MTLNOVEL Chapter 312
Chapter 313. The Whole World is Dad (2)
The Dragon Knight, who had escaped from Keter, immediately arrived at the royal palace and sought out Crown Prince Rukan.
“……?!”
The garden where Crown Prince Rukan was located was strange. From the outside, the inside was clearly visible, but upon entering, a thick gray fog made it impossible to see even an inch ahead.
“W-what is this?”
The Dragon Knight tried to turn back the way he came. However, no matter how much he stepped back, the entrance did not appear.
Even when running at full speed, it felt like he was just spinning in place. All he could see was the gray fog and colorful flowers.
“Huff, huff.”
In this place where even the sense of time passing felt distorted, the Dragon Knight couldn’t last even 10 minutes. To him, 10 minutes felt like 10 hours.
Just as the Dragon Knight’s mind was about to collapse.
“Come here.”
Crown Prince Rukan suddenly appeared from within the fog.
“Your Highness!”
The Dragon Knight quickly turned his head toward the source of the voice.
Startled.
The Dragon Knight’s feet refused to move forward and instead stepped back. The voice was undoubtedly Crown Prince Rukan’s, but what stood there was something beyond comprehension.
The texture and color were as if something had just stepped out of a painting, something that didn’t belong to this world.
The Crown Prince, who had been confined to a wheelchair, was nowhere to be seen.
The Crown Prince, now riding something that was a grotesque fusion of a human and octopus legs, had teeth and eyeballs covering his entire body.
Tap-tap!
The Dragon Knight, whose body had frozen, quickly dashed to the opposite side of the Crown Prince. But no matter how much he ran, he couldn’t escape the gray fog.
“You were looking for me, weren’t you?”
The thing that was once Rukan reappeared before him. The Dragon Knight was forced to look into his eyes.
It was unclear whether they were eyes or mouths. But the moment he saw them, the Dragon Knight’s eyes burst like crushed tomatoes.
Thud.
A master-level powerhouse had died just like that.
“Oh my, were you tired?”
Rukan had already returned to his original form. He then placed his hand on the dead Dragon Knight’s head with a genuinely pitiful expression.
It looked as if he was comforting him, but—
Chomp, slurp.
Teeth sprouted from his palm, and he began to devour the Dragon Knight’s brain.
“I see. So that’s how it was……”
Rukan absorbed all of the Dragon Knight’s memories by eating his brain. As a result, veins bulged all over his body.
“Keter……”
Having fallen into Keter’s trap, 30,000 troops were annihilated, reduced to little more than slaves.
Rukan wanted to tear them all apart right then and there. All 30,000 who had surrendered to Keter to save their lives.
“So you’ve become a Prime.”
Rukan didn’t just absorb memories; he also absorbed the Dragon Knight’s emotions. The vivid sensation of witnessing Keter right before his eyes flowed through his skin.
“Delicious……”
Sluuurp.
The corner of Rukan’s mouth twitched, and just as he was about to rise from his wheelchair—
Thud.
Someone pressed down on his shoulder, forcing him to sit back down.
“Hohoho, it’s not yet time, Your Highness.”
Suddenly appearing behind Rukan was none other than the Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke of Ruquer, the head of the White Lotus Association, Alkione. He whispered into Rukan’s ear.
“To become a perfect god like Queen Lilian, you must be patient.”
“Yes… you’re right.”
The Grand Duke’s words acted like magic, returning Rukan to normal.
But because he had become human, his anger did not disappear. His hatred for Sephira and Keter only grew stronger.
“Why is the Syndicate helping Sephira? Grand Duke, you said the Syndicate was on our side.”
“There must have been a misunderstanding, or perhaps some circumstances. If the Syndicate had truly become our enemy, you and I wouldn’t be having this leisurely conversation.”
“Keter, that guy has always been like this. Even though I could easily crush him to death, those around me kept stopping me. It’s the same this time.”
“He’s just been lucky.”
“Why am I so unlucky?”
“You’ve met me and become a god, yet you say you’re unlucky? Think of it as a light game. Fruits are tasteless if eaten before they ripen. When the fruit called Sephira ripens, that’s when you’ll enjoy it.”
“I agree that it can be eaten at any time. But I want to see that fruit ripen before my eyes. So I’ll send 50,000 troops and two Primes to conquer Sephira.”
Just as Daat had feared, Rukan decided to send a massive army without regard for his own safety.
This was a statement born from the confidence that even if his rivals, Rakan or Lerkin, were to ambush him, he could defeat them all.
However, the fact that the Grand Duke was by his side was his fatal flaw.
“That would be troublesome, Your Highness.”
“……?”
Rukan looked at the Grand Duke with a genuinely confused expression.
“The movements of Rakan and Lerkin are unusual. If they join hands and attack you… the absence of the Primes would lead to defeat.”
“If they come for me, it would be a joyous occasion.”
“Yes. Even if you’re still incomplete, there is no one in this country who can match you now. But what if they don’t come here?”
“……!”
“Your Highness cannot leave this garden until the stabilization is complete. If, during that time, the two of them unite and conquer the kingdom, there will be no place for you to stand. That’s not what you want, is it?”
The Grand Duke couldn’t touch Sephira or Keter. Nipur, the Observer of All Things, had come to the Grand Duke.
He had ‘suggested’ that they not touch Sephira or Keter for a year. The Grand Duke could have refused.
But Nipur wasn’t just making a demand.
‘If you endure for a year, I will help you with your plans from then on.’
Nipur is one of the highest-ranking gods among gods. With his help, the Grand Duke’s plans would become even more perfect and flawless.
‘For me, who has waited hundreds of years, a year is but a moment.’
The Grand Duke accepted Nipur’s proposal.
And the Grand Duke was bound to Rukan by a ‘contract.’ In other words, the Grand Duke’s restrictions were also Rukan’s restrictions.
“Grrrr……”
Rukan growled like a beast. A stubborn expression of dissatisfaction with the current situation.
But in the end, he agreed with the Grand Duke’s words. His goal was not the destruction of this country, but its domination.
To surpass his mother, Lilian, and even dominate her. Within him lay a twisted desire to possess his mother, Lilian.
*
There was no second attack from Crown Prince Rukan.
Second Prince Rakan had already conquered the eastern region, so he had no energy to spare for Sephira.
As for Lerkin, he had secretly formed an alliance with Keter, so he naturally paid no attention to the southern region.
Thanks to this, Sephira was given time to peacefully clean up the aftermath.
The Hell Seeds scattered by the Kingdom Army could be purified by the Five-Element Divine Artifact, Toban, and the contaminated water sources, which were originally weakly toxic, naturally purified themselves. All thanks to Colton, who, concerned for the future of the kingdom, had defied Rukan’s orders.
Everything was going smoothly. But Hisop didn’t let his guard down. He received reports on even the smallest movements within the kingdom.
“The Crown Prince has started to move, but it’s not toward Sephira.”
“Additional report. Crown Prince Rukan is conquering neutral families at a terrifying pace.”
Due to the Grand Duke’s dissuasion, Rukan had given up on Sephira, but he didn’t leave other families alone. The Grand Duke had no reason to stop him either.
“It’s unfortunate for them, but fortunate for us.”
Sephira was already busy with the merger with the Baydant family and preparations for independence, to the point where they would have borrowed a cat’s paw if they could.
At that moment, Keter, who had been listening from the ceiling, descended and spoke.
“Let’s help them.”
“What?”
“We can’t do anything about those far away, but at least for the families that belong to the southern region or are close to it, let’s help.”
“Keter. The reason the Crown Prince isn’t attacking us is because of our intact forces and your presence. If it’s not just for show, we’d have to send 1,000 soldiers, including you. Do you really think the Crown Prince would leave Sephira alone if it were empty? I understand your feelings, but—”
“What feelings?”
“…Pity?”
At Hisop’s words, the vassals made expressions that said, ‘Is that really it?’ Keter laughed at Hisop’s words and replied.
“I do feel sorry for them, but I don’t want to risk my life for them. The reason I want to save them is……”
At that moment, Anis interrupted Keter.
“Because it sounds fun?”
Taragon also chimed in.
“To mess with the princes?”
These were answers that clearly understood Keter better than Hisop. The vassals also nodded in agreement.
But that wasn’t the correct answer.
“What are you talking about? We need to absorb the families with nowhere else to go into Sephira. We’ve already expanded our territory by absorbing Baydant, haven’t we?”
“……?”
“……!”
“Lerkin is only persuading families, not attacking them, so we don’t need to worry about that. We just need to help the families the princes are attacking. They’re already abandoned by this kingdom. If Sephira offers to save them, they have no reason to refuse. Even if they do refuse, Sephira won’t lose anything.”
“That’s not wrong, Keter. But if we do that, the princes won’t just sit still. As I said earlier, if we send our forces, who will defend an empty Sephira?”
“We don’t need to defend it.”
“Huh?”
“I’m saying that those guys won’t just sit back and watch.”
The “those guys” Keter was referring to were the external forces that had joined Sephira.
The Blood Cross Association, excluding the mercenaries, had left Sephira upon hearing rumors that the Kingdom Army was going to attack, using ridiculous excuses.
But when Keter appeared and dealt with them in one fell swoop, they returned as if nothing had happened.
Hisop didn’t question them about why they had fled. But Keter went to them and said.
“Since your lives and futures are at stake, we’ll let it slide this time for testing Sephira. But there won’t be a next time, understand?”
The external forces agreed with Keter’s words. It wasn’t that they had succumbed to threats. They genuinely acknowledged Sephira’s potential.
The presence of Ivan, a member of the Syndicate residing in Sephira, also played a part.
– The Syndicate protects Sephira!
That rumor spread silently across the world.
It took less than a week for a second rumor to spread, confirming that the Syndicate didn’t deny it, making it seem like fact.
Adding to that, the rumors of Keter’s divine authority, which had pierced a hole in the sky, made Sephira the second strongest family after the Browning family.
Not perfect, but with immense growth potential, Sephira.
Thus, the external forces paid attention to Sephira.
Especially since Sephira accepted external forces under favorable conditions, those with great ambitions but mediocre strength flocked to Sephira.
“I’m going to lose my mind.”
Hisop was both happy and miserable.
As Keter had said, the task of rescuing the families proceeded smoothly. Not all families accepted Sephira’s help, but many major families joined Sephira.
Especially when the Aegis family, known as the Eastern Shield, joined, it felt like they had conquered the world.
“You said you’d come, so why are you so late?”
The head of the Aegis family expressed his dissatisfaction to Keter, but Keter responded with a sly smile.
“Heroes are always late.”
Sephira’s influence grew day by day. Internally, they absorbed and merged with families, while externally, nobles from outside flocked to their gates seeking opportunities.
Hisop, alone, couldn’t handle the workload, so he broke the family’s unwritten rule and had Mail and Anis participate in the family head’s duties, barely managing to keep things afloat.
“Just push through today. Tomorrow, we can rest.”
Surrounded by mountains of paperwork, Hisop encouraged Mail and Anis, to which Mail replied in a dying voice.
“Are you telling us to rest in peace after we die?”
“That’s not it. Have you forgotten what tomorrow is?”
“The concept of dates disappeared a long time ago, Brother.”
“Tomorrow is January 1st.”
“Ah, New Year……”
January 1st is the day the new year begins.
All work stops, and the entire country rests. Even in the midst of war, January 1st is a day of rest, an unspoken rule across the continent.
At the same time, in the Lilian Kingdom, it is also the day when Lilian’s blessing descends.
“I’ll pass on the blessing, I just want to sleep.”
Mail’s loyalty to Lilian was shallow.
But his eyes widened at Hisop’s next words.
“Even if you skip Queen Lilian’s blessing, don’t forget that it’s also the day of Keter’s first birthday and coming-of-age ceremony.”
“Ah! I must attend that!”
Keter’s first birthday and coming-of-age ceremony in Sephira.
In the Sephira family, during the coming-of-age ceremony, one visits the ancestors’ graves to make a vow and receive their blessing.
The blessing isn’t anything grand. It’s just enough to cure minor ailments.
But not everyone receives the same blessing. Once in hundreds of years, a blessing close to supernatural abilities or authority is bestowed.
And among those who have received such a blessing was Lord Basil.
The blessing bestowed upon Basil by his ancestors was the Mind’s Eye. Basil could see things invisible to the naked eye.
All of Sephira’s servants were eagerly anticipating what blessing Keter would receive. Would it be an incredible blessing surpassing Basil’s?
Especially since Keter was already a 7-Star Prime, what would happen if he received an extraordinary blessing?
And so, amidst everyone’s expectations, the long-awaited January 1st arrived—the day of Keter’s birthday and coming-of-age ceremony.