Chapter 286: Heim (4)

“What did you just say?”

Olivurn’s face hardened as he glared at Karyl.

“I am a prince of the empire. Even as a king, you think you can speak to me like that?”

But Karyl merely scoffed, dismissing Olivurn’s indignation.

“The empire? What is that, exactly? From the Lurein Principality to the Three Kingdoms of Istria, no king—not even one of the heirs—would so much as think they could stand on equal footing with me.”

Karyl fixed his gaze on Olivurn as he continued, “Don’t mistake the empire’s grandeur for your own strength. The empire wasn’t built by you. It was established by those who came before, and you’re simply confusing their legacy with your own abilities. You’ve accomplished nothing.”

“...”

“And even now, you’re not capable of much. The emperor, at least, expanded the empire and earned the title of the Conqueror King. He pushed the borders from the northern lands to the southern territories. You, on the other hand, are just reaping the benefits under the guise of righteousness. So stop pretending to be virtuous, will you?”

“You’re crossing the line...!” Olivurn growled.

The pretense of civility was finally slipping away.

Karyl didn’t show much of a reaction; he was merely amused, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. They used to argue like this often, back when they were close friends; but despite being constantly at odds, they ultimately trusted each other with their lives.

But now, the very thought of sparing Olivurn’s life filled Karyl with an overwhelming desire to cut him down.

Not yet

, Karyl reminded himself.

This was the man who had smeared his and his comrades’ names with false accusations. Killing Olivurn now would simply grant him an unremarkable death, no different from an unfortunate assassination. His death needed to be public, a spectacle where Olivurn’s true nature would be revealed before all.

Anything less would be a mercy.

“You should know the emperor better than anyone,” Karyl continued. “Do you really think he’s unaware of what you’re up to? I used my mana here, in the sanctified grounds of the Church. They have wards that alert the combat priests whenever someone outside the clergy uses magic, and yet no one came. Why do you think that is?”

“...”

Karyl looked directly at Olivurn.

“My mana is imbued with the power of the Blazing King. The priests of the Church can’t do anything about spirit power with their mana. The emperor and the bishop, who are together now, would have noticed it immediately. And that’s exactly what I wanted.”

“...What are you trying to say?”

“The reason the emperor hasn’t appeared yet,” Karyl explained, “is that he’s likely planning to meet with me before you. Despite my past defiance, he still trusts me more than his own son.”

“That’s absurd,” Olivurn scoffed. “You really think he’d meet with you before me, after what you said in the Sun Hall?”

“Absolutely.” Karyl nodded, utterly confident.

“The emperor thinks that someone who openly draws their sword would never resort to underhanded tactics,” Karyl continued. “Such as poisoning, for example.”

Karyl gave Olivurn a pointed look, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Of course, I hope those kinds of incidents are behind us now. I wouldn’t want to waste an arrow on something like that. Better to save it for something more significant, like...”

“You bastard...” Olivurn growled, but Karyl ignored him, finishing his sentence with a chilling calm.

“...a war.”

Bang!

At that, Olivurn slammed his fist on the table, shouting, “Your arrogance knows no bounds! Are you saying you want to go to war with the empire?”

The table shattered in half, and the teacup hit the ground with a loud, jarring crash.

Although he was a prince of the empire, unlike his other two brothers, Olivurn was the son of a concubine. He had grown up more like a weed in a wild garden than a sheltered flower in a greenhouse. His life struggle had always been one for survival.

Even after ascending the throne in his previous life, Olivurn had never stopped training. While he hadn’t reached the level of a Sword Master, he had attained the rank of an Advanced Sword Expert.

That was an impressive feat in itself, but to Karyl, it was still just the Sword Expert rank.

“...”

Karyl looked at Olivurn with an indifferent gaze.

The prince was already strong enough to sense mana, so he should have realized the gap between them. If Karyl unleashed his full power, the mere pressure of his mana would make Olivurn’s knees buckle and force him to the ground.

However, Olivurn still dared to stand up to him, and the reason was the bracelet on his wrist, which resembled a pair of rusty, ancient shackles—an accessory utterly unfit for a prince.

Just as I expected, you already have it

, Karyl thought.

He knew exactly what that bracelet was.

It was the Essence of the Howling Plateau.

The inside of the bracelet was lined with sharp, thorn-like spikes, seemingly designed to cause pain to its wearer, almost like a device meant for punishing criminals. It was an artifact stored in the Imperial Treasury, one of many relics from an era long before the Mythical Era, a time when this world was not ruled by a singular god but by a pantheon.

During that ancient era, every realm was inhabited by entities comparable to the gods, including the Spirit Kings. It was in that context that the Bladers, the ones who defied the gods, emerged. The designs for the weapon Ascalon and the gauntlets Karyl had given to Suan, which contained the power of a divine beast, were also relics from that era.

In a way, the ruins and relics left on the continent, from the Mythical Era to the Magical Era, were the legacies of those who had either defied the gods or sought to become like them.

However, the Church had declared that Yula was the only true deity in this world, and any relics that contradicted that belief had been branded as heretical and sealed away in the Imperial Treasury, never to see the light of day again.

That was the reason the empire and the Church investigated ruins.

But the Wooden Cloud... You guys already knew about it. You knew that those so-called heretical relics also contained immense mana.

In reality, the Wooden Cloud’s plan was to monopolize the magical relics for themselves. As a result, those relics were dismissed as nothing more than ancient artifacts, forgotten by most. But after Olivurn became emperor, one of the reasons he would be able to rapidly conquer the continent, including the principality, was that he had unlocked the power of the relics hidden in the Imperial Treasury.

Not even the emperor is aware of the truth about these relics.

The fact that Olivurn wore that bracelet, which was supposedly nothing more than a trinket, was proof that he understood the true power of those relics.

And that’s also proof that he’s part of the Wooden Cloud.

Karyl looked at Olivurn with a frosty smile. The truth was now evident. The relics the Church sought to confiscate were those they had deemed divine artifacts with extraordinary power. The bracelet on Olivurn’s hand was one of them.

When activated, it absorbs all surrounding mana, rendering it powerless and then transferring it to the wearer.

Even without mana, Karyl was confident he could still defeat Olivurn, given that Olivurn had never become a Sword Master. The problem was that Karyl’s vast, almost limitless mana could become a source of immense power for Olivurn if absorbed.

According to my memory, the space itself is neutralized, and the absorbed mana is maintained for about one minute. It’s not enough to be a threat to me.

In Karyl’s mind, dozens, perhaps hundreds of scenarios intertwined rapidly. Even if his mana were to be drained, he still had the spirit powers of Ramine and Ethereal at his disposal. However...

It would be a waste to let that bracelet be used here.

Despite its incredible power, the bracelet’s use was limited, so it couldn't be employed recklessly.

I need to take it for myself.

Karyl was well aware of how useful the bracelet had been in his previous life. The ability to nullify mana wasn’t restricted to humans; it also worked against the Tarak.

“Why the sudden silence? What’s on your mind, huh?” Olivurn asked, noticing Karyl’s silence.

“Nothing much. It’s just that your bracelet looks rather unique. I tend to get what I want, and I was considering whether I should cut off your arm to take it.”

“What...?” Olivurn looked at him in disbelief.

Just moments ago, Karyl had provoked the empire, stepping perilously close to the brink of war. Therefore, the notion that Karyl could be distracted by such impulsive thoughts in such a critical situation was utterly absurd.

“War with the empire? It could happen if necessary, but now right now. After all, the emperor is probably still wondering whether that poison was used only on Kromen or if there’s more to it.”

“If he were truly concerned about that, he wouldn’t have exiled Prince Luon. He would’ve kept him close,” Olivurn challenged.

Karyl smirked, his cold eyes glinting with amusement, as if to ask whether Olivurn was serious. However, he didn’t press the point further.

“If you have something to say, you should say it all now. You only have until dawn. Do you want the emperor dead?” Karyl asked, placing his hand on the broken table between them.

Pzzzzzzt...!!

The spot where Karyl’s fingers touched began to smolder and turn to ash, his mana visibly at work.

“On the other hand, if you want to go to war with me, you’ll need to sit on that throne first.”

“...”

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, followed by a low voice announcing, “The bishop wishes to see Lord Karyl.”

Hearing that, Karyl flashed Olivurn a smile, fully aware that wherever the bishop was, the emperor would be as well.

“It seems I was right after all. You’d better take care of that bracelet,” Karyl advised, pointing to Olivurn’s wrist. “I always keep my word.”

He then mimicked a slicing motion across his own wrist with his opposite hand, indicating his intent.

“W-Wait!” Olivurn shouted hastily as Karyl rose to leave.

“If you want to negotiate, come up with something more enticing. After all, it’s not dawn yet,” Karyl replied, walking out of the room without looking back.

***

“It’s been a while... I didn’t expect you to come here on your own. I always thought you were like me. But in the end, you came. Is it because of family ties?"

As Karyl had anticipated, it was not the bishop waiting for him in the innermost chamber of the Church, but the emperor himself.

“I’m not related to you by blood, so I don’t resemble you. The one who resembles you is the son waiting outside for you. Both of you came to me first like your lives are in my hands.”

“Heh, what an arrogant brat,” the emperor chuckled. “You’re probably the only one who dares to speak to me like that.”

The emperor’s figure was faintly visible in the dim light. He looked far more aged and frail than when Karyl had last seen him in the Sun Hall in the capital.

This must be due to the effects of the sun herb. It can completely neutralize the poison of the Twilight when used properly, but if there's not enough heat, the poison spreads faster once the warmth of the sun herb fades away.

Karyl realized that the emperor likely had less than a month to live.

“Well, it’s true that you hold my life in your hands... So, have you come to offer me an antidote?” the emperor asked wearily. It seemed that despite months of treatment at the Church, his condition hadn’t improved at all.

“Do you really think I came to Heim to save your life? Or perhaps you believe I came to save my family. Actually, I doubt that’s your assumption.”

The emperor nodded, almost as if resigned to his fate.

“Yes, I thought as much. But being here reminded me of something. This is where we first met... So perhaps we were meant to meet again here, in Heim.”

“Why would you want to meet someone who deceived you? It would make more sense to have me captured instead. After all, Kuwell and the Church’s combat priests are all gathered here.”

At that, the emperor gave a faint smile.

“Heheheh... If that were my plan, I would have done so when you first used your magic. So, what did you think of Olivurn? How does he compare to when you last saw him in the capital?”

Karyl raised his eyebrow slightly, unsure why the emperor was asking that.

“He has grown. He has ambition... and he seems to genuinely care about the people.”

The emperor chucked somewhat bitterly.

“The people? Genuine care? Yes... The Second Prince is that kind of person. In any case, you’re right. I don’t have much time left. Even the bishop has given up. However, I won’t cast blame on you. After all, I’d already be dead if it weren’t for you.”

Titan Shutean sighed deeply before he continued, “There’s only one reason I called you here. I have a proposal for you. Do you remember what we talked about during our first encounter?”

“A proposal...?”

The emperor nodded and said, “You once told me that you wanted the empire in exchange for saving my life.”

Titan closed his eyes, as if savoring the memory.

“Huh, you still remember that?” Karyl asked, slightly surprised.

“I shall give you the empire.”

“...!!!”

For a moment, Karyl’s expression hardened. He had never expected such words to come out of Titan Shutean’s mouth.

“...Like father, like son, huh?”

“What...?”

However, the emperor was the one taken aback.

“Both of you offered me the empire in a deal... Did you really think I would be tempted by mere land?” Karyl sneered, glaring at the emperor.

“The empire is already mine.”

There, in the Holy City of the Church, Karyl declared true war.