Chapter 26
Chapter: 26
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 026
>Chapter Title: The Black Prophets (1)
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>[Call me soon. This isn't a place to stay. Waaah!]
How should I call you?
[Call me, Seongjin. Sniff sniff.]
Hearing someone's sorrowful sobs, Seongjin opened his eyes.
What was that? Did I have a dream?
His mind gradually returned to reality. It was the same old morning in the Pearl Palace.
Rubbing his tired eyes, he got out of bed. Though he'd collapsed into bed exhausted until morning, his complicated thoughts left him with no relief from fatigue.
Normally, he'd stretch and rush to the training grounds, but he wasn't in the mood today. Seongjin just sat blankly on the bed, recalling yesterday's events.
"Don't worry. We're on Holy Emperor Dad and Mores's side."
"We just want to help with what we know."
Hernah and Gades had spoken soothingly toward Seongjin, who glared at them from across the carriage. He was overly on edge after the puppet show.
"Al Pahas. What the hell is that? Is that the Demon King's name?"
Seongjin asked what puzzled him most. Just hearing the name had made him feel strangely upset, his stomach churning.
But the twins shook their heads.
"It's a different name. Calling the wrong name denies the real one."
"It's a cheaper, nastier attack than slapping someone in the face over and over."
Seeing genuine outrage on the twins' faces made Seongjin look away, feeling oddly guilty.
But it was strange. No matter how much he repeated "Al Pahas" now, he didn't feel the same shock as before. When he mentioned it, Hernah and Gades nodded as if it were obvious and briefly explained what the [Puppeteer] had done.
The insolent bastard had staged that "boring" puppet show to create something called a mental image barrier.
That "vile" [Puppeteer] had crafted a "pathetically worthless" mental image with blurry boundaries, then tried to overlay it on the real Demon King and the world. That "outrageous" stunt had affected the Demon King—and some of the impact spilled over to Seongjin.
He had no idea what that meant.
When he asked why the [Puppeteer] would do such a thing, they said it was because that "wretched" guy was a "thoroughly evil" bastard threatening this world's peace.
More like, aren't you two just hating on the [Puppeteer] guy a ton?
"Keeping someone bound to this world is all about calling their name, Mores."
"Keep denying their name, and eventually they can't hold a foothold in the world, Mores."
At any rate, one thing was now clear.
These twins knew about Gehenna's Demon King and seemed aware of some connection to Seongjin. Was it too much of a stretch to think they even knew his true identity?
Plus, for reasons unknown, these kids appeared eager to help the vanished Demon King.
In that case.
"Do you know the Demon King's real name?"
He'd hoped a little, but disappointingly, the twins answered with glum faces.
"Even Holy Emperor Dad probably doesn't know that."
"If Dad doesn't know, neither do we."
"This is the Holy Empire. Why would the Holy Emperor's kids help the Demon King?"
"Because Holy Emperor Dad allows it."
"Dad thinks he's necessary."
In the end, the twins were all about the Holy Emperor.
"What the Holy Emperor doesn't know, the twins don't either. So what the twins know, the Holy Emperor knows too..."
Seongjin muttered blankly into space when a knock sounded. Knock knock.
"Prince Mores, did you cough?"
As always, Edith entered, setting a pitcher and cloth on the table. She drew back the curtains to air out the room and reported to Seongjin.
"It's a message from Sir Masain. He has matters to investigate this morning, so he asks that Your Highness meditate alone and review your swordsmanship."
He recalled Sir Masain leaving the Pearl Palace last night with a deeply troubled expression.
Learning his charge was suddenly linked to various secret groups, he must have felt the need to swiftly verify the facts.
The Golden Truth Society.
The Adelheit Plague Society.
The Blue Republican Revolutionary Front.
What on earth had the original Mores been thinking, sponsoring such groups?
'Well, no use pondering it now...'
If he uncovered anything, Sir Masain would explain. For some reason, Seongjin felt the knight was deeply devoted to him.
At least, if Mores had done wrong, he seemed the type to fix it rather than snitch.
Seongjin set aside his doubts for now and decided to focus on training. He'd concentrate on what he could do right this moment.
The Holy Emperor had told him to train too. If trouble arose, that guy would step in, right?
He probably knew most of the story anyway.
Once that closed-door meditation ended, he really should have a frank talk with the Holy Emperor.
* * *
Even without Sir Masain, the Pearl Palace resident knights, now disciplined, remained steadfast.
As soon as Seongjin entered the training grounds, they swiftly formed ranks and greeted him in thunderous unison.
"We greet the Third Prince!"
"Uh, yeah, everyone, good work."
It felt awkward; until recently, they'd just stared in silent intimidation. Seongjin gave an embarrassed smile and headed to a corner of the grounds.
Might as well start the day with clean meditation.
Before sitting to meditate, he habitually checked the rippling aura waves inside his chest. It always calmed his mind.
He began tracking the aura's flow with slow breaths. The subtle currents seeping in with each inhale, gathering toward his dantian.
Their circuit from the dantian, swirling along paths before spreading through his body.
Like when he'd absorbed the mana beast's essence before, he spread the aura evenly to his bones, muscles, and even skin.
Sir Masain had said not to forcibly twist the aura's flow. Of course, that didn't mean letting it run wild.
Guide it gently without resisting the flow, leading it to the dantian. And when drawing it out, don't disrupt the natural current—let it flow from core to limbs like water.
In essence, from abundance to need.
When absorbing the mana beast's essence before, Seongjin hadn't struggled to move the flow itself. He'd simply clearly envisioned what to strengthen and where the flow should go.
Maybe handling aura was similar? Did he really need to force the flowing water to twist?
What he needed was to draw the flow to where it was lacking. To precisely envision the desired spot. To yearn more intensely from the absence of aura. To crystallize that desire into a clear image.
Perhaps "aura follows the mind" meant exactly that.
The Holy Emperor's words held value after all, Seongjin thought.
Above all, the sensation of controlling that massive aura flow the Holy Emperor had let him experience lingered vividly in his memory. Recalling that refreshing current, he gathered the spread energies and pulled them toward his dantian.
Unbeknownst to him, a gentle breeze stirred around Seongjin. He didn't notice. Nor did he see the few training knights watching him in astonishment.
Round and round. The gathered aura quickly formed a circular orbit, which was fun. Without pressing to compress it, the circling flows naturally converged at critical angles, gradually forming layers.
One, then another.
A smile crept unbidden to Seongjin's lips as he sat eyes closed.
"I've seen something like that before. Back when Sir Baltazar was meditating..."
A knight murmured blankly, watching. It was Maria, an advanced knight dispatched from the Imperial Guard's 1st Division to earn drinking money.
The resident knights had all stopped training, huddling to watch Seongjin. The junior knight Haven at the edge pouted.
"Come on, even so, comparing a beginner to Sir Baltazar?"
"Then have you ever seen that? Aura flow manifesting like that?"
Lost for words, Haven rolled his eyes before grudgingly replying.
"Uh... the aura storm His Holiness the Holy Emperor stirred up recently?"
He shrank under the knights' dumbfounded stares.
Comparing it to the Holy Emperor, of all things.
"A genius..."
Whether whispered by someone, the word hung like a sigh, silencing the knights.
Genius.
No one had said it aloud yet, but watching the Third Prince train with Sir Masain these past days, everyone had thought it at least once.
Quick mastery of any form, doggedly swinging the sword until corrections stuck, entering a trance in moments to dance the blade's instinctive rhythm.
And from the instant he sensed aura, his body's aura activating at a leaping pace.
They could no longer picture the old lazy, dull pig of a wastrel.
With such genius talent, why had he acted like a total scumbag all this time?
"...Damn it!"
A young knight at the back spat a curse, shot up, and stormed off. He had a long scar tearing across one forehead.
Haven startled to grab him, but Sir Kurt shook his head, restraining him.
"Let him go. He's got complicated thoughts too."
"But..."
"Feels hollow, doesn't it? Knowing it'd end up like this—why'd the captain have to leave the order that way?"
"......"
The remaining knights silently watched Seongjin and the breeze swirling around him once more.
Endlessly, without end.
'Jumping straight to the fifth layer might be pushing it...'
How much time passed? Seongjin sighed and opened his eyes.
He considered meditating more, but the massively strengthened repulsion wasn't yielding easily.
The next layer would probably take considerable time, as Sir Masain advised—slow and steady.
Besides, he wanted to swing a wooden sword soon.
As he rose, thinking that far, Seongjin startled and plopped back down.
A angel crouched before him, staring intently. He hadn't noticed her arrival.
"...Sis?"
Amelia was adorably prim as ever. In a light pink dress, her hair neatly braided up with a red ribbon—chaste yet cute. In that charming outfit, she knelt with knees up, chin propped, gazing at him.
"When did you get here? What's up?"
"Yeah, came to eat lunch together, saw you meditating. No clue what it was, but it looked amazing."
Oh, really? Seongjin broke into cold sweat, glancing around.
The resident knights trained stiffly in one corner, tense. How long had they been like this?
Oblivious to his fluster, she murmured calmly.
"So that's how you get strong by training like this."
"......?"
Amelia's clear gray eyes grew distant once more.
She often looked at Seongjin that way. As if gazing far off, or recalling old memories.
"You're an amazing kid, Mores."
Brushing off as he stood, Seongjin let out a hollow laugh.
"Amazing? I've barely started anything worth calling training. Still miles to go."
"No, even I can tell it's extraordinary."
Taking his offered hand to rise, Amelia emphasized again with inexplicable confidence.
"Trust me, Mores. You'll become incredibly strong."
Hmm, no idea why she's so sure, but thanks, sis.
"And probably a cool young knight in black armor."
Black armor out of nowhere?
"Perfect for the front-line demon, right? No blood, no tears."
Wait, but a demon for the Holy Empire's prince?
"The Black Demon of Delcross, making enemies tremble just by looking. Isn't that cool?"
...Huh.
This picture-book beauty of a sister apparently harbored chuunibyou tastes.