Chapter 340.1
As the day began to wane, a nondescript carriage emerged from the castle grounds. There were no conspicuous markings that would identify it as belonging to the royal family. Seated side by side on the coach seat were two warriors, the only outward protectors of the carriage.
However, in truth, this carriage was far more secure than one guarded by dozens of warriors. Within its confines sat the king and queen, accompanied by two vigilant bodyguards. Eugene and Kasser occupied seats facing each other, flanked by Abu and Kkoma on either side of Eugene. As soon as they boarded the carriage, the little boy perched on Eugene’s shoulder and Abu on her lap instinctively heeded Kasser’s warning and descended.
Eugene found solace in gently stroking Abu’s small head, trying to calm her racing heart. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts as she contemplated the impending meeting with Mara. In the future she had glimpsed, Mara was depicted as a malevolent deity who sowed chaos in the world, but perhaps there was potential for an alliance.
But she couldn’t be certain if Mara was truly a villain. Sang-je, on the other hand, is malevolent. In fact, Sang-je is the ultimate evil, a monstrous demon.
Over the past two days, Eugene had experienced bouts of anger and terror while perusing the notes provided by Pides. These notes chronicled inhumane ritual experiments conducted in the name of magic within the sanctuary.
Alber had claimed that the rituals he had imparted to Sang-je were mere facades. Yet, in clandestine secrecy, Sang-je had taken records from the tribe’s ancient library and commenced instructing a human in these rituals.
When Eugene confronted Alber about her carelessness concerning the tribe’s library, she let out a sigh and explained, “The records within the library are not instructional manuals. Outsiders can never grasp the intricacies of the rituals merely by perusing those records. The rituals are a form of knowledge transmitted through personal guidance. That’s why, in ancient times, priestly mentorship was considered more significant than even parent-child relationships.”
Alber elaborated that the learning of rituals followed a staircase-like progression, with simpler rites accessible even to children. However, to advance to the next tier, one encountered an almost insurmountable barrier without the guidance of a mentor who had already ascended that step. The absence of such a mentor made it nearly impossible to make the leap.
Yet, Sang-je had managed the impossible. He himself could not personally master the rituals, but he possessed endless time at his disposal. Moreover, there were numerous devoted and disposable followers who blindly followed him, serving as experimental subjects.