Chapter 829: Act 10 – The Daughters of Echis
“She must be judged, Lord Milos. Countless lives have vanished because of her, in Toquinin and Lozka. They are unrelated to me, and since I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, I cannot empathize with their sorrow. But I think that if I had the opportunity to act and chose to do nothing, then I would become an accomplice, and I cannot accept that from an emotional standpoint. This is not about revenge; it is merely to seek justice because no one should be allowed to err without consequence.” Brendel lay in Freya’s embrace, looking up at the tall figure before him and replied calmly. The platform floated in a pitch-black world, surrounded by a square of luminous matrix, flickering blue sparks separating the inner and outer worlds. Chaotic energy roared in the outside world but could not affect the realm inside the matrix in the slightest. In terms of the purity of divine power, Milos was far superior to Dark Kehua.
Milos shook his head heavily, his rumbling voice replied, “You kill her, and another Kehua will die as well; she is innocent.”
Brendel furrowed his brow, contemplating whether this was true. Dark Kehua was unforgivable, but the idea that her actions might implicate another Kehua was not entirely unreasonable, although it seemed a bit excessive. The two swords were tossed aside, with the Lionheart Sword lying atop the Earth Sword, the dark blade and the silver gleam reflecting each other. Brendel turned his head to see a slightly distant Kehua with a pale face, weakly lying in a pool of blood, her long hair spreading across the platform like a sacrificial offering. It was as if she had foreseen her fate, yet her blood-red eyes continued to glower at him, filled with unresolvable hatred.
Veronika’s weak voice came through, “But she is not entirely innocent; she is a dual-sided existence with this fellow. She should have realized this when she separated her dark soul. If one day she is judged for the heinous sins of her other side, it would not be irrational.” Her voice was deep like water, and her tone bore a discernible hint of scorching anger. The Lozka destroyed by Dark Kehua was a city under the Empire’s rule, and anyone whose nation suffered such an attack would find it hard to remain calm, let alone someone like a female legion commander.
“Indeed,” Milos’s rumbling voice replied, “but her sins do not warrant death.”
“Do not warrant death?”
“She was merely carrying out my will. If it were I who had awakened instead of her, the outcome would remain unchanged. She is a headstrong young girl; although she has done some wrong things, it does not warrant death.”
“So those countless lives are worth nothing, Lord Milos!” Veronika retorted fiercely. Brendel couldn’t help but admire this legion commander a bit; after all, she was confronting a genuine deity with such boldness. The spirit of an Imperial soldier was perhaps not as grand as he thought. The Crusian’s goddess of war had never let down those who trusted her.
Milos sighed.
“Bringing deities back into this world is, in itself, a mistake. It may seem overly cold to you, but the awakened must fulfill that promise. Mortal emotions are precious; it is a pity I cannot comprehend them. I cherish these ordinary experiences and do not wish to see such things happen, yet since they have already occurred, someone must take responsibility. But that person is not Kehua; blaming her is utterly meaningless and cannot genuinely bring peace to the departed.”
Brendel did not respond; he had already anticipated this.
“In my eyes, this new world is humble, ignorant, filled with errors and impurities. It does not gleam like the ancient order, nor does it share the poignant tales of the golden and silver ages,” Milos’s rumbled voice continued. “But to you, it is precious, and that is enough. You still have tomorrow; that is hope. So cherish it, and remind others not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Bury the ancient order and the deities deep in history; you no longer need us.”
His voice grew louder, merging with the thunder that intertwined in midair; however, the sound of thunder eventually faded away.
A certain law in the space completely collapsed and vanished.
“Lord Milos?” Veronika frowned, sensing something.
“He has acknowledged Freya’s choice,” Brendel replied softly. Mortals ultimately cannot kill deities, but Milos honored that promise. When Anlek and the others made their choice, he returned to this world. Bound by his agreements with Alphons and the Crystal, he had no choice but to dismantle this existing order and reconstruct the glory of the classical era. Whether through Kehua’s hand or another’s, Milos had another philosophical quandary—one he had pondered for millennia was closer to the mortals. He might have considered the words that the Crystal had once said in the Hallowed Temple and found resonance with them.
So when Freya made another choice, it responded, self-destructing and dissipating from this world.
Like the azure knight piercing the sky.
This time—
Mortal killed a deity.
Milos said that someone must take responsibility for the world’s mistakes, and that person is it; it has forgiven Kehua. Although Brendel still didn’t understand why once opposed parties could come to understand each other, he glanced at Dark Kehua, who was no longer looking at him but gazing up at the turbulent energy flow in the darkness. Brendel saw her blink vigorously, her eyes clearly a bit red.
“Hopeless, the weak grow weaker while the strong grow stronger; that is the essence of the world. Those fools act in reverse, which is why they fail repeatedly; this is the hypocritical order,” she coldly said. “Or, like in the past, come to fight us directly and see who is right or wrong, as whoever stands firm is the truth. Compromise and retreat—what kind of hero does that make?”
“So your enemies have decreased by one; is that not something to be happy about? You’ve progressed a step closer to your truth?” Brendel glanced at her and replied lightly. The father of the frost giants had already chosen to take responsibility; thus, he could not pursue Dark Kehua any further. As Milos said, she may have been wrong, but it did not warrant death. Nonetheless, her way of speaking and attitude was indeed irksome; he really couldn’t fathom how her personality had formed.
Kehua sighed softly, “My enemies were once noble, and fighting them was an honor. Now only you despicable people remain; I feel it is beneath me.”
“Indeed, and those despicable people are coming to kill you,” Brendel couldn’t resist threatening her.
“You—how dare you! You clearly promised Milos!”
Dark Kehua’s eyes widened, her beautiful blood-red gaze staring at him incredulously, just like back then. However, this time they were not underground in the Frost Forest, nor under Milos’s divine protection, but in the Hall of Trees of the new Valhalla, where sunlight poured through the tall arched stained glass windows, infusing the entire hall with warm but mottled colors. Dust settled in the beams of light. Brendel set down the documents in his hand, lifted a finger to tap his own forehead, and then pointed at her forehead as white as jade: “Have you forgotten?”
Dark Kehua’s face flushed. She clenched her teeth and glared at Brendel: “You! Do you even know how painful it was when it pierced in? You have no consideration for a girl, and there was so much blood; it was disgusting!”
Nemeses and the kind Kehua looked on, puzzled by the exchange, both turned their gazes toward Brendel with a bone-chilling intensity that made him feel as if they had come to reassess his character.
“Lord, what did you do to my sister?” The kind Kehua asked, having transitioned from aggression to a blush, her face turning red down to her neck. “I’m sorry, I mean, if you intend to do something to my sister, please seek my consent first… Though that sounds a bit awkward, I share a bond with her and can feel her feelings.”
Brendel nearly choked on their duet, glaring at Dark Kehua, “Stop with the nonsense; that thing is indeed inside you now. Unless you plan to dig it out and return it to me, you’ll have to work for me until then.” Dark Kehua’s expression turned pale, and she instinctively traced her fingers against her forehead. Without Milos’s divine authority, the power of the Moon of Lies returned to the kind Kehua, and she was now indistinguishable from an ordinary human girl. Digging that thing out from her forehead would be equivalent to sacrificing her life. Yet after hesitating, she feebly asked, “If I dig it out, will you let me go?”
“No.”
“Then go die!” Dark Kehua bit out through clenched teeth.
She retorted, “I am powerless now, no different from a mortal; what use can I be to you?” Dark Kehua seemed to suddenly realize something, her expression shifting, as she looked at Brendel with eyes like beautifully polished agate, her small mouth slightly agape in terror: “You don’t mean to covet…?”
“Shut up!” Brendel interrupted this wandering thought impatiently, “What I need is your knowledge. I can’t think of anyone else who would match your understanding of the things and history before the epochs in this world.”
“You mean ancient items?” Kehua’s expression shifted and her demeanor cooled. “You wish to extract secrets about the Duskgazer Dragon from me? You can forget it; even if you kill me, I will never betray Lord Duskgazer.”
Seeing Dark Kehua’s resolute expression, Brendel had not expected her to possess such a side, yet he shook his head, “I have no interest in that. I care about the present; I have some things here, and I’d like you to help me identify them.” As he spoke, he pulled out several items from the dimensional void and placed them on the desk. Kehua changed her expression upon seeing the first item—a pair of gloves. The silver-threaded gloves were adorned with pearls, with an enigmatic magical formation surrounding a blood-red gem on the back of the hand, and silver lines stretched to the fingertips. Then her gaze shifted to the other items, and she bit her lip, fiery anger sparking in her eyes.
The second item was a breastplate, with a double-headed eagle relief engraved on its surface. Strange was that this armor seemingly did not exist in the present world as its state seemed to perpetually shift; it felt both right before one’s eyes and still distant.
Next was a bow, its grip shaped like the head of a demon, with pairs of long horns extending outward to form the bow arms. The bow had no string; between the limbs was a faint, pale purple mark crossing its surface.
The fourth item was a staff resembling a mace, topped with a stone cross that bore a statue of the goddess Gaia. This was a common sight in the Hallowed Temple of Earth, as it was the staff used by the temple’s priests. However, this particular one was quite different; it bore four glowing runes that Brendel recognized as the primal runes of the Law of Earth, and they didn’t appear to be fakes. Therefore, the origin of this staff was highly questionable.
The final item was a cavalry sword, its structure elegantly simple, seemingly of elven craftsmanship; however, the guard bore a relief of the Fire Spirit King.
Among these five pieces of equipment, Brendel only recognized one—the gloves, known as Dragon’s Enigma. The gloves had effects nearly identical to those of Bahamut’s Blessing but were feminine in design. The difference lay in that Bahamut’s Blessing leaned towards defense, whereas Dragon’s Enigma was more offensive. In addition to performing instantaneous alchemy like Bahamut’s Blessing, Dragon’s Enigma could also create magical formations instantly. Formation spells were among the most powerful yet the least flexible and unwieldy magic, as nearly all formation spells were ritual magic that required pre-drawn patterns and often needed multiple people to perform the ritual. Dragon’s Enigma was aptly called the artifact of formation mages.
Thus, Bahamut’s Blessing was merely a fantasy-grade item, while Dragon’s Enigma was an ancient artifact, with just a thin line separating it from a quasi-artifact.
Kehua looked at these items, and a raging fire seemed to burn in her chest. It was as if she wanted to spew flames while glaring at Brendel: “These are all my things!”
“Now they are my spoils,” Brendel replied.
“Do you expect me to tell you how to use them?” Dark Kehua angrily gritted her teeth, seemingly squeezing the words out from between them.
“Kehua, you wouldn’t be content to remain a mortal, would you?” Brendel suddenly asked, “Even if I let you go, with your beauty, you would only become a plaything of the powerful once outside. I believe you would never accept that; you are someone capable of seizing your own fate and would never willingly remain under another’s roof. You once stood in such high regard, with mortals seeming like ants in your eyes. I believe once someone has tasted that sweet flavor, they would never prefer a lonely life again.”
“Am I not living as someone’s subordinate now?” Dark Kehua snapped back resentfully, but then her eyes flickered, and she smiled coyly: “However, I have heard of the histories of you humans; many haughty queens have wielded power throughout history. I believe with my qualities and wisdom, reaching such a level wouldn’t be too difficult. Hehe, at that time, I’ll make sure to oppose you and see how you continue this play.”
Brendel was momentarily speechless, realizing that such a possibility did exist. He couldn’t help but wonder if this woman was intentionally sent to oppose him, as she had already caused him much trouble. But he quickly realized that this was impossible because Dark Kehua wasn’t the type of person made for flattery to please men. She’d be better off dead than forced to curry favor. Seeing through this little maneuver, he calmed down and shook his head, stating, “Why go through all that, Miss Kehua? The heart of calamity lies within you, and in a sense, it is returning to where it belongs. With it, you can also reclaim powerful strength and create a legend.”
“Heart of calamity?” Kehua blinked, bewildered, looking at Brendel, “What do you mean by the heart of calamity?”
“Of course, it’s Echis’s Heart of Calamity.”
“You mean Echis’s Heart of Calamity, Lord Earl?” The speaker was not Dark Kehua but her sister, the kind Kehua, who had been silently watching her sister and the Earl of Toniger banter. She displayed a look of surprise for the first time on her face. Brendel looked at her questioningly, wondering why this had caught her attention.
“Ah!” Dark Kehua suddenly gasped as if realizing something. Her brows furrowed as if sensing something. Brendel saw her expression and understood; she probably hadn’t examined what that thing was that was inserted into her forehead. Perhaps subconsciously, she thought it was merely a trap laid by Brendel; or perhaps, having lost her powers, she felt despondent and didn’t think on it at all.
But after a moment, she raised her head, staring at Brendel with fiery blood-red eyes, her expression exceedingly complex.
“The key to mother… the key of Lady Mother…” she mumbled, appearing both delighted and a bit strange: “You actually gave me this, only to harm me?”
The young girl couldn’t help but tease Brendel, “Mortals really are a bunch of fools; you actually gave me this thing. Do you know what this is? Lady Mother’s pasturing wolves by moonlight—that’s the key to the great door leading to that world! You actually handed it to me personally; hee hee, little Brendel, this time you’re dead meat!”
Brendel was slightly taken aback, thinking that perhaps his estimation of the potential of Echis’s Heart of Calamity might have been wrong.
“Sister, keys only become meaningful when they grow up; that is a long process. Don’t scare Lord Earl.” The kind Kehua quickly offered a gentle reminder.
“Don’t expose me, you fool!” Dark Kehua yelled in frustration.
……
(Note: The power comes from the Moon of Lies ‘Kehua,’ and the dim Kehua is the eldest daughter of Echis.)
(I saw the review from liyinhang1994; it was exceptionally well-written and very helpful to me; thank you very much.)
