Chapter 758: Conspiracy [2]

"....Here. I don’t think they can detect us anymore."

I stopped at a narrow valley.

At the same time, I turned to face Leon and Linus. The two seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

"This situation looks more annoying than I previously anticipated. Do you think getting a new sword is going to be worth the trouble?"

I asked this while looking at Leon. Snapping out of his thoughts, he looked back at me.

"...I’m not sure. This seems to be a matter related to this Empire. If we meddle needlessly, it might come back and bite us in the ass."

"So...?"

"It’s too late to have any second thoughts. I’ve already sent a message to my parents. They probably already got in contact with the Emperor. In fact..." Leon paused, putting on a troubled expression. "...They might already be aware of the fact that we’re the ones responsible for what happened a couple of minutes ago."

"Right. That would make sense. But I’m sure your parents didn’t reveal your presence to the Emperor. They probably just asked about the blacksmith."

"Yeah, but they’ll at least think we’re from the Verdant Empire."

"If negotiations break down, it would be quite troublesome for us."

"Pretty much."

"That’s... you... What?"

Linus’s voice came out more like a shriek.

Both Leon and I looked at him as he alternated his gaze between the two of us.

"Are the two of you not listening to your own conversations? Are you suggesting that there’s a chance that we might get hunted down by the Empire?"

I looked at Leon.

He nodded back.

"Yes, pretty much."

"Mhm."

"That’s..."

Linus looked completely speechless, his face alternating between different shades. Eventually, Leon walked up to him and placed his hand over his shoulder.

"Don’t worry, young master. This is just normal stuff."

".....!?"

Linus’s expression changed once again.

However, I no longer paid attention to him and just focused on the situation at hand.

While it was true that there was a chance that negotiations could break down within the two Empires, I doubted it would go to the point where they’d actively try to hunt us down. That would lead to an extremely troublesome political standoff between two Empires.

’Normally, though...’

This situation was anything but normal.

I could tell that the Empire had some sort of way to detect the seven artifacts. Especially given how Caius and the strange guy from the Rite had managed to detect it so easily. They were clearly after it.

’...In that sense, they might already be aware of my identity. Maybe they aren’t, but it shouldn’t be long until they find it. Not only that, but I’m most likely a walking GPS.’

I looked at the ring on my finger.

Who would’ve thought that this thing would become so troublesome?

Staring at the fine cracks over it, I frowned slightly. Just what was so special about the ring that they were so desperate to have it? Not just the ring, but the seven other artifacts.

’I get it that they’re strong, but I’m sure there are stronger artifacts out there. There must be some sort of reason, and it’s most likely linked with the thing that the blacksmith was talking about.’

If only there were some sort of way for me to go back to the past and see how the ring was built. Maybe then...

"Eh...?"

I suddenly paused.

Noticing my strange reaction, Leon and Linus both turned towards me.

"Did you figure something out?"

"...Is someone nearby?"

Both of them grew tense.

However, I ignored them. Instead, I fixed my attention on the ring on my finger.

’Right, why didn’t I think about this before? Maybe it’s because it’s been so long, but I’ve almost completely forgotten about one of the cheats in my possession.’

I turned my wrist slightly to stare at the four-leaf clover on my forearm.

It had been such a long time since I had last used it that I had almost completely forgotten about it, but now...?

’There’s even a chance the effect might be stronger than it was in the past.’

I turned my attention towards the ring.

’It can work on objects, right...? I think I’ve done it once in the past. I’m not entirely sure.’

Maybe it didn’t work, but the situation was different compared to the past. I had even more blood than before, and my powers had also increased tremendously.

In that case—

’Let’s do it.’

Taking out the ring and holding it in my hand, I pressed onto the third leaf.

Ba... Thump! Ba... Thump!

My heart increased dramatically as I waited for something to happen. However, even after several seconds had passed, nothing had changed. The only thing I received was a couple of weird stares from Leon and Linus.

’It didn’t work...?’

I looked at the ring in my hand again before sighing.

This wasn’t completely unexpected. I knew that there was a high chance of failure. That being said, there were times when the third leaf took some time before working. Perhaps all I needed to do was wait.

’...In case that doesn’t work, I’ll just use the third leaf on someone else.’

That way, I’d be able to get a better understanding of the entire situation.

My mood improved quite a bit once I reached that conclusion.

’Right, there’s no need to be so worked up ab—’

I didn’t even get the chance to finish my thoughts when the world around me suddenly started to stretch. The narrow alley I was in became even narrower, and the building in the distance shot as far away as possible.

"....?!"

Startled, I tried to reach for Leon and Linus, but when I turned towards them, they were gone.

And then—

’Hot...’

It suddenly started to become incredibly hot.

So hot that it almost felt like I was melting.

The world suddenly became engulfed in flames.

The heat persisted, and it grew stronger with passing seconds. The pain that came with the heat was almost unbearable.

...But not to the point where I’d want to tear my hair out.

It was just painful enough to make me want to scream.

Thankfully, the pain didn’t persist for long.

The world beneath me started to shift, moving out of the flames.

’This must be a vision.’

I understood rather quickly what was happening. What was confusing me, however, was the start of the vision. Why did it have to start like this?

With flames...?

I didn’t have to wait long to get an answer.

"It’s almost ready."

A rough voice suddenly echoed.

Soon after, a massive beard loomed above me, framed by a pair of thick, bushy eyebrows. They were gigantic, at least several dozen times my size. Just one look at the man sent shivers down my spine; their entire presence radiated power.

’Huh...?’

And it was then that I suddenly realized.

I...

I was the ring.

"I just have to hammer this a couple more times."

Stepping back, the man went on to grab a massive hammer. It was large enough to cover the entire ring, and if not for the fact that I had no body, I would’ve most likely screamed a couple of times.

Clank!

The hammer struck down, and the entire ring trembled.

Clank, Clank—!

Each time the hammer struck, the ring would tremble. And each time it struck, I felt the pain directly.

This torture went on for the next couple of minutes until the man went on to grab a large bolt tong and tossed the ring into a large bucket of cold water. A powerful, sizzling sound echoed as steam rose all over.

Eventually pulling the ring out, the man placed it gently over the table before patting his hands in satisfaction.

"Not bad."

He bent over to take a closer look.

"...Not only does it have good spatial properties, but it’s also got some spirit runes inside. It should be able to control someone if used properly, but the number of people that it can control shouldn’t be many. I’d say that this is a decent relic."

As the man nodded in satisfaction, a certain voice echoed.

"Dorian."

The voice was soft, and yet, the moment it sounded, the man’s face hardened, and his entire body started to tremble.

I’d have been no different.

Because...

"...Are you done with the things that I’ve asked of you?"

I recognized that voice.

That was...

"You came just in time, Toren."

My mind nearly blanked at the realization.

Why...?

Why was he here?

’Wait, does that mean that the ring was originally created for Toren? Then...?’

I looked at the man with fiery hair.

He wore a smile on his face as he looked at Toren.

"I’ve created a decent artifact. Do you want to give it a try?"

I tried my best to look at Toren. To see what he really looked like, but the moment I focused my attention on him, I realized that I couldn’t see him at all. His entire body... It was masked by a strange black mist.

A familiar black mist.

".....!?"

My heart nearly leaped out of my body as I recalled where I had seen the mist in the past.

"That’s not what I asked for, is it?"

As Toren’s voice echoed once more, it suddenly felt like the temperature of the room had dropped significantly as Dorian’s face stiffened.

The mist moved towards the side, picking up the tongs and playing around with them.

"I’ve asked you already what I need."

"But—"

"You’re in no position to disagree with my decisions, Dorian. You’ve already bathed yourself in Noel’s blood. If you wish to live longer, you need to do what I tell you. It’s really all you have to do."

The room fell into a state of complete silence following the words. I could feel the tension in the room escalate as Dorian’s body tensed and his hand squeezed into a fist.

And then—

The mist slowly turned back.

Facing my direction once more.

"I’ve already provided you with the blood of the Outer Being."

’...’

"Fulfill your duty and merge the ring with the blood. See if we can create more powerful artifacts. We need to try everything possible in order to defeat them. If the experiment works, try this with other relics. There should be enough blood for seven relics. I expect results by the time I’m back."

The world froze right after that.

No sound. No smell. No nothing.

Everything stopped in that moment. I remained quiet, staring at the black mist while slowly piecing everything together in my mind.

’It wasn’t like I didn’t expect this. I’ve always thought about the possibility, but ignored it since I couldn’t confirm it. But now it’s clear.’

The seven artifacts of evil...

They were all artifacts created using the blood of the Outer Beings.

It suddenly made sense why the blacksmith didn’t want to work on the ring, and why they all held a reputation for being evil. It wasn’t that the relics were unfortunate to fall into the hands of evil people, but it was most likely the relics that had turned them like that.

The realization made my mind churn, but before I even had the time to collect myself, a voice drifted in the air

"So it’s this memory..."

"....!?"

The very air that had already frozen appeared to freeze even further as I turned in the direction of the voice.

No, mist...

Sensing my gaze, the mist fluctuated before the outline of a figure appeared. Completely faceless, the figure looked around before setting his gaze back towards me.

"...It’s been a while, Em—No." The figure stopped, shaking his head before looking back at me. A sick smile formed on his lips shortly after.

"You don’t go by that here. Right, Julien?"