Chapter 60: Agnes National Assembly (2)
TL/Editor: Rungir
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
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In a dim room, the only light came from a smallmp flickering in the middle. A man was chained to a stiff metal chair in the room''s center, a ck cloth hiding his face.
"Huff, huff!"
His breath came out harsh and ragged from beneath the cloth. His body trembled slightly, a clear sign of his fear.
How long had it been?
Just as his breath became more frantic.
The cloth was pulled off his face by an unseen hand.
A sturdy man with thick eyebrows was revealed.
His name was Burkell Izart.
He was a member of the Kwangseong Assembly, one of a hundred. As the leader of the Izart family, he ruled over the ns region of the empire.
"Huff, huff!"
Once he could see again, Burkell drew in a sharp breath and quickly looked around.
He was at a loss as to why he was here.
Afterpleting his duties at the pce, everything went ck on his way home. When he came to, he was here.
The harsh sound of an iron chair being dragged echoed through the room. Someone appeared from the darkness, positioned the chair in front of Burkell, and took a seat.
It was a man with a gentle face and long hair tied back.
His name was Thierry Illones, a member of Zion''s team and the leader of the Eternal Shadow. Half of Thierry''s face was hidden in the shadows, where themp''s light couldn''t reach, creating an eerie feeling.
"What''s going on? Do you know who I am?"
Burkell red at Thierry, his voice filled with a mix of rage and worry.
"You''re Burkell Izart, right? If not, let me know. I''ll let you go right away and offer you an apology and somepensation."
Thierry replied with a calm smile.
He could say this because he was entirely sure the man before him was Burkell.
"How dare you... You think you''ll get away with this?"
"Ha, of course. I wouldn''t show my face if I thought I was in danger."
"My family''s knights are probably searching for me right now. They''ll find this ce within an hour. I wonder if you''ll still be smiling then."
"I doubt that''ll happen. Even if the knights find this ce, you''ll be the one to send them away."
"What…?"
Confusion filled Burkell''s eyes at Thierry''s words.
He couldn''t understand what Thierry was implying.
"It might help if you read this before we continue."
With that, Thierry casually pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to Burkell.
“……!”
Burkell''s eyes widened as he read the document, his expression shifting from confusion to pure shock.
This was a detailed ount of all the wrongs Burkell Izart hadmitted, starting from his teenage years. It was a list of corruption, malpractice, and crimes.
If these misdeeds were revealed, his carefully built reputation would be destroyed. He''d end up in the pce''s underground jail.
Most of these offenses were known only to him. Burkell couldn''t understand how they''dnded on this sheet of paper.
"Ever wondered what would happen if this information went public?"
Thierry posed the question cheerfully.
Burkell valued his honor and reputation more than anything else. Faced with evidence that could shatter them both, his response was predictable.
"...What do you want from me."
Burkell spoke in a voice drained of energy, his head hung low.
At this, Thierry broke into a satisfied smile.
---
Raei Trantions
---
At one of the five castles surrounding Baeksung Pce, the Red Castle.
Step by step.
Prince Enoch walked with a nk face down a corridor in the Red Castle''s underground levels.
After Lergan Urschler''s death at the hands of Zion, Enoch had been visiting these depths more often.
"Arghhh!"
"Please, no more...ugh!"
The corridor was filled with the tortured screams of those subjected to forbidden experiments, including ck magic. Their bodies were twisted and grotesque.
Enoch was unmoved.
He had been the one to construct this underground facility.
Working with ''that'' entity and enhancing his magic skills required such brutal experiments.
"Prince Enoch."
A cold-looking woman trailing Enoch called out to him softly.
Without stopping, Enoch turned his head slightly towards her.
"There will be a state affairs meeting at Baeksung Pce in three days."
"I know. So what?"
"It appears Prince Zion might be able to attend."
"How? He doesn''t have enough council members on his side, does he?"
Enoch was confused.
To attend the meeting, one needed the backing of at least ten council members.
"It seems he''s secretly gaining the support of neutral council members."
"Ah…!"
Enoch let out an annoyed sigh at the woman''s words.
"That rat, trying to attend the state affairs meeting…"
Eleven council members were neutral.
Getting the support of ten of them in such a short time seemed impossible, but for some reason, Enoch felt that if anyone could do it, it was Zion.
Despite his reluctance to admit it, Zion had so far achieved all the things Enoch thought were impossible.
"Then we should interfere."
The thought of enduring Zion''s presence at the state affairs meeting was insufferable.
"Have all the information on the neutral council members ready by the time I emerge from underground."
"Understood."
Enoch watched the woman who bowed in acknowledgement before pushing open the iron door at the corridor''s end, an entrance he had reached without noticing.
Squeak!
The iron door creaked open, unleashing a torrent of magic so potent it was terrifying.
Unflinchingly, Enoch stepped into the room from where the magic emanated.
---
Raei Trantions
---
Atop Chimseong Pce, a petite terrace offered a captivating view.
''The view is truly unparalleled from here.''
Under the subtle glow of the moonlight, Zion appreciated the panorama.
He didn''t know the architect of the terrace but he surmised that it was meant more for sky-gazing than pce-viewing.
"Prince Zion."
Thierry, having approached quietly, respectfully addressed Zion.
"All operations have beenpleted."
"I see."
Zion''s response to Thierry was short.
Though managing to secure enough council member support to attend the state affairs meeting within a week was remarkable, there was no thrill in Zion''s gaze.
Not only had heid the groundwork for this before suppressing the Rebel Army, but finding and manipting his adversaries'' vulnerabilities was second nature to Zion.
If they prized honor, he toyed with their reputation; if they valued survival, he tightened the grip around their existence.
He''d ruthlessly crush the defiant ones, and if they were fearful, he''d torment them with unimaginable dread.
This was a tactic he''d employed countless times as emperor of the original world, familiar to him than anything else.
"And what of our opposition?"
"So far, no notable actions. They seem consumed by preparations for the state affairs meeting."
"Is that so?"
"…Pardon?"
Confusion flickered in Thierry''s eyes at Zion''s words.
Without answering, Zion motioned for him to leave with a wave of his hand.
He had a task to attend to.
''Advance the ck Star to three stars.''
Once Thierry had departed, leaving him alone on the terrace, Zion turned his gaze to the star-studded night sky.
So far, his practice of the ck Star had been confined to an underground field, walled on all sides. However, tonight, he wished to practice here, under the open sky.
The nature of the ck Star was something foreign, out of sync with anything in this world. If a semnce had to be found, it would be closest to darkness.
Zion intended to challenge the ascension to three stars here, in a ce steeped in darkness.
''If not today, it must be dyed until after the state affairs meeting.''
That was not an option.
If Zion''s scheme progressed as nned, a significant event capable of tipping the scales of power in the pce would happen soon after the state affairs meeting.
Should he fail to reach three stars by then, it would pose a significant hindrance to his intentions.
Gradually, a darkness even deeper than night began to emanate from Zion, seated in a lotus position at the terrace''s center, enveloping the surroundings.
Within this darkness bloomed luminescent stars.
The Celestial Sea utilized by the royals in the chronicles and the ck Star River that Zion manipted shared amon principle.
With each star activated, the user''s power escted to an unprecedented level, almost as though they''d ascended to a higher ne of existence.
It wasn''t just progression to the next level but the exploration of an entirely new realm, so it was naturally fraught with difficulty and adversity.
Had Zion not previously ascended, it would have been utterly impossible to aim for the three stars within such apressed timeframe.
Roar!
ck stars began to emerge within the mini cosmos unfolded by Zion.
One, two, and the third.
In contrast to the other two stars, which rapidly absorbed surrounding stars to expand, the third star was still faint.
The third ck star flickered uncertainly, appearing as though it could vanish any second.
Then.
''Now.''
Simultaneously as Zion, seated in the lotus posture, opened his eyes,
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart began to pound wildly.
The vessels channeling the ck Star throughout his body pulsed at the same rhythm.
Zion now initiated the Eclipse.
The two Eclipses he had employed So far had already cracked the barrier to the three stars. He believed that another application here couldpletely shatter it.
However, using the Eclipse while projecting the stars externally like this was essentially a gamble with his life.
It was like releasing a wild, uncontroble beast within his already weakened body.
But there was no hint of hesitancy in Zion''s eyes.
''If I don''t push to this extent, I won''t be able to break through.''
Grrrrrr!
A storm of the ck Star started to rage within his body at an incredible pace.
Zion made no attempt to rein it in.
He merely guided its course.
There were two paths through which the ck Star could course within Zion''s body.
The blood vessels carrying his lifeblood.
And the circuit, exclusively conducting the ck Star.
The ascension to three stars of the ck Star involved piercing through all these circuits.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
Guided by Zion, the ck Star began to puncture the obstructed circuits within his body one by one.
With each pierced circuit, Zion''s body quivered.
The situation was fraught with danger, the circuitry potentially ripping open with the slightest miscalction. Yet, Zion did not retract the Eclipse.
On the contrary, he intensified it.
It was like crafting an immacte painting with reckless paint strokes on a nk canvas – a divine technique.
''Now, thest one.''
The moment Zion sensed the ck Star fiercely ascending the circuit, a thought shed across his mind.
The surging ck Star collided with the final barrier of the circuit, triggering an immense internal explosion.
Simultaneously, blood trickled from Zion''s mouth.
He made no move to wipe it off, instead exerting his force to pull the ck Star upward again.
For the barrier had not yet fully sumbed.
Despite several subsequent collisions, the final barrier teetered on the brink of rupture without actually breaking.
''Only one opportunity remains.''
His frail body writhed in torment, unable to endure further.
Zion, eyes gleaming with a frosty determination, absorbed all the scattered ck Star around him,bining it with the ck Star within his body.
Then ensued an overwhelming rotation.
Shortly thereafter, his internal spear, crafted with all Zion''s might, wasunched once more.
And as it finally struck the fractured barrier of the circuit,
------------------!
Thierry and Fredo, who''d been curiously observing the Chimseong Pce due to the peculiar energy they sensed, along with everyone else residing within the pce, witnessed the sight.
“……!”
Chimseong Pce, literally tranted as the ce where the stars descend.
All present were witness to the spectacle of every star in the night sky being swallowed by the ominous darkness emanating from the pinnacle of the Chimseong Pce.
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