Chapter 69
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The information available for disclosure:
Healing Technique: This ability allows the user to heal their own body as well as others'. However, it is limited to living bodies and cannot bring souls back to corpses. There's a distinction between users: those who master the technique can only heal themselves, while those who possess it can heal both themselves and others.
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Nicola spoke in a hollow voice, addressing Suero:
"She's dead..."
Everyone remained frozen, as Nicola continued:
"Hyona... she's dead!"
Everyone's eyes widened in shock, while Suero remained calmly staring at the ground, showing no expression.
As for Moryo, he muttered in disbelief:
"What...?!"
Mr. Oda stood frozen, his eyes locked onto Nicola. He muttered in a trembling voice:
"My daughter?!"
Meanwhile, Moryo rushed forward in panic and urgency, his voice slicing through the silence:
"Lady Laura! Please, go save Hyona!"
Laura hesitated for a moment, her eyes wide with confusion, but then clenched her fists and made her decision. She turned quickly and dashed outside, passing by Nicola, who remained motionless, staring at Suero with a cold gaze before speaking in a flat, emotionless tone:
"It's pointless… She's already dead."
Only a moment later, Mr. Oda burst out the door, running past Nicola without so much as a glance. Inside, Sbyam remained seated in his chair, indifferent, while Moryo stood beside him, anxiously staring toward the exit. Suero stayed silent, his eyes fixed on the ground, as Nicola continued to gaze at him with a blank, unreadable expression.
Finally, Suero broke the silence. His voice was calm, but there was a strange weight behind it:
"Nicola…"
Nicola shifted slightly, glancing at him, while both Moryo and Sbyam turned their attention toward Suero, waiting for what he'd say next. He continued, his tone low but filled with a quiet tension:
"Did she say anything… before she died?"
Moryo's eyebrows rose in surprise, while Sbyam remained silently attentive, his half-closed eyes as if anticipating something. Nicola responded coldly, his voice still unchanged:
"Yes. She spoke her final words."
Suero kept staring at the ground in silence, as if bracing himself for what was to come. Then Nicola continued in a lifeless tone, as though he were merely echoing words that no longer belonged to him:
"She said: Pain… is the beginning of your revenge. I trusted you, so don't let my death—our deaths—be in vain! Punish everyone who caused this pain!"
Suero's expression twisted instantly. He clenched his teeth tightly, his hands trembling slightly, his eyes still fixed to the ground—yet his gaze had darkened. His words echoed in his mind like a terrifying chant, spinning in his head like an inescapable vortex:
"KILL THEM! … KILL THEM! … KILL THEM ALL!"
The thought spun wildly through his mind, over and over, burrowing deep into his chest, igniting something dark within. His features grew more tense, disgust and fury surfacing across his face, while everyone else remained silently watching, awaiting the coming explosion.
—
Outside the Cabin
Laura, Rita, and Mr. Oda knelt silently, their eyes fixed on Hyona's motionless body. Behind her, a dark pool of blood spread across the ground, while yellow sparks danced around her form, flickering from Laura's trembling palm. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, her eyes locked on Hyona's face, desperately waiting for any sign of life.
Beside them, Amy sat in silence. Her gaze was cold, yet her eyes burned with hatred and fury, like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Though her breaths were steady, the tension within her was unmistakable. Laura, meanwhile, continued her desperate attempts to use the healing technique, but it was all in vain. Hyona did not move—there wasn't the slightest sign of a response.
In the distance, the airship drifted away from Arcadia, heading toward Kaisima, carried by the pitch-black night. The moon hung silently in the sky, deceptively serene, as if bearing silent witness to this cursed night.
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Battlefield – On Top of a Rooftop
In an unexpected moment, the transparent barrier that had been restraining Marshal Chris and his soldiers vanished. Everyone stared in shock, and one soldier reached out to the air, touching it as if he couldn't believe it, before whispering in astonishment:
"It's… gone? The barrier?!"
A brief silence followed, then movement erupted all around. The soldiers rushed toward the ground, while Marshal Chris charged toward the stairs, descending quickly to the battlefield.
As soon as he arrived, his eyes widened at the sight of the Onoko's footprints deeply embedded into the ground, as if carved by destruction itself. He walked amidst the devastation, his eyes scanning the scene. Maria lay face-down, motionless. Leo leaned against a wall, his face covered in blood. Then his gaze shifted to where the stage had once been—or rather… to where it had turned into a pile of debris. In the heart of the wreckage stood Onoko Borna, holding Raizo's body in the palm of her hand.
Marshal Chris muttered hoarsely, as if the words barely escaped his throat:
"Damn it… that bastard… he brazenly killed and devoured Elder Arkadius… and also…"
He looked around—at the scattered corpses, the rubble, and the blood that stained the earth. Then he whispered in despair:
"He slaughtered the civilians… destroyed Arcadia's forces… and turned the speech ground into a warzone."
He stood still for a few moments, trying to process the catastrophe that had struck them, until a voice interrupted him from behind:
"Marshal Chris!"
He turned quickly to find Ryan standing there, his eyes wide with concern. Marshal Chris could barely hear him through the haze of his thoughts. It was as if his mind had frozen for a moment, before snapping back to reality as he asked anxiously:
"Ryan… are you okay?!"
Chris stepped closer and crouched to meet his eye level, placing a hand on his shoulder. His voice came out in a cautious tone:
"Are you hurt?!"
Ryan replied quickly, his voice tense and shaken:
"I'm fine! But… Amy!"
Marshal Chris's eyebrows furrowed sharply as he asked:
"AMY?! What happened to her?!"
Ryan shook his head:
"Nothing… but she followed the airship that Suero and his friends are escaping on! She's in there… inside!"
Marshal Chris's eyes widened slowly, as if he didn't comprehend it right away. The words echoed in his mind:
"Amy… in that airship?!"
Ryan, now even more anxious, said in a tense voice:
"We need to act! What do we do now?!"
Marshal Chris still stared at him in disbelief, but his expression gradually shifted… from shock to calmness, and from calmness to resolute seriousness. He fixed his gaze on Ryan and spoke in a low but firm voice:
"Don't worry… we'll get her back. But first, we need to recover our strength… We must understand what's going on before we charge at the enemy."
Ryan didn't seem entirely convinced, but Marshal Chris's determined gaze gave him a sense of reassurance. The Marshal slowly stood up, then turned to silently look at the battlefield, as if drawing a plan in his mind.
The night was still at its peak, but it wasn't as quiet as it seemed…
—
The Royal Palace
The luxurious lights illuminated the spacious room, reflecting off the ornate walls, as the World Sages sat around the table, their faces pale, marked by fear and surrender. In the corner, Xavier sat with his eyes closed, one arm resting across his face as he leaned back in his chair, his head tilted toward the ceiling. He murmured in a low voice, as if his words were a desperate confession:
"It's over… So coldly, one of the World Sages was killed. Would he really hesitate to obliterate humanity?"
A heavy silence fell over the room—no one dared to answer. Only Leonardo broke the stillness, gazing at the other sages with lifeless eyes:
"We must accept our fate. We made mistakes, and now we must pay the price."
Again, no one responded. But this time, it was Magnus who shattered the charged silence, his eyes filled with confusion and fury:
"What nonsense are you spouting?!"
He scanned their faces, seeing nothing but vile surrender. Pressing his lips in frustration, he continued with a sharper voice:
"Have you truly given up? To that damned man?! You, who ruled the entire world—are now trembling in fear?!"
Xavier lowered his head slightly, gazing at Magnus with an unreadable look. The others turned their eyes toward him, caught between shock and hesitation. But Magnus wasn't finished. He rose from his seat, eyebrows furrowed deeply:
"Have we ever surrendered to any obstacle before?! No! Absolutely not! We are the ones who started this war, and we are the ones who will end it. We will not be the first to raise the banner of defeat!"
Tension hung in the air, until Kaiser broke the silence with a cold tone, locking eyes with Magnus:
"And what exactly do you suggest we do?"
Magnus slammed his hand on the table, tightening his fist as his eyes burned with fury and resolve:
"Just as he came to us, declared war, and slaughtered civilians… we'll go to him and end this war! We'll kill him and his damned friends!"
Leonardo let out a bitter, mocking laugh, waving his hand as if dismissing the madness of the idea:
"You're delusional! We won't even have enough time to reach Kaisima, and you want to attack him?! Suero Rashid… the moment he activates the Obliteration, this world is finished!"
But Magnus didn't back down. He stared directly at him, his eyes blazing with determination:
"Yes… when he activates it."
The atmosphere froze, and Kaiser furrowed his brows in confusion:
"What do you mean?"
Magnus took a slow breath, then spoke with a serious tone:
"Haven't you wondered? Why hasn't Suero Rashid activated the Obliteration yet?"
A wave of whispers rippled through the sages, as if the question had suddenly pierced their minds. Magnus continued with a tense voice:
"He came, declared war, and wiped out cities… but why hasn't he used the Obliteration yet?"
Silence returned, all eyes fixed on him. Magnus raised three fingers and said firmly:
"There are three possibilities!"
Everyone swallowed hard, listening intently as he went on:
"Either something is preventing him from activating that power, or he doesn't possess it at all—and the reports were a lie… or there's a specific condition that must be met before he can use it."
He lowered his hand, placing it on the table, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them again, his voice brimming with certainty:
"But no matter the answer… it doesn't matter! What matters now is using this time, seizing the opportunity, and striking him down before he can resolve any of these possibilities!"
There were no objections. No fear. Only watchful eyes, filled with tension and resolve, as everyone stared at Magnus—realizing that what he had said… might be their last chance.
---
The information available for disclosure:
"The Power of Obliteration: A power created by King Reagan, said to be capable of annihilating the entire world — meaning the erasure of all forms of life on Earth.
Its activation method remains unknown, and the most important question is still unanswered:
Is Suero Rashid the "Boy of Prophecy" destined to commit this act?
Or is his possession of such power merely a rumor?"
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End of chapter.