Once the overwhelming aura of Bell that was pressing down their bodies and heads evaporated, they recognized the lion emblem medallion thrown on the ground.
The warriors’ bodies trembled when they saw the lion medallion on the floor.
The leader among the guards bowed deeply.
“I apologize for the disrespect, Duke Yuma!”
The lion emblem medallion, which proved the status of a great warrior from Pineon, could only be held by one person within Pineon, and that was:
The God of War, Yuma.
Yuma shook his head.
“Just let us in.”
The warriors lowered their heads.
A path opened.
Yuma and his group strode into the makeshift royal palace.
The great warrior, Martes, with brown hair, bowed deeply upon seeing Yuma’s face.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Duke Yuma.”
Perhaps because he was now the king of a nation, he did not kneel or bow fully.
Yuma thought it was only natural. The previous customs were just excessively exaggerated.
“Sit.”
“Yes, Duke Yuma.”
Martes slowly took a seat in front of Yuma.
Three women sat side by side next to Yuma.
“Have you heard of the White Night tribe?”
Martes’ eyes widened at those words.
“Yes, I remember hearing about them a few years ago from King Kament.”
As expected, the deceased Conqueror King had mentioned the White Night tribe.
Yuma gestured with his chin to his right. There sat Bell.
“This is the White Night tribe.”
Unknowingly, Bell raised her right hand high.
“I’m Bell of the White Night tribe.”
“Ooh, nice to meet you.”
Martes, expressing his delight, tilted his head.
“Um… wait a minute, King Kament clearly said that the White Night tribe was bound by the grave mistake of their ancestors. If they couldn’t kill a giant that was close to a demigod, they wouldn’t be able to leave their territory….”
Yuma immediately cleared up that doubt.
“I took care of that debt.”
“So, the current White Night tribe is free?”
“That’s right, so don’t touch the land of the White Night tribe; all its members have become my subordinates.”
Yuma paused for a moment before emphasizing his point.
“The land of the White Night is now mine. So don’t even think about invading.”
It’s my land now, so don’t mess with it.
Martes swallowed hard at that claim.
Strictly speaking, Yuma was claiming territory that belonged to the White Night tribe within the boundaries of Pineon as his own.
But Martes felt no anger towards Yuma. He might have given up trying to comprehend what was normal, making this possible.
If Yuma had claimed it as land of the Astes Empire, a faint sense of anger might have risen, but since it was Yuma’s personal land, it somehow made sense.
“Understood. Our kingdom will not interfere with the land of the White Night tribe.”
Martes’ promise, now the king of Pineon, was something no one else in Pineon would dare to break.
Yuma decided to ask a curious question.
“Did the Conqueror King have no children?”
The child of the Conqueror King.
Martes frowned unexpectedly.
“Queen Helen, the lady, had her child late. The prince has just turned 9 this year.”
Martes spoke with a self-deprecating smile.
“When the Conqueror King passed away, the prince expressed fierce anger. It was a mixture of frustration. Very intense.”
Martes continued.
“However, that anger cannot be realized. Queen Helen moved south, giving up her son’s claim to the throne to avoid getting embroiled in the power struggle. Along with the prince.”
Martes took a sip of tea from the table.
“In exchange for my support, I’ve guaranteed the prince’s eternal safety until he comes of age.”
Yuma had a son with the deceased Conqueror King.
And that son could only feel anger towards Yuma, the one who killed his father. Yuma did not find that anger unpleasant.
The citizens of the Barbarian Nation Pineon believed they had every right to be angry. Among them, the one with the greatest claim was undoubtedly his son.
Yuma had no intention of dodging that anger.
They were people he killed to survive. They were people he killed for a purpose.
There was no grand guilt. No remorse. He simply thought not to deny it.
The fact that he had killed countless people.
The countless pain that arose from those deaths.
“Go.”
That was all Martes had to say.
*
The next day.
Crossing the borders of the Barbarian Nation Pineon, he returned to the Astes Empire.
From then on, he moved without delay.
As soon as Yuma entered the transit city of Arkan, he alerted Princess Brigitte, the First Princess, with the help of Gelmore, the mayor of Arkan.
He informed her that he had found the [Blue-Haired Swordsman].
Then, without stopping even for a moment in Arkan, he headed straight to the capital.
Still, a whole day had been consumed.
Princess Brigitte rested her chin on her right hand and tapped the desk with her left index finger.
Tap… Tap… Tap…
The stage was already set.
Nobles above the count rank had begun to side with her.
It was a very simple logic.
The existence of Yuma, whom she had relied on as her right hand, had saved this Empire several times already.
All the nobles had realized that no matter who came from the current Empire, they could not stop his formidable power.
What began as a fulfillment of a prophecy to turn the hearts of the nobles originally superior to her, ‘Schwarze’, had shifted the balance due to the presence of Yuma.
The prophecy.
Leaving the prophecy aside, the tide had completely turned.
Brigitte was not entirely pleased with this situation.
Her father, the current Emperor of the Astes Empire, Agares von Astes, had yet to regain consciousness.
His words echoed in her mind.
“A noble blood must have principles.”
“Rather than listening to someone, think for yourself. Judge for yourself.”
“That is what an emperor must do.”
Those were his habitual words.
And they were also words that Brigitte liked.
To carry out her own decisions without considering anyone else’s commands.
“Acting on one’s own judgment.”
That was something only the ruler of a nation, the Emperor, could do.
Of course, even that father might have followed it if it was ‘divine revelation.’
But feeling a sense of discomfort was unavoidable.
However, one thing was clear: they had matched all the pieces revealed by the divine revelation.
“…I need to reach a conclusion.”
Direct confrontation.
Brigitte conveyed the message to her only remaining elder brother, Schwarze, who still observed proper etiquette.
Since Duke Yuma had gathered the pieces of the divine revelation, let’s look at the results together.
She also reached out to Kairos, who could be considered the representative of the noble faction in the Astes Empire.
And they called upon Duke Balzac, the Guardian of the Empire, who had also heard the divine revelation during the New Year’s gathering.
Not to mention calling all the notaries who had been present during the New Year’s divine revelation.
Closure.
That was how she intended to conclude this power struggle for the throne.
Since it began with a divine promise, it would end with the completion of that divine revelation.
*
Yuma surveyed his three companions in the magic train.
Their hair colors were all different. Their outfits varied as well. One was even of a different race.
At that moment, however, they all had one thing in common.
They were sprawled out on the train seats, fast asleep.
‘Somehow, they gathered.’
[The Daughter of the Witch Who Fell into the Hell of the Black Flame].
[The Swordmaster with Blue Hair].
They were gathered according to the prophecy of the divine revelation.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the journey was far from smooth, though.
Yuma felt a hint of unease.
The gods in the game [Loop Blood] were very fickle.
They would bestow a great blessing upon the protagonist, only to stab them in the back with a massive blade.
He didn’t quite know the nature of the gods in this world yet, but if something were to go wrong…
‘I have to stop it somehow.’
Yuma thought that as he watched his three subordinates snoring softly.
“We’ve arrived.”
Yuma tapped on their shoulders to wake them all up.
“Ugh…!”
Hestia hurriedly wiped the drool away with a handkerchief.
The capital of the Astes Empire, Varnok.
They had arrived again at the very place where they first fell into this world.
“We’re heading straight to the palace.”
At Yuma’s words, the three nodded without any complaints.
When they reached the front of the First Princess’s palace, they spotted Princess Brigitte. Without hesitation, Yuma presented Bell to Brigitte.
“This is the Swordmaster with Blue Hair. Probably.”
Bell tilted her head slightly as she looked at Brigitte.
“I’m Bell… Your Highness the Princess.”
Bell, who generally spoke casually except to her father and the elder members of the White Night Clan, suddenly addressed the princess with the proper honorifics…!
“Welcome.”
Brigitte gently embraced Bell, the [Swordmaster with Blue Hair], around the shoulders.
Since she had come for her, it was only natural for affection to blossom.
“Hello, Your Highness!”
“Your Highness!”
Unlike that clueless cat swordsman who immediately spoke informally after just one meeting, Yuma felt a sense of relief at Bell’s presence, who at least had some sense of propriety.
The three individuals destined by prophecy gathered in one place.
However, nothing unusual happened at the moment.
“Yuma.”
Brigitte felt quite disappointed that she couldn’t engage in a long conversation with Yuma after seeing him for the first time in a while. But now was not the time for leisurely chats.
“We need to head to the Temple of Astes. People are waiting.”
“People?”
“I’ve called everyone from the Seat of Prophecy, including the members of the New Year Prophecy.”
“Shooting this down so that nothing else comes up afterward?”
At Yuma’s comment, First Princess Brigitte nodded.
“Yes, exactly. I don’t want to waste more time on the power struggle for the throne. No matter how powerful the empire is, we can’t let the emperor’s vacant seat linger for too long without knowing what might happen.”
She was right.
Brigitte and Yuma’s group stepped onto the teleportation platform leading to the Temple of Astes.
Suddenly—
A flash of light burst before their eyes.
Yuma stared at the gigantic white temple that appeared before him.
Regardless of its sanctity, the sheer overwhelming size of the temple was striking.
Brigitte and Yuma’s group entered.
Everyone except the two of them gazed around the temple, utterly dazed.
They also brought Hestia, who wasn’t part of the prophecy, since leaving her alone in the princess’s palace would be awkward.
Yuma spotted a familiar blonde man.
“Long time no see.”
Yuma spoke while looking at First Prince Schwarze, who was staring at him with a stiff expression.
Surely the protagonists here were Princess Brigitte, Cloney, and Bell.
Yet, it was Yuma who caught the attention of Prince Schwarze, Marquis Kairos, and Duke Balzac.
“Oh ho, so you’re the God of War… I’ve heard a lot about you.”
[Lv.198] Balzac
Protector of the Empire, Grand Swordmaster.
One of the Ten Lords of the Empire and known to be among the strongest in the Empire.
“Is that so?”
Balzac’s gaze lingered on Yuma for a moment before shifting toward Cloney and Bell, who were next to Brigitte.
“So you’re the main characters of the prophecy… Interesting.”
As soon as the duke’s statement ended, Bell frowned.
“What are you up to, old man?”
The atmosphere crackled with tension as both parties emanated a sharp energy.
Bell pushed back against the energy directed at her by Balzac.
Balzac nodded slowly, then gradually dissipated his energy.
“The blue-haired swordsman… That title bestowed by the prophecy suits you well. You look young, yet you have already reached Master. My apologies for the jest.”
Intrigue filled Balzac’s eyes.
Shortly after the minor commotion—
Tap, tap.
Footsteps were heard approaching from behind.
A holy maiden clad in white emerged.
She wore a bright smile and squinted her eyes playfully.
“Has everyone arrived?”
It was the arrival of Holy Maiden Ermel, the one delivering the prophecy.
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