83 episodes
24 Fallen Stars (3)
Rubrios’ words continued once again, and the surroundings were dyed in silence.
A more shocking and unexpected word than what he said to Evelyn a while ago.
Inside, the first prince still had a soft smile on his lips, waiting for Shion’s answer.
Shion looked at his face like that.
‘ What’s your intention?’
Rather than being angry, I was curious.
To come under yourself and to turn to the God of Light.
There must be a reason why I told Zion himself and not the other members of the royal family.
However, looking at Rubrios’ eyes full of faith in God, he could not guess why.
‘ Guessing the fanatic’s thoughts in the first place would be a contradiction in itself.’
Shion thought so and slowly opened her mouth.
Anyway, the answer was decided from the beginning.
“ I do.”
“ I thought so, Sion. Now… … .”
“ Dan.”
Zion’s low voice interrupted Rubrios’ words.
“ If you surpass me.”
“… … What?”
For the first time, the smile on the first prince’s face disappeared.
If you jump over it, you go down.
Because that meant that he could not overcome Zion now.
“ Ah ha ha ha ha!”
A huge laugh burst out of Lubrios’ mouth.
How did you laugh like that?
Rubrios, who stopped laughing for a moment, looked at Sion again with an interesting expression and asked.
“ Exceed you… … How am I supposed to prove it?”
“ You have to figure it out.”
Shion replied with a smile.
“ Is that so? If so, do you think you can do it here right now?”
That was the moment.
The moment when the starlight of the brilliant heavenly sea begins to shine from the depths of the golden eyes of the first prince.
Ded Ded Dude!
With him, everything around Zion and everything around him began to be crushed at once.
Rubrios didn’t do anything.
I just raised the heavenly sea that I had captured in the divine power.
Just that alone made the surrounding atmosphere fluctuate.
Sion saw the six stars slowly rising in the eyes of the first prince.
‘ Indeed.’
A star of the same number as Evelyn.
It was a very high level, but in a way that number was natural.
Rubrios Agnes.
As one of the greatest warriors in the chronicles, he was the closest person to the next throne until he turned to the God of Light.
So it was understandable that he acted so confidently.
However.
“ That’s your opinion.”
However, this did not mean that this pressure worked for Zion himself.
self-
Three black stars rising from the slowly curved eyes of Zion and beginning to spin.
That number was insufficient compared to Rubrios, and the total amount of power also depended on it, but it didn’t matter.
In the first place, Cheonseonghae was a power created as a backward compatibility of Heukseongha.
For this reason, Heukseongha had no choice but to have an absolute advantage in such a battle of momentum rather than a battle.
And that advantage was clear enough to fill the three-star gap.
‘ What is this?’
For the first time, the eyes of the 1st Prince were dyed with a feeling of embarrassment.
His power was being erased.
As if the world never existed.
The moment he recognized the three black stars that appeared in Zion’s eyes, his momentum itself disappeared.
It was as if they had been sucked into the bottom of the abyss with an unknown end.
For the first time in my life, I felt a strange yet foreign sensation.
‘ This power is… … .’
Did you instinctively feel that you couldn’t continue?
Whoops!
Rubrios, who had calmed the remaining momentum for a moment, looked at Zion with a face that did not understand for a moment.
“ I really don’t know. Why do you, who even received an oracle, refuse to turn to the God of Light so much?”
Then, a voice full of doubts came out of his mouth.
“… … What?”
The moment when Zion’s eyes were also stained with doubt at the sudden words.
“ Stop.”
A single voice interrupted the flow.
The owner of that voice was Evelyn, who had come close.
From her whole body, a force like a blade erupted and took over all the space around her.
“ If you disturb the funeral any longer, I will forcibly deport you.”
A cold voice as if he would not accept any disagreement.
“ And let’s talk for a moment.”
Looking at Rubrios with eyes colder than that voice, Ivelin turned around.
This time, the first prince follows her without any objection.
‘It’s a trust… … .’
Looking at his back like that, Shion engraved a new question in his mind.
* * *
After that, the funeral went on without any problems.
I didn’t know what he was talking about with Evelyn.
1 The prince put aside the attitude he had at the beginning and was obediently holding the funeral.
Even leading the funeral was still Evelyn.
The only difference is that a eulogy of the Church of Light has been added to the funeral process.
“ I will begin reading the Emperor’s remarks and achievements. Please arrange them all in their respective places.”
Soliman Valdemir, head of the House of Valdemir, who was in charge of the ceremonies of the imperial family, stood next to Urdios’ coffin and looked at the people who filled the funeral home, said:
Nobles and envoys moving to their designated positions.
However, the movement was a little odd.
It was because the central part was completely empty, starting from the front of the stage where the emperor’s coffin was placed.
And the reason why the center was so empty was immediately revealed.
bum bum, bum bum.
1 Starting with Prince Rubrios, the immediate members of the imperial family are walking from the right to the center.
Soon after them, nobles, knights, and bureaucrats corresponding to their respective factions began to line up one by one.
A traditional funeral arrangement that has been passed down since the founding of the Empire.
But everyone here knew it.
That this arrangement itself was to measure and evaluate the power of the immediate imperial family.
The royal family of Agnes has always been a respected position, and a funeral was no exception.
‘ No, it’s a funeral, so it should be evaluated more.’
Diena thought, recognizing the main powers of the Imperial Palace, including Ygracia, who was lining up behind her, and the forces on the side of Enoch that had recently been absorbed.
When the funeral of the former emperor is over, the question of the next emperor naturally comes to the surface.
Therefore, competition and evaluation for him had to begin in advance from the funeral.
‘ In that sense, the current alignment is more important than anything else.’
The immediate imperial family standing in front of the emperor’s coffin and the subordinate powers lining up behind them.
Because it was the most objective measure of the power and influence of the imperial family.
‘ First of all, Evelyn and Utekan… … .’
Thinking like that, her gaze swung to the right.
The power of the two caught in her eyes.
Again, as those who had a huge influence in their respective fields, they were perfectly dividing the knights and those in power on the military side.
In addition to that, no matter what has happened recently, its power has increased noticeably than it had ever been before.
To the extent that she was similar to Diena herself, who brought in the forces of Enoch this time.
But there was something else that surprised her.
‘ How could that be?’
1st Prince Rubrios standing next to Evelyn.
Common sense was that only priests from the Church of Light should stand behind him.
For the past few years, the 1st prince has given up his status as a prince, far from being active in state affairs.
But now, behind him were not only the priests, but also numerous other nobles.
Was it because he was called the best candidate for the throne before returning to the Church of Light and again showed his ambition for the throne at this funeral?
Even so, that number didn’t make sense.
‘ He must have used something different… … .’
How did he attract those nobles whose only thing they had in common was that they believed in the God of Light?
unknown thing.
‘ Compared to that, this one… … .’
With him, Diena’s gaze turned to Shion, who was right next to her this time.
Zion’s power is clearly different from other royal families.
Even if it absorbed the power of the dead third prince, it was a natural result for Zion, who almost had no basic support.
In addition, such Enoch’s powers also flowed into the other royal families, so they were even fewer.
That’s why it even looked shabby.
‘ I can’t do anything this time.’
A small smile on Diana’s lips.
As I thought before, this place now was a place to show off my power to those in power who had gathered from all over the empire beyond the capital.
It was so important that, of course, if he showed such an image, he had no choice but to be greatly influenced by it.
It will certainly become a big obstacle to put the brakes on the relentless growth so far.
“ Khahaha!”
Unlike Diena, who smiled secretly like that, Utekan was smiling uncontrollably as she looked towards Zion, even though it was a funeral.
Because he was the one who deprived Enoch the most power.
With him, a laugh that quietly begins to grow young in the eyes of others.
Even so, although it took a while for Shion’s calm appearance, Diena struggled to pass it on and turned her gaze to another place.
‘ The Ascalon family doesn’t seem to support Zion yet… … .’
A little further away from the center.
It was lined up with the five generations of Ascalon and Ozrima, as well as those who had not yet supported any members of the Imperial Family.
‘ Did they come too?’
And there was a difference in her eyes when she saw a group of people among them.
Even though it was the emperor’s funeral, he could not hide the harshness of life.
Their bright eyes and their whole body covered in scars showed how many battles they had fought.
border corps.
An elite force that is stationed at the border with the Demon Station and primarily blocks the invasion of demons at the forefront.
It was one of the most powerful armed forces in the Empire, so it was a place that could even upset the balance between the imperial family if it could be brought in.
So many people including her sent love calls, but they were all rejected.
‘ In the first place, they have no interest in things like power.’
Those whose only reason for living is to destroy monsters at the border.
Therefore, even Utekan, which has overwhelming support from the military, was a place that had given up on enlistment earlier.
‘ What did you come here for?’
Even at the emperor’s funeral, it was very rare for such a vigilante corps to send such a representative to the head of state.
That is why it was time for Diena’s eyes to turn suspicious.
That moment.
bum bum, bum bum.
The low footsteps ringing in her and other people’s ears.
Even in a funeral hall where a lot of noise is generated, people’s heads naturally turn to the sound that can be clearly heard.
One man reflected in their eyes.
The man’s body, as he slowly walked in, was made of steel-like muscles and was full of scars.
Short hair, bushy beard, and firm eyes that never seem to shake.
“… … King?”
A surprised voice came out of the mouth of a nobleman who recognized him.
Other people’s faces also began to show a feeling of surprise.
King Liam Reiner.
The former commander of the vigilante corps and the former commander of the exultant corps, the most elite unit in the Daemamul War.
Also, even after he retired, he was called one of mankind’s greatest war heroes.
‘ Why the hell is the retired noble king here? … .’
Liam Reiner, who continued to walk with the questionable gaze of the people behind him, stopped in front of a man.
“ Sorry for being late.”
Liam bowed his head politely to the man.
“ No, it came just right.”
The moment the man, Shion, answered with a smile.
The Guard Corps, which had not moved a single step until now, began to gradually line up behind Zion.