Ch.87You Don’t Believe This?

BANG!

Troph’s body bent like a bow. The familiar posture triggered a creeping trauma. Ugh, Irefi… my head…

“Kuhak!”

It was a scream of air forcefully expelled from his lungs. Troph rolled his eyes in agony. His pupils were spinning in circles, possibly from a concussion from the impact.

“Augh… Aaah! Aaaaaaah!!!”

He screamed from the dented wall. It was no different from a child throwing a tantrum out of frustration.

I thoroughly ignored him and walked straight ahead. I grabbed him by the collar I’d been wanting to get my hands on, that collar covered in foolish hatred, and demanded answers.

“I’ll ask directly. Tell me how to stop this situation.”

“Kehe, why don’t you ask your mother?”

“I don’t have a mother.”

“What?!”

At least in this world, I was an orphan. Suddenly I missed my mother. Sometimes I have pointless dreams about introducing Irefi to her.

That aside, I’m not a filial son with fire attributes who tolerates insults about family.

Slap!

I struck Troph across the cheek and gave him a kind smile. Then I asked my question clearly so there could be no misunderstanding.

“Tell me how to stop the Chainlich Phenomenon, right now.”

“Ha, do you think I know? You don’t seem to understand that once something like this starts, it’s the kind of thing that can’t be undone. We’re all equally doomed, and that’s fine by me!”

“…Damn you.”

Troph’s sneering eyes paradoxically conveyed the truth. Besides, the fact that he remained here alone suggested he had given up on his life.

Threats using pain wouldn’t work either. It was clear no more dramatic information would come from him.

‘What should I do…?’

To think that reaching the ringleader would result in such a pathetic truth. The cracked sky would not permit the survival of the weak.

If left alone, a world where the weak are eliminated would arrive. The upper limit of the strong who could sleep peacefully at night would rival Bartlant.

“Damn it!”

BOOM!

I struck the altar in frustration. The impact was so strong that the surroundings trembled slightly.

I knew rationally that violent outbursts wouldn’t help. But I needed to surrender to my feelings of injustice to regain my ability to think.

What’s the deal with that Lost Blood…!

BANG!

It happened when I struck the altar once more unnecessarily.

Woong-!

“Huh?”

“What?!”

The altar emitted a mysterious resonance. Then, a warm golden light swirled around, intertwining in a spiral.

The light, binding like a spiral knot, formed the shape of a chain and floated.

Faced with this unexpected situation, Troph was more startled than I was, his eyes bulging. I was equally bewildered and nearly screamed.

“What, what is this? Is this altar some kind of 90s TV that works when you hit it?”

“I don’t know… I don’t know either. Suddenly what…?!”

“Hmm.”

The golden chain continued to emit a reverent light. As I continued to bask in that light, I somehow began to understand.

As if engraved in my soul, I became certain that the chain belonged to me.

When I instinctively reached out to touch it, my vision filled with visions. What might be a fleeting moment for others was a distant memory for me.

[All I can do is play the role of a farmer planting a feeble possibility. Truly, again, I apologize.]

The arrangement of the first Emperor Astelnerca. The golden blood provided by his body, with bitten fingertips.

In a past life, Astelnerca had transferred the chain to me. While expressing sincere apologies, he wished for me to overcome future trials.

How far he had foreseen was unknown. As he said about planting possibilities, he might have left it hoping it would help someday.

Regardless of intention, the conclusion converges to one point: Astelnerca’s arrangement was the only joker I could play.

“You people caused all this with Lost Blood. And with bloodlines diluted over 500 years at that.”

“So what?”

“Well then…”

I asked with genuine curiosity.

“How far do you think the blood of the first Emperor Astelnerca could go?”

“What does that mean?!”

Troph wouldn’t understand the meaning of my question. Even I found it difficult to grasp the mechanism by which Astel had intervened in past lives. But the truth didn’t matter.

What mattered was that the golden blood directly transferred by the first Emperor existed before my eyes.

And that the old man was the only person besides the Emperor who could activate the Eldchain.

I grabbed the golden chain. As my soul endured a dizzying sensation, I commanded the chain as if threatening it.

“Close the dimensional gate. Bind and tighten the loose chains of the world. Don’t be defeated by the blood of descendants from 500 years later…!”

The golden chain flickered with bright light as if responding to my wish. Whether it worked or not, this was my last line of defense.

Soon after, the golden chain soared into the air and transformed back into light. The light wandered through the sanctuary, closing Zahakra’s cracks as if melting them away.

After performing this amazing feat, the golden light left the sanctuary. I didn’t need to go outside to know. The time had come to purify the scarred sky and restore everything to its natural order.

Troph watched with dreamlike eyes, as if in a trance. I understand why his thoughts would freeze at such an incomprehensible sight.

If the golden chain could simply close the Chainlich Phenomenon, the imperial palace would have taken measures long ago. The shock must have been doubled for Troph, who knew this was impossible.

“What is this? I don’t care about the existence or ability of the golden chain. But only the current Emperor with the blood of the first Emperor should have the authority to use the Eldchain. A mere marquess shouldn’t be able to touch it. Who are you, what on earth are you?!!!”

“Who am I, you ask…”

I could claim various identities, but to him, I wanted to sneer like this. With a provocative smile.

“If I had to say, I’m a defunct noble from a fallen nation.”

Whether counting as myself or as the old man, it was a fitting expression. Looking back at daily life and lifetime, nothing could be more defunct.

For reference, I think the old man is a more hardboiled defunct noble.

“You damn son of a—”

“But thinking about it, introducing myself this way might piss you off more.”

I cut off Troph’s curse and introduced myself on behalf of the man inside.

As a bonus, I channeled the period when I was completely assimilated in my past life, even matching his speech pattern.

“I am the founding noble Nepy. Lorian’s collateral child. You’ve been running wild like a stray dog. You’ve been wasting effort chasing distorted illusions like a fool. The whole world will laugh at you.”

“What… did you say?”

“Don’t deny reality. What part of it is false?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

“Hmm?”

I wonder why he’s denying it at this point. Looking back, it’s more surprising that I wasn’t suspected.

In terms of appearance, since Zikharun and I both have black hair and red eyes, that could be overlooked. But being immortal should have raised some suspicion.

I stopped imitating Nepy and asked:

“Where else in the world would you find an immortal like me?”

“Ha, even sophistry has its limits. An immortal with similar appearance? That’s rich. But does that make sense? Do you believe that nonsense about a companion becoming immortal and returning to the human world from that backward era? Bullshit! Say something that makes sense. Lorian Feita was just a crazy woman!!! Kuuugh…?!”

Just as I was about to slap him in anger on the old man’s behalf, Troph clutched his head and trembled in pain. He seemed to be in such agony that my raised hand meekly returned to my knee.

‘So that’s what it was.’

They had denied the premise that Nepy achieved immortality from the beginning. From a later generation’s perspective, Troph’s view was actually more reasonable.

On the other hand, Rea Feita, who believed based on will alone without plausible evidence, was the crazy woman.

‘Lorian probably just wanted to convey that if the old man ever woke up, he should be well served.’

Rea, her fervent follower, took that literally as her lifelong wish. It was Lorian’s mistake in personnel selection, not understanding the extreme tendencies of the second head of the family.

Lorian, watching this from heaven, must have had a headache.

I could easily gain recognition by blabbering about the old man and Lorian’s memories. But there’s no need for that recognition.

Deciding to resolve the cognitive dissonance later, I first prevented Troph from committing suicide.

Troph’s eyes, being dragged helplessly to the institution, were filled with venom.

‘Let’s see him glare at the old man.’

Out of spite, I kicked him from behind at the end of the passage. Then, bright sunlight accompanied by a groan shone upon us.

Not striped gold, but a clear blue sky like Irefi’s eyes.

“You probably can’t hear me now… but I’ve more or less settled the karma from the old man’s generation. Although Lorian Feita’s wish was abandoned by these people themselves, isn’t it enough if I’m happy?”

Even without the Feita family, I already have precious people around me.

A lover I can lean on and a cute little sister are waiting at the institution.

The kind-hearted carbon copy of the previous generation and his twin siblings are also there.

The Emperor eager to retire is a bonus.

“If there’s anything sad… it’s that the old man has no one precious to him.”

As they say, even hateful affection is still affection. A somewhat bitter sentiment pinched the tip of my nose.

At that time, I didn’t know.

That a complete reversal awaited us that would turn everything upside down.

I truly couldn’t have imagined it.