The Final Boss Has Returned - Chapter 135
Steel Palace.
Unlike the exterior of Castle Voltaha, which had been overrun by monsters, the interior of the Steel Palace was cleaner than expected, though it showed its age.
This was because the ghosts of the Revolutionary Army had erected a holy barrier that prevented monsters from entering.
In the deepest part of that Steel Palace.
The Hall of Iron Blood.
At the highest point of the place said to have been used long ago by the Steel Lord to govern the matters of the entire world, there was a heavy chair made of iron, rusted bright red.
It was the Steel Throne, which had once symbolized the authority of the Steel Lord Drakan.
And upon that Steel Throne now sat a pale ghost clad in magnificent armor.
The former commander of the Revolutionary Army’s 1st Knight Division, an NPC who had worshipped Yujin with fanatical devotion!
It was none other than Lewis.
[The Steel Lord has returned?]
[Yes, Commander.]
A ghost prostrated before Lewis, who sat upon the Steel Throne, bowed its head deeply.
Steel Lord Drakan!
At the news of his return, the holy power surrounding Lewis’s body flickered.
[That bastard has returned here!]
It had been a thousand years, but that memory was still vivid in Lewis’s mind.
The time when Steel Lord Drakan—that bastard—had destroyed his kingdom!
Because of that, he had joined the Revolutionary Army to strike him down, and the memory of dying in the final battle was still vivid.
And yet such a bastard had returned!
[He is an Outsider, so it is not strange that he has returned.]
Lewis gripped the armrest of the Steel Throne.
Outsiders.
Visitors from another world who came to Arde World.
Recalling that Outsiders possessed mysterious power and that there was thus a possibility the Steel Lord had returned, Lewis calmed his heart.
The holy power enveloping his surroundings shone once more.
[I cannot hand this Steel Palace over to him.]
The Steel Palace and the Steel Throne were not mere symbols.
A thousand years ago, the key object capable of controlling the impregnable fortress of Castle Voltaha and the Steel Palace was precisely the Steel Throne.
Of course, much time had passed, and due to the great incident known as the Great Upheaval, there were not many functioning devices left. But the problem was that the Steel Throne was an object exclusive to Drakan.
Drakan.
If he returned and seized the Steel Throne, the vast land known as the floating castle Voltaha would fall back into his grasp.
And that was something Lewis could never tolerate.
Steel Lord Drakan. The worst of tyrants who had ruled Arde World through terror.
Lewis could never tolerate such a man reclaiming his power.
[Where is he now?]
[According to the scout’s report, he went to the Wolf Forest.]
A Revolutionary Army ghost answered Lewis’s words.
Lewis smiled upon hearing this.
Wolf Forest.
Lewis had no way of knowing why he had gone there.
Naturally so, for the existence of the secret passage was a top-secret facility known only to a handful of high-ranking executives within the Ironblood Alliance, including Drakan.
In such a situation, what mattered to Lewis was the fact that the returned Drakan had headed to the Wolf Forest.
[Dispatch the knight order and eliminate him.]
At Lewis’s command, the ghost bowed its head.
The duel left unfinished a thousand years ago.
Thinking that he would settle that victory or defeat now, Lewis gripped the crimson-rusted armrest of the Steel Throne.
* * *
[You have discovered the Steel Palace.]
[First Discovery Bonus!]
[All stats have increased by 45.]
[Steel Palace]
—The Steel Palace was a massive palace built by Steel Lord Drakan a thousand years ago. It was a place where all manner of gold and silver treasures from across the continent gathered, and it was a symbol of the violence and terror Drakan wielded.
Drakan sat upon the Steel Throne at the center of the Steel Palace and ruled over the entire world, and the tyranny that began in the Steel Palace was only brought to an end when the World Revolution led by the Hero Yujin concluded in victory.
After the World Revolution, the Steel Palace was used as a place where the lords of Castle Voltaha resided and conducted administrative affairs. However, all manner of devices installed by Steel Lord Drakan still remain in the Steel Palace, waiting for him.
Drakan dismissed the First Discovery notification window appearing before his eyes, which by now was only to be expected.
The place connected to the secret passage leading to the Steel Palace was the Hall of Iron Blood.
Because it was the deepest part of the Steel Palace, the place where the Steel Throne was located, and, simultaneously, where Lewis currently was.
[Drakan!]
Lewis, who had been sitting upon the Steel Throne, looked in shock at Drakan, who had abruptly walked up through the opening floor.
Drakan.
His appearance had changed little between a thousand years ago and now.
With an impression as sharp as a blade, clad in black armor and wielding a dark red sword, he looked at Lewis and smirked.
[How did you get here?!]
Lewis was shocked.
Drakan.
He had never dreamed that Drakan would enter the Hall of Iron Blood directly like this.
He had heard that Drakan arrived at the Wolf Forest, and he had even sent a knight order.
But he had not expected the bastard to barge in so quickly.
The exterior around the Steel Palace, Castle Voltaha, had long since become monster territory, and no matter how powerful Drakan was, it was obvious that breaking through the knight order’s attack and the monster domain to get here would take considerable time.
[So the legend of the secret passage was true?]
Lewis glared at Drakan and shouted.
Secret passage.
Rumors that it existed had circulated abundantly.
That a secret passage for Drakan’s exclusive use existed in the Steel Palace!
Such rumors.
And indeed, various devices, including warehouse doors that still would not open, were intact in the Steel Palace, so it was plausible that a secret passage existed. Yet not a single person had uncovered its existence in over a thousand years.
But today, Drakan had used the secret passage to come all the way here.
Drakan looked at that sight and raised the Ironblood Executor.
“You sure run your mouth a lot for a dead ghost who came back to life.”
Behind such a Drakan, numerous users were already standing.
It was the expedition that had followed Drakan.
Drakan, wielding the Ironblood Executor, kicked off the floor and leaped straight up.
“That seat is mine.”
The users followed behind him, letting out battle cries.
The Steel Throne.
The battle to determine its true master had finally begun.
* * *
[You have slain Lewis.]
“Hoo.”
I roughly caught my breath.
A notification window announcing Lewis’s death appeared before my eyes.
Even if it hadn’t, watching Lewis’s figure turn into light and disappear made it obvious enough that he was dead.
Lewis.
Former commander of the Revolutionary Army’s 1st Knight Division.
He was quite a tricky boss monster to deal with, but I had numerous expedition members with me.
No matter how strong a boss monster was, there was no business to be done before overwhelming numbers.
Of course, if one were truly strong, numbers could be rendered meaningless, but unfortunately, his opponent was me.
Thanks to that, the boss battle ended rather anticlimactically.
[Your level has increased.]
A level-up notification I hadn’t seen in a while.
They say leveling up after hitting the level cap is difficult, and indeed, that seemed to be the case.
I had cleared legendary-grade quests several times, yet only now had I leveled up.
I looked around the Hall of Iron Blood filled with expedition members.
I saw Shin Ha-yeon looking up at me from the closest spot.
Because we had launched a surprise attack through the secret passage and ended the battle in an instant, the ghosts of the Revolutionary Army had yet to reach the Hall of Iron Blood.
And in the meantime, I had to sit upon the Steel Throne.
Receiving Shin Ha-yeon’s smile, I went straight up.
The moment I planted myself on the chair, rusted bright red—a far cry from the pristine Steel Throne of six years ago.
[The Steel Throne reacts to user ‘Drakan.’]
[All authority over the Steel Palace is transferred to user ‘Drakan.’]
[All authority over Castle Voltaha is transferred to user ‘Drakan.’]
A welcome notification window rose before my eyes.
The Steel Throne!
The master key capable of controlling the Steel Palace, and further, Castle Voltaha, had finally returned to my hands.
The feel of the Steel Throne, which I sat upon after a long time, was welcome.
I looked down at the Hall of Iron Blood and smiled.
Just like back then, six years ago, countless people’s gazes were directed at me.
Both then and now, people looked at me with eyes full of expectation, but the only difference was whether they were guild members or my fandom.
Right then.
[Would you like to declare a Dark Territory on the floating castle Voltaha?]
A notification window appeared before my eyes, and I immediately nodded.
“I declare it.”
[A Dark Territory is declared on the floating castle Voltaha.]
KWA-BOOM!
A thunderous roar echoed.
Dark Territory.
I could feel the power of darkness enveloping the entirety of the floating castle Voltaha.
[The Demon God of Darkness smiles in satisfaction.]
Looking at the message from the Demon God of Darkness that appeared afterward, I rested my elbows on the armrests and thought.
Despite having finished declaring the Dark Territory, the ‘Reconquest’ quest had not yet been completed.
I opened the quest window again.
Expelling Lewis from the Steel Throne and reclaiming the Steel Palace.
Expelling Lewis was already achieved here.
Since I had obtained full authority over the Steel Palace, one could say the reclamation was achieved as well.
But why hadn’t the quest been cleared yet?
‘There must be another objective.’
I guessed the quest’s hidden objective.
The Revolutionary Army ghosts.
Annihilating all their remaining forces, or perhaps even all the monsters inside Castle Voltaha!
If not that, then the final goal might be completely reclaiming Castle Voltaha.
I rose from my seat.
Anyway, that was fine.
Since Castle Voltaha was back in my hands, sweeping away all the monsters inside the castle was naturally something I had to do.
The same went for the ghosts of the Revolutionary Army.
My thoughts having reached that point, I rose from my seat.
It was time to finish the quest for good.
* * *
Drakan!
It did not take long for the floating castle Voltaha expedition he led to eliminate all the Revolutionary Army ghosts and fully seize control of the Steel Palace.
With their leader, Lewis, gone, the Revolutionary Army ghosts lost their focal point and were defeated individually, and the Steel Palace easily returned to Drakan’s grasp.
And Drakan rode the momentum and began clearing out the monsters inside Castle Voltaha.
Although many monsters lived inside Castle Voltaha, once Drakan—who held full authority over the castle—activated various magical traps and carried out the subjugation, the monsters could not withstand it.
And finally, Drakan was able to reclaim all of Castle Voltaha, including the Steel Palace.
[Quest ‘Reconquest’ has been completed.]
Drakan smiled as he looked at the quest completion message.
As he had expected, only by reclaiming all of Castle Voltaha could the quest be completed.
[A quest has occurred.]
And Drakan already knew that this quest would not be the end of the saga quest.
The floating castle Voltaha.
There, now completely in his hands, against the backdrop of the lofty sky, Drakan began reading the translucent quest window that appeared before his eyes.