Chapter 177: A deeper understanding

“I was hiding.” Kenji said as his jaw tightened.

“From who?” Ishiki asked with arrowed eyes.

“The princess’s brother,” Kenji replied. “If I was not hiding I might as well be dead by now.”

“What? But why?”

The blonde guy was silent for a long moment and then sighed. “Do you remember Jules?” he asked.

Ishiki replied positively as he recalled about the person who was supposedly Kenji’s friend who was the first player to make it to the Inner Ring. After hearing his response, Ishiki noticed as the expression of the person opposite to him darkened.

“He is dead. And he was killed by that pink haired monster.” Kenji replied with gritted teeth. “He came inside with me and we were greeted by Jules. Instead of saying anything he simple drew his sword and beheaded the guy.”

He touched the wound in his lips. “He even tried to finish me but I ran away.”

“Then the next day he climbed atop the Sun statue and stabbed the Angel’s heart.”

“And everyone disappeared…” Ishiki completed the sentence.

He more or less now trusted that this was clearly Kenji in front of him. But there were doubts and questions that made no sense.

’Kenji, my friend you are saying that you made it here inside the Inner Ring as one of the strongest player… and then you even survived Yuki’s brother and have been hiding from him. All that with that measly skill of yours that makes you akin to a bat? Yeah I am not believing that.’

’And you even managed to hide from my senses after I used Ghost Blade! ’

Ishiki was more or less convinced that Either Kenji was hiding his true skill just like him or there was something even more dangerous than that going on with him.

He wanted to ask these questions to the other party very badly… but he maintained his calm and didn’t say much. The next time he opened his mouth, he simply asked. “Where have you been hiding all this time?”

“The library,” Kenji said. “The big one near the eastern edge of the Inner Ring.”

“You’ve been there the whole time?”

“Yeah.” Kenji replied. “And I found something very important.”

Ishiki leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “What did you find?”

“First Ishiki understand that this,” he gestured to himself. “This isn’t the real me. This is just a clone that I have conjured and the real me is still hiding.”

Ishiki’s eyes widened. That explained one of his questions. The reason why his senses didn’t pick him was because he was nothing more than a clone.

“I see…” Ishiki didn’t say anything. He was certain now that Kenji had most certainly hidden his true powers… and he was not going to press the matter.

He was the same after all.

Without wasting even a second the clone started speaking again. “I don’t have much time… so I will get straight to the point. I found a journal in a hidden chamber in this library. It answers a lot of things and there are more that I can’t make sense of. So I will tell you… maybe you can understand something.”

Ishiki nodded.

“So the journal basically has Aethelburg’s history and its very magical actually. Words appear on it without anyone writing.” Kenji started.

Even the first line made Ishiki’s interest pique.

“There are a few main events that it states. The first was that the adopted son of the Emperor joined hands with an otherworldly entity and then killed the Emperor of Aethelburg at that time. He even imprisoned his brother who was the biological son of the Emperor.”

Ishiki seemed to be shivering as he heard the story. He was enlightened.

’This seems to be in line to what actually happened. So the Dragon was indeed the actual heir of the throne and was betrayed by his brother. But why is he a dragon?’

Kenji continued. “The otherworldly entity helped the new Emperor in saving Aethelburg and even winning the war. He even resurrected these Golden walls to maintain its safety. For that he asked to become the God of Aethelburg and he indeed did. He was Mandecium… the God of Reality. He made himself cathedrals and the Emperor asked people to worship him as a true god.”

Ishiki was seemingly overwhelmed by the information. “Wait! what do you mean by that he asked people to pray to him as a true god. Was he not actually a God? The miracles he did do not seem to be what a normal person can even imagine doing.”

“I do not know.” Kenji shook his head. “The next main event happened when the Angel killed the God and the Emperor-”

Before he could speak further. Ishiki interjected. “Wait… what do you mean by the angel killed the Emperor?”

This was a devastating information.

He wanted to ask some questions. But they had become more contradictory. He calmed himself down and leaned back in his chair. Mind churning. There were too many pieces that didn’t fit.

“Why did the angel kill the Emperor?” he asked. “There has to be a reason. Angels don’t just decide to commit deicide and regicide on a whim.”

“Because of the orbs.”

“The what?!”

“The Orbs.” Kenji said calmly. “According to the journal, there are two Orbs that exist in Aethelburg. They’re called the Eyes of the Great Old One—some kind of ancient entity that predates even the gods.”

“These Orbs,” Kenji continued, “are what one needs in order to become the Emperor… and they only reveal their full power in the hands of someone with imperial authority.”

“And the power they grant?” Ishiki asked, though dread was already building in his gut.

Kenji met his eyes. “The one who becomes Emperor by possessing even one Orb gains the ability to resurrect the dead.”

The words fell like stones into still water, ripples spreading outward with terrible implications.

Resurrection. Bringing back the dead.

“Is that why the angel killed the Emperor,” Ishiki breathed. “To stop that power from being used? To stop them from…”

“From bringing back armies,” Kenji said grimly. “From making themselves immortal and breaking the fundamental rules of existence. Though that is also a simple deduction. I cannot confirm anything.”

“And the angel got petrified for it,” Ishiki added. “Turned to stone by whatever curse the dying God or Emperor placed. Frozen there for years as punishment.”

Ishiki stood abruptly, chair scraping against marble. He paced to the window, staring out at the crimson-painted streets.

“The dragon has an Orb,” he said quietly. “Right there on his forehead. We’ve all seen it. That golden sphere embedded in his skull.”

“I know.”

“And he’s sitting on the throne now. Proclaimed himself Emperor. Which means…” Ishiki turned back to face Kenji. “Which means he can resurrect the dead. That’s his power now which makes him untouchable.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep