Chapter 316: The Empty Throne
Pangaea Castle · The Empty Throne
Deep within Pangaea Castle, Roy, surrounded by the Five Elders, stepped into the dim, grand hall. An ancient and heavy atmosphere permeated the air.
His gaze fell upon the very center—the Empty Throne, encircled by blades.
Twenty weapons stood angled around it, still radiating a solemn edge even after eight hundred years.
That was the vow left behind by the "First Twenty Kings"—"The world does not need a single king."
Roy narrowed his eyes, a cold sneer lifting the corner of his lips.
"Heh... this so-called equality is nothing but a joke."
Right at this moment—
Tap... tap... tap...
Heavy and distant footsteps echoed from the shadows. The sound seemed to strike directly at everyone's heart, instantly freezing the air.
A tall figure slowly stepped out.
A towering crown obscured most of their face, revealing only a pair of crimson, ringed eyes. They were as deep as a bottomless abyss, seemingly capable of piercing through time, space, and the soul.
A pitch-black robe trailed along the floor, enveloping the entire venue like silent death.
They strode toward the throne that symbolized something "absolutely untouchable" and sat straight down—
Ignoring the twenty swords of the vow,
Ignoring the eight-hundred-year "lie of equality,"
Ignoring all so-called rules and history.
The instant they took their seat, the Five Elders knelt on one knee simultaneously. Their heads were bowed deeply, their voices filled with absolute reverence:
"Lord Imu!!!"
Roy's pupils shrank slightly, muttering coldly in his heart: "Just as I thought... the 'Sole King' was never absent."
Those crimson, ringed eyes finally fell upon him, carrying an oppressive pressure capable of freezing all things.
Time seemed to stand still.
After a long while, a deep, ethereal voice echoed through the entire hall, as if transmitting from the depths of the void: "Roy..."
"You have finally come."
Roy slowly grinned, his gaze as sharp as a blade: "Yeah, I'm here."
"So, what did you call me here to say?"
"IMPUDENCE!!!"
St. Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro abruptly raised his head, his eyes full of fiery rage: "How dare you act so insolently in the presence of Lord Imu?! Kneel!!!"
"Enough."
St. Jaygarcia Saturn raised a hand to stop him, his cold gaze locked onto Roy: "Brat, watch your words."
Roy let out a disdainful scoff: "My words?"
He took a step forward, completely fearless, his voice sharp: "A 'god' who violated an eight-hundred-year vow and secretly sat upon the throne..."
"...is worthy of my reverence?"
"BOOM!!!"
Imu's ringed eyes suddenly flared.
In an instant, an invisible force swept across the entire hall.
The air solidified, and space collapsed. Even the bodies of the Five Elders abruptly stiffened, cold sweat instantly pouring from their foreheads, as if they were being suffocated and crushed by a supreme will.
Imu's voice slowly echoed beneath the dark dome, deep and mysterious: "Roy..."
"Do you know... of the 'Clan of D'?"
The air froze instantly.
In the suffocatingly oppressive silence, only the momentum of their confrontation echoed. The entire space seemed to tremble along with it.
A smile remained on the corner of Roy's lips. Facing that oppressive pressure capable of tearing apart the soul, he didn't even furrow his brow.
"Sorry to disappoint you..."
His voice was flippant, yet as sharp as a knife: "I am not part of the 'Clan of D'~"
Imu's crimson, ringed eyes flickered abruptly. The light within them was bottomlessly deep, as if confirming something.
"Indeed..."
"That is also one of the reasons..."
Their voice was ethereal, as if drifting from an endless abyss: "...why I have never made a move against you."
As the voice fell, they raised their pitch-black sleeve and casually waved it.
"SWISH!"
An invisible force swept across the grand hall. The bodies of the Five Elders abruptly stiffened, and the next second, they seemed to be swallowed by the void, completely vanishing without a trace!
The heavy doors of the throne room then closed silently, the booming thud echoing. Within the entire Chamber of the Empty Throne, only Roy and Imu remained.
Roy moved his fingertips slightly, feeling the connection to his teleportation ability deep within his heart.
"Hmph... I can leave at any time. Let's chat with you then."
Imu slowly raised their eyes, the ringed pupils staring dead at him, as if aiming to dissect the deepest depths of his soul.
"Mu..."
"You truly hold no fear at all?"
"Roy, what exactly... are you relying on?"
Roy chuckled softly, yet his gaze was so sharp it seemed capable of piercing the firmament.
"Relying on? Heh..."
He asked in return, his voice resounding: "Imu, it's been eight hundred years..."
"What are you still afraid of?"
—BOOM!!!
The air within the Chamber of the Empty Throne abruptly exploded!
Imu's aura was like a volcanic eruption, like a collapsing tsunami. Pitch-black energy tore through the grand hall, seemingly intent on grinding all of Pangaea Castle into dust!
"What do you know?!!"
Roy didn't retreat but advanced instead, pitch-black lightning erupting around his entire body!
Conqueror's Haki bloomed instantly. Black-red lightning clashed forcefully with Imu's oppressive pressure, vibrating the void and distorting time!
He looked straight into those crimson eyes, articulating every word, his tone as cold as a blade: "You're still afraid of that so-called Joy Boy..."
"...that idiot who only knows how to laugh and shout about freedom?!"
In that instant, Imu's ringed eyes shrank violently! The space around the entire Empty Throne distorted fiercely, as if even the flow of time itself had been forcibly torn apart.
"You... indeed know."
The air was still trembling, the aftershocks of the black-red Haki yet to disperse.
Those crimson, ringed eyes flashed with a bewitching light in the shadows, like two waning moons soaked in blood.
Their voice transmitted from the depths of the Empty Throne. Deep, distant, as if crossing the long river of eight hundred years of time and space, carrying the dust of decayed history:
"Roy..."
"Do you know what those who carry the initial 'D' in their names... symbolize?"
They slowly opened their hand. A projection of an ancient stone stele emerged in the void, engraved with text long forgotten by the era.
"That is the brand of 'Hostility'."
"The name of D is a curse."
"Ever since the Void Century, they have been the evil spirits destined to overturn this world. They are a wound upon this sea that can never heal."
Imu's voice grew lower and deeper, every syllable like a heavy hammer striking a judge's bench. "For eight hundred years, I have erased them from history one by one, not even allowing them to leave behind tombstones."
"Because as long as 'D' still exists, this world will never know peace."
Roy listened quietly, yet a mocking sneer hooked the corner of his mouth.
"Heh..."
"How beautifully spoken."
He stepped forward, his military boots letting out crisp sounds as they stepped on the shattered marble floor. Every step was like treading upon the wounds of history.
"If it truly is a curse, why are you pitiful worms who style yourselves as 'gods' so terrified to this extent?"
"To go so far as to erase a single letter from history..."
Roy sneered coldly, dangerous flames igniting in his eyes. "An eight-hundred-year 'taboo'. It is not hatred, but bone-deep, unforgettable fear."
Imu's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpricks, the crimson light skyrocketing like a tide of blood.
The entire Chamber of the Empty Throne began to tremble violently. Ancient stone pillars cracked, and a decaying, oppressive pressure permeated the air.
"Are you provoking a god?"
Roy didn't dodge or evade. Pitch-black Conqueror's Haki erupted from his body like a tangible substance, clashing fiercely with the divine oppressive pressure in mid-air, sparking blinding flashes of electricity.
"Provoking? No, I am merely stating the facts."
He slowly raised his right hand, palm facing upward. "'D'—has never been a curse."
"It is..." Roy's voice suddenly became incredibly clear, "...the thing that has been burning your throats for eight hundred years..."
"The Spark!"
"BOOM!!!"
The Chamber of the Empty Throne vibrated violently. The ancient stone walls cracked with spiderweb-like fissures, the smell of scorching filling the air.
Just at this moment of explosive tension, Roy suddenly withdrew his aura, revealing a profoundly meaningful smile:
"Imu, let's make a deal!"
♧♧♧
-> SUPPORT ME WITH POWER STONE
-> FOR EVERY 200 PS = BOUNS CHAPTER
♧♧♧
-> 30 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.patreon.com/c/Segais
(Just remove the hyphen to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you