mynovelweb Chapter 168 : Imminent (2)
Chapter 168 : Imminent (2)
Chapter 168: Imminent (2)
“…During the previous battle, Davios definitely said this.”
The great Alu has willed it. Your deaths have arrived.
“…That’s what he said.”
“…I see.”
Although his response came after a pause, Luke didn’t look surprised at all.
“The name Alu has occasionally appeared throughout Imperial history as well. It’s often been mentioned through the mouths of S-Rank and S+Rank Demonic Beasts too.”
Sitting on the altar stairs, he rolled small pebbles across his palm as he spoke.
“I assumed it was something like the leader of the Demonic Beasts. Since even SS-Rank Demonic Beasts referred to it that way, I thought perhaps it was a Demonic Beast of an even higher rank.”
Until recently.
Saying that, Luke once again pulled five or six folded pages from his robe.
“…What’s this?”
“It’s merely a transcription of content from ancient scriptures. Since they were written in the language of the native inhabitants of Livua, some portions were interpreted freely, but there shouldn’t be any major issues understanding the overall meaning.”
There were so many metaphors and symbols that fully comprehending everything was difficult, but it wasn’t hard to grasp the story they wished to leave behind.
In summary, it went like this:
.
.
.
In the beginning, there existed two gods, and they were worshipped under the following names.
The first god to exist, the One God Alu.
The second god to exist, the Twofold God Abrel.
The two gods joined forces to create all forms of life, and among them, humans—the final beings they created—were regarded as their greatest masterpiece.
Within long-lasting peace, humans began desiring more than their rightful share, and thus countless conflicts began.
They abandoned the laws and morality they themselves had established and accumulated terrible sins.
Even then unsatisfied, they prayed to the gods who had created them, begging for the ability to possess even more.
Greatly disappointed by centuries of misguided prayers, Alu created a race meant to exterminate humanity and named them Demonic Beasts.
From that moment onward, the Demonic Beasts were commanded to grow in power proportionate to humanity’s prosperity.
Opposing this, the Twofold God Abrel created a system through which humanity could resist the Demonic Beasts.
Transcendent beings born from humanity and designed to protect humanity.
Abrel left behind a prophecy that these transcendents would one day be worshipped throughout the world under the names Guardian Gods or Paladion before falling silent.
Alu, too, after becoming disappointed in humanity, fell silent after delivering one final revelation, and thus the Age of Myth came to an end.
…It was an utterly absurd story.
“…….”
After carefully reading to the final page, Karen handed the bundle of papers back to Luke.
Receiving them and tucking them into his robe, Luke began speaking.
“There aren’t many later records regarding Alu, but not a single one portrays him positively.”
“Because there’s no reason to worship the god who created the Demonic Beasts?”
“That’s assuming the scriptures are true, of course, but yes.”
“To exterminate ugly humans, he created a lifeform called Demonic Beasts… huh.”
Swallowing a sigh, Karen stretched her hand toward empty air.
“Maybe that god was right after all.”
“…Karen.”
“What’s good and evil, what’s truth and lies… those are all just excuses.”
People fight simply because they want to fight.
“The sight of the creations they once considered masterpieces becoming slaves to desire and slaughtering one another… must have been deeply disappointing.”
At Karen’s words, which sounded almost as though humanity deserved such a fate, Luke asked with a faint smile,
“Even so, we still have to fight, don’t we?”
“…….”
“No matter what the past was, no matter what the present is, giving up on the future because of it… that’s not something that exists in humanity’s dictionary.”
“…I suppose so.”
If humans truly were creations of the gods, then even those desires had been permitted by them.
For living beings, survival was both the first and final desire.
To deny that desire was equivalent to denying life itself.
“No matter what ending awaits us, we can only continue fighting in the way we always have.”
The two exchanged gazes for a moment, strengthening their resolve.
At that instant—
The Mana Receiver completed its search.
One by one, the twenty floating mana stones lost their light and dropped to the ground.
Examining the sole remaining mana stone still suspended in the air, Luke turned toward Karen with an expression of disbelief.
“The location where the catastrophe will occur is… inside the capital, Arpe.”
More precisely, within the Imperial Palace.
“…What did you just say?”
Separate from his shock, his eyes and mouth rapidly summarized the results that had been derived.
“Judging from the type and density of the mana, the possibility of an SS-Rank Demonic Beast appearing within half a month is…”
Grasping the final mana stone tightly in his right hand, he spoke quietly.
“…One hundred percent.”
---
Friday morning, April 15th.
Reading the special report and follow-up article released by Ribenia Spiegel inside his private room, Maximilian let out a hollow laugh.
“Haah… well now.”
He had expected they wouldn’t quietly go along with their momentum, but he never imagined they would respond this aggressively.
<“Turning Humans into Demonic Beasts” — The Heinous Reality of Bernhardt’s Research>
The Bernhardt Family, one of the Three Great Powers leading the Empire and the leaders among the nobility.
Power is inherently prone to corruption.
And when that power is absolute, even more so.
Bernhardt’s atrocities had now been exposed to the entire world.
Their sins were far too severe to brush aside with a mere excuse or two.
Even the unforgivable attempt to turn humans into Demonic Beasts hardly seemed that significant compared to the countless evils they had committed.
We are each a single human being, a single worker.
We have an obligation to fight in pursuit of a better life.
That was what Greenwhistle—and its leader Maximilian—declared.
Even before speaking of class struggle, we had always lived lives of struggle.
Greenwhistle, a nonprofit organization aiming to improve the rights of workers and servants.
This newspaper has uncovered that said organization operates beneath the secret society known as the Platinum Dawn Society.
A clandestine organization that had secretly worked toward the Empire’s collapse for countless years.
And now, an organization beneath that society speaks to the citizens about struggle.
What exactly do they seek?
The collapse of the ruling class, or the chaos of the Empire itself?
Representative Maximilian, who spent many years as a servant within Bernhardt and undoubtedly received countless reports afterward as well—
Why did he omit all information regarding the Demonic Beast transformation research from the materials he released?
Now, as the world falls into chaos due to the full-scale emergence of Demonic Beasts—
If a member of an organization that once cried for the Empire’s destruction now speaks of revolution—
Separate from punishing evil, should we truly answer that desperate plea?
Simply because we are citizens?
The editorial raised surprisingly reasonable doubts based on his background, and it carried more than enough persuasive power.
‘…Logically speaking, it’s strange that someone so deeply familiar with Bernhardt’s internal affairs that he even exposed suspicions of forged wills wouldn’t mention the Demonic Beast research at all.’
If someone asked him why, he would answer truthfully that he genuinely hadn’t known.
But even that alone would be enough to plant doubt within the public.
And now that his affiliation with the Platinum Dawn Society had been exposed, manipulating public opinion as freely as before had become difficult.
‘…They’re probably thinking of ending this disturbance by severely punishing Bernhardt, then replacing them with suitable figures to minimize future unrest.’
But our leader isn’t someone simple enough to stop after being satisfied with just that.
Looking at Eugene Carter’s face printed massively across the newspaper, Maximilian smiled bitterly.
“If you die first, wouldn’t our Master lose her reason to keep living?”
He abruptly rose from his seat and headed outside.
He didn’t know whether persuasion would work or not, but there was nothing to lose by trying.
And since this was for Michel’s sake—not anyone else’s—offering up an arm or leg as payment would hardly matter.
As he headed toward the estate of Charlotte Platina, leader of the Platinum Dawn Society, his expression rapidly hardened.
---
That evening, Bernhardt Main Estate, Head of the Family’s Office.
Smaaack! Smaaack!
After being slapped over twenty times in three minutes, Robert clenched his teeth and suppressed the rage surging within him.
His reddened cheeks no longer seemed capable of feeling pain.
“Haa… haa….”
Edgar, who had swung his arm with all his strength, slowly steadied his breathing before asking briefly,
“Why… didn’t you report it?”
“…….”
“You’re not answering?”
“…Because it should never have happened.”
“What?”
Robert boldly raised his head and shouted,
“Because I’m the son Father treasures most. I didn’t want to burden you with the fact that your most trusted son failed such an important mission.”
It was nothing more or less than sophistry, but to Edgar, those words carried enormous weight.
His father, Johann Bernhardt, had valued age and hierarchy more than ability.
Even though he possessed sufficient talent, Edgar never had a chance from the start because he was neither the eldest nor the second son.
If Mikhail hadn’t helped him, he never would have become Head of the Family.
Because of that, Edgar had resolved to treat his children differently from how his father treated him.
If they were talented, they would be allowed to achieve merit regardless of age.
Ironically, however, the most capable among his blood relatives turned out to be his eldest son, Robert.
And once those results became clear, Edgar couldn’t help but partially acknowledge his father’s choices.
That endless competition among siblings ultimately produced nothing but hostility.
After reaching that conclusion, he trusted and relied on his eldest son even more.
Until seeing Spiegel’s special report today, Robert had never once betrayed that trust.
People make mistakes.
There is no human without mistakes.
Edgar himself was no different.
Because Robert had been the excellent eldest son who supported him all this time, he could forgive a single mistake without issue.
Or at least, he could have—
If that mistake hadn’t been this catastrophic.
Even so, nothing would change by dwelling on the mistake now.
Suppressing his anger, Edgar slowly began speaking.
“…Today, Greenwhistle officially filed charges with the court. The trial date has been set for next Monday.”
“The Monday after next… so we have around ten days left.”
“If it reaches a formal trial, we have no chance. We need to find another path before then.”
“…I know I’m not really in a position to say this.”
Looking at his father’s grim expression, Robert cautiously voiced his opinion.
“If Bernhardt wishes to survive, shouldn’t we boldly cut away the rotten portions?”
“……So you already have something in mind.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s hear it.”
Recalling the individuals mentioned in this incident one by one, Robert began selecting those who should be removed first and foremost.
“Gilbert and Chloe absolutely must be cut off. Not only are they incompetent, but their crimes are far too severe.”
“That brat Chloe keeps insisting she only committed simple embezzlement.”
“Even so, the problem is that she targeted the Monteverdi Theater Troupe of all organizations. The biggest issue is getting tied to famous individuals, groups, and scandals that the public recognizes.”
“Hmm.”
“We should also formally disband the Mercenary Corps, at least outwardly. I’ll need to step down as commander as well. As for the assassination group support, the evidence is weak enough that we can probably smooth it over somehow.”
“Greta’s reputation isn’t too bad comparatively… what about Hella?”
“Hella should step down from her union leader position too. The business itself should be transferred to the citizens.”
“…….”
In truth, those weren’t the real problems.
The nearly one thousand criminal records tied to current Head Edgar and Vice Head Mikhail.
If they couldn’t solve that issue, nothing else would matter.
“…I never wanted to say this.”
After hesitating for a long while, Robert finally spoke with resolute eyes.
“It seems Uncle Mikhail will need to take responsibility for everything in your place, Father.”