Chapter 124: The Dust-Covered Books
Ares’s mind reeled, the image of Sasha’s and Neily’s identical faces, filled with a desperate resolve, flashing before him.
Yes, she had taken the scepter after attacking him… and she had wanted…
Pain!
A searing, tearing pain shot through his head as he struggled to recall his conversation with Sasha.
“Nisha?” Lilia asked, confused. “Father, who is that? It sounds like a girl’s name.”
“She is…” Ares started to answer, but Lilia’s question seemed to trigger something, and he finally remembered Sasha’s true purpose.
The Imperial Festival, the nine Legendary Knights, the scepter…
A look of terror crossed his face, and he struggled to stand.
“No! We have to stop her!”
“Father, this… Nisha, what is she planning?” Lilia asked, helping him up.
“She’s mad!” Ares gasped, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead as the details of their conversation returned. “She claims she’s atoning for her mistakes… but she’s going to destroy the entire North Empire!”
Sasha, to seal the legendary Weapon, intended to use the scepter during the festival to open the gate to Vikarn, activate the seal, and banish Vikarn to the void forever.
But the consequence of this would be the North Empire’s permanent loss of access to Vikarn.
The North Empire had survived for centuries largely due to the psychic device arrays within Vikarn.
Vikarn was the foundation of the Empire, even though they could only access less than one percent of its power.
It was a testament to the might of the ancient empire.
Their scepter had possessed forty-nine Authorities, controlled by forty-nine Legendary Knights, seven of whom had been World Ender Class beings.
Their technology had been at its peak, their Knight units, enhanced by psychic devices, rivaling demon legions of the same rank.
In comparison, the North Empire’s strongest Knight unit, the Garrison, without reinforcements, had been forced to sacrifice its best squad to survive against a mid-tier demon legion, the Nightmare Legion, at Saint Noyes.
The ancient empire’s fall hadn’t just been due to the war with the Abyss. There were other factors, other secrets, involving the other races.
Pandora’s rampage had just been the final straw. But Sasha, consumed by her guilt, had blamed everything on that one mistake, her sister’s death a constant reminder.
And now, she was so close to achieving her goal.
“We must… stop… Nisha…”
Ares, his emotions in turmoil, his body weakened, collapsed, his vision going black.
Lilia, stunned, rushed to his side. Erlya, however, remained calm.
She checked his breathing, his pulse, then looked at Lilia. “His Majesty is fine. He just… overexerted himself. His body is still weak.”
Lilia sighed in relief, but her expression remained grim.
“Father said we had to stop this… Nisha. Can she really use the scepter? Only someone with royal blood should be able to activate it…”
Lilia frowned, trying to remember what else her father had said. “And this Nisha… she can’t be part of the royal family, can she…?”
There were few surviving members of the North Royal family. Many had died in the war, and any older relatives would have had seniority over Ares. It was impossible.
After a moment of thought, Lilia made a decision. “Erlra, inform Miss Bai of my father’s words. Tell her to gather the Legendary Knights. They need to devise a plan.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Erlya nodded.
“And thank you,” Lilia added softly.
“It is my duty, Your Highness,” Erlya said, saluting formally before leaving.
Lilia looked at her unconscious father, sighing.
She suddenly remembered something he had told her, when she was a child.
It was before he had left for the front lines. Faced with the brutality of war, he had considered the possibility of his own death, and the future of the Empire.
He had taken her to his study, and, pointing to several unassuming books on the top shelf, had said,
“These books are the North Empire’s most precious treasure. Without them, our Empire would not have survived.”
“If they’re so important, why not hide them?” the young Lilia had asked, confused.
“And if those who knew where they were hidden all died?” Ares had replied, his expression serious, a look Lilia had never forgotten.
“These books don’t just belong to us. They belong to the North Empire… If our entire royal family perishes, someone else will find them, and continue the flame of humanity.”
Ares wasn’t a particularly wise king, but he was a responsible one.
His words had left a deep impression on the young Lilia, perhaps shaping her into the “perfect princess” she was today.
But after that, she had rarely entered the study. Although her father had never forbidden her from reading the books, she had felt a strange, instinctive aversion to them.
She had never read them.
But now… the answers to her father’s words, to the mystery of Nisha and the Imperial Festival, could only be found within those books.
Lilia, her resolve hardened, left the room, her footsteps echoing through the silent palace, and entered the study.
—And there, on the top shelf, were the unassuming, thick books, just as she remembered them, untouched by time.
