Chapter 265: What if you were the emperor? (5)

It was neither Cale nor the Emperor who responded to Clopeh Sekka’s sword.

“How dare you... Your Majesty the Emperor!”

The only confidant who had accompanied the Emperor raised his hand to the hilt of his sword at his waist, showing his fury.

Zap!

He too was a Sword Master. He was one of the few Sword Masters in the entire territory of Aipotu, but he was not the only one protecting the Emperor as a Sword Master.

The moment Aura sprouted from his sword,

Sssshhh-

He felt the air change.

“!”

A white Aura sprouted from the white-haired man.

A white light evoking a sense of holiness. The light, which had not a speck of dust, did not shine brightly but revealed its pure white color like the Milky Way in the night sky. A power that did not manifest in an exaggerated manner, which at first glance seemed simple but the more one observed, the more mysterious and sublime it revealed itself to be.

A Paladin?

That was the Aura that made him think for a moment. However, the confidant soon found himself enveloped in an inexplicable sensation.

Pure and sublime white. But the more he looked at it, the more uncomfortable and repulsive he felt. An instinctive warning instinct surged within him, as if he were being dragged into a depth, to a very deep place.

At that moment, the voice of Emperor Alt was heard.

“...Dead Mana.”

The confidant’s eyes widened.

Dead Mana?

No black aura was visible. However, the confidant seemed to understand what the Emperor meant by dead mana.

A power that the living instinctively wanted to avoid. He looked at the white-haired man.

Is that guy’s aura dead mana?

How can a living human...?

The confidant’s doubt grew, and the same went for the Emperor.

“How can a living human handle dead mana? He doesn’t seem to be a Black Mage.”

Alt added.

“And besides, the fact that it’s white...”

His pupils reflected a pure and serene white.

“It seems it’s not just simple dead mana.”

Cale, who had been listening to that conversation, also briefly glanced at Clopeh Sekka’s aura.

‘Certainly, that guy has taken a different path from Choi Han or the Heavenly Demon.’

Both his previous stealthy movements and his current aura demonstrated it. Clopeh Sekka seemed to be advancing in his own way.

‘Cale-nim.’

Cale recalled the conversation he had with Choi Han before coming here. When Choi Han mentioned that they should have a swordsman with them since they would leave the magic to Raon, Cale mentioned he would call either Clopeh Sekka or Hannah.

Choi Han thought for a moment and then said.

‘I think Clopeh Sekka would be better.’

As it was rare for him to say such a thing, Cale asked the reason.

‘Hannah learns honestly.’

The Sword Master who was the Holy Maiden, Hannah. The person who had taught her the most was Choi Han. In his opinion, Hannah had deviated at some point and had “fooled” with the “darkness,” doing many bad things there. However, her innate nature was honest and straightforward, albeit a bit eccentric.

Moreover, her attitude towards learning was honest and pure. That’s why she absorbed what she learned and grew straight. Probably, Hannah was the swordsman who had assimilated the most from Choi Han. If Choi Han had to choose a disciple, he would choose Hannah.

‘And Clopeh Sekka sees and hears everything, but only remembers what he wants to remember.’

Both Clopeh Sekka and Hannah learned the techniques of the Heavenly Demon through Choi Han.

‘That guy is weak.’

Choi Han’s assessment contained no resentment. It was a calm and objective evaluation, devoid of emotions.

‘But he’s also a genius.’

He was a swordsman acknowledged by Choi Han.

‘Moreover, he’s a flexible genius. That’s why Clopeh Sekka would be better to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances.’

Cale agreed with those words and decided to have Clopeh by his side.

‘And Hannah is good for the Church’s work.’

However, once he brought him here, he realized.

- Human, Clopeh has become stronger! That makes him even tastier!

As Raon said, Clopeh Sekka was always a peculiar guy.

- And that Aura, it’s not just dead mana!

The Heavenly Demon knew the method to extract the dead mana lingering in the bloodstream of the body and use it.

- ... Cale.

The Fire of Destruction opened its mouth. The guy who was particularly sensitive to dead mana spoke.

- That peculiar guy’s aura is quite ingenious. Not even dead mana has been able to overcome his essence. He has used dead mana as a tool, to the point that it’s hard to purify it.

The meaning of those words was clear.

That Aura, which just by looking at it gave a sense of unease and repugnance. And at the same time, it appeared sublime. The gazes of Cale and Clopeh Sekka met.

“What do you think?”

The swordsman, who could now display his aura once again, asked Cale, his lord.

And Cale replied indifferently.

“It’s typical of you.”

Of course, he added one more phrase.

“Could you, however, hide it a bit more?”

Don’t be so obvious with your peculiarity!

Cale spoke honestly.

At that moment,

“Haha!”

A radiant smile formed on Clopeh’s lips. And laughter bubbled from his mouth.

- H-Human, it’s the first time I’ve seen that peculiar guy, no, Clopeh Sekka, smile so purely and sincerely!

Not only Raon was the first surprised.

Cale also saw it for the first time. The way Clopeh Sekka smiled with genuine joy was, indeed, childlike.

‘Wow.’

That’s why it gave me chills.

Does that guy know how to make that expression?

- Human, but why is he doing that?

That’s what I want to know!

What did I say for him to do that?

Shouldn’t he be annoyed if I tell him to hide his Aura a bit?

Cale felt even more unsettled by that inexplicable sensation.

So, he discreetly looked away.

Clopeh stared at Cale, who was looking away from him.

‘As expected, Cale-nim knows everything.’

After discovering the method to expel and use dead mana hanging like a time bomb. Clopeh didn’t want to get rid of this power little by little, but he also didn’t want to use it lightly.

That’s why he thought of ways to blend this power with his aura.

While the swordsman Hannah preferred to use these two powers in opposition, instead of blending them.

Clopeh wanted to have dead mana completely under his control.

‘And then the problem arose.’

At some point, Clopeh Sekka himself began to permeate into the aura.

His essence... His dark and desire-filled side manifested.

He did his best to hide it.

‘That’s why most people thought it was because of dead mana.’

However, dead mana was nothing but mana that came from the dead.

It was neither dark nor greedy.

Although the power of the Necromancer Mary could instinctively be repulsive to him, it didn’t give him chills.

‘Cale-nim saw my essence immediately.’

And...

‘He told me to hide it.’

As expected, he knows me very well.

Clopeh Sekka decided to further refine his Aura and hide his essence under the appearance he wished to show.

In secret.

‘But I have no intention of eliminating the self-contained in my aura.’

Because Clopeh knew this was the right path.

‘Choi Han.’

The Sword Master. The guy who had surpassed his limits.

That guy had imbued his being into his sword.

The Magician Rosalyn seemed to be wandering aimlessly in this, but Clopeh had managed to grasp a faint thread.

‘That’s why I’ll hide the self-contained in my aura.’

He would hide his essence without completely eliminating it.

That was how Clopeh Sekka lived.

‘And Cale-nim will accept it.’

Ah.

The reason he was called the Savior here was too clear.

Clopeh swore to himself.

‘I’ll be his shadow.’

He would hide and lurk, becoming a white shadow hidden in Cale’s light.

The radiant smile didn’t leave Clopeh’s lips.

He turned his head.

“Didn’t I tell you to sheath your sword?”

Ha~!

Emperor Alt chuckled as if he found it amusing.

The white-haired swordsman, pointing his sword at him, conversed calmly with his lord. His behaviour was completely contrary to etiquette.

“How dare you!”

Finally, Alt infused his aura into his sword.

Uuuung!

The aura emanating from the best swordsman of the Aipotu Continent was like a volcano.

A red aura that bubbled and crackled as if it would explode at any moment. It seemed to reflect Alt’s true nature.

Uuuung!

Uuu!

Uuuung-uuuung!

At the moment when the auras of the three swordsmen rose without yielding an inch, gradually increasing in intensity,

“This...”

Cale reached out his hand.

“Is it okay?”

King Dennis, who was among the three swordsmen. His face had turned white from the overwhelming pressure of the aura.

A gentle hand touched his shoulder.

“Ah-”

Dennis let out a groan. All the aura pressure tormenting him had vanished.

“Now it’s okay-”

Dennis, who was about to say he was fine, halted.

Kkung!

“Urgh!”

The subordinate (confidant) knelt down and groaned like a whimper.

Tang-!

The sword that slipped from his hand rolled to the ground.

“Ugh!”

And the Emperor, though not releasing the sword, clutched his knee with one hand and barely managed to stand. His face was flushed with veins and his whole body trembled. He seemed to be resisting with all his might not to kneel like his subordinate.

‘!’

King Dennis’s eyes widened at the sight.

At that moment...

“Lay down your sword.”

“Yes, Cale-nim.”

At Cale’s words, the white-haired swordsman obediently lowered his sword and withdrew his aura. He seemed calm unlike the other two swordsmen.

Dennis’s mouth dried up.

‘Your Majesty. Commander Cale Henituse defeated a Dragon with ease.’

Dennis, who had heard many stories from Prime Minister Bailey, addressed Cale with a slightly higher tone upon seeing him for the second time.

“Your Majesty. May I intervene?”

And Dennis couldn’t help but nod at Cale’s courteous words.

“Yes. Go ahead.”

Dennis leaned back.

‘His aura was so formidable that it even made Sisko surrender. A human with such an aura, it’s like a Two.’

The Prime Minister’s words echoed in his ears.

Step by step~

Cale walked past Dennis and stopped in front of Alt, who could barely stand.

Alt was still resisting with all his might.

“Kuk!”

Glub.

But in the end, blood came out of the corner of his mouth.

“Wow.”

Cale said with a tone of pity.

“You just have to accept it, why do you struggle to resist?”

He put his hand on Alt’s shoulder. But Alt couldn’t resist.

‘...He’s on the level of a Dragon.’

No, to be precise, he’s on the level of the Ten Dragon Gods.

This guy’s aura.

‘How strong does a human have to be, to have such, such an aura-’

To Alt, who couldn’t continue his words, a kind voice came.

“Just surrender. Like when you grovel under the Dragons’ dominion.”

Cale intended to be a little harsher when meeting with the Emperor and the Pope.

Aipotu.

There was no reason to be kind to those who had contributed to the destruction of this world.

There was no time either.

“Dragons...!”

The Emperor’s eyes lit up with fire upon hearing Cale’s words.

Uuuung!

An aura emanated from his sword.

A red aura that surged as if expressing boiling rage.

“Hoo.”

Cale briefly exclaimed.

“It seems you really don’t like Dragons, do you?”

“!”

The Emperor went blank. He was a fervent admirer of Dragons on the surface.

“You don’t like Dragons dominating the human world?”

Cale heard the Pope’s words through Clopeh.

What the Pope and Bishop Horns had told him before meeting the Emperor.

‘The Emperor seems like a fervent follower of Dragons on the surface, but he’s greedy. He hates being under the Dragons’ dominion. Someday, he will try to have everything for himself. For now, he’s only thinking about how to snatch the army of Dragon Half-Bloods.’

Cale spoke calmly.

“The Ten Dragon Gods. We captured two of them. Ah, and just so you know. It wasn’t with the power of Har Kingdom, nor with the power of the Church. It was only with our power.”

“!”

“And soon, one of the Three Stars will fall.”

“……!”

The Emperor’s pupils wavered.

“We are not under the Pope. In other words, we are not yet on the same side as the Pope.”

That was a fact. Bishop Horns had sided with Cale, but that didn’t apply to the Pope or the other Bishops.

That was something he would only find out after meeting the Pope and talking to her.

Emperor Alt opened his mouth.

“What-?”

He couldn’t follow the flow of the conversation. He found it difficult to believe the man in front of him’s words, and moreover...

‘Who are ‘we’?”

Who does he mean by ‘we’?

At that moment, a voice resonated.

“Do you want to lag behind?”

“…!”

The Emperor’s pupils shook more than ever.

“Do you remember the Catastrophe Era? Is there any guarantee that it won’t happen again?”

“…….”

“The world desires it. It told me so.”

Cale spoke frankly.

“This world will restructure itself. It will return to the time when humans controlled mana and aura.”

“……!”

“A month. Not long now.”

Of course, before that, they would have to infiltrate the Dragon Lord’s lair and face the Dragon Lord.

In any case, it was something that would be done in a month, so the day of the world’s restructuring was not far off.

Cale slightly changed the order of his words. The Emperor couldn’t hide his confusion with his mouth agape. Before entering the Imperial Palace and this conference room, Cale had instructed the Wind Elementals to: ‘Immediately inform me where the Emperor communicates, with whom, and what he’s doing.’

He intended to do the same when meeting with the Pope.

‘I have to be able to trust these guys.’

Probably the Pope wouldn’t trust Cale either.

‘Just like the Emperor I have in front of me.’

- ”Human! This Emperor smiles like Crown Prince Adin of Mogoru! Something smells fishy!”

Cale only trusted his companions. Especially in this chaos, in Aipotu, where those seeking to stab in the back abound.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]