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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: The Last Conversation
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For a moment, Kang-jun’s gaze fell upon the head of Jeong Yun-chan, who was now prostrated at his feet.
“Hey.”
At his word, Jeong Yun-chan cautiously raised his head…
“Do you know me?”
To Kang-jun’s probing question, Jeong Yun-chan nodded once and answered respectfully.
“My master spoke of you often. I've heard the great Immortal's saga so many times I could recite it by heart…”
The word ‘master’ caught his ear, and Kang-jun, his curiosity piqued, cut in with a question.
“Who is your master?”
Jeong Yun-chan bowed his head once more and replied.
“My master is…”
For a moment, a silence so thick it felt like a heavy tension hung between the two.
“Nazgûl.”
At that name, Kang-jun’s eyes, which rarely showed surprise or agitation, wavered intensely.
Nazgûl.
It was the name of a loyal subject and comrade he could never forget, no matter how much time passed.
He had been one of the five ministers serving as the head of the Military Affairs Department, a key institution in the Anux Imperial Palace.
“Nazgûl…”
As Kang-jun softly murmured the name, old memories began to surface in his mind.
“Nazgûl’s disciple…”
Kang-jun muttered to himself, then added.
“Rise.”
He immediately followed up with another question.
“Where is Nazgûl?”
Jeong Yun-chan licked his lower lip once before answering in the most cautious tone possible.
“My master returned to his original place just a short while ago.”
Kang-jun spoke with a hint of disappointment.
“What a cruel twist of fate.”
Jeong Yun-chan then continued, his tone polite and earnest.
“Immortal. My master repeatedly asked me to pass on a message if the day ever came that I should meet you.”
“What is it?”
“That he, Nazgûl, who swore eternal fealty to you, prayed that you would safely reach the Earth you so longed for…”
Jeong Yun-chan trailed off, took a breath, and continued.
“He said he prayed for your happiness…”
Kang-jun mumbled, “Happiness…” then gave a bitter smile and replied as if to himself.
“He worries too much.”
Then he added.
“In any case, I came here to save you.”
Having said his piece, Kang-jun took a few steps toward the inside of the gate and spoke.
“I have many questions for you, so I’d appreciate it if you’d keep me company on the way back to Earth.”
Memories of his last conversations with Nazgûl flashed through Kang-jun’s mind.
It had been a tranquil day, no different from any other.
The Anux Empire was enjoying its greatest period of prosperity since its founding.
Kang-jun’s mere existence had brought a complete end to war…
Foreign invasions that had threatened the empire’s peace had also vanished.
Droughts and famines were long a thing of the past…
All people could live without worry or concern.
However.
Kang-jun himself was spending his days in agony.
“Nazgûl.”
A chessboard lay between Kang-jun and Nazgûl.
*Clack—.*
Nazgûl, having just captured Kang-jun’s pawn with his queen, replied.
“Yes, my Lord.”
Kang-jun, his eyes still fixed on the board, asked.
“Do you remember death?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then I’d like to ask you something.”
Before being resurrected by Kang-jun’s hand, Nazgûl had been the protagonist of a heroic tale famous enough to be recorded in the history of the Anux Continent.
He was the hero of salvation, known for having fought and achieved victory against the ‘Dimension-Devouring Bear’ that had invaded the Anux Continent in the distant past…
Later, he ascended to the throne and ruled virtuously until his fated day, ultimately embarking on his final journey—a figure from history.
“What was the ‘death’ you experienced in the past like?”
Nazgûl, his gaze also fixed on the chessboard, answered with the utmost courtesy.
“It was a very long time ago, so I regret that I cannot recall it with perfect clarity…”
He then replied in his characteristic, uninflected tone.
“But from what my humble memory serves, it seemed quite cozy and tranquil.”
At those words, Kang-jun nodded a few times and began to read the state of the board.
With his last bold move, Nazgûl had lost his queen, a key piece with a wide range of movement.
Kang-jun immediately moved his king to capture Nazgûl’s queen and casually posed a question.
“That seemed like an uncharacteristically reckless move for you, didn’t it?”
Despite Kang-jun’s words, Nazgûl simply moved his piece in silence.
*Clack.*
Nazgûl moved his knight, putting pressure on Kang-jun’s king.
“Well now, a forced move.”
It was a forced move; he had to move his king to safety in any direction.
Thus, Kang-jun spent his turn evacuating his king.
*Clack.*
*Clack.*
*Clack.*
*Clack.*
The two continued to alternate moves in silence.
After eight consecutive moves in the deepening quiet…
“Well, well.”
The game was decided.
“Checkmate.”
Kang-jun gently tapped his own king, tipping it over.
*Clatter….*
There was nowhere left for Kang-jun’s king to go on the board.
“There’s no way to save the king, no matter where I move it now.”
Kang-jun’s gaze then shifted to Nazgûl.
“I had judged that you’d sacrificed your key piece, the queen, blinded by short-term gain…”
To that, Nazgûl replied.
“My apologies.”
Kang-jun replied, “No,” and then said sincerely.
“It was a marvelous move.”
Nazgûl had seen a full eight moves ahead, creating a situation where Kang-jun’s king had no choice but to walk right into the heart of the enemy’s formation.
“It seems I simply cannot win against you.”
He often enjoyed playing chess with the ministers of the imperial palace.
Most were no match for him, but…
For some reason, he could never defeat Nazgûl.
“A hundred battles, a hundred losses…”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“How humiliating…”
He then added.
“As someone with exceptional knowledge and insight into the art of war, your ability to read the state and flow of a chess game is also outstanding…”
To that, Nazgûl asked in an unwavering tone.
“If you, my Lord, were in the position of this king piece, finding yourself in the heart of enemy territory, what would you do?”
Kang-jun answered immediately.
“I’d kill them all and get out.”
Nazgûl replied as if he had been waiting for that answer.
“I believe that is the difference.”
Kang-jun stared intently at Nazgûl with his profound eyes, as if asking what he meant…
“My Lord, you possess such overwhelming martial prowess that you have no need for ‘strategy.’”
After speaking, Nazgûl paused for a moment, then righted the fallen king as he continued.
“This humble servant lacks such power, so I have no choice but to immerse myself in schemes and strategies, do I not?”
At that, Kang-jun grinned and replied.
“You have a silver tongue…”
Nazgûl then cautiously interjected.
“Forgive my impertinence, but I seem to recall you promised me a ‘reward’ if I were to win today’s chess game…”
Kang-jun muttered, “So I did,” and got straight to the point.
“I will give you the Imperial Seal.”
Nazgûl started in shock and asked again.
As if to ask what on earth he meant, Nazgûl asked again, startled.
“My Lord…?”
Kang-jun, on the other hand, continued speaking nonchalantly.
“My current situation seems no different from that of the king on this chessboard.”
Kang-jun was utterly exhausted by his eternal life.
His longing for his home grew larger by the day…
His spirit was festering from the repetitive, wheel-turning days.
Kang-jun’s time was flowing on, devoid of purpose.
“You must remember the order I gave when I summoned all the arch-liches of the Imperial Palace several decades ago.”
Nazgûl merely stared back at him with empty eyes from which it was impossible to read any emotion.
With those eyes, from which an ominous crimson glow always seemed to rise like hot steam…
“I ordered them to find a way for me to enter eternal rest. I have attempted to end my own life countless times with the various methods they devised, but…”
Nazgûl replied.
“You failed.”
He had wandered for a long time, searching for a way back to his home, but it remained a distant wish.
Eventually, Kang-jun declared that he would give up on returning to his home dimension, ‘Earth’…
After that, he had focused solely on finding a way to enter eternal rest.
He wanted to die.
He had thrown himself into an Annihilation Flame, said to burn anything and everything without a trace, and spent months inside it…
He had even tried to throw himself from the top of the divine World Tree, which grew so tall it was said to touch the heavens…
All of it was useless.
No weapon, no matter how great, could even scratch Kang-jun’s skin, and gulping down deadly poisons daily had no effect.
“Decades passed like that.”
Kang-jun added in a relieved tone.
“A short while ago, the arch-liches of the Imperial Palace sent word that they have finally devised a way for me to enter eternal rest.”
Nazgûl remained impassive.
“Then…”
But the tremor in his voice, he could not hide.
“Kandras Leoric Nazgûl.”
Nazgûl bowed his head.
“My loyal subject and old friend…”
Kang-jun grasped his hand tightly. A hand with no warmth…
A hand of nothing but gaunt bones.
“You may resent me for trying to escape in such a cowardly way.”
Then he added a heartfelt request.
“It is shameful, but I ask you to succeed me and lead the empire.”
From the moment he received the report from the arch-liches that they had found a way for him to enter eternal rest, Kang-jun had been contemplating his successor.
“Lord Crabslie has volunteered for ritual suicide to enter eternal rest with me, so he had to be excluded from consideration as the next emperor…”
Kang-jun trailed off, then added.
“Iriel, the Minister of the Imperial Household, has a surprisingly tender side, making her unsuited for the throne, which sometimes requires sacrificing the few for the sake of the many.”
Nazgûl listened silently to Kang-jun’s words.
“And the Lich Lord ‘Lazarus,’ who serves as the Minister of Research, is too vain and eccentric to be emperor…”
After a brief pause, Kang-jun added.
“And I cannot entrust the throne to Veronica, who, like me, possesses a human body and thus has a naturally short lifespan, can I?”
Having finished, Kang-jun added a final, definitive statement.
“Therefore, I ask that you succeed me on the throne and, with your foresight that sees several moves ahead, take responsibility for the peace and prosperity of this place.”
At those words, Nazgûl finally bowed his head low…
“I will obey your command…”
And then added.
“However.”
A moment of silence passed.
“Forgive my impertinence, but if I may be so bold as to speak directly, I suspect that you will not find it easy to enter eternal rest this time either.”
Kang-jun began to clear the chess pieces as he answered.
“You speak of ominous things.”
Nazgûl’s words were rarely wrong, so even Kang-jun at the time did not take them lightly.
But…
Having shamelessly decided to throw everything away and weakly flee into death, he couldn’t very well rebuke him.
“When I speak with you, I often get the feeling that you have set foot in realms I have yet to even perceive.”
It was a statement filled with sincerity. Nazgûl knew something. Although he didn’t know what it was…
“You clearly know something I do not.”
But Nazgûl gave no answer to Kang-jun’s unspoken question.
And with that private meeting as their last, Kang-jun entered eternal rest.
No…
To be precise, he tried to enter eternal rest, but failed.
The method devised by the arch-liches was a ‘translocation spell.’
A translocation spell that would shatter his entire body into particles and scatter them across multiple dimensions.
He had been certain that this method would allow him to enter eternal rest, but…
「Jjanggu Bunsik」
After the spell was cast, the first thing that entered Kang-jun’s eyes was the name of a shabby, old eatery written in familiar characters on its sign.
“Jjanggu Bunsik…”
Just then, a “*Tiring!*” notification sound rang in Kang-jun’s ears, and several system messages appeared in succession.
[The perk of ‘■■■’ is forcibly activated!]
[The perk of ‘■■■’ protects you from shock!]
[Perk: ‘■■■’ does not fall easily.]
You, who hold the title ‘■■■,’ cannot meet such a futile end.
Please continue to devote yourself to satisfying the ‘Watching Eyes’!
Kang-jun, completely startled, couldn't help but look to his side.
“Your Grace…!”
He was worried for the safety of Crabslie, who had volunteered for ritual suicide alongside him.
“I’ve never seen this script before.”
Crabslie, too, was standing beside him, perfectly intact…
Once again, several system messages appeared.
[The perk of ‘■■■’ is forcibly activated!]
[Perk: The companion of ‘■■■’ does not fall either.]
If the companion of one who bears the name ‘■■■’ were to meet such a futile end, the Watching Eyes would surely be saddened.
Please join forces with your companions and press on in your journey ahead, striving to complete an even more robust and interesting saga!
Somehow, he had crash-landed on Earth with Crabslie…
At that time, after all the twists and turns that led to his crash-landing on Earth.
Kang-jun couldn't help but immediately think of ‘Nazgûl.’
“You were right again…”
This was the story of how Kang-jun, after a journey spanning hundreds of years, returned to Earth.
