Chapter 80 : Chapter 80
Chapter 80: Bahab (7)
‘The Swelling Flame is pure blue. But why is Bahab’s color red? Even though it has received the properties of that magic for a long time, how has it not been engraved in the bloodline?’
‘What kind of nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden? Just concentrate.’
‘Exa Baperr, are you not curious about the reason?’
‘Yeah.’
‘It would be good for you to know as well. Someday you will assist me.’
‘Bullsht.’
‘You must have been curious. You may consider it an honor. It is a record of a noble ancestor. It is not something you can hear easily.’
‘No, I said I’m not curious. Shut up and hide your presence. Who talks while setting up an ambush? Hey, Bahab. Yes, you. Newbie adjutant, aren’t you going to stop him?’
‘The color red is like a kind of boundary. The expanding Swelling Flame. When that pure blue flame reaches its peak, Bahab’s red color disappears, and the color of the Swelling Flame remains.’
‘Stop with the bullsht and please just shut up. Are you going to take responsibility if we get caught because of this? Are you going to miss a big catch? He’s a marquis-level.’
‘Our ancestors called that boundary the wall of the human species. So when my color becomes as pure blue as the Swelling Flame, it means I have crossed the wall and reached a superhuman level…’
‘F*ck… Hey, guys. They’re coming. We’ve been found out because of this bastard.’
***
There is a reason why the renowned secret techniques in the world are as such.
Bahab’s Swelling Flame also belongs to that category.
‘The Star-Breaking Style is the best.’
The combining magic is hard to accumulate, but it has a higher quality than magic from other training methods.
It is heavy and powerful. A body that has learned such a secret technique is eventually drawn to the properties of that magic.
At first, it follows the innate constitution, but soon the body adapts to the magic it contains.
The master who had taught Exa the Star-Breaking Style had pure white hair. His pupils also had the color of the star-breaking, and Exa had followed in his master’s footsteps.
When the Star-Breaking Style reached 6-Star, Exa’s bright golden hair turned platinum blond.
Just as glass shatters when struck, but red-hot iron becomes harder the more it is hammered. The already tough Strong Body became even sturdier in harmony with the Star-Breaking Style.
When it reached 7-Star, it soon turned pure white.
After reaching 8-Star, all his hair turned pure white, and his pupils also became the same as his master’s.
“It has been a long time. What of the Head of the Senate of Elders?”
“Correct yourself. He has taken an elixir.”
“Oh. That stubborn fool.”
“His heart changed after seeing his grandchildren grow.”
“The survival of a comrade-in-arms is good news. Yes. You said children?”
In that sense, it could be said that Akarr, whom I met after 20 years, was still the same.
Red hair and those eyes. 20 years had passed, but his appearance was not much different from his past life.
Akarr had not been able to paint Bahab’s color the same as the Swelling Flame. It meant he had not yet crossed the wall, and if so.
‘He’s not that far. I can definitely catch up.’
“I am the eldest, Jahar.”
“You resemble your predecessor. Your talent is outstanding. You might be similar to my ducal house’s eldest son.”
Then what about now?
Simurtr compared his current self with Akarr, who was acting like a hero in front of him.
‘No fcking way.’
If what Simurtr possessed was a well, that was a lake.
A great lake larger than most domains.
No matter what trickery he used, he would lose his life with a single gesture from Akarr.
…That much of a gap existed.
‘Fck.’
Though he hated to admit it, that was the reality. Simurtr tried his best to suppress his stiffening palm.
He had to stop thinking. If he compared any further here, he would lose the composure he had been trying so hard to maintain.
“I am the second, Ael.”
Ael’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Akarr. It was the same for Jahar next to her.
The siblings’ fingers were constantly fidgeting. They couldn’t keep their bodies still for a moment and flinched at every one of Akarr’s words and actions.
‘What’s so great about that bastard?’
Every single one of the siblings’ actions was incredibly grating.
He just wanted to shout at them, asking why they were speaking formally and watching his mood. If they liked heroes so much, they should have been nice to me.
“There isn’t much of an age difference. Your talent is also not lacking. You will be good competition. You have a good environment to grow in.”
The only people in this reception room that Simurtr liked were Orde and Aran.
They were both dealing with Akarr with extremely business-like faces, and soon, they turned their gazes to Simurtr.
‘Why.’
The siblings were also looking this way now.
Ah, Simurtr finally realized it was his turn.
“I am the fourth, Simurtr.”
“The fourth. I thought you were the eldest. It seems those children cherish you.”
Interest and favor were present in his voice.
At that favor, Simurtr felt the corners of his mouth go up.
‘No one knows.’
As long as he didn't open his mouth first.
The world did not know that Exa had been reincarnated.
“I saw the duel.”
Duel.
At those words, Ael, who was next to him, visibly flinched.
“Hejel was very lacking.”
The circumstances of becoming Haryun’s partner, the background of the duel.
He didn't ask about such things.
To Akarr, they were all trivial and not worth knowing.
“I was lucky.”
“But the victor is you. Hejel was not enough. It is a pity, I wanted to see your true skill.”
“You praise me too much.”
At this very moment, Akarr focused on Simurtr. Greed was present in his eyes. A familiar gaze. Simurtr’s smile deepened.
“How old are you?”
“I am sixteen.”
The world revered Akarr as a hero, but Simurtr knew his insides well.
Akarr was not blaming Simurtr.
“Sixteen? You are only that old?”
What caught Akarr’s attention now was neither the defeated Hejel nor Haryun, who had the victor as her partner.
“Your future is promising. Your skill is already not bound by your age.”
Akarr, who had begun to harbor desire, did not pay attention to trivial matters. He did not hide his expressions.
He wanted to express it somehow, even if someone stopped him.
‘That’s Bahab.’
The unique habit of Bahab, where expression was restricted.
The reason he had felt a sense of unease from Haryun. Because of that habit, Bahab craved expression more than anyone. They wanted to reveal the desire they possessed.
“Did it seem like a mere courtesy? No. It is my sincere feeling.”
Akarr’s words continued.
Greed was imbued in every single word. Simurtr’s talent had stimulated Akarr’s desire.
“Your talent for the sword, your white magic, its properties. My ducal self thought you were a descendant of my comrade-in-arms, Exa Mectera.”
Thump. Though he knew it wasn’t true, Simurtr felt his heart drop.
“Thank you.”
He wasn't probing. Akarr was just complimenting him. He knew that.
But as they say, a guilty conscience needs no accuser. Simurtr tried his best to calm his racing heart.
“The talent you possess is great. It surpasses my ducal house’s eldest son. You have been loved by the sword. It is rare for one to receive it. I cannot believe you are an adopted son.”
His unique desire to collect talent.
Akarr wanted talented individuals befitting his desire to be placed under his authority.
In his past life, he had thought that desire was truly disgusting.
“That is why it is a pity. It would have been better if you had been enlisted in my ducal house, not Mectera.”
He was consistent.
They say time changes everything. Though his body may have grown stronger, his insides had not changed.
Akarr Bahab was still Akarr Bahab. That fact made Simurtr satisfied.
“It must be truly nice, Sword Master.”
Akarr’s gaze turned to Orde.
Greed was still abundant in his eyes. Akarr sincerely wanted the talented individual named Simurtr.
“It is an excessive blessing.”
“Indeed. It could be described as such. So, Sword Master, has there been any progress?”
“I do not know what you mean.”
“Is it not so? Mectera, which has been silent for 20 years, has suddenly brought down the Black Tower.”
Talent was ultimately a secondary priority. Akarr immediately got to the main point. The reason Bahab had sent the invitation.
***
The right to summary execution.
For the past 20 years, Mectera had never exercised the authority delegated to them by the emperor.
They had just crouched and remained silent. They had not paid attention to things outside of Mectera.
They were busy building their strength. That was why a specific Sword Order was active outside despite it being an era of peace.
Because Mectera had lost a hero externally, and in reality, the previous Sword Master Gerehk.
“Many are curious and are speculating as such. The reason the sleeping Mectera has begun to stir.”
The lowest seat of the Hero Families.
Mectera did not have the military strength to compete with a hero. That was why they had crouched. That was what Akarr and the rest of the world were thinking.
In fact, if not for the asymmetrical military power of a hero, Mectera was a giant organization that could easily compete with Bahab.
Swordsmen who could each lightly surpass a single knight. The swordsmen of the domain who wished to protect the holy land of the sword.
‘The 1st Head of the Sword and the 6th Head of the Sword.’
Though all the Heads of the Sword were a difficult bunch, the most outstanding were those two.
The 1st Head of the Sword. Mectera’s vanguard. He who had roamed the battlefields as a senior swordsman at the same age as Exa had, in the present, reached the verge of the hero’s level.
‘Aran Lubeil.’
Akarr shifted his gaze to Aran.
The steadfast 6th Head of the Sword. The one with more numerous experiences than any hero, the General Head of the Sword in times of war.
‘They say that’s him past his prime.’
Akarr felt a desire stir.
Indeed. Aran was a talent too good for Mectera.
“My ducal self thinks the reason is the Sword Master’s progress.”
The reason they had been silent despite possessing such military strength was simply because of the existence of a hero.
Because even the strong 1st Head of the Sword and 6th Head of the Sword could not surpass the out-of-spec powerhouse, a hero.
“Or the retired Head of the Senate of Elders.”
Mectera, which had been like that, had suddenly risen.
“You have guessed wrong.”
Akarr looked at the responding Orde.
Certainly. He had grown compared to when he had seen him before. But that was it. He had not surpassed to the point of making a decision.
”The Head of the Senate of Elders too?”
Then what was left was the Head of the Senate of Elders.
Akarr urged Orde for an answer.
“It has not been long since he has recovered.”
That’s right. Akarr remembered Medeoban Mectera.
If he had truly reached the same level as a hero, he was a man who would show off for the sake of Mectera’s authority.
He would have personally attended today’s event to announce Mectera’s well-being to the empire.
“Then why?”
Did they attack the Black Tower.
Akarr asked that.
‘He doesn’t know.’
Simurtr nodded.
He didn't know what the Black Tower had done. He only found out after it was brought down.
It was something he had expected at some point.
‘Bahab was also a target.’
The Black Tower and Kua.
Akarr did not know about the experiments they had been engrossed in.
The circumstances were telling him so.
‘If he was going to give Haryun, he wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble.’
There was no need to plan a kidnapping at the underground banquet.
He could just quietly, secretly send Haryun to the Black Tower. Since the master of Bahab was willing to do so.
That much was an easy task even without a warp.
“The Black Tower. Though exiled and declined, it is still a Magic Tower. For what reason did you touch something of Basor’s?”
The one who had brought down the Black Tower was Simurtr.
If you asked for the reason, it was because Beden had been kidnapped and he was Deban’s enemy.
But Akarr did not know those things. From long ago, Bahab was not a family with outstanding information-gathering capabilities.
‘Gerehk.’
So, now Akarr was suspecting the reason.
Of all things, the Black Tower belonging to the Hero Family Basor.
“Well. I do not know why the main castle should have to say.”
The one who answered was Aran.
How unpleasant. Simurtr thought.
Come to think of it, Aran was a born swordsman. And a Head of the Sword at that.
Though his discernment might have been honed with experience, he was a powerhouse who had rarely put on a act or an iron plate.
‘He told me to be careful while he’s like that himself?’
Fortunately, Akarr was insensitive to such rudeness. Because Aran was a talented individual who had achieved much.
Similar to Mectera. He was generous to talented individuals. That was why he had not taken any particular measures even though the Exa of the past had been aggressive every day.
‘But he can’t stand it if they get higher than him.’
The contradiction Akarr possessed.
He wanted to have various talented individuals under him.
He wished for all his subordinates to be geniuses.
But in the end, they could not stand higher than Akarr, than Bahab.
If they did not grow, they were discarded, but even if that growth was faster than Akarr’s, they were discarded.
‘A petty person pretending to be magnanimous.’
The reason for the betrayal.
Because Exa, whom he had wanted to take, had, at some point, become more famous than Bahab.
Because he could not tolerate Exa, of orphan origin, standing higher than Bahab.
While Gerehk was jealous and did so, Akarr had done it to protect his own authority.
“Is there a need to ask? I believe the atrocities of the Black Tower are already widely known.”
Kua. The cruel experiments with him.
Bahab had already publicly announced its non-involvement with the Black Tower. There was no justification for Bahab to question it now.
‘But he has no choice but to ask.’
Akarr Bahab.
The traitors.
They were afraid of Mectera moving.
“It is merely curiosity. A comrade-in-arms and a fellow Hero Family. Is there anything we cannot have? It has been a long time since I have seen Mectera.”
“I understand.”
Orde, who had spoken, constantly looked to his side.
It seemed the siblings who were present were uncomfortable. If the siblings had not been there, Orde would probably have been more aggressive, like Aran.
“Was it his last words that his younger brother would become the next Sword Master?”
“Of course not. The Sword Master is not such a position. The Sword Master has excellently overcome his trials.”
“Were there no last words left behind?”
“Well. He passed away in such a hurry.”
The one who continued the conversation was Aran.
Aran knew Orde’s weakness well.
“My ducal self still cannot understand. How could a man who was a Sword Master die from a mere injury? Even if it was the authority of the Doom Species, with just contamination.”
“Well. Was it not misfortune? We mobilized everything we could, but it did not work.”
“You must have been very sad too. You were on special terms with the previous Sword Master, were you not? You, as the General Head of the Sword, substituted for the Sword Master who had fallen into a critical condition.”
“Well. It has been a long time, so my memory is hazy. I am old, after all.”
The west gate.
Near there. In a deserted place, Gerehk had died. Not from illness, but by Aran.
“A final burst of life. It is truly a difficult sight to witness. My ducal self has never seen it in my life.”
The illusion had hidden that fact.
Due to Semenu, the world only knew that Gerehk had died from the illness he had.
‘It’s hard to believe that.’
Gerehk’s death. The death of a Sword Master, a man not lacking to be called a superhuman.
How would the collaborating traitors accept it?
“Is that so? This Sword Master has seen it quite a lot. Especially on the battlefield. It is not such a rare sight when you roam the battlefields together. The Duke might not know.”
Akarr Bahab was suspicious.
Without a doubt, the other traitors too.
“Is that so? I will pay more attention next time. Whether the lowly ones can show such monstrous strength.”
“War. It is something the main castle does not fear.”
“But the death of a comrade-in-arms is always sad. Exa Mectera, and Gerehk Mectera. The Doom War was a truly cruel battlefield for Mectera.”
“……”
Simurtr thought, listening to Akarr’s words, which were poking and prodding to create a flaw.
Could Gerehk have revealed the truth? Could he have left it as his last words?
From the moment Gerehk died, the traitors must have started to worry about that.
“My ducal self still keeps Exa’s memento. The death of a comrade-in-arms is not easy to forget. It must be the same for the 6th Head of the Sword. The death of the previous Sword Master. You were the one who discovered it first at the west gate.”
“That is so.”
“Was there really nothing special? Anything trivial is fine. I need something to remember my comrade-in-arms by, and I am curious.”
An unanswered suspicion grows on its own.
Did Gerehk tell the truth when he died?
Or did he die because he told the truth?
“There was nothing. In the first place, he was not one to trust others. He did not give his heart to this Sword Master either.”
He does not trust others.
Those words served to further amplify the suspicion Akarr had held.
‘Though they’re called the lowest seat of the Hero Families, they’re a delicious prey for Bahab and Basor.’
But Mectera was still standing.
Though weakened, they had not been devoured.
Bahab, who desired the sword of the empire, had not touched them.
Basor, who was eager to kill each other, was quietly watching. Even though they had touched the Black Tower, they had not schemed to use it as a justification.
They designated each other as forbidden zones. They feared the Mectera where Gerehk had died.
Afraid that the weakened Mectera might actually be holding the bomb called the truth.
“No last words. It must have been a regrettable death.”
Akarr did not seem to believe him.
He did not believe the words that there were no last words.
If there really were no last words, he did not believe that Gerehk had died of illness.
‘He’s scared.’
In fact, Gerehk had not died from his injuries.
Could it be that Mectera had killed him under the guise of an injury?
“Death by illness. There would have been enough time to leave last words.”
Akarr was neither accustomed to lies nor was he an eloquent speaker. He was just a man accustomed to authority.
He suspected it wasn’t death by illness. Yet he couldn’t dig into it. Simurtr was certain, looking at Akarr before him.
Right now, Akarr was thinking that it would have been good if Basor had been here.
‘Could it be that bringing down the Black Tower was the first step of Mectera, who knows the truth?’
Mectera, who had learned the truth, had killed him.
Mectera, having built its strength, had begun to move for the truth.
The traitors’ suspicion had been distorted as such.
‘No.’
That couldn't be.
The traitors must not keep Mectera in check.
The current stalemate must be maintained.
The reason he had accepted Bahab’s invitation was largely to see Akarr’s face, but it was also to maintain that stalemate.
To resolve the suspicion Akarr and the traitors held.
“The topic is heavy, it would be better to send the children out for a moment.”
Simurtr said as Akarr’s temperature grew hotter. The office became completely cold. Akarr’s gaze turned to Simurtr.
“Do you mean you want to leave?”
“Ah, I will stay.”
“Why?”
“You want to know the reason why the Black Tower was brought down, don’t you?”
“That is so.”
“That is why I am staying.”
“What did you say?”
Akarr’s mood became unpleasant.
In reality, Bahab was not a family that based itself on eloquence.
They liked to be direct and wanted to use expressions appropriate for the situation. They found it awkward to beat around the bush or hide things, and they craved explicit expressions.
“Because I brought it down. Not Mectera. Me alone.”
For a moment, he tried his best to ignore Ael’s stinging gaze.
“I heard there was an Archmage in the Black Tower.”
“Will this be proof?”
A white Sword Aura shone clearly above Simurtr’s scabbard.
“Oho.”
Akarr’s desire deepened.