CHAPTER 85: A LEGEND WAS BORN

A young man cloaked in a crimson cape and clad in finely woven silk walked elegantly through the brightly lit hall. Not hiding his displeasure, he turned to face the plump, middle-aged man walking beside him. "Sir Henry, hasn't the trial concluded? Why are we still lingering here!?"

With a genial smile, the rotund man interlaced his fingers and replied, "Forgive me, young Lord Adonis. The esteemed judge has extended an invitation to all nobles for a post-trial ball. The witch of calamity has faced judgment before the monarch's tribunal. It's customary to revel in the triumph of righteousness."

Lord Adonis crossed his arms, "Hmph, seems more like an attempt to curry favor with us."

Henry's lips twitched slightly. "How about this, my lord? Care to attend the play downstairs? It's a tale of Emperor Rudwell's grand adventures."

The light twinkled within his eyes as he shifted his attention to Sir Henry. "Emperor Rudwell? Very well, lead the way."

Sighing to himself, Henry smiled and nodded. "As you command, my lord."

...

Lord Adonis and his entourage entered the small room designated for VIPs. A curtain unfolded before them, revealing a grand theater from which they stood at an angle that gave a view of the entirety of the stage. The young lord walked over to the seat designated for him within the booth and sat with his legs crossed. Sir Henry stood beside him in case there was any need for orders.

A butler walked over to him and bowed his head. "Lord Adonis de Blanc, would you like us servants to get you anything before the show begins?"

He glanced over at him slightly and waved his hand. The butler bowed once more. "Very well." Moments later, only Henry and his lord were left inside the small yet finely decorated chamber.

Adonis sighed deeply, "Sir Henry, what do you think of Emperor Rudwell?"

Bewildered by the question, Henry's lips curled into a frown. "What do I think? Well, he is the greatest leader this empire has ever seen. A natural born ruler and sovereign who lead our great empire to enter its golden age."

Adonis clicked his tongue, "I already know that. What I meant to ask is, how does he compare to his grandson?"

A chill ran up Henry's spine. "Well... they are related by blood, so..."

"So?" Adonis pressed on.

"I believe both are competent rulers, young lord..."

"Bullshit," Adonis slammed his hand against his chair's railing, causing Henry to jolt. "Y-young lord!"

Adonis ignored him. "You and I both know how incompetent that loser is. Stop trying to sugarcoat it. Everyone knows just how suspicious his recent actions have been. From throwing away the Marcia family's neutrality among the parties, to excessively funding the Inquisition Knights, none of these actions have been discrete. Even this recent trial with the Witch of Calamity--"

"Young lord!" Henry's eyes darted across the room, searching for anything that could be monitoring their discussions.

Adonis smiled at his reaction. "Stop searching. It doesn't matter if they hear me. In fact, I want them to. Maybe this will finally get that cowardly father of mine to take a stance."

His eyes trailed to the stage where the lights had just suddenly turned on. "Let us postpone these discussions for later. I want to thoroughly enjoy this play."

With sweat running down his chin, Henry bowed. "Yes, Lord Adonis."

Adonis' eyes twinkled as he stared at the stage. Moments later, the curtains unfurled, and the headlights moved toward the announcer, who was holding the mic. The crowd of nobles cheered excitedly.

"Ladies and Gentleman! I welcome you all to our annual 'Tale of an Emperor' play! As tomorrow marks Sant Wisdom day, what better way to remember the glory of this empire than to recount the legends of our greatest ruler to date?!"

The crowd's cheers exploded. Adonis crossed his feet and rested his chin on his hand excitedly.

The announcer continued, "I am truly honored to host this legendary play for all of you, sirs and madams, to enjoy." He bowed exaggeratedly towards the crowd. "Now then, let the tale of our legendary hero begin!"

Adonis observed as numerous actors walked onto the stage. The orchestra's chorus rang in all their ears, setting the mood for the coming play. The narrator addressed the audience: "Gather around! Gather around! From a lowly prince within a most obscure royal court, to one of the greatest kings known to humanity, I present to you, the Tale of an Emperor by the esteemed Duke Francis the 3rd!" He gave an exaggerated bow marked by the cheers of the crowd.

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As the curtain unfurled once more, the actors reappeared, each adorned in fresh attire. Adonis already knew that this was merely an illusion. Other than the actors, a majority of the set was holographic in nature.

And the play started in full. Adonis watched as the actors recounted the early years of king Rudwell's life within the royal court. Back then, the Marcia family was merely holding a ceremonial role, with the 13 families all sharing immense responsibility in regards to managing the empire.

Rudwell, however, saw this as an opportunity. He used the majority of the time to hone his skills with the sword and master his abilities in martial arts at a young age. Adonis watched as the play unfolded, showing the young Rudwell battling against his own siblings and sparing even with senior Guardian Knights at just the age of 10.

The narrator continued, "And the young lord fought and fought and fought, until there were no more knights within the royal palace left to fight."

Adonis glanced over to where Henry was standing. "Is that true?"

"Y-yes, my lord."

Hearing his answer, Adonis smirked. "I see... Make sure to arrange a few sparring matches for me once we get back from this trip."

Henry's brows furrowed. "Pardon me my lord?"

"You heard me," Adonis frowned. "I may be just a mere Stage 3 Celestial, but if emperor Rudwell was able to beat them with just pure strength before his awakening, then so should I strive for the same result."

Henry pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead slowly. "Very well. I will make arrangements as soon as possible."

The play continued, recounting Rudwell's early years within the Guradian Knight Academy and then his later exploits leading the empire's armies against the Mok'sha legion. Every story within the epic drew large gasps from the crowd. Adonis, on the other hand was mostly bored with it all. He had already learned about most of this history ages ago; what he wanted to find out more about were the stories about Rudwell's most recent exploits prior to his mysterious disappearance.

The narrator exclaimed: "The embarrassing defeat of the Mok'sha Legion was not enough of an accomplishment for our famed hero! An army of Xulu warriors was not enough to quench the Emperor of Blood's hunger!~"

The curtains blocked off the staged and unfurled once more, revealing a new set. Adonis watched as the hologram changed the entire stage into a run down castle. He recognized it immediately. It was Dark Insights Château, which was said to have been destroyed 50 years ago due to the death blight spread by Nefsoloph, the Wings of Decay.

He remembered reading about it in history class. Nefsoloph was said to be the most powerful mutant ever to exist on Mars. Some even dubbed it 'The Mother of All Mutants.' The creature was born with strength that defied even the strongest of Stage 9 Celestials at the time. Not much was known about the beast other than its Draconic form and its abilities somehow being related to the Death Domain. One thing was sure, however. It had clearly crossed over beyond the realm of Celestials. Many heretical cults worshipped it, believing it to be a deity.

He watched as the mighty death dragon descended upon the stage. It was clearly holographic, and yet the cinematic experience still managed to scare plenty of the audience into fainting.

The narrator enthusiastically recalled the tale: "It has only been half a century since the cataclysmic events of that day occurred. A day that many esteemed historians have called 'The Day of Darkness.' Nefsoloph's colossal wings blocked out the sun, bringing about an abyss that many failed to escape from."

The play showed the dragon destroying the city of Sigillaria with ease. The death blight 'He' invoked was powerful enough to instantly kill even Stage 7 Celestials who merely touched it. After completely eviscerating one of the largest cities within the Empire, The Death Dragon arrogantly nested itself above Dark Insights Château. The crowd gasped in horror at its colossal scale.

The set shifted to the next scene, featuring a knight draped in dark armor holding a scimitar-like sword. Hope welled within the crowd. "Our hero has emerged," the Narrator yelled. He continued:

"As soon as they had reached Sigillaria, Rudwell ordered his men back. He stood defiantly before the mighty beast! It was supposed to be a hopeless situation. The Mother of All Mutants was a being above anything a mere Celestial could hope to accomplish! Rudwell, however, did not adhere to this line of reasoning... For planet Mars belonged solely to him. The mere notion of a rabid beast existing within his own domain was an insult!"

The actor playing the role of Rudwell primed his scimitar-like blade and slashed at the mighty beast, decapitating it in one move. The crowd roared excitedly as the orchestra played its dramatic symphony. The narrator continued his speech: "His title as Emperor was no mere decoration. If he needed to slay a lesser-deity to prove this point, than so be it!"

Adonis smiled. I will reach these heights someday... He stood up and signaled his hand toward Henry. "Let's go. It seems the play is ending. A shame. I thought they would at least go over his mysterious disappearance 25 years ago."

Startled, Henry rushed toward his master. "Yes, my lord! The ball is about to be ready, anyway. I shall lead you there!"

Just as he was about to reach the exit, he heard the narrator announcing the end of the play. "Ladies and gentleman, I thank you all for attending! Our beloved Emperor Rudwell may have started as a prince, but it did not take long for him to rise to the status of a hero, champion, and king. And with this outstanding achievement you have all just witnessed, a legend was bor—"

The wind whistled a strange symphony as a young man donned in a trench coat and fedora stamped his boot over the narrator's face, cutting him off completely. The poor man was knocked to the ground. Adonis, who had just reached for the doorknob, froze in place. His [Sensory-Boost] had picked up a strange signal. His neck twisted back at the stage.

With his eyes squinted, he noticed the oddly dressed man on the stage. In one hand was a large sword with the hilt of a gun and in the other was an odd-looking hand cannon, which he recognized as being from some Valkyrie series model he was not familiar with. With the crowd still reeling in shock, the mysterious man kneeled down before the narrator and picked up the mic from the ground to address the audience.

"In the name of Pope Solomon the 15th, I proclaim this land as treacherous, identified by the Wisdom Church. By his decree, all those present will be deemed heretics and shall face judgment by death. If you do not wish to die, leave the premises immediately."

End of Chapter