Chapter 60 - Episode 9. Three Fortresses Meeting (5)
Chapter 60: Episode 9. Three Fortresses Meeting (5)
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Jaehwan began adjusting the time-control device attached to the Tower’s outer wall. It did not take long.
He looked briefly toward the Inner Fortress spire, where Seolha and Cheongheo were, then disappeared into the Tower as if he had lost interest.
Watching him go, Seolha spoke.
“Is that him?”
“...”
“Is he the one who changed you?”
Cheongheo slowly rose from his seat and said to Seolha,
“...Give me a drink.”
After hesitating for a moment, Seolha handed him a drink.
Before long, a flush of intoxication reddened his face. The two remained silent for a long time.
Yet some things did not need to be spoken.
Disbelief filled Seolha’s eyes. She was surprised that the old man before her could still wear such an expression. Perhaps that was why she could not suppress the strange feeling welling up inside her, and the words slipped out.
“I came here to kill you.”
Cheongheo looked into Seolha’s eyes for a moment.
The eyes of a woman whose heart had gone empty.
He seemed to weigh the sincerity in them before replying.
“Then kill me.”
“But I’ve changed my mind a little.”
Looking toward the Tower of Nightmares Carpe Diem, Seolha said,
“I think something interesting is about to happen.”
“Are you planning to interfere?”
“Interfere?”
A mocking smile touched Seolha’s lips. It was the smile of someone who knew every possible future.
“You’ll fail. Just like you did in 《Chaos》 nine hundred years ago, and again in the 《Great Realm》 seven hundred years ago. Just like when you abandoned us and fled back here.”
“Well, this time will be different.”
Yu Seolha, Second Division Commander of Rupture, could not accept that an old man who had spent a thousand years steeped in despair deeper than anyone else could wear that expression.
She did not want to acknowledge that the old man who had abandoned everything had found new hope at the end of despair.
“Rupture will be watching all of you.”
With those cold words, Seolha disappeared. The chilly night wind dampened the lonely old man’s cheek.
Left alone, Cheongheo drained the drink she had left behind and muttered with a sigh,
“...Fine liquor.”
* * *
Since entering the Tower, Cayman had completely lost his sense of time. He could hardly tell how much had passed.
Only fragments of memory remained. Repeated Stabs. Sparring with Jaehwan.
Cayman cast aside nine hundred years and learned Jaehwan’s world.
Then, at some point...
Cayman passed beyond Awakening’s second keyword, Understanding, and finally reached the third keyword, Selflessness. His soul, driven to its limit, tore apart as his sense of self was reborn. It was a stage beyond doubting and understanding the world, a stage where one forgot the self that had grown accustomed to it.
He did not know how many Stabs he had repeated.
A hundred million? A billion? Perhaps even ten billion.
That number was absurd when measured in time, but Cayman believed he had truly repeated the Stab that many times.
At some point, he had forgotten everything in the world. He had forgotten numbers. He had forgotten skills.
When Cayman’s training ended, he opened his eyes.
“Congratulations.”
Jaehwan stood before him. At the sight of him, Cayman was suddenly overcome with a distant, dizzying feeling. Jaehwan’s stature, something Cayman had never properly grasped until now, pressed down on his entire body.
He could not fathom the Fortress Lord’s strength.
According to Cheongheo, Jaehwan was also a third-stage Awakened One. Even so, Cayman felt an enormous wall between Jaehwan and himself.
The moment he sensed that wall, anxiety overtook him.
“Have I truly become stronger?”
“Considerably.”
“But in only two years...”
“Two years?”
Cayman’s expression changed at the question.
“The second floor we’re on has a different time ratio from the first floor, where the other Hall Masters are.”
“Then how much time has passed?”
Instead of answering, Jaehwan patted Cayman on the shoulder.
“Test your strength yourself.”
* * *
In the Inner Fortress’s Rear Garden, where the Tower of Nightmares 《Carpe Diem》 stood, a crowd had gathered and murmured among themselves. Most were figures in key positions within Gorgon Fortress, including Inner Fortress officials and Horn Lords.
Standing at their center, Yulhen watched Carpe Diem’s Summoning Gate with an anxious expression.
“...It’s finally today.”
Today was the day the Abyss Expedition, including the Fortress Lord, would return after completing a week of training. Only one week would have passed in Chaos, but two years should have passed inside the Tower.
Two years.
It sounded brief, but it was not so short upon reflection. Above all, that monstrous Fortress Lord had entered with the Hall Masters.
The Anti-Evil Squad Commander beside Yulhen asked,
“The Fortress Lord will return before Three Fortresses Meeting, right?”
Three Fortresses Meeting.
That was the name of the event to be held that afternoon. Today, the Fortress Lords of the three Fortresses excluding Manticore, namely Gorgon, Garuda, and Dryad, were scheduled to gather in Gorgon for a small event.
The problem was that Gorgon was not hosting this event because it wanted to.
“We have to believe he will.”
Perhaps that was also what the Fortress Lords of Dryad and Garuda were after. The proposal for Three Fortresses Meeting had arrived as soon as the Fortress Lord left.
On the surface, they claimed they wanted to discuss Manticore, which had been occupied by Geumcheon Hall, but their real goal was obvious.
They must be after the Abyss Expedition.
It was the first time in nine hundred years that a force of this caliber had gathered in 《Chaos》.
Six of the Ten Halls of Chaos had submitted, and there were no fewer than two Awakened Ones, including the Fortress Lord and Cheongheo, the Divine Doctor of Despair. If they further organized their ranks and prepared steadily, they might truly have the strength to unify Chaos, just as the Fortress Lord had said.
How could anyone not covet a force like that?
Having seen through the other Fortress Lords’ intentions, Yulhen tried to delay Three Fortresses Meeting as much as possible. The other side, however, had been utterly overbearing.
“The safety of all 《Chaos》 is at stake! How can this be delayed any longer?”
Before Yulhen could even express an intention to refuse, a Messenger Hawk arrived with news that Garuda’s delegation had already departed.
Then Yulhen realized it. They had already finished their calculations.
Fortress Lord, you need to return quickly.
These were Fortress Lords, not just anyone else. And in 《Chaos》, only another Fortress Lord could deal with Fortress Lords.
...No, strictly speaking, not another Fortress Lord.
Yulhen recalled Jaehwan’s blunt but dependable voice. Something deep within settled.
Three Fortresses Meeting was imminent, and Geumcheon Hall still threatened them. A few Lords of the 《Great Realm》 had begun noticing the strange atmosphere in 《Chaos》, and by now, rumors of the Abyss Expedition might have reached the 《Palace of Rebirth》 as well.
There was no telling how many more terrible things awaited them.
Even so, whenever Yulhen thought of Jaehwan, their anxiety faded. There was a strange faith that he would somehow solve whatever happened.
Yulhen could not be the only one who felt that way.
The remarkable sight of everyone waiting in the Rear Garden was proof of that trust.
As soon as it was time for Jaehwan to return, Horn Lords including Karlton, Claire, and Meikal had flocked to the Rear Garden without needing to be told. They silently watched Carpe Diem’s Summoning Gate. Some watched with hopeful eyes, while others looked a little uneasy, like Yulhen.
Still, they all felt the same.
As Yulhen watched the scene, their chest suddenly swelled with emotion.
The side gate to the Rear Garden creaked loudly, and Inner Fortress guards came rushing in. The one at the front called out to Yulhen in a desperate voice.
“Chief Internal Administrator!”
The instant Yulhen saw the guard’s expression, they understood what had happened. The Fortress Lords had arrived earlier than expected.
At that moment, bright light burst from Carpe Diem’s Summoning Gate.
The Hall Masters were returning.
* * *
The trouble began an hour later, with Kang Hwang, the Hall Master of Fire King Hall.
Inside the Inner Fortress’s conference room, Kang Hwang had silently observed Three Fortresses Meeting for quite some time. Then he suddenly slammed his hand down on the table and rose from his seat.
“So what you’re saying is that you can’t recognize our Fortress Lord as the Expedition Commander, is that it?”
“That isn’t what we mean...”
“What do you mean it isn’t? That’s what it sounds like to me!”
Yoon Yong, the Thunder God Hall Master, who had been listening nearby, released a fierce wave of energy and shouted,
“Fairness in selecting the Expedition Commander? You stayed quiet until the Abyss Expedition was formed, and now you talk about fairness?”
“How insolent, Thunder God!”
“Insolent, my ass.”
Yoon Yong’s face was full of indignation.
No, to be precise, most of the Hall Masters looked much the same.
It made sense. The people claiming to represent Dryad and Garuda had been casually saying things like this.
“The current expedition structure is too unstable!”
“Entrusting command to someone from outside Chaos carries too much risk!”
“The current Fortress Lord’s identity is unclear!”
“Gorgon founding an expedition unilaterally violates the rules of the Four Fortresses Pact!”
They had brought up the outdated Four Fortresses Pact, which had been broken for ages, and questioned the Fortress Lord’s identity despite it having nothing to do with the subject. None of it had anything to do with the current issue, the Geumcheon Hall crisis.
Before long, the discussion had drifted far away from Manticore and Geumcheon Hall.
Yulhen had expected things to unfold this way, but the atmosphere had grown uglier than expected, leaving the Chief Internal Administrator unable to hide their dismay.
“Things seem to be getting heated. Everyone, please calm down and return to the first topic...”
Yulhen quickly stepped in to ease the tension, but the conflict at Three Fortresses Meeting reached its peak with the sudden declaration of Garuda’s Fortress Lord.
“Fine. Since the matter has come up, let us say it plainly. You are correct. I propose that the Expedition Commander who will lead the Abyss Expedition be chosen again through a fair evaluation.”
Yulhen had not expected him to be so blatant.
What deepened Yulhen’s suspicions even further was that the person who had said it was Gal Hwidong, Cold-Blooded Golden Sovereign and Fortress Lord of Garuda.
...Strange.
Garuda Fortress was currently suffering because of Geumcheon Hall. After Manticore Fortress fell, Geumcheon Hall’s offensive had turned directly toward Garuda. Garuda’s Fortress Lord, Gal Hwidong, should have been more concerned about Geumcheon Hall than anyone.
“I do not fully agree with Garuda’s Fortress Lord, but it would also be difficult to say that his argument has no merit at all.”
When Aisa Lindcroft, Fortress Lord of Dryad, supported Garuda’s side as well, the atmosphere became even more serious.
Yulhen’s heart sank. Something had felt strange since Three Fortresses Meeting was first planned. Still, Yulhen had not imagined the Fortress Lords had made such thorough arrangements in advance.
Letting them speak any further would be dangerous.
Before Yulhen could open their mouth, Aisa Lindcroft turned her gaze toward them.
“Besides, it is strange that Gorgon’s Fortress Lord is not attending Three Fortresses Meeting. Where has he gone? You must have received proper notice of this meeting.”
“That’s right. Where has Gorgon’s Fortress Lord gone?”
That was the greatest problem with the current Three Fortresses Meeting.
Though all the Hall Masters from the Adaptation Team had returned, Jaehwan, the South Sea Hall Master Cayman, and Cheongheo still showed no sign of returning.
As a result, Gorgon had no decision-maker, and Three Fortresses Meeting was being led about by the other side.
Naturally, the Abyss Expedition’s other Hall Masters could not stand by and watch any longer.
Jegal Myeong was the first to respond.
“The Fortress Lord is delayed by a matter that requires his attention. The Chief Internal Administrator is acting in his place, so there should be no issue continuing the meeting as it is.”
“Hmm. I am surprised the Scholar Forest Hall Master is taking Gorgon’s side.”
Gal Hwidong, Garuda’s Fortress Lord, continued with a mocking smile.
“I did not believe it when I heard that six of the Ten Halls had entered Gorgon’s service. Especially you, Scholar Forest Hall Master, who are called Chaos’s greatest strategist.”
“That is...”
“No matter how I think about it, I cannot understand. What exactly are you plotting?”
Garuda’s Fortress Lord looked over the Ten Hall Masters as if he truly could not understand.
“It is not a plot, but...”
“I heard Gorgon’s Fortress Lord is a mere child who has lived only fifty years.”
Several of the Ten Hall Masters quietly covered their foreheads at the all-too-familiar turn of events. The others began burning with anger.
“Are you people in your right minds? You want to form the Abyss Expedition by trusting that child? And you want to make that man the Expedition Commander?”
Yulhen was about to speak to calm everyone down when,
“Hey. Say that again.”
Kang Hwang, the Hall Master of Fire King Hall, had drawn his sword and leveled its point at Garuda’s Fortress Lord.
As if he had been waiting for this moment, Gal Hwidong, Garuda’s Fortress Lord, smiled with gleaming teeth.
“Now the real gathering begins.”
Footnotes:
Chapter discussion