The contract has been established.
A pure white flame ignites in his heart, where the blue fire’s symbol once resided.
Now, if he commits an act that violates the contract, Akron’s heart will ignite immediately.
Completely, without the chance of regeneration.
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan to burn you.”
As long as you don’t do anything strange, that is.
[“…I am truly grateful.”]
As a new power forces its way into the realm, replacing the existing suppressed power, his seal begins to shake.
The iron chains binding him tremble, and numerous Blue-Red Stones, forming the seal, sense the crisis and release magical power.
Whoosh! Akron becomes entangled in the chains once again.
[“…What a sight. Even after seventeen hundred years, you still hold me back.”]
‘1700 years.’
That’s longer than I expected.
So, Karuns has lived for more than 1700 years?
‘…?’
That’s a little much for a Long-lived Species…
[“Now I will teach you how to break the seal. It’s a very complex ritual, so you’d better listen carefully. First, the short-haired man in that mural over there…”]
Clank!
The chains are released.
The restriction that had bound him for a full 1700 years is undone in an instant, and the man sets his feet on the ground.
“…You.”
“Why make it so complicated?”
Just break it.
As I said that, Akron looked down with a dazed expression.
He was feeling around his heart area before he turned to look at me again.
The blue flame had completely vanished.
[Yeah, just break it lol]
[Wow]
[Skipping the process entirely lol]
[Slave +1]
[This is Lily’s work]
He let out a wry laugh.
“For over a thousand years, I’ve studied and analyzed the sealing ritual…”
All that was meaningless.
A rather deep voice rings out.
Akron is a man with long red hair.
He appears to be in his early thirties.
Though not as muscular as Wenetus, he was lean, and his red eyes were slightly slanted.
Interestingly, he’s dressed in red leather instead of fur clothing.
“I’m sure there was meaning. Without a goal, it’s hard to keep your mind stable over a long period.”
No matter how mentally sound you are, you will crumble under a greater shock.
It’s good to focus on one thing.
Whether it’s someone’s revenge or a strong will to escape this place.
Or perhaps…
“…A goal. Yes. That’s right.”
He now gazes at the mural that has lost its meaning.
In his sight, a pair of a man and a woman are holding hands.
The man appears to be Akron, and the woman, with a pure smile, sports a bob haircut.
“Wait, I have somewhere to go.”
■
“This place is…”
The place I arrived at with Akron was a grave.
Untamed, blue vegetation grew chaotically.
If an ordinary person saw it, they might pass by without realizing it was a grave due to its poor management.
In front of the grave, a single red flower was planted, vibrant and not fitting for this place.
Akron slowly walked toward the grave and stopped in front of the flower.
“This place remains unchanged.”
Should I call that fortunate…?
Kneeling on one knee, he murmured and gently touched the flower.
I quietly watched that.
After touching it for a while, he stood up quietly and looked back at me.
The slightly playful atmosphere from earlier had completely vanished, and he now looked at me with a heavy vibe.
“Have you heard the story? What happened in the past?”
“I’ve heard a bit.”
I recited the brief past I heard from Karuns.
When I finished, he let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
“There are many gaps. It’s only natural since they were the victors.”
They must have erased all their ugly parts.
Thud.
“The wicked Blue Ones oppressed us. They made us offer tributes and even forced the little ones who had just started walking to work.”
They were arrogant, committing atrocities, and in the end, they sought to eliminate their own roots.
“We were enraged. Be they Red or Blue, all born under the ancient land are equal. No one can stand above the others.”
Even if some are strong and some weak, the absolute existence can never rise above.
Akron, who was the leader of Rutilus at the time, opposed this and awakened the hidden abilities first.
Mana surged nearly infinitely for Wenetus.
In contrast, Rutilus…
“If you consume all the mana, the body transforms. Into one that imitates the Ancient God.”
As Rutilus used mana, it rapidly diminished.
Thus, they were considered unblessed beings, but ironically, it was the opposite.
They became closer to their god by ‘not being able to’ use mana.
The endless surging mana of Wenetus is a realm they could never reach.
Blessings were fair to all.
[Oh]
[Is it like magic versus physical?]
[That’s useful!]
[But still, can’t beat a mage haha]
[But in the end, didn’t they lose and get sealed?]
[If physical damage is strong enough, it’s a 10 on the cheating scale, and Lily is an example.]
[But was there really no one before who used all their mana?]
“Was that ability realized for the first time back then?”
Using up all the mana without leaving any behind is a bit challenging, but it’s not impossible if you really want to.
It’s a tough job, but if you want to do it, there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.
Whether you suffer from mana exhaustion or not, pouring mana into it makes it possible.
“I feel like there must have been cases like this before.”
“It doesn’t just end with simple depletion. You must fully embrace the ancient existence to gain a portion of its greatness.”
The belief that the ancient existence hasn’t abandoned him.
The will to fully integrate the god into his own body.
These two things transformed Akron, and the battle changed in an instant.
With his blood-soaked body, Akron took down the Grim Reaper of his time in droves and returned to his kin to preach the method of transformation.
And he said,
“You haven’t been abandoned.”
The ancient existence granted fair power to everyone.
“The ancient body was strong. The infinitely feared water simply turned into a stream, and physical combat wasn’t even a challenge.”
Rutilus pushed Wenetus aside and claimed about half of the island.
Then he declared he would no longer be under Wenetus’s rule and drew a line in the center of the island.
No one would approach beyond this point.
The island was thus divided equally once again.
“But… why?”
He clearly saw blood, but according to Akron, they didn’t kill the enemy from the start.
Just as it had been done to him, they were left alive, merely rendered unable to rise again, covered in blood.
Moreover, when they occupied half of the island, they drew the line and did not go any further.
In a way, it ended peacefully.
As I asked, Akron’s expression darkened as if recalling that day.
“That’s… something I don’t want to talk about.”
“What?”
“Think for yourself.”
He said this and turned his head.
I, too, followed his gaze and turned my head.
At the end of my sight was a lone flower.
A red flower steadfastly holding its ground among the orchids.
[Ah]
[Why stop when you’re talking?]
[It’s obvious someone died because of this.]
[A grave seems just right for this.]
[Hey, what secrets do you have as a slave? Just spill it.]
[Do I need to buy the next episode?]
[Why stop when it’s getting good? Hahaha.]
[It takes two to anger a person!]
“……”
I can roughly guess.
But I didn’t say it.
All the related parties are dead, and those remaining have nothing to do with the incident.
There’s no need to stir up trouble unnecessarily.
“… I may have talked too much. What do you want? I’d like to wrap this up quickly if possible.”
“I want to end this, but…”
“Hmm… There are three things. First, we need to go to the volcano island…”
Rustle!
“…!”
“?”
The bushes surrounding the grave start to stir.
Someone is coming here.
I distinctly heard that no one could come here…
Puff!
“Ugh, hurry up… Huh?”
Emerging from the bushes was Kal.
A little kid with indigo hair who had his belly wrecked and took a nasty beating.
There were no more cages on his forehead because I had released it before entering the seal.
“W-what the?! Why are you here?!”
“That’s what I want to ask.”
This is a forbidden area blocked by Wenetus, so why is he here?
As I said that, Kal tilted his head.
“This is our playground, right? What’s forbidden?”
“Forbidden?”
En, who followed behind, was alternating glances between me, Redberry, and Akron.
Akron frowned.
Even with a contract, the dislike for Wenetus couldn’t be hidden.
Yet, he doesn’t just charge in recklessly…
…!
“Akron?”
Akron, suddenly changed, instinctively wrapped himself in flames, showing hostility.
As if he wanted to tear and kill right away, nearby bushes were burning, and the two kids shrieked as they stepped back.
Before his fist could crush the children—
“Stop!”
Kwhack!
The holy power swiftly grasped his heart.
He could go no further, and one of Akron’s knees buckled.
He trembled, ready to unleash mana, but it was useless.
If the contract was that fragile, he never should have made it in the first place.
[I’ve seen this scene before]
[Huh]
[Sit down!]
[Ugh, my head…]
“Forget the contract, did you?”
“…This is horrible. How are you still alive? Liz died like that, and you brats…”
“……”
Has he already lost his mind?
The Akron who looked normal, no, seemed normal suddenly changed as soon as he saw Wenetus.
It’s too much of a shift to simply be a deep grudge.
The kids in front of him aren’t even from that era of Wenetus, nor did they specifically earn his resentment.
If there’s a cause for this change… it must be one of two things.
Either the influence of the seal has not yet been lifted.
Or, ‘someone is giving a new influence.’
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