Chapter 244
“Nivalis is innocent. They simply did what was necessary for the sake of the Sēmen—no, the Mirror World,” Melsine claimed.
“Nonsense. Nivalis is guilty. They violated the Sēmen’s fundamental philosophy that all races must cooperate to defeat the Chaos, our common enemy,” Quetzalcoatl claimed.
Melsine crossed her arms as she glared at Quetzalcoatl and said, “Hmph. Nivalis has not violated the Sēmen’s philosophy, Consul Quetzalcoatl.”
“What?”
“The Sēmen has officially acknowledged Underground just now. In other words, Underground was still an illegal confederation when Nivalis had invaded the Capital.” Melsine smiled wickedly as she stared at Seong-Hwi and the group of humans and remarked, “Nivalis simply subjugated an irreverent force that had been preparing to wage war on the superior races in the outer zones. Humans should be the ones to be put on trial for killing the dragons who tried to stop them.”
The humans were enraged and dumbfounded by Melsine’s statement. Anyone could see that her fallacious claims were to avoid responsibility.
“Hah, what a load of bullshit!”
“What do you mean, we tried to wage war against the superior races?!”
“Do you think we’re crazy?!”
Seong-Hwi smirked and thought, I knew she would try this.
Melsine’s eyebrow twitched from seeing Seong-Hwi’s behavior and asked, “What’s so funny, human?”
“Oh, was that not a joke? What’s bad about laughing at a hilarious joke?” Seong-Hwi replied.
“Gahahaha! Our sense of humor matches. No one’s stopping you from laughing. Not even a consul of the Sēmen can restrict laughter,” Quetzalcoatl said to provoke Melsine.
Seong-Hwi stared at Quetzalcoatl and thought, He is Quetzalcoatl, a consul who was formerly a member of Redeo. An enemy of an enemy is a friend.
His eyes shone as he recalled the information he had received from Jurie and said respectfully, “I would like to make something clear, Consul Quetzalcoatl.”
“Hm? What is it?” Quetzalcoatl asked.
“If Nivalis is declared guilty, who will be punished? The clan leader, Biphatogenes, is dead.”
“Oh? Come to think of it, you have a good point. Matters of responsibility are important. Do you have something in mind?”
Seong-Hwi nodded and replied, “There is a certain saying in human society. If a dog with no leash bites a person, both that dog and its owner should be beaten senselessly.”[1]
The humans whispered among each other.
“Did we have a saying like that?”
“Who knows? Maybe Korea does.”
“I’d expect nothing less from the country that Lee Kang-San is from.”
Quetzalcoatl smiled widely and shouted, “Gahahaha! That’s a great saying! I would love to tell Master Una!”
“Meow? Beat a dog senselessly? Count me in!” Dodo remarked as her eyes shone.
“You mean to say that Echion holds responsibility for Nivalis’s actions,” Cassis said as they nodded.
Melsine naturally refuted, “Nonsense! Nivalis is Nivalis! They have no relation to Echion!”
Everyone knew that Nivalis was under Echion’s banner. Melsine was practically burying her head in the sand like an ostrich. However, Seong-Hwi smiled in satisfaction upon hearing that and nodded.
“Did you hear that? I told you. You guys are expendable. So much for your trust,” he said as he turned to the three dragons wrapped by Bulgasal’s chain whip and the Chains of Sin.
“Madam... Melsine,” Shasamond mumbled, biting her lip as she stared at Melsine.
“H-hehe... Please tell us... It’s not true,” Shuten said as he shook his head in disbelief.
“Sniff, waaaaahhh!” Sessegnon cried as tears and snot poured from her eyes and nose.
However, Melsine did not even glance at the three dragons, maintaining her cold expression.
Seong-Hwi stared at Melsine and responded, “If Echion and Nivalis have no relations whatsoever... then the rights to the land, dungeons, and other assets owned by Nivalis now belong to the Union.”
Melsine was lost for words momentarily. “What?”
“He is correct, by right. There is nothing wrong with the victor of a war to take its spoils.” Cassis continued sternly, “But before that, he will have to prove that Nivalis is guilty.”
All eyes shifted to Seong-Hwi, and the humans stared at him with sparkling eyes. It was now clear to everyone in the grand conference hall who was leading the trial.
Please, RB!
I might die from frustration if we’re left empty-handed!
You have a way to turn this in our favor, right?
Seong-Hwi remained silent, only staring at the three dragons. His eyes grew redder as he began to exude bloodlust.
Seeing that, Melsine giggled and said, “Hohoho, what’s wrong? Are you unable to prove Nivalis’s sins? Of course, you can’t! They are innocent!”
Just then, someone whom no one expected to speak up spoke. “Nivalis is... guilty.”
***
“What?” Melsine said, staring at Shasamond.
Shasamond ignored Melsine and turned to her younger siblings.
“Sister... Urgh, what are you saying?”
“Waaaaahhh! U-unnie! It hurts so much!”
Shasamond then turned to Seong-Hwi, who withdrew his bloodlust and nodded, canceling the Chains of Sin.
I’m counting on you... to keep your promise, she thought as she looked into the human’s black eyes.
She could not read any emotions or thoughts from the abyssal eyes, but she had no other choice. Now that Echion had abandoned Nivalis, she needed to save herself and her younger siblings.
She steeled her resolve and said to the consuls, “My father, Biphatogenes, simply harbored ill feelings toward Underground. He said... he would eradicate humanity and write history.”
“Meow?” Dodo blinked repeatedly as she tilted her head.
“Hah, the lunatic,” Quetzalcoatl cursed.
Melsine’s face grew paler each second as she glared at Shasamond.
“Write history... using not the Chaos, but humanity?” Cassis mumbled seriously, “This is... an unforgivable sin.”
The humans couldn't understand the details, but could tell that it was a serious matter and that the situation was veering in favor of humanity.
“What are they talking about?”
“I have no idea.”
“Whatever the case... I think it’s good for us.”
Seong-Hwi turned to Bafor, who nodded.
An unforgivable sin is exactly as it sounds. Not only that, but the confession came from a core executive of Nivalis and Biphatogenes’s eldest daughter. What will you do now? Seong-Hwi thought as he smiled inwardly and stared at Melsine.
She couldn’t easily find the right words; it was only natural, since any careless act of defense could impact her and Echion. An unforgivable sin referred to when unique caliber holders hunted other races or their own, not for eradicating the Chaos or excavating dungeons, but purely for acquiring causality.
The act was similar to burning fossil fuels when renewable energy was ready and available, purely because it was easier and quicker. Both yielded energy, but differed in public reception.
According to Lord Bafor, the Sēmen takes that matter extremely seriously.
The Sēmen’s philosophy may have thinned, but their ideology, which acted as the pillar of the organization, could never change. The Sēmen advocated for the cooperation of all races to eradicate the Chaos. If a unique caliber holder were to try to obliterate a race inferior to them, purely to write history and acquire causality, the Sēmen saw the act as the same as eating one’s own flesh. Hence, they thoroughly regulated the matter, deeming it an unforgivable sin.
It might have been overlooked if Biphatogenes had come up with a half-decent justification for writing the history, but there’s no salvaging this now that a whistleblower has emerged.
Superficially speaking, the Second Fiend, Curiositas, had nothing to do with the World Tree War. Only a select few knew that he was the one who had confused the World Tree and caused the war, but it was never made public because there was no proof.
On the other hand, the daughter of Biphatogenes had testified to four consuls of the Sēmen that Nivalis had attacked the Capital purely for the purpose of acquiring causality. As for Biphatogenes, he couldn’t defend himself because Lee Kang-San had killed him.
Biphatogenes, you moron! Why would you outright say such a thing?! Even if it was in front of your daughter?! Melsine shouted inwardly, biting her lip.
Biphatogenes was a social climber. He had waged war against Gula of Cadaver, hoping for it to become the starting point of the great history known as the Great Dragon-Demon War. His star’s magnitude would have been enhanced by two if things had gone his way. He grew impatient after losing the opportunity and made the mistake of underestimating his enemy.
Melsine barely found the words to say, “She is... lying. Biphatogenes simply wished to shut down the conspiracies of the illegal confederation before it happened. He would never commit the unforgivable sin—”
“We will see about that,” Cassis interjected as they flew toward Shasamond and placed themselves over her head.
Cassis shone with a brass-colored light, activating an S-rank mind-reading skill.
[Activating Skill: Repeto.]
Shasamond’s memories flowed inside Cassis. Cassis removed themselves from Shasamond’s head moments later, and Shasamond swayed as she fell to her knees, groaning.
“Sister!”
“Hurgh! Unnie!”
Cassis stared at Shasamond and Seong-Hwi standing beside her and declared, “I, Consul Cassis Great Helm, guarantee that Biphatogenes has committed the unforgivable sin.”
***
“On behalf of the Sēmen, I sincerely apologize for failing to figure out Nivalis’s scheme in advance, humans,” Cassis said to the humans gathered in the hall.
The humans reacted to their apology in various ways—biting their lip, crying, mumbling curses, clenching their fists, and more.
“Mmm... I, Quetzalcoatl Intellectus, also apologize. I feel strongly responsible as a fellow dragon.”
“Dodo’s sorry, too.”
The humans were given apologies from three consuls of the Sēmen, which they had never even dreamed of receiving. Although it was highly unprecedented, laws wouldn’t exist if everything could be resolved with an apology.
Too little, too late!
I never expected that consuls of the Sēmen... would ever apologize.
That won’t bring back our dead clansmen!
“Nivalis has been proven guilty,” remarked Bafor, who had been standing behind Seong-Hwi like a pillar. “Underground demands an official apology and damage compensation from the Sēmen.”
“Ahem. This is the Union’s problem, not Faber’s,” Quetzalcoatl remarked as he cleared his throat, appearing to be uncomfortable dealing with Bafor.
“The Union and Faber have a blood alliance by the name of Underground. The pains of our sworn brothers and sisters are our own,” Bafor replied firmly.
The humans’ expressions brightened. They had lost Lee Kang-San, their World Ranker. Bafor could have broken that alliance or strong-armed a re-negotiation because of it, but he had stepped up to protect the Union. Of course, Bafor momentarily had such thoughts, but swept them aside as soon as Seong-Hwi showed the leaders of Underground his star.
Seong-Hwi. I am glad that I can finally repay the debt I owe you for saving Lilar, Bafor thought.
Not only was Seong-Hwi his daughter’s savior, but he was a human superstar whose growth speed was faster than even that of Lee Kang-San. He was a future World Ranker whose future Bafor was looking forward to. It was more than enough of a reason to maintain their alliance.
Elementum and Irura also protected the Union.
“I, Elementum, also demand an official apology and damage compensation from the Sēmen as the representative of Animismus.”
“Viridis feels the same way.”
The people’s minds were filled with various emotions and feelings of dependence as they looked at the backs of Bafor, Elementum, Irura, and Cheon Seong-Hwi.
Has there ever been... something like this?
They are our allies!
We have allies now.
Our days of having no hope to defend ourselves are over!
Cassis looked at the four individuals and remarked, “Your demands are valid. I deem all assets of Nivalis, including land, dungeons, and items, the property of the Union.”
“That is a given. Those assets no longer belong to anyone, after all,” Seong-Hwi said as he smiled at Melsine, giving him a death glare.
“Hmm, it appears you have something you wish to demand from the Sēmen,” Quetzalcoatl said.
“I do,” Seong-Hwi replied immediately.
All the attention was now on Seong-Hwi, wondering what he would demand from the Sēmen. Whether it be Coins, high-ranking dungeons, or information about rare traits, it would have to be for the sake of the Union.
As if shattering the severely tense atmosphere, Seong-Hwi demanded, “I request that Underground be given the right to use Pangaea from Guardian Titan Grandis, the First Lord.”
The grand conference hall grew deathly silent from shock.
1. I don’t know if this is a real saying, but it sounds made-up. ☜