“Checkmate.”
Vuel moved his piece and spoke as if answering my question instead.
I looked down at the chessboard.
The black army I controlled didn’t engage much with the white army. After my calculations, I had prepared a move aid solely at a checkmate, exploiting a blind spot in Vuel ’s formation.
However, Vuel danced on top of my strategy, turning the tables on .
“You seem to already know the reason without having to say it. Strangely enough. Did you already guess?”
Vuel leaned back against the chair.
His hair had turned brown, and his eyes appeared normal. But the eerie smile remained unchanged.
“I felt it was my duty to tell you this. Because we will be fighting.”
“…Is that so.”
“Then, our business is finished.”
Vuel smirked and pressed his palms together.
“Take care, Isaac.”
Vuel waved lightly, bidding farewell.
There was nothing more to say. We had confird each other’s intentions.
Even if I were to attack here, Vuel couldn’t do anything about it.
But launching a preemptive strike was difficult. If that guy retaliated, my life would definitely be threatened, and the journey to subjugate the Evil God might co to an abrupt end.
However, Vuel, without a shred of doubt, was under the impression that my abilities were at [Hunter] level.
He didn’t think, even for a mont, that the reason I didn’t touch him was because I couldn’t win.
This is a different situation from when I faced off against Alice.
At that ti, there wasn’t concrete evidence that I was the Naless Hero, and I could still use Dorothy as an Alice suppressant.
However, my identity was now firmly established, and there was no real suppresant against Vuel.
The only hollow suppressant was the mysterious power of “Ice Sovereign Isaac”, Vuel’s strong belief, and the worry that his plans could go awry.
Vuel didn’t go out of his way to increase the number of victims unless the opponent was a hindrance.
I have to keep this confrontation going.
I had to keep Vuel under the illusion that I was a powerful figure with unknown, limitless strength.
Otherwise, my plans would be significantly twisted.
“…”
I stood up and headed towards the door.
Before turning the handle and leaving, I paused and spoke. “Don’t regret this.”
With those words, I left.
Though we couldn’t read each other’s minds, it seed we both understood when the ti for a fierce battle would co.
***I instructed Hilde to inform Priestess Miya, who was waiting on , that I would speak to her another ti.
I ordered Cheshire to constantly monitor Vuel from afar and to focus on escaping imdiately if anything dangerous happened.
As twilight was slowly descending, I called Luce, Kaya, Dorothy, and Alice to the hideout in Josena forest.
Even though I was familiar with them, the sight of the four girls gathered together was quite a spectacle.
It’s the first ti they’ve all gathered like this, isn’t it?
Each of them stood apart, not wanting to stay close together.
After Alice deployed a soundproof barrier around the hideout, I told them everything about my conversation with Vuel.
I also inford them that Vuel possessed immortality and was a being that shouldn’t be ssed with.
“Isn’t this… dangerous?”
Dorothy, sitting in the lotus position on the sofa, asked in a flustered voice.
“Half of it is.”
“Half?”
“It seems that Instructor Ron has judged that he still can’t defeat .”
I answered and took a sip of tea.
“I think he ca to et for preliminary scouting. He probably wants to figure out my combat style beforehand.”
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the outco of a hundred battles,” or so they say.
Although I had not showcased the skills befitting the title of “Ice Sovereign” at the academy, it would still be possible to analyze my fighting thods through tests or other ans.
Vuel would draw many conclusions from every one of my movents.
“He declared war to provoke . On the other hand, it also ans he doesn’t plan to kill right away.”
“Baby.”
Sss…
Alice, resting her chin on the table, called “Baby,” causing an eerie atmosphere to emanate from the other girls.
Why are they in such a bad mood…
“Hmm?”
“Do you have any guesses about why Instructor Ron wants to eliminate you? Considering your status and power, I doubt Instructor Ron would be unaware of how dangerous it is to target you.”
Instructor Ron, in other words, Vuel’s goal.
Should I explain it here?
I might as well since I need their cooperation anyway…
I suppose I should explain at least this much.
I briefly thought about how to explain, recalling the contents of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.
“I’ll start with this story. Don’t ask how I know, just don’t. It’ll only give you a headache. Naturally, It’s a secret that must be kept at all costs.”
“If Sir Isaac puts it that way, of course, I’ll do exactly that. I’ll take any secret to the grave, no matter what it is.”
Kaya, leaning against the wall, closed her eyes and answered playfully. I nodded.
“There is only one person who had a close relationship with the Heavenly Beings. That person belonged to the Carnedas family.”
“You an the family of Ciel Carnedas, Sir Isaac?”
“Yes. That person was asked to bring the Child of Light, Ian Fairytale to the realm of the Heavenly Beings if he was found.”
Alice responded, “The scale is getting bigger.”
“The ‘Heavenly Clock’ was given as a token of that promise.”
I casually flicked my fingers, letting ice mana flow. The ice mana ford a simple image of a pocket watch, which quickly dispersed into the air.
Luce exhaled deliberately, releasing a aningful hum.
“The promise and the clock were passed down through the Carnedas family, eventually reaching Ciel and Abel. By the way, Abel is in the Knight Departnt and Ciel’s younger brother by one year.”
I adjusted my glasses once.
“The Heavenly Clock chooses its Master on its own. That’s how Abel beca the current Master of the clock.”
“The Heavenly Clock… Is that related to Instructor Ron’s goal?”
I nodded at Alice’s question.
“The Heavenly Clock will enter its second phase when it detects a Heavenly being in the human realm. It gives humans ti to assess the situation, and when the ti cos, it will unleash imnse power, disrupting mana across the entire world. Instructor Ron intends to exploit that.”
Among the demons, the only one who could nullify mana was the Underground Giant.
Similarly, the Abyssal Sea Monster was one of the demons that possessed the ability to disrupt mana.
But the Heavenly Clock boasted a power on a completely different scale from theirs. Its range was capable of affecting the entire world.
“That’s terrifying… It sounds incredibly dangerous. Why would the Heavenly Beings give sothing like that to humans?”
“Dorothy, you have a brain, I’d suggest you use it to think more.”
“I wasn’t asking you, so would you kindly shut that mouth of yours, Alice?”
A vein throbbed on Dorothy’s forehead, but perhaps because I was there, she held back her anger and forced a smile at Alice, who responded with a smirk.
“The Heavenly Beings made a treaty that forbids them from interfering in the human realm. The Heavenly Clock in the human world detects Heavenly Beings who violate that treaty by descending to our world.”
The Heavenly Clock was likely detecting Vuel and his rebellious forces and seems to be entering its second phase.
“Sir Isaac, you really know everything…”
“Not everything, but enough.”
I shook my head at Kaya’s words of admiration.
I was grateful for her unwavering trust in my words.
“In short, the Heavenly Clock is an alarm bell. When its effects spread, even the heavenly realms will be able to notice.”
In the end, Vuel’s treacherous actions will be exposed.
By then, we could avoid the bad ending,「Judgnt of the Gods」.
“The Heavenly Clock disrupts all mana in order to enable humans to counter the Heavenly Beings before the forces of the heavenly realm are deployed. From a human perspective, this makes the fight possible.”
“Are Heavenly Beings really that strong?”
“Kaya, you’ve seen how powerful Ian’s Divine Power is, right?”
“Yes, I’ve seen it. So that ans…”
I spoke to Kaya, who looked tense.
“The Heavenly soldiers were veteran warriors with the light elent. And when they were ard, their elental resistances were maximized.”
“If we have to fight them, it’s going to be a real headache…”
I nodded.
“So, Baby, what does Instructor Ron gain if the world’s mana gets disrupted?”
Before the effects of the Heavenly Clock took hold, Vuel and his subordinates would secure a specific location.
That place is…
“‘Black Stone’. It’s called the heart of the world. That’s where his goal lies.”
Alice and Luce narrowed their eyes, while Dorothy and Kaya’s eyes widened in shock.
Black Stone.
A land surrounded by black volcanic stones, in fact, more like a place similar to a volcano. At its center, there was a massive lake.
If I were to use my past life as an analogy, it could be compared to Olympus Mons on Mars—a mountain so enormous that it gives the illusion of being a flat plain.
The range of Black Stone was so vast that it took ti to realize it was even a mountain.
It was confird that deep within that place, an unknown natural mana was buried.
In the magic world, there were rumors that Black Stone might have held the mysteries of this world.
“Deep within, an unimaginable amount of natural mana has been concentrated over countless years, circulating through the core of this world.”
Vuel’s goal was the vast amount of mana buried there.
“If the world’s magic is disrupted, that place won’t be an exception. Instructor Ron plans to provoke the unstable mana there, causing it to erupt, and he’ll harness that natural mana.”
He’d harness the natural mana there to create the Spear of Longinus, capable of bringing down the Heavenly God.
And with the Authority of Godslaying possessed by the Evil God, he’d destroy the Heavenly God.
In ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, it was roughly explained that Vuel planned to injure the Heavenly God to force them into a battle with the Evil God.
But now that I knew the Authority of Godslaying was in the hands of the Evil God, I could see Vuel’s true intentions more clearly.
For a mont, silence filled the hideout.
“What I want to tell you is to carry on as usual, but be cautious while Instructor Ron is at the academy. Especially you guys, since you’re closely linked to . We don’t know how he’ll react to you. And… I’ll handle Ron.”
There were two reasons I revealed this information to only these kids.
First, because they were the comrades I trusted most. Secondly, to avoid having our tails stepped on as much as possible.
“I don’t understand.”
At that mont, Luce, who had been silent until now, quietly spoke up.
Everyone’s attention turned to Luce.
Luce quickly approached and leaned in close, her cold aquamarine eyes staring directly into .
“Why are you taking on such a dangerous task? The Imperial Knights, the Magic army. The Imperial family has more than enough forces to fight. So why do you have to put yourself at risk?”
“Huh?”
“Why have the Heavenly Beings started targeting you? And why do you act like it’s your duty to stop them? Is it so ridiculous sense of justice?”
Her voice, calm yet heavy, sounded almost like a reprimand. The aning behind her dull eyes was firm and clear.
It was an understandable reaction. Luce had once told that if sothing bad ever happened to , it would feel like her world was collapsing.
“Isaac.”
Luce placed her hand on my shoulder.
“Even if the rest of the world dies, you can’t. So please… stay safe.”
“Sweetheart, don’t you think it’s ti to stop trying to score points?”
“What?”
Alice gently approached and tapped Luce, who glared at her savagely.
Alice smiled kindly and then looked at .
“Baby, it seems like the conversation is over. Wouldn’t it be best for us to disperse?”
“…Yeah.”
Thanks.
I stood up from my seat.
“That’s all I needed to say. Sorry, but I’ll be counting on you for a while. thank you for your concern. Let’s talk next ti.”
I lightly patted Luce’s shoulder a couple of tis before pushing past her.
I glanced back and saw Luce standing still, a deep sigh escaping her as if she was trying to collect her emotions.
I opened the door and left the hideout.
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