The New Royal Guards: The Secret of Outer Astril (2/2)

Lyon POV:

Two weeks later.

I sat atop the stairs leading to the throne with my fingers interlocked. I leaned forward while the new Royal Guards stood upright as the meeting continued.

"How should we handle this matter, my King?"

I shifted my gaze to Lucy. She bowed her head as I observed the other Royal Guards looking at me with expectant eyes.

"!!"

Before I could give an answer, quick footsteps echoed down the corridor leading to the main room. I had only given one person permission to enter, regardless of whether there was a meeting going on or not, so I wasn't surprised by the sudden interruption.

The Royal Guards turned their heads in unison as a hooded figure soon came into view. She carried a large brown sack on her back and quickly dropped down to one knee.

"My King, a message has arrived as you predicted."

Ursula removed her hood and placed the brown humanoid sack on the ground in front of her. Her face contorted as she opened it. I could see a visible brownish-black odour coming out of the opening while a dead man's head flopped in my direction.

"What kind of..."

"This is..."

"How stupid. Let me take care of it, my King."

I glanced at Fii, who looked unimpressed by the antics of the messenger. She released a portion of her Ki, causing the whole dome to shake when a small flame sprouted from the dead man's forehead.

"Flame of Life. It's the former rank 1's ability, but this technique is similar to..."

"Last Breath."

Susan finished off Otto's statement while the man sprawled out on the floor slowly got to his feet. He fixed his tattered suit, ignoring the large gash that cut across his neck.

"Hmm?"

He tilted his head, gazing at the empty throne behind me as his dark lips spread into a wide smile. Ursula narrowed her eyes, ready to behead the man a second time if he made any strange movements.

"I am but a simple messenger. There's no need to be alarmed. Alas, my business is with the ...King? Of the South."

Fii's lilac eyes narrowed, and the ground beneath her feet cracked. I remained silent, observing the situation with care. I made a mental note of anything strange or of importance.

"Watch your mouth."

He shrank back at the sheer power in Fii's voice before dusting off his clothes. After all, he was already dead, so what would he have to fear?

"So passionate. The Heavenly King of the East has invited you to a banquet to celebrate your ascent to the throne. It will take place in District 1."

He shifted his gaze back to Fii; his eyes slowly ran up and down her body multiple times before he smirked.

"Perhaps you should bring the sexy lady with you too."

Her expression didn't change at his taunt while I parted my lips to speak for the first time.

"And if I refuse?"

The man's shoulders heaved up and down as the sound of loud laughter echoed across the room. He wiped his dry eyes clear before glaring at me.

"You will attend. It may be an invitation in name but is an order in reality. You are nothing compared to Baekan, so don't get ahead of yourself, chil—"

Fii's fist blurred. Half a second later, his head exploded. I watched his already dead body flop to the ground as strong flames sprouted out of him. It burned him to a crisp, leaving nothing but ash behind.

"It's a trap. You mustn't go, my King."

I glanced at the worry written all over Fii's face. The other Royal Guards nodded their heads in agreement while I pondered over the situation.

Blaze was a spy who had not only infiltrated District 1 but even managed to become the number one ranked Royal Guard. Judging by the short interaction I witnessed between Baekan and Blaze, he seemed unaware of her true identity, or maybe he didn't consider the Eastern Ruler a threat.

"Don't worry, Fii."

I first calmed her down before turning my attention to the others.

"Did Blaze know where Baekan kept the KEDs he stole from Enigma?"

"It's unlikely, but being the ranked 1 Royal Guard at the time, she definitely knew that Baekan had successfully acquired them."

Susan, Rank 6, bowed after answering my question. This meant that there was a chance Blaze stole some of the KEDs and then escaped to the East. It was also possible that during my fight with her, she let herself get hit in order to force Baekan to make a move.

'...'

My fight with Baekan took place outside of this area, so Blaze would have had plenty of time to get what she needed, assuming he kept them nearby. Elinor's only concern was Baekan, so it was possible she let Blaze take them or even gave the KEDs to her directly.

I lowered my interlocked hands, resting them between my legs as I made a final decision. KEDs or not, I couldn't let the East threaten the South.

"How do I get to the East of Outer Astril?"

Fii bit her lip, and her eyebrows quivered. I shifted my gaze to Ursula, who quickly took a few steps forward.

"...There's something you need to know about this place first. The walls that surround us aren't just walls... They're a part of an extremely rare artifact."

'!'

My eyes widened before narrowing as a few puzzle pieces fell into place. It was now more than likely that the 'Cleaners' weren't actual people, but perhaps the artifact itself.

"This information is only known to those who are rank 10 and above. It's been tradition to keep it this way to avoid widespread panic."

That explained why Mr Cruiser and Skorr didn't inform me about this; they didn't know either.

"Powerful Ki barriers strong enough to block attacks from those who have reached Enryo and above separate the four regions of Outer Astril. The only way to cross into another region is by utilizing a passageway that can only be used once a month..."

That would explain how some of the remnants from Baekan's rule managed to escape so securely. However, something didn't quite add up here.

"Why are the regions separated in the first place?"

Everyone stared at me in shock and surprise, but I didn't understand their reactions. Was the answer common knowledge? Or did I really say something that strange?

"... Actually, I never thought about that before... It's just been this way since we could all remember..."

I pondered for a while over the new information I had acquired. I cross-referenced it with everything I could remember when a thought hit me like a bolt of lightning.

'!'

One of the current reasons for the oppression of Outer Astril was that the King despised the people living here, but why? What if the real reason had something to do with this artifact and the potential it held, not the people themselves?

Kumo had theorized in District 3 that if we actively rebuilt the area enough, the Cleaners would return, but what if that was the artifact responding to the efforts being made to restore and protect?

Artifacts utilized Ki in order to operate, so how could this artifact be in operation for so long? Even if I assumed its Ki consumption rate was very low, it still needed a source—it still needed power.

'Edith...'

My train of thought reached its climax once I called to mind the report Kumo told me about how the baby had discovered something strange. If it was that... Then it was more than possible.

I quickly rose to my feet while a thin smile spread across my lips.

"Everyone wait on standby. I need to check something in District 4."

***

"Was it here, cutie?"

Edith spoke to the baby while rubbing his cheek. He stretched out his chubby hands towards me, and I let him hold onto my finger for a while.

"...I really don't know why he has such a strong attachment to you, Lea—King... S-sorry..."

She dipped her head as I patted her back.

"Treat me just the same. I'm no King."

My lips formed a bright smile, but the baby shook his head while giggling. Edith grinned in response, and we continued to make our way across the abandoned ruins of District 4.

'It has to be that.'

My eyes scanned the nearby vicinity. Why had no one tried to build here? Why was this place off-limits? If my current assumption was correct, then the artifact was responsible for the current desolation; it had to be protecting something.

"Ma...ma...."

The baby giggled again. He stretched out his chubby hands toward a large pile of rubble, waving them around in an energetic manner to draw attention to it. I spread out my fingers, stopping Edith from going any further as I moved in alone.

'Ghost.'

I blew away the rubble covering the area, but there was nothing there. I told Edith to move even further back as I began to aim my intent directly towards the ground below.

5 minutes passed by, and the earth surrounded me on either side. I looked up at the blue sky above before turning my attention back down to the bedrock under my feet.

10 minutes quickly came and went while I wondered if I had been too hasty in my assumption. It was possible that the baby simply liked the formation of the rubble or something similar to that.

'...No. It's here. It has to be.'

15 minutes passed, and the hole became so deep that the sky above turned into a small circle. I was about to continue using Ghost when a different idea popped into my head.

'Pantheon Style: Omniscience.'

My eyes took on the same colour as the golden brown light that spread out through the earth. It covered a large radius, forming a sphere with me at the epicenter. I closed my eyes and quickly noticed something akin to a heartbeat much further down below.

A smile spread across my face as I cancelled Omniscience and prepared to use Ghost again.

'!'

The bedrock beneath my feet abruptly collapsed. I plummeted into the darkness, but remained calm during my descent, opting to examine the depths below rather than stop my fall. I continued to plunge into the unknown when a faint red light entered my vision.

'It's here.'

I landed nimbly on the ground as large rocks, and other clumps of earth crashed all around me. A glowing scarlet light swept over my body, revealing the entrance to a wide tunnel that made me look like a dwarf in comparison.

Thick bundles of deep scarlet crystals jutted out of the earth at a size so large I struggled to approximate their total magnitude.

I made my way inside carefully. It was common knowledge that dangerous monsters guarded Silin Mines, so caution was necessary.

'...'

I walked through the network of tunnels for around 15 minutes before I confirmed that there really were no monsters down here. My gaze shifted to a mountain of monster bones while my eyes narrowed; all of them had been wiped out a long time ago.

My exploration continued for another 15 minutes until I finally reached the heart of the underground network of tunnels. The end of the tunnel revealed a large room that had metal plating with detailed grooves across the floor; they joined together to create some sort of pattern. Various tubes ran along the ground and ceiling, forming an intricate sea of worms before connecting to a tall container in the middle of the room.

A bright yellow rock floated inside a transparent tube containing some sort of liquid. It occasionally glowed brighter, disturbing the fluid's calm surface and simultaneously causing movements to occur within some of the tubes.

'I was right.'

I took a step forward when a blade rested against my neck. It happened so fast that I couldn't even react to the movement; it was like it had literally appeared out of thin air.

I slowly raised my hands and moved back. That was no ordinary blade. If I had moved carelessly just then, I would have been beheaded.

The blade retracted itself from across the room while I pondered over what to do.

'...'

I crouched down and observed the intricate marks engraved along the metal plating. Calling this an extremely rare artifact was an understatement; it was clearly beyond that.

Since it was an artifact of such rarity, it should be possible to have a will of its own. However, this was more than enough for now.

"I plan on protecting this place."

I noticed a faint glow emanating from the floating rock before I turned around. I wasn't sure how a baby was able to locate this structure so far beneath the surface, but it probably wasn't by accident.

I retraced the steps I had taken while making a note of whether it would be possible to mine Silin from here in the future. I couldn't even begin to quantify how much gold a single Silinnite of this size would sell for.

There was an abundance of new crystallites being formed along the tunnels I had walked down, so the mining potential was huge. However, not only did it need to be discreet, but we would also need to be careful not to mine any of the active Silin being used.

'...Let's leave it be for now.'

I reached the entrance and made my way back to the surface. Edith stood beside the hole with a panicked expression on her face while Sindel and Orga accompanied her.

"Y-you're alright! Thank goodness...!"

Edith let out a sigh of relief as the baby cried. He stretched out his chubby hands to me, and I let him hold onto my finger for a while.

"Sorry for making you worry."

I turned my attention to Sindel and Orga, who both dropped to one knee instantly. They were the closest Vices in the area, so it made sense for Edith to find them first.

"Sindel, fill this hole up and keep what happened here a secret."

"Yes, my King."

'...Him too?'

I sighed inwardly as he immediately fanned out his fingers. Seconds later, his face turned pale, and he lowered his hands that had just been raised.

"Sindel? What's wrong?"

Orga quickly approached him while cold sweat wet the nape of his neck as he glanced back at me. He salvaged what was left of his composure and parted his lips to speak.

"...The hole... has already been filled. Not only that, but the earth itself moved without my instructions... Whatever was down there... It's already gone."

My lips curved upwards, and I patted his shoulder.

"Perfect."