The Emperor Has Returned

Chapter 225 – Gerard Gain (1)

Juan couldn’t understand the situation.

This holy body was certainly his own. However, the arm that was clutching his wrist and the eyes that were staring at him clearly belonged to Gerard.

Juan initially thought that Gerard might have transferred his spirit into the holy body for a moment, but that didn’t seem to be true.

Juan realized that his inner mental world that he had opened up to absorb his original body was the one being sucked in now. The abilities that he absorbed from Talter and Nigrato were now being sucked into Gerard.

Juan’s consciousness began to drift away as his inner mental world started being absorbed. At the same time, fragments of Gerard’s memories also appeared in Juan’s mind.

Only then did Juan realize that the holy body belonged to himself, but at the same time, also belonged to Gerard as well. Juan bit his lips as he grasped the fact that Dismas had revived his original body as a Cainheryar. Then, Gerard took over the emperor’s body in a way different from that of Dismas.

Gerard had cut off parts of the emperor’s body and attached parts of his own body in their place. When the emperor’s body was healed, he repeated the same process over and over. In this manner, Gerard was able to replace most of Juan’s body with his own.

Almost every body part except for the head and Mananen McLeir’s hearts belonged to Gerard, and it was Captain Lenly Loen of the Imperial Guards who had helped him do this. After a long process, Gerard was finally able to take control of Mananen McLeir’s heart.

Nevertheless, Gerard did not stand up even when he could. Instead, he waited in silence for many years—waited for Juan to show up.

“The crown!”

He waited for the holder of the crown to appear, whether it was the monster or the emperor who had it.

“Give me the crown!” Gerard roared at Juan.

Juan’s consciousness became even more distant as the power he tried to absorb was swept away by a huge flow.

At the same time, Gerard’s memories that had been sunk into the abyss until now began to rise to the surface like contaminants in the ocean.

***

In the East, just outside the city of Arbalde, Gerard trembled as he received a letter.

Next to Gerard was Deputy Bekelt Bekelsus of the Order of Lindwurm glaring at the ground while tightly biting his lips. The same was true for everyone in the barracks; they all showed signs of extreme anger.

With extreme patience, Gerard managed to quietly put down the letter without tearing or crumpling it; a letter with the Emperor’s Seal could not be handled recklessly under any circumstances.

“...Make way for the Order of Fenrir,” Gerard muttered.

“Captain!” Bekelt burst into a rage.

If Nienna was the type to control her subordinates with overwhelming charisma, Geard was the type to maintain a relatively equal relationship between everyone in the knight order.

But today was the first time he was envious of Nienna’s way of handling things.

“Already over ten thousand civilians have been killed by the bastards from the Order of Fenrir! If we make way for them in this situation, it will…”

Gerard drew his sword and struck the desk before Bekelt could even finish his words. The desk that was struck forcefully broke into pieces rather than being split in half. The fragments of the broken desk scattered all over the faces of the knights inside the barracks, making them bleed.

But there was not a single knight who blinked their eyes.

“It is an order from His Majesty. Are you going against his will right now?”

Bekelt did not answer.

Gerard continued to speak with his sword raised and aimed at the rest of the knights from the Order of Lindwurm.

“If any of you have any impure feelings toward His Majesty, tell me now. I promise to kill you in a more merciful way than I would if you act on your feelings.”

None of the knights could answer. After glaring fiercely at the surroundings, Gerard finally turned his gaze toward Bekelt once again.

“Bekelt. Answer me.”

“...I will obey your orders, Captain.”

Gerard breathed heavily and sheathed his sword upon hearing Bekelt’s answer.

“As of today, Deputy Bekelt will be demoted to an ordinary knight. He will also be prohibited from riding the dragons and he will be whipped two hundred times at every noon until further orders. I will not be disclosing his charges to the other soldiers considering the achievements he has made until now.”

The knights showed signs of agitation over the disciplinary action that was much harsher than they had expected. However, some thought that the fact that Gerard was not disclosing Bekelt’s charges was no different from giving him a grace period rather than punishment. After all, showing disobedience to His Majesty was not a charge that could be forgiven with a simple demotion or whipping. It meant that Gerard would quietly handle this matter internally.

“I’ll leave it at that, but this is a one-time thing. Do not doubt His Majesty’s orders, ever.”

***

‘His Majesty is always right.’

Gerard thought so as he sat on top of the pile of corpses that extended all the way to the horizon.

Gerard’s skills were much more useful than Nienna’s when it came to killing people and disposing of the corpses; after all, Nienna controlled the cold, while Gerard could control flames just like the emperor. His flames were not only quick and instantaneous, but also adequate for killing people painlessly.

The lightning that was scattered all over the sky even found those hiding in the underground and instantly turned them into ashes. It was a merciful death considering that they were unconscious at the time of their death.

But it was a death that no one wanted.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Upon turning his head, Gerard found Nienna with bruises on her forehead and chin. He didn’t think she looked funny or weird; he was certain that he didn't look much better than her. In fact, they were looking better now; both had been in a worse condition before the emperor’s letter arrived.

The road Nienna walked on was frozen white. When Gerard didn’t answer her, Nienna shrugged and looked around at the surroundings.

“Are you okay? I don’t think anyone is alive anymore. So don’t waste your energy.”

Only then did Gerard realize that he was still creating lightning.

“Are they all dead? How many have died in total?”

Instead of answering, Nienna raised two fingers. Then she folded one and continued to speak.

“I think you killed half of them by yourself. It’s probably because of the rain, but…”

Nienna had drawn over the clouds in the sky to briefly cause winter, while Gerard summoned lightning without any hesitation, pouring it over the people. The result was heavy rain and terrible thunderstorms.

“I can’t believe that two hundred thousand people died,” Gerard muttered, feeling disheartened.

Nienna looked at Gerard with narrow eyes and snapped.

“It’s two million, you idiot.”

Such a large number felt unreal to Gerard. It didn’t matter if it was two hundred thousand or two million, because the fact that they were both huge numbers didn’t change. Either way, the corpses were enough to line up to the end of the horizon and block everyone’s view.

Gerard suddenly began to tremble.

‘Just how many memories, feelings, and dreams did each of the two million people that died have? What about their hopes and fears?’

The moment he felt a chill running down his spine, Nienna covered his eyes with her hands.

“Stop. Don’t imagine anything.”

Gerard breathed heavily and gasped for air. Nienna’s cold hands slowly calmed him down. As Gerard’s breathing began to return to normal, he closed his eyes and opened his mouth.

“Was there really no other way?”

“No,” Nienna answered firmly.

“But we don’t even know anything about the Crack.”

“Do you think I wouldn’t have thought about that when I killed my own family and tribe members?” Nienna continued speaking in a quiet voice. “My tribe has been fighting against the Crack for a long time. If they have decided that there’s nothing that could be done, then there’s nothing that can be done. I was the only one among my tribesmen who had not been encroached upon by the Crack, so they ordered me to execute all of them with my hands.”

“But…”

“Gerard, think about adults ordering a five-year-old girl to kill all the members of her tribe. Then think about a girl who had to stab hundreds of her acquaintances to death, including her parents, brother, grandmother, and neighbors. Just imagine what she would have gone through every single day as she grew up.”

Gerard closed his mouth.

“At that time, I decided to stop thinking about everything except for my hatred toward the Crack. When I think about other things, all that remains is regret. My heart has frozen over ever since I had to kill my own parents when I was only five years old. So you should also remember this scenery today—the moment when you had no choice but to burn your people to death with your own hands.”

‘But… ah, but…’

Gerard hoped for redemption. He wanted to believe that there would be salvation somewhere.

He believed that His Majesty could be his salvation.

***

“Bekelt.”

Gerard lifted his head and looked up.

The man who walked into the office inside the fortress of Beldeve was Belkelt, the former Deputy of the Order of Lindwurm. He was no longer wearing a cape, now that he had been demoted to a lower rank.

“It’s late, Captain. You should take a rest.”

“I was planning to go to bed soon.”

“I heard that you haven’t slept a wink for the past three days.”

Gerard sighed and leaned against the back of the chair. He rubbed his eyelids with his hand and thought about the past few days.

‘Has it already been that long?’

Gerard closed the book he was reading. When the cover with a strange pattern was revealed, Gerard hurriedly put a different book over it.

Bekelt did not miss the sight.

“It’s been a while since I saw you. Has it been around four months since we left the Northeast for a thorough search? I heard that there are no more signs of anyone encroached upon by the Crack,” Gerard said as if trying to change the subject.

“Yes, Captain. People will no longer be able to come back and live in the Northeast anymore, but… I don’t think we have to worry about it spreading any further. But the aftermath will last for a long time.”

“Yes, I guess so…”

Not only did the crops fail to grow due to the polluted atmosphere caused by the energy leaking from the Crack, but the appearances of demonic beasts were also soaring in numbers. In addition, the brutal rumors spreading among the civilians played a huge part in making the empire unstable.

It was the rumor that a massive amount of carnage had been committed in the East. Even Hela had asked Gerard several times whether the rumor was true, but Gerard could not say anything to her.

“What book were you reading, Captain?” Bekelt asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’ve already received a report stating that you’ve returned, but what’s the matter?”

“I prepared a small gift for you after hearing that you’ve been feeling down.”

“A gift?”

Bekelt took a small package out of his pocket. Inside the package was a disproportionately distorted purple gem. Gerard felt an unknown displeasure as soon as he saw the gem, but he was more curious than repulsed.

“It’s my first time seeing a gem like this. What is it?” Gerard asked.

“Its identity is not clear, but I heard that this gem has the property of absorbing and storing dark energy. No wonder everyone feels unpleasant when they look at it. After all, it is a lump of negativity. But I understand that it is good for purifying a person’s mind and body.”

Gerard received the purple gem from Bekelt. As soon as the gem touched his hand, he could feel the negative thoughts that had piled up in his mind for a while loosening slightly. As the emotions that had been suffocating him disappeared, he lowered the boundary he had made around his own heart and let his guard down.

“It looks strange, but I don’t think it’s just some superstition, since I can actually feel its power.”

“I’m glad you think it’ll be of help. Then I’ll get going now.”

Bekelt saluted and turned around to leave the office.

At that moment, Gerard called out to stop him.

“Bekelt, wait.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“I know that you have been quietly carrying out your duties as an ordinary knight for the past four months. Both you and I were emotional at the time—and that was true for everyone. So I’m thinking of lifting the disciplinary action as of today.”

Bekelt looked at Gerard with a surprised expression and bowed his head.

“Thank you for your generosity, Captain.”

“You can wear the cape of the Deputy once again starting from tomorrow. However…” Gerard dragged his words on, as if he was giving a stern warning. “…you must never doubt His Majesty or say anything that seems to be disobeying His Majesty’s orders in the future. You won’t get another chance after this.”

“...I’ll keep that in mind, Captain.”

Bekelt saluted once again before leaving the office.

After Bekelt left, Gerard glared at the closed door for a long time. He couldn’t tell whether that last warning he had just given was for Bekelt or for himself.

Then, he once again took out the book he had covered with a trembling hand.

It was one of the books that he had found in the ruins of Arbalde.