Chapter 61

Their vehicle landed on the rickety old tavern. This time, numerous dead and rather sad-rotting corpses piled up at the entrance. Hecate covered her nose. Ianthe seemed fine seeing the sight.

She followed the process Natasha had gone through last time and arrived at the Old Han’s office.

“Welcome… Welcome, dear Lightning Lord,” he muttered as he gestured for them to come closer. “And we have our little Reaper and... Isolde's... ah, forgive me, my old tongue has been loose. Welcome, Miss Ianthe."

“It’s alright. I want information on the locations of Finality runes scattered in the Shattered Realm... Do you have it?"

“40 thousand silver—” Iris frowned. “No, 30. Yes, 30. I won’t be able to go any lower."

Iris felt pity for scaring him. “That’s fine, so what do you know?” Iris conjured 30 white monster cores.

“Frue… It’s held by Baron Hienor Old. He is a city lord of Yriwan, one of the four pillar cities of the Shattered Realm." Old Han slumped. “That is all I know... If you can give me a month... I shall find the rest of Runes locations."

"No, that is enough—now I have a direction to walk forward. I’ll find the rest by myself."

Iris turned away and walked out. “He’s weird," Hecate muttered.

“This place as a whole is weird, regardless—we should leave."

Walking out, they found a few drunk mages trying to get into their flying room.

“STOP!!” Hecate screamed as the scythe manifested in her hand. “Get away from our home!” Hecate dashed forth.

“She should be fine," Ianthe muttered as she stared—Hecate cut off one of the drunkard's chests wide open.

“I don’t think they would be fine." Hecate cut off the hand of the last standing drunk, “We should leave," Iris said.

Hecate tossed a few pillows and flopped on the soft floor. “AH! I wanted to fight some more."

"It seems like the Shattered Realm will have a lot of action... If a baron and Old are holding on to a rune, then we will have a lot of fights,” Ianthe said, taking a seat beside Hecate.

“They are two people?” Iris tilted her head. The name sounded like one.

“Yes… Old is someone else entirely. I doubt that man even knew that,” Ianthe replied. “I’ve never been to the Shattered Realm, but Old is a name Isolde mentioned more than once; he is useful to her."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“I see…” Iris guided the room up: “We should meet with him then. If he gives us the rune without violence, then that’s good. If he doesn’t, then we will take it by force."

“Let’s go…” The vehicle sped up and shot toward the mainland.

…..

Location: Vritra Kingdom, Dragon Province.

The dragon knights, the Vritra army, were on their knees. They had taken off their helmets and placed them on the floor. A narrow path divided the sea of blue-armoured knights, on which strolled forward Ittya, the newly crowned dragon emperor. Just a week away, she was brought here as the slave of the king’s son. The son was, of course, dead. So was the King.

She wore a white, soft leather robe that shone in the light of the sun. In her hand was a white glaive.

Behind Ittya walked a cloaked figure, always one step behind. Knights lowered their heads as they continued toward the castle.

At the entrance of the castle, the body of the previous King, along with his entire bloodline, were hung. Not even a child was spared; of course, Ittya didn’t do it. The cloaked figure behind her made that decision, and the knight who swore an oath to protect the royal blood proceeded to do the deed. They were left with only one option. Any resistance simply meant Ittya would wipe the Kingdom off the face of Ira. So, they proceeded with the butchering of the royal family.

“Was it necessary?” Ittya asked, a bit perplexed at the gruesome sight. After being stuck in the labyrinth for 15 years, she knew little of the worldly displays.

“It was… Leaving a child who harboured hatred for you in the looming age is an invitation to doom. Whomever we strike, wherever we strike, not even a single sapling shall be spared,” the cloaked figure answered her query—her voice was sure, absolute, filled with authority. It matched the image of a dictatorial ruler. They reached inside the castle.

Ittya continued forward, ignoring the blood stains of the dead bodies that were dragged out. “You said this place would be clean before my arrival."

“A miscalculation—they will have the appropriate punishment handed. The servants here are lax."

Two guards pulled open the throne room as Ittya climbed up the stairs.

“What now?” Ittya questioned. The kingdom was theirs.

“We reinstate this kingdom back to its feet. From this place, the conquest of Ira shall begin."

“The army,” She turned back and looked at the weedy guards, “Would do no good, Master. My might alone is enough,” Ittya surveyed the throne room. Satisfied, she climbed up the Dias and sat on the large throne.

The cloaked figure stayed at the foot of the throne. “Pardon my rudeness, My queen, but it is not. You alone can get us a kingdom, not the entire continent, not the other continent, and certainly not the Sister Seas. Not the Seirie—you cannot search for the Eternal Slave alone. Neither will you win against the other seven heirs to the divine throne."

Ittya chuckled. “You underestimate my might, master; I am the strongest there is, and there will be. I am the Divine Emperor."

“The day of Divine restitution—Four Great Deity, the dragon, the phoenix, the ancient and the slumberer, shall devour the sun—as the world shall split by the Lord of the Spirits, the World Spirit, the Keeper of Eternal—and the Hound shall break the shackles of sinners—the Seiei shall weep in blood, so by the will of the Divine Emperor the Divine throne shall be reforged.” The cloaked figure chanted, “You’re one of the eight pieces of the prophecy. The prophesied dragon. Underestimating the might of others is foolish."

Ittya gazed at the cloaked figure and sighed, “I shall heed your advice, master. We shall rebuild this kingdom—what’s next?"

“After that… We shall turn our eyes at a small place named Gracia,” Ittya tilted her head, never having heard of the place.

“Why?”

“Elder Lord Ilona... For the Age of Conquest to truly be in effect, she must be removed. Her weight on the side of peace is heavy, so much so that even your arrival would fail to shift it."

“Are you implying she is mightier than me?” Ittya questioned, betrayed, and spiteful. Her fist clenched on the lion’s head. “Are you saying someone can be stronger than me? The first in human history to conquer the Labyrinth—and even more importantly, she is equal to Trin and, to a lesser degree, Isolde, and the emperor of Laks; are you implying they are all mightier than me?"

“Trin and Isolde are equal to Ilona?” The cloaked figure spat, “That is the most delusional thing I’ve ever heard. If they were, then Ilona alone could never stop their desire for conquest. There most certainly is not a being that poses a threat to Ilona’s life, and that includes the world itself— for that reason, we must join hands with Roundtable Rivals and Emperor Tianming. Together, we shall bring upon the desired age of conquest."

“Is that it?” Ittya muttered, “She is stronger than me, and I shall use deception and treachery for victory—is that what you suggested, Gisella?"

“Yes. It is the only way—any other way, and we shall all die. But that is for the future; for now, we must establish our base."

Ittya sighed. Her master never said outrageous things; if she does, then they are serious. A human stronger than her, the dragon emperor, her fist clenched. No, it was a lie. She was mightiest, the conqueror of Hell, the conqueror of the first of the Eight Greater Labyrinths.