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[Translator - Prøks]
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Chapter 243: Conviction (2)
The suffocating confrontation between Baltahar and Arihama only ended after Iris Seren intervened.
"Let us conclude here for today. Unless you intend to start a Divine Clan War."
The Sword Duke and the Guardian Star, who had been probing each other with intense gazes for a while, finally withdrew their auras.
The summit was over.
Further conversation was meaningless.
Forcing a conclusion now might have inadvertently created an escape route, so I deliberately refrained from objecting further.
Shaaaa—!
Although it was late dawn, vast crowds were still gathered outside.
Only after the official declaration that the summit had ended did people begin returning to their tents one by one, bringing quiet to the northernmost camp.
It was a dark, moonless night.
Back in the temporary tent, I quietly gathered Kazen and the key members. Fichte and Black joined us as well.
Just as I finished briefly summarizing the events of the summit, Black spoke softly.
"I didn't expect the Maohe situation."
"..."
"A Sword Master of Ten Thousand. The wound on Commander Maohe's severed head is definitely from the Heart Void Style."
Black's brow was deeply furrowed.
Zion replied with a bitter expression.
"So, is the answer obvious then?"
"Perhaps."
I shook my head and opened the Circle of my heart.
After creating a shield that completely enveloped the temporary tent, I spoke in a low voice.
"It's Arihama."
Black shook his head.
"Ruin. Don't twist reality. The wound is definitely from the Heart Void Style. If a Sword Master of Ten Thousand truly cut off Maohe's head, there's only one conclusion. We have no choice but to suspect the Sword Duke."
I looked at Black.
"That can't be taken as proof. You yourself said there were times traces of Guardian Knights were found on the corpses of Heavenly Swordmasters."
Black shook his head again.
"This situation is different from back then, Ruin. The Sword Masters of Ten Thousand are different."
"Even if the wound isn't fake, the Myriad Demon Assembly has the ability to demonize even a Sword Master of Ten Thousand."
"Do you have proof?"
"I have no proof."
Black stared intently at me.
"You have something else you want to say, don't you, Ruin?"
"The Maohe situation isn't certain. But it's also not important. That's not what matters."
I looked around at the others.
"Don't be swayed. The core issue remains the same. All of this ultimately connects back to the past Expedition."
Recalling memories from the past, I continued.
"Vassago. The Myriad Demon Assembly. They are all fragments of the past Expedition. The Demon King... he is the beginning and the end. The expedition from three hundred years ago must inevitably be the root cause of everything happening now."
"..."
"How could the past expedition be linked to the present? How could all those records vanish? There's only one answer."
I looked towards Fichte.
"One of those who remained until the very end of the expedition three hundred years ago. That person is the culprit."
"Are you going to bring up that 'contract with demons' story again?"
I lifted the necklace hanging from my neck.
"If the Sword Duke was the mastermind, there's no way he wouldn't recognize this."
"..."
"It's a relic of Magnus, the Sword Star who led Baltahar three hundred years ago."
Black's expression shifted subtly. He furrowed his brow as if deep in thought for a moment before asking.
"Are you saying it's a relic of our ancestor?"
"Yes."
"...Is it a relic that Samael recovered?"
Ever since entering the Divine Clan summit.
I had deliberately taken out 'Magnus's Phantasm' and worn it visibly around my neck.
"If Julius were the Sword Star... No, even if he were just someone who knew of that day three hundred years ago... he would have had to recognize the relic."
But Julius's expression hadn't changed in the slightest.
It wasn't a matter of him deliberately ignoring it; it was as if he didn't even perceive it.
He hadn't recognized it.
In all the moments we made eye contact and spoke, I hadn't sensed the slightest hint of recognition or anything unusual from him.
There was no way Julius could be the Sword Star.
"If it's not the Sword Duke... then only one answer remains."
It's not the Divine Dragon.
They, secluded in the Hwarin Mountains, couldn't possibly orchestrate something so elaborate.
Ultimately, if it wasn't Baltahar, there was only one possibility left.
"Markutan Arihama."
"..."
"He is the most likely mastermind behind the Myriad Demon Assembly."
A moment of silence fell.
Black kept his mouth shut, and the subordinates, the elders, and even Kazen remained silent.
Fichte had kept his head lowered the entire time, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.
Black asked again, as if confirming.
"Is there any possibility Commander Maohe acted alone?"
"Impossible. This isn't something that could happen without the involvement of an entire Divine Clan in the first place."
"So, Ruin, are you saying Clan Head Markutan is the traitor from the Expedition?"
I looked straight at Black.
"Black, nothing is certain. It's impossible to rule out every possibility and arrive at a perfect conclusion."
"..."
"Berkes. If he reappears, the situation will spiral out of control. We need to end this before that happens. We have no choice but to bet on the highest probability. If it's not the Sword Duke, and not the Divine Dragon, then it must be the Guardian Star. If Arihama isn't the mastermind, that will eventually become clear as well."
I looked at Black.
"The Sword Duke is probably thinking the same thing."
"..."
Suddenly, Kazen placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Ruin."
In that instant, the flow of the atmosphere changed.
"There's no need to be too hasty."
I couldn't immediately refute him.
The moment Kazen spoke, the tense atmosphere shifted, becoming calm like a still lake.
I briefly glanced at Kazen's profile.
It was strange.
A familiar sense of déjà vu kept nagging at me.
Peleer Samael.
Ever since entering the Divine Clan summit, Kazen had projected the atmosphere befitting the head of Samael through his presence alone, but... the feeling I had now was something that surpassed mere presence.
"The Myriad Demon Assembly is likely more impatient than we are," Kazen said. "Let's watch the situation for a few days."
It was definitely a familiar sense of déjà vu.
The more I looked at Kazen, the more I felt like a memory was on the verge of surfacing, yet I couldn't recall when or where I'd experienced this feeling before.
Thump—!
It was then that Rihan rushed into the tent from outside.
"Lord Head."
"What is it?"
"Someone outside is looking for Young Lord Black."
Peeking through the tent flap, I saw knights from both Baltahar and Arihama moving about busily, despite the late hour.
"Looks like they're about to hold an internal meeting."
Black said as he slowly exited the tent.
"See you again tomorrow, Ruin."
A lull fell after Black left.
The Gwangmadan went out first to monitor the movements of the Divine Clans, followed slowly by the elders.
After Kazen also left, eventually only Fichte and I remained inside the tent.
For a while, we silently organized our thoughts.
Fichte had kept his head down the entire time, remaining silent.
I, too, briefly sat cross-legged on a simple table and began to meditate.
After a long while spent organizing my thoughts, rotating the seven Circles clockwise and then counter-clockwise, I opened my eyes. Fichte remained in the exact same posture, completely still.
Shaaaa—!
Dawn was breaking before I realized it.
"Military Commander."
Only then did Fichte raise his head.
The moment our eyes met, I somehow felt that something was unusual.
I had never seen such a deeply troubled look in his eyes before.
"Military Commander. What troubles you so deeply?"
"Lord Ruin."
"Speak."
Fichte looked as if he was about to say something, his lips trembled slightly, and then he spoke again.
"Arihama... I don't think it's them."
I let out a sigh.
"Military Commander. You heard what I told Black. It's impossible to rule out every possibility."
"I know."
"Then, Military Commander, are you saying you suspect the Sword Duke?"
"Lord Ruin."
"Speak."
"It's neither of them. Circumstantially, it doesn't make sense."
Fichte's gaze grew increasingly profound.
"One of the most crucial duties of a Vassal Clan's Strategist is to understand the affairs of the Divine Clans. Baltahar and Arihama. I have spent significant time trying to find any connection between these two families and the demons, but absolutely no evidence has surfaced."
"..."
"It doesn't add up. Ulgon. Keplan. The Magic Tower Alliance. The Giant God, and Commander Maohe. While every incident is significant, none provides conclusive proof against either clan. It's too bizarre. If either Baltahar or Arihama were truly the mastermind behind the Myriad Demon Assembly, events wouldn't have unfolded this way. There should have been evidence of direct intervention at least once."
"..."
"Watching the summit today, I realized something. This strange balance we're seeing now can only be explained if the two families genuinely suspected each other."
Fichte looked at me.
"And I believe Clan Head Julius and Clan Head Markutan realized that same fact today – that the other is not the mastermind behind the Myriad Demon Assembly."
"Then what is your judgment, Military Commander? That the Myriad Demon Assembly hasn't managed to take control of a Divine Clan? Is that what you're trying to say?"
"..."
Fichte didn't answer.
I looked at Fichte and said.
"Military Commander. Listen carefully. I remember what you told me about the traitor from the Expedition three hundred years ago. I agree with the assessment that they could still be alive today."
"..."
"Too many records have been distorted. That itself is undeniable proof. Our Samael clan is the greatest evidence of this. Ultimately, the mastermind behind the Myriad Demon Assembly, seeking to summon Berkes, has to be one of them."
Fichte spoke softly.
"Lord Ruin. My thoughts on that haven't changed either. I still believe a traitor must exist. That's the only way to explain the link between the past and the present."
"Then what are you trying to say, Military Commander?"
"I..."
"Speak."
"I..."
Fwaat—
In an instant, Fichte's gaze turned completely intense.
He looked at me with an intensity I had never seen since I first met him.
"Lord Ruin. I want to ask."
"Speak."
"Was Samael, in the past, a family that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Serens, the Baltahars, and the Arihamas?"
"We were the foremost among them."
Fichte bit his dry lower lip once.
"Then, did Samael survive until the very end of the Expedition?"
"Yes."
"Then it wasn't three survivors, was it?"
"...What?"
I instantly felt a strange sensation.
It felt as if I'd been struck by lightning on the crown of my head, a chill piercing my mind and running through my entire body.
"Let me ask, Lord Ruin. Those who remained at the very end of the Expedition."
"..."
"Baltahar. Arihama. Seren."
Fichte looked at me, his brow deeply furrowed.
In a tone suggesting he was forcing out words he desperately wished not to speak, he opened his mouth again.
"Was Samael... also there with them?"
Only then did I finally understand what Fichte was trying to tell me.
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