Volume 9, Chapter 24 – The Survivor’s Revenge

Heat.

Like being trapped in a steamer, or roasted under the scorching sun, the heat rushing in from all directions, carrying thick smoke, caused searing pain on his skin and in his nasal passages. His throat felt as if it had been scalded by boiling water, each exhale bringing an indescribable agony.

But the man named Gore Harile did not give up. Although he didn’t know what had caused all this—the sky turning black without warning, followed by heavenly fire and thunder as if the apocalypse had arrived—the seaside city, peaceful just a moment ago, had transformed into a hellish tableau of miserable cries in the blink of an eye.

He was searching for something.

Although his body constantly warned him that he might die here if he didn’t leave, his sense of honor as an imperial soldier and the responsibility he carried prevented him from abandoning the Eldest Princess and leaving alone. For him, who had sworn an oath to the King, the Eldest Princess’s life was paramount. From the moment he joined the imperial army, his life belonged to the Empire.

However, despite climbing over countless collapsed beams and overturning innumerable piles of rubble, he still couldn’t find the Eldest Princess, no matter how hard he tried. She seemed to have vanished from the world, leaving no trace behind.

He couldn’t help but hesitate.

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He knew this was just a dream. Even so, if he could find the Eldest Princess in the dream, it might somewhat alleviate the shame and regret that had plagued him for fifteen long years. Unfortunately, even in his dreams, he couldn’t fulfill the strongest wish of his life.

He woke up.

He opened his eyes.

The familiar brown ceiling, and the strong scent of incense produced in the Empire. The surroundings were unnervingly quiet.

The nightmare that had haunted him for years had appeared again. The lingering regret and guilt made Gore clench his fists. He lay motionless for a long while before letting out a long sigh, throwing off the covers, and getting out of bed.

“That dream again…”

He casually grabbed the towel by the bedside and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Gore began to dress. With his title as an Imperial General, he could easily have up to six maids in his room, but Gore did not share the decadent tastes of the imperial nobility. Coming from a commoner background, he had always preferred a simple and concise way of doing things. Even though the Emperor often teased him, saying he was ‘just like a mountain village woodcutter,’ Gore had never changed his habits. If the tragedy of the heavenly fire that burned the city hadn’t happened fifteen years ago, perhaps he would have tried to learn noble etiquette. But ever since that incident, he felt he had lost the right to enjoy such things.

Recalling the past once more, the escalating self-blame finally made him want to vent his frustration on something. He slammed his fist hard against the wall. The heavy impact made the wall emit a dull ‘thud,’ and immediately after, the entire mansion vibrated from his blow.

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“Damn it!”

The low curse was directed both at the disaster back then and at his useless self who had ultimately survived.

More than thirty years ago, before joining the imperial army, Gore had been just an ordinary farmer, known only for being slightly stronger and able to fight low-level monsters alone. He owed his entry into the army entirely to the appreciation of the Emperor at the time, and he had always taken pride in this. Through hard work, he had climbed step by step to become one of the Emperor’s confidants. A few years after that, Gore encountered the mission that would change his destiny.

Protect the Eldest Princess of the Empire, and return her to the Emperor after the troubles were resolved.

At that time, the Norta Empire was still called the ‘Norta Kingdom.’ Due to the existence of the nobility system, it wasn’t the monolithic entity it was now. To solve the long-standing poverty and weakness and the suppression by the Kingdom, the 15th Emperor planned meticulously, devising a plan to abolish the nobility system and consolidate all power in the King’s hands. But in a country tending towards stability, especially one with an ancient heritage, such an approach would undoubtedly provoke the nobles’ discontent. It wouldn’t have been surprising if the Norta Kingdom had fragmented overnight. Thus, the 15th Emperor decided to leave the real changes to his heir, while he himself weakened the nobles’ power directly or indirectly through various decrees.

After the 15th Emperor passed away, the succeeding 16th Emperor, aiming to fulfill his father’s last wish, quickly began to purge the weakened nobility, reclaiming power and land for the crown. According to the previous Emperor’s estimates, this process should have taken at most five years—assuming no one leaked the plan.

When a whistleblower informed the nobles of the King’s plan in advance, they finally realized that the power in their hands was already fragile, and the royal family’s military strength was despairingly overwhelming. To avoid losing their noble status, they naturally united and launched a preemptive, silent strike before the royal family could implement its plan, plunging the Empire into decades of war.

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Gore’s mission stemmed from this.

The 16th Emperor could not guarantee that his eldest daughter would survive the assassins. To keep her out of the conflict, the King entrusted her to Gore, ordering him to lead several other confidants and let the Eldest Princess live incognito until the war ended, at which point she would reclaim her rightful throne.

Gore, honored by the trust placed in him, accepted and swore that even if he died, he would not let the Eldest Princess come to harm. Then came the result everyone knew: he failed. Even worse, he was the sole survivor from the entire city. Although everyone, including the current Emperor, said it was a natural disaster and no one blamed Gore, who had clearly tried his best and was found looking like nothing more than charcoal, the lack of blame only plunged Gore deeper into a vortex of self-recrimination. He desperately wished that he had been the one to die instead of the Eldest Princess; that would have been a blessing. But instead, he, the one who had sworn an oath to the previous Emperor, was the one who survived. Sometimes Gore felt that the imperial medals on his chest were like a pair of eyes, constantly mocking him, exposing his cowardice and fear.

Of course, Gore hadn’t been cowardly or timid back then. But the fact that he alone survived made him feel that he should have tried harder, that his survival meant he hadn’t searched diligently enough.

A low growl rumbled in his throat. Gore took several deep breaths, slowly calming the turmoil of negative emotions within him. Facing the mirror, he straightened his collar. The crisp uniform allowed him to temporarily forget his regrets.

“Until I find the Eldest Princess’s body, I absolutely cannot give up. Whether it’s finding Her Highness, or finding the one who caused that heavenly disaster.”

As if making a vow, Gore warned the reflection in the mirror with eyes full of fierce determination. Then, he pulled a folded letter from his breast pocket. With a gentle touch uncharacteristic for his age, he slowly unfolded it. Although he had already memorized this letter, which had arrived several days ago, he couldn’t help but frequently unfold it and review its contents.

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It was a personal letter from the 17th Emperor, the current Emperor Adonis Eli Gloria. As for the content…

Wage war against the Chloe Kingdom, with the ultimate goal of incorporating all the small countries on the Empire’s border into the Norta Empire’s territory.

“Finally… has this day finally come… Your Majesty?”

His calmed heart surged once more. The hand holding the letter trembled slightly.

“Your Highness, the Eldest Princess… I finally have a chance… to atone for my sin against you.”

No one understood why Gore hated Lin. That was because Gore had always buried this secret deep in his heart. Only he, the sole survivor of the disaster, knew that the Hero Lin carried the exact same aura as the one present during the catastrophe.

That was the Calamity That Brings Ruin. The Witch of Destruction.