Chapter 02
“Suddenly… DLC?”
DLC, short for Downloadable Content, refers to additional content such as expansions, new storylines, or alternate universe scenarios within a game.
Although he had plugged the data for a private DLC into the main server at the end, it was merely a minor, almost trivial act—an expression of regret over the canceled project. Since the project was already scrapped, he thought he might as well gather all the leftover data in one place, finish it, and then delete it.
Yet that act led to this outcome.
“If I had known I’d end up possessing it… I wouldn’t have done this…”
As always, regrets come too late. Who would have expected a developer to be possessed by the very game he created? And of all things, possessed as an extra character in a dark fantasy world, full of unpredictable variables introduced by a private DLC.
It was completely unexpected.
As he tried to calm his racing thoughts and piece together the scattered fragments of memory, the system intervened.
[Private DLC, ‘Requiem of Annihilation’ — Expanding the wanderer’s field of vision.]
[5… 4… 3… 2… Link start.]
[‘Prologue’ initiated.]
Kaïn checked the series of system messages that appeared in rapid succession.
When he opened his eyes, his vision had completely changed.
Kaïn looked side to side, surveying his surroundings.
“…This is… the grand hall?”
The prince he had possessed, Kaïn Felberg, was exiled at this time to Kanossa Fortress, far from the capital. Yet the scene before him resembled the imperial grand hall. Without a great mage’s spatial magic, it would have been impossible to transcend such vast distances in an instant within the game.
Moreover…
“…?”
The crowd filling the grand hall didn’t notice Kaïn’s presence. But judging by the system messages, he realized immediately that he hadn’t actually moved here—only his vision had expanded. Looking down, he confirmed his body remained at Kanossa Fortress.
Kaïn calmly surveyed the scene. Judging by the circumstances, the DLC had begun, likely showing him the prologue scene. In terms of a game, it was probably an opening cutscene.
“Let’s see… At least the prologue of the main story hasn’t been affected by other variables yet.”
As the developer, Kang Jihoon knew the starting point of this DLC. What he wanted to check now was how the implausibilities and unfinished elements in this unreleased content were actually manifesting in reality.
“The main story’s prologue starts with the founding anniversary of the Felberg Empire,” he recalled.
In Legend of the Imperial Heroes, the playable main character, Veil Senteiser, begins the story by being invited to the anniversary ceremony and being appointed the youngest Meister in history. That was the official opening.
Looking around, the grand hall before him mirrored the day of the main story’s opening—the Empire’s founding anniversary.
“So far… it’s unchanged.”
The ceremony proceeded monotonously, with dry speeches and formalities. Then came the highlight: Veil Senteiser, the youngest Meister, receiving his honor.
“If this is the applied DLC… this must be their timing.”
His prediction was correct.
From the depths of darkness, unfamiliar assassins appeared in the imperial grand hall, and a festival of blood erupted in an instant.
“Attack! Assassins!”
“Knights, protect the Emperor!”
“Golden Eagles, to the front! Defend the royal family!”
“Request reinforcements!”
Clad in black and shrouded in shadows, the assassins moved with near-invisibility, their forms barely perceptible as they slaughtered the Empire’s powerful figures.
The knights scrambled to protect the Emperor and his court, but it was futile.
With a black wind blowing, the marble floors were soaked red with the knights’ blood.
Even Veil Senteiser, honored as the youngest Meister, was not spared. Blood gushed from a hole in his chest, and he staggered before collapsing.
Nearby, the severed head of the Empire’s sword master rolled lifelessly across the floor. The imperial magic corps and their commanders could do nothing; they, too, fell, bloodied, as the darkness advanced.
It was utter chaos.
“The knights… form a line!”
“Raaah!”
Before the defense could organize, the dark blades of the assassins struck like a storm. Red fountains of blood spouted every time the assassins’ afterimages flickered.
“Protect the Emperor!”
But despite the loyal knights’ sacrifices, the assassins reached the Emperor. In the end, he foamed at the mouth in death.
“Guh…!”
Amid the chaos, the assassins spread out, ripping apart the remaining royal family members.
Those who tried to escape, including the young prince, were killed. The assassins completed their mission and vanished silently into the darkness.
“Stop…!”
The original protagonist, Veil, mustered his final strength. Although near death, the pure aura within his sword blazed brightly. The assassins, however, seemed uninterested and began retreating.
Finally, just as the darkness consumed him entirely, Veil unleashed all his remaining power.
Kraaaaaang!
A dazzling flash swept through the grand hall—but the assassins were already gone.
Soon, reinforcements arrived. The knights entering the hall were met with a sea of corpses.
“Oh my…”
“What… what is this?! Commander… what do we do now?”
Even the strongest knights were shaken by the carnage.
“The Felberg royal family… is annihilated.”
The founding anniversary ceremony had seen the attendance of the Emperor and the royal family. Most loyalist nobles were present, except those from the Empire’s Fifth Faction. The knights’ reports showed the grim reality: the Emperor’s body, hastily wrapped in bloodstained gold velvet, lay before them.
“This is treason! It must be the Empire’s Fifth Faction! Gather the army and crush them!”
One of the knights shouted in anger. Yet Steiner Landerk, Count and Commander of the White Wing Assault Knights, shook his head calmly. There was no proof linking the Fifth Faction to the attack. More importantly, he lacked the authority to mobilize the imperial army.
“The only person who can command the imperial army is the Emperor.”
But the Emperor was dead.
“Then there’s nothing we can do? We just stand by?”
A subordinate knight asked.
“Yes. We could alert the capital and request defensive forces, but any attack on the Fifth Faction is far beyond my authority.” Steiner answered. The remaining imperial army was too weak to handle the multiple dukes and one grand duke of the Fifth Faction alone.
“The Empire needs an Emperor…”
Then Steiner remembered one prince who had not attended the anniversary ceremony: Kaïn. The youngest prince of the Felberg Empire, known as a notorious troublemaker.
“Yes… the Third Prince must still be alive. To save the Empire, he must ascend the throne.”
As he spoke, Steiner’s voice gained conviction. The Empire needed a ruler, and Kaïn was the last royal bloodline remaining. His path was clear.
The youngest prince, exiled to a remote outpost, was now the last hope of the Felberg Empire.
Yet Kaïn—seeing Steiner’s solemn expression—could only smile wryly.
He already imagined the thorny path ahead.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
[Prologue complete.]
[The memories of ‘Kaïn Felberg’ are now forcibly synchronized. The wanderer has no right to refuse.]
Immediately after witnessing the grand hall massacre, a wave of unfamiliar memories crashed over him.
“Ugh.”
Kang Jihoon, now Kaïn Felberg, the next emperor of a crumbling empire, bit his lip.
It seemed that things had gone terribly, terribly wrong.
