Chapter 424. Individual Circumstances
After he finished organizing Seven Stars’ internal structure, Chi-Woo turned his attention to other places. He needed to meet all the conditions set by the gods to rise to Master tier. To summarize, they were as followed:
1. Become stronger than now.
2. Fill all the three remaining vacancies in the Seven Stars.
3. Embrace the darkness.
4. Excluding himself, have at least three Celestial Lights under his command.
5. Awaken the fenrir cub.
6. Correct the balance as the backbone of humanity.
First, he put the third and sixth condition on hold, as the conditions were too vague and ambiguous. They were not conditions that he could resolve immediately. Therefore, it was more effective to clear 1,2,4, and 5 first in order. He had a rough idea how to fulfill the first condition; after fighting Bael, he had a sort of enlightenment. However, it would take some time for his body to acquire and absorb it as part of himself.
Since he couldn’t leave his position right now, he thought he could go into isolation and train as soon as all the work was sorted out. As for the second condition…it was a condition that he could achieve right away if he really wanted to. Of course, he had no intention to just go for anyone so that he could fulfill this condition; he needed to pick someone with great growth potential, worthy of investing his Blessed Luck in. On second thought, Chi-Woo remembered what Aida had told him after he modified the past and returned to the present, so he immediately called for her.
“Aida. How have you been?”
“I’ve been well thanks to your care.” With her eyes closed. Aida tucked her snow-white hair behind her ear and gave him a calm smile. After Yunael took charge of the fourth team, Aida was also assigned to her team. It became the most completed team among Seven Stars with Jin-Cheon, Aric, and Abis staying as members from Yunael’s temporary team. The fourth team had a scout, three warriors, and one priest; the balance was decent if excluding the fact that they had no mage.
Aida continued, “I think we’ll be out on a mission soon.”
“Already?”
“Well, nothing can curb her enthusiasm right now.” Then Aida suddenly tilted her head slightly while adding, “Come to think of it, I was quite surprised. Considering her personality, she would have never wanted to be the fourth team leader…” Not long ago, Aida had been worried that Yunael would threaten to leave Seven Stars after being deprived of her position as the third team leader at the most recent meeting. However, when Yunael came back, Aida was surprised by her excessive enthusiasm instead.
Chi-Woo grinned. “She was a little upset, but after talking it out, she perfectly understood my decision”
“No!” Aida immediately cried out, as if she was telling him to stop with the fucking bullshit. “No, that’s not it. No matter how well you try to convince her, that child never listens. Her parents and I both gave up a long time ago.”
Chi-Woo was taken aback by her harsh words. What, it was to that extent? It didn’t seem like Yunael was that bad…
“That’s why I was surprised. What kind of sorcery did you use to change that child’s mind?”
“What do you mean sorcery? I did nothing of that sort.”
“If that’s not the case, there must be something else… Do you have any ideas? For example, her attitude towards you is strangely different compared to the others…” At that moment, Aida’s eyes and the tone of her voice changed subtly, as if she was looking forward to something. But of course, our dear Chi-Woo simply shook his head.
“Hmm, I don’t know. Nothing comes to mind?”
“Please think about it carefully.”
“I have no clue.”
“…Ah.” For some mysterious reason, Aida showed signs of great disappointment and began muttering something incomprehensible, “I’m sorry Yunael. Since you two are like this, there’s no…”
Chi-Woo was curious about what was suddenly up with her, but there was a more important matter to take care of. “Aida, do you remember what you told me before?”
“What exactly do you mean?”
“You said that there was a star in Shalyh, right? To look around when I have the time.”
Aida gaped in realization.
“Not long ago, there was a review to raise my tier to Master. If I want to get a promotion, I need to fulfill various conditions, and one of them is to find the rest of the Seven Stars.”
Aida looked surprised by the news that Chi-Woo might be promoted to Master tier.
“I want to fulfill this condition as soon as possible, but I can’t just accept anyone. So I would like your help.”
Aida closed her mouth. Chi-Woo’s promotion to Master tier was at stake. In other words, this matter was directly related to the status of the organization to which she belonged. She couldn’t answer carelessly.
When he saw Aida fell deep into thought, Chi-Woo quietly waited for her answer.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I said.” Aida finally opened her mouth and broke her silence. “I sincerely apologize, but I may have to take back my words.”
“Why?” Chi-Woo asked. “Did the star disappear?” Since they had gone through a great war not too long ago, it was reasonable that Chi-Woo would be concerned, since the star could have been swept away by the flames of war and burned down before they even got to bloom.
“My lord, that’s not what I meant.” Fortunately, Aida shook her head. “I think anyone can be a star, but there is a clear difference in how bright a star can shine.” Aida continued, “In that sense, it’ll be better for you the brighter the star is, right? Bright enough to clear the darkness and shine upon Liber.”
“Yeah, that’s right…wait a minute, that means.”
“The future has not been decided yet. The past and present are fluctuating as a result of new possibilities arising from the originally determined future.”
Only then did Chi-Woo realize why Aida had said she needed to correct herself; since the situation had changed from before, her words had also changed—in a better way than before.
Aida continued, “The sky is currently calling the stars.” Aida smiled brightly. “If there’s no sky, there are no stars either. So my lord, you don’t have to go out of your way to look for stars anymore.” Whether they knocked on the door of Seven Stars by themselves or ran into each other coincidentally, the stars would come on their own and fall into place—that was how Chi-Woo understood her.
Chi-Woo was about to dismiss her, saying he understood what she meant, but someone suddenly knocked, and the door burst open.
“Boss,” Eval Sevaru said as soon as he came in, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I think you should go to the official residence right now.”
Chi-Hyun had called for him.
* * *
Several other people were gathered at the official residence besides his brother, including Alice, Ismile, Apoline, and more. They were all familiar faces, and besides them, he saw several other influential figures of the League, including old man Mangil. The group of attendees were the same as those at the emergency meeting held when news got out that an enemy coalition was formed. The only difference was that the one taking the podium was not Ismile, but Chi-Hyun.
“The Demon Empire has fallen.” As usual, Chi-Hyun immediately brought up the main subject at hand. “According to the reports from our information network…there are only ashes left everywhere.” Chi-Hyun relayed the shocking news as if it was no big deal, but not everyone was like him; most stopped breathing at the news of the Demon Empire’s end. Frankly speaking, the fall of the Demon Empire was an expected occurrence. To use humanity as an analogy, the Demon Empire had essentially lost 80% of their heroes, including Chi-Hyun, in one war. In short, they were as good as ruined.
However, there was a big difference between being ruined and the literal fall of the entire Demon Empire. There was a saying that a precious treasure was still priceless even with a defect, and even if the rich got ruined, their wealth would still last three generations. The Demon Empire had almost used up all their forces, but there were still some left. A minimum number of troops were left behind to defend their territory and there were some great demons who had not responded to the General Assembly’s decision. There should be more than ten great demons; not a number the League and humanity wouldn’t be able to beat, but not something to be taken lightly either. Thus, it was unbelievable that they had been completely swept away not long after the war ended.
The only faction that could accomplish this shocking feat were the Sernitas. It seemed as if they had been watching and waiting for the Demon Empire to weaken, and as soon as they did, they revealed their teeth and gobbled the Demon Empire up at once.
“Let’s hear the details directly from those involved…” Everyone looked questioningly at Chi-Hyun. Hear the details directly? “All of you are aware that the Demon Empire captured natives and enslaved them,” Chi-Hyun continued calmly. “With the fall of the Demon Empire, most of their slaves have been freed. From what I heard, the slaves freed all other slaves to the best of their ability all over the former Demon Empire, and as a result, a large number of refugees are currently on their way to Shalyh.”
A couple of faces turned befuddled. Normally, slaves had no choice but to share their fate with their owners. Thus, they should have died along with the demons. However, they weren’t just liberated, but had gathered their strength and escaped from the Demon Empire? This wasn’t something that someone of a mere slave status could initiate and lead. In times of crises, there were only a handful of beings in the Demon Empire who could direct and lead such a task.
“For your information, I heard that there are a few great demons as well as demons among the refugee groups.” In other words, the survivors of the Demon Empire have expressed their intention to surrender.
“Ha!” The incredulous response came immediately. “How ridiculous…! What are they going to do if they come here? Do they think we’ll accept—” Mangil stopped mid-sentence and closed his mouth because Chi-Hyun was staring intently at him. “No, it’s not something I can decide alone.” He coughed and looked away.
However, most seemed to agree with Mangil. As mentioned before, the Demon Empire had captured the most captives among all the factions, indiscriminately enslaving both League members and humanity. Thus, they had also clashed the most with the two factions, and it was only natural that humanity as well as the League would have ill feelings for the Demon Empire. The Sernitas and Abyss were enemies to them too, but there were many who were particularly hostile towards the Demon Empire. Considering their long-lasting antagonistic relationship, they had hoped that the Demon Empire would face a fate worse than death.
“The messengers said they’ll be here soon. We’ll have to make a decision before that.”
A curious glint appeared in several people’s eyes. Chi-Hyun hadn’t already made a decision; the decision would be made before that? Then that meant—everyone’s gazes moved towards one particular person. However, the one getting the attention looked dumbfounded. Chi-Hyun sighed inwardly when his brother simply blinked with a blank expression. After the meeting was quickly concluded, he added, “You stay for a while.”
Chi-Woo, who was about to get up, put his butt back down.
“What are you going to do?” after everyone except Noel and Chi-Woo had left, Chi-Hyun immediately asked.
Taken aback, Chi-Woo looked around. “Are you talking to me?”
“Then who else?”
Chi-Woo stared at Noel; she opened her eyes wide and shook her head like crazy.
“Hurry up and tell me.”
At Chi-Hyun’s egging, Chi-Woo smacked his lips. He wondered why Chi-Hyun was asking when he was going to do whatever he wanted in the end. “Why are you asking me?”
“Because your opinion is the most important.”
Chi-Woo doubted his ears. Did his brother just say this? For real? No, that couldn’t be. There was no way. It was impossible. Then perhaps… “Are you a fake made by the Sernitas?”
“Ah.” Chi-Hyun spat out in annoyance.
Noel looked nervously at Chi-Hyun when he closed his eyes and breathed in and out deeply. “…People only see what they want to see,” Chi-Hyun fortunately continued in a calmer tone not long after. “I wasn’t able to directly participate in the recent war. Of course, I jumped into the Sernitas’ main camp to set up the stage, but it’s doubtful the natives will be aware of something that even heroes don’t know well.”
He went on to explain in a quiet voice, “But unlike me, your contribution to the war was plainly shown for all to see. There are numerous people who witnessed your feats on the battlefield, and rumors have already spread about your achievements. In other words, it’s no exaggeration to say that the public sentiment is now overwhelmingly in your favor among both humanity and the League, and since you made the greatest achievements in this war, everyone will admit that you have the greatest say in the post-war process. And that’s why your opinion will have the biggest influence…” But after he finished, he glared at Chi-Woo. “Did I seriously have to explain all that for you to understand?”
“…No, I just thought you’ll decide everything by yourself like always.” Feeling slightly awkward, Chi-Woo scratched his head, and Chi-Hyun snorted.
“I have no intention of doing so this time.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I feel like it.”
Then both Chi-Woo and Noel furrowed their brows. Needless to say, it was a serious and crucial matter whether to accept a group of Demon Empire survivors who had expressed their intention to surrender. So far, Chi-Hyun had decided on all important matters like this without a single exception. No one dared to express their opposition or carry it out in action. Such was the status of the legend; he had absolute power as the first light of the Celestial Light. However, this time, he declared that he wouldn’t be making the decision. He had said it indirectly in front of everyone and made his intentions clear to Chi-Woo. What he did was equivalent to an emperor wielding absolute authority declaring that he would transfer some of his authority to another, and if things went wrong, the one receiving this authority had the potential to surpass him.
Would Chi-Hyun have said the same thing if someone else was sitting in front of him instead of Chi-Woo? Noel could confidently say no. How he had reacted to Mangil just now was a prime example; Mangil had merely spoken out of anger, but Chi-Hyun immediately shut him up with a glare. Even from Noel’s point of view, she could tell the glare was meant to tell Mangil to know and stay in his place. Chi-Hyun would have probably reacted in the same way if it had been any other Celestial Lights as well. Thus, it was clear that Chi-Hyun had said what he said in consideration of Chi-Woo. ‘Then why?’ Noel couldn’t guess what was on Chi-Hyun’s mind.
“Chi-Woo.” Chi-Hyun opened his mouth again. “You told me that you came to Liber to help me.”
“What?” Chi-Woo was taken aback. He certainly remembered saying so, and he also clearly remembered how his brother had reacted. ‘Yeah, that’s what happened, but…’
“Then prove it.”
Chi-Woo’s face stiffened. It was all too sudden. Honestly, it was what he had wanted to hear when he first met his brother. Now Chi-Hyun was finally saying that to him, but he had no idea why his brother suddenly made the decision after all this time.
“You remember what I told you recently, right?”
Still taken aback, Chi-Woo nodded.
“Good. Then that’s enough.” Chi-Hyun exhaled a long breath and leaned his back into his chair. “I told you everything that I wanted to say. The rest is all up to you.” After saying this, Chi-Hyun grinned very slightly, as if he found this situation a bit humorous. And at that moment, Noel, who had been listening in silence, slightly gaped because she thought she could finally understand Chi-Hyun’s intentions. ‘…No way. Don’t tell me, my lord is—’
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