---

Chapter 208: The Curse of the Beautiful Desert

In the world of the beautiful desert, there stood a man who was a promising warrior. A brave and stunning warrior, Kai Hros, whom everyone believed would lead the future of the kingdom’s warriors.

All praised his glorious name. As long as he was around, the future of the desert would shine bright; they even called him the Sun of the Desert.

The people had unwavering faith that to the kingdom’s enemies, he would be the hottest blaze, while to his own people, he’d be a gentle ray of sunshine. Kai was determined to meet those expectations.

But where there’s a sun, there also lurks a moon. The king of the time had a prince—a wise and thoughtful one with long, beautiful black hair befitting the royal family. Zahak, the prince admired and revered by all subjects. He was believed to be the darkest shadow to enemies and a cool, gentle moonlight reminiscent of morning dew to the masses.

Kai thought he had found the ruler he truly ought to serve—a king worthy of his loyalty.

But then one day, tragedy struck as the king passed away unexpectedly.

The late king was a good ruler who cared for the people’s livelihood and wielded his power decisively against foreign threats. Though aged, he was quite vigorous—yet, in the face of the sudden arrival of the grim reaper, royal power became meaningless.

A continuous mourning procession swept through the entire kingdom. As the king was laid to rest, the people hoped he would enjoy eternal life in the afterlife.

No one feared the king’s absence. Soon, the prince would ascend the throne and govern the grand desert as its moon.

But that was only until that fateful day.

“I’m bored.”

With a crown adorned with beautiful gems before him, the prince spoke those words. His gaze seemed to regard the crown as nothing but worthless stones, instead focusing on the people.

On that day, the desert lost its light. The soft glow of the moon revealed itself to be no moon at all, but rather a monster with its mouth gaping wide.

*

As Kai trudged through the dark underground tunnel, he recounted such tales—stories of a world that had met its demise, a past that could no longer be heard anywhere else.

“You must have seen countless shadow men on your journey here, right?”

“…Yeah, I’ve seen them.”

“Since that day, our world has lost all light. The light of the sun, and even the light of life. The people forsaken by the prince transformed into those who no longer remembered they had once been alive, reduced to mere beings craving the lives they had lost.”

So that’s why they react so fiercely to the breath. It makes sense once you learn the whole story. Yeon-woo nodded subconsciously.

“And the Demon King holds that much… No, several times more light in his body. Absurdly, he has transformed into a being akin to light itself by embodying all the light of the world. Do you understand what that means?”

“He’s become stronger than when he decided to destroy the world.”

“Exactly. Many warriors, myself included, were defeated during his human days, yet Zahak grew even stronger than he was back then. We wouldn’t even stand a chance against him with petty skills.”

“But you don’t seem that strong.”

At Yeon-woo’s words, Kai let out a deep sigh, then with a voice full of regret, replied.

“It may sound like an excuse, but I was stronger back then.”

“Is that so?”

Though said nonchalantly, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but think there was some truth in it. With such grand titles like the Sun of the Desert, there was no way he could possibly be weak, right?

“While others have become mindless monsters, is the reason you’ve kept your sanity perhaps due to that?”

“Indeed. I had a higher concentration of light than the rest. Besides, the only others maintaining sanity are just those bastards who already sided with him.”

As Kai said this, he grit his teeth, producing a gnashing sound that made Yeon-woo chuckle a bit. Who would’ve thought I’d feel such camaraderie towards a monster.

“I feel like I could cooperate to some extent.”

“Come to think of it, there were countless traitors who sided with the Demon King in this world, huh. That’s good to know. He just needs toys; he doesn’t actually use the traitors for any schemes.”

“Still, you want to kill those traitors.”

“Agreed.”

As the two formed an unusual understanding, Amir, who had quietly been listening, raised his hand. Sensing his presence, Kai called out to him. What’s with the hand-raising, it’s not like we’re in a classroom.

“What is it, Priest?”

“Sorry to interrupt your conversation, but what exactly is this ruin being used for? Where are we heading?”

“What? You’re asking such a crucial question?”

“Honestly, I was baffled as to why no one else was asking that.”

With feigned surprise, Yeon-woo made a comment, to which Amir sharply retorted. Well, it seemed to have been on his mind. It’s understandable.

Following a monster to a place without any information must’ve been quite stressful for him.

“This is the royal family’s secret passage. Only the royalty and the warriors protecting them know it exists. It’s for emergencies when the royal family needs to escape.”

“Oh, so that’s right?”

“Correct. The issue was that the threat to the royal family was from within. Because of that, the queen mother couldn’t even make it to the exit you all came through.”

“….”

Amir seemed less than pleased to hear such details, rolling his eyes in response. Yeon-woo felt a tinge of embarrassment.

“If we continue straight, we’ll reach the place that was once the royal palace, and the prince’s room will be there. I’m sorry, but I need you to take him out.”

“Out of nowhere?”

“There’s no choice. To converse properly, I need to eliminate the Demon King’s eyes. If I were to kill the prince, the Demon King would step in. That would be the end of everything. In the meantime, I’ll keep the shadow men outside at bay, so you all focus solely on defeating the prince.”

“The prince, huh….”

“You call him a Doppleganger. I’m not sure what that means.”

Kai glanced back at Yeon-woo after speaking. His smooth, egg-like face didn’t show any expression, but one could easily guess he was gazing with a complex heart.

[Uh oh….]

Startled by that gaze, Tae-oh shivered. Only after reassuring him that “as long as Dad is here, that guy won’t harm you,” did Tae-oh’s trembling cease.

“Why are you staring at the kid like that? Want to die?”

“I get conflicted when I see that child hidden inside you. It’s hard to say he embodies our world’s life….”

As Kai trailed off, one could guess the turmoil he felt about it.

In a world that had utterly perished, the notion of life being born… would be a happiness, but it would also bring sorrow to others who could not feel the same.

For that, Yeon-woo offered him a refreshing smile.

“Shut up.”

“…That’s fair.”

Kai chuckled quietly at those words and continued walking. It’s a story for another time. There was no way to save his younger sister who never got a chance to bloom, so he decided to put those feelings aside.

*

Despite being covered in dust, the door still radiated a grandeur, as if saying that a noble figure resides within. If this wasn’t the prince’s room, what could possibly be?

Having followed this far, it felt silly to debate whether to believe or not. As Kai stood before the door, his body was enveloped by pitch-black aura.

Looking back, he saw countless shadow men surrounding them, as if summoned by someone.

“Now that’s a tricky situation. I meant to make it challenging for you, but this is something else. Aren’t you losing?”

“Just take care of the weak priest.”

“…Maybe I shouldn’t have come in after all?”

“What will happen if Amir gets taken down over there?”

“Last time I couldn’t help Dad, so this time I’m all in! I’ll cover Uncle Amir!”

Who would have thought that Shar would be the most dependable? With a glance, Yeon-woo chastised Amir and then flung the door wide open. Thankfully, with the enemy’s background being as it was, Amir wouldn’t be utterly useless.

“Back then, Baek In-hwa made things so much easier.”

“Now it’s easier with Shar here!?”

“Oh, it’s always comfortable with Tae-oh and Shar around.”

[Dad, I feel something inside. Be careful.]

As Yeon-woo entered with his steps echoing, Amir quickly dashed through the door’s gap after channeling all his divine art.

Regardless, it’s better to be on the side where there are people. Who knows if Kai will really protect him?

“Here’s a gift for you, you brat.”

As Yeon-woo’s playful words rang out, the gigantic door creaked ominously as it shut. What lay in sight was a profound darkness and a fist-sized ball of light. In a scene no different from months ago, Yeon-woo smiled.

Splat, splat. Three sets of eyes turned toward the sound of damp footsteps approaching.

“Who dares to—”

Before the old man could finish his sentence, Yeon-woo sprinted forward, hand raised, his eyes now gleaming gold.

Splat!! With a sound that sliced through the air, a black beam pierced through the old man’s forehead. With a thud, he collapsed, and while Amir gasped in surprise, Yeon-woo muttered.

“Stop pretending. At least try to look like a prince worthy of the title.”

…Ah, my apologies, Prince Charles.

As Yeon-woo offered a brief apology, a squirming black sword was gripped tightly in his hands. Shar was well-versed in how to deal with Dopplegangers, so it should be fine to rely on him.

– Ehh, how did you know…?

“You’re wrapped in filthy mana all over; how could I not notice?”

Muttering in a chilling voice, Yeon-woo launched the shadows’ power toward the rising Doppleganger. Though uncommon, a battle between similar types of element users presents specific manifestations.

Like swordsmen measuring their distance and searching for ways to control their opponents’ swords, aura users engage in a ‘control duel.’ This is not much different when fighting monsters.

– Who are you? Are you perhaps my sibling?

“Shut your mouth, you wretched brat!!”

The dark shadows trembled in place, unable to decide which way to move. Competing with the shadow prince over control is something one doesn’t expect to encounter in life.

“But I have no intention of fighting fair.”

As the control struggle between the shadows dissipated, a sharp chunk of ice shot forth, piercing through the Doppleganger’s abdomen while retaining its momentum.

– Gah…!?

Hello, kids, did you catch that? This is why you shouldn’t throw rocks during a snowball fight!

(To be continued in the next episode)

 

---