NOVEL NEXT Chapter 73: Nether King
'What? Resurrect? Judge?'
Aglaea was stunned upon hearing Lucian's words.
'Does this mean he's going to bring the innocent back to life?'
As this thought crossed her mind, Lucian's figure mysteriously became even more magnificent in her eyes.
Just a moment ago, Aglaea had felt conflicted about his anger leading to the deaths of innocent people, but now, those thoughts were completely gone.
He did well to kill them!
He did so well!
"I knew you'd do that."
Castorice spoke with a faint smile, as though she had long expected Lucian to act this way.
It was only natural.
After spending more than ten years together, day and night, she understood him well enough.
Yes, he would kill without hesitation, but he would never kill the innocent.
Today, he had the nerve to massacre nearly ten thousand people—she believed there had to be a reason.
And just as Castorice had expected, Lucian indeed had one.
Part of the reason was to establish absolute authority, to set a new order for Amphoreus, but for this order to work, a few who died unjustly would have to serve as examples.
As for the other part, the most important one, it was that he knew Castorice did not want to see innocent people die. Knowing it would make her very sad, Lucian naturally tried to avoid it as much as possible.
"Cas, you really do understand me best."
Lucian reached out and gently touched Castorice's cheek, his thumb brushing away the dust from her face.
Thanks to this, Castorice was so flustered by his sudden intimate gesture that her cheeks quickly turned red.
"I... I'll go take care of the souls first..."
Castorice quickly turned and walked away, using her divine authority to summon all the souls who had just died.
Lucian chuckled, then patted Aglaea's smooth shoulder.
"Agy, your golden threads can also sense souls, right? Go and see which souls were good people and which were bad, especially the members of the Council of Elders. Pick them out for me. I want to throw them into the River of Souls so they can never reincarnate."
Never reincarnate.
Needless to say, this phrase alone sounded terrifying.
Yet these terrifying words had come out of the mouth of someone who always seemed so harmless.
"Of course, I'd be happy to help."
Aglaea nodded and gave an elegant smile.
===
Several minutes later, thousands of souls lined up before Aglaea, forming a long queue.
Aglaea wielded the Romance Titan's divine authority to judge whether a soul had been good or bad in life.
If someone had been good, Castorice would wave her right hand, deny them death, and return their soul to life.
If someone had been bad, Castorice would cast them into the River of Souls, where they would never reincarnate.
As for those who were neither good nor bad—just innocent victims—they too were resurrected.
Naturally, this event caused a huge uproar in Okhema.
Okhema's residents, already terrified by the enormous finger in the sky, trembled in fear—and when they saw that same finger actually flatten the district of the Council of Elders, their terror deepened further.
"Is this the coming of the black tide? Or are we under attack?"
"It's terrifying! I saw the Council of Elders destroyed—it looked like everyone died!"
"I heard the Council of Elders was plotting to kill the Holy Maiden of Resurrection at the market. Maybe this is karma?"
As crowds gathered around the ruined district, discussing the fate of the Council of Elders, they suddenly witnessed a spectacular sight—the judgment of souls and the resurrection of the dead.
[Attention to all people of Okhema, this is Aglaea speaking. Do not panic—I am speaking through the power of the Romance Titan.]
In that moment, Aglaea's voice rang in everyone's ears.
[Because the Council of Elders sought to seize the power of resurrection and attempted to kill the Death Titan, they were judged and annihilated by divine punishment brought by Nether King Lucian.]
[Nether King Lucian has promised us that everyone will face a fair judgment after death.]
[If you do many good deeds, you may return to the earth and be resurrected.]
[If you have done nothing but evil, you will be cast into the River of Souls, never to reincarnate.]
[And those who walk the middle path will be reincarnated, beginning a new life.]
Nether King.
It was a title Lucian had simply made up on the spot.
Both Castorice and Polyxia, the two reapers whose domain was the nether realm, listened to him, so didn't that make him the king of the nether realm?
"Resurrected? As long as we do more good deeds, we can be resurrected? Ohh, that's amazing!"
"My goodness, so the Holy Maiden of Resurrection is actually Thanatos? Thanatos actually bought fabric from me before!"
"Let me think... I don't think I've done anything bad... Does not returning borrowed money count?"
"When you put it that way, Chrysos Heirs are much better than the Council of Elders. Hmph, those villains shouldn't have eternal life! It's clear Era Chrysea isn't as fair as the Nether King's rules!"
Many people in Okhema could see things clearly now.
Yes, Era Chrysea did grant eternal life, but many evildoers lived forever as well, so they would always harass others. If they were to be compared, Lucian's rules seemed a thousand times better—good people gained long life, while the wicked would perish.
In the end, anyone who did not harbor evil intentions instantly chose to support Lucian and Aglaea.
Of course, this matter ultimately did not only cause a stir in Okhema.
Soon enough, other city-states received the news as well, like Castrum Kremnos, Sabany, Adian, Alflanke...
"In that case, what about us Kremnoans? We're always fighting and killing, but we also defend the front lines against the black tide. Does that make us good or bad?"
"Why did Thanatos show up in the holy city protected by Kephale? Is she picking on Kephale just because they died early?"
"Nether King... Just the name alone sounds so badass—it gives me chills! I heard one of his fingers is as big as Kephale themself!"
Very soon, Lucian's rules as the Nether King spread across Amphoreus.
Everyone was weighing whether they would be resurrected or never reincarnated after death.
Should they hurry to do some good deeds now, so they could reincarnate in the future?
At the same time, the higher-ups in other city-states grew uneasy, afraid the Nether King might quietly arrive at their city and start another massacre.
===
A month later, with no more opposing parties, all power in Okhema finally fell into Aglaea's hands.
Aglaea and Lucian also had an agreement—she would work for the nether realm, helping Castorice and Polyxia judge whether souls were good or evil.
Because of this, Castorice no longer needed to worry about resurrecting bad people, which left her very satisfied.
[DING! Congratulations on completing the script!]
[In twenty-four hours, the script will close, and the host will leave the current world.]
'...Completed?'
Dozing off on his bed, Lucian quickly sat up with a surprised expression, not expecting the script to be completed so suddenly.
He had only wanted to set up a rule to make things easier for Castorice and Polyxia, so they would not be disliked by others in the future.
He did not expect it would actually trigger the script's completion.
'Twenty-four hours, huh... At least there's enough time to say goodbye this time.'
It was just a pity that, unlike Polyxia, Castorice still acted reserved and never showed any intention of advancing their relationship deeper.
*BANG!*
As Lucian was feeling sentimental and lost in thought, wondering what to do in these remaining twenty-four hours, the door of his bedroom suddenly slammed open.
In that instant, Castorice rushed in, looking anxious as she clutched her chest as if she were in pain.
"I... I suddenly feel a sharp pain in my heart... Why... Why do I feel like you're about to leave me...?"
Castorice looked Lucian straight in the eyes with a distressed expression, hoping for an answer.
"You..." Lucian blinked in surprise, then smiled gently. "Cas, you know me so well that you can sense it even before I say a word?"
He looked at the beautiful young woman in the elegant dress before him, clearly reluctant to part with her.
Meanwhile, as soon as Castorice heard his words, she immediately felt as if she had fallen into an icy abyss.
In the next moment, tears began to well up in her eyes.
"D-Did I do something wrong...?"
Castorice grabbed Lucian's hand tightly and asked with tearful eyes.
"I... I can change! Just tell me what it is! I will do anything!"
"I beg you, please... please don't abandon me..."