Chapter 328 Prologue
Nine hundred years ago, in a floating castle somewhere on the Clorius continent, Azael sat on his throne, looking at a mirror in his hand.
It was called the Oracle Mirror and was one of the god-rank artifacts that his parents had given him before they fled to the Clorius continent due to the invasion of the primeval god. Not long after, a middle-aged man entered the throne hall and knelt before Azael.
"How was your investigation, Aghares?" Azael asked in a dignified voice.
"My investigation is going well, Your Highness Prince Azael. A few days ago, Princess Azalia met a boy in the Imperial capital of Adrienne. They argue in front of a stall over a book..." Aghares explained, but his words were interrupted by Azael.
"Didn't I tell you not to call me prince? This is the Clorius continent and not the divine realm. Also, please explain only the gist of your investigation and don't need to say anything unimportant." Azael massaged his forehead. Although he had to admit that the results of Aghares' investigations were always detailed and reliable, they were too wordy. Azael didn't have time to listen to it.
In the past, Azael was a prince of the divine race. But now, he was nothing but a man who had lost his homeland. Azael didn't like being called a prince because it would remind him of the terrible incident in the divine realm. Therefore, he asked Aghares to call him by another name.
"I apologize, my lord." Aghares bowed his head to Azael.
"No problem. So, can you continue with your report?" Azael doesn't mind Aghares' behavior because he's used to it.
"Yes, my lord. Princess Azalia fought the boy outside the imperial capital for a book, resulting in the princess's defeat." Aghares said heavily.
"Azalia lost to a human from this continent?" Azael was slightly shocked after hearing Aghares' report. He knew very well how strong his sister was. Although not as strong as him, Azalia can be said to be top-class among the people of the divine race.
"Yes, my lord. I didn't believe it at first, either. But upon investigating further, it was true. After that, Princess Azalia periodically visited the imperial capital, and I followed her secretly. It seemed she intended to look for the boy again but couldn't find him." Aghares nodded and added another report.
"Have you investigated the identity of the boy?" Azael narrowed his eyes and asked seriously because he felt that the person who had defeated Azalia might endanger the existence of the divine race on the Clorius continent.
"I have already investigated it, my lord. The boy's name is Ken Nijisaki, and he is not a native of the Clorius continent." Aghares explained. After learning that Azalia had been defeated by a boy her age, he quickly discovered Ken's identity without waiting for Azael's orders.
"Hmm? Is he not a resident of the continent of Clorius? Does he also come from another world just like us?" Azael raised his eyebrows and was curious about the boy after knowing he was a person from another world.
"Yes, my lord. But he's not like us who were stranded on the Clorius continent. The boy and his three friends were summoned to this world by the empire's mage. They are heroes summoned from another world to fight us." Aghares must infiltrate the imperial palace to investigate Ken's identity in detail.
"He and his companions have also killed several people from our race, my lord." Aghares added.
"So they have killed the people of our race in the name of peace on this continent? Did they act on their initiative, or did someone push them from behind?" Azael said playfully. He didn't look angry even though he had heard that Ken had killed people of his race.
"Yes, my lord! The empire's nobles have influenced them, but I don't know who those people are. They made the heroes from other worlds assume that we are invaders and endanger this continent. I suspect the imperial family did it." Aghares answered firmly.
"Oh, I see. Then what else did you know?" Azael felt more and more curious about Ken. He still had a big problem that only a few people of the divine race knew about. It was the mark the primeval god had given him just before the divine race could escape to the Clorius continent.
Azael has a headache and keeps trying to erase it, but his efforts always fail. He thought that Ken might be able to do something about it. After all, the boy is a hero, and he is from another world. The power of the heroes from another world made Azael interested.
"That's all I know, my lord. I'll try to find more information about the people from the Adrienne Empire behind this matter." Aghares didn't get much information because his time was limited, and he found it difficult to check each person in the imperial palace.
"You don't need to dig up information about those people. They are just ants that we can exterminate whenever we want. Their empire still exists today because we are too lazy to destroy it and don't want to cause an unnecessary fuss on this continent. Rather than information about them, I want you to keep an eye on that boy named Ken." Azael didn't care about the goals of the people from the empire because he felt more interested in Ken.
"Yes, my lord. In that case, I will take my leave now and carry out your orders." Aghares doesn't question why Azael wants him to keep an eye on Tenku because his orders are absolute for him. After Aghares left the throne room, Azael looked back at the mirror in his hand, and the corner of his mouth lifted as he thought of something.
***
One year has passed, and Azael is still experimenting so he can use divine power on the Clorius continent. Ever since he and the divine race arrived in that world, they had lost most of their power because they couldn't use divine power.
When Azael and his race arrived on the Clorius continent, he was shocked by two things. First, he felt an affinity for that world. Second, he couldn't use divine power there.
Azael tried to find out the cause and forcefully asked the native of the continent, who turned out to be very weak. The people of the Clorius continent who saw and knew the terrifying power of the divine race referred to Azael and his race as fallen gods.
After further investigation, Azael felt that there was a system in the Clorius continent that denied the power of the divine race to be used in that world, and he kept trying to learn it. After several attempts, Azael could finally use his divine power, even if it was only a small part.
Just as Azael was focusing on training his divine power, Aghares' voice suddenly sounded, asking for permission to meet him.
"What's the matter, Aghares?" Azael looked at Aghares and asked.
"Report, my lord! The boy and his friends started moving again in search of people of our race!" Aghares reported. Azael was silent for a while when he heard that but then spoke.
"I need something from that boy. Whether it's hair, skin, blood, nails, or whatever, please bring it to me. Summon Gilmat and ask him to lure the boy and his friend to the earth dragon desert. You can get something from that kid in their fight." Azael gave the order. He wanted to immediately implement the plan he had thought up a year ago. But he had to confirm something first.
"I understand, my lord! I will immediately pass your order to Gilmat!" Aghares answered firmly and quickly left the hall. After Aghares disappeared, Azael looked in a certain direction and opened his mouth.
"I wish you were the one who could save the divine race." Azael muttered.
A few days later, Aghares returned to give his report and brought what Azael asked for.
"Gilmat died in battle, my lord. But he died in a fair fight, and one of the boy's friends didn't survive either. This is the blood of the boy." Aghares gave Azael a small transparent bottle filled with a red liquid.
"Alright. You can go and keep an eye on the boy again. You must report immediately if something important happens to him." Azael said seriously.
"Yes, my lord!" Aghares answered, and his figure disappeared from the place.
After Aghares left, Azael took out a mirror from his space storage and dripped the blood from the bottle onto its surface. The mirror absorbed the blood and glowed. After that, Azael injected his divine power into it and opened his mouth.
"What will happen if I leave my sister and the divine race's fate to the owner of this blood?" Azael muttered, and the mirror shook violently. The light is getting brighter but doesn't show any image on the surface. After waiting for a while, the light disappeared, and the mirror returned to its original state.
Azael frowned when he saw that. The mirror is called the Oracle Mirror and is a partner of Azalia's Cardinal Mirror. Unlike the Cardinal Mirror, which can search for anything, the Oracle Mirror can show the future, even if only briefly and not clearly. Azael had tried it several times, and the results were accurate. But now the mirror can't read Ken's future, making Azael confused.
"I'll try again." Azael dripped blood again on the mirror's surface and repeated the process he had done before, but it ended the same. Then he suddenly vomited blood from being hit by the mirror's backlash. He was pushing himself too hard to read Ken's future.
"This shows that the future of the boy cannot be read. It's my first time experiencing something like this. But he might be able to save the divine race from the hands of the primeval gods." Azael muttered and suddenly smiled. He had tried to predict the fate of himself, Azalia, and the divine race in the mirror, and the result was the annihilation of his race. But now, he sees a bright spot in Ken, and maybe the boy can save his race and his sister.
Six months later, Aghares returned to the floating castle and met with Azael to report about Ken.
"Report, my lord! That boy has defeated the people of our race and has lost his other companions. He is currently heading to this castle." Aghares reported frantically.
"You don't have to worry about that, Aghares. From now on, you must stay by Azalia's side and protect her." Azael looked at Aghares and said calmly.
"But, my lord..." Aghares couldn't take that word. But before he could continue his words, the atmosphere around Azael suddenly changed.
"You can't refuse it because it's an order." Azael said seriously.
"I understand, my lord!" Aghares replied while tightly clenching his fists. Then Azael got up from his throne and walked towards Aghares. He stretched out his hand and held Aghares head.
"My lord? What do you want to do?" Aghares asked in confusion.
"I want you to forget about your investigation on that boy. In the future, you and the divine race must continue to wreak havoc on this continent and conduct human experiments to create the strongest race. In addition, collect world altar fragments and take the divine race away to another world to avoid those primeval gods. This is an artifact to open the portal of the space beast prison. Give this to Azalia." Azael finished his sentence and handed a crystal ball to Aghares.
Azael's hand shines to erase Aghares' memories and implant new ones. Aghares lost consciousness because of that. After that, Azael forcibly teleported Aghares to Azalia's place. He opened his mouth while staring intently at the gate of his floating castle.
"I have evacuated the people of the divine race somewhere secret and hidden. It's time for me to put my plan into action! I will transfer the mark of the primordial god in my body to that boy and make him bear the responsibility of protecting the divine race. Besides, I can feel that Azalia has a destiny with her. So he will have no choice but to protect my sister and her race." Azael said with dignity and then smiled broadly.
Azael had thought about that plan since he learned about Ken's meeting with Azalia. It was impossible for the person who could defeat his sister to be an ordinary person. After finding out about Ken and thinking for a long time, he finally decided to bet his sister and race's fate on Ken. He was already prepared to lose his life in that plan. About what he said to Aghares, it was just a backup plan in case the main plan didn't go well.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Not long after, there was the sound of footsteps approaching the throne hall. Azael sat on his throne and saw a boy with oriental features appear with two swords in his hand.
"Welcome to my castle, hero from another world." Azael said and smiled evilly. He showed a figure that looked like an evil god in fantasy novels.
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