Chapter 125: Founding the Nation (1) |
TL/Editor: Rungir
Schedule: none
Illustrations: none
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"I'm sorry, Grandmother, but I'll have to visit another time..."
"Do that."
Before Aileen could finish her sentence, Zion's voice flowed with acceptance.
Surprise filled the eyes of the other two, excluding Liushina. The Zion they knew had never shown interest in such matters.
Ignoring their puzzled looks, Zion entered the makeshift tent with a languid expression. There was a different reason why Zion had accepted.
Zion thought this as he looked at the old woman, still smiling smugly.
Io and Teuticana.
Among the 'Seven Heavens,' she was the seventh, known as the 'Sage who Reads Fate.'
Possessing both the Eye of the Past and the Eye of the Future, she would appear before those she favored to foretell their fate and offer the most needed advice, truly deserving of the title 'Sage.'
A unique case among the Seven Heavens, having risen to her position not through strength but other abilities.
Having appeared over an inhuman span of years, there were rumors she was not human, and she was mentioned only once in the chronicles.
"You've made a wise decision, youngsters. Now, who would like to go first?"
Charruk!
The sage asked this, stroking a peculiar necklace with the heads of both a dog and a cat on it.
In fact, Zion recognized her not just by her appearance but mainly because of that necklace.
"Alright, it seems you would be good," she said, pointing her finger at Thierry before anyone could respond, as if asking for permission.
Zion nodded slightly towards Thierry, who was looking at him as if seeking approval.
"I honestly don't believe in this kind of thing..."
"You, you're a shadow."
The words flowed from Io's mouth before Thierry could finish speaking.
Hearing this, Thierry's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.
"Around the age of five, after your parents died in an accident, you entered the imperial city. Exactly a year later, you caught the eye of the previous generation's shadow, were recognized, and immediately went through rigorous training..."
"Stop!"
Thierry hurriedly stopped Io's words.
Surprise was evident in his eyes.
He couldn't understand how this old woman he was meeting for the first time knew so much about his past.
Ordinarily, divination involved drawing cards and making plausible statements that anyone could say, all dressed up in fancy words.
But this old woman in front of him hadn't even touched the crystal ball in front of her, let alone cards.
"Hmm, one must see the past to see the future... Shall we stop here?"
Io asked, looking at the flustered Thierry with indifferent eyes.
"Yes, I will stop here."
Thierry, feeling as if his insides were being unraveled, shook his head and stood up from his seat.
His eyes, as he looked at Io, had completely changed from the beginning.
"I won't do it."
Aileen, having realized that the old woman in front of her was no ordinary person, also shook her head.
It seemed that those involved in intelligence were particularly averse to having their information exposed.
"Then I'll do it."
Was it the sight that piqued her interest?
Liushina, who had been watching with a bored expression, lit up her eyes and strode confidently to sit in front of Io.
"Take a look at mine too."
Liushina leaned forward towards the old woman with a smirk on her face.
Io, meeting her gaze, also smiled slightly.
Along with that, Liushina's eyes began to fill with a strange aura.
"You were born with the fate of 'murder.' Unable to feel satisfaction without killing something every day. Looking into your eyes, it seems you are well aware of your fate. In the past, you... huh."
Io stopped speaking, her smile fading as surprise, for the first time, crept into her eyes.
"How many lives have you taken... It's so blood-red that I can't bear to look at it. How have you managed to live up to now after causing such things? And...
It even seems like you're quite satisfied now. How do you manage to satisfy that urge to kill..."
Io suddenly closed her mouth.
Having looked into the past and present, it seemed she had guessed the true nature of Liushina in front of her.
The question in the old woman's eyes was how such a being could exist in the world without unleashing a bloodbath until now.
"Why stop talking? You won't look into the future, not just the past?"
Liushina asked, still not erasing her smile towards the sage.
That smile appeared a bit more sinister than before.
"…It seems unnecessary to look further as it will continue to be filled with blood just like until now."
"Really? Then that's fine."
Though Io, with a slightly sickened face, refused to continue the divination, Liushina seemed satisfied, nodding her head and standing up.
After all, her interest in knowing the future was merely about whether she could continue to take many lives.
Having satisfied her curiosity, she had little interest in anything else.
"Master, this person doesn't seem to be a sham, does she?"
Liushina then turned to Zion and spoke.
"Master…?"
At that word, the surprise in Io's eyes deepened even further.
As far as she knew, that 'witch' was not the type of being to serve anyone as a master.
"But a master?"
What on earth was going on?
"Is it my turn now?"
In the meantime, Zion had quietly taken a seat in front of Io with a slight smile.
The sage looked at Zion with uncertain eyes. In fact, the reason she had offered to do a reading first was because of Zion right before her.
Io could read the heavenly energy, and so she knew the moment she saw Zion's heavenly energy that it was different from others.
His energy was so distinct that it stood out even in a crowd.
'No, it's not exactly distinct. It's more accurate to say it doesn't show properly.'
That's why she had called him over for a closer look, but before she could even start, she had already been surprised twice.
She had never dreamt of encountering the 'Witch of Massacre,' humanity's adversary, here, and even less so that this witch would have a master.
And that master was the man right in front of her.
Io's curiosity about the man's identity grew even more.
"…Let's start with the past, then."
After a moment, Io, shaking her head as if she didn't know what to expect, began to fill her eyes with dark energy once more.
One of her two eyes, the 'Eye of the Past,' had activated.
However, unlike when viewing others, Zion's past did not immediately start flowing from Io's mouth.
"Hmm…"
Like looking through a thick fog, the sage strained her eyes, staring intently at Zion.
How much time had passed?
!!!!!!
Suddenly, Io's pupils dilated to their fullest extent.
Drrrr!
Her body soon tensed up as if struck by lightning, beginning to tremble violently.
"Huff! Huff!"
After about ten seconds, the sage finally stopped convulsing, and heavy breathing started to flow from her mouth.
Io's eyes were now filled with an unimaginable fear.
"You are…!"
A trembling voice flowed from her lips as she looked at Zion.
"What did you see in me?"
Zion asked, staring directly into the sage's eyes with genuine curiosity.
"Armies… darkness, stars, throne."
To his question, Io started listing words as if her linguistic abilities had regressed, one after the other.
And those were all she had seen from Zion's past.
'How could a mortal possibly…!'
She had seen only fragments of the past, mere splinters of those fragments, yet her mind felt like it was sinking into an endless sea, unable to escape the fear.
Had she delayed even slightly in withdrawing the 'Eye of the Past,' Io's own mind would have undoubtedly suffered permanent damage.
"What else? And can you see the future too?"
Zion asked the sage in succession, his eyes devoid of emotion.
Io, still with a face consumed by fear, shook her head at Zion.
Her mind was completely drained.
"You, no... Who exactly are you?"
A question, all too familiar, flowed from the sage's lips.
Zion did not answer but inwardly clicked his tongue.
'I was hoping for a clue.'
The reason for Zion's presence in this place.
Having been called the 'Sage who Reads Fate,' he had hoped for something significant, but it seemed his expectations were in vain.
'Do I have no choice but to visit the Order of Light?'
As Zion stood up with disappointment in his eyes,
"Contract."
A word suddenly popped out of Io's mouth as she blankly stared at Zion, as if just recalling it.
"...?"
"Both in the past and the future, you have formed a contract. Not an ordinary contract, but a contract with immortality."
This was something Zion himself did not know.
"Tell me more."
Zion asked, his eyes shining, but she shook her head again.
"I'm sorry, but this was all I could see just before my mind was about to be destroyed..."
Was she suggesting that Zion was no mere mortal?
Her tone had become noticeably more polite.
"…Alright, I understand."
Zion did not press Io further.
He knew the truth of her words.
'A contract...'
Not just any contract, but one that he himself had made with 'immortality.'
It was as good as having obtained a significant clue.
Having concluded his thoughts, Zion turned and spoke.
"The payment for the divination will be in information."
"Excuse me?"
"If you're looking for a hero, head towards the Fairy Forest."
It was information that Io needed right then.
Information about the hero would also be difficult for her to discern through heavenly energy.
"How do you know that..."
Though the sage's eyes filled with questions, Zion's form was already leaving the tent with his companions.
"Your Highness, what will you do?"
Some time after leaving the tent, Thierry was the first to speak.
His question was not about whether to enjoy the festival further or return to the imperial city.
"We should reveal ourselves, for now."
Zion understood the meaning behind Thierry's words and answered with a calm voice.
Surveillance.
Everyone here knew that they had been followed not long after leaving the imperial city.
It was just that Zion, aware of this fact, had chosen to remain silent until now, taking no particular action.
But there came a point when the intensity of the murderous intent from the pursuers thickened, leading Zion to decide it was time to shake them off.
"There's an abandoned theater nearby. It's locked up, so it's rarely visited by people. Shall we head there?"
"Yes."
"It seems they don't know our true identities. Otherwise, they wouldn't have come with just that level of force. Who could they be?"
Zion didn't answer Aileen's question, simply moving forward with a quiet smile.
He already had a guess.
'There's only one place that would send such a force without knowing my identity.'
Ouroboros.
It seemed they had caught a thread about Zion himself.
But they hadn't grasped the full picture; otherwise, they wouldn't have sent just that level of force.
'Had they assumed the force based on when I annihilated one of their branches?'
Clang!
Having reached the abandoned theater, Zion didn't hesitate to open the door and enter.
"Then we'll call for backup."
"No, don't call."
Zion shook his head at Thierry's suggestion from behind.
"You two hide until the fight is over. And you, don't get involved either."
"Me too?"
Liushina's eyes, filled with anticipation, quickly turned to disappointment, but Zion didn't change his mind.
"I plan to test what I've gained."
Zion considered the situation not to be a bad one.
The Gigapherses, a weapon obtained from subjugating a monster legion, was a chain-like weapon, something Zion had never handled before and felt the need to become accustomed to.
Now, a perfect opportunity for practice had presented itself.
"Understood, Your Highness."
Thierry and Aileen, fully trusting Zion's decision, immediately hid without question.
As they did, Liushina, with a sullen expression, walked to the corner of the auditorium and sat down with a thud. Clang! The door of the abandoned theater closed.
Darkness began to settle inside the theater.
Within that darkness, ssssss-
Figures, now openly emanating murderous intent, began to reveal themselves one by one.
Cloaked and masked figures, most of their faces hidden, surrounded Zion.
No words were exchanged.
No standoff occurred.
"Kill him."
Boom!
Immediately, with a single command from what appeared to be their leader, all the figures rushed at Zion with terrifying speed.
And at that moment, sssshhhh!
From Zion's left arm, stationed on the stage, a dark blue chain unfurled, transforming into the shape of a scythe with an explosive force.
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