The End of the Dream

The desertion of the mercenaries continued without end. The only silver lining was that the knights, having realized the severity of the Western Desert, had finally adopted a serious attitude. It would have been a waste if they had all died fighting the seventeen thousand orcs. To face a monster army of at least twenty thousand—a number that was still growing and moving not by instinct, but by command—the presence of the knight orders was essential.

Unlike the noisy exterior, the inside of the tent was quiet. I leaned back in my chair, listening to the crackling of the torches. Five commanders and vice-commanders of the knight orders, Kallios, and his adjutant—thirteen people in total—were gathered, yet no one opened their mouth first. It was understandable. After all, it was a demon that was gathering the orcs in the Western Desert.

A demon. A being that only appeared in ancient tales had suddenly manifested.

A demon freshly released from its seal had already gathered twenty thousand monsters. It was clearly a high-ranking one. No matter how much I searched through Emperor Kaian’s memories or my own, there was no answer. The appearance of a high-ranking demon was a first since the founding of Caprejena. Why did such a thing have to appear now, of all times?

Was this country doomed, or did Kallios’s misfortune require a danger of this magnitude?

As I stared blankly at the dancing flames, a scout entered. He brought the dire news that ogres had joined the demon’s army. I pressed my throbbing temples and sighed. The commander of the 3rd Knight Order spoke with a grim expression.

“If we leave them be, every monster in the Western Desert might gather. It would be better to fight now while it is just orcs and ogres.”

The commander of the 1st Knight Order countered with a sigh.

“Demons are not merely beings that command monsters. What if that demon possesses necromancy or the ability to spread plagues?”

“We cannot just sit here idle!”

Both arguments were valid. It would be truly dangerous if more monsters gathered. However, charging in blindly without knowing the demon’s abilities would only increase the casualties. I didn’t stop their bickering and closed my eyes. Still, the Guardian’s question did not come. So, I asked myself.

Do you regret it?

Yes. I regret it. I jumped in blindly without knowing my place. Even though I had enough time to grasp what kind of world this was, I was intoxicated by the position of Emperor and the excitement of peeking into the future… I brushed past all the hints given to me.

The fact that I knew about the “Forgotten Ruins” also made me reckless. This is a dream. A possibility that didn’t become reality. Since I would return to reality anyway, I thought there was no reason to take it seriously.

Do you want to go back?

I wanted to go back. I wanted to stop dreaming this dream. What’s the point of staying when I can’t change anything? I wondered how much time had passed in my own world. My kids must be waiting. They might be searching for me desperately.

[What do you want to do?]

I heard the voice I had been waiting for. I opened my eyes.

Kallios was looking at me.

After deciding to engage in the first battle tomorrow, I dismissed everyone gathered in the tent. I returned to the Duke’s room with an exhausted body.

To protect my eyes from the distracting interior that I couldn’t get used to even after a day, I hid under the covers without even changing my clothes. I hated even the yellow glow of the magic lamp seeping through the thin blanket, so I curled up into a ball and closed my eyes. Once I covered my closed eyes with my hands, it became satisfyingly dark. I let out the sigh I had been holding back.

I didn’t go back. I couldn’t.

Even if I woke up now, it would still be a nightmare. The things I experienced here would suddenly come to mind one day and haunt me. Every time I looked at Kallios, I might think of the version of him with a brand on his cheek. The version of him who was left alone because I found him too much to handle.

Kallios… he gave me his everything while kissing the top of my foot.

Since I couldn’t refuse and accepted it, what else could I do? I have to take responsibility.

I had made my choice, but I was still in pain. The biggest reason I decided to stay was because “I knew this was a dream.” It’s just a dream, anyway. It ends when I wake up. I just wanted my heart to be at peace.

But even if it’s cowardly, it’s better than running away.

So, Kallios. I’m sorry.

Big Brother is going to sleep for five more minutes. No… maybe a bit longer than that.

I woke up early. My mind was clear, as if I had only closed my eyes for a second. My body felt stiff from sleeping curled up, so I got out of bed and stood by the window. In the hour when everyone was asleep, I saw a lone figure moving. I watched the figure quietly. The way he walked while leading a horse was strangely familiar. I leaned my upper body out the window. In front of the closed castle gate, the figure pulled back the hood he had been wearing to identify himself.

Kallios Capre Rotenmeyer.

The moment I recognized him, I dashed out of the room. I just knew. Where that guy was going alone.

Ignoring any questions about where I was going, I grabbed a horse and mounted it. The knights, awakened by my commotion, followed behind me without even having time to put on their armor properly. There were words exchanged during the unproductive meeting. Normal knights can’t harm a demon anyway. At least… I don’t remember which b*stard said it, but I remembered where they looked after those trailing words.

Whether they were conscious of the “rumors” or not, they didn’t explicitly say they should push Kallios to his death, but their attitude was clear. After that, all the knight commanders watched my reaction and spoke vaguely. I pretended not to notice. Ignoring the words starting with “Your Wise Majesty” that urged my rational judgment, I ordered the entire army to set out.

I didn’t want Kallios to fight and die alone. If he was destined to die, I wanted him to die in front of me. If you can’t be less miserable, let’s be miserable together. That was the only thing I could do for him.

But this effort was also in vain.

Kallios had left. Alone. If I had at least formed a detached force, he wouldn’t have had to clear that dangerous path by himself, but because I made the wrong choice again, he’s alone…

The castle gate opened. Kallios was already nowhere to be seen.

I gritted my teeth and rode through the desert of nothing but sand and rocks. Please, let me not be late.

I discovered the corpse of a dead orc. The blood seeping into the sand hadn’t hardened yet. It seemed I was heading the right way. I scanned the surroundings for a moment. There were blood-stained hoofprints, as if a horse had stepped in the orc blood. The trail wasn’t long, but it was enough to determine the direction.

“Your Majesty!”

Dozens of knights who had chased after me with only their swords stopped behind me. Those b*stards pushed Kallios to his death. Anger flared, but I suppressed it. Though they had misinterpreted my orders as they pleased, they at least had enough loyalty to follow me as I acted on a whim. I looked at a knight who had one side of his hair flattened, as if he’d jumped out of bed, and sighed. It would be better to go together than alone.

“Let’s go.”

After giving a short command, I rode again in the direction of the hoofprints. Perhaps they weren’t completely clueless, as no one tried to stop me. The sound of hooves guarding my rear and sides felt a bit reassuring.

If we had gone straight through the horde of twenty thousand orcs, even I wouldn’t have had a way, but fortunately, Kallios had circled around the gathered orcs. I continued to follow using orc corpses as signposts.

It was around dawn when I found him.

I was about to run toward Kallios, who was standing tall under the turning blue sky, but I stopped dead.

In front of him was a being that looked ominous even at a glance. A pitch-black dog with two heads.

Black smoke was leaking steadily from the dog’s flank. It seemed Kallios had landed a solid blow. Watching the dog limp around Kallios, I ordered the knights to clear the area. The knights exchanged glances, and five of them stayed by my side while the rest scattered.

I cautiously approached Kallios. It would be bad if his concentration broke because of any noise I made. I came to help, not to interfere.

As I got closer, I saw what I hadn’t been able to see before. The color of the sand where Kallios stood was exceptionally dark. He was right-handed, yet he was holding his sword in his left hand. His right arm… was gone.

Kallios wasn’t standing there because he had the luxury to. As I got closer, I saw the wound on his thigh. A chunk of flesh had been torn away, as if bitten by that b*stard dog, leaving a hollowed-out gap. The wind carried the scent of blood. Since the dog was leaking black smoke instead of blood, this was the scent of blood shed by Kallios.

Kaian.

Did you want Kallios to die miserably and become dog food?

Why?

All he did was fill the position of the lacking Kaian. And was his life smooth because of that? Absolutely not. Kallios lived as the ignored Crown Prince of a doomed country and ascended to a throne that might be the “Last.”

It was painful to watch, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the mangled boy.

It was a relief, truly.

Because of that, I was able to see the dog leaping out from his shadow. I threw myself forward and shoved Kallios aside.

Puchak!

The sound of flesh being pierced rang out.

Kallios looked at me. I smiled at him. He was expressionless. He looked like a person who didn’t know what kind of face to make in a moment like this.

You dummy. At a time like this…

You just have to run over and take that damn dog’s head off. Good. Yes, just like that.

Cough. When I coughed, bright red blood streamed out. I blinked while lying on the ground. How can the sensations in a dream be this vivid? My pierced stomach hurt like hell. Piercing a palm was nothing compared to this.

I placed my trembling hand on my stomach. There was a hole the size of a palm. It was a size that made me wonder why I was still alive. I let my arm drop weakly. Ah… f*ck, it hurts like crazy. I couldn’t spit out or swallow the blood welling up in my throat; it just leaked out.

Kallios stumbled toward my side.

“Gh… ugh… hack…”

I had so much to say, but I couldn’t speak.

That demon’s ability is clones, and since it just died, now you just have to deal with the monsters. If you aim for the gap while the monsters are confused from losing the demon, the remaining forces will be enough. But first, go get treated. By the way, being a Sword Master is really strong. I wonder why Your Majesty Kaian studied to be an heir instead of becoming a Sword Master. Being an Emperor, it’s really not much once you try it.

Kallios’s expressionless face changed. Even as I was dying, I found it fascinating and laughed. I coughed unsightly again.

Frowning as if he saw something he didn’t like, he knelt down on one knee before me. I don’t know when he learned the etiquette, but his movements, which had been rough all along, were as graceful as my Kallios.

I forced my eyes wide, fighting the urge to close them, to remember his face—which I would never see again—just a little longer.

Seeing his eyes that resembled dried roses, I remembered the bookmark I’d bought for him. I hope you keep it instead of throwing it away because it’s cheap. Kallios raised the sword I had given him high with his remaining hand.

Grit. I heard the sound of teeth grinding.

“Now.”

Contrary to his angry expression, his voice was gentle.

Yes. Now it is time to wake up. Perhaps because it wasn’t a real death, or because I had done enough for him. I wasn’t as regretful or sad as when I collapsed last time. Though I felt a bit sorry for him, who would be left alone.

Because it’s a dream.

“Wake up, Big Brother.”

Kallios plunged the sword into his own chest.