The Emperor Has Returned

Chapter 259 – Road That Leads to You

“Warriors, advance!”

The Crack was just around the corner, but the Northern Army did not stop. They ruthlessly pushed the monsters over to the Crack.

There was a slope on the periphery of the Crack, and it was probably caused by the tentacle earlier. However, the inside was completely different from what the Northern Army had expected.

They thought that the monsters would fall into the abyss after being pushed over to the Crack, but the monsters could still move just fine as if they were running on a plain. The same was true of the soldiers who had accidentally stepped into the Crack.

“You won’t fall! Keep pushing!” Nienna shouted and looked up at the sky.

A huge tentacle that soared through the sky was touching the clouds as if it were licking it. It seemed to be going up and down, but it wasn’t moving even an inch from its spot.

Nienna gnashed her teeth and climbed over the tentacle.

“I’m going to break you into pieces, you fucking octopus!”

Nienna summoned the biggest ice spear she could summon. Hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of ice spears manifested in the sky before converging into one gigantic ice spear.

Nienna’s mana finally reached rock bottom after manifesting the gigantic ice spear, but it still wasn’t enough to sever the tentacle from Qzatquizail.

Nienna gnashed her teeth. “You bastard! Do you really think that I’ll miss my chance to end you for good?!”

A blue chill exploded from her. Nienna’s eyes turned blue. Her soft skin began to crack open and form wrinkles, and her snow-flower-like silver hair of winter lost its glass-like appearance, turning into plain white.

Nienna had just squeezed out even the essence of the emperor that Juan had handed over to her.

“Haha, ha! Haha!?Not bad! Not bad at all!”

Nienna’s wrinkled eyes curved into crescents as she laughed boisterously. It was not for beauty or to impress people that she had maintained her youth until now.

She had only been maintaining her youth for the sake of not feeling physically lacking when fighting the Crack.

However, Nienna had a hunch that this would be her final fight. She realized that even the essence of the emperor was nothing more than just a useful tool that she could use to face her end.

Right now, Nienna was neither the emperor’s daughter nor the ruler of the North.

She was just an avenger who had decided to burn her life like firewood.

“Dieee!” The gigantic ice spear struck Qzatquizail’s tentacle and pierced it.

Crack!

The giant tentacle was ripped apart with a grotesque sound, and the fluid inside flowed out like a river. The tentacle started falling into the Crack under the weight of the gigantic ice spear.

Nienna was overjoyed at the sight.

However, she also started falling toward the Crack along with Qzatquizail’s tentacle.

Her muscles felt stiff. She had poured all her energy into destroying Qzatquizail’s tentacle, and she didn’t leave even a single drop of mana for herself. After squeezing out even the emperor’s essence, recovery seemed impossible for her.

The faces of her old family appeared in front of her amidst her swimming vision. The people of the tribe who had to be executed by Nienna’s own hands after being encroached on by the Crack were smiling at her.

Nienna’s time had stopped flowing when she turned five, but it started flowing once again. Nienna smiled brightly.

‘Dad, I must admit that it is a shame that I couldn’t leave a successor before I go.’

Nienna regretted not having any children. For her, a successor had been nothing but just an agent who would succeed her in her revenge. However, she suddenly remembered spending time training with Gerard, Dismas, and Ras a long time ago.

Aside from her, everyone in her family had passed, and the thought weighed heavily on her mind.

The wind grazing her skin was sharp. For the first time in her life, Nienna felt cold.

Loud voices pierced her ears—

“General Nienna!”

—it was the collective shout of the Northern Army that had penetrated even the Crack.

***

Juan stared blankly at the falling tentacle. The tentacle had a giant spear made out of ice sticking out of it. The tentacle fell helplessly and trembled before flowing toward somewhere in space.

The fragments of ice scattered, sprinkling snow on the vast expanse of the universe.

‘Gerard. I told you.’

Juan could not hold back his laughter.

.

‘The humans will be the ones who are going to kick you out into this cold, empty space.’

When the tentacle fell out of the Crack, Juan focused and started closing the Crack. The torn surface of the dimension started closing once more, and it was something that no magic nor miracle could achieve.

It was something that could only be achieved by Qzatquizail and the nine-headed dragon.

The folk song containing the history of the North could still be heard. It was a song from a distant history that was possibly even older than the Ancient Dragon Age beyond the mythological era or perhaps even beyond those epochs.

Mankind and their civilization could still sing of distant tales despite the many invasions and years. It was ironic because Gerard considered them weak.

The humans’ confident voices could be heard. Juan was proud that he had once guided, ruled, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them.

“A lone but powerful individual cannot determine the direction of fate anymore. Those days are over, Gerard.”

Juan finally managed to close the Crack completely amidst the song.

“Everything ends here.”

***

“What are you doing, you bastards?! Are you going to leave General Nienna on her own?!”

The Northern Army didn’t hesitate to chase after Nienna. They jumped into the crack with a roar and without a single moment of hesitation.

The monsters were helpless in front of the axes and blades of the soldiers who jumped into the Crack just to kill them. It was a one-sided slaughter, but Sina was shocked by the scene.

“No! The Crack is about to close!” Sina shouted.

However, not a single Northern Army soldier stopped. Sina quickly grabbed one of the soldiers and forced him to stop.

She thought that they were acting recklessly in the madness of war, but there was no sign of desperation or thirst for blood in the eyes of the soldier whom she had stopped.

The soldier was soaked in blood, but his eyes were bright and clear.

It was such a baffling sight for Sina.

“Going into the Crack now is no different from committing suicide! If the Crack closes like this, then—”

“Then, General Nienna will be left alone in there,” said the soldier without hesitation.

Sina stared agape at him. ‘He wants to be buried together with her?’

The soldier quickly shook off Sina’s hand and jumped into the Crack.

Sina tried to grab the soldier's hand again, but Pavan stopped her.

In Sina’s eyes, the Northern Army looked like a group of moths jumping into the flames.

Then, Sina found Anya jumping into the Crack along with the Northern Army soldiers.

“Anya!” Sina hurriedly grabbed Anya’s wrist.

Anya looked back and smiled. However, there was no emotion in her eyes.

“You, too? Why are you doing this? You’re…”

“Sina. Juan is in there. His Majesty is in there, right?” Anya smiled softly.

Sina flinched. Juan was definitely inside the Crack, and Sina was sure that Juan was the one trying to close the Crack. All of a sudden, Sina remembered the words of the soldier whom she stopped earlier.

“Then, General Nienna will be left alone in there.”

Sina’s eyes trembled. She couldn’t help but wonder if Juan would meet the same fate as General Nienna.

‘Will he be left alone and spend eternity in that universe by himself?’

Anya grabbed Sina’s hand and spoke, “I found Lenly Loen in the Dragon Citadel.”

Sina’s eyes widened at Anya’s words.

“I would have killed him right away if I had found him first, but I was unfortunately in the middle of a raid at the time. He saved my life right before he died.”

“Lenly…”

“He became blind and slowly bled to death. I could hear him calling out for someone until he died, but the person he was looking for wasn’t there. I left. I didn’t stay there until he died because I was scared.”

Anya blankly raised her head and looked up at Sina.

“I’m scared. I don’t want to die like that. I don’t want to die such a lonely and depressing death. However, this world has no Ras, no Dilmond, and even His Majesty is no more. In that case, won’t it be better if we all just died together? If we’re all going to die…”

Sina was overwhelmed by Anya’s confession. In Sina’s eyes, Anya was like a glass that managed to endure the bitter cold of winter but couldn’t endure the warm rays of daybreak.

Anya had just admitted that she was scared of the lonely peace that would come once all this was over.

The shock weakened Sina’s grip on Anya’s hand.

Anya noticed that and quickly shook off Sina’s hand to run away.

However, Sina grabbed Anya’s hand once again. “You should live!”

“Sina…”

“I won’t stop you from going there if it’s all for the sake of fighting or protecting someone, but if you’re going there to die, then…”

Anya was strong enough to shake Sina’s hand off and run away. However, Anya flinched and stopped moving when she saw the orange hue in Sina’s eyes.

Sina gnashed her teeth and shouted, “I can’t let you leave like this! That was what Juan said as well! I thought the message that he had left was only for me, but it wasn’t the case. It was for everyone!”

“What… what message did he—”

“To live!” Sina stared into Anya’s eyes and exclaimed, “We must live for him to live!”

Anya’s eyes trembled. Sina hugged Anya as tightly as she could to prevent her from escaping. Sina then looked at the back of the Northern Army soldiers running toward the Crack.

The Crack was closing at a rapid pace. Anya continued trembling in Sina’s arms, and she soon collapsed. However, Sina didn’t let her go.

“Rely on me if you need someone to rely on. I’m not going to die—at least until Juan’s return.”

Anya sobbed. Sina patted Anya on the back and silently listened to Anya’s sobs.

Sina also quietly watched as the last remaining soldier of the Northern Army jumped into the Crack.

It was a surreal sight to see literal mountains moving at a speed visible to the naked eye. The booming noises they produced were loud, and the tremors were strong. All this continued for quite a while.

Eventually, the hole in the world finally vanished.

All that remained was a land that was strangely a bit too level. The endless monsters and the warriors couldn’t be seen anymore.

However, the Northern Army’s song could still be heard in the mountains of the North, and it would remain that way for a long time.

***

When the Crack finally closed, Juan felt completely disconnected from the world.

The Crack’s original location had become nothing but a void.

Countless worlds appeared in Juan’s eyes as well.

Juan could now make contact and destroy any world using Qzatquizail’s body. However, no world would be the same as the world with her in it.

Juan had gained infinite power, but he felt infinitely tired as well.

‘Her?’

Juan seemed to have sunk into the great idleness, but a thought suddenly came to mind.

He wondered—who was the her?he was referring to?

‘Was it Sina Solvane? Or was it Elaine Elliot?’

However, his thoughts didn’t last long. When the song disappeared, a multitude of consciousness came crashing down on Juan. Every consciousness contained its own dreams, hopes, and future

They were talking about what Juan could do with his omnipotence, and they were also talking about the infinite possibilities out there. However, Juan wasn’t interested in their thoughts at all, and he was slowly being buried.

His control over Qzatquizail wouldn’t last long, and the only thing that could control the multitude of consciousness was another consciousness of a higher order.

Soon, Qzatquizail’s sleeping body trembled after it finally discovered its heart. It moved, sweeping away the multitude of consciousness. The sheer power made Juan feel helpless. There was no way Juan could ever hope to match Qzatquizail, and he could feel himself slowly getting erased from Qzatquizail.

All of a sudden, a whisper reached his ears. It was a familiar voice.

‘What if the bad guy is stronger than me?’

‘Then, run away. It’s not a bad thing to run away when you have no other choice.’

At that moment, Juan felt a breath bursting out of his lungs. He didn’t understand what had happened. He could see the dark red body fluid running down his hand. Only then did he realize that he had split Qzatquizail’s skin and stepped on the top of its body.

Juan could no longer feel the heartbeat from Qzatquizail’s body nor the whispers of the multitude of consciousness. Juan felt as if he had suddenly lost a vast amount of power, but at the same time, Qzatquizail’s skin started trembling beneath his feet.

‘Then, what if I can’t run away? What if I have to fight?’

The whisper of a lone consciousness became vivid to him, and Juan felt that it was a voice that had always existed within him.

‘Then, fight.’

Juan reached out. He casually grabbed Sutra from beyond the flames.

‘If you have to fight, then go out and fight.’

Sutra’s blade turned white as if it were responding to Juan’s tight grip.

‘If you end up dying, then I promise to give birth to a baby and give him the same name as yours. Then, you will be born again. Wherever you are and whatever you do, I’ll always be there for you. I promise to bring you back to the world.’

Qzatquizail’s massive body stretched in silence. The world sobbed and convulsed at the rushing sound of blood from within Qzatquizail, and it seemed as if Qzatquizail was telling everyone that it was time to sleep.

Juan looked at the destruction in front of him.

Juan smiled and whispered, “Are you a god as well?”