Chapter 530 - Into A Villain
As his eyes were glued to the throne, it seems that Lorius' were glued to him. This made the Knight of Courage take a step forward, unleashing the aura she was restraining.
"You are underestimating me."
Lusica can see the knight's aura shift from human to monstrous as a blue flame in the red of the throne. His body shivered as the temperature took a fall until everything around the knight was turning to ice.
"The reason that I summoned my blood back is that I am doing the opposite. You are a threat. However, I want to know if this is what you want to do."
"This is exactly what I want to do," the Knight of Courage took a step forward as she took a stance, and the ice exploded around her great sword. "We have been aiming for your head for a long time. Finally, you gave us the chance to take it down."
"I am well aware," rose the Ancient One from his blood seat, his hair falling behind him until it reached his waist. "However, this kingdom cannot survive without me. Temple of Schelera needs me, and the people need it. King Solomon never cared about the faith of its subjects, but I did."
His words did not make sense to Lusica, who was inching closer to the battle with his dagger in hand. Instead, the Ancient One talked about how vital he was to this kingdom and how he had saved it countless times before.
"I am not the enemy. I did not cause this war. However, you are standing on the side of the same man who did. The Seika disappears, and Runera declares war? As if I had anything to do with it?"
"...then give us the saint back."
"And for what? I refuse to hand over the saint to be used. I am not the villain here for letting my vampires devour the knights, but it is you. I loved Ai ever since she came to my temple, but Runera wants to take her to bring the Seika back."
"The saint is the only one who knows how to bring him back."
"Ai told me the truth," smiled the Ancient One. "After her revival, the Seika was always in her dreams. However, all of you fail to understand that the powers the Seika use are not his."
"What does that mean?" interjected Lusica, and Lorius looked at him with a smile. "And even if that was true, why would it matter?"
"He is not a Seika, but the man who gave the Seikas their powers. That man will take back what is his in the end. That applies to you, perseverance. The blessing that he gave you is also a part that he needs to come back here."
Lusica furrowed his brows as his eyes darted toward the throne. The Ancient One sighed and waved his hand, making the blood move away from the passage. The gesture left the two knights confused.
"You can ask the saint directly. I want you to see that you are one of us and let the saint tell you the truth that I told her."
Lusica did not know what to do, and he turned toward the Knight of Courage, who gave him a nod. It did not matter the reason, as the saint needed to be retrieved.
His legs carried him toward the staircase, which went down while his powers were at his fingertips, ready to protect him. However, the Ancient One did not attack him.
As he went into the passage, the blood throne closed behind him. Lusica turned to look at the overflowing blood that sealed the entrance before deciding to keep going.
Many questions were going inside of his head, and most of them were about how to get past the Ancient One, but the enemy dissolved them into one question: what was his aim?
Lusica had no choice but to go down as he mulled over these things. Finally, a dim light came from the bottom of the stairs, which led him into a small room, where a beautiful woman sat.
"Saint Ai?"
"That is me," smiled the woman as she turned toward him. "I am afraid that I don't know you. Are you a friend of Kar?"
"I am his enemy, actually," replied Lusica and watched her smile crumble. The woman stared at him with squinting eyes that pierced through his soul as if she did not trust him anymore. "I came here to save you."
"On whose commands?"
"...Lord of Runera, Diana Eistar," replied Lusica. "The Seika... is gone, and we want to bring him back, but we have no idea how."
"And do you know?"
"Do I know what?"
"Whether the Seika wants to come back or not," the saint held her hands together and sighed. "I am unsure of what to do when he never gave me a command."
"...did Kar tell you something?"
"Lorius told me the truth about the world, and how they planned on betraying it, and how the Seika tried to stop them before. However, he also told me that this world is the world is nothing but a shield."
"A shield?"
"A shield that the Seika must maintain, and we are the sacrifice. Kar never denied that he wants his world, a kingdom of blood, but he promised it would be a safe place for his subjects, where no one needs to be sacrificed."
"And you believe him?" laughed Lusica with offended pride. "The Seika pulled you out of the dead, and you believe his enemy."
"Are you going to send me back?" sweetly smiled the saint. "That is the method, anyway."
"The method?"
"For the Seika to return, all of us need to give back what he gave us. This is the only way for him to grow powerful. We are the parasite that hinders him, and that answers my first question."
"That the Seika does not want to come back," Lusica looked down. "Kar knows that too. He knows that the Seika's feelings are standing in his way."
"And he is using it to obtain something he always desired, but I don't know what. Now, tell me, knight of the Seika. What are you going to do?"
"I am going to kill you," Lusica returned the same smile she gave him as he declared. "And then, I am going to kill the princess of Ice and Fire. In the end, I will kill myself, and that will be the end. Even if the Seika gave other people a part of his powers, I doubt he would care about them more than himself."
"We are not the ones holding him back," said the saint with a smile. "It is the princess. The Seika is in love with her."
"Then, my enemy has changed," Lusica took a few steps forward. "I am going to kill her after I kill you. This ends it," his powers of nothingness started to surround his dagger.
"This is not what the Seika wants."
"I have seen the true might of the Seika, and he is not destined to be trapped somewhere because of us. On the contrary, that man is the light that this world of darkness needs."
"You must be the one Lorius mentioned, the one inflicted by Nameless," realized Saint Ai as she leaned back. "It seems that the Seika failed to see your glorification of him."
Lusica did not deny it. After he fell into the darkness countless times, the Seika was there to bring him back. In the forest, when the Seika saved him from turning into a monster, he saw it.
The Seika was the sole one deserving to be called beloved by the world because Lusica had seen the world's core behind him at that time. This was bigger than any of them, and it was the beginning of a man who would save this world.
"My greatest regrets would be the Seika hating me for what I am about to commit, but this has to be done. The three of us need to die."
"You are putting the world before the Seika's desires."
"...I am also putting the Seika's life before his desires. I will shoulder his hate in the afterlife, and I can shoulder yours."
As he said so, Lusica rushed forward. The ground broke beneath his powers of nothingness while the dagger made an arch to kill the saint. However, the woman did not move.
The walls broke down as giant roots launched from it to strike him, and Lusica dodged in time. However, the roots surrounded the saint as a man walked out.
His black hair was messy, and his green eyes were tired. However, when he met him, Lusica knew that this man was as powerful as Lorius himself.
"Who are you?" Lusica stopped his roll as the darkness tried to overtake him, but he held it back with the powers given to him by the Seika.
"I am the Healer Guardian, kid," sighed the newcomer. "This is the first time I've seen someone turn into the villain so quickly. Nameless was not wrong picking you, so it's a shame that he did not manage to gain control over."
"...and why are you protecting this woman?"
"A personal interest," smiled the Healer Guardian.