Chapter 128
Chapter 128
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 128
Chapter Title: The Devil's Pavilion
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The Devil's Pavilion.
Havel perceived it as the gathering place for the owners of calamities.
Those guys somewhere in this world.
'There weren't just four of them.'
The moment Havel registered for the Devil's Pavilion.
He felt countless gazes upon him.
They must have been active in the Devil's Pavilion for a long time.
'So where the hell are those bastards?'
Each owner of a calamity was a transcendent.
'Regardless of whether they went through the same thing as me.'
Those guys must have absorbed countless calamities to become transcendents as well.
During the time Havel wasn't climbing the Tower, he had wandered the continent on his own.
The continent was teeming with countless calamities, without a doubt.
The further out you went, the more calamities filled the land.
'Ironically, because of the Primordial Three Calamities.'
No other calamities occurred around the Primordial Three Calamities.
That was why infrastructure had clustered around them.
The continent was vast, for sure.
'To the point where powerhouses who absorbed calamities outside the Primordial Three Calamities keep emerging.'
More such powerhouses who absorbed calamities would surely appear in the future.
'The patriarchs of the Five Great Families are those who absorbed exceptionally more calamities than others.'
Though there was a limit to the vessel each person could hold calamities in.
The Five Great Families' patriarchs seemed to have broken through that limit somehow, like Memento Mori.
'That's why Agni could output that much power.'
Of course, even if Havel faced Agni's true body, he didn't envision defeat.
Despite swallowing so many calamities, it couldn't compare to the greedy Demonic Palace.
The Demonic Palace hadn't granted Havel any calamities, to be sure.
But it had bestowed the power to absorb calamities endlessly.
'Now I get it.'
Havel realized why the Demonic Palace hadn't given him calamities.
'Back then, my vessel wasn't yet ready to handle the Demonic Palace's calamities.'
Havel had become the master of the Demonic Palace's 10th hierarchy.
But that wasn't the same as becoming the master of the Demonic Palace itself.
'Come back after getting stronger, is that what it's saying?'
Absorb more calamities and grow stronger.
Then come back to be absorbed.
That was what the calamity seemed to be telling him.
Havel recalled what he'd heard recently from Pendragon, the patriarch of the August Family.
"I'm currently in the fog at the edge of the central continent."
The fog that was gradually thinning.
That meant the continent was connecting to the world beyond.
Havel gazed at the window with half-lidded eyes.
He vaguely sensed it.
The moment he absorbed all the calamities in the Demonic Palace at last.
The fog blocking off the world beyond would surely lift.
And there, a new world unlike any before would unfold.
'Maybe the owners of the calamities...'
Havel shook off the thought that had surfaced for a moment.
Anyway, today.
He would enter the Devil's Pavilion to meet them.
With the chance to speak directly to those three: the Whisperer, God's Venom, and the Grave Devourer.
Asking them would reveal a great deal.
At that moment, the entrance door opened once more.
"Lord Penbola August, Lord Penrad August, and Lord Azaris Ignor, entering!"
Familiar names reached Havel's ears.
He turned his head, and sure enough, three figures strode in.
Havel's eyes met Penrad's first.
Penrad bowed his head slightly toward Havel.
He was someone who had clashed directly with Havel using nothing but pure swordsmanship.
That was why respect shone in his eyes.
Pure respect toward a strong one.
Havel, who thought fairly well of Penrad's character, nodded back.
'I wish he could get along well with Arthur too.'
But that wasn't for Havel to handle.
Building ties with the nobles here today was Arthur's role.
Just then, Azaris approached Havel, waving cheerfully.
"Havel!"
As always, his bright smile showed no trace of when Agni had possessed him before.
Despite only having memories of getting thoroughly thrashed by Havel each time they met.
Maintaining that cheerfulness every time was a talent in itself.
"Here, my father said to give you this!"
Unexpectedly, he handed over a letter.
Agni had said he'd talk after clearing the 7th hierarchy.
This must be the reply to that.
'I should visit after the Devil's Pavilion ends.'
The calamity owners wouldn't necessarily tell the full truth.
Havel didn't trust them outright.
'But I can compare and converse to some extent.'
So he decided to see it as a good opportunity.
Just then, Havel's gaze shifted to the door.
He felt another presence there.
And he recognized which family's aura it was.
"Lord Sistine Glasis, entering!"
Sistine Glasis.
The first direct descendant of the Glasis Family.
And the one currently acting as vice patriarch of Glasis.
He had appeared in the party hall.
His glass-colored hair fluttered lightly.
As the strikingly handsome man entered the hall.
All eyes focused on him.
After all, Glasis was hosting this Kailo.
The star of this Kailo had arrived.
Soon after, a burly man appeared beside him.
The man known as Glasis's Heavenly Pillar.
Captain of the Knights, Stalla Bonedge.
He scanned the hall, and his eyes soon met Havel's.
Stalla's eyebrow twitched slightly.
'That guy's the one.'
The man who had personally mobilized the Sword Saint, patriarch of Glasis.
And the one who had tarnished Glasis's reputation.
Havel Banpellyon of Banpellyon.
He was there.
Stalla clenched his fist at the aura emanating from him.
As expected.
Havel was visibly an extraordinary monster.
Havel let out a hollow chuckle as he felt Stalla's gaze.
Indeed, as captain of the Five Great Families' knights, he had sharp eyes.
'He can't see everything, but he sees a little.'
Unfortunately, it seemed Glasis wouldn't charge in recklessly.
'I didn't expect them to anyway.'
Havel averted his eyes from Stalla and looked at Sistine.
The one holding the position of Glasis's vice patriarch.
True to the role, a massive amount of calamity emanated from him as well.
'The complete opposite of Penrad.'
Penrad, the firstborn of August, had built his prowess solely with the sword.
Sistine, on the other hand, was a walking mass of calamities.
The sheer volume he'd swallowed made the calamity leaking from him feel nauseating.
'And the patriarch, the current Sword Saint, has even more than this.'
Havel felt a spark of interest.
Rumors said the current Sword Saint had returned.
He wondered just how far the Sword Saint of this era had come.
At that moment, Havel and Arthur entered Sistine's view.
Glasis had personally invited Banpellyon, after all.
They weren't here to say "forget the past" or anything like that.
They surely had their own schemes.
Havel clicked his tongue at the text that appeared.
They had no intention of waiting.
His eyes met Arthur's.
He wondered if it was okay to leave him alone amid this pack of beasts.
But Havel decided to trust Arthur.
Arthur was the patriarch of Banpellyon, after all.
'He'll handle his part just fine.'
He was no longer the patriarch himself.
Just someone aligned with Banpellyon's will.
Arthur should be the true representative of Banpellyon.
"Lord Arthur, I have some business to attend to, so I'll step out briefly."
"Business? Sure."
Arthur looked at Havel with puzzlement.
But reading the intent in Havel's eyes, he nodded soon after.
"Take care. Leave this place to me."
Arthur, who had once seemed so small.
Now looked quite reliable.
So Havel smiled at him like a distant nephew.
"Yes, I'll leave it to you."
Havel glanced at Elasia.
"I'll support you well."
She too was a pillar of her family.
She likely knew more about the current nobles than Havel did.
Havel entrusted things to Elasia and turned away.
No one noticed him leave as his presence faded completely.
Stepping out of the hall, Havel stopped in a deserted area.
And the moment he looked up.
Entry time had arrived.
Havel closed his eyes for a brief moment and opened them.
He was now in a different space.
An exceedingly antique room.
Luxurious furniture was placed throughout.
And soon, a mirror caught Havel's eye.
The reflection of Havel in the mirror was different from his real face.
Not just a changed face—it was a blank white mass instead.
His physique had altered too, making it hard to guess his original form.
His attire alone remained a suit.
'What the hell is this look.'
As Havel stared puzzled at the mirror for a moment, text appeared before him.
'I see.'
Not going in with their real appearances, but hidden like this.
'This way, no one will recognize me.'
Not a bad deal.
Clunk—.
One of the two doors in Havel's room opened.
Instinct told him that door led to the Devil's Pavilion.
The other was probably for exiting outside.
Havel stepped through the open door.
Soon, multiple presences registered in his senses.
The problem was their magnitude.
"Hah."
Havel let out a short sound as he walked the corridor.
Every presence felt was extraordinary.
It wouldn't make sense unless each was an owner of a calamity.
The place Havel entered was a hall spanning about three floors.
In the dimly lit space, the owners of those presences were scattered about.
They all had the same indeterminate white forms as Havel.
However, some were unique.
Those deliberately wearing masks over their faces.
'Show-offs.'
At our level, it doesn't matter if our identities are known.
That seemed to be their message.
Of course, such people were a minority.
Most were like Havel.
Some gazes turned toward Havel.
"Don't recognize this one."
"A newcomer?"
"Who knows. Could be a regular returning after a break."
At that moment, Havel heard them assessing his identity.
Despite the identical exteriors, they had noticed.
'Got it.'
Havel soon realized why.
No matter how much the appearance changed, the leaking aura was different.
Thus, even with altered looks, an unfamiliar aura marked him as a first-timer.
Fortunately, even they couldn't rashly pinpoint Havel's identity.
There had apparently been cases of hasty judgments gone wrong.
'From their chatter, some regulars must have deliberately skipped by exiting through the other door upon invitation.'
'Considering that, this place has been around for quite a while.'
His interest grew further.
'Calamities didn't just start appearing 100 years ago.'
Havel was convinced.
Calamities had existed before the Demonic Palace appeared.
And the place where such calamities originated.
'Beyond the continent.'
The place no one on the continent had reached.
How calamities came to be.
From when they existed, and what their purpose was.
Today, he would uncover it all here.