Chapter 468 - A God In Our Midst
"Teleportation, Fire, Barriers, Healing, and now... revival. Not to mention his otherworldly spiritual energy, the Seika is a monster counting his abilities alone," analyzed the king.
It was late at night, and the lantern burned quietly on his desk. The king had countless reports lying around about what the fallen knight called his most precious possession: the Seika.
"This young man is slowly turning from a human into a god," the king couldn't contain his smile. "As a vessel, even I am jealous of his fortune. How can a slave who appeared out of nowhere be so powerful?"
The king knew that the Seika was not a threat to him, not in mindset or strength. However, the man had the potential to take the throne from him if left unchecked. It was a wonder whether leaving him alive was the right thing to do.
"I cannot kill the one thing that can save me," said the king as he shook his head. "And I know that you aren't going to let me harm him. You gave me this power to help him grow, but I wonder how long I have before you decide to take my life."
The king was alone in his study, but he was talking to someone. No answer came to his words, but he kept rambling about the Seika unceasingly. If anyone heard him, they could see his obsession.
"I need to act quickly," said the king. "Otherwise, Ruki won't be saved. No matter the price, and no matter the method," he squinted his eyes, "I need to save her."
***
Avadil whistled as he made his way through the gardens of the palace. His childhood memories returned to him, where he played with Viv, who was no longer here. The loss of his friend made him go against his family, and he has yet to regret it.
However, even though he made sure his family hurt not a single soul more, his friend did not come back. He was thinking about such a thing because of the miracle a few days ago: the revival.
Temple of Schelera decided that the priestess was a gift from their lord, and no one dared to refute it. Avadil knew some eye-witnesses said that the Seika had a hand in the matter, but no one wanted to believe that a man no older than twenty could revive the dead.
It was a notion they were not ready to face, and that was for a good reason. The Seika did not seem too eager to prove it was him, which threw everyone into speculation.
"It feels as if we are only looking away from the truth," Avadil chuckled to himself as he reached his spot. Viv liked a group of flowers when she was alive, and they survived the hellish bloodbath. "You are still alive, me and you both," he crouched beside them.
The flowers were transcalent blue, so thin that you could see through them. Despite looking so fragile, these flowers survived to this day. This was also the spot that Viv died in, and it was the only place these flowers agreed to grow.
Avadil caressed them with care before taking out his equipment. This area had a barrier around it to protect these flowers, preventing anyone from harming them. However, this meant that he needed to maintain it.
As he was replacing the mana cores, the array, and the holy water, Avadil heard a commotion coming from the palace's gate's direction. His brows furrowed as he hurried to finish his work, took one last loving look at the flowers, and turned to see what was happening.
His gait was confident and light as he walked toward the gate. However, his steps slowed down as he saw the person who had just arrived at the inner palace. It was a woman he had never seen before, wearing a long white robe with golden embroidered sleeves.
"A divine beauty," muttered Avadil with a daze. As he thought he had seen his fill from beauty, this woman proved that he was only ignorant. Her curious brown eyes looked around as if she were a fairyland. "It seems the gods have poured their love into creating her."
Avadil was not a vain person, and he never dared disrespect man or woman by looking at them for too long. However, it was a different matter when beauty transcends what humans could have. This was perfection.
"Welcome, Saint Ai," bowed a man to her, and he could hear their conversation. Shockingly, the man was the King's Hand, and he did not show an ounce of disrespect in front of this woman.
"Saint Ai?" pondered Avadil. "I see, she is the one: a miracle like no other, and she indeed looks like it. I believe this is a chance to make acquaintance with her."
Avadil strode forward, and the guards did not dare stop once they saw his face. His father failed to give him divine eyes, but he certainly gave him a unique face doing so.
"Greetings," Avadil bowed to the curious saint, who has yet to greet the hand of the king. Saint Ai turned to face him, and Avadil saw recognition in her eyes. "I am the owner of Lily Auction House, Avadil."
"I know who you are, your highness," she greeted him with a bright smile. The sight of her face warming to him made Avadil's heart leap in his chest. "I don't think that you remember me, but we had met once before when you were a child."
Her voice was clear and gentle, and it was the most pleasant of voices to listen to, making Avadil dazed. It was no wonder they called her the perfect creature because even her voice alone was enough to charm him.
'This is bad. This person is in danger, and she is danger itself. I heard that she was the perfect creature, a gift from the gods, but not even the gods could resist temptations when looking at her. Her purity makes anyone who looks at her ashamed of their sins.'
"Did the two of you meet at the temple?" the King's Hand spared him a glance. "Saint Ai must not know that Master Avadil is no longer a part of the royal family."
Avadil knew that this man never liked him, and they fought a lot when they were planning against the previous king. However, their relationship deteriorated after the king took the throne, as this man believed that Avadil was a threat since he was a part of that family.
"Ah, habits rarely die," said Saint Ai with bashfulness. "His highness was kind to me whenever we met, so it is hard to change how I address him."
Avadil was awed by the rosy blush on her face and then amused by her attitude. The King's Hand has mentioned that Avadil does not hold a royal title, but she still used it anyway.
However, Avadil did not remember her one bit. It was indeed possible that they met on several occasions since
"Ahem," coughed the man. "I believe that we kept you at the gate long enough. How about we go into the meeting hall? His majesty is eager to meet the saint of our times."
"Would you like to join us, your highness?" Saint Ai smiled at him again and invited. Avadil nodded with a thin smile, and the face of his hater worsened rapidly, but he did not say a thing.
The King's Hand took the lead, and the two of them walked together into the palace. Several priests, guards, and knights followed after them to protect Saint Ai, but she was too busy looking around.
"Saint Ai," began Avadil. "I have a question, if I may," he didn't want to interrupt her curious staring of the palace, but she did not seem to mind.
"Anything, your highness," she smiled.
"Do you know the Seika of Living Beings?"
His thrown questions changed everything about her demeanor. As her face froze at his question, Avadil noticed that her hand had clenched into a fist.
"These questions are rude to Saint Ai, who has recovered from her awakening only recently," the King's Hand was displeased with him as if this topic was a taboo. Avadil ignored him.
His interest lay in the face she was making, and it was not the face of someone disinterested. Saint Ai faintly nodded but did not answer his question directly.
"I have a meeting with him today. You can join me if you want. Consider it as payback for allowing me to join you now," said Avadil, and he saw her clear brown eyes stare at him silently.
"I would be honored," she said without emotions, but he could tell that she was somehow happy. Avadil conjured his theories about this matter, and he questioned the rumored story about her awakening.
'It seems that the gods have little to do with this,' Avadil thought to himself.. 'Maybe it was indeed the act of divine, and this means we have a god in our midst.'