Children of the Holy Emperor - Chapter 384



Only Noblemtl

384. Collision (1)

‘Should I ask someone for help?’

Owen paced in front of the strange border with an anxious look on his face.

‘Brother Masain! If you were here, you might have told me a way to turn the situation around!’

As soon as I thought about it, I wanted to run out and find him right then and there.

But, I can’t leave this place alone, leaving my father and Mores in such an anxious state!

“Is there anyone outside? Your Majesty! Louis!”

Owen shouted loudly toward the door several times, but strangely, there was no sign of Louis, who was clearly in the office right next door.

And that’s not all. The hallway, which would normally be bustling with the sounds of employees, was also quiet, as if people had suddenly disappeared.

It felt as if the temporary treatment room itself had become a place that did not exist in reality, or as if I had been pushed to somewhere far beyond the scope of human perception.

How long had he been standing guard in front of that gray, faded space?

Twinkle.

Suddenly, the boy lying in bed opened his eyes as if it were a lie.

“Hey, Mores! You… … !”

Owen called out to him, smiling.

But Owen was about to head straight for the bed, but he soon flinched back and trailed off. He realized that the boundary of the strange space was still there.

It seemed like this strange situation wasn’t completely over yet. Above all, the boy’s state when he opened his eyes seemed very strange.

‘… …?!’

Mores stared straight ahead for a moment with his eyes wide open, then slowly began to get up with a blank expression on his face.

But the appearance looks very strange, as if a squeaking mechanical doll.

‘Why is that guy acting like that all of a sudden?’

Owen felt goosebumps rise on his skin without him knowing. At first glance, the boy’s body looked cold and solid, as if it were made entirely of inorganic matter rather than a living organism.

In the midst of that lifeless appearance, the only thing that seemed alive were the boy’s two eyes.

The bright gray eyes, shining brightly, emit a strange silver light in the dark shadows of the backlight.

The sight was unfamiliar to Owen, yet not at all unfamiliar. Wasn’t the state of Sung-hwang, who had been frozen in a daze since earlier, similar to this?

Above all, those eyes-

The bright light shining alone in the darkness reminded me of a mysterious friend who would occasionally emit a strange light in the dungeon.

-Let’s go to the middle!

-Hey! Don’t jump out carelessly, newbie! It’s dangerous!

?!????

The image of a small mountain goat running forward without hesitation, making cute footsteps, suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘… Newbie?’

No, but-

Owen shook his head.

‘Am I out of my mind? Why am I suddenly thinking of some random guy? Right now, my father and Mores’ business is more urgent than anything else!’

It was just then.

The boy who had been staring blankly ahead suddenly rolled his eyes and looked at the saint next to him.

* * *

[why!]

Owen probably had no idea.

But as soon as Seongjin opened his eyes, he was suddenly venting his anger towards Seonghwang.

[Why on earth did you do that! I thought I was leaving everything up to my own judgment!]

Was it because of the Demon King’s sacrifice that he was not aware of? Because his emotions were so intense, Sungjin opened his eyes with a part of his consciousness that he usually completely suppressed. Because of that, he is currently a little confused about who he is.

So, for the first time since I opened my eyes in this world, I actively shot out thoughts using the salt crystals while maintaining a clear consciousness.

[Why did you do that! Weren’t you the one who said that two oracles cannot coexist at the same time?]

As the fragments of personality that had been suppressed for so long are revealed, an accurate perception of the current situation naturally also surfaces.

Thanks to this, Seongjin was able to clearly recognize that the disturbance that had occurred earlier was Seonghwang’s doing.

[To avoid a clash of perceptions, one of the two must completely give up their will for the future! And hasn’t that always been the case? So why, at this crucial moment, do you suddenly step forward and interrupt me?]

The person before his eyes is someone who can understand and control all the affairs of the world if he so desires.

So, there is no one else in the world that Seongjin can freely question and question other than this person.

[If only I had just killed that guy, many of my problems would have been solved smoothly!]

I was so angry.

The target was narrowly missed. Because of this, the most ideal future that Sungjin had been thinking of disappeared so vainly by just a single point!

[To Sisley! To Logan! And to you! There could be no doubt that it was a much better future!]

It was an unprecedentedly strong backlash.

However, Seonghwang seemed to have expected this and just looked at Seongjin without answering.

[After all, if this was what you were going to do, then why on earth did you do this to me… …!]

Seongjin was currently overwhelmed by a strange sense of betrayal and frustration. It wasn’t just because his will and Seonghwang’s were in direct conflict.

Seongjin, who now has a personality and memories, albeit imperfect, knew what kind of burden Seonghwang had to bear in order to stop him.

That made me even angrier, because I could clearly see what price he would have to pay for this!

[What on earth do you want? Why do you insist on making the cause and effect so complicated when the easiest path is available? What more do you want to add to the burden you have already carried? What on earth are they all!]

It was such a subtle causality that even Sungjin had a hard time grasping it right away. Even if he twisted and rolled such a small causality, the ripple effect of exercising power directly with his soul would be enormous.

It was truly infuriating. There is a limit to how foolish a person can be!

[You want to converge all those branches of causality to one point? Your greed is too much! It’s not like you don’t know! There is no such thing as a perfect future in the world where nothing is sacrificed!]

Blink.

Then, the saint who had not moved at all until then slowly opened his eyelids.

But his mind was actually filled with other thoughts.

Yes. The future of that evil thing was also precious to you. That is why, even though you unconsciously anticipated it and prepared for it, the unexpected sacrifice it showed was so shocking.

[… son.]

Seonghwang paused for a moment to consider his words, then called out to Seongjin, who was extremely agitated, as if to soothe him.

[You are the Oracle of the next generation, and your will will be of the utmost priority in all that will happen in the future. However, you must know this for sure. Only when you look at the world with the eyes of a perfect Oracle can you understand all the causes that have led to the current results and interfere with them in the way you wish.]

[Without a doubt, I have been the perfect oracle and have moved all the causal chains so far. I even erased my own memories every time, just in case the results were even slightly distorted! Are you trying to say that ‘I’ could have predicted that you would intervene arbitrarily? In the end, all of these things are the results that ‘I’ wanted?]

[That’s not what I meant.]

[then……!]

[I was just saying that your judgment as an oracle may be a little different from your current self, who still maintains a little bit of personal will.]

Until now, Sungjin hadn’t really made a big distinction between the two. But today, he finally got to experience that fact.

‘I’ probably anticipated the Demon King’s actions and prepared for them.

But, wasn’t I completely unaware until just now that the Demon King was prepared to make such a sacrifice? Because I didn’t want it at all, I didn’t even consider the possibility that my retinue would go against my will.

[That’s the Oracle’s original perspective. If you try to enforce a clear will from the beginning, it becomes impossible to see everything.]

It is extremely difficult to maintain that kind of gaze for a long time, Seonghwang added.

[Because unless one completely eradicates one’s natural will and emotions, humans will never be able to remain rational in the face of all that causal whirlwind.]

Seongjin thought about his words for a moment. Then he suddenly got angry again.

[But back then, I made an extremely rational and reasonable decision! And I still think the same! Killing the puppeteer was the only choice for everyone in Seonghwangga!]

[Okay. Then I’ll ask.]

Despite Seongjin’s strong protest, Seonghwang was not flustered and continued speaking in a soft voice.

[Son. Was that the best choice, after considering your own safety sufficiently?]

[…yes?]

[At that moment when you decided to take the puppeteer’s life, in the future that your thoughts had drawn, were you also existing together with everyone else?]

[that…….]

Seongjin was speechless for a moment.

Of course I thought it could be dangerous. But I did it because I calculated that the value of what I gained would be just as great as the value of what I lost.

But now that I think about it carefully, there is something that is a bit bothersome.

‘To be honest, I did have some personal grudge against the puppeteer.’

Even if the world were to become one without puppeteers, another danger of equal magnitude would inevitably arise.

So, if you ask whether it is the most perfect and efficient choice for the future, there may be some differences of opinion depending on one’s perspective.

[But for Sisley and Logan, that is much… … .]

As Seongjin muttered stubbornly, Seonghwang slowly shook his head.

[You know the answer to that too. Do you really think that those kids are half-brothers who can’t even take care of themselves without your help?]

[… … .]

Seongjin remained silent for a moment, then slowly turned his gaze away with a slightly softened attitude.

[… Well, I get what you’re saying. But from now on, don’t interfere with me like this again. I can do it better next time.]

[… … .]

[So, what I’m saying is, don’t waste the little remaining karma like that. Do you understand?]

Then, the Holy Emperor sent a wave that was gently shaking. It was proof that although he had lost some control of his body due to slightly deviating from the laws of the world, his emotions were still as active as ever.

But along with that faint smile, the emotion that was simultaneously conveyed from the thought was a strange bitterness.

[How far are you willing to go to struggle alone? Why, from now on, not only will you not be satisfied with erasing your memories, but you also plan on practicing killing your own emotions even more perfectly?]

[… … .]

[I want to believe that in the end, you won’t make the same choice as your grandmother.]

Seongjin’s eyes, which had been completely expressionless, only then began to shake slightly.

Because the current Sungjin never knew what choices the previous Oracle made and what the ultimate results were.

[… Well, let’s move on from what’s already happened. The problem is what comes next.]

Seongjin quickly called attention to himself.

It wasn’t just that he narrowly missed the puppet master. Recently, the position of the Holy Emperor as the guardian of the dimension was in great danger, as he was constantly by Sungjin’s side and neglected his duty of taking care of the Delcross dimension.

However, those who invaded this place would not tolerate the situation of the city’s emperor.

As those who thought they had seized the opportunity launched a more aggressive offensive than usual, Seonghwang had no choice but to hold out while delaying a response as much as possible and twisting the flow of time.

If he tries to sneak in again and deal with these, this time he will have to deal with an offensive that is incomparable to the large-scale air raids that occurred before.

[Considering what happened today, this time the meeting of six will definitely not stay still. Why on earth did they do something like that?]

But even with all these karmic retributions before his eyes, the saint simply responded calmly.

[There’s no need to worry. Everything has already been prepared.]

[… Contrast? You say that even after seeing that mess?]

I’m not a kid who piles up a mountain of homework during the summer and then digs it out the day before school starts.

But the king really seemed to be indifferent to this chaos.

[Everything is still completely under my control. Don’t worry too much.]

Seonghwang, who had responded like that, moved his stiff facial muscles and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

[You’re still 650 years too young to be worrying about such things.]

Seongjin was dumbfounded.

[…I’m definitely trying to win by at least 10 years in terms of age.]

Eventually, Seongjin suppressed his anger and muttered.

Logan and Dak do exactly the same thing. How can they all be so consistent?

* * *

Woof!

Suddenly Mores crouched down and retched loudly.

“… … !”

At the same time, the boundary that was right in front of my eyes collapses as if it were a lie, and the space that had turned gray regains its usual presence.

Owen ran towards the boy, startled.

“Mores! Are you okay? What’s going on?!”

But wasn’t the boy, with his mouth shut and head down, urgently gesturing somewhere with one hand?

“ah……!”

“Huh? What?”

“Father… eww!”

“… … !?”

Owen was confused, but soon he understood what Mores really meant.

Slurp-

Until then, the body of the saint, which had been sitting stiffly, suddenly seemed to lose the strength it had been supporting and slowly collapsed to the side.

Thud!

“Father!? What the heck is this… … .”

Owen held him back in confusion, while Mores struggled to catch his breath and continued speaking.

“Katrina, call the captain. Now!”

“…Chief Katrina?”

“Yeah. And, Eddie… … .”

After saying that, Mores lay down on one side of the bed and suppressed the nausea that was creeping up on him for a moment.

“Call Edith here, right now!”