Chapter 26
I turned slowly. The dozens of cameras whirring furiously behind me and the audience no longer pressed down on me with any sense of intimidation.
“What nonsense is this? Don't change the subject! Is this some ploy to dodge accountability for your evil deeds?” Iris screamed.
“You devil! My family! Take responsibility for the unjust deaths of my wife and daughter! Don't twist your tongue to escape—own up to it!” The man who had been collapsed in tears now wailed even more piteously, hurling fury-filled shouts at me.
I listened quietly to their tirades. Then, drawing a deep breath, I unleashed a roar of tremendous volume.
My mom used to say, “When you need to crush them, don't hesitate—crush them flat. Open your eyes wide, summon every ounce of strength from the depths of your soul, and bellow from the bottom of your spirit. All that divine energy or aura stuff? Most of it can be faked. But if you're certain of the unvarnished truth, the momentum and power will rise on their own.”
Confidence and conviction could conjure power from nothing, she said. And she was right.
“Hans Gruber!”
My thunderous shout surprised even me with its sheer magnitude. Fueled by anger, irritation, and the unshakable certainty of knowing their futures clearly, it exploded outward—swallowing the noise of dozens of spectators and cameras in an instant.
The sniffling man and Iris, her face twisted in rage, both flinched. The momentum had swung to me, if only for the moment, and I had no intention of handing it back.
“Forty-nine years old. The man who invested his entire fortune in Lumina Trading Company on my prophecy, lost it all, and as a result, saw his wife and daughter die tragically. A simple, honest life—foolish, perhaps, but never harming a soul. A true innocent. Tragic, indeed. Clearly, my three-inch tongue ruined your life.”
I began walking slowly toward the man, who was still weeping bitterly and raging.
“I see your past and future plainly. Even the future where you end it all tragically soon. The crowds gathering to mourn you. And all of them cursing and condemning me. It's all laid out crystal clear. But that past and future? It's all fabricated.”
Hans raised his voice in a sudden outburst at my words.
“You son of a bitch! Fabricated? Fabricated?! Should I drag in the bodies of my wife and daughter to prove it? Here's my fortune-telling ticket and receipt! My citizen ID too! What do you want? I can bring any evidence you demand! You heartless devil—how dare you spew such lies!”
Iris was quick to follow, bellowing just as loudly.
“Everyone, look! See this shameless, brazen behavior! This vile act of denying the ruined life he caused! Great Sage! Fabricated, you say? Then show us proof! Prove your words are true for all to see!”
“Then behold!”
Another lion's roar erupted from my mouth. I walked toward Hans slowly but steadily, locking eyes with him directly.
“I sense two fates clinging to you. One true, one false. Unfortunately for you, the unfortunate middle-aged life of Hans Gruber is the fabrication. Your true life reeks of corruption.”
“You devil! Fine! Go on, wag that tongue! Even with my dying wife and daughter's bodies still in the morgue—!”
Hans's acting was impressive. The fury on his face. The tears squeezed out from barely contained rage and humiliation. To my eyes, his false performance looked utterly convincing. He might have fared better as an actor. But even that flawless act came to an abrupt halt.
Hans's expression turned bizarre. The mask of anger cracked, leaking surprise and fear.
“......Huh?”
He staggered. I kept advancing without pause.
“It wasn't my three-inch tongue that toyed with lives—it was yours. You deceived people with words and pretense. You stole a holy relic from the Church. You robbed their vault and stashed the loot boldly. That false life you fabricated would have been better. At least Hans Gruber's existence, tragic as it was, held no deceptions.”
With every step closer to Hans, convulsions wracked his body. Iris's eyes widened.
“Stop him! Don't let that man get near! He's threatening Hans—you can see the spasms!”
At her shout, network staff rushed toward me, grabbing for my limbs—but they froze three meters away.
“Wha...... how......”
Their legs were pinned by shadows. Thanks to that, nothing impeded my approach to Hans.
“N-no! That's not it! S-stop!”
Hans bolted. His frantic steps were far too nimble for a portly middle-aged man. But he couldn't flee more than three paces—his legs, too, were bound by shadows.
The audience's murmurs swelled into an explosion. Cameras spun wildly. None focused on me or Iris anymore. They all locked onto—
“His face is melting!”
“Gross! What the hell is that?!”
—Hans Gruber.
Hans's arm liquefied and sloughed off. His bulging belly melted away from his body, splattering to the floor. The grotesque, horrifying sight continued, but only briefly. Soon enough, the true core inside the Hans Gruber shell began to emerge.
Iris's pupils trembled. Shock. Confusion. And...... fear. I knew why.
“I visited the dark elf kingdom of Kaien recently. Met their queen and earned her favor. You didn't know she secretly gifted me a supreme shadow spirit for protection. You should never have been in the same space as me, let alone this close. And Hans isn't your real name.”
The aged, unfortunate middle-aged body fully melted away. In its place stood a lean man, bound by shadows, glaring wildly at the cameras.
The man laughed. Not from joy or amusement—from absurdity and the madness of fear.
“Hahaha, fuck...... this screws me over, doesn't it?”
I stared straight at the pale-faced man and spoke his true name.
“Cassias. An Awakener who can overlay appearance, soul data, and even fate for perfect disguise. With that innate ability, you stole the Church's treasure, the Veil of Tears; sucked the empire's people dry with countless frauds; and even raided the Church vault. Empire's most-wanted criminal. You've evaded capture masterfully until now.”
As my words ended, two sounds rang out simultaneously.
“Call the police!”
“N-no! Not police—Holy Knights! Summon the Holy Knights!”
“That infamous criminal bastard! How brazen, right there!”
The audience's uproar. And the other—the Holy Knights from the Church, whom I'd summoned before the debate began, kicking down the doors.
“No matter how you hide, twist, or disguise yourself, I see your true past and future. Cassias. And the future I see now...... it's dark and damp. You'll spend your remaining days in Taltas Prison.”
“Aaaagh!”
Hans Gruber—no, Cassias—stuck out his tongue and bit it clean off. But before it hit the ground, Holy Knights swarmed him, binding his body and casting powerful healing miracles. A new tongue regrew far faster than the old one fell away.
“Cassias, in the name of the Goddess, you are under arrest.”
Holy Knights in enchanted armor, swords with cylindrical hilts at their sides, surrounded and dragged him off in seconds. Dozens of cameras whirred endlessly. When Cassias and the knights finally left the stage, all that remained was chilling silence, red bloodstains, a severed tongue...... and the scoreboard flashing 87% viewership.
“Yes, my lord. He's safe. Yes, not a hair out of place. Of course. Rest easy and sleep well. Haha! Understood!”
Marco the Knight Captain ended the call and turned to me.
“I've informed the count it's all handled.”
“Thank you, Knight Captain Marco.”
The lodging the Church provided me in was a luxury hotel. The count had spared no expense on my escort and accommodations, letting me gaze through spotless floor-to-ceiling glass at—
“Let us in, just for a moment! We're reporters! We have the right to cover this!”
“Please, just once! We want to meet Yurtel's Great Sage!”
—reporters from every network and local outlet swarming, bickering with hotel staff to get inside.
“What a commotion.”
“Viewership peaked near 90%, Great Sage. An absurd number. This reaction is only natural.”
“I suppose so.”
I couldn't see my own future, but an ominous premonition told me I'd soon see a similar mob outside my fortune-telling shop. Word had spread through local papers, but hitting near-90% on the empire's top mainstream broadcast—and regionals—was a first. The publicity would be massive. Yurtel would burst at the seams, good or bad. Weekends were already packed with consultations; now weekdays would be too.
“Great Sage, it's 11 p.m.”
Marco spoke as he and the other knights—who'd come as my guards—packed to leave.
“As you instructed, we'll head to the hotel lounge until 1 a.m.”
“Much appreciated. And you've arranged everything as I asked?”
“Yes, all per your orders, Great Sage.”
“Thank you.”
The knights filed out of my room. I sat quietly in the living room, brewing tea and reading the paper. My story wasn't in it yet. But come morning, every front page would feature my face—and Iris's. One person couldn't tolerate that.
Around 11:10 p.m., just as I'd foreseen, the hotel room door clicked open with a keycard beep. A figure entered.
I didn't look up from my paper as I named her.
“Iris. You let yourself in like it's your own room.”
The woman who'd entered—Iris—twirled the key on her finger and grinned.
“I've got the master key for this hotel. Let's just say I'm chummy with the manager. We used it often for discreet rendezvous.”
“Why are you here? Without my permission, no less. Please leave at once.”
Iris giggled and approached. She grabbed my chin, forcing our eyes to meet. I'd known beforehand, but her outfit was downright provocative. She had a killer figure—clothes that accentuated her ample breasts, cinched waist, and full hips, designed to stoke male desire.
“Great Sage Aiden. So cool. Impressive. Seeing past and future so precisely wasn't a lie after all.”
“I never lie. I only speak what I see and hear.”
“Right. I get it now, having experienced it—why all my clients flocked to you. Incredible, Great Sage. So...... I'm tempted.”
Iris slowly extended her tongue, licking her lips.
“What do you say? Partner with me? With my influence and control over broadcasting, I can make you far more successful than now. I'm no match for you, but I can glimpse futures too. Outsource the small stuff to me—lighten your load. And......”
Her hand trailed my face and body, exuding sticky allure.
“When the mood strikes, I can keep you company at night. Don't you want this body?”
Her melting voice and demeanor—a masterclass in seduction.