Translator: Pai_
Turan’s faction had grown threateningly strong, making it difficult for them to crush him like a bug as they had done in the past.
Even worse, with the other side mastering soul magic and having seized a 'Labyrinth', if they were caught wrong, even their immortality couldn't be trusted.
One of the reasons the gods feared Monarch was because such powers allowed him to strip the immortality from the spirit forms of other gods.
“Hm, it looks like we’ll need to have a proper talk about this... Should we head back to Axum for now? Talking like this in the streets isn’t exactly dignified.”
“Let’s talk here. We haven’t built that level of trust yet.”
What made them unable to dismiss Turan’s words so easily, more than anything, was the fact that every word he said was true.
If one was a god of the Zahar Bloodline, they could use the skill Eye of Truth.
At least up to now, Turan hadn’t spoken a single lie.
“Alright. So let’s say you really do offer up that body... Even if you do, there’s still a bit of a problem.”
“Hey.”
“It’s fine. He’s not an idiot. He probably already knows everything anyway.”
Pushing aside Badal who tried to intervene, Phoenix pointed at him and said,
“As you know, this friend here doesn’t have much ti left. He got a little healthier this ti by using a workaround, but he’ll probably die within a year or two. If you change your mind then, it’ll be a problem.”
It ant that it would be troubleso if, after escaping the current situation, Turan attacked the mont Badal lost his body.
This, too, was a plan they had considered for a long ti.
If Badal were to take over the body of one of the few remaining high-ranking nobles of Aravion, his power would be far weaker than before.
“So, are you asking for a hostage?”
“I’d like to, but I don’t think there’s anyone we could ask for. You have no other family, and even if we ask for isa, you won’t hand her over.”
"Of course. Or there's also the thod of capturing Carmine's heir and using them as a new body."
“Hmm?”
“Sure, the soul compatibility would be off since they’ve been raised to match the ‘Lawyer’, and the bloodline would be different too. But at least in terms of talent, they’d be heir-level. And if you feed them the Lawyer’s magic power, even if not as good as now, it should be enough to serve as a family head.”
To think he would offer the still-healthy body of the Hosue Carmine family’s heir as paynt?
The answer that ca back when asked how he planned to capture him was astonishing.
“If we join forces, do you really think soone like Carmine could stand a chance? Actually, even if you guys just don’t get in the way, I could probably catch and deliver him myself.”
At the unexpected statent, Phoenix burst into laughter.
“No, really... I’ve thought this before, but you seem more like than Otas.”
“Not at all.”
Turan denied it, though he suspected the other had already seen through his lie.
Just as the other said, Turan had long felt that he resembled the man in front of him no, the god wearing that body.
In persistence, cruelty, and cold calculation.
Surely, the physical qualities he had inherited must have co from Talis Zahar, and yet, why was it that he was so similar?
“Anyway, if the conversation is going this way, it’s not a bad conclusion... But you still need to return Caesar to us. We need insurance too.”
Of course, since the thod of crossing to the gods' world itself was led by Monarch, they had no choice but to be dragged along by him, but they had no intention of rely playing subordinate roles even after crossing over.
To do so, they needed proper force on their side, and the strongest power they could present from Zahar was her.
She was the only remaining one among the Zahar gods who could fully draw out the power of the night hunter.
“Do you really believe she’ll beco your ally? After being betrayed like that?”
As a master of torture, Turan had at least an indirect understanding of how such experiences shattered a person’s mind.
The hatred born from that would not fade even after a thousand years. So what exactly made them believe Haroon, Caesar, would return to their side?
“She may look like that, but she’s soft-hearted. If you bow your head and apologize, she’ll give in easily. It’s not like we haven’t tortured each other back and forth more than once. Caesar only took your side because she believes you’re Otas reincarnated. If she realizes that’s not true, her thoughts will probably change.”
“I’ve been curious about that anyway. How exactly did you confirm the Sea of Spirit Forms directly?”
At Turan’s question, Phoenix again glanced over at Badal, as he had earlier.
But the old man of Aravion blood had now even crossed his arms and was watching their conversation leisurely.
As if saying, “You two sort it out yourselves.”
It seed that since Turan was now cooperating, he too found this turn of events acceptable.
“Well, I don’t really know the details so I can’t explain... but have you ever been outside this world? Beyond the Sky Mountain Range or the Snowcloud Zone. Since you’re from that area, I figure you’ve seen it at least once.”
“I have tried to.”
“But you couldn’t cross, right? The laws of this world block that.”
Turan did not reveal that he had indeed crossed over and witnessed bizarre scenes beyond.
Thanks to his vague wording, the Eye of Truth didn’t register it as a lie either.
The phrase “I tried to” might imply failure, but it wasn’t a definitive statent.
“That place beyond is the Sea of Spirit Forms. A space where all creation is transford into ‘information’... Anyone would understand, if they saw it themselves, that a re soul couldn’t endure it.”
"I see."
Turan nodded, agreeing with his words.
Back then, he too had directly seen and felt his body being torn apart, everything turning into records.
“Then is it just coincidence that I resemble him?”
“Well, maybe a tiny fragnt slipped in. But if that counts as reincarnation, then there’s probably no one among the Zahar nobles who isn’t a reincarnation of Otas. There must be several of my reincarnations, too.”
Since all souls co from the Sea of Spirit Forms, Phoenix murmured softly.
Just as he nodded, Turan sensed a presence drawing close and looked at the other.
“Sothing’s approaching in large numbers. Must be your people, right?”
Dozens, hundreds, maybe even more than a thousand.
An enormous encirclent that had been tightening from several kiloters in every direction was now slowly closing in.
It was likely a tactic devised with Turan’s detection ability in mind.
Talis gave a short laugh upon hearing this and said,
“Well, you had a rough idea, didn’t you?”
When he implied that they’d both been dragging ti due to their respective sches, Turan nodded.
This seed to be the hand the other side had prepared.
An army composed of nobles and knights of Zahar, stationed in Axum, all ard with various magic artifacts.
A mont ago, they had been unable to respond when they were suddenly attacked in the middle of the city center, but in a situation like this, the story was different.
Once the enemy was clearly identified and battle preparations were made, even a re knight could not be dismissed as a negligible threat when facing a prepared wizard.
Especially if Badal and the gods of Zahar were creating openings while keeping him in check.
“So, in that sense, any thoughts of surrendering? If you do, we can treat you quite decently on this side. Honestly, your idea just now wasn’t so bad. Even if it’s not isa, the more good bodies, the better, right?”
Offering promises of every luxurious indulgence in Axum and all the won he could desire, Phoenix said in a teasing tone.
As Turan quietly listened, he confird that the encirclent had approached close enough to now be visible, and nodded.
“So might like that kind of thing, but it’s not really my taste.”
“Oh dear, what a pity…”
Just as Talis was about to end with “Then,” he saw Turan lightly stomp the ground with his foot.
Being an experienced wizard himself, he knew that was a motion commonly used to easily cast Earth Shaping Magic.
But why use such a technique now?
Even if he could bring forth the power of the Earthmover Bloodline through the Mimic’s power, it still wouldn’t be enough to turn the situation around, would it?
At the very mont he thought that, the ground over a radius of several hundred ters sank with a single stomp.
A massive hollow swallowed everything whole.
*****
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