Chapter 1017
Chapter 1017
Whoosh! The instant Raon finished uttering those words, the warm comfort filling the conference chamber vanished completely, plunging the room into an atmosphere as frigid as a glacial cavern.
“What?”
“Submit or perish? Even for Zieghart, that crosses the line!”
“Mind your tongue! Not even the Five Demons would dare hurl such threats at us!”
“Has a bit of prestige rotted his brain? He has completely lost his senses.”
Standing directly behind the Queen of Swords, her swordsmen gnawed at their lower lips, unleashing a wave of violent energy.
“If you took issue with this, you ought to have made up your minds long ago. The circumstances have shifted.”
“A threat? Offering you an explicit alternative is hardly a threat.”
“Utterly pitiful…”
Martha, Burren, and Runaan scoffed openly, urging their opponents to read the room. As the commanders of the Light Wind Palace and the elites of The Unyielding Blade squared off with flared energy, azure sparks flared across the circular white conference table, scorching both the ceiling and the walls in charred black marks.
“Stand down.”
The Queen of Swords lifted an arm, halting the agitated warriors at her back.
“Be at ease.”
Raon tilted his chin slightly, checking Burren, Martha, and Runaan just as their Grandmaster-level pressure began to surface.
“…”
The Thespian Emperor kept silent, while the White Whale martial artists stationed behind her remained as rigid and unresponsive as stone statues.
“Aren’t your demands a bit severe?”
Settling back into her seat, the Queen of Swords fixed him with an icy stare.
“Did you truly intend those words just now?”
Rather than showing the agitation she had displayed during the discussion about The Fallen, she remained utterly composed. She seemed intent on hearing out every detail before reaching a conclusion—a temperament truly worthy of a Transcendent.
“He certainly meant it. He is hardly the sort to throw out empty bravado in a setting like this.”
Trailing a slender finger around the rim of her teacup, the Thespian Emperor offered a subtle grin. It seemed she had already anticipated this turn of events.
“Indeed. Every word was deliberate.”
Raon inclined his head, meeting the Queen of Swords’ frosty gaze without wavering.
“On what grounds?”
The Queen of Swords tilted her head up, prompting him to justify the ultimatum.
“I believe our Five Kings, and Zieghart in particular, have extended ample patience and leeway to the Five Divine Orders.”
Resting his palm against the tabletop, Raon took in the solemn expressions of both the Thespian Emperor and the Queen of Swords.
“What sort of leeway?”
“You five distinct factions are bound together under the single banner of the Five Divine Orders.”
Raon directed his gaze toward the Five Divine Orders’ standard hanging along the chamber wall.
“Sharing a single banner implies that an offense committed by one group is shared and borne by the remaining four.”
“That is true. That is precisely what it means.”
The Queen of Swords conceded the point without hesitation. Though she may not have known every detail, she showed no desire to dissemble.
“The Demonblade sought to take my life merely to conceal his own transgressions, and the Demon Slaying Spear struck at me unprovoked when I stepped in to shield a companion.”
Raon tightened his fingers into a fist, remembering how his hands had been stained with the blood of both the Demonblade and the Demon Slaying Spear.
“By all rights, Zieghart and I should have demanded total accountability from the Five Divine Orders for the violence enacted by the Demonblade and the Demon Slaying Spear. Yet I refrained from turning it into an open confrontation…”
“That is incorrect.”
The Queen of Swords raised a hand toward Raon to cut in.
“Those two had already severed their ties with the Five Divine Orders. This woman here tried to convince them to hold on, but they refused to listen and walked away!”
Knitting her brows, she referred to the Thespian Emperor with familiar intimacy, suggesting their bond went considerably deeper than a mere political pact.
“The Demonblade vanished without a word to any of us before meeting his end at your hands, and the Demon Slaying Spear abandoned the Five Divine Orders once the Black Tower fell, claiming he needed to test his own vitality. Had we known their departures would lead straight to their graves, we would have restrained them by force and aligned ourselves directly with the Five Kings.”
Clicking her tongue, the Queen of Swords showed clear vexation over having let the Demonblade and the Demon Slaying Spear go unchecked.
‘Reflecting on it now…’
Raon pressed his lips together as he observed her irritated expression.
‘The Queen of Swords favored siding with the Five Kings right from the start.’
He recalled that, unlike her peers, she had harbored an intense distaste for the Five Demons from the very beginning and wanted an exclusive alliance with the Five Kings. Even so, despite any personal goodwill he might feel toward her, the window for pardoning this grievance had already closed.
“That changes nothing.”
Raon shook his head with deliberate, unhurried resolve.
“The Five Divine Orders never made any formal declaration regarding the departure of the Dark Black Lotus or the Martial Society. The exact same silence applies to the Pirate King.”
“What are you saying…”
Her brow furrowing in genuine shock, the Queen of Swords turned to the Thespian Emperor.
“Is what he says true?”
“…”
The Thespian Emperor offered no reply, simply letting her eyelids fall shut.
“The rationale requires no explanation. You wished to hide from the continent that the standing and martial might of the Five Divine Orders had drastically deteriorated.”
Raon nodded, keeping his eyes on the silent Thespian Emperor.
“The Five Divine Orders was formed specifically to remain neutral between the Six Kings and the Five Demons, gathering safe profits from the middle ground. Yet three of your pillars have deserted you? In the middle of an open conflict? To both the Five Kings and the Five Demons, you would appear as nothing more than a feast left undefended on an open table.”
He continued laying out the reality to the stunned Queen of Swords, having easily deduced every calculation made by the Thespian Emperor.
“Frankly, it was a logical scheme. In her position, I likely would have pursued a comparable path. However…”
A faint smirk curved Raon’s mouth as he looked back at the Thespian Emperor, who had just reopened her eyes.
“Once you make such a gamble, you must bear the consequences of the wager. In the eyes of Zieghart and myself, we were subjected to assaults by the Demonblade and the Demon Slaying Spear while both still formally flew the banner of the Five Divine Orders.”
“Mmh…”
The Queen of Swords bit down hard on her lip, finally grasping the inescapable logic of his stance.
“B-but that is…!”
“Even so, none of that was our doing…”
“We should have clarified our stance publicly back then…”
The swordsmen of The Unyielding Blade clenched their hands tightly, muttering in frustration at the unjust predicament.
“Quiet down.”
With a swift drop of her hand, the Queen of Swords silenced the Unyielding Blade warriors entirely.
“…”
Even after having every truth exposed, the Thespian Emperor said nothing, merely staring down into her drained cup.
“In truth, there is one detail that puzzles me.”
Raon fixed his gaze on the Thespian Emperor seated straight across from him.
“Having already lived through the fallout of the Demonblade, why did you choose not to announce the Demon Slaying Spear’s departure? You had to know that if he caused another catastrophe right after the Demonblade, the entirety of that retribution would crash down upon the Five Divine Orders.”
The woman he knew was cautious enough to tap a sturdy stone bridge before taking a single step across it. He could not comprehend why she would walk directly into the same fire after having already been burned by the incident with the Demonblade.
“Explain yourself.”
Sharing Raon’s confusion, the Queen of Swords gestured sharply toward the Thespian Emperor.
“His assessment is accurate.”
Her brow dipping slightly, the Thespian Emperor reached out and poured crimson tea into her cup.
“Had I been my former self, I would have proclaimed the withdrawal of the Demon Slaying Spear and the Martial Society the very moment the Demonblade was slain.”
Setting the teapot down, she offered a thin, self-deprecating smile that conceded Raon’s point.
“Then why remain silent?”
Raon’s eyes narrowed slightly as he scrutinized her face.
“Were you truly that desperate to preserve the facade of the Five Divine Orders for the sake of profit?”
“…”
The Thespian Emperor remained silent, watching the subtle ripples across the surface of her tea.
“While traveling here, I heard a story about you from that man.”
Raon pointed toward Mekein, who stood behind the Thespian Emperor’s chair.
“Following the assault by the Five Demons, you dipped into your private treasury to rebuild the homes and secure the livelihood of your citizens before anything else. While the person I know might have done so out of concern for external reputation, there was undoubtedly genuine care for your subjects as well.”
A cynical smirk touched his lips as he looked past her, out the window at the bustling city below.
“Yet due to this reckless silence, this entire metropolis you nurtured could have been drowned in blood by Zieghart’s blades. We possessed both the strength to do so and the rightful justification, and not a single soul across the continent could have faulted us.”
Raon drew in a slow, steady breath as he laid out the grim reality.
“Everything you hold dear was on the verge of turning to ash. Why make such a reckless bet?”
He tipped his chin, demanding an answer.
“Speak plainly.”
The Queen of Swords struck the surface of the round table with an open palm.
“What in the world were you planning!”
Grinding her teeth together, she demanded an unvarnished explanation.
“Haah…”
A deep sigh escaped the Thespian Emperor’s lips, trailing out like an exhale of smoke.
“The Fallen. Indeed. In the end, everything leads back to this.”
She turned toward Raon with an exhausted, rueful smile.
“Very well. I will lay everything bare this time.”
With a solemn nod, the Thespian Emperor indicated she would withhold nothing more.
“As you likely have deduced, I possess the ability to perceive the flow of heaven.”
Rising from her seat, she parted the folds of her pale robe, untied a volume strapped to her thigh, and placed it upon the round table.
“The flow of heaven represents a destiny already etched into stone, impossible to alter. Through these Celestial Scriptures, I am able to glimpse fragments of what is to come.”
Opening the Celestial Scriptures, the Thespian Emperor turned toward the final pages.
“However, ever since that particular day, I have been unable to read the future clearly.”
She let out a hollow, bitter laugh.
“That day?”
The Queen of Swords frowned, puzzled by the reference.
“Because of you.”
The Thespian Emperor raised an index finger, pointing straight at Raon.
“From the moment I attempted to read the heavenly flow of Raon Zieghart, the broader future turned completely hazy.”
She lifted the volume, presenting the final page for them to see. Jagged crimson streaks radiated chaotically across the torn paper as though drenched in fresh blood, giving the book the grotesque impression of screaming in agony.
“Is that meant to be my heavenly flow?”
Raon’s brow furrowed as he took in the disturbing, violent markings within the pages.
“I went directly to Zieghart after attempting to divine your course. Yet every outcome I had witnessed was utterly shattered by your hands. I retreated here to uncover precisely what kind of existence you were, but this was all that remained.”
Releasing a heavy, troubled breath, she once more displayed the shredded leaf of the Celestial Scriptures.
“From that point onward, I could no longer discern what was real or what path I ought to tread. Paradoxically, I was somehow able to perceive information regarding the Soul Crystal you sought. While I never shied away from pursuing strategic advantages, the truth is…”
Her eyes locked onto Raon, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I was completely paralyzed, unable to determine which path would ensure the survival of the Five Divine Orders.”
Shutting her eyes tightly, she confessed that her mind had seized up entirely after peering into her own destiny.
“It seems the very gift of reading heaven’s design has transformed into my heaviest shackle.”
A self-mocking chuckle slipped from her, lamenting how the clouded future had rendered her incapable of taking decisive action.
“The Fallen must have marched toward you under the absolute conviction of heaven’s flow that he could not perish. Yet the reality was his demise.”
She nodded slowly, as though having long deduced how The Fallen had met his end.
“Now I am entirely certain. You possess the terrifying capacity to distort the flow of heaven. No, you can rewrite destiny itself.”
The Thespian Emperor exhaled the tension she had carried for so long, feeling as though she had finally slipped the noose of that blinding, fractured future.
“So that was the reason…”
Biting her lip, the Queen of Swords finally understood the full picture. It was evident she had left all overarching decisions in the hands of the Thespian Emperor. Just as observed before, the tie binding the two women was far more intimate than a standard political alliance.
‘Destiny, once again.’
Raon closed his eyes for a brief moment, remembering the designation he had obtained not long ago: .
‘Whether I bend destiny to my will or carve out an entirely unprecedented path makes no difference to me.’
His only duty was to execute what lay within his power. Opening his eyes, he dismissed all notions of heavenly currents, distant futures, or grand destinies, sharpening his focus entirely onto the task at hand.
“I comprehend your dilemma, yet having no capacity to read heaven’s flow—and placing no faith in it—I cannot offer you my sympathy.”
Raon shook his head without a shred of warmth.
“The sole reason I held back from demanding retribution over the Demonblade and chose to bide my time was the intelligence you provided regarding the Soul Crystal. Now that the Demon Slaying Spear has wrought his havoc, that debt of gratitude has been completely wiped away. State your decision.”
Once more, he pressed the ultimatum: would they walk beneath the mantle of the Five Kings, or would they meet their end in this very room?
“Haah…”
Lowering her head, the Thespian Emperor rested her hand against her brow.
“Facing you directly has cleared away the fog that clouded my thoughts. I can finally choose without lingering doubt.”
A faint, relieved smile touched her features as she met Raon’s gaze.
“I, along with the Five Divine Orders, will—”
“Hold on.”
Just as the Thespian Emperor was about to deliver her verdict, the Queen of Swords pushed herself up from the table.
“I still refuse to consent.”
Her brows drawn downward, the Queen of Swords declared her unwillingness to surrender the matter so easily.
“What? Haven’t you favored joining the Five Kings all along?”
The Thespian Emperor stared at her in disbelief, bewildered by the sudden obstruction.
“I acknowledge that this woman made grave errors, and I recognize that the Demonblade and the Demon Slaying Spear brought this ruin upon us while still counting as our comrades.”
The Queen of Swords gave a firm nod, accepting that Raon and the Five Kings were entirely within their rights to seek retribution.
“Yet mere words and justifications are not enough to win my surrender. When all is said and done, I am simply a stubborn, unrefined swordswoman.”
Reaching down, the Queen of Swords gripped the hilt of the blade leaning against the round table.
“I intend to cross blades with you directly before I yield my consent.”
Lifting her chin defiantly, she made it clear that her allegiance would only be won through her defeat.
“That will hardly be an issue.”
A cold, confident smile spread across Raon’s face as he rose from the conference table.
‘This is an opponent worth testing myself against.’
Ever since Glenn had spoken of her with veiled warning, Raon had wanted to test his steel against the Queen of Swords, if not the Thespian Emperor herself.
“However…”
Lowering his chin slightly, Raon locked his eyes onto the sharp, unblinking glare of the Queen of Swords.
“Do not hold back a single ounce of your strength. Bring everything you have.”
“If I unleash everything…”
A chilling, blade-like glint flashed within the depths of the Queen of Swords’ eyes, hinting at a terrifying secret kept hidden until now.
“Will you truly manage to stay alive?”
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