A story from the past. Fall of the Gold Country
Gold lost its value when there was too much gold.
Until the phenomenon happened, people didn’t even know it was possible. The adage to look at gold like a stone also meant to caution against being buried in the value of gold, not expecting it to equal the value of a real stone.
After experiencing it, humans tried to explain the phenomenon by giving it names such as the golden curse or inflation. Seonghwangcheong, who grasped the situation, urgently built ‘clean’ gold to guarantee the value of gold.
Other countries also watched the fall of the golden kingdom, tweaked their systems, and made countermeasures. There were also those who specialized in the field of economics. With this, humans have discovered one more thing that does not exist in the world.
However, the foundation was built on the ruins of the Golden Kingdom.
A few months after Demo was executed. The chaos in the gold country grew out of control.
Artisans who had been pushed out of power took up arms and rose up. They colluded with the local powers to provide them with quality weapons, and pushed into the center to regain power. There seemed to be no one to stop them from advancing while executing the alchemist.
But after Demo’s death, the alchemists did not stand still.
Alchemists used alchemy to create weapons that would kill people. It didn’t have to be a weapon like a spear or a sword. Poison, gunpowder, machinery, traps, etc. Alchemists have evolved to survive and kill enemies.
War leads to technological advancement. Over the past few years, alchemy, which was used only for making gold, has gradually expanded its scope. All kinds of bizarre tools were created, most of which were to kill humans. The alchemists who made mechanical devices without a furnace or a workshop committed all kinds of terror and threw the country into further chaos.
The superiority and inferiority of technology is clear. But how can artisans accept alchemy? The artisans tried to kill the alchemists in the classic way, and the relatively weak alchemists continued to resist by avoiding them in extraordinary ways.
Battle, destruction, death, chaos. It didn’t take long before the gold country was covered in blood and flames.
The whole country became the enemy of the alchemist, but the alchemist remained very clear. It was because of their excellent abilities, but above all, because of a specter wandering in the forbidden country.
“King Elric! Stop him!”
The artisans who drove out the alchemists and regained power did not respect the king as much as before. No matter how excellent the king’s technology was, it was inferior to alchemy. For those who saw the greater mysteries, the pinnacle of technology did not stand out too much.
Above all, this is the age of power. The things King Elric made were excellent, but not powerful. No matter how sharp a famous sword is, what’s the point if the person who wields it is weak? Power was held by warlords, and the king was treated like a puppet.
Her warlords wouldn’t even consider her king if it weren’t for her alchemist’s ability to comprehend her intricate contraptions just by looking at them.
“The treacherous Demo did not say that he was dead! But he is still roaming the forbidden country and using alchemy!”
Even now, it was difficult to say that they treated me like a king.
Elric, who had been overworked yesterday as well, answered the general’s request by rubbing his eyes.
“Isn’t he restoring collapsed buildings and returning contaminated land? There are many more pressing matters to deal with right now.”
“Ha. The royal road has run out of guns! Do you really think so?”
I don’t have the strength to rebuke him even for rude words. At this point, the most powerful person in the kingdom is the general, and King Elric has been reduced to a crown on his head. King Elric waited for his words with his weary face.
“Alchemy. He’s using alchemy now! People who do not know anything express their gratitude to him for returning the building to its original state. Sometimes fools worship alchemists, and even help them! It’s all because of him that the country has become like this, but believe only what you see with your own eyes and lift him up! I don’t even know if it’s a cursed power!”
I’m sure he’ll thank you for returning the building. If people’s cheers are dissatisfaction, shouldn’t he build a building instead?
King Elric swallowed the sarcasm and replied.
“Then you go and stop the demo. Wouldn’t that be okay?”
“That is…”
The general paused for a moment.
Nothing worked for the demo. No matter what weapon he wielded, no matter what poison he used, he did not die. He didn’t pretend to listen even when I spoke to him, and he just kept making things while wandering around the forbidden country.
Once, one of his subordinates brandished a sword at him. He wanted to set an example by killing Demo once more.
However, the ensuing scene… The obstruction ‘decomposes’.
Recalling his memory, the general closed his eyes and replied.
“…He’s out of line. I mean, I heard a demon.”
I have no choice but to express it that way. Blades that are not enough to be called the famous swords of the century appeared in an instant and dismantled humans. The sight of the long-lived longevity disintegrating and scattering across the ground was beyond fear and made the game go away.
Even the priest who came from Seonghwangcheong retreated muttering that it was a demon or something. It was not intrusive to those who had to oppose alchemy. It was for that reason that the general made a request to King Elric.
Of course, from King Elric’s point of view, it was a thrilling sound. If King Elric had power, he would be the first to wipe out the monks who were greedy for power.
But to see her out of the blue and go to deal with her ghost. She let out her curse words in her mind and let out a sigh.
“What does Jim do with that?”
“Isn’t it the king to solve that? Kings have mystical powers from generation to generation.”
He sends an unfounded belief that if he is a king, he will do something about a subject he can’t solve. Does he believe in the king or does he not?
Even though King Elric smiled dejectedly, he decided to follow the general’s will.
“I will go. Get ready.”
Perhaps he didn’t know that he would accept it so easily, the general paused for a while before shouting.
“His Majesty is coming. Prepare everyone!”
King Elric struggled as he rode the palanquin.
Like her gold king, she had no way of dealing with her demo. In the first place, she didn’t even want to deal with her demonstration of trying to get her gold back even in death.
The country is full of idiots who use the king for their loyalty and destroy the golden kingdom to protect it. The collapsed economy does not even intend to recover, and even the artisans who have it can’t do productive work because they make weapons. In the meantime, the chief dies and the evil alchemists are pouring indiscriminate attacks throughout the forbidden country.
If King Elric takes care of the demo in the middle of this, the situation will only get worse.
But why did he go to Demo? The reason was simple.
It’s just that it’s easier to watch the demo than the general.
After a full day of searching, I heard that it was found in a remote mountain valley village. While looking for the demo, King Elric chose his words for a moment.
It was a terrible delusion that I felt more comfortable watching the demo than the general. It is her pupil she taught, she raised, and she killed. Even as he died bearing the stigma of a high treason, what should I say to him that he would rise again and mend what was broken.
When he was alive, he was hated and regarded as the culprit of all troubles, but now he misses him the most.
If it was a demo, if he was still alive. Like when he turned the bell into gold, he may have revived the gold country in a way no one could have imagined…
But that is already in the past. Demo is dead. Only thoughts remain on the unburied corpse, wandering the forbidden land. It was unexpected that he even used alchemy, but maybe that was a miracle created by Demo’s tenacity.
King Elric lowered his head. What do you mean by seeing him again? He’d rather never arrive, he wished he had.
Disappointing her king’s expectations, her palanquin carrying her reached the front of her demonstration. King Elric took a deep breath inside the palanquin and opened the door.
I see him fixing a collapsed house in the distance. Yuria Elric called out his name, swallowing her sadness and longing.
“…Demo.”
There is no answer. Demo doesn’t respond. With a face as pale as a corpse, he stirs his hands. The broken roof is put back together.
I thought I wouldn’t be familiar with you, but when I see you again, the worries I’ve had until now disappear like a mirage. YuRia approached him warmly and spoke to her.
“The teacher came and didn’t even say hello. You have to play a sutra to use it.”
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My voice cannot reach him who moves with his thoughts. Knowing that he couldn’t reach her, Yuria wasn’t disappointed. Instead, she watched him intently.
There is no blood in her pale face. Snow lost his old firearms. It does not respond to any other stimuli and wanders in search of a broken spot. If you find something broken, put it back with alchemy.
The village, which was in ruins, is gradually becoming like a new one. How long will it take to witness a productive sight in a forbidden country where destruction and death are rampant? It’s something I usually do, but seeing it again now gives me a new feeling. YuRia, who had been watching the process for a long time as if in a state of fascination, suddenly said,
“Why do you have so much resentment that you can’t close your eyes… The country that killed you is so deeply trodden in your eyes.”
Needless to say. Remaining thoughts after death . Even in death, rather than hating the king, he must have worried about the ruined gold country. YuRia suppressed her overflowing emotions, and she sobbed softly as she grabbed Demo’s shoulder.
“Only you. Even in death, you are the only one who will serve the Golden Kingdom. Everyone else, rather than thinking about fixing it… They’re only looking out for my safety.”
Then a strange thing happened.
The demo didn’t move. As if recognizing his king, he stopped moving and stared at YuRia.
Actually, it was because Hwang Geum-gyeong simply couldn’t judge whether it was an obstacle or not, but Yuria didn’t know that fact. Knowing that he was feeling the slightest bit, he only hugged him tighter.
“…I have come too many times. Jim, no, how can I repay this debt to you…”
It was a time when he delivered an apology that he hadn’t been able to live with in a voice that seemed to be cut off.
Suddenly. Something cut Yuria’s back. Her back was burning as if it had been burned by fire, and YuRia’s body staggered greatly from the unexpected shock. A cold voice followed the blade.
“I knew it would be like this. The king is lukewarm, so the alchemists don’t disappear.”
Behind her as she fell helplessly, a general appeared holding up a bloody sword. The general murmured as he looked at the dying king with cold eyes.
“If His Majesty were found dead here, they would think she died from an attack by alchemists. I can mobilize the self-proclaimed loyalists who are loyal to the king in disguise.”
Yuria finally realized that she had fallen into a trap.
Her general intended to kill her from the beginning, and urged her Elric to find her, knowing that her demo was on her outskirts. He intended to kill her and lay the blame on her alchemist.
King Elric’s powers have been handed down from ancient times. No matter how chaotic the kingdom is, no matter how incompetent the king is. There are many people who pay homage to the bloodline. The general intended to use them.
“If we want to root out alchemists hidden throughout the country, the country has to act as one. I will make good use of Your Majesty’s life.”
When the general coldly turned his back, the still Demo moved.
Death is the breaking down of the boundary between oneself and the world. As Yuria died, she became an object, and alchemy touched her body as well.
When a human dies, he becomes an object. No, he is a thing even when he is alive in the first place. It’s just that it’s hard to reach outside forces because of resistance.
Demo recognizes her broken Yuria and begins the process of fixing her.
Without any consideration, from a purely mechanical point of view.
“Ugh…!”
It can’t be. A part of her lifeless body became the target of alchemy, and it was not Yuria’s body, but pretended to be hers. Her severed muscles are forcibly knotted, and the broken bones are joined together as if whitewashing. Every time the body twists in terrible pain, the improvised body suffers greater damage.
Each time his attempt was repeated, Yuria suffered the pain of a whole side of her body falling off.
In the distant future, Golden Kyung, who made crops with alchemy, learns how they form a body. The Golden Sutra, which had not yet been collected, was not so omnipotent. Steel King Yuria Elric screamed in agony of being dismembered alive.
But.
Yuria felt refreshed despite her terrible pain. I felt like I deserved this pain that no one could bear to describe. Even though his power kneads every corner of her body and changes it arbitrarily, not a sense of repulsion, but an immoral pleasure comes first.
“…If anything, the other side.”
It might be better to be part of him than to suffer while being a mere king.
Existence is melting. Her demon takes her away. The King of Steel, who once mastered all his skills, changed his existence into an alchemy substance… And became the material that made up the Golden Mirror.