Life didn't get easier, even in another world-Chương 421: Emperor

Figures, not like anything he'd ever seen or imagined in his life, were emerging from thin air while making weird noises and giving out threatening auras.

"...."

All remaining colors drained from the young man's face. The scene in front of him, these monsters, for him, were all a sign of his nearing death.

"Aren't you a swordsman? Pick up your weapon."

The redhead's voice rang out again. It was an annoyingly calm voice when they were in this kind of situation.

"We don't like this child's corpse to be eaten away by some monsters."

"....."

The corpse... It was... Could things get worse than this for his friend? If even his corpse gets eaten away then...

How was Arthur supposed to deal with it?

With one glance at the enemies and one at the red-haired man, Arthur pulled out his old sword, the sword that his friend had once gifted him, out of its scabbard and stood up. He didn't know what had happened here and neither was he sure what was going on, but one thing he was sure of was that he couldn't die here yet.

"If I figure out you're the one behind this,"

He once again glanced at Reynold's shattered and cracked-up body which didn't have a single drop of blood to bleed.

"I'll make sure to exact revenge."

"Do as you please."

Roy held out his palm in the air. Golden light cracked around his hand before it all condensed into one firm shape. A sword. The man's hand moved horizontally from one side to the other. What happened next was beyond logic. A trail of gold shot out from the tip of his sword and moved on in the air while slashing anything on its course into half.

BANG

The thing hit boulders after slashing all the monsters and exploded, creating a frightening shockwave.

"...."

The young swordsman couldn't even swallow his saliva. Was there really a need for him on this battlefield?

"Do you want to learn this?"

The redhead gave him a sideway glare while preparing another slash.

Did he want to learn that attack? Was there any need to think about that question? If it was possible for him, then he'd do anything and everything to achieve such a feat!

"Then follow me from now on."

The fate of this land depended on its people. The only choice for them to survive was to fight, and the only way for them to fight these monsters was to adapt to the changes and grasp the newfound opportunities.

The Reason was dead and of its death, different entities were born, each capable of wielding a different authority. It seemed that fracture didn't only apply to the gods, but also the whole mass of universal energies. It could also be the result of the change he has forced into his plans. Whatever the cause was, Roy could understand one thing: The clash with the wave of Chaos has shifted something in the natural flow of powers in this world. It allowed them to be separated from each other and affect the world in various ways.

It also meant that from now on, the humans living in this world might be able to possess and wield a small portion of a single division of universal powers.

It was the first time Roy had witnessed such a phenomenon. He had to pay a great price to come to find out about this fact and had no intentions of ignoring it. What did that child say just a while ago? Something about his life, if his memory served him right. How could he waste such a precious chance that was bestowed upon him?

"We'll find a way."

Find a way to save this land. Find a way to help these people adjust to their new world. Find a way to oppose Chaos. He'd find a way. Who knew where that child would be reborn? It could be this world or another one. He should at least try to create a universe safe for him. Let's start by sorting out the matters of this world and then move on to the others and proceed to install machines and investigate other methods to fight against annihilation. He didn't want that child's newfound life to be destroyed because of this stupid Chaos once again, did he?

"Sir, they are all taken care of."

Roy snapped out of his daze and looked at the people kneeling down in front of him. How many days has it been since the disaster began? A bunch of weeks must've passed. In the meantime, he's gathered a number of survivors. Some were good fighters while some had management skills. They were all quick-witted and smart enough to survive until he found and saved them all.

"But sir..."

One of the survivors placed down his sword and cast a weary peek at him.

"How should we address you?"

Roy gave a tilt to his neck. How to address him? Hasn't he ever told these people his name?

"R-"

Roy paused before he could finish his word. His gaze moved through the faces of the survivors until it fell on a young man standing at the far back of the group. A blonde-haired blue-eyed swordsman, his very first companion.

"Reyn. Reynold."

Upon the boy's scowl, the redhead averted his gaze.

"Call me Reynold."

. . . . . . . . .

"Are you leaving?"

Turning around, Roy found a middle-aged blonde man leaning on the door. He held a sword in between his folded arms while his blue pupils locked on Roy with an intense gaze.

"Why? You don't want me to?"

"Aren't you our emperor?"

Roy waved his hand in the air.

"Select another one."

The man pointed at a bunch of stuff piled up on the table.

"What about those?"

Roy was just about to decide what to do with this stuff. He reached out a hand and picked up a necklace that lay above all of the other accessories. There was a familiar pattern engraved on but it had an alien feeling to it.

"I've told you about the power stored within his accessories."

"That they can curse people."

"Yes."

"And boost their power."

"Yes."

"So?"

Roy shrugged his shoulders.

"I can't bring myself to destroy them."

It was a selfish and dangerous decision of his to keep these ominous objects, but Roy just couldn't get rid of them. He wasn't sure what calamities these accessories could bring the people of this land neither did he want to think about it. He wasn't responsible for every little thing happening here. They could be used to save people or massacre them, and that all depended on the people of this world, not him.

"Do whatever you want with them."

"....Alright."

Arthur gave a slight nod to his head. The redhead put down the necklace and pulled up his hood.

"Are you leaving?"

"After doing some cleanup."

There was nothing else left for him to do here. He'd spend decades saving people and teaching them how to survive. Before he knew, he'd even treated a nation for them. What else could he do?

"...And you haven't changed at all."

Arthur chuckled after stealing one glance at the man's face that was as young as the first day they'd met. It's been years. He's grown to become middle-aged, but this redhead was always the same.

"Obviously."

Roy chuckled as he passed by the swordsman and left the room. By the time Arthur turned around, the man was gone.

"...And you never told me the truth."

He'll probably never understand the exact thing that happened to his lone friend on that dreadful day, decades ago.

. . . . . . . .

"Three red stars thundering in the dark sky..."

His fingers grazed past the jotted-down notes. The book and its contents seemed familiar. Was it one of the books written by Reynold? But some of the handwritings were different. It seemed someone else had jotted down some details on it later on. There was also a painting on the wall and some other stuff related to the temples.

Was it done by one of the children living here?

Roy circled on his heels and looked around. The village where Reynold used to live was now mostly destroyed. Not many monsters approached this location due to the existence of the temple, but the place had been abandoned for ages. This place was one of the first locations that Roy and Arthur rushed to when the disaster befell and evacuated the children living here.

"They would've been safer if they stayed here though."

Back then, Roy had no idea this temple could fend off monsters. Thinking of it, there was no guarantee that it would keep staying that way forever. Things might change. Probably one day, it could be a lair to a tremendously strong monster.

"Whatever."

There was nothing much here either. There was only one more location to visit before he got rid of these temples and left this land. He couldn't possibly leave such dangerous structures intact. Who knew how would the people of this world abuse this technology?

With a flash movement, Roy switched locations in an instant. The place he found himself at was a dry land void of any life. The temple that came to him was greatly damaged.

"..."

The first temple he'd built in this world.

'If my memory serves me right, there was an underground residence here...'

The entrance was found after a few moments of searching and the man finally set foot inside the damp and dark pathway. Inside were a few rooms and the final room was where the machine laid in.

There was not much inside the first room except for some... childish drawings and language practices.

"...Why are they all... a man with messy long hair?"

Roy tossed the notebook aside and headed into the machine room. It was risky to destroy the machine, as it might affect the current balance of the world, so he only sealed the entrance, just like he'd done to the other three machines.

Stepping out of the pathway, the man sent one last glance before proceeding to destroy the building, when his gaze suddenly froze.

On one side of the central platform, a small sketch could be seen. It was a rough drawing of a man holding a torch.

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"....."

A distant yet clear memory whirled within his mind, bringing up the bright face of a little child to his sight.

"...Fool."

His raised up arm lowered down, clenched tight. The redhead let out a shaky breath and changed his course towards the platform. His fingers grazed past the engraved drawing.

"...There shouldn't be any problems with being a little bit selfish, right?"

In the end, he couldn't bring himself to erase that boy's traces.

Bzzzzz

Golden cracks burst out of his palm and spread around before engulfing the whole structure in a pale light. The flash lasted only for a brief second.

"This should be enough."

The power of time shall protect this place from the bitter bites of history.