Chapter 726

Chapter 726

Rumble, rumble...!

"Ugh!"

Ariel snapped her eyes open.

The entire Lake Kingdom, which had been floating above the lake due to magic, had been forcibly plunged into the depths of the lake. The impact caused her to lose consciousness.

Whoosh!

The entire Lake Kingdom was already submerged, and the last line of magical protection within the royal castle was being breached by the cascading waters of the lake. It looked like a flood meant to end the world.

Outside the large glass windows of the castle, the lake water surged.

The once clear turquoise lake had become muddied, mixed with dark shadows, obscuring visibility even a short distance away.

In the murky waters, people and debris from the buildings swirled together.

Because everyone was cursed with immortality, they couldn't die even amidst this disaster.

Suffering endlessly from the agony of drowning, people flailed their limbs madly.

"Hahaha."

And this scene...

The sages watched it calmly, as if observing a fish tank from the other side of the glass.

"The view from underwater is quite unique. This apocalypse game should satisfy the spectators quite well."

"Indeed, it's a scene worth having three of us intermediaries involved."

The two sages laughed and spoke in turn.

However, the central sage, the one who initially ensnared Prince Christian, the 'Demon King,' was not laughing at all.

"No, the true apocalypse game hasn't even begun."

Having completely shed his disguise as an old human, now a form entirely like a black shadow, the Demon King spoke with a snarl.

"I will search through the unconscious of all the people of this Lake Kingdom, through all their nightmares... until I find that person."

"..."

"Until then, the apocalypse game must not end."

The other two intermediaries, who had come to aid the Demon King, shrugged at each other. They muttered something along the lines of 'what an odd one he is.'

"Why..."

At that moment, Ariel, staggering to her feet, questioned these demons.

"Why... are you doing this..."

To stay sane and calmly ask questions in such a situation.

The other intermediaries, with wide white grins, were about to mock her, but unexpectedly, the Demon King answered seriously.

"It's because of the original sin your ancestors committed long ago."

"What...?"

"You flourished as a magical kingdom. But you never pondered where this magic came from, who brought this power. You ignored it."

The Demon King murmured monotonously.

"Now you are paying the price."

"What does that even mean..."

Grinding her teeth, Ariel grasped a water-soaked longsword lying on the floor and drew it. It was an ordinary iron sword that a nearby fallen guard had dropped.

"Even if our ancestors sinned, it doesn't justify us suffering for it!"

"Indeed. That may be true. But your destruction now isn't because of your ancestors' sins, is it?"

The Demon King coldly pointed out the truth.

"It's because of your foolish brother and father."

"Ugh...!"

"You've gained immortality, so you must also pay the fitting price. Now you and your nation will eternally... rot in nightmares at the bottom of this lake."

Crash! Shatter...!

The castle's large glass windows, unable to withstand the immense pressure, shattered along with the protective magic, and the lake water, now a torrent of black bubbles, flooded into the castle.

As the water rapidly filled the space, Ariel clenched her teeth.

"I will reclaim it."

Hearing her voice shine with vivid resolve, the Demon King finally turned to face her properly.

"Whether it's because of the sins of my ancestors or the foolishness of my father and brother that this nation was ruined... it is all the royal family's responsibility. With my own hands, I will restore the glory of this nation."

At last, the Demon King laughed.

"So, you sent out that fake prince? As your last hope?"

Ariel had, right after the 'curse of immortality' was cast, realized the anomaly and immediately ordered Aider's 'banishment.'

- You are no longer a citizen of the Lake Kingdom...!

The princess's command carried a power that instantly stripped Aider of his status as a citizen of the Lake Kingdom...

Therefore, he was able to escape the subsequent two curses.

Citizens of the Lake Kingdom couldn't leave the country, and the entire kingdom sank below the lake.

But Aider would have safely escaped the lake.

"..."

Royal warehouse janitor Bayanbulak.

Sewer manager Paleig...

And besides the named citizens, there were also the non-citizens who had fought alongside without giving in.

Regardless of their pre-collapse status or talents, those who had not bowed to the Demon King fought together.

Thanks to them, Ariel had been able to keep fighting without giving up.

"There is still a long way to go."

Looking at her companions, whose resolve had not faltered throughout this long and grueling battle, Ariel, with her eyes still shining with determination, declared.

"Let's find a way to move to the next stage. We need to break the curse on the Lake Kingdom."

Then, Ariel looked at the central, darkened building of the Lake Kingdom...

She gritted her teeth as she stared at the castle from which she had been exiled.

"And ultimately, find a way to defeat the Demon King...!"

But neither Ariel nor those who had fought alongside her knew.

That the time when the Lake Kingdom was flooded was actually more peaceful.

***

That night.

After a small celebration of their first success in a hundred years, the survivors had a modest feast.

Exhausted, the survivors finally removed their underwater breathing devices and lay down comfortably, seeking a well-deserved rest.

"...?!"

Ariel, lost in her thoughts as she looked down at her homeland covered in water moss, suddenly sensed something ominous and turned around.

Shing!

The rusted iron sword she had been carrying since the day of the collapse was drawn from its sheath.

"Who is there!"

Then, a sinister boy's voice emerged from the darkness.

"Haha, you should have just drowned quietly, shouldn't you?"

Step, step-

From the darkness emerged a neatly dressed boy with dark blue hair.

"It would have been less painful that way."

And in the boy's arms was one of the survivors.

Limp, bleeding from the neck.

The boy, licking his lips with his red lips, mercilessly bit into the survivor's neck.

Crunch! Blood spattered everywhere. The boy, having drained his fill, licked his lips with his bright red tongue.

"Well, from a vampire's perspective, a lively prey is naturally more appealing. And since you're immortal, you won't die no matter how much blood I drain..."

"What, the..."

In the face of this surreal scene, Ariel, wondering if this was a dream, belatedly realized.

That they had been surrounded.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom...!

Evil beings descended from the sky, breaking through the darkness and surrounding the survivors.

A black dragon,

The demon guardian commander,

An unknown witch,

The plague lord,

The vampire king,

The spider queen,

The daughter of a succubus,

The ghost pirate captain,

The slaughterer of the full moon,

The goblin god-king-

Monsters from the old times, already defeated and sealed in memories, capable of destroying the human world even alone, had been revived under the Demon King's hand and ambushed the survivors.

With the water drained, revealing the ground, and the Lake Kingdom becoming a space where people could breathe and walk...

The monsters, revived from nightmares over the past hundred years by the Demon King, began to occupy the city.

"So, then. It's time for you immortal humans to be hunted by monsters."

The vampire king, Celendion, smiled slyly, baring his fangs.

"The real hell has begun."

--TL Notes--

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