Chapter 410
Chapter 410
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 410
>Chapter Title: Preemptive Strike Wins?
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
The killing intent that had filled the space slowly dissipated. As the flickering candlelight regained its calm, Dran took in Aster with his deep eyes.
It wasn't long before his mouth opened.
"You seem to have calmed down a bit... May I continue?"
"Go ahead."
Dran's voice was dry but noticeably softer, and he nodded as he resumed his explanation.
The story began a few days prior.
In other words...
When Oukan died.
That day, Dran saw Aster in person for the first time, and he was overwhelmed by an immense shock.
"How could..."
Aster had simply described the owl as "enormous," but the owl Dran saw on Aster was far beyond merely "enormous."
Dozens... no, hundreds of owls merged into a single entity.
It was something only Dran, whose shamanic eyes surpassed even Oukan's, could perceive. Covered in all sorts of symbols clinging densely together, forming a massive cluster—it was less an "owl" and more like a vile black mage's creation.
How to interpret it? Impossible.
But one thing was certain...
"...You're carrying so much on your shoulders."
Countless lives were entangled in that fate. Good connections or bad ones.
...
However.
Among them, Dran spotted one "owl" linked to the "Challenger of Amar" who had felled Geyar Driman Oukan.
Normally, owls seen with the naked eye rather than shamanic sight were faint, but this one was so vivid that Dran recognized it instantly.
It was...
"A black sheep."
"A black sheep?"
"Originally, the 'black sheep' is an owl symbolizing a sinner. But when paired with another owl, its meaning changes."
So, what was the paired owl?
Surprisingly simple.
"When entwined with the 'white wolf' owl, the 'black sheep' reads not as a sinner, but as 'prey.' And..."
"Shine had the 'white wolf' owl?"
"That's right."
Originally, owls are not prophecies.
Take Oukan as an example.
His owl was the "wolf of twilight," which should have opened new horizons for the steppe tribes, but he was devoured by his own owl and faded away.
However, some owls function close to prophecies, and one such type was the "entwined owl."
"Entwined owls are those that, unless one side dies, will inevitably come to pass—close to prophecies. Of course, not absolute... but among all owls, they're the closest to prophecies."
"So..."
"That's why I spoke of your death as if it were prophesied."
"Hmm."
To sum it up, then:
'There's an entwined owl between me and that parasite, and me dying to him is the interpretation of that owl?'
It didn't even need summarizing. The old shaman had cut straight to the core without flowery words.
Still, hearing this much inevitably raised questions.
"You're not telling me this just to make me feel uneasy, are you?"
"I can tell from your eyes that you can't tell heaven from earth. Naturally, that's not the reason."
"...Heaven from earth?"
Meaning he couldn't tell up from down. But instead of explaining, Dran continued.
"Anyway, I called you here to tell you how to avert this owl."
"There's a way?"
"Didn't I say it? Owls aren't absolute. Not even entwined ones."
Even entwined owls were only "close to prophecies," not prophecies themselves.
However, unlike ordinary owls that could be avoided simply by not acting, averting an entwined owl was tricky.
"There are two methods."
"Two?"
"First: Create a sacrificial lamb to die in your place. Someone born with the same 'black sheep' owl as you, made to die instead."
Naturally, Shine had to kill that sacrifice. Then, Aster's "black sheep" owl wouldn't vanish, but Shine's "white wolf" owl would. In other words, Aster averts his owl.
...
Of course, Aster wasn't thrilled about it.
'What... a sacrifice?'
This was exactly the kind of thing a gold horse clan would do.
A heinous act far from justice.
Naturally, Aster's expression soured, and Dran narrowed his eyes at the sight.
"The second... Judging by your face, maybe I shouldn't say."
"What is it?"
"What else?"
Dran countered with a question and slowly closed his eyes. Watching him, Aster soon realized what the second method was.
In truth, the answer lay in Dran's earlier words.
- Entwined owls are those that, unless one side dies, will inevitably come to pass—close to prophecies.
The second way to avert the owl.
It was...
'...Preemptive strike wins?'
Kill Shine.
* * *
The conversation ended there.
Not long after, the second guest Dran had summoned—Yurbuke—arrived, and Aster bid Dran farewell.
"Nice meeting you, let's never meet again."
"..."
Dran stared at Aster with his bruised, blackened eye. Naturally, there was no reply.
In truth, ending it with just one punch was extremely lucky.
Think about it.
Some prophecy spouts right in your face, "You'll die later," killed by a close acquaintance, and... what?
'If you don't want to die, kill him first?'
And it ends with one punch?
For most, that would warrant losing their head, but Aster spared him a single punch considering he harbored no malice and was an old man.
Call it respect for the elderly.
Not "rank." "Age."
Anyway.
Leaving Dran's tent, Aster wandered the camp for a bit, organizing his thoughts.
Dran's words were so shocking that even Aster needed time to sort them.
'What if that parasite really? Tries to? Kill me? Comes at me?'
Could he stop it?
Aster recalled his fight with Shine and Oukan, gauging the level. The answer came easily.
'...I'd get crushed.'
Honestly, he didn't even need to factor in Shine. Oukan, who lost to Shine, was already a tough matchup for Aster.
Tough? That was an understatement.
'Certain defeat.' Of course, life's unpredictable, so victory could hinge on variables.
But those variables...
'...Seem unlikely.'
So, let's think.
What realm had Oukan reached?
'At least a prestigious family patriarch level... But not all patriarchs are equal.'
One certainty...
'...Above Otto of the Urbona family.'
Of course, assuming Otto without the "Fragment of Reverse Heaven." With it, Otto might be stronger?
Though Aster had defeated Otto using the Fragment... that was matchup advantage. Plus the variable of enlightenment—
'Tch, no. Comparing to mages is awkward.'
Mages and knights had oddly interlocking matchups, making victory hard to predict without clashing.
So, among knights, where did Oukan rank?
At minimum...
'...Around Muhard of the Lortel family, without his demon sword?'
Of course, he hadn't seen Muhard's full power, so it might not be precise. In a real fight, Muhard could be stronger.
Anyway, assuming Oukan was around that level...
"So, Shine, who killed that Oukan, is above Muhard?"
Then, consider this.
If such a Shine comes charging to kill him, could he block it? Or escape those clutches?
Honestly...
He couldn't be confident.
'Then what...'
Aster stopped walking mid-thought. He clicked his tongue in irritation and shook his head.
"Damn old man, one punch wasn't enough."
He probably meant well, leaving it to avert the owl, but to Aster, it just planted needless demons in his heart.
Or perhaps...
'...Divide and conquer?'
Of course not.
Dran's intent was pure.
And.
'I'm not one to fall for that.'
Above all, it made no sense for Shine to try killing him.
Why?
Because of the vampire clan's oath.
'No lord can casually break this. Unless the parasite deceived me...'
Of course, Aster considered the possibility of deception, but that was just broad thinking, not lack of trust.
But suppose...
Really, truly suppose.
'If Shine tries to kill me, why?'
Just as Aster would risk his life for Shine, Shine would do the same for him.
This wasn't empty loyalty fluff—it was proven over time.
Yet.
If such a Shine tried to kill him... what situation would that be?
Aster switched perspectives.
'When the kid's gone astray?'
No, that wouldn't do.
If astray, beat him straight. Very straight. Assuming he could even land hits, but ignore that.
Then...
'Betrayed him?'
But how much betrayal to make him want to kill? Destroy the tower? Or kill its heir, Lucifer?
...
Impossible unless insane. So when, then...
Aster gazed up at the sky. The steppe sky was vast and high. As a cold wind brushed his cheek while staring, he lowered his gaze.
Far off, by an outdoor campfire, a knight sat sharpening his sword. Red hair, pale skin.
'...Parasite.'
Shine, polishing his sword, sensed Aster's gaze and looked up. He mouthed something. Lip-reading suggested "What're you staring at?" or similar...
Aster replied by flipping him off.
And somehow...
He knew the answer to his earlier doubt.
'When there's no choice.'
Suddenly, words Shine once said on the way back from Lortel flashed in his mind.
- You savage, how long do you think you can keep dodging? Remember this. Sometimes, there are things you can't avoid. And we call that fate.
Fresh off obtaining the demon sword Proteus and full of himself, Shine had added:
- I am your downfall.
If it really came to that.
'Gladly...'
A sharp impact rang out right then.
Crack!
"...Kuh!"
Aster clutched his forehead, staggering from the sudden blow. His head rang, vision blurring.
Must've shaken his skull...
"You little..."
"It is I."
Eyes blazing as he sought the culprit, Aster furrowed his brow at the brazen voice. The perpetrator was none other than Shine.
"Suddenly, what the..."
"An old saying goes:"
"...?"
"He who rises by the middle finger falls by the middle finger."
Shine snapped a flick into the air. How did a mere flick make such a vicious sound?
Snap! Snap!
Each time his middle finger sliced the air, it exploded like bursting atmosphere.
"You who rose by the middle finger, come here. And feel it in your bones. The difference in our levels."
Aster swallowed curses and mulled over Dran's words.
- Entwined owls are those that, unless one side dies, will inevitably come to pass—close to prophecies.
'Preemptive strike wins.'
That seemed to be the only answer.