C1022
Raon returned to the conference room of the Five Divine Orders with the Thespian Emperor and the Queen of Swords.
"Now, I should properly introduce myself."
The Thespian Emperor spoke as she handed Raon a cup of tea that she had prepared herself.
"I am Ariel, the leader of White Whale."
She revealed her position as the leader of White Whale instead of her alias, the Thespian Emperor. This seemed to signify her sincere decision to follow the Five Kings.
"Brigitte."
The Thespian Emperor looked at the Queen of Swords, as if urging her to introduce herself as well.
"I know."
The Queen of Swords nodded briefly in response to the Thespian Emperor's gaze.
"I am Brigitte, the leader of the Unyielding Blade."
She introduced herself in a notably softer tone, as if she had grown fond of Raon.
"I am Raon Zieghart from the Light Wind Palace of the Zieghart family."
Raon stood up and bowed politely to the Thespian Emperor and the Queen of Swords.
-What is this? No casual talk or rudeness?
'There’s no need to provoke the people we’ll be working with from now on. Besides...'
He licked his lips as he raised his head.
'I think the leaders of the main factions deserve respect.'
After being promoted from Leader of the Light Wind Division to Master of the Light Wind Palace, he realized how difficult it was to manage a large faction. Leaders like the Thespian Emperor and the Queen of Swords were worthy of respect.
"Can you tell us what the plans of the Five Kings are and how they will proceed?"
The Thespian Emperor asked as she placed the teapot on the round table. Her eyes shone with intelligence, like the light of the moon dispelling darkness. It seemed that she had regained her original personality and judgment after freeing herself from her state of enlightenment.
"Yes, we need to know that first. We also need to decide what we should do."
The Queen of Swords leaned forward over the round table with her hands clasped, as if asking him to speak.
"Before that, I would like to ask one thing."
Raon turned his gaze toward the Queen of Swords.
"Is Briana listening as well?"
"No, my sister went directly to the mental world."
The Queen of Swords shook her head, saying that Briana had departed for the mental world.
"She said she wanted to internalize the ideas obtained from her duel with you."
She chuckled, saying that Briana would probably not come out for a while.
"I see. But..."
Raon squinted as he looked at the Queen of Swords' upturned lips.
"You call her 'sister' now that Briana is not here."
The Queen of Swords seemed to have refused to acknowledge Briana as her sister, but now that Briana was gone, she referred to her as 'sister.'
"E-that's... No, I..."
The Queen of Swords stammered, her cheeks turning red as if caught off guard.
"I understand now."
Raon smiled weakly, saying that he now understood.
"You have been recognizing her inside, even if you acted otherwise outside."
"I-I just said it! It's not true!"
The Queen of Swords shook her head, insisting it wasn’t true, but her trembling eyes revealed that his assumption was correct.
"It's about time you recognize it."
The Thespian Emperor nodded calmly, as if she had known for a long time that Brigitte had been acknowledging Briana.
"I-t-tell you, it’s not..."
The Queen of Swords bit her lip, seemingly embarrassed, her voice getting lower.
"Let’s leave it at that, then."
Raon nodded with a smile.
"First, I will explain how we took down the Black Tower and killed The Fallen. To start..."
He detailed what had happened, as even the Thespian Emperor might not know all the details.
"S-Soul Sword? You’re really insane!"
The Queen of Swords let out a hollow laugh, as if she now understood why Briana had been defeated.
"I thought the conclusion of your battle with The Fallen was strange, but now I understand. It was the Soul Sword."
The Thespian Emperor rubbed her chin absently, saying she hadn’t known he had used the Soul Sword to kill The Fallen.
"After taking down the Black Tower, we received a large number of neutral forces that were undecided at the subsequent Conference of the Five Kings. We plan to use their information network spread across the continent to track the movements of the Five Demons."
Raon placed his hand on the round table as he explained the plan for the Conference of the Five Kings.
"Are we going to attack immediately after finding them?"
The Queen of Swords twirled her finger, which still had dirt from the training ground, as if asking if they would wage war right away.
"The remaining Demons are Eden, the White Blood Religion, the Holy Sword Alliance, and Derus Robert. On the other hand..."
Raon pointed to the continental map spread out on the round table.
"We have Zieghart, Owen, Balkar, the Beast Union, and the magic tower on our side. With five major factions and three of the Five Divine Orders joining us, we now have a clear advantage not only in the number of experts but also in the overall strength of the faction."
He explained that with the union of the Five Divine Orders, a definitive rift had been formed among the Five Demons, and they could attack immediately.
"Additionally, I recently eliminated a large number of executives and demons from Eden, so Eden's current strength is likely less than half of what it originally was."
Raon nodded, saying that was also why the Five Demons had completely concealed their movements.
"We certainly have the advantage now."
The Queen of Swords clapped as if she agreed.
"But what do you mean by three of the Five Divine Orders? Didn’t your Pirate King withdraw?"
She furrowed her brows as if asking if Alice had indeed abandoned the martial world.
"She was about to withdraw, but..."
Raon shook his head, recalling Alice's cordial laughter.
"She has returned. And she’s even stronger than before."
"That’s reassuring. That woman will definitely be useful."
The Queen of Swords smiled slightly, as if pleased by the news.
"..."
The Thespian Emperor calmly blinked her eyes, as if she already knew about Alice's situation.
"But how do you plan to find the Five Demons using the information network of the neutral forces?"
The Queen of Swords tilted her chin, as if curious about what had been mentioned before.
"The Five Demons are as vast as their name suggests. Even though they are perfectly hidden now, given the large number of people, they will inevitably need many supplies, which will eventually reveal a gap."
Raon traced his finger over the continental map.
"As I mentioned, we will use the neutral forces spread across the continent to gather information, and the Black Market will analyze that information to narrow down the suspicious locations one by one."
With the Five Kings, the Five Divine Orders, and numerous neutral forces working together, the Five Demons would inevitably reveal their tail.
"Moreover, White Whale has information-gathering capabilities that rival those of the Black Market, so if we cooperate, that time will be reduced even further."
Raon looked at the Thespian Emperor, saying he was counting on her help.
"Finding the Five Demons is important, but there’s something else we need to consider."
The Thespian Emperor raised her hand over the map, as if dividing the continent in half.
"Things to consider?"
The Queen of Swords blinked, as if telling her to explain.
"First, the balance of power between the Five Kings and the Five Demons."
When the Thespian Emperor raised her finger, the flags of the Five Kings and the Five Demons that were affixed to the continental map floated into the air.
"The Northern Destroyer King is still in good shape, but the Silent Sword Master, the Archmage of Eternal Flame, and the Beast King have not fully recovered from their injuries."
"Hmm..."
The Queen of Swords let out a low groan, as if she had just remembered that point.
"I’ve heard that the Silent Sword Master’s wounds are nearly healed, but the wounds of the Archmage of Eternal Flame and the Beast King are related to their souls, so they cannot be easily recovered. Especially for Ogram, we should assume that he might not recover at all."
The Thespian Emperor furrowed her brows, as if saying that Ogram's martial prowess could not be restored until the Leader of the White Blood Religion was dead.
"On the other hand, while the number of leaders among the Five Demons has decreased, each of them still possesses extreme martial prowess. The Celestial Demon has power comparable to Glenn, the Leader of the White Blood Religion has rapidly grown after drinking the blood of the Beast King, and Derus is strong enough to overwhelm the Silent Sword Master."
She let out a heavy sigh, saying they needed to carefully consider this difference.
"Although there is a significant rift in the Holy Sword Alliance, even the current leader of the Alliance is not weak. It would take someone of the caliber of the Silent Sword Master to face him."
The Thespian Emperor bit her lip slightly, saying that they should also take Rector into account.
"You’re right."
Raon nodded as he listened to the Thespian Emperor.
"The Five Kings may have more Transcendents in number, but the Five Demons might be stronger in terms of individual power. So we need to defeat them one by one, as we did with the Master of the Black Tower and The Fallen. They cannot unite like us."
He clenched his fist, saying they needed to exploit the gaps in the Five Demons that could not unite perfectly.
"There’s one more point we need to consider."
The Thespian Emperor let out a thin sigh, as if she were slightly tired.
"The Five Demons, or rather, Derus Robert, has an Archangel by his side who is on par with the leaders of the Five Kings and the Five Demons. If we include the Angels as well, we might even be at a disadvantage right now."
She shook her head, saying that the situation was not entirely favorable for the Five Kings.
"Archangel..."
The Queen of Swords frowned, as if she hadn’t considered the Archangel.
"There are two Archangels now, right? If more appear, it could be really dangerous."
She clicked her tongue, saying that she didn’t understand why someone like Derus had an Archangel by his side.
"In part because I couldn't make appropriate decisions while in a state of enlightenment, but I didn’t think the current situation of the Five Kings was as good as it seemed."
The Thespian Emperor let out a heavy sigh, saying that was why she couldn’t help but worry.
"Regarding the Archangel..."
Raon nodded slightly as he looked at Wrath yawning.
"I have an idea. It may be difficult to use against other leaders of the Five Demons, but we should be able to counter the Archangel."
"Really? What’s the method?"
The Thespian Emperor’s eyes opened in surprise.
"I can’t tell you right now. But the possibility is enough."
Raon smiled weakly, saying they could rely on him for that.
"Hmm..."
The Thespian Emperor slightly narrowed her eyes.
'It's not working, is it?'
The Thespian Emperor was a cold strategist who followed reason over emotion. There was a high possibility she wouldn’t consider a method that couldn’t be adequately explained in her plans.
"Alright. Then I will trust you and plan battles excluding the Archangel."
Contrary to expectations, she nodded, saying she would trust his words.
"What?"
Raon let out a surprised sigh as he looked at the Thespian Emperor.
"You believe me even though I haven't told you the whole story?"
"If it were the old me, I wouldn’t have believed you. However, thanks to you, I fell into a state of enlightenment and was able to feel a bit of the soul of Raon Zieghart. You are not a man who speaks empty words."
The Thespian Emperor smiled awkwardly, as if surprised by her own judgment, and said she would trust him.
"Then I will trust you as well."
The Queen of Swords raised her hand, saying she would trust him too. It seemed that both had slightly changed their personalities after falling into a state of enlightenment.
-It's not their personalities, but just towards you.
Wrath shook his head, saying it wasn’t that they had changed, but that they were giving him special treatment only.
'Maybe that's how it is.'
Raon licked his lips and bowed his head to the Thespian Emperor and the Queen of Swords.
"Thank you for trusting me."
He raised his head, revealing eyes filled with confidence.
"I will make sure you don’t regret joining us."
He smiled, saying he would lead them to victory in the end of this fight.
-By the way, aren’t you going to talk about your old man?
Wrath tilted his head, as if asking if it wouldn’t be easier if he mentioned Rector's story.
'No.'
Raon shook his head firmly.
'I can’t let grandfather and the Holy Sword Alliance get involved in this war.'
It was already a great benefit that the Holy Sword Alliance was not participating in the war on the side of the Five Demons. He didn’t want to drag good-hearted people who dedicated their lives to the training of sacred swords into the bloodshed of war.
'I will protect that land.'
Raon clenched his fist as he looked at the location of the sacred place of the Holy Sword Alliance on the continental map.
'So that no evil can touch it.'
***
Rector frowned as he looked at the path filled with sacred light.
'What is this place?'
When he arrived at the location specified by Derus Robert, a corridor of white light had opened up. As soon as he entered, sacred energy spread in all directions along with an aura as if it were welcoming a god.
'Impressive.'
This land emanated an aura even more sacred than the grand cathedrals he occasionally visited during his travels. However, deep within that light, there seemed to be an indescribable ominous stench rising.
'This is neither magic nor witchcraft.'
What he felt from this corridor was not the mana of this world. It seemed to be operated by sacred power, the divine energy said to be possessed by Angels.
"Hmm."
Rector frowned as he walked along the path of light that rippled like the sea.
'This is ominous.'
Just by being on this path, his heart felt constricted, and the hair on his entire body stood on end. An inexplicable feeling of unease coursed through his body.
'I want to turn back, but...'
I can’t stop here. Only by walking this path can I protect Raon and everything that boy wants. Even if I die at the end of this meeting, I must move forward now.
'Phew.'
Rector took a deep breath and walked along the sacred light path. As he continued along the white ground that seemed to cling to his legs like a swamp, a door that emitted a faint divine energy soon came into view.
'Is that the entrance to the conference room?'
After mentally preparing himself, he grasped the doorknob. Unlike the warm and sacred path, a chill that sent shivers down his spine emanated from the knob. He lightly bit his tongue and turned the doorknob without hesitation.
The darkness seeping through the wide-open door spread like the tentacles of an octopus, seemingly engulfing the path of light.
Rector entered the room, pushing back the darkness with the realm of his soul. As soon as he felt the warm air suddenly turn cold, he saw a black round table with four floating candles above it.
"You have arrived."
Derus Robert, seated at the right side of the round table, bowed his head politely.
"Why does this brat arrive so late? How rude."
The Leader of the White Blood Religion, with half of her face covered by a white veil, wrinkled her nose as if disgusted.
'Phew...'
Rector raised the corners of his mouth as he felt the darkness and cold spreading throughout the conference room, as well as the immense pressure from the Leader of the White Blood Religion and Derus.
'Yes, this suits me.'
He felt more comfortable with this darkness and cold than with the sacred light, knowing that he was not a righteous person.
"As we have already met before, there is no need for introductions."
Rector raised his chin, wearing an unyielding smile.
"I am the Leader of the Holy Sword Alliance."
-
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