Chapter 160
Chapter 160
Declaration (1)
The searing pain was so intense, it almost blurred even the justification of being the rightful heir. And yet, there was only one reason Kairus continued to cling to the Veil of Plumed Mist.
The inheritance of Featherwing. Carrying on the legacy of the family. It wasn’t about any of that.
“I’ll kill him.”
He would drench this sword in the Emperor’s blood, no matter what. Kairus needed the Veil of Plumed Mist. His father died, and so did the older brother who was supposed to inherit the symbol of Featherwing.
“Featherwing… is finished.”
It had already fallen.
If Featherwing was a bird, then Kairus was one that had already lost its wings and plummeted to the ground, having lost even his family. Want to soar once again?
No.
Shot down and crashed, slamming headfirst into the mud—that was Kairus. His goal was never something so naive.
‘The Sun of the Empire.’
Emperor Philip IV. The bastard sun that caused Featherwing’s fall and still gleamed from the highest heavens.
He would drag it down from the sky to the earth and kill it. Thinking about flying again could come after that.
“So.”
Kairus slammed the flat of the Veil of Plumed Mist, the symbol of Featherwing, with his fist.
“Listen to me!”
As if telling it to stop acting up and obey. Like an ill-tempered master beating a dog that wouldn’t listen.
His body, which had been seething as though he had swallowed molten lava, gradually, slowly began to stabilize.
From the wrecked warehouse, the turbine-like hum of the Veil of Plumed Mist echoed like a symphony. Its output was enough to send chills through the air.
A surge of confidence washed over him, the sense that he could do anything. Even if thousands or tens of thousands of troops charged him, he felt certain it would still end in his victory.
Just holding it made him feel omnipotent. If he unleashed all its power and used Swift Blade, he could probably blow away an entire city like a typhoon. Kairus looked at Ethan lying on the ground.
“No wonder he was obsessed.”
Veil of Plumed Mist was that kind of battle gear. That’s why Ethan couldn’t give it up. And once he could wield it, it dragged him along. It wasn’t some cursed demon blade that seduced people.
It was simply a miraculous weapon that gifted the feeling of omnipotence—as if you could accomplish anything just by holding it.
‘I can use it.’
Once Kairus recovered, he would be able to use Veil of Plumed Mist whenever he needed.
‘I can use it, but…’
At the same time, it was a weapon he must not use right now. Thinking clearly, Kairus wasn’t yet confident he had passed the sword’s trial.
“You, you…!”
Unable to bear watching any longer, Ethan shouted. He had regained consciousness earlier and had remained still just to witness Kairus’s death.
“Three things didn’t go your way. Seems luck isn’t on your side today, Ethan.”
Kairus could use the Veil of Plumed Mist without any help. There was no way Ethan didn’t understand what that meant.
“Featherwing is already dead!”
“It’s kind of hurtful to tell someone they’re dead when they’re clearly alive.”
At Kairus’s words, Ethan’s eyes widened more and more.
“Alive? You’re alive? Fuck. What the hell… How did you avoid the Emperor’s gaze? No, did the Emperor let you live? Then… why?”
“I want to know that too.”
That last question was something Kairus was also wondering about. But for now, more than that—
“W-wait!”
As Kairus tried to leave the warehouse, Ethan hastily stopped him.
“What now.”
Kairus was already exhausted. If Ethan tried to pick a fight here, he wasn’t sure he could smile and let it go.
“How about resting first? I’ll provide everything you need to recover.”
But the words that came out of Ethan’s mouth were something Kairus hadn’t expected.
“Suddenly?”
“I… I’ve used the Veil of Plumed Mist. I know exactly how powerful it is. You already possess power worthy of being called the strongest.”
Kairus scoffed inwardly. He couldn’t deny that he’d stepped into the realm of the powerful. The Veil of Plumed Mist was a battle gear that enabled charges several times faster than sound just by wielding it.
But did that make Kairus the strongest?
‘It was a short time, but I’ve met too many strong people.’
He had already encountered several superhumans whom most people would be lucky to see once in a lifetime.
Kairus’s standard for strength was Dana Watson.
‘Could I beat Dana Watson?’
He could fight her, sure. But his chances of winning? Maybe thirty percent, at best.
Kairus used the Veil of Plumed Mist.
But Dana Watson wielded Angelene’s Answer. So did the Operations Committee members in Bennett City. They weren’t just using the powers granted to them—they handled them with complete mastery. True superhumans.
‘I’m not the strongest.’
Still, he figured he could now stand shoulder to shoulder with the powerful people he’d encountered. Kairus looked at Ethan.
“There’s a lot I’m grateful to you for.”
Because he had seen Ethan being consumed by the Veil of Plumed Mist. In that state, there was no way he could ever stand above the kind of strong people Kairus had faced.
Kairus had been lucky. Ethan had served as a negative example.
Because of what he had seen so far, he was able to remain humble before becoming arrogant. He could recognize how much he still lacked.
“Ethan, you said you wanted to help me.”
But that was merely Kairus’s own judgment. From Ethan’s perspective—someone who had already wielded the Veil of Plumed Mist—Kairus was already plenty powerful.
‘I lost the Veil of Plumed Mist.’
Ethan’s original plan had collapsed. He had been thinking about what would come after the rebellion’s success.
He intended to play a central role in the rebellion using the Veil of Plumed Mist and then seize power through it. But the most crucial key had slipped from his grasp.
“In a way, I suppose I took something that was in your hands.”
“There’s something more important than that.”
If he couldn’t seize power, then he had to align with someone who possessed it. Ethan had devoted himself to the glory of his family. That was why he worked tirelessly to participate in the rebellion and to wield the Veil of Plumed Mist.
It would be a lie to say he felt no resentment toward the person who took what he had acquired. But compared to such petty anger, the prestige of his family mattered more.
‘Just like when I didn’t avoid a fight I could’ve avoided—for the sake of family honor.’
Kairus had also finished calculating Ethan’s attitude in his own way. Ethan’s assumption that Kairus had joined the ranks of the powerful might’ve been premature, but there was no reason to correct it.
“Then, I’d like you to pull your men back first.”
Irena and Nora were probably still fighting at this very moment. They might be holding the line, but damage was no doubt accumulating on both sides.
The people Ethan had mobilized would likely be the same ones to participate in Simid Kellogg’s rebellion later on. Of course, Kairus wanted to avoid Irena and Nora getting hurt, but he also wanted to prevent needless injury to those men as well.
At Kairus’s words, Ethan nodded.
“I’ll take care of it right away.”
The battle was over. Ethan had handed over the Veil of Plumed Mist, and Kairus had succeeded in securing the most precious of his long-sought family legacies.
Thanks to that, Kairus’s head was now spinning with chaotic thoughts. He sat briefly on the floor to catch his breath and sort through them.
Kairus’s current situation could be summed up simply:
‘If I fight a real powerhouse one-on-one, one of us will die. But I can beat everyone else.’
However, aside from the Security Captain and the Police Commissioner, all the Operations Committee members in Bennett City were already in the realm of the powerful.
And the Veil of Plumed Mist wasn’t the kind of battle gear one could simply keep hidden. Its ornate design, the deep green blade—all of it stood out.
On top of that, he had to carry it with him at all times. Which meant, including Flicker, Kairus would be lugging around two pieces of battle gear. Naturally, this would draw attention to the Veil of Plumed Mist.
The conclusion?
‘I can’t hide it.’
He’d done a good job concealing it for quite some time. But now, that was no longer possible. If he wanted to continue hiding his identity, he would have to give up the Veil of Plumed Mist.
But Kairus had no intention of doing that. He had kept his identity hidden for a long time, but if he was being honest, people had already begun to suspect a connection between Kairus and Featherwing.
So, now it was time to show them the answer key.
“What’s that?”
As Kairus stepped out of the warehouse, Irena—exhausted from the fight—asked him a question.
“The Veil of Plumed Mist.”
Irena's eyes widened at Kairus’s words. Nora...
She was already staring at the Veil of Plumed Mist with an expression that looked close to sheer horror.
“The… the symbol of Featherwing.”
Both Nora and Irena trembled—neither one before the other.
“Th-that… Why is that here?!”
Nora, her jaw dropped nearly to the point of dislocating, hurriedly turned to Kairus and shouted.
“What does it matter?”
“Oh… right.”
At Kairus’s response, Nora nodded. Then, Irena spoke in a cold voice.
“I understand wanting it. But I’m against it. It’s a magnet for dangerous situations.”
“So what! Are you saying we should just sell off the Veil of Plumed Mist? Unni, are you stupid?!”
Nora’s eyes went wide as she glared at Irena. But from a general standpoint, Irena wasn’t wrong.
“Battle gear at the level of Veil of Plumed Mist brings blood.”
It didn’t drink human blood or anything like that. But merely possessing it drew dangerous people in and eventually led its owner to death.
“And if the rumors are true, Veil of Plumed Mist is like Angelene’s Answer. It chooses its wielder.”
In response to Irena’s words, Nora added,
“They even said so at the company. That it’s battle gear that can’t be used unless you’re from Featherwing.”
To that, Kairus replied,
“I can use it.”
Nora gave an awkward smile at Kairus’s words.
“Oppa, don’t be overconfident. If Lunaseeker came to that conclusion, they must’ve had good reason. I understand wanting it. I feel the same. But…”
Kairus silently looked at both Irena and Nora. After a brief pause, he said the words he needed to say.
“I am Featherwing.”
In that moment, Kairus’s voice faltered, choked up with emotion.
Just being able to say his family name again in front of others stirred something indescribable inside him.
“…I—I need a moment.”
Nora muttered and leaned against the wall, gazing blankly at the sky. Even someone like her, who had been through so much, couldn’t immediately process this situation.
“There’s a lot to talk about. Let’s move somewhere else.”
At Kairus’s suggestion, Nora and Irena wordlessly nodded. They moved to the guest room of the Vasella estate, where Kairus sat across from the two on a sofa.
“Featherwing… was, I mean, annihilated, right?”
At Irena’s words, Kairus replied,
“I didn’t die, but I was sentenced to life imprisonment. I served about six years at Carlson Labor Correctional Facility, then they suddenly said my innocence had been proven and pardoned me.”
Nora still looked dazed.
“You knew the methods of Lunaseeker so well, and showed interest in Featherwing’s legacy and Cloud Seizing Art...”
“Yeah.”
At Kairus’s reply, Nora abruptly shot to her feet.
“I knew it!”
“You didn’t.”
Kairus’s dry comment made Nora flop back into her seat.
“Yeah, I didn’t. You’re telling me you’re from Featherwing?! The same family my seniors fought to the death against?!”
“‘From’ the family... well, I’m the only one left now.”
After responding to Nora, Kairus turned to Irena.
“What about you? What do you think?”
“Think about what?”
“You’re a knight of the Scarlet Leaf Order. I’m a traitor.”
Irena crossed her arms and responded,
“You said you were pardoned. Then it’s not a problem.”
“You don’t think I might be lying?”
Kairus’s question made Irena narrow her eyes as she stared at him.
“Don’t test me with that. I’m the kind of person who knows how to be grateful. If I don’t know whether something’s true or false, I choose to believe. But if it turns out that your claim of a pardon is a lie—”
Then, if it turned out to be a lie later, Irena’s wrath would be immense.
“—I’ll kill you, even if I have to give up using battle gear.”
“Thanks for trusting me.”