Episode 165. The One Who Turns Crisis into Opportunity
The Grand Duke, floating in the midst of a pure white flash, looked truly angelic.
Rose stared at the Grand Duke with wide eyes.
It was an unbelievable sight.
Rose looked at Neruan behind her. Neruan met Rose's eyes, lowered his head, and whispered softly.
"What did I tell you? I told you not to worry, didn't I?"
With that single word, Neruan straightened his back again.
Truthfully, Neruan was a little surprised. This was quite different from the Grand Duke's usual magic usage.
The Grand Duke, being a pragmatist, had expected to unleash powerful attack magic on his opponent and claim victory.
However, the magic the Grand Duke was using now was clearly not that.
It was clearly a show-off.
'...I didn't know you could use magic so ostentatiously.'
The Grand Duke's showmanship was enough to change the atmosphere of the duel trial.
Eric, who had been leisurely observing the situation, looked at the Grand Duke with trembling eyes.
The Emperor was no different.
Clink!
The wine glass the Emperor was holding shattered to the floor.
He abruptly rose from his seat and gazed at the Grand Duke Artaeum, floating in the air.
For a moment, his eyes met the leisurely smile of the Grand Duke.
“!”
The moment he met the Grand Duke's eyes, he knew he would win this duel.
Behind the Grand Duke, floating back, a winged figure appeared.
It was the Grand Duke's illusory magic.
He intended to establish himself as a messenger of the gods through this trial.
If he recklessly unleashed offensive magic, he would win the battle quickly and easily, but that would be all.
And the Emperor’s faction, having confirmed the Grand Duke's power, would intensify their pressure.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum intended to use this crisis to clear his name and, even more importantly, to overthrow the Emperor.
The crisis was an opportunity.
The Grand Duke raised his sword into the sky. He concentrated mana on the tip of the sword.
The Grand Duke's sword emitted a dazzling light.
It seemed as if he was receiving the protection of an archangel.
Grand Duke Artaeum swung his sword, condensed with mana, toward the ground. The opposing gladiator stared blankly at the Grand Duke, unable to dodge the Grand Duke's flash.
The flash missed the gladiator and struck the ground. The Grand Duke, who had no intention of killing the gladiator, had struck him from the side.
With a crack, the ground split. The gladiator turned pale as he stared at the mark left by the flash that had passed beside him.
"Huh, huh!"
He slumped to the ground, legs trembling.
Grand Duke Artaeum slowly descended to the ground.
His pure white wings were still visible behind him.
The gladiator closed his eyes tightly at the sound of the Grand Duke's footsteps approaching him.
'Finally... the day of God's judgment has come.'
He took countless lives through duels.
The more brutally he won, the more his reputation grew.
The title of greatest gladiator of his time was the ultimate compliment.
He was brutal even when he could have spared them.
He firmly believed that the moment of retribution had arrived.
The Grand Duke's shoes appeared before the bowed gladiator.
The Grand Duke was approaching. Now, he was certain to die by divine judgment.
Clink—.
The gladiator let go of the sword he was holding. Then, he quietly knelt.
His attitude in accepting death was remarkably calm.
"God, I will pay for my sins with my life."
He did not plead for his life or run away.
The gladiator bowed his head humbly.
The people watched the two in silence, wondering what kind of divine punishment the noble archangel would bestow.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum slowly raised his sword. The sword, pointed at the sky, gleamed in the sunlight.
The Grand Duke Artaeum swung his sword over the gladiator's head.
However, he made no attack.
"Did you think you could atone for your sins with your life?"
"!"
The gladiator, who had expected death, flinched.
He slowly raised his head and faced the Grand Duke of Artaeum.
A halo shone behind his flowing blond hair and crystal-clear eyes.
“You indeed committed cruel acts, but I acknowledge that your profession is that of a gladiator. I also know that you acted only to survive. From now on, do not take innocent lives, and live your life in atonement.”
The Grand Duke of Artaeum lowered his sword.
He then lightly touched the gladiator’s head with his other hand. Using mana, he released a pure white light into his palm and swept down each shoulder once.
“You are not the one I should punish.”
The Grand Duke of Artaeum’s lips slightly raised, and he straightened his waist. Then he turned to face the Emperor.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum met the Emperor’s eyes and let out a thunderous roar.
“Emperor who rules the Empire! I have come down today to punish you!”
He spoke with mana, and the Duke’s voice boomed loudly.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum glared at the Emperor with a fierce gaze. And then, the Emperor's body floated into the air.
"What... what! Hey there! Hurry and seize him!"
The Emperor urgently ordered the guards.
The guards hastily grabbed the Grand Duke, but it was of no use.
The Grand Duke, floating in the midst of a pure white flash, looked truly angelic.
Rose stared at the Grand Duke with wide eyes.
It was an unbelievable sight.
Rose looked at Neruan behind her. Neruan met Rose's eyes, lowered his head, and whispered softly.
"What did I tell you? I told you not to worry, didn't I?"
With that single word, Neruan straightened his back again.
Truthfully, Neruan was a little surprised. This was quite different from the Grand Duke's usual magic usage.
The Grand Duke, being a pragmatist, had expected to unleash powerful attack magic on his opponent and claim victory.
However, the magic the Grand Duke was using now was clearly not that.
It was clearly a show-off.
'...I didn't know you could use magic so ostentatiously.'
The Grand Duke's showmanship was enough to change the atmosphere of the duel trial.
Eric, who had been leisurely observing the situation, looked at the Grand Duke with trembling eyes.
The Emperor was no different.
Clink!
The wine glass the Emperor was holding shattered to the floor.
He abruptly rose from his seat and gazed at the Grand Duke Artaeum, floating in the air.
For a moment, his eyes met the leisurely smile of the Grand Duke.
“!”
The moment he met the Grand Duke's eyes, he knew he would win this duel.
Behind the Grand Duke, floating back, a winged figure appeared.
It was the Grand Duke's illusory magic.
He intended to establish himself as a messenger of the gods through this trial.
If he recklessly unleashed offensive magic, he would win the battle quickly and easily, but that would be all.
And the Emperor’s faction, having confirmed the Grand Duke's power, would intensify their pressure.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum intended to use this crisis to clear his name and, even more importantly, to overthrow the Emperor.
The crisis was an opportunity.
The Grand Duke raised his sword into the sky. He concentrated mana on the tip of the sword.
The Grand Duke's sword emitted a dazzling light.
It seemed as if he was receiving the protection of an archangel.
Grand Duke Artaeum swung his sword, condensed with mana, toward the ground. The opposing gladiator stared blankly at the Grand Duke, unable to dodge the Grand Duke's flash.
The flash missed the gladiator and struck the ground. The Grand Duke, who had no intention of killing the gladiator, had struck him from the side.
With a crack, the ground split. The gladiator turned pale as he stared at the mark left by the flash that had passed beside him.
"Huh, huh!"
He slumped to the ground, legs trembling.
Grand Duke Artaeum slowly descended to the ground.
His pure white wings were still visible behind him.
The gladiator closed his eyes tightly at the sound of the Grand Duke's footsteps approaching him.
'Finally... the day of God's judgment has come.'
He took countless lives through duels.
The more brutally he won, the more his reputation grew.
The title of greatest gladiator of his time was the ultimate compliment.
He was brutal even when he could have spared them.
He firmly believed that the moment of retribution had arrived.
The Grand Duke's shoes appeared before the bowed gladiator.
The Grand Duke was approaching. Now, he was certain to die by divine judgment.
Clink—.
The gladiator let go of the sword he was holding. Then, he quietly knelt.
His attitude in accepting death was remarkably calm.
"God, I will pay for my sins with my life."
He did not plead for his life or run away.
The gladiator bowed his head humbly.
The people watched the two in silence, wondering what kind of divine punishment the noble archangel would bestow.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum slowly raised his sword. The sword, pointed at the sky, gleamed in the sunlight.
The Grand Duke Artaeum swung his sword over the gladiator's head.
However, he made no attack.
"Did you think you could atone for your sins with your life?"
"!"
The gladiator, who had expected death, flinched.
He slowly raised his head and faced the Grand Duke of Artaeum.
A halo shone behind his flowing blond hair and crystal-clear eyes.
“You indeed committed cruel acts, but I acknowledge that your profession is that of a gladiator. I also know that you acted only to survive. From now on, do not take innocent lives, and live your life in atonement.”
The Grand Duke of Artaeum lowered his sword.
He then lightly touched the gladiator’s head with his other hand. Using mana, he released a pure white light into his palm and swept down each shoulder once.
“You are not the one I should punish.”
The Grand Duke of Artaeum’s lips slightly raised, and he straightened his waist. Then he turned to face the Emperor.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum met the Emperor’s eyes and let out a thunderous roar.
“Emperor who rules the Empire! I have come down today to punish you!”
He spoke with mana, and the Duke’s voice boomed loudly.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum glared at the Emperor with a fierce gaze. And then, the Emperor's body floated into the air.
"What... what! Hey there! Hurry and seize him!"
The Emperor urgently ordered the guards.
The guards hastily grabbed the Grand Duke, but it was of no use.
The Grand Duke pushed the guards away and brought the Emperor before him.
"Lucas! What on earth have you done!?"
The Emperor growled and reached out to the Grand Duke.
However, an invisible wall blocked his reach.
"The crime of killing the former Emperor and the former Empress for your own greed! The crime of slaughtering innocent nobles!"
Thunder and lightning rumbled with each word the Grand Duke uttered.
The sky, which had been clear until then, began to darken with dark clouds.
"And... the crime of imprisoning criminals and conducting cruel biological experiments!"
The imperial citizens watching looked at the Emperor in surprise at the word biological experiments.
Crunch!
Lightning struck with a flash.
Grand Duke Artaeum's eyes flashed, and he slammed his sword into the floor.
The floor split open with a loud bang.
And then, people emerged from the cracked floor.
They escaped with bewildered expressions.
They all looked haggard. Some were paralyzed from poisoning. The entire place was in shambles.
Suddenly, people in prison uniforms emerged, and the Grand Duke's words felt believable.
'...I used too much mana.'
Beads of sweat formed on Grand Duke Artaeum's forehead.
He felt he would faint at any moment.
He had used too much mana all at once.
Fortunately, the curse magic he had cast on Eric had been lifted, allowing him to use mana freely.
Had he not listened to Rose, such a performance would have been unthinkable.
"I will never forgive you for your inhumane acts."
Grand Duke Artaeum swung his sword in the air.
"In the name of God, I punish you."
The mana blasted from the Grand Duke's sword engulfed the Emperor.
"Ugh, ugh!"
The Emperor struggled painfully under the Grand Duke's attack, then fainted.
"From now on, you are no longer the Emperor of this Empire. Bind him!"
The Grand Duke struggled to hold on, his legs threatening to collapse at any moment.
He couldn't just collapse here, his end still in sight.
At the Grand Duke's shout, the Imperial Guards looked among themselves.
Most of the Empire's people believed in God, and the Guards were no exception.
They lined up and bound the fallen Emperor.
Then, as if by promise, they knelt before the Grand Duke, signifying their acceptance of him as the next Emperor.
"Please, for the stability of the Empire, become Emperor."
Cheers echoed from the stands. Some shed tears, claiming to have seen the incarnation of God, while others prayed.
Shouts of "Your Majesty, the Emperor" mingled with the sounds of the crowd.
The Grand Duke of Artaeum stared blankly up at the crowd, who were chanting, "Your Majesty the Emperor!"
Everyone hoped he would become the next Emperor.
The Grand Duke, ignoring the cheers directed at him, closed his eyes.
Later, this incident became a topic of conversation for generations. It was the day when the Grand Duke of Artaeum, blessed by the gods, overthrew the tyrant and ascended to the throne.
After more than a decade, the Grand Duke returned to his original position.
***
"Son."
He waved affectionately at the former Emperor.
"Mother! Father!"
The Grand Duke called out to his parents until his voice gave out. Then he ran toward them.
As he got closer, his body grew younger and younger.
Twenty-five, twenty-one, seventeen, then thirteen.
He was held in his parents' arms like a child.
"I had a dream. My mother and father died... I had a very scary dream."
He snuggled into the Empress's embrace as if he were being childish.
His boyish voice flowed out thinly.
The Empress and the Emperor patted the Grand Duke silently. Their expressions, looking down at him, were tinged with bitterness.
"Let me see your face, my son."
The Empress gently lifted the face of the Grand Duke of Artaeum.
"You've grown so much, my son."
The moment the Empress spoke those words, the Grand Duke's body grew again.
He was now a grown man, held in his parents' arms.
Unlike his childhood, when he could fit comfortably in his parents' arms, he had now grown to the point where he needed to hold his parents.
"Isn't he just as handsome as I, Your Majesty?"
"My, Lucas is just as handsome as I, Your Majesty."
The Empress and the Emperor murmured at each other, saying that the Grand Duke resembled them.
Grand Duke Artaeum suddenly realized that this was a dream.
It wasn't a dream that his father and mother had died...
He woke up to the cruel reality that this was a dream.
The moment the Grand Duke realized that it was a dream, the Emperor and Empress's bodies turned transparent.
"Ah... ah."
The Grand Duke desperately grabbed his parents' hands. However, his hands flailed in the air, unable to hold them.
"Mother! Father! Don't go!"
The Grand Duke pleaded, watching their fading figures.
"Please... please don't leave me!"
Tears welled up in the eyes of the Emperor and Empress at their sorrowful voice. They tried to hide their tears and smiled.
“Lucas, we are always by your side.”
“Don’t forget that we are watching over you from heaven.”
The Empress and Emperor embraced the Grand Duke of Artaeum.
A warm energy seeped into his entire body.
He couldn’t feel it on his skin, but he could definitely feel their warmth.
The Emperor and Empress disappeared from the Grand Duke's sight.
And then, the Grand Duke woke up.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a gray ceiling. The familiar bedroom was none other than his own.
“Tears...”
It’s funny when you’re all grown up.
To shed tears over a mere dream.
He wiped away his tears with a bitter smile.
However, it wasn’t all sadness.
It was a very happy dream, seeing his mother and father’s faces after such a long time.
Clang!
The sound of something hitting the floor was heard.
“Grand Duke...?”
The voice belonged to Rose.
“Grand Duke, are you okay?”
Rose immediately ran towards the Grand Duke. Then, he grabbed the Grand Duke's hands and asked again if anything hurt.
"I'm fine."
Could it be that he had been lying down for too long?
"I... just woke up after a few days, right? You must have worried a lot while I was down."
The Grand Duke slowly raised his upper body.
The Grand Duke, who had thought he had been down for at least a week since he had overexerted himself with magic, couldn't hide his bewilderment at Rose's words.
"Uh... um... a day?"
"A day? I woke up after about 24 hours."
"No. You just woke up after a sound sleep of about twelve hours."
"I see."
He felt embarrassed for some reason. It seemed his body was more resilient than he had thought.
Rose smiled as he looked at the Grand Duke's face.
"Congratulations on being cleared, Grand Duke. Ah, you're not Grand Duke anymore, are you?"
Rose gave the Grand Duke a light kiss on the back of his hand and bowed politely.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, the Emperor."
God's messenger, Grand Duke Artaeum.
One day, as days filled with joy continued, just before his ascension to the throne, the unexpected happened.
***
“Lucas... I will never die alone.”
Inside the prison where the Emperor was locked up.
He trembled with wide eyes.
Whether he stayed still in prison or did something, he was destined to die anyway.
“I was destined to die anyway... It would be a shame to die quietly.”
He had been eyeing Rose, whom he had been eyeing with all his might.
He smiled strangely as he remembered her face.
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