Chapter 62: Emperor’s Legacy [1]
In the prophecy that Gerhard had seen.
Aint Armian, his body battered and bleeding from numerous wounds inflicted by the skilled assassins, desperately flees toward the center of the isolated island. His ragged breathing and unsteady gait betray the severity of his injuries as he seeks refuge from the two massive sea serpents pursuing him relentlessly across the unfamiliar terrain. The pain from his wounds shoots through his body with every hurried step, yet the primal instinct for survival drives him forward.
The monstrous creatures, with their gleaming scales reflecting the sunlight and jaws powerful enough to crush boulders, behave in a manner completely contrary to their natural instincts. Under normal circumstances, these ancient predators of the deep would never venture far from the shoreline, preferring to remain within the safety of their aquatic domain. However, something unnatural compels them inland—the dark, corrupting influence of the evil ones’ power reaches out like invisible tendrils, forcing the serpents to pursue their prey with single-minded determination across terrain that their massive bodies were never designed to traverse.
In the moment of crisis, Aint finds the legacy hidden by the first emperor and manages to defeat them.
So there was no need for Gerhard to step forward and deal with the sea serpents.
’Was it this way?’
The place mentioned in the prophecy book was between two protruding peaks. Gerhard deliberately set his direction and fled.
With the intention of feeding the legacy to Aint under the guise of coincidence.
"Is this really okay!"
As trees broke and the earth split with a thunderous noise, Luina bit her lip after checking behind them.
The two massive sea serpents were leaving huge trails as they followed like mad bulls.
The only fortunate thing was that these creatures, not accustomed to land, were somewhat slow despite their size.
Even so, they couldn’t flee forever in the limited space of an island.
"Since we encountered two sea serpents, how could it possibly be okay?"
"Is there a way if we escape to the center of the island?"
There is. One called Aint Armian.
However, since he couldn’t openly pretend to know this, Gerhard initially denied it.
"The scenario of them following us was unexpected in the first place."
"...That’s true."
It was clearly abnormal behavior to anyone, and both Gerhard and Aint knew it was caused by demons.
Luina and Bella also noticed something was off but couldn’t clearly connect it to demons.
"If they follow us to the end, just stall for time somehow. I’ll handle the rest."
"Like last time?"
"Yes."
"I’ll trust you this time."
Perhaps because of precedent, Luina nodded firmly.
"...Excuse me."
Just then, Aint, who had been quietly carried on the sand, half raised his body.
Thanks to the emergency treatment with potions, his complexion had improved significantly.
"I’ll walk from here."
"If you wish."
The magic was released.
"But how did you seniors get here...?"
"Similar to you. During the battle, we were swept away by waves and drifted here."
"Huh? We... mmph!"
"Bella? Why are you suddenly eating sand?"
"I’m... not...!"
Leaving behind Bella, who had accidentally bitten into sand that had sprung up, Gerhard successfully convinced Aint.
Given the situation, there was no reason not to believe they were in the same predicament.
"...Thank you. You saved my life."
"I only did what I had to do. Those things were disguised as Golden Turtle Company employees and didn’t look ordinary."
"Ah, that...."
"If my guess is correct, they’re evil ones. Right?"
"...How did you know?"
Aint’s pupils dilated.
After confirming this prophecy, Gerhard had considered two approaches.
One was to simply witness together and hear the full story from Aint.
The other was to preemptively make a plausible story.
’The former is safer, but I can’t explain my past actions in preparing against demons.’
However, the latter had the advantage that if he could convince with a reasonable excuse, he wouldn’t need to hide what he’d been doing.
In fact, Gerhard’s choice was essentially determined from the moment he brought Luina and Bella along.
Among those alibis was the fact that they knew about demons.
"It’s simple. I’ve been tracking those things for a while now."
"...What?"
Aint’s eyes were so wide they couldn’t possibly get any bigger.
His trembling pupils couldn’t grasp the situation at all.
"...You already knew about evil ones?"
"Don’t stop running!"
"Yes, yes...!"
Aint, who had unknowingly stopped in his shock, resumed his pace.
Soon, he caught up to Gerhard ahead and asked.
"You really already knew about the existence of evil ones?"
"Is that so surprising?"
"Of course! Who in this continent would believe in demons and evil ones!"
Does this make any sense?
Obtain the legacy left by the first emperor and fight against demons.
Though he had heard this repeatedly from Lord Gardner, this was his first time seeing evil ones.
Until he met Gardner, demons were just beings from legends or fantasies, and even up to this moment, he was honestly half-skeptical.
That’s how long a thousand years was.
Long enough to make any adversary seem like a mere dream.
So how did Gerhard Goldenheim already know about evil ones?
No, how did he believe there were evil ones?
<What’s going on?>
<Could it be that the Goldenheim family has made their own preparations?>
Gardner seemed equally confused, as a bewildered voice, different from before, resonated in his head.
<Or could it be that the evil ones’ activities started earlier than I expected?>
<Did you find me too late?>
If that were the case, it was unimaginable how much demons had been eating away at humanity.
"There’s a misunderstanding. To be precise, it’s not that I know about evil ones. It’s that I know about the two vermin who tried to kill you."
"Pardon?"
"Recently, there’s been a suspicious flow of funds within the company. Money has been leaking somewhere. On paper, everything seemed perfect, but on the ground, things were gradually becoming strange."
"...You’re saying those were evil ones?"
Gerhard nodded.
"It was my guess that they were exactly evil ones. While tracking them, I encountered suspicious individuals several times, and once, they used that unpleasant energy."
He added that he had made every effort to find their identity and had concluded it was evil energy.
"And seeing it today, it seems I was right."