matter if I did not keep the promise...’
Was his goal truly to conquer the continent? No, it was to acquire karma efficiently.
Of course, if he continued like this, he might end up destroying the world as a result, but for the smooth progress of the “home theater” currently underway, he needed to take Heinrich’s face into account as well.
‘That three-year grace period has already become Heinrich’s achievement. If this body violates it here, it will tarnish the saint’s honor.’
Not only the Church but other forces as well were proceeding with their plans, trusting the saint’s conviction that there would be no all-out war for the next three years.
But what if that trust were shattered here?
‘Heinrich’s credibility would suffer a fatal blow, and that would become a major obstacle in carrying out other matters afterward.’
That was something he did not want either.
Considering what came later, that blemish would inevitably interfere with acquiring karma in the long term.
‘Once the main body awakens, we will return to the previous policy anyway. Then it would be best to think about what comes after that as well.’
He was the great Immortal King who had reached the realm of transcendence.
Naturally, he himself was aware that he was currently behaving more aggressively than usual.
He also knew that if it had been before, the main body’s restraint would have prevented him from going this far.
‘A soft thought. But no matter how I think about it, this is right. Roughly one month remains. I must advance matters as much as possible within that time.’
In other words, Hannibal’s current state was no different from being dead drunk, with the brakes called self-restraint broken, stubbornly insisting on his own way.
Though he, on the contrary, believed that the main body’s reason had been clouded by the influence of useless emotions.
‘Methods can always be made. What was promised was only that I would not wage a full-scale war.’
Then he simply had to make more active use of the things he had promised Heinrich.
‘More locations, greater numbers, stronger elites—’
He would raid the entire continent.
Of course, as for the sacrifices of innocents that would occur in the process—
That was no longer any concern of his.
***
‘This is serious.’
Heinrich frowned, rubbed the space between his brows, and let out a deep sigh.
‘Hans has begun moving in earnest.’
Taking advantage of the main body losing consciousness, he was truly rampaging as he pleased.
In reality, Han Seonghyeon was practically no different from a person with several brains, so even while he was asleep, unconscious control had continued.
Just as a person did not consciously perceive and move every part of their body when breathing or walking.
‘But the situation is different now.’
Not only had the main body’s control completely disappeared, but in the aftermath of the Abyssal Erosion, Hans’s self-restraint had been cleanly blown away as well.
Just as Heinrich had now grasped his psychology, Hans must also be accessing the thoughts of the other avatars, yet he was paying no heed to that and was charging straight ahead, believing only his own thoughts to be correct.
Truly, there was no greater nuisance than this.
‘Almighty Lord God. Please illuminate the path through which I may overcome this adversity.’
As Heinrich was clutching his head over the troublesome situation, before he knew it, he had closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and offered up a prayer.
“...Saint? Are you all right?”
And only after hearing Cardinal Cordelia’s worried voice from beside him did he realize where he was.
‘Oh no.’
This was the grand conference hall where the continental summit was being held.
In the middle of the meeting, he had been sighing and groaning to himself, then had suddenly even started praying.
Naturally, the gazes of the representatives seated around the central round table had been fixed on him for some time.
Except for Heinz II, who had his arms crossed and was likewise immersed in deep thought.
“Ah... I apologize. I was just...”
Heinrich, who had been trying hard to smile and apologize to them, stopped speaking again and tilted his head slightly.
Now that he thought about it, if he wanted to inform them of the current abnormal situation and prepare a response, this moment, when the representatives of each force were gathered in one place, was the best opportunity.
‘The sooner we respond, the better. Then I should present this as an urgent agenda... hm?’
As his gaze swept over those seated at the table—
He suddenly noticed Saintess Riesta, who was fidgeting as though uneasy.
Seeing her like that naturally brought back the conversation they had shared immediately after hunting the White Giant before.
‘Back then, she clearly said... that she felt uneasy because the Immortal King was being quiet. That she felt something big was going to happen.’
It seemed Riesta had sensed something already, both now and back then.
Well, since her synchronization with the Lord God was far stronger than his own, perhaps she had felt something indirectly.
‘...If there was something like that, it would have been nice if He had given a clearer revelation.’
And preferably told him as well.
‘That must be because my faith is still lacking, so it cannot be helped.’
Having thought that far, Heinrich reverently clasped his hands together again and offered a brief prayer to the Lord God.
Then he turned his gaze and slowly opened his mouth to those looking at him.
“Just now, the Lord God bestowed a revelation upon me.”
Whoosh—
Along with the holy aura that naturally spread from his body—
A lie flowed out as naturally as breathing.
“The Immortal King is preparing an attack on a scale incomparable to anything so far. ...And we must prepare for it in advance.”
An avatar’s individuality was the manifestation of one part of the individual known as Han Seonghyeon.
And that was maintained regardless of whether the main body had lost consciousness or not.
‘I’m sure the Lord God will forgive this much. He is a magnanimous being, after all.’
Even if it was Heinrich, whose faith and piety had been inflated, apart from that fact...
This was originally what he was like.