Chapter 538: Myth(2)
Chapter 538: Myth(2)
As Deimos had warned, the wraiths appeared incessantly.
There were wraiths screaming for their lives, wraiths fighting to the bitter end, and wraiths struggling to leave behind some kind of record.
At first, the constant jump scares had me clinging tightly to Kate, but as time passed, I gradually grew accustomed to them.
When I tentatively pulled away, Kate looked genuinely disappointed, but I decided to ignore that.
Regardless, as I adapted, I began to realize what these wraiths were trying to show me.
The outbreak of the Demon War. And the fall of the Kingdom of Gerios.
The demons slaughtered everyone inside the palace. The warriors fought desperately to hold them back, but it was a losing battle. No matter how many they killed, it was meaningless the moment the person standing right next to them turned into a demon. It was pure pandemonium.
In the midst of this chaos, one person stood out—a man who appeared to be a demon himself.
That man walked forward silently, indifferent to the hellscape unfolding around him.
"Lady Kate."
"Yes?"
"Is it possible to purify something like a wraith?"
"It depends on the individual. However, those with grudges strong enough to manifest as wraiths usually possess great power. Seeing as Cardinal Deimos couldn't purify them, it would likely be difficult for me as well."
Kate was a battle priest, specialized in cracking the skulls of demon worshippers.
While her individual combat prowess far exceeded Deimos's, her purification abilities were a step behind. There are things that even overwhelming divine power can and cannot solve.
"Still, it is curious. It's rare for wraiths to reenact scenes this vividly."
"It might be a bit dangerous..."
I didn't even get to finish my sentence.
[Aaaagh!]
"Gah!"
A wraith with no lower half—just a torso—streaked past me.
Startled out of my wits, I reflexively grabbed Kate's arm.
Even if it was a colorless wraith, it's only natural to be shocked when someone flies by putting their vitals on display. Besides, I’ve always been a bit of a coward. Even in my past life, I was the type to watch horror movies through the gaps in my fingers.
"...You're surprisingly weak against this sort of thing."
Kate let out a soft chuckle, seemingly finding this side of me refreshing.
She was clearly amused. Moreover, perhaps because I was holding her arm, a faint blush tinged her pale cheeks.
Feeling a surge of embarrassment, I coughed and replied as calmly as possible.
"It's not that I'm not afraid of anything. I don't mind gruesome or horrific things, but I absolutely loathe being startled."
"I see. I don't mind at all, so feel free to hold on whenever you like."
"Ahem. Right."
My face burned with shame. One might say I was being too much of a scaredy-cat for someone who had undergone reincarnation.
But as I told Kate, I only overreact to sudden surprises. Like a tense cat that leaps into the air when poked—as long as it’s not that, I’m fine.
Lately, even Ariel has taken a liking to scaring me.
Maybe she learned it from her mother, but she occasionally pops out of nowhere. Once, she did it in the dead of night and nearly gave me a heart attack. I tried to discipline her and told her not to do it again, but she didn't seem to listen at all.
"It's strange."
"What is?"
"The feeling of you relying on me, Sir Isaac. For some reason, it makes my heart flutter. It feels similar to before, yet different."
Kate spoke softly, placing a hand over her heart. The look in her eyes as she watched me was unsettling.
It was the look of a predator eyeing a delicious piece of prey. As she said, it was similar to before, yet different. If she had licked her lips just then, she would have been a carbon copy of Cecile.
"Uh... anyway, that's not important right now, so shall we keep going?"
"Understood. You may rely on me whenever you wish."
I felt like she put a bit too much emphasis on the word 'rely,' but maybe I was just imagining things.
I moved forward, clutching my shrinking courage. I didn't forget to keep holding onto Kate's arm.
She gave a small, gentle smile at my behavior before returning to a serious expression. A subtle tension lingered between us, but the world around us was still a literal nightmare.
Creeeeeak—
Following the demon wraith, we eventually entered a space that appeared to be the Audience Chamber.
Despite being a manifestation of a wraith, the doors to the chamber physically swung open. I wondered what kind of powerful grudge haunted this palace to allow it to affect the physical world so directly.
[So, you have come.]
A heavy voice struck my ears the moment we stepped inside.
Kate and I slowly raised our heads toward the source of the voice.
A giant of a man sat regally upon a throne that had long since lost its luster. He was looking down haughtily at the demon.
He wore skirt-like trousers one might see in ancient Sparta, and his upper body was bare, revealing massive, bulging muscles.
This had to be Morgan, the last king of the Kingdom of Gerios, a man once notorious as a conquering monarch.
But didn't Grandfather Clark say that King Morgan was the one who caused the Demon War?
I was told the Maishal family's ancestor was a slave, and that King Morgan was the villain who summoned demons out of insatiable greed. The full details hadn't been revealed yet, but so far, the situation seemed to be the exact opposite.
[You are still the same as ever, Your Majesty. Tell me, how do I look?]
[Hideous. What a waste of that red hair, the symbol of our royal line.]
The conversation between the demon wraith and King Morgan continued peacefully. At least on the surface.
I could tell instinctively that their exchange would soon turn into a confrontation.
As the dialogue progressed, I realized their relationship was far more than just king and slave. The King truly viewed the slave as family, and the slave, in turn, saw the King as a father and family.
However, looking at the slave, it seemed his twisted affection had led him to summon demons into this world. The King, unlike the slave, seemed somewhat skeptical. I watched the afterimage of the past in silence.
BOOM!
[You gave me everything! The power I lacked! The honor I lacked! The dreams I lacked! The family I lacked! So why! Why are you giving up on your own dreams! Why?!]
Once the time bomb exploded, a fierce battle naturally ensued between the two.
I had suspected it since the doors opened, but the moment the fight began, indirect and direct physical effects manifested in the present. Every time their heavy axes collided, shockwaves radiated in all directions, and dust billowed, obscuring our vision.
It was a good thing Kate was there to protect me; otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome.
Still, this is more than just a little complicated.
The violent struggle ended with King Morgan's victory. But the relationship between King Morgan and the slave, Arthur, was truly complex.
Morgan had cherished Arthur like his own son, but he was met with Arthur's arrogance and betrayal. Yet, King Morgan chose to become a slave himself to protect his son's honor, while allowing his own name to be dragged through the mud and covered in infamy.
From this alone, it was clear that the bond between King Morgan and Arthur was more than just a simple father-son relationship.
So that's why Grandfather Clark called our ancestor a slave.
The ancestor of the Maishal family was both a king and a slave. It was only because King Morgan ended his life as a slave that he wasn't covered in the filth of his son's actions.
At the same time, I felt a pang of pity. If not for Arthur's twisted wish, Morgan would have been recorded in history as a great conquering monarch in a positive light.
"...Sir Isaac."
"Yes, go ahead."
"Is what I just saw... truly the truth?"
Once the wraiths finished their reenactment, Kate asked me in a trembling voice.
Unlike me, who had gathered fragments of the truth from various sources, this was her first time facing it. The truth about the Maishal family was one thing, but the parts related to the 'Sea' must have been equally confusing.
I ran a hand through my hair and answered in a steady voice.
"It seems so. It matches what I heard from Grandfather Clark."
"..."
"So, are you going to condemn me? As the descendant of the family that caused the Demon War?"
"Absolutely not! I was just... taken aback..."
At my half-joke, Kate shouted in rare surprise. She even grabbed my arm as if pleading for me to believe her. Her grip was so strong it actually hurt a bit.
[The Maishal family has long since paid for their sins, servant of Luminous. I heard those demon-worshipping bastards slaughtered anyone with red hair.]
"That's right. If Grandfather Clark hadn't hurried..."
Wait a minute. Who said that?
I stopped mid-sentence and turned my head. Kate did the same.
The source of the voice wasn't the wraiths in the center of the room, but the throne where King Morgan had been sitting.
[Besides, it has been three thousand years. If Luminous were to punish someone for a sin committed three thousand years ago, he would be unforgivable as well. Is that not so?]
"Uh..."
King Morgan had swapped clothes with the slave and run out of the Audience Chamber.
But now, he was sitting on the throne, wearing his characteristic Spartan-style trousers. Given that he had just responded to my words, that meant...
"Are you... King Morgan?"
[I am. And you must be the descendant I have heard so much about. Your name was...]
"I am Isaac Ducard Maishal."
I was so flustered that I forgot my manners and gave a short reply. Fortunately, King Morgan didn't seem to mind.
"But are you truly King Morgan?"
[You can see it with your own eyes, can you not? All those wraiths from before were my recreations. Right now, I am a physical entity.]
"Sir Isaac. Get behind me."
The moment King Morgan declared himself a physical entity, Kate sensed danger and pulled me back. She was ready to step in if necessary, but I stopped her by gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
Naturally, she looked at me with a questioning gaze. I nodded to reassure her.
"Lord Luminous told me. That there was someone I needed to meet in the Grey Desert. I believe it is him."
[What did that fellow say about me? I am a bit curious.]
"How dare you! Such blasphemy against Lord Luminous...!"
"Whoa, whoa. Don't fight. Please, just bear with it for a moment."
When he insulted someone she shouldn't, Kate flared up in rage. Since Luminous was like a father to her, it was essentially a parental insult.
I did my best to hold her back while cautiously checking King Morgan's reaction. King Morgan sat on his throne, looking down haughtily, seemingly unbothered by Kate's fury.
"Ahem. My apologies for the interruption."
[I shall be generous and overlook it.]
At my apology, King Morgan responded with an incredibly arrogant air of benevolence.
There was no need to fight; I had come here because Luminous told me to. Furthermore, seeing how vividly he could recreate the wraiths, King Morgan's power had to be extraordinary. Usually, beings like this are either equal to gods or just one step below. If not, he wouldn't be able to openly look down on Luminous.
[So, what did that fellow Luminous call me?]
"May I be honest?"
[He probably said I was an insolent or annoying fellow. Am I right?]
"You are exactly right."
As I suspected, King Morgan and Luminous seemed to be old acquaintances. When I answered in a dazed tone, King Morgan let out a smirk, as if he had expected nothing less.
[That sounds like him. Now that the truth he wanted to hide so badly is coming to light.]
"By 'truth,' do you mean...?"
[It seems you have a general idea. Then you must have questions. I shall give you the first opportunity to ask.]
"Hmm..."
Despite King Morgan's goodwill, I didn't answer immediately and looked at Kate instead. Her opinion of King Morgan was already rock bottom; I could tell just by looking at her eyes.
I wasn't sure if I should let her hear the truth about Luminous. There was no one more devout than her.
[Before that, I would like you to leave. I wish to speak with my descendant alone.]
"Don't talk nonsense—"
"Understood."
"Sir Isaac?!"
Kate shouted in protest but was quickly bewildered by my response. It was only natural for her to be flustered when I agreed to stay alone with someone who could potentially harm me.
However, I had a strong intuition that King Morgan wouldn't do that. His tone was arrogant, but his goodwill toward me was clear.
"You don't need to worry. If things get dangerous, Lord Luminous will protect me."
"But..."
Kate looked back and forth between me and King Morgan with an anxious expression. I took her hand gently and emphasized again.
"It's okay. If it were dangerous, Lord Luminous wouldn't have sent me here."
"..."
"It will be over soon."
At my request, Kate squeezed my hand tightly for a moment before slowly letting go. She gave King Morgan a fierce glare before slowly backing away.
"...You must be careful."
"Of course."
Kate glared at King Morgan one last time before stepping out of the Audience Chamber.
Grrrr—Thud!
As soon as she left, the wide-open doors slammed shut.
And so, King Morgan and I were left alone in the chamber. I turned my gaze from the doors back to the throne. King Morgan was looking down at me, leaning back in a crooked posture as usual.
[So, what is your first question?]
"I want to know what gods existed in this world before the Great Cataclysm."
I had many questions. But I started with the one based on the truth I had seen in the scroll. The scroll suggested that not only the Father and the God of the Sea existed, but various other gods as well.
However, it was just a guess; I knew nothing about which gods they were.
[Hmm. An unexpected question. Why are you curious about that?]
King Morgan seemed surprised as well, stroking his chin as he asked back.
The reason was simple. If I could confirm which gods existed, I could roughly piece together the past. Just as Luminous governs light and war, and Mora governs darkness and peace, every god has a role. Using that as a foundation, I could more easily deduce the history of the gods.
"No particular reason. I'm just curious."
[You seem more like a scholar, as I heard. The descendant who visited before was a warrior.]
The descendant who came before must have been Grandfather Clark. I responded with a faint smile.
[Very well. However, it will be difficult to give you a proper answer.]
"Why is that? Is it because all the records were lost during the Great Cataclysm?"
[That is part of it, but...]
At my question, King Morgan spoke with a subtle smile.
[Luminous annihilated them all.]
Hearing that much, I thought, That's just like the God of War.
[But the annihilation of a god is different from the death of a mortal. As long as a single believer or record remains, they can maintain a faint divinity. What I am talking about are gods who were literally erased, leaving not even a record behind.]
"Then, for an existence to be completely erased..."
[There is only one condition for the complete erasure of a god's existence.]
But the thought that followed...
[You kill every single believer who follows that god.]
It reminded me of a certain person famous for ethnic cleansing.