Chapter 225
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 225
“The Orb of Life… I’m not entirely sure what you’re referring to. It’s a rather common name for many things.”
The Chairman feigned ignorance, his expression remaining intentionally vague. In response, I stated my purpose clearly.
“I’m talking about the Orb of Life, one of the Academy’s Three Great Divine Artifacts. I believe you’re well aware of it, Chairman.”
As the Chairman of the Academy Union, a Grand Mage, and the disciple of Azolte—the man who left the Three Great Divine Artifacts in this land—there was no way he didn't know.
Realizing he had no way out, the Chairman sighed and leaned back into his chair.
“Huuu. So you’ve come already knowing everything, I see.”
He spoke with his eyes closed.
“If that is what you wish, Roen, I can answer your questions. But before I do, there is one thing you must understand.”
He met my gaze directly, his tone carrying a heavy warning.
“The moment you realize that artifact’s true power and value, the situation may escalate rapidly.”
“By that, you mean…”
“It means they won’t stand idly by either.”
The Chairman turned away to gaze silently out the window. Perhaps he was looking beyond the darkness, toward the far end of the Great Wall.
But for the situation to escalate so rapidly just from me learning about the Orb of Life…
“Then if I choose not to hear about the Orb of Life and ignore it, will things be any different?”
I asked with a sliver of hope, but the Chairman slowly shook his head.
“Well, not necessarily. The moment you harbored a question and came to me, the threads of causality were already woven.”
“…In that case, I’ll hear it.”
It wasn’t a future that could be avoided by covering my eyes and ears. Having drawn the sword, I had to press on.
“Very well, Roen. Please take out the Sage’s Glasses and the Cognitive Acceleration Stone and place them on the table.”
It seemed the Chairman already knew I had obtained the two artifacts. I took the glasses and the pendant from my coat and set them down. The Chairman gazed at the two artifacts with deep, knowing eyes before asking a question.
“The Academy’s Three Great Divine Artifacts. You know who hid them in the Union, I presume?”
“Yes, I heard it was the will of the Great Sage Azolte.”
The Great Sage of the Golden Age, Azolte Fingard.
He was the one who knew of the Cognitive Acceleration Stone that had long slumbered beneath the Meteor Archipelago, and he was the one who had sealed Aegis—a weapon from the Age of Myths—deep within this land. Along with the glasses that contained a fragment of his own soul.
So why did Azolte leave these three artifacts at the Academy?
To obtain all Three Great Divine Artifacts means to gain the wisdom of a sage, the infinite potential of the Cognitive Acceleration Stone, and the pure absoluteness of Aegis.
Furthermore, it could mean that the sage’s wisdom was necessary to perfectly wield the other two.
And to obtain these three, one must be a blank canvas still in the process of forming their own values… in other words, a student. And not just any student, but the Student Council President, who can unite students from countless different backgrounds and values.
That had been my theory. Of course, the moment I realized one of the artifacts was the Orb of Life and not Aegis, my theory was proven wrong.
“That is correct. However, my master, Lord Azolte, had a slightly different idea.”
The Chairman closed his eyes as if recalling a distant memory.
“Azolte Fingard is an observer of parallel worlds. He exists in many worlds, yet at the same time, belongs to none of them.”
The Great Sage, an observer of parallel worlds. This was information I hadn’t seen in the game or even the official lore books.
“He traverses the countless branches of worlds, exploring their origins and their ends. The moment he observes a world, its future can be set in stone, or new branches can diverge.”
The Chairman slowly opened his eyes and looked at me.
“He read the future of this world, which is soon to perish, and made preparations. He also foresaw that a half-blood of human and demon descent, one who wields authority over space, would one day come to this Union.”
“……!”
Unlike me, who was shaken by the unexpected revelation, the Chairman continued without any visible agitation.
“Therefore, he left the Cognitive Acceleration Stone, a power that governs time, in this land. And he also left the Fruit of Wisdom and the Fruit of Life here.”
As the Chairman tapped the Sage’s Glasses, they dissolved into particles of mana before reforming into a new shape. It was a golden apple that seemed to glow with its own inner light. It was beautiful to behold, looking so luscious that it seemed it would fill one with wisdom the moment it was consumed.
While I was staring blankly at the golden apple, he waved his hand in the air.
Zwoong—.
As the Chairman reached out, space tore open and another fruit appeared. It was a beautiful, silver-blue fruit, reminiscent of the deep sea or the Milky Way scattered across the night sky. As the silver-blue fruit and the golden apple were brought together, they suddenly began to emit a strange, resonant magical power.
“An absolute being who commands time and space. A perfect existence who has obtained both life and wisdom. Moreover, a half-blood who can mend the long-standing rift between demons and humans. Truly… they would be the savior of this land.”
The Chairman placed the summoned silver-blue fruit on the table. I fell into deep thought as I looked at the Three Great Divine Artifacts of the Academy, finally gathered in one place.
“……”
I had thought the Three Great Divine Artifacts held a complete meaning and intent on their own, but that wasn’t the case.
These three alone are incomplete.
Only one with the right to wield all three simultaneously could gather them and enjoy their complete power. Azolte had buried the three artifacts in this land, hoping that one day, a person worthy of that right would appear.
Everything was prepared hundreds of years ago.
And Roen had realized this path and was calmly moving forward. Was I an outsider who had stumbled into this wheel of fate? Or was I the final key needed to see this destiny to its end?
The Chairman spoke again.
“This Fruit of Life holds tremendous authority. An authority great enough to make the bud of this world sprout once more. But it will require many sacrifices.”
The Chairman handed the silver-blue fruit to me.
“My role ends here. From now on, it is up to you, Roen.”
He rose from his seat, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked out the window.
“Dark clouds are gathering. The day will come when you, too, must make a choice.”
The Chairman carefully added one last remark.
“In the end, you could become a savior who brings ruin to this world, or a demon king who chooses his own destruction.”
*
On the other side of the continent, in the heart of the Demon Realm.
A conference room was steeped in the weight of darkness. It was a place where the light of ever-burning embers of mana settled mysteriously like candle wax. Drawn by the resonance of the fruits imbued with the powers of life and wisdom, the Honored Ones had gathered.
Around a great round table sat the Honored Ones, each representing their respective race.
With the exception of Kral, who was regenerating in the deep sea after being vanquished by the Grand Mage Ain Soph Fingard, and the Mad Dragon Calvador, who was indifferent to the affairs of the world, ten of the Honored Ones had assembled.
The representative of the humans, Gillean.
The representative of the elves, Shainar.
The representative of the dwarves, Ryuton.
The representative of the beastkin, Girena.
The representative of the vampires, Carmilla.
The representative of the giants, Yungraom.
The representative of the spirits, Amur.
The representative of the celestials, Yunok.
The representative of the undead, Rimgar.
And the representative of the demons, Iscariot.
Though they usually acted within their own territories, today they had a reason to gather. Their voices echoed in the faint darkness.
“So, it has finally revealed itself.”
“This means the day to achieve our great cause is approaching.”
The great cause: nullifying the covenant made between the first emperor and the gods, and reclaiming the Racial Wedge of each race. Through this, the twelve races would break free from the shackles of mana, regain their freedom, and achieve an infinite evolution beyond their current limits.
Just then, Girena, the Honored One of the beastkin who had been silently crossing her arms, spoke up.
“Gillean, Amur, Carmilla. The successor you bastards are sponsoring has finally made his move. What are you going to do about it?”
Girena’s beast-like yellow eyes flashed as she recalled the two fruits. The Fruits of Life and Wisdom were originally objects from the divine realm. They were not meant for created beings, but the gods had gifted them to humans, along with the seed of the divine tree, as proof of the first covenant.
The dwarven Honored One, Ryuton, shouted next.
“That dangerous power could nullify our great cause at a fundamental level! Why didn’t you kill him sooner?!”
Those two fruits held the power to ruin the great cause the Twelve Honored Ones had been preparing for so long. It was no surprise they had gathered to address the emergence of the two fruits.
Carmilla, however, simply picked her ear, acting as if it were no big deal.
“What’s all the fuss about? The successor doesn’t know how to use the Fruits of Life and Wisdom yet. Even if he did, it’s not something he could do easily. By the way, old man, you looking to die?”
“Wh-What did you say?”
“And what is the successor you lot are backing doing? He’s slaughtering all the humans in the kingdom, uniting the other humans against him, isn’t he? He’s about to become a public enemy of the continent.”
The dwarf Ryuton, the beastkin Girena, and the undead Rimgar. The successor these three sponsored was King Kaim of the Kingdom of Gilbert.
King Kaim had recently revealed his true colors and was expanding his massacre throughout the kingdom. The news had spread across the continent, and he was on the verge of being designated a continental public enemy.
It was Rimgar, the Honored One of the undead, his body wrapped in bandages, who answered Carmilla’s accusation.
“Carmilla, that is merely a necessary sacrifice for the successor to obtain his rightful authority.”
King Kaim was a pure human. For one not born with the power of demons to gain the Right of Succession, they needed a commensurate amount of evil deeds—in other words, karma. The massacre he was currently perpetrating was one way to accumulate that karma.
“Besides, the time is already near. We no longer need to care what those human bastards think. In fact, now is the time for a grand declaration of war.”
As Rimgar spoke, he gazed at a dark red energy that was spreading across a map as if it were alive. It was the embodiment of the fear and terror spreading throughout the world. A kingdom-level massacre and being designated a public enemy of the continent would serve as an impressive declaration of war.
The dwarf Ryuton asked Carmilla irritably.
“Has your successor even secured his Right of Succession? No matter if he’s a descendant of that person, he’s still a half-blood. He’ll need a substantial amount of evil deeds, won’t he?”
“That’s none of your business, old man. And as for infamy, he has more than enough.”
Roen’s infamy had long since spread across the entire continent. It was more than enough to challenge for the Right of Succession. After all, infamy was proof of the evil deeds one had accumulated.
At that moment, Yungraom, the one-eyed giant and Honored One of the giants who had been listening in silence, spoke.
“Then the struggle for succession will soon begin.”
Roen and King Kaim. And besides them, there was one other successor. A demon of pure dark lineage. The successor supported by the elf Shainar, the giant Yungraom, and the celestial Yunok. The successor who was, at present, closest to inheriting the title.
The Honored One of the demons, who was himself one of the Twelve Honored Ones, Iscariot. His red eyes gleamed in the darkness as he summarized the situation.
“Yes, the struggle will soon begin. Before that, there is only one way to resolve the current situation.”
The half-blood successor who could potentially interfere with their great cause, and the other successor who was about to become the continent’s public enemy. There was only one way to deal with them both.
He swept back his waterfall of pure white hair and spoke calmly.
“We’ll just have to bring the half-blood successor here before he figures out the true power of the two fruits. Furthermore, the time has come to stand with the successor born of slaughter and reveal our great cause to the entire continent.”
Tak-.
He pushed over a chess piece on the board with his finger.
“We will attack the Union.”