Ch.239Chapter 239 – I’d Rather Choose to Challenge

Since the Ekatos family had been visited by Pathos, there hadn’t been a single quiet day.

Count Ekatos, who wanted to repair the family heirloom for the glory of the family,

And the elders, who knew the family’s history and opposed repairing the heirloom.

Because these two sides were in sharp conflict, loud arguments could be heard daily around the place where the heirloom was stored.

However, the dispute hadn’t escalated to the point of a civil war within the family, primarily because the root cause of this situation was simply whether to repair the heirloom or not.

Generally, conflicts within noble families revolved around succession to the head position or claiming family assets.

To make the family’s power or wealth your own, naturally, there shouldn’t be anyone competing against you, right?

So in most cases, disputes within families often ended only when someone died or gave up and withdrew from their claims.

But the current conflict within the Ekatos family wasn’t about wealth or power.

“By my authority as the family head, I command you! Open the path to where the heirloom is stored immediately!”

“Guardian of the family! By the authority of the elders, I implore you! Do not open that path under any circumstances!”

The guardian protecting the family vault where the Storm Guide, the Ekatos family heirloom, was stored, was at a complete loss.

As a magical being created for the purpose of guarding the treasure storage, he was primarily obligated to obey the family head’s orders.

But the elders, who held authority equal to the family head, were ordering him to disobey the head’s commands, leaving him in an impossible situation.

‘What am I supposed to do?’

The vault guardian felt a throbbing in his head.

This was the first such incident since the Ekatos family vault was created, and he too was considerably perplexed.

Elders trying to prevent the family head from repairing a treasure—it was unprecedented.

Of course, he too knew well the story behind the Storm Guide.

A complete Storm Guide was needed to break the seal of a malevolent entity, so to prevent anyone from misusing it, the Storm Guide should never be repaired.

Hadn’t there been a major accident where the Heart of Extreme Flame gradually stopped when they had commissioned the dwarves of the Grendillet Mountains to repair it?

At least regarding the accident in the Grendillet Mountains, Dwarf Lord Ironbeard had said he wouldn’t pursue further responsibility, which was a relief.

But the conflict between the family head, who wanted to repair the family sword to elevate the family’s prestige, and the elders, who insisted on respecting the family’s history, showed no signs of ending.

‘Moreover, hasn’t the family sword already been switched?’

Because the elders had secretly hidden the real Storm Guide in a safe place without the family head’s knowledge, even if the head found the sword and repaired it, nothing would happen.

One might ask, why not just repair the fake Storm Guide then? But…

‘The real Storm Guide has powerful thunder energy residing within the blade itself.’

True to its name, the Storm Guide, which guides storms, contained powerful thunder energy that could create a massive lightning storm to crush enemies when wielded with full force.

And even in its broken state, fragments of this power could still be felt.

Therefore, if the family head were to see the replica, he would immediately notice that the sword in the vault was a fake and might hold the elders responsible.

If that happened, a real civil war might break out within the Ekatos family.

‘For now, I must prevent the family head from entering the vault at all costs…’

Having observed the elders’ actions, the guardian could only hope they would continue to exert their influence to prevent the family head from entering the vault.

“By the authority of the family head, I command you! Open the door now!”

“By the authority of the elders, I command you! Do not open the vault door!”

Open the door from one side. Close the door from the other.

Just as the guardian was growing exasperated with these contradictory orders, someone appeared to save him.

“Enough!”

Everyone froze at the sound of a young woman’s voice echoing in front of the family vault.

As one or two people turned their heads to identify the speaker and expressed their surprise with open mouths, all heads turned toward the source of the voice.

“I, Serin Ekatos…”

Standing there was none other than Serin Ekatos, who should have been undergoing harsh training with the Celestial Demon.

Unlike before, she now exuded an incredibly sharp and refined aura.

“As the rightful heir to the Ekatos family! I challenge you for the position of family head!”

She drew her sword, pointing it at Count Ekatos, declaring her challenge for the position of family head.

“My daughter. What are you saying? Challenging for the position of family head?”

“The family is in turmoil due to father’s misguided ambition. Therefore, I am declaring my intention to succeed as family head to quell this chaos.”

Ordinarily, she would have addressed her father in a very comfortable manner, but now she stood as a challenger issuing a challenge for the position of family head.

Count Ekatos also realized that Serin was emanating a remarkably sharp aura and facing him with firm resolve.

“…Very well. But you do know the consequences of dueling for the position of family head, don’t you?”

“I do. If the challenger loses… they can no longer challenge for the position of family head and are permanently stripped of succession rights. Is that not correct?”

“There’s one more thing. If you challenge the position of family head and lose, you will be permanently expelled from the family to prevent internal conflict. You may return to the family, but only as a collateral line, not a direct descendant, and you cannot pass the family name to your children. Even knowing this, do you still wish to challenge?”

Count Ekatos was considerably surprised by his daughter’s sudden change in demeanor, but as a father, hoping she would not challenge for the position, he explained the penalties for challenging the family head in detail.

“I will challenge. The family’s prestige is not determined by the presence or absence of an heirloom.”

Serin had already made up her mind.

“There’s something I fear more than challenging you.”

Serin recalled her recent training and shuddered.

The training with the Celestial Demon had been so terrifying that just remembering it made fear creep up inside her.

“Something more frightening than challenging for the family head position?”

Count Ekatos expressed curiosity about what could be so frightening that it would drive his beloved daughter to challenge his position.

What on earth had made her feel this way?

“I find it more comfortable to duel you for the family head position than the alternative. Therefore, I will take your position today. Father.”

Seeing his daughter’s firm resolve, Count Ekatos gave up trying to dissuade her.

“Since your determination is firm, I won’t try to stop you anymore. However… if you find it difficult, you can give up at any time. As the family head, I can somehow manage to smooth over a mid-challenge withdrawal.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Despite Count Ekatos’s consideration, Serin continued to display her unwavering determination.

Her goal was to escape from the Celestial Demon as quickly as possible, even if it meant fighting the family head, rather than returning to train with her.

“Very well. Then I have no choice. The succession test will be held in two days. Do the elders agree?”

“…We agree.”

The family elders had initially intended to reject Serin’s challenge for the family head position, but seeing her stand against the family head, they became convinced she was on their side.

Moreover, the aura emanating from Serin was very different from before, making them think she might be worth placing some expectations on.

‘Serin, that child has grown a lot.’

‘It seems… the family head position might change hands.’

The elders thought to themselves after confirming that the energy they felt from Serin was clearly different from before.

Perhaps, they thought, this might be an opportunity for the family head to change.

Being a woman did not disqualify her from inheriting the position of family head.

Imperial law permitted anyone, regardless of gender, to claim the position of family head if they had the ability.

With Count Ekatos’s acceptance of the succession test, the Ekatos family began to buzz with excitement for a different reason than before.

Serin Ekatos, trained by the Celestial Demon.

Count Ekatos, the family head and professor at Glesius Academy.

Time passed quickly, and soon the day of the test arrived.