Royal Castle Of The Fallen Kingdom.

After the Arch-lich was destroyed, there were no attacks at all.

Because the tyrant’s movements were so different from my previous life, we had to stay on edge and move as if heading to an unknown expedition destination. It had already been four days like that.

At the hour when everyone except the night watch was asleep.

The items this Arch-lich dropped(?) were not numerous so much as they were varied, so I had to put them into the subspace pouch.

Come to think of it, that Unos guy is really like a giving tree.

‘He gives me a registration card, a subspace magic pouch, even summons Kailum, and even lets me test Deicide and Destruction…’

Not all beasts are like that, but Ancient Prime Beasts and the top-tier beasts just below them possess subspace, differing only in size.

That subspace is not a magical system but something like a kind of authority, and when that beast is killed or destroyed, the various treasures stored there pour out as if items had dropped in a game.

However, there are beasts that possess subspace even though they are not top-tier. Specifically, humanoid, or rather mage-type, monsters and beasts.

A representative example is the Black Oak master shaman, and the Arch-lich is included as well. Apparently the Elder Death Knight also falls into this category.

When I stormed the tyrant in my previous life, I never met an Arch-lich or an Elder Death Knight. What I encountered then was only an undead legion and a drake knight order.

Anyway, what I’m examining now are the items dropped by the Arch-lich, and since they are mostly books, I’m sorting them.

While I was sorting the floating items, which looked like smartphone icons, by category, I found an unexpected item.

『The History Book of the Leopold Ducal House』

It was clearly a book from the book-shaped icon, but an Archlich storing a family history book… Interesting.

When I took it out and placed it on my crossed legs, it was so large it spilled beyond my knees.

‘Confirm.’

It’s already thick and large enough as a book. And yet it contains far more content, they say.

When I opened the first page, it was written in elegant handwriting like this.

Even if you’re slow, run like a turtle; even if you’re fast, don’t race like a rabbit.

“Huh? Turtle? Rabbit? Rabbit and turtle? That running fairy tale?”

When I turned to the next page in confusion, the page was blank. The page after that, too… all blank.

‘Tch…’

Well, of course. It was the family’s history book that I had kept carrying even after becoming a lich, so there was no way it was fake. If it says authentication, doesn’t that mean it has to be bloodline-based?

“Uh? Y-yeah, yes.”

With my words of consent, a line of writing slowly appeared on the blank-looking page.

A rabbit and a turtle raced. Who won?

“…The turtle?”

A fox and a crane invited each other to dinner. Who ate to their fill?

“…Neither of them could eat, right?”

This woman is the very symbol of stupidity. Anyone can tell the one who killed her father was the stepmother, and after fleeing from the stepmother trying to kill her, she readily gulps down a poisoned apple given by a complete stranger of a ‘woman.’ Who is this woman?

“Snow White?”

‘No way… well, it’s not like something this ridiculous is going to show up, right?’

Surprised? You were surprised, weren’t you? You brat, of course you were. Puhahaha! If you’re reading this, that means you answered each one dutifully, right? My, how conscientious.

“Damn it, really, this guy!!”

There was only one being who could do this. The frivolous Creator.

That guy shows up all the time.

I barely suppressed the urge to tear out the single glowing document in my inventory.

I took a deep breath, steadied myself, and turned the page.

The ducal house’s history appears from the very start. It begins with the achievements of the first head of the house at the time of the nation’s founding.

I flipped the entire stack of pages and went all the way to the very last page. Unlike the neat style at the front, the handwriting on the last page was atrocious, close to a cipher.

By order of my enemy, I turned a person into an undead.

Revenge… revenge…

The periods when I regain my sanity are getting shorter, and the time during which I lose control over my body is growing longer.

A text filled with all kinds of curses and malice. It was gradually becoming nothing more than a string of words rather than writing. And at the very end, only one line was engraved, the letters biting clearly and deeply into the paper.

Kill the tyrant. Then you will obtain everything.

It’s short, but it feels as if it were carved into bone.

As I looked further through the pages, I found the diary left behind by the Arch-lich and the duke when he was still alive, back when he was still human.

Was this the price of loyalty maintained over 78 generations? How empty. Should I raise a revolt even now? Or should I endure for the sake of my family? I am not afraid of death. I only pray that the emperor’s madness will not reach my family. If it does, I will have no choice either. I can only defy the heavens…

I can’t say for sure right away, but if the Creator got involved, won’t it count as some kind of achievement?

I put the history book aside and into my inventory. I spent the whole night thinking about the Arch-lich who smiled at the final moment while looking at the burning bonfire.

We continued our tedious march.

Today, the morning of the fifth day since the last battle ended, boredom vanished from everyone’s faces even before lunch came.

Something dark-colored could be seen in the distance.

“Kim Han.”

After five days of marching without encountering even a single small animal, we finally arrived at the old imperial palace of the Nittens Empire, where the tyrant resided, and the ruined royal palace.

Why is the palace where the emperor stayed called a ‘royal palace’ rather than an ‘imperial palace’?

There are various theories, but the most plausible and widely accepted one is that those who succeeded in the rebellion did so to disparage the Nittens Empire.

Anyway, we last met the Arch-lich corresponding to the imperial mage and obtained a Legend-grade item. And not just one kind or a small quantity, but an enormous variety and amount.

If there is a mage, there should also be a knight commander or a guard captain. The closer the thing that looked like a castle wall in the distance came, the more excited I became. What would it reveal?

According to the records, the empire’s capital is generally designed to withstand ten times its own garrison. It can also withstand a dragon’s breath, and ordinary siege weapons that are not magic weapons can’t even scratch it.

The imperial castle is built even more solidly than the walls of such a capital. That, of course, is expected since it’s where the emperor resides, but even so, the records say it is excessive.

The durability and defensive power are such that they boast even a dragon landing on it wouldn’t bring it down.

A structure similar to a labyrinth formation is in place, so hostile beings lose their way when they enter.

Moreover, the magic pouch stored in the basement of the imperial palace contains food enough for more than ten years and wealth that can let them rise again at any time.

No wonder the saying arose that ‘even if the empire falls, the imperial family can never fall.’

Above all, because it is known as a place one cannot enter unless certain conditions are met, its value is even greater.

The inner wall surrounding such an imperial castle is what we are looking at now.

A castle wall of uneven heights. It wasn’t built that way; rather, parts of it have collapsed here and there due to the ravages of time and battle.

Not even a trace of the flow of divine power, let alone a flow of divine power strong enough for a dragon to land on, could be felt.

Was it the power of time? Or an attempt to more cruelly smash the already ruined empire to pieces? As we drew closer to the wall, the scenery faintly visible inside the collapsed wall was nothing more and nothing less than ruins.

A palace that looked like it would collapse just like the ruined walls. But no matter what is done inside, that palace will not collapse. That much I know from my previous life.

My thoughts were broken by an unexpected voice.

“L-leader. Are we going there?”

“Yeah.”

“W-what could possibly be there? We already got enough treasure, didn’t we?”

“There is.”

“Hmph…”

Naruan dislikes haunted houses, oddly enough. Especially places like now, where ruined houses or mansions and their surroundings are desolate, she strangely avoids them.

It didn’t feel like fear, but like dislike. As if she were reluctant to step into a foul-smelling sewer or a dirty toilet.

I had worried that five days without an undead attack might make them let their guard down, but before I knew it, they had drawn their weapons and neatly adjusted their formation on their own.

“That’s amazing. This rope of divine power really is…”

“Right.”

The rope of divine power passed through me and each Rebound member in turn.

If the divine power that appeared when ‘Hidden Moon’s Song’ was activated was like a thin thread, ‘Blood Mist Reflected in Moonlight’ connects them like a thick rope.

And where all those ropes are headed is, in the end, me.

“Entering.”

With determined expressions, the members stepped into the wall. And at the same time, various unpleasant groans rang out.

“Ugh!!”

“Kuh!”

“…Damn it.”

The moment we entered the wall that had lost its function as a wall, the air changed. For members whose senses were sharp, divine power with a pungent, acrid smell and taste surged over them to the point they felt sick.

―Tsk.

―This tyrant’s hobby is nasty.

The air was purified by Selestin and Elastra. But it was less effective than the barrier we had deployed on the previous deathlands.

‘The Fallen Nation’s Royal Castle’ isn’t that long of a map. If there’s someone blocking the way, we just beat them and head to the grand hall. The tyrant, the emperor whose name has been erased, will be waiting there.

Besides, I even got the imperial castle map from the Arch-lich. If it comes to that, we can just break through quickly and go home carrying all the easy loot lying around.

As I imagined with anticipation, I entered one side of the collapsed wall, crossed the wide main road, and stepped into the garden. There, two beings were waiting for us—rather, for me.

“Welcome, master of the Divine Dragon.”

“……”

A knight in black armor, dressed in the typical gear of a knight and wearing a sword at his waist.

A skeleton wearing light armor, holding a spear in one hand and carrying a shield on its back.

The Elder Death Knight and the Skeleton King bow politely and greet us like butlers welcoming guests.