“Don’t be ridiculous! The Progenitor is dead! That’s impossible! If the Progenitor was manipulating me, they couldn’t possibly be dead!”
“This vessel was made with the purpose of sealing the Progenitor and letting them decay within it. Even the Progenitor, who possessed absolute power and was thought to be unkillable at the time, could not overcome the passage of many years.”
“Give me that vessel!”
Reaching out with a mangled arm, he snatched the silver vessel from the boy’s grasp and tried to open it.
However, the vessel wouldn’t budge.
Lucas became skeptical that the Progenitor, a legendary being, could be contained within such a light vessel, but he desperately tried to open it. Blood stained the vessel red, but he paid it no mind and continued. Yet, it still wouldn’t open.
“Why! Why won’t the seal break!”
“If you want to break the Progenitor’s seal, Royal Blood is required. Not the Royal Blood of the Wethered Kingdom. You need the blood of the Royal Family of the Rusted Kingdom, which you betrayed and destroyed.”
“Then the seal should already be broken! I too have Royal Blood! That’s why, because I, a descendant of the Progenitor, tried to fulfill my duty!”
“…What are you talking about?”
Rasmus tilted his head with a puzzled expression, as if genuinely not understanding.
At least, the boy had no idea that the old man before him was royalty, just like himself.
“I am of the Royal Family. Though I was born a Commoner, I possess Royal Blood! So, I merely did what was natural. I have the right to become King and obtain everything!”
“I don’t know what misunderstanding you have, but not a single drop of the Progenitor’s blood flows through you. I know everyone who has Royal Blood, past and present. Your name is not among them.”
“Wh-what?”
“As proof, the seal is not broken, is it? That’s strange, why would you make such a mistake? — Who filled your head with such lies?”
“Im-impossible, impossibleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! This cannot be happening, I, I will be King, I will be the King of a new worlddddddddddddddddddd!”
Rasmus watched Lucas, who was screaming, with eyes that held pity.
The old man’s end, after spending five hundred years, was truly pathetic. Deceived with false information, he mistakenly believed himself to be a member of the Royal Family. Incited to aim for the throne, he attempted to revive the Progenitor, only to find that the Progenitor had already perished.
Perhaps he could have been saved if the Progenitor were still alive. But that was not to be.
Lucas Gallagher, after spending a vast amount of time, failed to achieve a single one of his goals.
“Open, opennnnnnnnnnnnnnn, to prove I am Royal, a descendant of the Progenitor, opennnnnnn, please… open.”
However, the vessel that sealed the Progenitor did not react to the old man’s blood.
The pathetic old man dropped the vessel to the ground and began to sob.
“…Pathetic. I’ll grant you peace now.”
Almeida heightened her Magic Power, intending to end the life of Lucas, who had lost all his Spirit and will.
To the girl, the old man was the enemy who had destroyed her country. Her own long life was, in no small part, due to this old man. If not for him, she might have lived a different future. The thought alone filled her with killing intent.
This was not all. While Almeida was away, this man had broken into her mansion and abducted her precious disciple and her fiancé. He had harmed those she cared for. That alone was enough to warrant death.
“You don’t need to take action.”
It was Rasmus who stopped the girl, who had manifested her Blade of Judgment and was about to behead the old man.
“Lord Rasmus?”
“Look.”
He gestured with his chin towards the old man’s legs. Almeida’s eyes widened.
Lucas’s feet were petrified.
“Could it be Jared’s Petrify Magic?”
“It seems so. What he unleashed during the fight seems to have taken effect only now.”
With cracking sounds, the old man’s legs turned to stone.
As Rasmus surmised, the Petrify Magic that Jared had cast during his fight with Lucas was now encroaching on the old man’s body.
The old man possessed Magic Power, and through years of training, he had attained a level far beyond that of any Court Mage of this era. Thus, he had resistance to magic.
However, his strength had been completely expended in the fight, and now he had no Spirit or will left. The still-active magic struck his depleted body once more. The attack, launched with the caster’s intent to defeat the enemy, was still fulfilling its purpose.
“Why, why must I suffer this fate?”
“In the past, you inflicted countless sacrifices. Your sins are too great. However, you should be grateful. You are defeated by the magicians of this era and will meet a peaceful death. You will no longer have to chase after impossible dreams.”
“…So, it was his fault. Damn you, damn you, Jared Murphy! If it weren’t for you, I would have obtained the Progenitor and become King.”
Clenching his bloodied hand into a fist, he punched the ground. Ignoring the pain of broken fingers, he continued to strike the ground again and again.
What drove the old man was regret. And hatred for the young Court Mage who wasn’t present.
Lucas’s lower body turned completely to stone and shattered. The old man, now only an upper torso, could not even maintain consciousness, yet he continued to emit groans of resentment.
“Jared Murphy, I will not forgive you. I curse you. I will curse you to death. If it weren’t for you, I, I—”
Finally, his entire being turned to stone, and he ceased to move.
“I envy you, Lucas. I cannot die yet, for I still have things I must do.”
“Lord Rasmus…”
“I’ve been speaking nonsense. Well, I have no further business here. I’m sorry, Almeida. For making you go through this. You should also return to where you belong.”
“Lord Rasmus, is the Progenitor truly dead?”
Almeida asked. She had told Lucas that the Progenitor was dead, but she herself did not know if it was true. She knew the terrifying, horrifying nature of sealed beings, but she had no certainty that the Progenitor had truly decayed.
“You can rest assured. The Progenitor’s death was confirmed a long time ago. However—”
Rasmus paused. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if unsure whether to say more, then resignedly continued.
“The Progenitor’s shaman is alive and well. And the power the shaman took when sealing the Progenitor has been passed down to the Bloodline.”
“I did not know the bloodline still existed in the modern era.”
“The successive shamans hid themselves to prevent the Progenitor’s power from being misused. In modern times, there are only a few, and their powers are divided, so they are not a significant threat. Eventually, through the layering of bloodlines, the Progenitor’s power will decay.”
“What kind of power does the Progenitor possess?”
“Essentially, the shaman cannot wield the Progenitor’s power, but it bestows great benefits to the host. For example, they gain extraordinary Magic Power or Physical Prowess, or something that deviates from the norm, beyond what a human can possess. That is the benefit of hosting the power. Or perhaps, a curse.”
Some might envy those who possess superhuman abilities simply by containing power within themselves. However, power is not everything. Almeida too had moments where she wished she had never possessed such strength.
“Could it be that Jared…”
“No. It’s different. He’s natural. Power given by someone else. Well, as Wahash’s grandson and Liz’s son, he might have inherited it, but that’s all.”
The girl was relieved that her beloved disciple had no connection to the Progenitor. She did not wish for her disciple, who was constantly entangled in battles, to bear any further burdens.
“The Progenitor’s shamans are mostly unaware, and they likely view their own destiny as mere fairy tales. After all, it was over five hundred years ago.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Well, I’ve wasted enough time with idle chatter. I should be going.”
“Lord Rasmus, what will you do now?”
“Sadly, I still have things I must do. Perhaps we will meet again someday.”
With that, he left the royal family’s underground mausoleum, leaving behind the words “I look forward to that time.” Almeida, watching his retreating back, lowered her gaze and glanced at the petrified old man. In that Instant, the old man whose grand ambitions had been shattered crumbled into dust.
“…I don’t think I can beat Jared yet. I’m proud as a Master.”
The girl, a smile gracing her lips at her beloved disciple’s growth, dismissed the sandy remains of Lucas from her mind and set off towards the mansion, where her family, whom she could rightfully call “home,” lived.
—First, I need to apologize.
She was sure the boy and his fiancé, who had fallen into danger because of her, would forgive her nonetheless.
That thought made her happy and tickled, but most of all, it made her feel apologetic.
