Chapter 144 I Will Repay You Well for Everything You Have Done for Me (Two-in-One)
Ten days later, Paradise.
On the outskirts of the Royal City, a carriage traversed the winding path, heading towards the Royal City.
This mountain road that ran across the entire hilly area was somewhat rugged, and the carriage was quite bumpy as it traveled.
Despite this, it did not affect the passengers’ excitement at all.
“Today marks the day of His Majesty Rast’s proclamation throughout the realm—the opening of the sacred ceremony, right?”
“Indeed, as soon as I received the notice, I set off with my family towards the Royal City… I hurried to make it here in time.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve been to the Royal City once before; we are not far from the Royal City now… There’s less than an hour of travel left. According to the announcement, the ceremony will begin at two o’clock this afternoon, so we have plenty of time.”
“So, you all came here for the sacred ceremony?”
Someone glanced at the fellow passengers in the carriage and asked.
“Of course… This is the first time in decades that Paradise has granted such a large-scale eternal blessing.”
“As long as we can receive the eternal guardianship, we will have a long life and can avoid the rampant wars and disasters on this continent, free from the disturbances of cults, the Iron Cross, and the Beast Tide…”
“This is a ticket to eternal immortality; as long as we can obtain such a blessing, it is definitely worth any cost.”
There was a hint of fervor in one passenger’s voice: “As expected of His Majesty Rast.”
“It’s been many years since the former Queen Helen bestowed any large-scale blessings during her reign.”
“Who would have thought that His Majesty Rast would be willing to grant blessings to the entire Paradise just three years after taking the throne? Such a large-scale blessing must consume a considerable amount of his strength as well.”
“When I first heard others praise the new king’s deeds, I was a little skeptical…”
“But it seems that His Majesty Rast truly is the wise king that all of Paradise admires.”
As the passengers chatted, the atmosphere in the carriage gradually became warmer.
Every person in this carriage was eagerly looking forward to the upcoming sacred ceremony.
This was an inevitable occurrence.
Since the first year of the Catastrophic Era, when the Iron Cross’s plague erupted from Deep Blue Harbor, sweeping across the entire continent—over a hundred years had passed.
As residents born after the Catastrophic Era, these people had lived in immense fear since they were born.
After all, no one knew—
In the next moment, their home could be crushed by the immense foot of an ancient beast.
Perhaps a city that was once thriving would turn into endless disaster soil in the next moment.
In such precarious times, ordinary people could only hide anxiously in their homes, waiting silently for a future that was unclear and void of light.
Originally, outside of Paradise, the public still had other choices.
They could head to the Broken Coast, near the Watchtower, where towns within the influence of the Guardian of the Shore Organization could live and work peacefully under the protection of the Guardians.
However, as time went by.
There were some rumors circulating—
That the defensive line of the Broken Coast had become tight and might no longer be maintainable.
And once the Broken Coast line fell, if the Guardian of the Shore Organization chose to abandon this defensive line, the forbidden beasts of the ocean would no longer hold back and would recklessly sweep through everything along the coast.
At that time, the prosperous cities around the Watchtower would quickly turn into desolate ruins and disaster soil.
Although this was merely uncertainty and rumor.
But coupled with the recent observations of the Guardians coming and going in a hurry, and the visibly tense atmosphere… even the most ordinary citizens could clearly sense that this was seemingly more than just baseless gossip.
Even the headquarters of the Guardians at the Watchtower was no longer safe—
Paradise naturally became the last pure land and haven.
Countless displaced refugees viewed this place as their last hope, yearning to obtain blessings and become part of Paradise, finding permanent protection.
At this moment, countless refugees who had heard news of the sacred ceremony were surging from all directions towards the Royal City of Paradise.
And the passengers in this carriage were just a trivial part of this vast crowd.
…
“Little girl—”
“Did you come to the Royal City for the sacred ceremony too?”
Inside the carriage, a noble-looking old lady spoke gently: “Are you alone?”
“Did your parents not come with you?”
However, in response to her kind words.
Across from the carriage, a girl, her small figure shrouded in a black cloak, her face hidden under a hood, merely nodded silently.
“My parents have passed away.”
“My reason for coming to the Royal City is not to attend the sacred ceremony.”
“But to find someone.”
Hearing that the girl’s parents had passed away, the old lady’s voice softened further, tinged with sympathy.
“I’m sorry.”
“Then since your parents have passed, are you coming to Paradise to find relatives?”
Looking at the girl, who concealed her face with a hood, the old lady’s words carried a bit more pity.
She had imagined a tragic backstory of this girl coming alone to Paradise, seeking relatives after her parents’ d*ath.
“However, you’ve come at an inopportune time.”
“The sacred ceremony is about to start, and many citizens of Paradise will be flooding into the Royal City during this time. It won’t be easy to find the relatives you seek.”
“If you don’t mind, you can stay at my home for a few days… After the ceremony ends, it won’t be too late to find the person you are looking for.”
The old lady who made the invitation evidently had a high status, possessing a remarkable standing and background in the Royal City.
However, facing the old lady’s invitation.
The girl, who had worn her hood throughout, simply shook her head gently.
“Thank you, but no need.”
Her voice was pleasant, carrying a unique clarity that belonged to a girl.
But if one listened closely, traces of hoarseness and restraint could be detected in her tone, as if she had endured pain and suffering beyond her age.
“The person I’m looking for is not hard to find in the Royal City.”
“Even, one could say, that everyone knows him.”
“And…”
The girl’s voice paused for a moment.
For some reason, in that originally clear and pleasant tone, there was now an inexplicable profundity.
“If I wait until after the sacred ceremony to find him…”
“Then everything will be too late, too late.”
The person she was looking for was known to everyone, known to all?
The silver-haired old lady was taken aback, finding it hard to understand the meaning of the girl’s words.
She was just about to ask again.
But, in the next moment.
The previously noisy carriage suddenly fell silent.
The carriage, following the winding path, crossed over a hill.
And at the end of the winding path to the northwest—
The magnificent city bathed in the morning light now stood in clear view.
The previously noisy carriage fell silent for a brief moment.
Immediately afterwards, it erupted into cheers.
After a tumultuous journey, they had finally arrived at the Royal City of Paradise, able to participate in the upcoming sacred ceremony.
All the weariness from the journey had paid off in this moment.
Amid the passengers’ cheers—
Grey sat by the window, also gazing out at the magnificent city, shrouded in a dim yellow morning light.
The wild wind from the outskirts blew in, causing her hood to fall and a few strands of gray hair to swirl along with the morning breeze outside.
“I finally…”
“I’m back here, Brother Rast.”
She whispered without a sound.
Three years ago, the Lost Paradise plan executed in the Royal City of Paradise had become an obsession in Grey’s heart.
It lingered in her thoughts through countless midnights, tossing and turning, making her unable to sleep.
Over a thousand days and nights.
Grey could not count the number of times she dreamt of returning to that cliff consumed by heavy rain.
And when the boy, with a dagger, carved the mark of betrayal on the Guardian’s wing insignia amidst the torrential rain, the utterly cold and unfamiliar gaze he cast at her had become her nightmare.
She had repeatedly relived it in front of her, waking up startled in the dead of night.
Yet—
Even so.
During this long time, Grey had kept suppressing her true feelings.
Even if that obsession was deeply wrenching, twisting her heart.
But Grey still forced herself not to seek information within Paradise, nor to collect news about Brother Rast…
Because she knew that at that time, she was not mature enough, still too weak, and lacked the qualifications to stand before that boy.
Even if she followed her true feelings and went to stand before Brother Rast again… what awaited her would only be the same outcome as that rainy night on the cliff three years ago—
Unable to do anything, unable to change anything.
She could only sit helplessly in the mud on the cliff, crying as she watched the precious people and things slip away from her fingertips.
Thus, Grey repressed her impulse to find Brother Rast with extraordinary willpower.
She traversed a path in three years akin to hell, a path that perhaps others would struggle to reach in their lifetime.
At this moment—
This hellish time finally bore fruit; she had finally caught up with that once unreachable figure from the past.
And she gained the qualification to stand before that person.
Grey gazed at the distant end of the wilds, where the Royal City grew clearer and clearer as it approached, her emerald green eyes slightly lost in thought.
A mysterious sheen fluctuated in her eyes.
In that suddenly expanded spiritual vision, Grey could clearly sense—
Above the Royal City, countless small light points were converging from all directions…
These light points represented the belief power coming from countless citizens of Paradise.
And the direction where these belief light points ultimately gathered was at the center of the Royal City, within that grand palace—
Where Rast, now the King of the Netherworld, was at this moment.
“Brother Rast…”
“You once said—only strength is the most eternal and reliable thing in this world.”
“No matter how magnificent the ideals, how sincere the beliefs, without enough strength to support them, they are merely flowers in the mirror, the moon in the water…”
“Childish nonsense, meaningless dreams.”
“Since that’s the case, I shall do as you wish.”
The girl’s mutterings vanished into the howling wind of the wild, unheard by anyone.
“Since you have chosen to gain strength, to achieve eternity as your lifelong belief… pursuing the highest ambition even at the cost of betraying your companions.”
“Then, I will definitely stand at the pinnacle.”
“And then…”
“Repay you well for everything you have done for me.”
…
Dozens of miles away from the carriage in the suburban wilderness, at the center of the Royal City.
Rast stood before the massive glass floor-to-ceiling windows between the throne, quietly looking down at the vast cityscape below.
In his pitch-black eyes, a silvery light shimmered.
It was a tiny rune, intertwined with a stream of data made up of black electric arcs of 0 and 1, pulsating with his mental power, surging like waves.
This was the verification rune of the “Heaven’s Key,” as well as a necessary program to activate the Forbidden Armament, the “Zenith Sword.”
In these ten days.
Rast utilized the sub-dimension folded within the “Heaven’s Key” to complete the solo deployment of the Forbidden Armament, the “Zenith Sword,” without anyone noticing.
And at this moment—
On the stage named Paradise, named the Netherworld, all preparations had been completed.
It was akin to a grand stage play, with the set fully arranged and the actors already made up…
Just waiting for the moment when the performance begins.
“Your Majesty Rast.”
A respectful voice echoed in the entire empty palace, resonating.
“All preparations for the sacred ceremony have been completed.”
“Just waiting for two o’clock this afternoon to start the ceremony immediately.”
The servant’s gaze also carried a hint of fervor.
As a member of the Netherworld, he understood what it truly meant to bestow eternal blessings upon the entire nation.
As expected of the wise king he recognized and followed.
“Mm, I understand.”
Rast maintained the demeanor of a ruler, nodding blandly.
He shifted his gaze away from the floor-to-ceiling window and walked towards the outside of the palace.
“Well then, let’s prepare to begin.”
“The final performance of the Guardian ‘Rast’.”
(End of Chapter)
