Chapter 360: Everything Is Exactly As It Seems (3)

Keter had five wives. He cherished each of them, yet there was one he found difficult to face: Inara, the woman standing before Daat.

Inara stood up, her tails gently swishing, and approached him. Daat turned his head, unable to meet her eyes.

“Please stop coming closer, Big Sister.”

“Our little Dork hasn’t changed at all. Even the way you get shy is cute.”

“It’s not that... though maybe a little. Right now, I stand here as Lord Keter and Sefira’s representative. I did not come here for personal matters.”

“Oh? Aren’t you being a bit stiff? Though of course, men are better when they’re stiff.”

Inara was mesmerizingly beautiful, even down to each strand of her hair. Everything about her stirred men’s desire. However, to show even greater resolve, Daat created a spatial barrier and pushed her back.

“Don’t act suspicious. You belong in Liqueur, so why are you here, among other non-human races?” Daat asked.

“If I explained from the beginning, it would take days. Can’t you just accept that things turned out this way?”

Inara bent forward to meet his gaze. Her clothing was so loose that it was no exaggeration to say her chest was fully exposed.

The allure of the Nine-Tailed Fox Tribe was irresistible even to Transcendentals. Even Keter, whose mental fortitude had been extraordinary since childhood, once spent an entire month unable to leave Inara’s embrace.

Even more surprising was that back then, she had only four tails. Each additional tail multiplied a Nine-Tailed Fox’s Charm dozens of times. Now she had seven. The allure, amplified thousands of times over, teased Daat’s instincts, but...

“Ha...”

Daat, who had been avoiding her gaze, let out a deep sigh and finally met her eyes directly.

“If you have no intention to talkseriously, step aside. Otherwise, I will interpret your stance as the will of everyone here.”

“...”

Daat’s mental barrier was anything but fragile. In fact, it was so solid that even Inara was momentarily surprised.

Screech.

That was when a snake-man rose from his seat. Inara raised a hand, and he sat back down. Standing upright, she adjusted her collar and smiled faintly.

“It seems nothing in this world lasts forever. Daat, you’ve grown up.”

“I’m still growing. I intend to grow more.”

“I’d prefer if you stayed just like this...”

Returning to the table, Inara beckoned him.

“Sit. I’ll explain everything.”

Daat sat, but knowing how talkative she could be, he kept his serious expression.

“Please summarize it as: beginning, crisis, conclusion.”

“You can at least allow for development, can’t you?”

“This isn’t the time for that.”

Since Inara seemed aware of Keter’s situation, she nodded.

“As you can see, we are races rejected by human society. However, we came because we believed Sefira, where Keter stands, would accept us.”

“That’s more concise than I expected.”

“You’re picky. You at least remember why I went to Liqueur, don’t you?”

“To escape the Samael Empire.”

“That’s not wrong, but we didn’t go to Liqueur merely to hide. We went so we could one day live openly in this world again.”

“We?”

Inara spread her arms. Everyone present was from Liqueur. Something clicked in Daat’s mind.

“People from Liqueur can leave now, I guess.”

No one understood the magnitude of someone from Liqueur emerging into the outside world better than Liqueur’s own people. There, using aura and mana was everyday life. Anyone unable to do so simply could not survive. In simple terms, even a common restaurant server possessed the strength of at least a two-star knight.

Inara nodded. Only then did Daat understand the strange disturbances in the kingdom.

“So the collapse of public order wasn’t due to the war.”

“There’s still time to prepare, since only a few brave enough have stepped into the outside world. Though it’s only a matter of time; eventually, everyone will leave Liqueur. When that happens, no one knows what will become of this kingdom—or this world.”

“It’ll be chaos.”

“That’s exactly what we felt after coming out. Anyway... we, who were hated by humans— especially the Samael Empire—wanted power. We were desperate enough to sell our souls without hesitation. And in Liqueur, there wasn’t vague hope; there was a visible path.”

“But you didn’t find it.”

“We found it. We just couldn’t obtain it.”

Those gathered here, including Inara, were beings whose bloodlines held Authority-level abilities. If even they could not obtain it, there could be only one reason.

“Did the Godfather have it?” asked Daat.

“No. Even the Godfather did not.”

Even the ruler of Liqueur did not possess it?

Daat found that hard to imagine.

“I thought I almost had it, but I didn’t.”

From the regret and longing in her voice, Daat caught the hint.

“Could it be... Did Big Brother Keter have it?”

If even the Godfather lacked it, Daat could think of only one possibility: Keter himself.

“Ahahaha.”

Inara covered her mouth and laughed. The others remained silent, their stiff expressions filling the chamber with unease. She stopped laughing, but her eyes were still smiling.

“We know Keter is a Pioneer.”

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

* * *

Daat did not know what a Pioneer was, but he had a habit of pretending to understand things. Therefore, he acted like he knew what a Pioneer was as he shouted in surprise.

“A Pioneer?!”

“Yes, that’s right. A Pioneer changes the world. The war between gods and dragons, and the war between humans and gods—in both cases, a Pioneer was either the catalyst or the leader. Whenever one appears, the world is inevitably transformed.”

Even a genius like Daat could not grasp everything immediately. However, revealing that he didn’t to understand would make him look amateurish.

“Changes the world...!”

“As you know, after the Great Demon-God War, some Transcendentals recognized the existence of Pioneers, so by any means necessary, tried to use the next Pioneer—to shape the world to their liking. Our Nine-Tailed Fox Tribe was one of them.”

“So you didn’t love Keter.”

“It’s true I approached him at first to use him, but it eventually grew into love. At least, I believe so.”

“And someone like you wants to use him again?”

“Not use, cooperate. You know what this world is becoming.”

The world was spiraling into confusion. Everyone could feel it, not just Daat, but it couldn’t be that simple. Daat suspected Inara knew far more about the chaos, so he probed carefully.

“You know the story of the Demon King and the Hero, right? No matter how strong the Demon King is, the Hero always wins,” Daat asked.

Daat believed the Godfather was the mastermind behind the war. That was why he likened him to a Demon King, and that left Inara bewildered.

“Demon King?” Her gaze toward him shifted sharply. “You... know nothing.”

Once exposed, Daat abandoned any pretense.

“No. The war alone is overwhelming enough.”

“Keter doesn’t know either, does he?”

“Yes?”

“How can you be sure? Keter might know and keep it to himself.”

“Big Brother isn’t a fool. If he needs something done, he tells me. So please tell me: what is happening to this world right now?”

“...I don’t know if it’s right to tell you. You’re already struggling with a human war.”

“I don't know what delusion you're living in right now, but if you think so, then leave. I won't stop you.”

Daat rose without hesitation. The gesture mirrored Keter so perfectly that Inara let out a hollow laugh.

“You’ve truly learned only the worst from Keter.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“So we...”

She was about to continue when another voice interrupted.

“I fear we may be placing a destiny upon unprepared humans, one they cannot bear. It could lead to ruin.”

Inara leaned back as if inviting him to continue. He rose as though he had been waiting. Even seated, he drew attention with his massive build; standing, he seemed large enough to touch the ceiling. The huge horns protruding from his hood revealed his race.

“I am Puga of the Celestial Ox Tribe,” He said, extending his ring finger.

Inara added, “That’s a greeting from the Celestial Ox Tribe. Just take it.”

To Puga, it was a finger; to Daat, it was thicker than his thigh. Even grasping it with both hands barely sufficed.

“A pleasure, Puga. Why do you think we cannot bear this? You knew about the tunnels and still left them alone. It was not out of fear...”

“I know. Your strength surpasses ours. However, what is about to occur in this world is something even the emperor of the Samael Empire cannot handle.”

If it was burdensome to the emperor, that was nearly the same as saying no one could bear it.

“You hate the emperor and won’t help him, yet you want to save the world. That’s why you came to Sefira? That doesn’t quite add up.”

“Forgive me. I lack eloquence. I am an ox, after all.”

“...?”

“Did you not like the wordplay? Perhaps it’s because I’m not a horse.”[1]

“Pfft.”

Inara covered her mouth, laughing. Daat’s lips twitched before he cleared his throat.

“Ahem. You can’t just gloss over things like that.”

“I wasn’t trying to. Please understand that we have no such thing as a leader. Each of us holds different ideals.”

“So you’re saying there’s no alternative but Sefira.”

Bang!

A man slammed the table and stood, clearly struck at a sore point.

“You grow more insolent by the moment.”

A beastfolk with flame-red fur bared his teeth in a snarl.

Daat addressed him calmly, “You’re of the Flame Dog Tribe, correct? I heard your tribe submitted to the Samael Emperor. I suppose not all of you did. Don’t tell me everyone gathered here belongs to the Seven Cursed Species?”

Inara waved her hand.

“Not everyone. Just five.”

Five of the Seven Cursed Species were present. Daat whistled.

“You suddenly look like mountains of gold to me.”

Bounties for just information on them were enormous, and there were not one but five of them present here.

Though Daat was joking, the flame dog, already infuriated, burst into blazing heat. The flames of the Flame Dog Tribe could melt even orichalcum. In other words, the heat alone could liquefy a person’s lungs. Daat began to react as the heat intensified, but that was when...

Splash! Hissss...

A torrent of water crashed down on the flame dog’s head, leaving him drenched like a soaked dog.

“I apologize on his behalf. He was deeply betrayed by humans, especially by one he trusted. Since then, he has come to despise humanity itself,” Puga apologized instead.

Daat was less interested in the apology than the magic he had witnessed.

“I didn’t expect someone your size to use magic, and that casting speed is incredible.”

“It is elemental magic, a bit different from what you know. If you wish to learn, I can teach you.”

“Let’s finish this conversation first. A threat beyond anything a Demon King could bring... What exactly is it?”

Daat enjoyed humor, but like Keter, he preferred it in moderation.

Puga straightened and solemnly said, “A Pioneer has appeared twice before: during the war between gods and dragons, and the war between humans and gods. Keter, the Third Pioneer... what kind of war do you think he will bring?”

1. ”Wordplay” in Korean is 말장난, and 말 is also the word for “Horse.” ☜