The Seven Pillars Gather
SWISH!
A shadowy hand shot forward with a clatter, its true nature still unclear.
It carried a decent number of bodies, but its movements looked sloppy, almost as if it lacked any combat instinct. I didn't even bother to exert myself and simply tilted my head to dodge the attack.
Kiiing... kiiing...
Once I vanished from its sight, the figure in human form began sniffing around like a beast, searching for the source of the scent. Before long, it locked onto my position.
KYAAAAK!
Then it let out a beast-like howl and lunged straight at me. The way it moved was exactly like someone who had surrendered their body completely to instinct.
I could have easily evaded its mindless charge, but something about the loneliness clinging to it stopped me from acting rashly. They seemed to be pouring all their grief into every gesture.
BOOM!
Probably reading the situation perfectly, Teraden dove in beside me and knocked the imposter unconscious with a rough strike.
“Oh.”
“Hey, why the hesitation?”
“...I felt like they were crying. My hand just froze for a second.”
“I get it, but we’re here for a reason. You haven’t forgotten that, right? We’ll figure out whose work this is later. One step at a time.”
“...Yeah, you’re right.”
“This side looks like it’s wrapped up. Let’s take a breather and go check the others.”
“Eh? Already?”
“You were hesitating while we barely knocked down a few. We finished the rest.”
“No one’s hurt anywhere. Lucky.”
Meanwhile, the group on the other side seemed to be in quite a struggle.
Probably because they outnumbered us, drawing more attention. They also had to protect the injured and those trying to treat them while fighting.
“What are you doing, you little brat?! Come here and help already!!”
From somewhere far off, a spiky-haired guy with a grudge against Teraden roared loudly.
His voice was thick with urgency, showing that facing them was no small task.
“Eh? Kid? Oh no. Looks like he still hasn’t figured out the situation.”
“You little brat, if I ever get out of here, I’ll kill you for sure.”
The spiky-haired guy tried to threaten with desperation, but the threat only backfired.
“Oh really? Sounds like you should have stayed out of this. Then go live however you want on your own.”
“T-this...!”
“Teraden, hold back. It’s just a threat. Let’s go help.”
“I was planning to help anyway. I don’t let innocent people die right in front of me... wait, is he crying? Hey, the guy’s crying! Sob. Hahaha!”
“...”
“First, let’s help. After that, I’ll take care of the spiky-haired guy myself. Blanser, with me!”
Teraden stretched his body to check his condition and headed out with Blanser to support the group.
“Hee! Understood, senpai! Yaaaaay!!”
“...Maru, rest for a bit.”
“Yes! Thank you, uncle!”
***
In the vast space that felt almost empty, a single gray round table stood alone.
And on it sat nine seats in total.
This was the conference room where the Princess Council had been held before.
Since it was reserved for the Seven Pillars, the attendees here were more splendid than ever.
Or rather, for them, calling it “splendid” might have been too modest.
7th seat. Windslayer, Ren Lan.
5th seat. Sword Immortal, Cheongtong.
4th seat. Mechanic Witch, Natalie.
3rd seat. Berserker, Modeus Lebel.
2nd seat. Frozen, or the continent’s greatest beauty, Wolhyang.
And finally, the pinnacle of the continent and 1st seat.
The One, Arirang Peltix.
Excluding the 6th seat Jaksan, all seven Pillars were gathered here.
Considering it was unusual for three or more of them to meet, the purpose of this gathering was definitely not ordinary.
Yet the atmosphere wasn’t oppressive or icy.
“It’s been five days since they left for Okjeo. They must have arrived by now.”
Ren Lan, arms crossed, sat half-lost in thought, staring blankly at his chair.
Cheongtong had his eyes gently closed, lost in silent meditation.
Feltics, Wolhyang, and Natalie were the only ones engaged in quiet, serious conversation among themselves.
Finally, Modeus sat with his feet on the table, pretending to listen to the trio’s discussion with disinterest.
“Once the 6th seat arrives, all the Seven Pillars will be here.”
“Ah. Speaking of which, the new 6th seat is just a branch of your family, isn’t he? The one who defeated that bastard and became the seat of the Pillar?”
Curious about the topic, Modeus removed his feet from the table and smirked smugly.
“...Speaking of that, do you know anything about his whereabouts?”
“Why the bastard?”
“Even if it’s not right now, he used to be part of the Seven Pillars. We can’t afford to ignore information about his strength.”
“What’s there to know? The greedy one is probably somewhere in a backwater, wearing a fancy title. He was acting like a head of a branch family, or something.”
“Is that so... Then next are the Dukes. Crow’s Duck is protecting my clan in his territory, so I can overlook him missing this. But is she not attending this time either?”
“Probably stuck somewhere else annoying an innocent person again? And the Dukes don’t attend anyway.”
Natalie kindly jumped in to support Feltics’ words.
“I hear 2nd seat has some connection with her. Can’t you tell her she must attend from now on?”
“Connection? It’s a grudge.”
Upon Feltics’ question, Wolhyang quietly furrowed her brows.
“Hehe, the reason 2nd seat became known as a Pillar is because she couldn’t win in the life-or-death match against the magnetic duke. That fight was so fierce that the event is still talked about among many people on the continent.”
“I heard she started getting close to her after that.”
“Close? What kind of... frozen closeness.”
Wolhyang pouted, as if there was something unsatisfactory about Feltics’ words.
Rumble... rrrrrr...
At that moment, the huge door at the entrance of the conference room opened with a heavy sound, and someone slowly stepped inside.
Considering this place was now off-limits to anyone except the Seven Pillars and Dukes, the identity of the newcomer was instantly clear.
“It’s been a while. I’m glad you look healthy.”
With an amiable smile, Feltics greeted him, and Jaksan lightly bowed his head.
This was the greatest courtesy Jaksan could show, excluding the mysterious man and Cheongtong.
“I greet the great Pillars of the continent.”
Next, Jaksan respectfully bowed to Cheongtong.
Cheongtong, eyes now open, stroked his beard with a troubled expression in response to Jaksan’s words.
“Hehe, Jaksan. You too are an equal among the Seven Pillars now. You don’t need to bother with formalities anymore.”
“No. I couldn’t... I mean... how could I...”
“Hah, even as a young lad, your butt is the heaviest of all, huh?”
Modeus muttered with a jealous smirk, but Jaksan didn’t spare him a single glance and sat down next to Cheongtong.
Annoyed at being treated as transparent, Modeus retorted in his usual mocking tone to Jaksan across from him.
“Kid, if you’re sitting in the seat of the Seven Pillars, you should at least greet the elders first. The 5th seat hasn’t even taught you basic manners?”
To Modeus, Jaksan was like a parent. He couldn’t just watch the young man being belittled.
“...Watch your mouth. The one you’re talking to isn’t someone you can address so casually. Know your place, criminal.”
“What did you...?”
“I said, act like the criminal you are.”
“...”
Jaksan’s authoritative tone and the insult of calling him a criminal were enough to ignite Modeus’ explosive temper.
CRACK! Creak—!
Unable to hold back, Modeus slammed the table in rage. The wooden table cracked with a splintering sound at the impact.
“You unripe bastard...”
Modeus showed no hesitation in releasing his power, even though other Pillars were around. Jaksan was the same.
“Talk too much. You call yourself a Berserker, right? Stop muttering and come at me like a mad dog. I’ll allow it even though it’s beneath me.”
“Hey, do you really want to die?”
Modeus’ deadly threat made the air around them freeze, but Jaksan didn’t flinch and confronted him directly.
The two, eyes locked, stirred up thick killing intent as if ready to pounce at any moment.
Modeus wriggled his body, emitting faint red steam from his entire form. Suddenly, a single sword materialized right in front of Jaksan’s nose.
And the one who moved first was Jaksan.
Swipe...
The sword that had appeared from thin air slid out of its sheath in his palm length.
“Huu...”
Jaksan didn’t hesitate to grip the handle of the sword and whispered softly.
“First Style... First Form...”
Startled, Modeus’ instinct screamed danger as he watched Jaksan slowly draw the sword to his waist for a stance.
“Is that the sword of the legendary Sword Saint I only heard about? How amusing.”
Just as Modeus reached out instinctively toward the ineffable, condensed killing intent.
“Enough.”
“Jaksan.”
Feltics and Cheongtong stepped in to stop them.
“Are you trying to turn the palace—or the entire Imperial Capital—into ashes?”
“The 1st seat is right. Calm down a bit. This isn’t the place. This is for private squabbles.”
Jaksan’s fierce aura, which had seemed ready to kill Modeus, melted away instantly at Cheongtong’s call.
“Yes, understood.”
“You... it’s not good to get too arrogant just because you climbed to the seat of the Pillar by defeating that guy.”
“...”
Jaksan, rebuked by Cheongtong, closed his eyes and ears and said nothing in return to Modeus.
“Hmph, boring.”
Thus, the tense standoff between Jaksan and Modeus ended weakly, and the meeting began under Feltics’ leadership.
“It’s rare for all the Seven Pillars to gather. First, thank you for taking the time to join us. Then, let’s begin the latter half of the Princess Council.”