Chapter 85

#085

‘What is he so tough for?’

As he flew like a bullet, Ian didn’t panic and cast a Wind Blade.

His trajectory, which had been following a parabola, gained additional acceleration.

“What are you going to do, just throwing Ian? What about us?”

Tessia’s shout followed.

“We’ll fight to the end!”

“Hey, you crazy-”

As Charlotte roared, the gap in the closing gate drew closer.

His concentration reached its peak, and Ian, twisting in mid-air, passed through the gap.

Swish-

Ian, who had passed through the mana barrier in one go, rolled on the ground to land.

-What a ruthless decision, usurper…! I now understand the magnitude of your ambition…!

A deep, resonant voice echoed, as if vibrating his entire body.

Ian, gripping his scale sword more firmly, lifted his head.

As expected, it was the queen’s audience chamber.

On the high dais, a massive throne stretched from the wall to the ceiling.

The giant queen, resembling a gray mummy, sat atop it.

A relatively small golden crown rested on her head, and a necklace hung around her neck, with a large purple gemstone shimmering with light.

A quest completion window appeared before Ian’s eyes, followed immediately by another quest window.

The Usurper’s Choice.

At that moment, a light spread from the gemstone in the necklace.

A familiar whisper followed.

-I will seal the queen’s spell, O Vow-Bearer… Seize the throne before my power runs out….

The light from the gemstone faded.

The queen’s voice continued.

-How insolent, demon. The power of immortality and the undying kingdom are for me alone…!

“…I guess you didn’t have much time to get bored down here.”

Ian muttered as he closed the quest window.

Thud, the gate closed completely.

In front of the dais, the statues of the heavily armored royal guards, lined up, lowered their greatswords.

The moment red mana began swirling in Ian’s eyes.

Boom- Boom-

The royal guards, gripping their greatswords, began to charge.

Their movements were still sluggish.

But over time, they would become as natural and agile as the guardians outside.

Crash-

Of course, he had no intention of waiting for that to happen.

A wall of flames shot up in the middle of the charging royal guards.

It was much smaller than usual.

Even considering the lack of amplification, it was still smaller.

‘Red doesn’t work well in this space, huh.’

Ian launched himself at the royal guard who had broken through the wall.

Flames danced around him, reaching out to the creature. An explosion followed, and Ian, breaking through the flames, struck down with his scale sword, which was imbued with a Wind Blade.

Crack-

The royal guard’s neck was deeply cut.

A black inner skeleton briefly appeared within the ice.

‘One confirmed.’

As he pulled out his sword and stepped back, Ian’s eyes gleamed.

He had wanted to test something ever since he instinctively knew he would have to fight these creatures.

-You are struggling in vain, usurper…! You will ultimately meet your death. You will pay the price for coveting the throne…!

The queen’s voice continued.

I have no interest in your throne.

Thinking this, Ian leaped into the middle of the giant royal guards again.

He dodged the falling greatswords and soared toward the royal guard he had attacked first. His scale sword, imbued with flames, reached out to the neck where the inner skeleton was exposed.

Crack-

He couldn’t sever the neck in one go.

But without showing any sign of disappointment, Ian, gripping the sword hilt with both hands, hung onto the royal guard’s chest.

The next moment, the creature seemed to try to shake him off, swinging its arms. Ian, leaping onto the creature’s shoulder, grabbed the sword hilt again as the creature’s hand passed by.

Squeak-

Another royal guard swung its greatsword at him. Flames shot up from the scale sword, and Ian, pushing off the royal guard’s chest, pulled out his sword.

Crack-!

The greatsword that flew in was embedded in the royal guard’s chest. Cracks appeared in the thick ice armor, and ice dust scattered around. The royal guard, losing its balance, slowly fell backward.

Ian, rolling to land, smiled faintly as he looked back at the scene.

‘As expected, this is the strategy.’

Even while crossing the grand hall, he had felt that these creatures had excessively high defense and resistance, which didn’t match their appearance. It was natural to think there would be another strategy. Moreover, these creatures didn’t seem to have any intelligence. They were more like golems, mechanically performing their assigned tasks.

So, he had a hunch, and now it was turning into certainty.

‘Even after becoming reality, the strategic elements from the game didn’t completely disappear.’

Dodging the clumsy attacks, Ian ran toward the fallen royal guard.

The royal guards, moving with emotionless movements, pursued him.

He didn’t rush straight to the throne. If the queen felt threatened, he couldn’t predict how these royal guards would go berserk. The queen herself might even start moving.

With a clear way to reduce their strength right in front of him, there was no need to take another gamble.

-Do not hinder me, demon. Your interference will only bring pain to the usurper. After that, I will promise you a long and painful torment.

While he moved without rest, the queen’s voice continued.

It was as if she didn’t care about the battle happening in front of her.

-Time is running out, O Vow-Bearer…! If the queen regains control, the great cause will be in vain. Hurry and break through them to the throne…!

In contrast, the demon’s whisper became increasingly urgent.

You seem to still be doing well.

Responding only in his thoughts, Ian, mounting the fallen royal guard, looked at the other royal guards.

The greatswords sliced through the calm air and fell.

Ian launched himself.

Bang! Crack!

The fallen royal guard was hacked to pieces. The creature, whose armor was shattered, had most of its skeleton exposed.

Before the royal guards could retrieve their greatswords, Ian returned and struck at the exposed neck.

Wind Blade. The sharp wind entangled with the flames.

Crack-

The head of one royal guard was separated from its body. The headless body twitched for a moment and then stilled.

Ian’s eyes, instinctively checking his status window, gleamed for a moment. His experience points had increased.

‘A boss fight is a boss fight, after all…?’

His gaze turned to another royal guard retrieving its greatsword.

The second one was easier to kill than the first. He waited for the royal guards to prepare their attacks, then charged at the right moment. The other royal guards hacked at the one Ian was hanging onto. Ian climbed onto the fallen creature, whose armor was shattered. Greatswords rained down again.

The exposed neck. Using the spell on the scale sword, the moment was enough to slice off the creature’s head.

-You have some skill, but your ambition is impossible, usurper. This demon was born from the fragmented soul of the queen, feeding on her ambition and madness…! You cannot ultimately defy her, and only she can control this demon…!

-Do not be swayed by the queen’s deceit, O Vow-Bearer…! You, of noble blood, can contain me, and I cannot achieve any ambition without you…!

They take turns talking so much.

Just as he thought, a wave of mana emanated from the queen’s necklace.

-You are afraid, demon. I can feel your hesitation….

The queen’s laughter.

Coldness began to spread from the bodies of the royal guards. Ice thorns shot up with each step, and frost blades scattered with each sword strike.

‘Phase 2, maybe.’

But the response was simple.

Ian mixed chaos power into the wall of flames.

The frost blades melted and scattered before they could reach his body, and the ice thorns melted quickly.

Ian, sparing no mana, repeated the process, setting things on fire.

One, and then another, royal guard’s head was severed.

-Do not stop, O Vow-Bearer…! The queen’s spell is sealed again, and our victory is near…!

The demon’s whisper and the mana from the necklace faded.

The cold surrounding the royal guards dispersed.

Ian continued the battle without paying attention.

As the number of royal guards decreased, the time needed to kill one increased. Ian moved between them, making them hit each other. In the process, another head was severed first.

Now only two were left.

Meanwhile, the queen’s necklace began to shimmer again.

-Do not fall for the demon’s trick, usurper. He is merely using you to gain freedom…! The demon will ultimately devour your soul…!

The queen’s voice carried a sense of crisis. The demon’s whisper continued as if waiting for it.

-Do not listen, O Vow-Bearer. The queen is melting my soul with the dragon’s mana even now. Without you, I will ultimately be destroyed, and the immortal conqueror will stain the continent with blood again…!

They are in chaos.

Ian, panting after hacking another royal guard to pieces, snorted.

It didn’t matter who was telling the truth, nor was he curious.

The only important thing was that only one royal guard remained.

Bang!

An explosion erupted in the chest of the last royal guard. Then, Ian cast a point explosion beneath the creature’s feet. The royal guard, caught in the explosion, fell. Ian, pouring dancing flames onto the creature’s head, repeatedly struck the heavily cracked neck, finally severing it.

The flames on the scale sword faded and eventually went out.

The mana stone embedded in the hilt lost its light.

But it didn’t matter. Now there were no standing royal guards. They were all hacked to pieces and their heads severed.

Ian’s gaze finally turned to the throne.

Only the queen, sitting motionless on it, remained.

The queen’s withered face had no light in her eyes.

As if her body was just a shell containing her soul.

-It will ultimately end in tragedy… Usurper, my soldiers will never recognize your ascension to the throne.

-Cut the queen’s head, O Vow-Bearer….

The queen’s sigh and the demon’s whisper alternated.

A hollow laugh spread across Ian’s lips.

He felt like a real usurper.

It was a situation he had never even imagined before entering this underground cave.

‘For such a thing, the actual boss fight wasn’t that difficult, though.’

Ian moved toward the throne. The queen muttered to herself.

-The kingdom’s army will awaken in sorrow at the loss of their king. The chaos I have suppressed will overflow, and my companion will return from death. Ultimately, the demon will devour your soul and stain the continent with blood….

Curses, no different.

Ian, standing in front of the throne, curled one lip.

“You don’t know because you’re trapped in here. It’s already happening. It’s not surprising anymore. Moreover….”

Ian’s grip on the scale sword tightened.

“You’ve ultimately lost all control, Queen.”

-What do you mean…?

“I’ve already experienced things like this.”

Ian, as if shaking off the sword, swung it. The Wind Blade that spread along the blade cut the queen’s neck.

Her head, cut off in one go, fell below the throne.

A mournful scream echoed through the hall.

Crack-

The head that fell on the dais turned to ashes and crumbled. The scream quickly faded. The golden crown rolled down the dais with a pitiful sound.

Puff-

The queen’s body also turned to ashes and scattered.

The necklace she wore rolled to Ian’s feet.

A wave of energy spread from the fist-sized gemstone embedded in the pendant.

-Excellent… O Vow-Bearer…!

“Yeah, you were excellent.”

Ian replied calmly. Although this creature had led him on a long journey, he had obtained some good rewards.

The royal guards, and the queen he had just killed, had given him a significant amount of experience points.

Without this creature’s help, he couldn’t have done it so easily.

-The power and authority of immortality are before you. Now, hold me and show the sign of the vow…! You will become the new ruler of the throne…!

The demon’s voice was very sweet and filled with powerful mana. It was the kind of voice that could bewitch anyone who heard it.

“I had to tell you this.”

A smile spread across Ian’s lips.

“I have no interest in the throne or the power of immortality. I never believed your promises.”

-What…?

The demon’s voice was puzzled.

-But, didn’t we make a vow?

“I said I would come to you. And that vow was kept. There are no more promises between us.”

The light on the gemstone’s surface wavered.

It was understandable. No one would have thought that someone would refuse the opportunity to gain the power of the ancient giant kingdom and immense void mana.

-Then, what do you want?

“Experience points. And the quest completion reward.”

-Quest…? What…?

Ian, dropping the scale sword, reached for his waist.

Swish, a blue holy blade appeared coldly.

Ian, holding the Sword of Judgment with both hands, took a step back and said.

“What I will get by killing you.”

The holy power contained in the sword burst into a dazzling light.

A single strike of the Sword of Judgment. A blue arc, condensed with Tir En’s holy power, fell into the center of the purple gemstone.

-Ah- Ahhhhh!

A much louder scream than the queen’s erupted. Crack, cracks appeared on the gemstone’s surface, and it shattered in the next moment. The corrupted mana stored inside burned away upon contact with the holy power. The soul inside as well.

-Ahhh… Ahhhhh-!

The scream soon turned into a furious howl.

Between the fading blue flashes.

Puff-!

The black mana that exploded from the gemstone enveloped Ian.

“……?!”