Chapter 168
Chapter 168
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 168
Chapter Title: Aegis
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"The time for a decision is now!"
"It's only been a week, hasn't it? Isn't that too soon?"
"No. It's been a *whole* week. Considering what's happening outside, Harkes is...! Are you saying a leader can just abandon the village for a full week?"
"Hmm. Still, wouldn't it be better to wait a little longer? In the past, he's frequently been away for a month or two..."
"Is the past the same as now?!"
Pelos and Helia sat at the triangular table that symbolized the equality of the three leaders.
Pelos was passionately making his case, straining to pull Harkes down from his position as leader.
'If not now, I'll never be able to get rid of Harkes.'
Pelos was a Titan who harbored immense hostility toward Harkes.
They were of the same generation and had become leaders around the same time.
However, their dispositions were worlds apart.
Harkes was inclusive and generous but inflexible, while Pelos was authoritarian and goal-oriented but adaptable.
Of course, this wasn't to say Pelos was incompetent.
Pelos was a capable Titan who had contributed greatly to the village's development.
But the village Titans loved and respected Harkes, their greatest warrior, more.
'Once he's stripped of his positions as leader and greatest warrior, that arrogant bastard's pride will be crushed.'
Pelos had always been irked by Harkes, who seemed to think nothing of him.
He was always the one trying to keep Harkes in check, yet Harkes himself never even paid him any mind.
Pelos seethed with irritation at how Harkes always acted and spoke with such pride and self-assurance.
"Let's just wait a few more days. Harkes isn't a thoughtless Titan; he must be working on some..."
"Helia! Are you always on Harkes's side?!"
"Why would you think that? Pelos, I am on neither Harkes's side nor yours. As a leader, I simply represent the villagers. And on that note, I know you've been spreading false rumors."
"False rumors...?"
Pelos's eyes wavered.
The fact that he had been meeting with the residents since the day before yesterday had reached Helia's ears.
"Yes, it's only been a week. Are you afraid of Harkes? Why are you so desperate to make things difficult for him? Are you perhaps jealous of him?"
"What...! I am merely doing this for the sake of all Titans! Jealousy! That is a deeply insulting accusation."
Pelos glared at Helia.
It was an effort to hide the jealousy rooted deep in his heart from her.
"Insulting... In any case, I'd prefer we wait a little longer. Let's give it another week. If he still doesn't appear by then, we'll consider it an abandonment of the village and..."
Given the gravity of the times, Helia knew she couldn't just wait indefinitely.
So she decided to grant a minimum amount of time.
Just then, the sound of footsteps reached them.
*Thud-.*
*Tap-.*
*Drag-.*
Three distinct sets of footsteps.
Pelos and Helia turned their heads in that direction and saw three individuals from different races leisurely walking in.
"Har...kes?"
"You've returned, Harkes."
***
The central plaza.
Aside from those on guard duty, most of the village's Titans had gathered in the plaza.
With thousands of Titans assembled, even the vast plaza was filled to the brim.
"Pelos, try to look a little more pleasant."
Helia glanced at Pelos beside her and spoke sharply.
At her words, Pelos could only manage a stiff, awkward smile.
"To think he went to see Lady Eurabia... Leaving his post without a word was wrong, but I suppose we have no choice but to forgive him?"
"...Do as you please."
Pelos stood with his arms crossed for a while, watching the plaza, before turning and leaving without a word.
It was because Harkes had just appeared before the stone slab erected in the center of the plaza.
*Thud- thud-.*
Harkes ascended the steps.
A mage Titan followed by his side.
Murmurs arose from the front rows where the Titans were gathered.
"Isn't that the High Elf from before?"
"Wait, what's that? Isn't that a human?"
"How can a human..."
Only after Harkes's group had fully climbed the stairs did the Titans in the back rows also begin to stir.
"If you please."
At Harkes's words, the mage Titan began to chant.
It was an amplification spell to make his voice carry.
"Can you all hear my voice!"
As Harkes's voice echoed, the Titans responded.
Half the crowd seemed to be welcoming their leader, who had stepped forward himself, but the other half reacted negatively.
"That traitorous bastard!"
"Didn't they say Harkes had left the village?"
"Lord Pelos definitely said Lord Harkes had been deceived by the other races and abandoned us."
As they say, curses are always heard more clearly than praises.
Harkes looked out at the Titans who were spewing profanities at him.
"First, I must apologize to you all. I know you must be very disappointed by my recent actions, despite having trusted me with the position of leader."
Harkes bowed deeply to the Titans.
Cheers and jeers erupted simultaneously.
A simple bow was not enough to win back the hearts of the Titans.
"Therefore, to take responsibility, I will step down from my position as leader."
Harkes's expression was firm.
The Titans who had been showing a favorable reaction were stunned.
"Is Harkes not a Titan?! Aren't you all overreacting to a single minor mistake?"
"Remember how much our leader has sacrificed for us! You're the ones who should be reflecting!"
"What did you say? Isn't a leader supposed to pay attention to every little detail? Why be a leader otherwise?"
"That's right! If we were going to just let things slide, we wouldn't have chosen one!"
Voices erupted from all over.
Some Titans even began to argue amongst themselves.
Given the Titans' keen senses, a physical fight was unlikely, but the plaza had become incredibly noisy.
"Everyone, please be quiet. I will hear each of you out after I have finished speaking."
"Titans, please. A moment of silence. There is still an important matter to discuss."
Harkes and Helia quieted the Titans.
The reason Harkes had come up here wasn't simply to announce his resignation.
Whether he was a leader or not didn't matter to him.
The position of leader had only ever been a means to help the Titans develop and prosper; he never coveted honor or power.
So, resigning was of no consequence. What was important was introducing the man he had brought with him.
"My week-long absence was due to Lady Eurabia."
"Lady Eurabia?"
"The goddess, Eurabia?"
Questioning murmurs spread through the Titans.
The older Titans, in particular, were more shocked than the younger ones.
"What is that fellow saying? Eurabia? The gods abandoned us!"
"Khuhuhu. I had a good opinion of him, but it seems he's just been wasting his time on nonsense."
The older generation of Titans was a transitional one, a generation that saw the traces of Eurabia being erased.
The young Titans of today had built and nurtured the village with their own hands, but the old Titans knew that their parents and grandparents had served Eurabia.
That was why the Titans' reaction was cold when the name 'Eurabia' came from Harkes's lips.
"I am well aware that Lady Eurabia has been forgotten in your memories. I was the same. But the moment I saw this human, I became certain that Lady Eurabia exists!"
Harkes pointed to a man.
The gazes of thousands of Titans simultaneously focused on the human man.
"Ah... no! This one!"
The gazes had fallen on Herteias.
Harkes's finger hastily pointed to someone else.
*Tap- tap-.*
A man walked forward.
Do-jae removed his ring and spoke.
"I shall deliver the words of Lady Eurabia. Titans, listen."
***
*Woooong-.*
An unknown space appeared behind Do-jae.
It seemed like a subspace, yet not quite.
'With this kind of effect, it's no wonder they'd be mistaken.'
The space formed a perfect sphere, completely black.
At its appearance, gasps erupted from all corners of the crowd.
Some covered their mouths and screamed, while others shed tears, repeating only the name 'Eurabia'.
'Showing the full extent might be a disaster, but maybe I should make it a little bigger?'
*Woooong-!*
Do-jae used more of Eurabia's power.
The soccer-ball-sized space behind him expanded, growing to the size of a bicycle wheel.
*Flutter- flutter-!*
The hem of Do-jae's robe whipped about violently.
Herteias's long hair, standing next to him, also billowed toward the space.
"Do you all see! This human is the agent of Lady Eurabia! That is why he can use her power! Have you not all seen it at least once! The depictions of Lady Eurabia in the history books!"
Though the size and intensity were different, the space behind Do-jae was identical to the images on the stone slabs and in the history books.
The Titans either burst into tears or knelt before Do-jae.
"My descendants! Though I see you through a human, I am pleased to see you like this."
"Ooh... my goddess..."
"Ahh... Lady Eurabia..."
"To see you all surviving and prospering like this fills me with great emotion."
Do-jae addressed the Titans with a solemn voice.
He was merely relaying Eurabia's words, but her divine presence flowed out, stirring the Titans, and their emotions surged even higher.
"I have something to tell you."
Do-jae deliberately walked slowly to Harkes's side.
He needed to express Eurabia's intentions more dramatically to maintain Harkes's standing.
"This one is my distant descendant. Thanks to Harkes, I was able to awaken from my eternal seal."
Do-jae was slightly surprised by Eurabia's words.
He meticulously hid his expression and asked.
'Is that true?'
- That is correct. My blood flows in Harkes's veins. That is why I was able to borrow his body, even for a moment. Otherwise, I would not have lasted a minute before dying.
'It must be fate.'
Do-jae rejoiced internally.
To think that Harkes was a descendant of Eurabia.
"Ooh...! Truly, he is our leader!"
"Lord Harkes is a distant descendant of Eurabia! No wonder he was so remarkable!"
Public opinion reversed in an instant.
The criticisms directed at Harkes vanished without a trace.
It seemed that in any world, there was no greater justification than bloodline.
"You must all feel it in your bones that Tranpeion is in peril. I have appeared here to save you from that fate."
Do-jae turned and approached the stone slab.
The very slab where the names of past Titan warriors were engraved.
"My divine artifact... I bestow it upon Harkes."
Do-jae placed his palm on the slab.
*Rumble-rumble-rumble-.*
Eurabia's divine presence flowed from Do-jae's palm, and from within the slab, something began to vibrate, preparing to emerge.
*Crack-.*
*Crrraaaack-!*
Fissures spread across the entire surface of the slab.
Soon after, the massive stone wall crumbled with a roar, and something touched Do-jae's palm.
"The divine artifact, Aegis."
A shield with a diameter of 192 centimeters, larger than Do-jae himself.
It was Eurabia's personal treasure, 'Aegis'.