Chapter 402: Beginning of Chaos

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POV: Third person

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“And so, the goddess of purity, Aeloria, gave her tacit agreement in exchange for a new pact, under which we must guarantee the survival of her blessed ones and those close to them for at least five years.”

“So there are only four left, including Erebus and Luxion.”

Upon hearing the report, a deep, heavy voice echoed through the room. It came from a demon seated upon an oriental-style throne.

He wore a long, wide yellow silk robe, laden with embroidery of dragons and celestial symbols, made to impose stillness and absolute authority.

His skin was a dull red, almost grayish in tone; he had two imposing black horns on either side of his head, grayish hair, and a thick beard of the same color.

In front of him, many people sat and listened to the report.

This was key: they needed to get rid of the treaty, which was preventing many things from getting started.

In general, at least in the early years of the age of the gods, it was like a tacit agreement in almost every place to let the younger generation fight among themselves.

These practices became fundamentally effective due to the peculiarity of the middle world of restricting entry; but, at most, they were always tacit agreements or, at most, simple or temporary contracts.

Only in this region, for some reason, was there an agreement dispensed with by many gods to avoid direct wars.

And to make matters worse, some of those gods were prominent entities and difficult to even find a way to communicate with.

Everyone present knew that it was for this very reason that the man sitting on the throne was assigned to this region.

Even so, this plan, which had been in the works for several decades, was coming to an end, and only four remained.

“Yes, Imperial Highness. This regional treaty is many ages old. It was so ancient that even some gods seemed to have forgotten its existence, and when they remembered it, they did not care much about its annulment, but the last four are very aware of it, and it does not seem to be easy.”

“…The most problematic of the remaining four is Luxion… Try to investigate whether, like Aeloria, he has any blessed ones or agents, and try to reach an agreement with that in mind.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.”

“Next”

“R-reported, Your Imperial Highness… the soul stone of the fourth Imperial Prince has been extinguished. It is possible that… he is dead.”

The next report came and was totally unexpected, causing many of those present to be alarmed.

Some began to whisper among themselves, and one in particular seemed to lose all color from his turquoise skin.

“What was the cause? Was it the Talunhai? Did they notice our movements?”

On the other hand, upon hearing the report, the emperor looked on calmly with his magenta eyes, as if it were just another report and not about the death of one of his children.

In fact, his interest was more focused on the cause, centered on whether his human counterparts were finally taking action.

That is why he looked intently at the assistant, seeking a clear answer.

“No, Your Imperial Highness. We have been monitoring their movements, and our spies have not reported any unusual activity. They have not intervened in any way. We don’t understand what the cause was, but I brought the soul stone of the fourth prince.”

“…Everyone may withdraw.”

“As you command, Your Highness.”

The demon sitting on the throne as part of the protocol ordered everyone except one person to leave.

Everyone left without much resistance, although some clearly wanted to know what had happened.

The servant respectfully placed what looked like a white jade broken in half in front of the emperor and withdrew as well.

When finally there was no one left who shouldn’t be there, the demon reached out and placed manna on the piece of white jade.

It showed what looked like a first-person perspective, where he and two others were following someone into some mines, with the goal of carrying out their assigned duty.

It was a peculiar artifact, linked to Noha, which showed what Noha had seen before dying.

Even her thoughts were clearly visible, which is why it was considered disrespectful for anyone other than the imperial family to see its contents.

Nothing unusual happened until he interacted with the girl who changed her appearance.

From the thoughts and conversations, everything could be clearly understood, and how the girl was just someone with six metamorphoses, whom Noha had taken an interest in because of her ability to change shape.

That and some other thoughts Noha had about his father’s harem, but the person in question and the one next to her said nothing about it.

But as time went on, events became increasingly strange.

“Ah! She transformed into a demon!”

That was what the other presence in the room, who until now had simply been observing, said. She was a beautiful demon woman and she was the empress.

She hadn’t really been interested in that news, since Noha was the son of a concubine; in fact, in her mind, that was a good thing, as there would be less competition in her complicated family.

She was really surprised when the woman got up, even with her neck completely twisted.

Although from then on she had the same thoughts as Noha, she was only someone of the sixth metamorphosis, no matter what she did, it didn’t change anything and it was just a futile struggle, with such a difference in power.

The empress was speculating that the reason was another: that the woman had received reinforcements and they were the ones who killed Noha.

And yes, another one arrived, but again there were only six metamorphoses, using tricks, even though when the two of them managed to kill the ten-metamorphosis beast, the pressure of three nine-metamorphoses was overwhelming.

Finally, the demonization of that woman made her express herself in that way, instead of maintaining her grace as usual.

“Your Imperial Highness, this is…”

“Empress, keep your composure and let’s watch until the end.”

She was certainly more than shocked. Just as Noha and the other two were trying to understand at that moment, she herself wanted to do the same, but the emperor urged her to keep watching until the end.

“~Ah, they are the same being! … Does such magic exist? In this world?… What is that?! How could he conjure it?… What is that monstrous magical talent? What god even blessed him? How much ability did he give him?”

She couldn’t help but whisper to herself every ridiculous thing that happened, until the end, when Noha’s trump card attack was returned.

Although he managed to escape, thanks to the human who subordinated himself to him.

They were constantly being attacked by multiple golden spears that came out of nowhere, until it finally… stopped.

And if only that were the case, those present assumed that one of those spears killed him without him even noticing.

What neither of the two present knew was that the real reason was that, at that moment, someone had begun to do more than was asked of them, and cut many connections at that moment, and that Noha, after that, was still alive, although that did not last long.

When the display ended, the emperor was the first to speak.

“…Empress, what is your opinion of this?”

Again, he seemed to possess a terrifying calm, as if what he had just seen was no big deal.

Rather, his magenta eyes seemed to be thinking about something else, beyond the death of his son and what he saw.

The empress, who knew how the emperor thought, understood where the man beside her was focusing his attention.

He is the type of being who is only interested in his goals and who stands in the way of them.

“Your Highness, the last time I tried to make a prediction, it was a bit confusing and abstract, but I definitely saw great danger. Something would get in the way. It was like a bright star coming from the south, but the girl didn’t give me that impression; rather, she seemed to be the opposite.”

“I understand, if you think its’s not involved, it must be true….. your talent is potentially superior to that of the elderly empress dowager, but for the past four years…”

“I’m sorry, Your Imperial Highness.”

“No, it’s not your fault. The investigation has been done, and it’s obviously something else. Even the old woman fell into a coma because of that incomprehensible event… but she definitely saw something…. Tell me, do you think what was shown has anything to do with it?”

“I don’t know, Your Imperial Highness… I haven’t seen anything related. My ability to see destiny is a blessing from my deity, and it’s unlikely that anything would escape me. Even so, I couldn’t predict something as close and significant as the death of the fourth prince.”

“So nothing… unless it’s something that’s just passing through, it shouldn’t be possible. And from what was just shown, and how insistently he went after the seedlings, it’s safe to assume that he has ties to that place… there are contradictions.”

“…Your Imperial Highness, I will try to make another prediction, focusing on that, to see what happens.”

“…I doubt you will see anything. It’s likely that this has to do with the strange actions and orders that came… My brother faithfully follows everything the old woman says, even if it doesn’t make sense.”

“I understand what you’re saying, Your Highness. His actions and orders are understandable if it’s a type of strategy that was possibly taken because of what the Empress Dowager saw, but sending the princess here is…”

“Exactly. They must both know my intentions. Even so, they sent my niece, who is so dear to both of them. Something will happen in my territory, something worth such action. That thing you can’t see, that thing that caused the old woman to fall into a coma.”

“Ah!… I see. I have already tried to find the reason and it was completely useless. If what was shown has anything to do with it, making a prediction about it is useless.”

“…That being that escapes your prediction is, at least, a clue that we cannot overlook.”

“Yes, Your Imperial Highness. I will take care of sending people to do the necessary investigation. I will make sure to be as discreet as possible and not affect our plans.”

“Make sure that’s the case… they’re allowed back.”

At that moment, the emperor spoke loudly, and everyone who had previously left returned, and the reports continued to arrive until, suddenly:

“Your Imperial Highness! Urgent report!”

A servant arrived, his voice slightly urgent and breaking protocol. That would be a death sentence if it weren’t for the “urgent” added to the report.

This made those present pay more attention, as not even the death of an imperial prince was categorized as such.

“Go ahead.”

Urged on by the emperor, the servant began to speak as quickly and clearly as possible.

“Several of the seedlings in our possession, for some reason, have withered. These were the seedlings obtained from the southernmost areas; that is forty percent of the seedlings obtained so far. Another thirty percent show only slight signs, and the rest appear healthy. The latter are those from our immediate vicinity and from this continent.”

“What are the consequences of that?”

The emperor spoke calmly again in the face of this unexpected incident.

“Your Imperial Highness, we have lost control of the cracks on many of the small continents. In addition, there is some instability in the cracks: some disappeared completely and new ones were created. We have also received several reports of what appear to be colossal roots emerging from the ground; many cities and places were destroyed. Furthermore, on some continents, unknown structures appeared to rise alongside huge acres of land, which, together with the roots, caused tremors and tsunamis. Some of the smaller continents in the middle world have disappeared.”

“Structures, roots… the withering of seedlings…”

The news was truly disconcerting. Once again, a great commotion and exchange of whispers and words took place in the room; the emperor himself also seemed lost in thought.

“Your Imperial Highness, I…”

When he finally seemed to understand something, he heard the woman beside him, a little unsure of what to say.

“Empress, I will not blame you for this. This must be an extension of the previous case. Regarding the investigation, I will give you the level of authority ’Golden Dragon’; make sure you do things correctly.”

“I understand. I will not disappoint the trust placed in me.”

“Calm down, everyone… This event is certainly unexpected and will involve the Tulunhai. So first we have to—”

“Your Imperial Highness, urgent report!”

Once again, another servant came running in, this time even interrupting the emperor’s words.

That would mean that even an urgent report would not be enough to prevent death, especially since they were already discussing a critical matter. But the servant, knowing that his life was in danger if he did not speak quickly, continued.

“Y-Your Imperial Highness! A message has arrived from the new heiress of the Kyūbō, announcing that she will be coming to the southern region and expects a proper welcome.”

“What? What is the reason!?”

Upon hearing the news, the always calm and impassive emperor changed. His eyes widened in surprise, and he couldn’t help but exclaim in bewilderment.

For him, this was certainly news that would make him lose his usual composure.

“The message only said that it is an unofficial and personal matter, but that she still expects our cooperation. It only indicates that she is looking for something that may be found in this region…”

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