STM 167

The vast library of Duke Kilu’s residence had been off-limits for several days, yet it wasn’t entirely empty inside.

In fact, for days now, the sounds of pages turning and pen scratching on paper echoed continuously, day and night. The one holed up inside for days was Hoiga, whom most had briefly believed to be Salvation.

When he entered the Montaine family, Kilu had granted him one privilege. The ability to freely read the ancient documents of the Montaine family that had previously been beyond his grasp.

For days, he immersed himself in reading and interpreting every single document, as if he wouldn’t be satisfied until he had finished them all. He sought only one thing: What truly makes someone Salvation?

He wanted definitive proof of Salvation. No, more precisely, he wanted the certainty that Adeye Lu was not Salvation.

The miracle Lu performed at Crystal Lake was already enough to make him worthy of being called Salvation, but he himself refused to kneel before it.

Hoiga could not accept this defeat. Therefore, he had to find proof that Lu was a fraud. He was certain. Having spent years deciphering ancient documents while assisting High Priest Cheki, he had reached a conclusion about Salvation.

‘Many have appeared claiming to be Salvation. Some performed miracles remarkable enough to be recorded in ancient texts and temple chronicles. But some were false, and some were deceptions using black magic. So how can we verify true Salvation?’

As he spoke, High Priest Cheki held up two fingers.

‘Let’s establish our criteria. First, Salvation must be connected to a divine beast, so they must possess divine power. Like you.’

‘But with my divine power, I can’t even perform common healing. I have no idea what this power could possibly do.’

‘That’s precisely why it’s special. You dismiss it as powerless, but what if it’s a unique ability you can’t normally wield?’

‘What kind of special ability?’

‘The ability to see the light of a divine beast.’

Hoiga remained pessimistic and couldn’t bring himself to nod. Then, High Priest Cheki bent one finger.

‘The second criterion of Salvation. It excludes any miracle performed by Salvation that could be achieved through black magic. Now, it should be clear, right? Among the miracles of the first Salvation recorded, there is one thing that cannot be caused by black magic. What is it?’

High Priest Cheki paused briefly, her eyes flashed with certainty.

‘It’s foresight. Knowing the future, that, I believe, is the true power of Salvation.’

That was why High Priest Cheki had firmly believed Hoiga was Salvation. No matter how great a power a human might wield, they could never see into the future.

And he himself knew Tubain’s future because he had come from another dimension, from the future. Though the information was limited, he knew the most dangerous thing that would befall Tubain.

If he saved Tubain in preparation for that future, couldn’t he himself be the Salvation? From some point onward, a seed of hope began to sprout.

But then, out of nowhere, Lu appeared, claiming to communicate with the divine beats and asserting that he was Salvation. Yet one who did not know the future could not be Salvation.

How long had he wrestled with the documents, without eating or sleeping? He found what he sought in the documents from the era of the first Salvation.

‘……That was the appearance of someone who knew the future. He saved us from the monsters.’

This is it!

Hoiga’s eyes widened, his heart swelled with triumph. Though there was content before this, only this part was visible now. One who knew the future, one who saved this land from monsters with that power.

Foresight was the strongest proof of Salvation. Hoiga, who had been shattered, regained his calm within a few days. He had to tell Kilu this quickly.

He had to stop him before he cast him and the Ma Trading Company aside. But Kilu was nowhere to be seen in the mansion. Not only that. A servant informed him thus:

“He said he had to leave urgently. He ordered that it was an important matter requiring quiet handling, so his absence must not be revealed to outsiders under any circumstances.”

An important matter? Something crossed Hoyi’s mind. Could it be about the door of the divine beast? But if Kilu was the door, he wouldn’t have any urgent matters to attend to. Unless he was going to seal the door and imprison the divine beast, just as Zav had done with the Borhumi divine beast. He hesitated. A chill ran down Hoyi’s spine at the ominous thought he had conjured himself.

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“So…”

Grand Duke Sarne, who had been frowning with his eyes tightly shut for some time, finally spoke.

“Adeye Lu… is Salvation?”

The unthinkable words forced their way out of his mouth. The subordinate who had reported the situation at Crystal Lake cautiously replied.

“Everyone who witnessed that scene is telling the same story.”

“Salvation?”

“…Yes.”

Grand Duke Sarne clenched his teeth.

“What of Duke Kilu?”

“We’ve been trying to contact him, but there’s been no response. He hasn’t returned to his residence for several days now. It’s been confirmed that only Ma Hoiga is there at present. But I hear he too has been holed up in the library for days, refusing to come out.”

“Ha.”

A bitter laugh burst from Grand Duke Sarne’s mouth. Kilu was notoriously cunnibg, so he surely had some ulterior motive, but Ma Hoiga holed up in the library? It looked like nothing more than a cowardly escape.

He boasted about his foresight, yet failed to grasp the crucial actions of Grand Duke Kun and Adeye Lu. While Adeye Lu’s authenticity remained questionable, it was now certain that Ma Hoiga was a fake.

“Duke Kilu. How dare you present a counterfeit and drag me into such a sordid plot.”

“But no one believed Adeye Lu was the real Salvation.”

Grand Duke Sarne agreed with his subordinate’s words. Adeye Lu, famously shallow and foolish, Salvation? But past reputations mattered little now. How on earth had he pulled off that miracle? Was it truly the power of a divine beast? Or was there a dark mage behind him?

“What about the possibility of black magic?”

“Several priests were present and categorically denied it. They said that if such a strong spell had been cast, the aura of a black magic stone would have been detectable.”

“Then it truly was a miracle wrought by the power of the divine beast?”

“At this point, there is no other explanation.”

The subordinate glanced around again, but there was no angry outburst or violence. Instead, Grand Duke Sarne glared into the void.

“If he truly communicates with the divine beasts, it’s actually good news for us. Adeye Lu could discover a way to restore our divine beast’s power by communicating with it. Therefore, I must meet him personally.”

The subordinate was confused. Now, even if he wanted to meet him, Lu had become someone who could not be easily seen. Even setting that aside, did he forget what happened with Grand Duke Sarne at the imperial palace’s party?

Hadn’t he mocked Adeye Lu by showing him the severed head of a spy? Therefore, there was only one way to meet Adeye Lu. The subordinate voiced what he understood.

“I will find a way to kidnap him. But now that Grand Duke Kun wields the power of a divine beast, even approaching him won’t be easy.”

“Then we must make him approach us first. After all, we hold what they desire. The ancient texts to lift Kun’s curse.”

The subordinate didn’t look convinced.

“But didn’t we already use that as bait to lure him to the party? They won’t fall for it again.”

Even if they did fall for it, Kun Tairok wouldn’t stand idly by once he knew Sarne was involved.

“You’ll be waging war against Kun.”

“We’ll fight if necessary. But Kun won’t be attacking us.”

Grand Duke Sarne had an alternative.

“At the party, Adeye Lu proposed a wager to Ma Hoiga. If he won, he’d hand over the details about the curse.”

Grand Duke Sarne lowered his voice and quickly explained his plan.

“With Duke Kilu gone and Ma Hoiga in hiding, now is our chance. If Ma Hoiga contacts him, Adeye Lu will surely come out. We must intercept that meeting. Recruit someone and get it done immediately.”

He had extracted the maximum advantage from this situation, yet overlooked one crucial point: Kun was preparing countermeasures as well.

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‘You already know. Because you’ve experienced it.’

Early morning, sitting at the table eating breakfast, the sentence the serpent’s tail had revealed still glowed like a neon sign in the corner of my mind. It seemed unlikely the light would fade until I found the answer.

Because I couldn’t understand what kind of experience it was. I’ve lived for 29 years, and now I’m supposed to find a specific experience from that time? It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Unconsciously, I speared food with my fork and put it in my mouth.

Chewing crunchily, I was so busy replaying my life that I didn’t notice I’d been eating only one dish. As if fed up with days like this, Mo sent a warning.

[I suggest you stop your wandering thoughts and look around.]

Why look around? Without much thought, I lifted my eyes and met the gaze of Tairok sitting across from me. He was propping his chin on his hand while staring at me. There was still more than half of the food left on his plate.