Translator: Dreamscribe

The Empire of Evil was at peace.

Those who had betrayed Arsilan had lived for a long time like livestock under the absolute rule of a god. In a massive breeding ground, they indulged in eternal life and pleasure, consumed by greed. They became so accustomed to that life that even the memory of Arsilan grew faint.

A land flowing with milk and honey.

Brilliant jewels and beautiful melodies.

A life filled only with pleasure and devoid of pain stripped away even the will to act. Only an insatiable greed for more remained. They sought better, more, and deeper pleasures than others.

Pleasure that seemed like it would last forever was disrupted the moment the moon fell on the eastern region of the Empire. Until then, the nobles of the Empire had believed that the god would take care of everything. In fact, when divine power descended upon the high-ranking nobles, all their worries vanished. But the true beginning of their misfortune started from that very moment.

Count Sedran had recently taken refuge in his villa after hearing news that high-ranking nobles were being assassinated. It was an extravagant villa known only to his retainers.

Alcohol, food, slaves.

Everything was prepared in the villa to the point it looked more like a vacation than a refuge.

“Uwaaagh!”

“Guhk!”

Late at night, startled by the screams, Count Sedran woke up in shock and rushed out of his bedroom.

“W-what is going on!”

When he stepped into the hallway, the screams faded as if swallowed by the darkness, and the entire villa fell into silence. Count Sedran trembled as he looked toward the end of the corridor. With all the lights off, nothing was visible except for darkness.

Flinch!

Something appeared in the dark.

Golden eyes, brighter than moonlight, began to emerge one by one, filling the space around him.

Golden light.

A long-forgotten memory surfaced.

“E-Ella….”

Once, everyone had worshiped that golden light.

He had succumbed to the sweet temptation of Erosion and betrayed that golden light without hesitation.

On the day this great empire began, he occasionally had nightmares. But as the years of pleasure continued, he completely forgot what that golden light even looked like, and the nightmares ceased.

He believed he would never see that light again.

Yet, within the darkness, there existed that radiant golden light.

Count Sedran felt his nightmare return.

The guilt he had felt when offering up his family and domain residents to the Erosion gripped his soul.

The golden eyes curved gently.

They were smiling.

The light he had betrayed approached him with a chilling smile.

“C-come out! Knights!”

Count Sedran summoned his knights.

Though the power he had received from the god was lacking compared to other nobles, he was still a chosen noble. The knights moved their bodies while letting out cries of agony. Empowered by the divine authority, the knights were slaves and tools who obeyed his words absolutely.

They were former heroes.

The Silverwood Knight Order, which he had long desired, had become his slaves, and with the god’s power, he could summon them at will.

Thud!

Slice!

A flash of light flared in the darkness, and the knights fell in vain.

[Ah….]

[Thank you.]

The knights, who had been nothing more than slaves, whispered in peaceful voices just before drawing their final breath.

To Count Sedran, that peaceful voice felt far more valuable than any pleasure or happiness he had ever known.

He wanted it.

He desperately wanted it.

The greatest treasure that he could not possess was in the hands of mere slaves.

“C-come out again! I said come out!”

Count Sedran thrashed and reached out, but the Silverwood Knight Order did not appear.

Hehehe!

Hahaha!

Laughter echoed from within the darkness.

The golden eyes approached him.

As his greed subsided, Count Sedran trembled. Overwhelmed by fear, he summoned soldiers with all his strength and hurled himself out the window.

He hurriedly mounted his horse and galloped toward a neighboring domain. It was a vast domain ruled by a noble far more powerful than himself. He believed he would be safe there.

The golden eyes pursued him, breaking through the soldiers he had desperately summoned, but they could not catch him.

“H-hahaha!”

He barely managed a laugh of relief.

Swoosh!

A dagger flew from behind, slicing off his ear and embedding itself in the tree in front of him.

“Huhk! Aaaagh!”

Clutching his bleeding ear, black blood streaming down, he continued running without pause and finally reached the hill from which he could see the neighboring domain.

“Huh?”

A blank expression spread across his face. The city, once boasting overwhelming splendor, was in flames. The darkness, engulfed in fire, writhed as it reduced the city and everything within to ashes.

He looked up at the sky.

Strange objects floated above.

Objects adorned with golden patterns spread dragon-like wings and approached the domain, then began to drop something down.

KABOOM! BOOM!

Bombs.

They were bombs.

The massive explosions blew away the city walls and melted the castle. Countless soldiers created by god’s divine power vanished in vain.

A black wave.

And within it, a flickering red glow that burned like fire. It looked as if red stars filled the night sky. The black wave swept over the city, engulfing everything and burning it all.

Shiver!

Goosebumps spread across his body.

Old memories kept resurfacing, tormenting him. He once again felt the overwhelming sensation from the first time he had seen the Erosion. No, the immense murderous intent and rage radiating from that black wave went beyond Erosion.

Neighhhh!

The horse panicked and threw Count Sedran, who was staring blankly, to the ground. Pain surged through him, but even then, Count Sedran could not regain his composure.

All of it felt like a horrific nightmare.

It simply didn’t feel real.

Step, step.

The sound of footsteps reached him, and only then did he come to his senses. He tried to stand, but with a broken leg, he couldn’t. Crawling along the ground, he tried to move away from the approaching steps.

“Huhk! Aaagh!”

Desperately crawling to escape, he tumbled down the hill. The sharp pain he hadn’t felt in ages brought tears to his eyes.

Swoosh!

Someone stood before him.

Trembling, he slowly lifted his head.

A knight in black armor was looking down at him. A red emblem he had never seen before floated on the fluttering cape, and the red glow from within the helmet’s visor flickered fiercely.

Who in the world was this knight?

The moment he stared at the armor in that thought, his eyes widened in shock.

A silver branch and a blue bird.

That was undoubtedly the symbol of the Silverwood Knight Order.

One by one, knights began to appear around him.

The order he had so desperately wanted, and once owned, now stood before him once more.

Black and red knights.

He was entranced by their majestic appearance.

“Y-you… y-you’re my… my s-slave! Y-you belonged to me!”

The knight looked down at Count Sedran, who screamed in desperation, then raised his sword.

“As always.”

The sword the knight held glowed red. As it caught fire, Count Sedran recoiled in terror and tried to flee.

“All that we are, is for Arsilan.”

The knight spoke softly, almost in a chant, then severed Count Sedran’s leg.

“K-kuurgh!”

As the baron screamed in agony, the knight lowered his sword again.

“Oh! Here he is!”

“Ah!”

Figures with golden eyes emerged from the darkness.

They were heroes of Arsilan.

Seeing the Silverwood Knight Order, they smiled brightly and waved. The Silverwood Knights bowed their heads and stepped back.

“Thank you!”

“We finally caught this bastard!”

“Thank you for your help!”

They approached Count Sedran and, without hesitation, plunged their swords into his chest. His body trembled, then went still. His destination after death was already decided.

“Ah! It’s not much, but here, take this.”

As thanks, the heroes handed drinks and snacks to the knights. The knights tilted their heads curiously, then removed their helmets and drank the beverages.

“Hmm…”

“It’s… refreshing.”

After taking a sip of soda for the first time, the knights paused in silence before speaking. The heroes laughed at the knights’ reactions, then disappeared from the scene.

“…Truly refreshing.”

It was deeply refreshing.

The knights put their helmets back on. Now, there was no one left to bind them. They would carry out their vengeance by their own will alone.

Without hesitation, the Silverwood Knight Order turned their backs and headed toward the battlefield once more.

For Arsilan.

They would burn the last of their soul’s strength.

* * *

The war with the Empire of Evil could rightfully be called the main content of Episode 3.

The interior of the Empire of Evil was in chaos due to divine punishment, and the Legion of Vengeance marched in, burning cities to the ground. Although the Empire of Evil was enormous, it wasn’t necessary to occupy all of its vast land. Just burning the key core cities and taking over the underground labyrinths that acted as the mouths of the Lord of Greed naturally settled the surrounding areas as well.

Jinwoo had set things up so that the heroes could join the Legion of Vengeance at any time.

This was through the Flames of Vengeance.

If the heroes joined the Legion of Vengeance and equipped the Dark Armaments, they could use the Flames of Vengeance, which allowed them to instantly travel to the desired battlefield.

While the Hero’s Flower needed to be registered initially, the Flames of Vengeance allowed immediate participation in any location where battles were taking place. It was explained as being possible thanks to the Empress’s use of the power of darkness.

Even without Jinwoo’s direct involvement, the high-ranking nobles became excellent content. They generated enemies with all their power, and even poured their divine authority into creating boss monsters worthy of raids.

‘When did he prepare all this? Praise be to the Creator God!’

‘This boss had four phases.’

‘The production is insane.’

‘Another underground labyrinth? Damn!’

‘The environment here’s different again. It’s super hot? There’s even a jungle!’

‘Why is there always something new?’

The more the high-ranking nobles struggled and resisted, the more fun the heroes had. For over a month, the Legion of Vengeance and the heroes, riding skeletal horses, continued their relentless advance, with even newbies joining the battlefield. Each advance revealed new sights, earning widespread praise.

Jinwoo quietly went around the occupied areas, retrieving Ella’s divine authority.

“The rest is….”

Once more than half of Ella’s divine authority was recovered, he was able to sense the remaining fragments’ locations.

The Lord of Greed possessed them.

As Jinwoo absorbed the power of the underground labyrinths and the high-ranking nobles in the northern and southern regions one by one, the Lord of Greed must have judged that everything was now meaningless. He locked the doors and began preparing for his descent.

Almost as if imitating Jinwoo’s Magic Barrier, he shut himself in and blocked the space. Even for Jinwoo, breaking through before the descent was complete would be difficult. It was rather laughable to see him making such thorough preparations.

“In that case, I shall crush you head-on.”

He would crush him head-on and leave him in disgrace. A being that failed to become a god and fell back to the mortal world would be turned into something lower than an insect.

Once the Lord of Greed locked himself away, the power of the high-ranking nobles rapidly weakened. This was because their connection to the Lord of Greed had been completely severed.

“Well, still, he locked himself in a bit too early….”

Jinwoo had expected him to hold out for at least two more months.

He must have been extremely infuriated, he was rushing things. Everything he tried kept failing, and he couldn’t ascend, so it was understandable.

“Hm.”

The heroes were currently in a rapid advance and heating up. Now that the power of the high-ranking nobles was weakened, their pace would only increase. It was a good thing, but there was a concern that the story, which should now be heading toward the climax, might lose momentum.

A strong, stimulating hit was needed to re-ignite the heroes’ excitement.

Raid monsters or flashy items were nice, but those alone probably wouldn’t draw much reaction anymore.

Jinwoo looked into the Arsilan Worlds.

The Empress’s popularity was growing by the day, threatening the third place in the rankings. Airi in her ‘serious mode’ was incredibly charismatic. With her ‘unnie’ persona established, there was even a steady stream of secondary fan creations.

“It’s a bit early, but I guess I’ll have to use that.”

Nodding, Jinwoo immediately moved to FS Games and called a meeting. All team leaders and core developers gathered in the conference room.

Jinwoo first received a report.

Han Yong-seon delivered it personally.

“The monster that received the most praise from the heroes was the Giant Man-Eating Flower. Even after dying, it kept resurrecting and showed increasingly powerful forms.”

It was a creature of Erosion summoned with full force by the high-ranking nobles who felt threatened. The FS Games staff believed it was a monster designed by the Erosion Headquarters.

“The Giant Man-Eating Flower raid, which lasted for three days, is now being called the best raid of all time.”

The feedback for this ‘divine punishment’ event and the ‘Empress of Vengeance’ was excellent. However, lately there had been murmurs that things were starting to lose momentum. Han Yong-seon made sure to report that as well.

“It seems the impact of the Giant Man-Eating Flower was just too strong.”

Since the high-ranking nobles who had struggled desperately had now lost their power, such evaluations were only natural.

“Even if we release another raid boss like the Giant Man-Eating Flower, I don’t think we’ll get the same level of response. There’s definitely some fatigue setting in.”

“How about utilizing the newly conquered underground labyrinth that the heroes have just taken over?”

“Hmm, that might feel a bit stale since it overlaps with existing content.”

“In that case….”

Of course, even if they left things as-is, the positive reviews would continue.

The thrill of racing across a vast land and conquering it was tremendous. It delivered a kind of exhilaration that no game so far had ever managed to provide. While it lacked the sense of accomplishment that came from defeating a powerful enemy, it was still satisfying in its own way.

But Arsilan Saga had to be perfect! Everyone present wasn’t satisfied with the current state and was actively engaged in discussion.

Jinwoo liked that kind of atmosphere.

Even new employees were free to share their ideas. In meetings led by Jinwoo, those who provided good ideas were properly recognized.

Just as the meeting atmosphere was heating up, Jinwoo looked toward Kim Han-soo. Kim Han-soo handed out documents he had prepared to everyone.

“There’s a character planned by the Erosion Headquarters.”

At Jinwoo’s words, everyone in the meeting room began reviewing the documents. It was a character concept file. As the employees read through it, their eyes widened.

“Oh, ohhh!”

“This is really good!”

“I-if it’s this…!”

Han Yong-seon and the team leads stood up in excitement. At the top of the document was written: Corrupted Mary.

Character concepts for the Arsilan side were mostly handled by the Salvation Headquarters, while monsters and erosion-related content were managed by the Erosion Headquarters. This Mary to be introduced was a character from Arsilan, yet she had become a monster corrupted by Erosion. So both sides could work on her together!

The art team was thrilled.

“It was such a shame that Corrupted Leon couldn’t be used, but we absolutely can’t miss this one!”

“Reading the setting, the visual just popped into my head!”

Back when Episode 1 was in development, there had also been talk of a Corrupted Leon, and modeling had even progressed. It might have been released through a side story or IF ending. But since he naturally became the incarnation of the Holy Sword, the concept had been discarded. The design had been pretty solid, and now they could adapt it to suit Mary.

Han Yong-seon raised his hand.

When Jinwoo nodded, he immediately began pitching ideas.

“Boss! Can we change Mary’s backstory a bit?”

“Yes, go ahead and share freely.”

“Then how about this: The Lord of Greed, seeing Mary’s potential, took her in as his daughter and raised her.”

“Hmm, that sounds good.”

It wasn’t a bad idea.

The staff began freely offering their own ideas.

“She loses her memory and views the Lord of Greed as her only family, desperately craving his affection… but the Lord of Greed only treats her with cruel torment.”

“Then what if she meets her real family, the Empress? Of course, at their first meeting, her identity shouldn’t be revealed. She’ll need to wear a mask or something.”

“Damn! The story’s writing itself!”

The staff’s ideas kept flowing.

After two years of working together, they were perfectly in sync. Jinwoo decided to actively incorporate their suggestions.

The head of planning thought for a moment, then spoke.

“I came up with a title, how about Princess of Erosion, Mary?”

Princess of Erosion, Mary.

Even before the Lord of Greed’s descent, a character who would be the greatest threat had quickly taken form!

“I’m curious how the heroes will react if they get emotionally attached to Mary.”

“There are still a lot of those players, right?”

“Yes, watching a single cutscene more than 20 times has become a trend.”

“Then the reactions are gonna be insane.”

“This kind of tragedy isn’t so bad, either.”

The employees at FS Games were becoming more and more like Jinwoo.

Already anticipating the heroes’ reactions, the staff continued the meeting with eager, excited expressions.

Jinwoo felt the same as his team.

The heroes are going to love this!

What kind of reactions would they show?

Maybe they’d cry their eyes out from loving it too much.

This is what game development is all about!

This is the thrill of making games!

Jinwoo nodded in satisfaction with a smile.

*****

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