The Novel’s Villain

27. Fall (2)

The road to the lair proved to be peaceful. Bandits or monsters always attacked in the novel. However, no such event occurred. As an Emperor and a Goddess moved together, even the wild beasts noticed and avoided them.

It felt like a light trip. They camped if there was a place with a good view. Otherwise, they just went back to the Sanctuary to rest. There was no need to stay in a city or village.

“It’s great.”

As he grilled meat while admiring the wonderful scenery of the Middle World, he felt like he was in heaven. Jin-woo was treating Luna comfortably. Luna could no longer get away from him. It seemed like she wouldn’t go back to Heaven even if he told her to. She was best friends with the Maze, and she seemed very happy to stay with Elise.

Raskan Palace formed in the distance.

“They are having a festival.”

“Festival?”

“Yes, it is a festival of love held every fall. It is the purest fall that has come for the first time in seven hundred years, so it seems that they’re holding a huge one.”

It was an event to bless all lovers and couples in Luna’s name. As Luna symbolized love and mercy, it was also the biggest event of the Goddess Order. It was the day the most marriages occurred, and new couples were born. The Raskan Palace was currently in a civil war, and there was a great famine. The Order was deliberately holding a bigger festival to turn the deteriorating public sentiment around.

The Order supported the first prince while the nobility secretly balanced and encouraged more fights, but Jin-woo didn’t care about that. There was a truce during the festival.

“It’s full of love.”

Luna looked proud as she felt the overflowing love. Following the energy emitted by the Emperor, they arrived on a mountain near the capital of the Raskan Kingdom. The mountain looked severe. It was supposed to be blue, but it turned pale as if it had lost its color. It was like watching a black and white TV.

‘Still, the situation is better than the original.’

The situation was better than the original. Rather, the residents were eating better than before the great famine. Dopplo was actively accepting refugees. Instead of feeding them freely, he made them join the Order. The Saint Order showed explosive growth, to the extent that the Holy Empire was growing wary about it.

“Everything is dying. It’s unbearable.”

“I am good.”

It looked hard for Luna as soon as she felt the Emperor’s energy. However, the Maze looked fine, and so did Jin-woo. It was much stronger energy compared to the demon energy, so he was feeling better than before. Maze placed two of its fingers on its temple and focused. Then, a protective shield was formed around Luna.

Jin-woo tilted his head as he watched. It was the first time he saw the Maze using magic. It was impossible for the Maze, whose life was unproductive, to learn something like that. It was quite a refreshing shock.

“So you can do that?”

“I learn magic.”

“From whom?”

“League of Heroes.”

It was a national AOS game. It was also a game from a company that Jin-woo took over.

“I can also do Shining Buster…!”

Luna also casts her magic. Divine magic had almost no attack capabilities, but one legendary attack magic was added to her repertoire. She even showed excellent combo techniques with the Maze. Jin-woo could see why their live-streaming was so popular. After all, it was silly and strange but oddly plausible.

The lair was located deep in the mountains, silent as all the animals had fled. It was even graver than Elonti in the past. As they went deeper into the mountain, the temperature dropped sharply, making it feel like winter.

‘So here it is.’

The Emperor of Disease was awake. Jin-woo could feel the energy fluctuating strongly around them. It wasn’t comparable to the Emperor of Greed, but it was a very powerful force. He could fully feel the majesty of the Ancient Dragon. It would have been impossible for him to face it if he weren’t also an Emperor.

‘Even the protagonist who had become stronger fought for ten chapters.’

The Emperor of Disease boasted that much power.

A cliff was visible, partially obscured at the base by trees and caves. There was a crack in the cliff, and the Emperor’s energy flowed out through it to spread throughout the Middle World. The seal was gradually loosened, but the solid barrier was still maintained. After the famine, the seal would be completely freed.

Jin-woo planned to solve the problem by releasing the seal in advance before it spewed out the disease.

“It’s a powerful seal. I don’t think I can break through even if I use all my strength. Now that it’s like this, we have no choice but to wait for the seal to be released….”

Luna said so. It was such a powerful seal. It wasn’t as powerful as the Emperor of Greed’s, but no one seemed to be able to open it. Luna’s complexion darkened as she had to watch the disease spread like this. However, Jin-woo had no intention of waiting at all.

Jin-woo approached the seal. Breaking these types of seals was his specialty. He even had a history of smashing a much stronger seal than this by just breathing on it. Jin-woo raised his hand and touched the seal very slightly.

Craaang! Baaaang!

As soon as he touched it, the huge barrier exploded. The cliff was split in half and collapsed around him, dust and dirt rising in the air. Luna looked at Jin-woo in dismay while the Maze clapped in admiration. When the dust settled, a huge cave appeared.

“T-These emotions…”

Luna stumbled; her body trembled. It was because she felt the emotions emanating from the Emperor of Disease. Ice and white snow piled up inside the cave. Jin-woo felt his mana freeze. The same thing happened when he was angry.

‘Surely….’

It was dangerous. He felt resentment, hatred, and despair. Jin-woo and Luna looked serious, but the Maze stepped through the snow as if it was familiar. The Maze seemed to have no worries. Jin-woo went inside, and Luna created light with her divine power, illuminating their surroundings. The inside of the cave was coated with ice. The emotions emitted by the Emperor of Disease froze everything around it.

There was a huge space at the end of the long passage.

“Dragon….”

There was a dragon there. Luna looked at the dragon, her eyes trembling. Although it was smaller than the Emperor of Greed, it was still the size of a building. It was a dragon with green scales, a thick black aurora emanating around it. That was the cause of the great famine.

Dddrrrr!

The Emperor of Disease raised its head slowly. The stones piled upon its body fell. The Emperor of Greed looked hideous and worn, but the Emperor of Disease was round and hearty.

‘Is it possible to talk to it?’

In the original story, it rampaged as soon as it met the protagonist. It was described as a crazy dragon with no reason at all. Its golden eyes were set on Jin-woo, then it found Luna in the back. The Maze couldn’t be seen because it was still playing in the snow.

Gwoooooooooo!

Suddenly the Emperor of Disease roared. Tremendous energy erupted from its maw, and Luna was blown away. The Maze, who was building a castle in the snow, was swept away with her. It was a tremendous power and presence.

‘Yes, this is indeed an Emperor.’

Except for the Emperor of Greed, the others weren’t comparable as Emperors at all. An Emperor showing true dignity was now in front of Jin-woo. The dragon’s eyes moved once more to him; no reason could be felt from them. It was as crazy as described in the original novel.

Baaaang! Boom!

It started to smash its surroundings, making a fuss. It opened its mouth and let out a breath just like that. It passed by Jin-woo’s side. As the floor split and the walls were pierced, the entire mountain around the lair collapsed. Jin-woo summoned his mana to shield himself from the falling debris.

The mountain was opened, and the sun shone in. The Emperor of Disease raised its head and growled. The direction the Emperor looked in was where the Raskan Palace stood. Its eyes slit long as if it were looking at an enemy. It tried to shoot its breath towards the palace, intent on wreaking havoc.

Tap!

Jin-woo jumped up and cut the dragon’s jaw with his sword. The scales were so hard that the sword couldn’t cut through them, but he was able to change the direction of its breath.

Kwaaaaaaaargh!

The breath stretched out into the sky, erasing the clouds.

Baaang!

As it exploded, rich energy fell like a rain shower while the Emperor of Disease flew away. When Jin-woo came out of the lair, he saw the Maze and Luna buried in the snow. They appeared relatively uninjured.

‘It doesn’t seem to have weakened at all, but rather…’

Somehow it was growing stronger. The Emperor of Disease landed in the forest and began to ravage its surroundings. Jin-woo looked at the Emperor of Disease with the Magic Eye of Information.

[SS] Emperor of Disease, Arcana

‘Die, couples! Perish from this world!’

An ancient dragon known to have led the destruction of dragons.

It was born with a strong energy that could tune to the nature of the Middle World. However, many dragons could not withstand Arcana’s powerful energy and returned to the arms of nature. No one could withstand Arcana’s power.

Arcana had been single for over five hundred thousand years and awakened dark emotions. Although it became an Emperor who could exercise enormous power, its mind became more and more devastated. It lost its reason to the purest energy of fall that came after seven hundred years. The resentment, hatred, and anger towards the couples caused various diseases, plunging Arcana into madness.

It thinks it would be better for a world like this to disappear.

Special Technique

[S+] Half a Million Years Solo

‘I want to hold your hand at least once.’

It was the power that gave it the title of Emperor. Grudges, hatred, anger, and despair strengthen the Emperor of Disease. Eliminating couples in love can give it a lot of experience points.

[A] Couple Detection

It can detect all couples with a radius of 200 km.

Gwoooooooooo!

Arcana howled. Perhaps because Jin-woo knew the situation through the Magic Eye of Information, it felt like something pitiful rather than overflowing with dignity. Come to think of it; the protagonist created a sweet mood with Luna in front of the Emperor of Disease before. He dealt with the Emperor of Disease while protecting Luna.

How angry would it be?

“…”

What the Maze said now made sense. The Maze was okay because it was a building without gender, but not with the Emperor of Disease. Jin-woo took back what he said about the Emperor. The Emperor of Disease grew sentimental in the fall.

It was a very cold autumn that had come for the first time in seven hundred years, so that was enough to turn its eyes around. It was single for half a million years, and it awakened and became an Emperor with that power. Unless something special happened, its power would become even stronger over time. If another five hundred thousand years passed, wouldn’t it be stronger than the Emperor of Greed?

It was a mess. Its resentment was so great that the mountains and surrounding forests were all melting under its flames, and the earth was being upturned by the flapping of its wings.

“S-so this is the power of an Emperor…! Middle World is in danger if we leave it like this!”

In Luna’s eyes, it looked like the Emperor was trying to destroy Middle-World. It flew around and made a fuss, making it difficult to approach. Likely sensing the festival held in the capital of Raskan Kingdom with its Couple Detection technique, the dragon became even more outraged. It was running wild and moving towards it little by little.

‘I can’t leave it like that…’

It was getting stronger and stronger as it rampaged. Its situation was so pitiful, but it had to be stopped. Jin-woo pondered for a moment while watching the Emperor of Disease. The only one that could easily deal with a dragon was another dragon. But, since it wasn’t the Demon Realm, he couldn’t receive dark mana support.

‘I have Luna here.’

Jin-woo looked at Luna. There was a power that could be used in Middle World.

“Let me borrow your divine power.”

He borrowed divine power through Luna. Although she was only an avatar, Luna was connected to Heaven. The enormous divine power of Heaven was pulled into Jin-woo’s left hand. The amount was large enough to have a huge impact on Heaven, but they couldn’t afford to worry about it right now. The priority was to stop the Emperor of Disease.

Jin-woo took off the bandage and funneled the divine power into his right hand. The energy source, which had been driven by dark mana, was now filled with divine power. Jin-woo’s right hand flashed white. When he reached out his hand, the bones of a huge dragon appeared: white bones that were filled with divine power.

He lifted all the restrictions. Muscles and scales made of divine power were created, changing the dragon.

[S+] Holy Dragon

A dragon born by borrowing the divine power of Heaven through Luna. It has heavenly beauty.

The Emperor of Gold activated and transformed it into a very beautiful and sacred figure. It specializes in defense, recovery, and purification, so its attack power is inferior to that of the Black Flame Dragon.

Luna watched slack-jawed. The dragon, which consisted of enormous divine power, was superior to Luna’s divinity. Luna was the highest, being among the Demon King level, but she wasn’t a match for an Emperor. When Jin-woo reached out his hand, the Holy Dragon flew up.

The Emperor of Disease turned its head and looked at the Holy Dragon. All motion stopped as it solidified as if it had become ice. The half-turned eyes returned to normal. Its pupils widened as if it had received a big shock.

The Holy Dragon attacked the Emperor of Disease. Unlike what the Emperor of Disease had shown so far, it collapsed helplessly and rolled around with the Holy Dragon. Trees soared, and rocks were split. The Emperor of Disease, oddly enough, did not resist.

The Holy Dragon opened its mouth and bit Arcana’s neck, but it didn’t seem to feel any pain. Rather, its eyes were sparkling even more. Luna’s expression blanked out at the incredible sight. The energy that made the surroundings sick gradually softened. The aura of the Emperor, which had been stirred ominously, also began to grow clearer. As the black energy disappeared, the dragon’s clean green scales appeared.

Was it because of the divine power emitted by the Holy Dragon?

[So cool…]

It wasn’t. The emotions that had been built up for half a million years were being resolved, just not in the way Jin-woo expected. The Holy Dragon attacked, but the Emperor of Disease didn’t resist. Rather, it seemed to smile slightly while hugging the Holy Dragon with his wings. It looked so ridiculously happy to those watching.

Ku-kwoooo!

The one who was bewildered was the Emperor of Gold, which dwelled in the Holy Dragon. The Emperor of Gold always had to remain beautiful and elegant, but it was so embarrassing for a moment that it shook. The Holy Dragon was startled by the eyes that seemed to be dripping with honey.

“T-the forest…”

Luna looked around in surprise. The withered forest had returned to normal. No, it became more lively. The Holy Dragon flew into the sky in bewilderment, but the Emperor of Disease followed.

It ran and jumped around, looking very shy. Its long tail waved and drew a heart in the air. It was hard to believe that this dragon was the same Emperor of Disease.

“Umm…”

“Ah…”

Jin-woo and Luna looked at the scene, unsure what to say.

“It’s indeed so pitiful. It cried all the time because it had no partner.”

The Maze that appeared next to them looked up at the sky.

“So I told it the truth that it won’t get one for the rest of its life.”

“I see.”

It is said that the dragon locked itself in the lair after being bombarded with that fact by the Maze. The Maze was still an evil Emperor, after all. The Holy Dragon looked at Jin-woo with desperation in its eyes. It always wanted to come out from the seal, but now it was desperately asking for a reverse-summon.

As the Emperor of Disease caught the Holy Dragon, they fell to the ground, and then the two rolled around the forest again. The Holy Dragon fled, and the Emperor of Disease chased it.

Jin-woo decided to leave them that way for a while.

“A-As expected, it’s a season full of love.”

Luna seemed to be acting out of order.