Chapter 234
Chapter 234
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 234
Chapter Title: The Owner of the Voice
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The performance reached its climax, but the murmurs that had elicited gasps of admiration completely died down.
What stretched long across the stage was clearly the shadow of the oracle's light. No matter how hard one strained their eyes to look, Arsen's shadow beside it was nowhere to be found.
Isn't it strange? If something exists, it should naturally cast a trace. Even spiderwebs that are hard to spot become visible when the sun elongates their shadows.
Yet Arsen?
He stood beneath such intense light as if he did not exist at all.
"Am I, am I not seeing this wrong right now?"
"I'm seeing the same thing. No shadow."
"Could the Magic Department have done something...?"
"It's only emitting the oracle's light. There's no reason for the Carbo Temple to do that. If another mage had intervened, wouldn't Prince Arsen know? They say mages can sense each other even from afar."
"Then, no way."
"Really..."
It was just as Ian wanted. This bizarre phenomenon, occurring while doubts about Arsen being a demon beast were raised, turned their denials into suspicions and even convictions for some.
"Is, is it because he's a demon beast?"
"In the world... a demon beast in Bariel's imperial family."
"...God, are You watching? What should we do? Please, look upon Bariel with mercy."
Rumble!
Arsen was lost in the oracle's light he himself had conjured, and the orchestra, facing away from the audience, failed to read the hall's atmosphere.
The melody swelled to a crescendo. The musicians' hands moved passionately in sync with the conductor's lead. One could feel the artists' souls striving to breathe life into the oracle's light.
Thud! Boom!
Everyone's hearts pounded in unison. But whether it was from the majestic music or the approaching truth, no one could tell.
"Recore—! Tio!"
The exhilarated conductor shouted loudly, seizing the air. The performers placed a perfect final note in unison, and silence soon blanketed the hall.
"......?"
No applause followed. Arsen rose, sweat dripping, but it was the same. Unlike the passionate performers, the audience had cooled to ice, laced with shock. It was a reaction utterly unforeseen.
Clap. Clap clap. Clap!
Someone's applause cut through the hush. It was Ian. As if he had witnessed a magnificent show, he bestowed praise with elegant, deliberate claps.
Arsen's brow furrowed involuntarily. A strong intuition told him something, something was going very wrong.
"A stage one couldn't see twice in a lifetime."
"Lord Ian. What was that just now?"
"Please explain."
Arsen flinched and looked down at his palms. Still white and delicate. He had directly activated the oracle's light, yet no side effects—everything remained the same. He suddenly met eyes with Dillaina, who was staring at him. She covered her mouth, her expression inscrutable.
"The suspicion that Arsen is a demon beast began with the testimony of a Carbo Temple priest. The voices of the oracle they heard were different. Thus, my aides and the priests searched ancient records to verify it."
Swoosh.
Ian drew a single sheet from inside his uniform. The interior wasn't visible, but the administrative seal stamped on the outside was clear. It meant official information inherited by the imperial family.
"And we found something very meaningful. It was the record of Priest Raju, executed for blasphemy by the Hamangmer Temple. He is said to have stated this at the time."
-Demon beasts are rampant everywhere. We live each day prepared for death, so what is God doing? I presume God is unaware of the demon beasts' existence. Did you see the oracle's light when demon beasts roamed the temple? There was no shadow. The omnipotent One gazes only at holiness, clearly unable to perceive such evil. Can we call such a being omniscient and omnipotent? I question if the name 'God' suits Him.
"Priest Raju was summarily executed, and that was his last statement. The key point is one: the demon beast before the oracle's light cast no shadow."
Arsen lowered his gaze. A long shadow stretched beside his feet. Wasn't it there during the oracle's light? He couldn't remember. All he recalled was the joy, nothing else.
"The Carbo Temple desperately hoped the prince was not a demon beast. Thus, they politely reject any claim that the oracle's light is flawed."
Ian placed a hand on his chest and smiled lightly. His gaze fixed on Arsen, so the nobles naturally followed, looking toward the stage. The boy stood motionless, expressionless as a doll.
"Ah, there, instead of that, why not have the Carbo priests, who are present, conduct a more thorough verification?"
"Right. If Prince Arsen truly is, that, a de, demon beast! The priests would know, wouldn't they?"
Agreements piled on from here and there at someone's suggestion. Once ignited, suspicion grows relentlessly until uprooted. They wanted to know Arsen's truth right here, right now, whatever it was.
"Duke Haiman. What do we do?"
"This seems problematic."
Haiman stroked his beard in distress, along with his supporters. The duke glanced at Dillaina. Her stunned expression suggested even she, his mother, didn't fully know the truth.
If Arsen were truly a demon beast?
'It's over.'
After Marib and Gail's rebellions, consorting with the devil's hand. Haiman felt a throbbing headache and whispered to Dillaina.
"Best to withdraw for now."
There was no way out like this. Escape first somehow, then pin it on the Magic Department's slander by any means.
The truth didn't matter. Whatever Arsen's identity, he wasn't the devil's spawn. Absolutely,
Bang!
At that moment, the door slammed shut. The Magic Department's will: no one leaves until Arsen's demon nature is certified.
Romandro stood firmly before the door, sternly requesting withdrawal. In truth, the mages flanking him were the backbone.
"...Li, Lily!"
Dillaina frantically searched for the high priest with a flustered face. Known since childhood, witness to Arsen and Jin's births, overseer of Carbo. She expected him to counter Ian's insolence and declare the oracle's light flawless.
Dillaina shrieked shrilly, trembling.
"High Priest, speak up! What in the world is this! Arsen just used mana! He definitely did! Did you sense any evil? How could such bright, warm light be a demon beast's power? Swear by God and speak the truth without lies!"
Clink!
In her agitated gesture, a nearby glass tumbler fell.
The situation was dire. The crowd subtly backed away from Dillaina. Haiman was among them. As everyone retreated, one alone approached.
"Mother."
It was Jin. Jin looked up at his mother with worry. Pity filled his large eyes, but Dillaina, oblivious, quivered her lips. As she opened her mouth to speak, Ian cut in first.
"Arsen has multiple abilities. The oracle's light we just saw—isn't it similar to what I showed at the New Year's banquet?"
"That feeling was definitely there."
"I thought all mages' magic felt similar."
"Me too. Isn't the oracle's light always like that?"
Arsen had merely mimicked a mage's power, easily concealing the repulsive aura of its sinister essence.
At Ian's nod, the high priest and Abidel ascended the stairs. Arsen had remained silent until then, merely observing.
"Your Highness."
"......"
The high priest knelt before Arsen. He cautiously offered holy water, proof of divinity created through prayer.
"This is to prove Your Highness's innocence. Please drink it and take my hand."
A demon beast would perish in agony as its innards burned. If not, it would quench any thirst.
Even if only a shadow had appeared in the oracle's light, the high priest wouldn't have offered this. Lily bowed repeatedly, clinging to hope to the end. Please, please...
Swoosh.
Arsen calmly took the holy water. As relief bloomed deep in the high priest's heart.
Splash!
The boy poured it unhesitatingly over the high priest's head. The clear liquid soaked the robe and soon the floor.
"Absurd. Trying to poison me with all sorts of tricks. Do you all believe that nonsense? I don't know when the Carbo Temple fell to corruption. I deny everything."
Though he denied everything, the atmosphere didn't easily reverse. Priests had rushed in and seized his arms.
The high priest wiped the moisture, rose, and held up new holy water. His voice had sunk low. He too had sensed the truth he didn't want to accept.
"...It's not poison. I'll drink it to prove."
Then, demonstratively, he poured half down his own throat. The priests pried open Arsen's jaw despite the rudeness, but the boy convulsed in refusal. His frantic shrieks sounded like screams.
"Let go! Release me! Do you know who I am to touch me!"
"Arsen! Arsen!"
"Mother! Save me! Save me! Aaaah!"
"What are you doing? Pull the priests off!"
"No! If Prince Arsen truly is a demon beast, Carbo cannot allow it! Lady Dillaina!"
"Get them off! Now!"
Like the other nobles, Dillaina's guards waited outside the conference hall. She screamed for them to intervene, but they hesitated, none stepping forward. They were all Magic Department people.
The mother gritted her teeth and tried to rush to Arsen.
"Arsen!"
"Mother!"
But this time, Jin blocked her with his whole body. Desperate, he wrapped around her waist, begging not to let go.
"Please, just watch, please."
"Jin! Let go! Move!"
"No! I can't! I won't let go of Mother!"
The space turned into pandemonium in an instant. Confused exclamations erupted everywhere. Five priests pinned Arsen's limbs, and the high priest tilted holy water into his gaping mouth. The moment it was about to flow down.
Ziiing!
Zing!
"Ah......"
The high priest clutched his head and staggered. Suddenly, heaven and earth seemed to mix and shake? His mind went blank, consciousness fading. The dropped holy water shattered on the floor again.
Clink!
"High Priest!"
"Suddenly, why......"
"Ah, this......"
"Ugh! Urp!"
Priests near Arsen clutched their mouths and retched. They too soon succumbed to vertigo and collapsed sideways.
Abidel held the high priest and stared at Arsen. The boy lay spread-eagled, gazing at the ceiling.
"...Annoying."
Déjà vu hit as Arsen muttered.
That was the clear, slender...
"Ian. This isn't fun."
...voice of the oracle. The one from ten years ago, heard directly. Abidel covered his mouth, tears streaming.
"His Highness's aura......"
"Why are the priests like that? Suddenly?"
Not just priests, even mages sensed something amiss and faltered. Arsen brushed off his clothes, stood, and glared straight at Ian.
Ian signaled Romandro to evacuate people, then unleashed his mana. Golden Eyes and sharp mana flow intertwined.
Ziiing!
Zing.
"That's a shame. I'm having a great time."