Chapter 368: Reprise - Black Badger

His face was twisted.

That was the first day I ever saw the Emperor express displeasure through his expression.

A visceral revulsion clung to his face.

Jaeyeon.

The moment I became certain, my heart leapt.

If it were the Emperor, he would never make an expression like that. He was a man who would not blink even if an assassin dropped from the ceiling or a dragged-out noble cursed his parents. He would never let disgust show in his eyes just because a Mongmong turned into him.

This was Jaeyeon.

A shapeshifter.

A being that had forgotten even what its original form was.

I wanted to spring up and pin Jaeyeon down.

It wasn’t because I felt humiliated or angry. If anything, in a sense, I was grateful to Jaeyeon. If he hadn’t absorbed the Emperor’s memories like a parasite, I would not have known for a long time how to restore the leaf-veins, or even what the flower was.

Still, I needed to hear how he had met the Emperor. That part, at least, would have lies mixed into it.

But not yet.

Calming myself, I slowly straightened the knee I had bent.

Not yet.

「Are you thinking of setting up a stand-in?」

The one whose foot I had kissed spoke in a voice feigning composure.

「That doesn’t seem very efficient. These things only imitate appearances convincingly.」

「Shall I show you once?」

I now stood straight and met the Emperor at eye level.

A man staring intently at the monster directly in front of him.

「I’ve gathered quite a lot.」

At my words, the Mongmong began to transform.

It was a bizarre sight. Behind the Mongmong imitating the Emperor, people squelched and rose up. Usually they started from the feet. Occasionally, though, there were ones that began from the head.

Mongmong sprouting as if in fast-forward, like a mushroom ecology documentary.

The individuals covering the floor of the Portal Zone began, in sequence, to imitate the Emperor, the Mongmong imitating the Emperor, and yet another Mongmong imitating that Mongmong.

Emperor-mushrooms bloomed everywhere.

「What are you doing?」

I sensed the anger beneath the questioning voice.

「Hildebert?」

The farther a Mongmong was from the Emperor, the more distorted its shape became.

The Portal Zone filled densely with the Emperor and distorted Emperors. Toward that far corner, the Emperor lost his form entirely.

I recalled something the Ice Empress had said to me long ago.

‘They say humans were made in the image of God.’

In our world, the chief god was the World Tree, so I hadn’t understood that saying very well.

Still, I listened quietly.

As far as I knew, the Ice Empress herself was not a religious human.

‘I don’t think it’s wrong. If you forget how wrong it has become, that is. Even if humans were first made following the image of God, humans began to imitate humans who imitated God, and other humans imitated those who attempted imitation, and little by little they changed into twisted forms infinitely different from the shape of God.’

Even now, I didn’t know why she had said that to me.

But if I were to visualize her words, I thought it might look like this.

An appearance breaking down in a gradient.

From Mongmong nearly identical to the Emperor, to Mongmong that could hardly be called human at all—there was a wide range.

Everything that rose from the floor was looking at us.

The original did not relax his creased brow.

The one to break the silence was the Mongmong that had first perfectly replicated the Emperor’s appearance.

「Hildebert?」

The last word the man had uttered.

That word spread like a wave.

「Hildebert?」

Why is the last word my name.

Listening to my name echo through the Portal Zone, I let out a hollow laugh.

This feels strange.

Being surrounded by ninety-eight Mongmong wearing the Emperor’s face and repeating only my name was a truly bizarre experience.

I am pleased that the plan is proceeding smoothly, but—

The audio overlapped so badly that the ends of the name were no longer even audible. Only the sound of ‘Hildebe, Hildebe, Hildebe, Hildebe....’ continued endlessly.

A scene like a cheap horror movie.

If he were the real Emperor, I would already be a dead man.

As I was thinking that, the one presumed to be Jaeyeon suddenly snapped his head to the side.

Suppressed emotions flared behind his sky-blue eyes.

「Is this an insult?」

A growling sound mixed into his voice.

「Why not just cut off my head? If you haven’t forgotten kissing my foot?」

The real Emperor probably would have gotten angry like this too.

If I hadn’t seen his first reaction, I would have been terrified by now. I respected the Emperor, found him daunting, trusted him, and after kissing his ring, I had sworn loyalty.

And all the while, I had feared him.

Not to the same extent as others.

Probably to the degree a prince or princess would have.

That is what absolute power is like. Few people can stand before omnipotent authority without fear. If you have something to lose, you cannot help but feel afraid.

Fear carried for a long time remains in the body and does not disappear.

But the long span of time in which fear and respect were carved into my body gave me a clear answer.

This one is not my former liege.

Never.

「I apologize.」

I replied with a polite smile.

「If you were displeased, I will have them change form.」

An emergency exit at the corner of the Portal Zone opened.

A hidden door slid aside, revealing an entrance.

Through it walked a Mongmong that had transformed into a human.

The ninety-ninth Mongmong.

This was the one Kairos had kept outside the emergency zone for this moment.

It should have been the hundredth Mongmong, but because Yun killed one, it had become the ninety-ninth instead.

It had the same face as the person hanging in Erich Erhart’s gallery.

「I will have them change into that form.」

No sooner had I finished speaking than dozens of Emperor-shaped Mongmong snapped their heads around.

Once again, a wave of imitation began to surge.

This time, it started from the very end.

The Mongmong farthest from us began changing into a clear human form.

The Emperor’s appearance was erased. The expressionless sky-blue eyes collapsed, and different eyes took their place. Upturned eye corners. A refined nose. A face of indeterminate nationality emerged.

The Mongmong began imitating another Mongmong once more.

Again, the situation was the same.

The closer they got to us, the more their forms collapsed.

Now, the ones nearby became soft and formless, losing their shape.

But strangely, the upturned eye corners kept remaining....

Puhk!

Huh.

The Mongmong closest to me burst.

It was torn apart by sharp claws and collapsed. What had been forming lost its cohesion and splattered wetly across the floor.

Claws sharp enough to tear a living being apart.

I looked at the one who had killed the Mongmong.

A bizarre sight entered my vision. It was gripping its own face with both hands and tearing it sideways. The Emperor’s face stretched outward like slime, pulled to either side.

The facial features elongated until they flattened, and then different features took their place.

Sharp eyes and a high nose.

Eyes that hated everything in the world.

「Jaeyeon.」

The moment anger flashed in his eyes, the ninety-ninth Mongmong opened its mouth.

Words Kairos had taught it.

「Jaeyeon.」

A wave of the word crashed.

「Jaeyeon.」

“Shut up!”

Jaeyeon shrieked.

“Shut up!!”

It was a shriek that seemed like it would tear the air apart.

“Shut up!!”

***

“Oh.”

In the control room, Yun, watching the screen with his arms crossed, let out the sound.

“As expected, this is interesting.”

“Indeed.”

Kairos replied, rubbing his chin with his hand.

“It’s a fascinating sight.”

Deep curiosity settled in the tamer’s orange eyes.

“Something like a Creature from another dimension, I suppose.”

Jaeyeon had lost his composure.

With bloodshot eyes, he was tearing apart the Mongmong surrounding him. Hildebert stood a few steps behind him, quietly observing the situation. His left hand rested on the pommel of the sword he wore.

The two men in the control room looked at the blinking golden eyes.

A face that did not seem particularly surprised or afraid.

The greatest swordsman on Earth did not move from his spot.

It looked like he was waiting for the Emperor’s form to be completely washed away from Jaeyeon’s body.

Waiting for the neat blond hair to grow longer and change color.

For the ring mark left on his finger to disappear, and for all the blue veins standing out on his arms to vanish.

“He’s probably not in perfect condition yet.”

“Yes.”

The moment Jaeyeon turned his body toward Hildebert, Kairos prepared to dash out of the control room.

His gaze fixed on Jaeyeon’s hair as it darkened into a deep brown.

“If he charges, we’ll subdue him with the surviving Mongmong and move to the Portal Zone.”

Yun acknowledged with silence.

Jaeyeon took a posture as if he were about to rush Hildebert.

But the one who moved first was Hildebert.

“Hm?”

Thud!

With a heavy sound, Jaeyeon was slammed into the ground.

Yun and Kairos watched Hildebert skillfully mount Jaeyeon sprawled on the floor and restrain him with both knees.

In an instant, Jaeyeon’s movements were cut off.

Hildebert grabbed Jaeyeon by the collar and pulled him slightly upward.

As he bent his body, white hair spilled down over Jaeyeon.

[Hello, Jaeyeon.]

There was no anger in Hildebert’s voice as he addressed him.

[Thanks for telling me all sorts of things.]

Seen through the curtain of white hair, Hildebert was smiling broadly.

Perhaps he was glad about everything—the fact that he had completely stepped outside protocol, that he had obtained various bits of information, and that the possibility of the war’s direction being twisted had been eliminated.

There must also have been the joy of finally reaching an answer.

Without wiping away his smile, Hildebert added,

[Since it’s come to this, let me ask you a few more things.]

[Fuck! Fuuck!!]

[Where did you meet the Emperor?]

Hildebert naturally ignored Jaeyeon’s screaming.

Even listening from the control room, it was painful to the ears, yet Hildebert, hearing it from right beside him, did not blink once.

[How did you meet him?]

The tendons stood out on Hilde’s wrist as he gripped Jaeyeon’s collar.

[Please, tell me. Now that it’s come to this, there’s nothing to lose by telling me, right?]

Jaeyeon let out a strangled shriek.

He struggled desperately to escape from beneath Hildebert. Thrashing his limbs viciously, he poured out curses nonstop.

But Hildebert was not startled. The man did not even raise an eyebrow as he calmly released the hand gripping the collar.

Then he drove a blow into Jaeyeon’s solar plexus.

[Kuhk!]

Yun whistled.

Kairos relaxed the tension in his legs and stood comfortably.

“No need to worry.”

[I’m sorry for dragging this out in such an insulting way.]

Hildebert said calmly as he looked down at the coughing Jaeyeon.

[But you’re the one who deceived me first, aren’t you?]

[How dare you shove that dogshit inferior copy in my face? You rootless Creature bastard!!]

[So you definitely met the Emperor. There was nothing strange in the memory of the final moment, so you clearly met the Emperor after I jumped into the dimensional gate.]

Hildebert opened his palm and pressed firmly into the center of Jaeyeon’s collarbone.

Then, baring his teeth, he calmly looked down at the excited opponent.

[Tell me. When did you meet him?]

[Get lost.]

Jaeyeon spat.

Hildebert calmly pulled Jaeyeon’s sleeve over and wiped away the spit.

[We can keep doing this.]

He watched Jaeyeon, who began spewing curses as if possessed.

[Let’s not make this harder than it has to be. There’s no need for that anymore.]

Jaeyeon seethed for a long while.

He struggled, then spat curses, then tried to claw with his nails.

But whether Jaeyeon left scratch marks on his leg or not, Hildebert did not blink once.

Instead, he dispassionately looked down at Jaeyeon’s thrashing, then calmly asked again,

[Did you see his ring too?]

The smile had now vanished from Hildebert’s mouth.

[Is it true that a dragon entered and activated the dimensional gate? If so, which dimension did you meet the Emperor in, and what happened to the others?]

Jaeyeon reached out, trying to draw Hildebert’s sword.

Hildebert crushed Jaeyeon’s wrist in his grip.

Lifting the wrist, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ he asked,

[What happened to Grand Duke Jacques?]

The veins bulged on the hand gripping the wrist.

[And Kysis?]

At that moment, Jaeyeon burst into laughter.

It was a convulsive laugh.

Throwing his head back, Jaeyeon laughed hysterically. Hildebert and the two men in the control room wiped all expression from their faces as they watched Jaeyeon laugh until he seemed about to lose his breath. None of the three were frightened, curious, or disturbed.

All of them simply wore expressions that said, ‘There he goes again,’ waiting for what would come next.

But at the words Jaeyeon spat out next, Hildebert’s blank expression shattered.

Laughing so hard he seemed about to tear apart, Jaeyeon shouted sharply,

[You’ll never see him again for the rest of your life!]

It was a cry filled with delight.

[For the rest of your life!]