A person’s impression of someone else was usually rooted in the past. Impressions, especially negative ones, rarely changed unless there was an impactful event.
Negative emotions such as hatred and disgust remained constant over the years, whereas positive emotions such as intimacy and passion receded over time. It was ironic how humans desired good things, but they also had a tendency to overlook them.
Lilian Ackermann, from a young age, had always found Emperor Lukas frightening.
A child would usually harbor familial love for their father, even if their father was unapproachable. Yet, it might have been because of her reluctance to acknowledge Emperor Lukas’ deeds or her gut feeling arising from her Kingmaker Bloodline, but she had always felt afraid of him.
But this feeling changed today.
A part of the reason was her newfound strength. The two clashing auras proved that she finally had the strength to withstand Lukas’ might. The man whom she had always feared couldn’t stifle her any longer.
The other reason was her change in mindset. The damning evidence from Layton had fully convinced her that the man sitting on the throne was an enemy. Her conviction vanquished her hesitation, and the soldiers she had rallied reflected that.
After a prolonged exchange of gazes, Lilian slowly walked up to Emperor Lukas. Unlike before, she didn’t lower her head but confidently met his eyes.
“It has been a long time, Your Majesty—no, I should call you Father instead. You look fine as always.”
“Father? I see.”
Lukas was unfazed by Lilian’s remark, though his subtle nod indicated he understood what she was implying.
Her calling him ‘Your Majesty’ indicated her acknowledgement for his position, but switching it with ‘father’, although it sounded more intimate, was in fact refuting his supreme authority. This made her true intention apparent.
“I dislike meaningless pleasantries. I see you’re the same, Lilian.”
“I intended to be more respectful, but an earlier report changed my mind. It helped me toughen my resolve.”
“It must have been Layton. He has been snooping around while we were distracted.”
“I understood a lot thanks to that, as well as the reason you’re opposed to the Ascart House.” Lilian then looked up at the emperor and got to the point. “Father, have you been working with the Fallens all along?”
“I have,” Lukas calmly replied without missing a beat. “It has been a tradition of our imperial family to work with the Fallens since the inception of the Third Epoch, though the extent differs for each era.”
“It looks like the filth runs deep.”
“Filth? Why do you say so?”
“The Fallens are the culprits behind the Ancient Austine Empire’s downfall, but the Ackermanns, despite proclaiming themselves to be the legitimate rulers of humankind, have been working with humankind’s nemeses. How else should I describe such betrayal if not ‘filth’?” Lilian asked with a frigid tone.
“No, Lilian. They are just a substitute,” Lukas replied, shaking his head. “Whether it’s the Second Epoch’s Ardes or the Third Epoch’s Fallens, they are tools to us. It’s nothing more than a business transaction to benefit each other.”
“What?” Lilian frowned.
“The church’s influence wavers when the Fallens are strong. The wars against the deviants tie down the Theocracy and curb their development. It buys time for our Austine Empire to recover and expand its influence. It’s the same as the Second Epoch, just that our tools have changed from the Ardes to the Fallens and the deviants.”
“…Stop joking with me.”
“Pardon me?”
“I said ‘stop joking with me’, Lukas Ackermann!” Lilian roared with an awful look on her face. There was a rare flicker of rage in her amethyst eyes.
“The Ackermanns once raised their torches to rally the humans scattered over the world to establish a brilliant civilization. Under their leadership, humankind triumphed over disasters and demonic beasts. Cities rose one after another, ushering in an age of prosperity. Their partnership with the Ardes was to protect what they had created. But what about you?
“You cast away your honor and ideals. For your selfish ambitions, you betrayed humankind to become the Savior’s lackey, becoming a maggot that slowly leeched off your people. Over the past thousand years, the wars against the deviants have brought untold damage upon us. Millions of soldiers lost their lives on the eastern border, their corpses left in the wilderness.
“My friends have died on the battlefield. My lover nearly lost his life. Countless widows grieved over the death of their spouses. Countless parents saw their children off to the eastern border, only to have their remains returned. Humankind might even be wiped out as a result of the war. Yet, you dare compare your vile alliance to our ancestors’ feats. Don’t make me puke, Lukas!” Lilian furiously roared.
“…” Lukas fell silent, but there was no remorse to be seen in his placid eyes. He calmly looked down at her as he posed his question: “So?”
“…What?”
“Humans are bound to die one day. They can be replaced.”
“…My words are extraneous. You’ll never understand it. I only have one last question for you—what’s your goal?” Lilian looked at Lukas with glacial eyes.
The Austine Empire would have indeed benefited from their cooperation with the Fallens and the Savior had it been a thousand years ago, but the situation was different now.
The Savior, who was on the verge of regaining consciousness, was clearly humankind’s enemy. With humankind slowly coming together as one, it would have been in Lukas’ interest to turn against the Fallens and even try to eradicate them.
Layton and Lilian weren’t the only ones who sensed that there was something between Lukas and the Fallens. The Genesis Goddess Church had also figured out that something was amiss and had launched a secret investigation into it. What could have compelled Lukas to continue his partnership with the Fallens even though it would place him in a disadvantageous position?
Lilian stared intently at the man above her.
A long time later, Lukas offered a brusque answer. “Power and eternity.”
“…” Lilian fell silent.
Power and eternity were two of the most common pursuits for humans. Humans procreated to continue their existence, and that, in a way, was a pursuit of eternity. As for power, that was the goal of every transcendent.
Lukas didn’t elaborate on his answer, and Lilian knew that he wouldn’t share anything more. Thus, she offered her final warning.
“Father, hand the empire to me. Relinquish your commanding right and terminate all communications with the Fallens. In return, I’ll promise to spare your life.”
“Empire? Lilian, you’re my brightest child, but you underestimate me.”
“What?”
“I don’t care about the empire anymore, and I’m guessing it’s the same for you too. Take what’s happening now for example… What you’re really after is Paul, right?”
“!” Lilian’s heart shook at having her thoughts pointed out.
Lukas continued impassively staring at her as he said, “You shouldn’t have known about Paul’s secret, yet you wish to take him. How intriguing. However, it doesn’t matter. I know everything now. He is of no use to me.”
“No use to you? What do you intend to do?”
“Nothing much… I’ll just put the two of you to eternal sleep.”
A powerful surge of mana gushed out of Lukas’ body, manifesting into countless magic swords that sliced through the fabrics of space as they shot toward Lilian. An explosion followed, and everything was buried in dust.
…
Initially, when Paul Ackermann received Lilian’s plan, he thought that it was perfect due to how meticulous and thorough it was.
It was no easy feat for Paul and his maid, Liz, to escape from the secondary palace, as their positions were, in fact, no different from those of criminals. Should they suddenly disappear, the guards would quickly notice their absence and go after them.
Thus, Lilian proposed a swap instead.
She would send in two spies to disguise themselves as Paul and Liz using a magic tool, while the real Paul and Liz would escape from the secondary palace through its supply routes.
The former half of the plan went smoothly. With the aid of the spy’s magic tool, Paul and Liz temporarily altered their appearances and sneaked into one of the supply carriages. It would be too conspicuous if the two of them were gathered together, so they moved independently.
After daybreak, after the supplies were unloaded, the carriages finally began making their way out of the secondary palace one after another. Liz’s carriage was the first to leave the secondary palace after receiving clearance, whereas Paul’s carriage was still in the queue.
It was then that chaos broke out.
Boom!
It started out with a loud explosion in the distant palace, followed by overwhelming mana gushing into the sky. Countless soldiers had fearful looks on their faces, and frightened screams resounded from the city.
The atmosphere in the city changed.
Soldiers who had fought against the deviants knew that those were the auras of Origin Level 1 transcendents. The sharper ones noticed that the explosion came from the audience room, where Emperor Lukas and Imperial Princess Lilian were supposed to meet.
Paul was taken aback.
Lilian’s mission was not to fight Emperor Lukas but to stall him, for they understood what would happen if a fight broke out.
Lilian had deployed all of her elites from Noyce Stronghold, who had been to and back from the gates of hell with her, in preparation for the worst-case scenario. If anything happened to her, they would launch their attack.
And it looked like that was going to happen.
Following the intense explosion, a massive fortress suddenly rose from the ground. It was the spell Lilian was known for, Ten Fortresses.
Upon the sight of the fortress, the hundreds of military units stationed outside the palace immediately sounded their war horns, producing a deep reverberation that could be clearly heard even within the palace. Deafening war cries followed.
With this, the Austine Empire officially descended into internal war.
At the same time, Paul met with trouble. He felt a mysterious mana pulsation that shook his Kingdom Origin Attribute. He looked out and saw hundreds of black-armored imperial guards rushing in his direction and swiftly encircling his carriage.
This is bad! I have been discovered!
Paul was caught off guard by this abrupt maneuver, but soon, he noticed something that made him frown.
The imperial guards were Emperor Lukas’ direct subordinates, as well as the most mysterious unit in the Austine Empire. Yet, to his shock, he sensed something familiar from them. It was the aura of the Fallens he had sensed in his memories from a thousand years ago.
“How is this possible?”
Paul Ackermann was shocked to learn that the Fallens were amongst the imperial guards, and his shock only deepened when he learned how those guards intended to deal with him.
“Paul Ackermann, you’ll be executed on the spot for high treason!” the leader of the imperial guards declared despite having yet to confirm that Paul was on the carriage.
Hundreds of imperial guards simultaneously charged at Paul.
Fortunately, the soldiers who had accompanied Lilian into the palace quickly swooped in to confront the imperial guards, saving his life. Paul, who was already at Origin Level 3, quickly joined their fight against the imperial guards.
To his astonishment, the Fallens were far more resilient than he had thought. Their strength and recovery rate far surpassed those of ordinary soldiers.
Cries of agony echoed on the streets. Faced with such tenacious and hardy enemies, Paul soon found himself in a disadvantageous situation.
Pch!
After decapitating another enemy and ensuring that there was no chance for him to recover, Paul scanned his surroundings and found that many of his allies had fallen. Yet, they weren’t making any progress in claiming the city gate. If anything, the fighting was dying down.
This is bad. We’ll be overrun at this rate.
Watching his enemies grow while his allies thinned, Paul gritted his teeth in despair.
Just as it looked like everything was over, the space in front of him suddenly distorted. From it emerged a white-haired elder and a black-haired woman with iridescent eyes.
“Principal Antonio?!” Paul widened his eyes in disbelief.
As soon as she caught sight of Paul, the black-haired woman turned to the white-haired elder and asked, “Antonio, is it this child?”
“Yes, Lord Astrid. He’s Paul Ackermann.”
“Let’s go, then.”
“Ah?”
Antonio slammed his glowing staff on the floor, releasing a burst of blinding light that shattered the imperial guards who dared charge at them into smithereens.
At the same time, Astrid offered her hand to Paul. The iridescent colors in her eyes shone, enveloping the three of them. Just like that, they vanished without a trace.
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