C1017
Zaz!
As soon as Raon finished speaking, the warm atmosphere that had previously reigned in the conference room collapsed as if they had entered an ice cave.
"Huh?"
"Join or die? That's too harsh, even for Zieghart!"
"Watch your words! Not even the Five Demons would threaten us like that!"
"Has fame gone to his head? He's gone mad."
The swordsmen behind the Queen of the Swords bit their lips and emanated a fierce aura.
"If they had a problem, they should have decided it before. The situation has changed now."
"Threat? How is giving you a choice a threat?"
"How pathetic..."
Martha, Burren, and Runaan scoffed, telling them to assess the situation. As the executives of the Light Wind Palace and the Unbreakable Sword raised their auras in confrontation, blue sparks erupted from the white round table, charring the ceiling and walls of the conference room black.
"Enough."
The Queen of the Swords raised her hand to stop the swordsmen behind her.
"Silence."
Raon slightly turned his chin to restrain Burren, Martha, and Runaan, who were about to release their Grandmaster's aura.
"..."
Thespian Emperor didn't say anything, and the White Whale martial artists behind her remained motionless like dolls.
"Are your words a bit harsh?"
The Queen of the Swords sat back down, her eyes cold.
"Did you mean what you just said?"
Unlike when she felt nervous at the Fallen's words, she maintained a calm demeanor. It seemed like she would listen to everything before making a decision. A mindset worthy of a Transcendent.
"I'm sure he meant it. He's not the type to brag in a place like this."
Thespian Emperor traced the handle of her teacup with her finger, with a slight smile. It seemed like she had anticipated this situation.
"Yes, I meant it."
Raon nodded, meeting the Queen of the Swords' cold gaze.
"Why?"
The Queen of the Swords tilted her chin, as if asking for the reason behind those words.
"I think our Five Kings, especially Zieghart, have given the Five Divine Orders many opportunities."
Raon placed his hand on the round table, looking at the dull eyes of Thespian Emperor and the Queen of the Swords.
"What opportunities?"
"You are united as five forces under the name of the Five Divine Orders."
Raon continued, looking at the flag of the Five Divine Orders waving on the wall of the conference room.
"Sharing a flag means that a problem for one group is treated as their own by the other four groups."
"That's right. That's what it means."
The Queen of the Swords acknowledged his words without hesitation. It seemed like she knew little, but she had nothing to hide.
"The Demonblade tried to kill me to erase his own crimes, and the Demon Slayer Spear attacked me first when I was trying to protect a friend."
Raon clenched his fist, which had been stained with the blood of the Demonblade and the Demon Slayer Spear.
"Originally, Zieghart and I should have held the Five Divine Orders accountable for the actions of the Demonblade and the Demon Slayer Spear. But I didn't make this public..."
"That's not true."
The Queen of the Swords raised her hand towards Raon.
"Those two have already left the Five Divine Orders. This one tried to persuade them to wait a little longer, but they ignored her and left!"
She frowned, referring to Thespian Emperor as "this one." Their relationship seemed to be more than just an alliance.
"The Demonblade left without telling us and you killed him, and the Demon Slayer Spear left the Five Divine Orders after the Black Tower collapsed, saying he wanted to feel alive. If we had known they would die like that, we should have forcibly detained them and gone to the Five Kings."
The Queen of the Swords clicked her tongue, seemingly regretting not having stopped the Demonblade and the Demon Slayer Spear.
"Thinking about it..."
Raon briefly licked his lips, looking at the Queen of the Swords who was frowning.
"The Queen of the Swords wanted to choose the Five Kings from the beginning."
He remembered that, unlike others, the Queen of the Swords had hated the Five Demons from the beginning and wanted to choose only the Five Kings. However, even if he had a favorable impression of her, the time to overlook this incident had already passed.
"No."
Raon shook his head slowly, to the point of frustration.
"The Five Divine Orders have never officially announced the departure of the Dark Black Lotus and the Martial Society. The same goes for the Pirate King."
"What do you mean...?"
The Queen of the Swords frowned as if she was hearing this for the first time and looked at Thespian Emperor.
"Is that true?"
"..."
Thespian Emperor didn't speak, simply closing her eyes calmly.
"The reason is obvious without asking. They didn't want the outside world to know that the authority and power of the Five Divine Orders had diminished."
Raon nodded, looking at Thespian Emperor with her eyes closed.
"The Five Divine Orders were established to stay out of the conflict between the Six Kings and the Five Demons and to gain various benefits from the center. But three of them have gone? During a war? From the perspective of the Five Kings and the Five Demons, it's just a meal served ready to eat."
He continued his explanation, looking at the surprised Queen of the Swords, as he could read all of Thespian Emperor's thoughts.
"Honestly, it's not a bad idea. I would have made a similar decision to Thespian Emperor's. However..."
Raon twisted his lips, looking at Thespian Emperor who had reopened her eyes.
"If they made that decision, it's right to take responsibility. From our perspective, Zieghart's and mine, it's as if we were attacked by the Demonblade and the Demon Slayer Spear, who belong to the Five Divine Orders."
"Hmm..."
The Queen of the Swords bit her lip deeply, as if she now understood what he meant.
"That, that's it!"
"Still, it wasn't something we did..."
"We should have said something about this..."
The swordsmen of the Unbreakable Sword shook their clenched fists, seemingly feeling wronged.
"Be quiet."
The Queen of the Swords lowered her hand, preventing the swordsmen of the Unbreakable Sword from speaking completely.
"..."
Thespian Emperor didn't say anything, even after hearing all the facts, simply looking at the empty teacup.
"Actually, there's something I don't understand."
Raon looked at Thespian Emperor sitting directly across from him.
"After experiencing the incident with the Demonblade, why didn't you publicly announce the departure of the Demon Slayer Spear? You couldn't have been oblivious to the fact that if the Demon Slayer Spear caused problems following the Demonblade, the damage would fall entirely on the Five Divine Orders."
Thespian Emperor he knew was someone who would even test a stone bridge before crossing it. He couldn't understand why she repeated the same mistake after being burned once by the Demonblade incident.
"Speak."
The Queen of the Swords seemed to have the same thought as she moved her chin towards Thespian Emperor.
"You are right."
Thespian Emperor lowered her eyebrows as she poured red tea into her cup.
"If it were the old me, I would have immediately announced the departure of the Demon Slayer Spear and the Martial Society after the Demonblade was defeated."
She put down the teapot, smiling slightly as if she agreed with Raon's words.
"Then why didn't you do it?"
Raon narrowed his eyes, looking at Thespian Emperor.
"Did you want to keep the Five Divine Orders so badly to gain benefits?"
"..."
Thespian Emperor didn't answer, simply looking at the teacup that was moving gently.
"On my way here, I heard about your anecdote about him."
Raon pointed to Mekein standing behind Thespian Emperor.
"After the attack of the Five Demons, you used your personal funds to take care of the houses and livelihoods of the residents first. The you I know would have done it to take care of external eyes and rumors, but there must have also been some affection for your people."
He scoffed, looking down at the vibrant city visible through the conference room window.
"But because of this incident, this city you personally cultivated could have become a sea of blood because of Zieghart. We had the power and justification, so no one could have questioned it."
Raon took a slow deep breath, imagining the worst future.
"Everything you cherished could have collapsed, so why did you make that decision?"
He tilted his chin, telling her to answer now.
"Be honest."
The Queen of the Swords slammed her palm on the round table.
"What were you thinking!"
She clenched her molars, demanding a proper explanation.
"Sigh..."
Thespian Emperor let out a long sigh as if she were exhaling cigarette smoke.
"The Fallen. Yes. In the end, it comes down to this."
She looked at Raon with a weary smile.
"Alright. I'll be honest this time."
Thespian Emperor nodded her head heavily, saying she wouldn't hide anything.
"As you may have noticed, I can read the flow of the sky."
She stood up, took off her white robe, and placed the book tied to her thigh on the round table.
"The flow of the sky is the future that has already been decided and cannot be changed. I can read a little of the future using these Heavenly Scriptures."
Thespian Emperor opened the book called Heavenly Scriptures and flipped through it to the end.
"But since that day, I haven't been able to see the future correctly."
She let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"That day?"
The Queen of the Swords frowned, as if asking when that was.
"You."
Thespian Emperor raised her finger to point at Raon.
"After reading the flow of the sky of Raon Zieghart, most of the future became blurry."
She lifted the book to show the drawing at the end. Red lines were scattered in all directions on the torn page as if blood had been spilled on it, making the book itself seem like it was screaming.
"Is that my flow of the sky?"
Raon frowned, looking at the disturbing pattern drawn in the book.
"Actually, I went to Zieghart after reading the flow of the sky. But all the futures I saw were shattered by you. So I came back here to find out who you were. But this is the result."
She let out a murky breath, showing the torn page of the Heavenly Scriptures again.
"After this, I couldn't tell what I could see or what I could do. Curiously, I could know about the Soul Crystal you were looking for. Anyway, I didn't hesitate to gain benefits, but..."
Thespian Emperor stared intently at Raon and parted her lips.
"I couldn't make a decision because I didn't know what decision would save the Five Divine Orders."
She closed her eyes tightly, saying that her head had frozen after reading her own flow of the sky.
"It seems like the ability to read the flow of the sky itself has become a shackle for me."
Thespian Emperor let out a murky laugh, saying that she couldn't make any decisions because the future wasn't visible correctly.
"The Fallen must have also gone to you after reading the flow of the sky that he wouldn't die. But the result was death."
She nodded, seeming to know how the Fallen had died.
"Now I'm sure. You have the power to change the flow of the sky. No, destiny itself."
Thespian Emperor let out a heavy breath that she had been holding for a long time, saying that she could now free herself from the blurry flow of the sky.
"I see. So that's why..."
The Queen of the Swords bit her lips, seeming to understand now. It seemed like she had entrusted all tasks to Thespian Emperor. As thought before, the relationship between the two seemed closer than just an alliance.
"Destiny again."
Raon closed his eyes, remembering the title he had recently acquired: <Architect of Destiny>.
"Whether I change destiny or create a completely new one, it doesn't matter."
I just need to do what I can do. He opened his eyes again, thinking only about what he needed to do without considering things like the flow of the sky, the future, or destiny.
"I understand your circumstances, but I can't read the flow of the sky and I don't believe in it, so I can't really sympathize."
Raon shook his head coldly.
"The reason I didn't confront the Five Divine Orders about the Demonblade incident and waited was because you provided information related to the Soul Crystal. But now that the Demon Slayer Spear incident has happened, that grace has vanished. Now, please, make your choice."
He asked them once again whether they would follow the path of the Five Kings or die here.
"Sigh..."
Thespian Emperor lowered her head with her hand on her forehead.
"Meeting you clears my dazed head. Now I can decide without hesitation."
She smiled slightly, looking into Raon's eyes.
"I and the Five Divine Orders..."
"Wait."
As Thespian Emperor was about to make her choice, the Queen of the Swords stood up.
"I'm still against it."
The Queen of the Swords lowered her eyebrows, saying she wouldn't choose now.
"What? You wanted to be with the Five Kings from before, right?"
Thespian Emperor opened her eyes in surprise, as if asking why she was suddenly acting like this.
"I know this one did wrong, and I understand that the Demonblade and the Demon Slayer Spear caused problems while they were still our members."
The Queen of the Swords nodded, saying that Raon and the Five Kings had the right to question.
"But that alone isn't enough for me to accept. After all, I'm a martial artist without education."
The Queen of the Swords grabbed the sword she had rested on the round table.
"I want to clash swords with you directly and then decide."
She raised her chin, saying she would follow him if she defeated him.
"That's not a difficult task."
Raon smiled as he stood up from the round table.
"This person is worth fighting."
Because of Glenn's words of warning, he wanted to face the Queen of the Swords first, if not Thespian Emperor.
"However..."
Raon lowered his chin elegantly, looking into the Queen of the Swords' piercing eyes.
"Come at me with all your power. Don't hide anything."
"If I do that..."
The Queen of the Swords showed a chilling gaze, sharp as a blade, as if she really had something hidden.
"Won't you die?"
-
More Ch4pters on KoreanPlayer
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
Thanks for the support
