73 – The Fourth Power
“No more Sirius.”
Ascal declared.
Sushia turned her head with a look of surprise, as if to ask why he was suddenly acting this way.
“This isn’t the direction to Windwall, is it?”
“Sushia.”
“……?”
She had been caught in this dream-like reality, but no more.
“I understand what you were trying to show me. It must have been hard for you to say out loud that the Duke’s family are traitors. And the dragon, too.”
“Wha- what are you talking about all of a sudden. Are you possessed?”
“I’ve seen everything there is to see in this dream. From now on, I’m going to live for myself.”
Suddenly, the man was acting strange.
Sushia seriously considered whether she should run away at this very moment.
“I have a friend. And a horse as well.”
“I-I just don’t understand, Askal.”
“First of all, we need to find Fer.”
Askal had been raising Fer for a long time and knew him well.
What environment he preferred, what food he liked.
Of course, whether he would be there was uncertain.
He just left everything to his own fate.
‘If I fail, I can always kill myself.’
“Hee-haw!”
He found him.
Fer was hiding in a carrot field near the empire.
He often took walks in that direction.
“Look at you, you’re all skin and bones. Poor thing.”
And the carrot field was devastated by the war. Fer had been left hiding in the abandoned field.
Askal extended a carrot he brought along to Fer.
Fer, who had been trembling, slowly approached and ate the carrot.
Askal gently patted Fer’s head to comfort him.
‘Originally, Sirius would have found this guy and ridden him in the Battle of Windwall… but now he’s mine. I can’t give him to anyone.’
In a 3/4 time beat, pat from the left side when patting.
That was the patting method Fer loves.
Fer was puzzled.
It seemed as if he was caught off guard, unsure of why this seemingly stranger seemed so familiar, and astonished by his top-notch patting skills.
“Right. Here’s the carrot.”
Sushia extended a carrot.
Fer kicked the carrot away with its forefoot.
“Eek! Why my carrot!”
“You didn’t shake off the dirt. Fer is sensitive about that.”
After having a full meal of carrots for the first time in ages, Fer emitted a cheerful sound. Then he gently bowed his head, enough for someone to climb onto him.
With this, Fer acknowledged Askal as his owner.
“Tara. Sushia. Next, is the Kingdom of Kelly.”
“Huh, why there?”
The Pegasus spread its wings widely.
Sushia was taken aback.
“It’s flying!”
“While I’m going through such hardships, there’s a guy comfortably sipping honey. I can’t let that slide.”
Windwall battle is yet to come.
Having obtained a high-speed transportation method, Ascal used flight. Their destination is the Kingdom of Kelly.
“Phew. This is happiness. This is life.”
The hot springs of the Kingdom of Kelly.
A young man was enjoying a comfortable bath. Even a tray was floating on the water.
And he took a sip of liquor.
“Keeyaha!”
Sometimes, he would recall his time in the Empire years ago.
Thanks to a series of unbelievable fortunes, he was hailed as the Holy one of the Empire and everyone called him a genius inventor.
However, Burnstein knew.
Fame obtained too easily, fades away just as easily.
And the Empire was clearly on the brink of collapse.
He couldn’t go down sinking with a sinking ship.
Burnstein had been planning since then.
While pretending to proceed with the Empire-requested airship plan, he created a golem that would act as his double.
The airship crashes, and his golem double gets executed in his stead. And Burnstein himself would spend his twilight years comfortably in the Kingdom of Kelly.
He deliberately changed his voice, and cleanly shaved his mustache.
Not even his relatives would be able to recognize him now.
“You’re looking well, Burnstein.”
“I think you’ve got the wrong person. My name is not Burnstein.”
“You look better with a mustache than without.”
But sometimes there is.
A bothersome person who recognizes him.
Burnstein raised his head to look at the other person.
Bernstein broke into a cold sweat.
“Yo-you, the Empire’s demon? Are you here to capture me?”
A man with black hair grinned slyly.
His adversary, the so-called Empire’s demon, was someone even a crying child wouldn’t dare cross.
The tyrant of the Empire, Yulia Barb, was her successor and right hand man.
There was no dodging this situation no matter how much he tried.
Frantically, Bernstein searched for his special smoke bomb that he had always kept with him for such emergencies.
“Is this what you’re looking for?”
“Ho-how did you!”
“You think I don’t recognize your pattern by now? Predictable.”
The Empire’s demon rolled the smoke bomb he had in his hand with a smile.
Swallowing hard, Bernstein asked, “How did you know I was at this hot spring?”
“We belong to the same race. If I were you, I would be doing the same.”
“I can’t understand. We have never even exchanged words before, yet you seem to know me too well…”
Bernstein was not ready to give up yet. He still had one last resort. Captured by the Empire’s demon was not an option. He needed to cherish this newfound freedom.
“I’m not here to capture you.”
“And how am I supposed to believe that?”
“Don’t you want to create a giant golem, Bernstein?”
Ascal knew.
He knew how thrilled Bernstein was when he obtained the rainbow stone from the North.
Ever since that day, Bernstein had locked himself in the lab.
When Ascal went to see what was happening, an excited Bernstein showed him a blueprint.
“Look at this, Ascal. A giant golem. This is why I became an inventor. It was an impossible plan, but with the rainbow stone you found…”
He was nothing more than a pure-hearted craftsman at heart.
“You rummaged through my lab? Ha. That’s preposterous. It’s an area that can’t be touched by humans.”
“Because you don’t have the rainbow stone anyway?”
“Correct. How can I find a material that only exists in legends?”
“But what if you could?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Ha. You’re full of bluff. If you find it, I am your son.”
Ascal took out a rainbow stone from his pocket.
Burnstein’s eyes popped out.
“Father!!!! How!!!”
“I did a little bartering.”
At that moment, a little white-haired girl appeared behind Ascal. She jumped up and reached for the amulet Ascal was holding.
“Give it back, give it back, I left it out while taking a nap. My amulet, sob.”
Ascal stroked the girl’s head.
“I fetched the rainbow stone, now if you help just a bit more, I’ll return your amulet.”
“Really? You cannot lie?”
“Of course.”
Ascal extended the rainbow stone to Burnstein.
“Can you make it. A giant golem.”
“Do you know whether it can be made with just the rainbow stone? Sufficient time and facilities must…”
“You have your lab here too, right?”
Resigned, Burnstein nodded his head.
“Indeed…but it takes well over a year. And that’s only possible because I have parts I made for fun.”
“Make it in a week.”
“Are you mad?”
Ascal grinned.
Looking towards where the white-haired girl stood.
“A year can pass like a week, right?”
“Arghh! Spare me!”
Burnstein screamed in pain from inside the lab. It was the sound of a man being torn apart in real-time.
Not long ago, Ascal had found out something.
If the Black Dragon could stop time, the White Dragon could slow the time.
And in the slowed time, Burnstein was being torn apart quite thoroughly.
“You really are a genius, Burnstein.”
Ascal acknowledged Burnstein.
Indeed, Burnstein was necessary for the empire.
“I cannot possibly let go.
The dark room.
The spider’s leader smiled.
“Finally, our long-term plan is yielding its sweet fruit.”
I truly waited a long time.
Concealing my identity thoroughly, merely for the moment of the empire’s downfall.
“You all did really well. Seventh leg, the assassin. You magnificently assassinated the Minister of Magic.”
A shadowy figure covered with a black mask gave a nod.
“And the counterfeiter plunged the empire’s reputation to its worst.”
A figure with one leg missing laughed coldly.
“Witch, you’re truly cruel. Even using your own child for revenge. Because of the dispute between the two princesses, the empire crossed an uncrossable river. Ah, this is a compliment.”
The witch, with bloodshot eyes, looked down at the mummy.
The mummy, fully covered with bandages, was barely breathing.
– Kill, kill me……
“Make sure you watch clearly as the empire falls with your own eyes, Kamalron Barba.”
The leader rose from his seat.
Eight legs kneeled to the leader.
The spider spun its web.
From this long-spun web, the empire will never be able to escape.
“Fly!!!!”
“Screaaam!”
At that moment, the Askal party was flying.
Askal and Susia were riding a Pher, and Bernstein and the hi-tech golem units were riding on the white dragon that had transformed into its original body.
“Well, on second thought……do we need this large golem when we have this white dragon?”
＜I have a contract with the cloud dragon. I can’t show my power within the Empire. I can only help with transportation.＞
That’s it.
It’s always a cliche.
The very strong helper that can’t join the party due to some restriction.
Askal said,
“Cloud Dragon is now in a state of power loss. You couldn’t stop it even if you ran amok, could you?”
＜…Is it real?＞
“I swear it’s true.”
＜hehehehe.＞
Baekryong has joined the party!