Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

CH676 Conspiracy...?

***

’However, this new Pantheon worries me,’ Alex mused. ’If the old Pantheon truly kept everything hidden as tightly as I suspect, then there is a strong possibility that the new Pantheon knows nothing of Gu Mo. And if that is the case, then they are completely unaware of the far greater battle for this plane taking place beneath the surface.’

Alex caught sight of his own reflection in the carriage window and noticed the crease forming between his brows.

’The very first thing the new Pantheon did was consolidate power—which meant purging the other entrenched factions within their own Temples. That only further reduced the chances of older records surviving or the deeper truth being passed down.’

When the BattleBane Guild Master had mentioned that the Twilight Adjudicators killed five Combat Sages—Legends—during the years they spent fleeing pursuit, Alex had immediately held his doubts.

If Juror had taken such painstaking care to weaken the old deities before making his move, then chances were high that he had not yet cultivated a Legendary subordinate of his own at that time. If that were true, it was unlikely that the Twilight Adjudicators themselves had contained many Legendary powers either.

Even if they did, there would likely have been no more than one or two at most. And if that was the case, then their pursuers would never have been so careless as to allow the Twilight Adjudicators to successfully kill five Legendary powers in return.

Call him a conspiracist—or simply a pessimist when it came to human nature—but Alex was far more inclined to believe that most of those Combat Sages had actually been killed by the new deities themselves, using the chaos as an excuse to weaken opposing factions within the Temples and further consolidate their own power and influence.

At most, perhaps, he could concede that the Twilight Adjudicators—at tremendous cost—had managed to kill one Combat Sage. Two, if one stretched belief to its limit. But five? No. That was simply too convenient.

The moment they succeeded in killing even one Combat Sage, their threat level would have risen drastically. From that point onward, such repeated victories would have become nearly impossible.

Alex knew one truth for certain— the older and more powerful a person became, the more fiercely they feared death.

It was one of the great ironies of human nature.

That as many as five of these old and powerful Combat Sages—men who stood at the very peak of mortal strength in this world—would all fall to the same hunted group?

Alex simply could not believe it. Especially not in a world where those same Combat Sages might as well be deities walking among men.

’Another thing that worries me is the artefact the War Deity stole.

’From the way it was described, I would wager that the artefact was most likely that totem stele One Heaven discovered in the hidden Heaven—the same one that likely acted as a beacon, calling Gu Mo across the void and tricking the old deities into establishing Deity Cultivation in Verdantis.

’An artefact of that nature is not something the old deities should be able to simply destroy whenever they please. If it were that fragile, it would never have survived its journey through the void from wherever Gu Mo originated to this plane.

’No... something about that does not add up.’

Alex’s thoughts grew heavier.

’Then there is Juror. The War Deity taught him how to become a deity through knowledge derived from the totem stele. Compared to the old gods, Juror should have had far less opportunity to study it.

’So how was he able to not only learn the method of deicide, but actually carry it out successfully in such a short span of time—when the older deities had failed to do so for centuries?

’I refuse to believe that those power-hungry traitors of the old era never wanted to kill one another after all the wars and betrayals they engaged in. They absolutely would have tried. So why was it Juror -a new deity- who succeeded in creating the possibility of true deicide?’

Alex’s eyes flashed sharply.

”Everything comes back to the totem stele...” he muttered aloud.

His thoughts continued inwardly.

’That damned thing must have intentionally taught Juror how to do it. Just like the old deities before him, Juror—and perhaps the entire new generation Pantheon—must be nothing more than unwitting puppets.’

’In that case, everything—from the deicide, to the destruction of the totem stele, to the rise of a new Pantheon—must all be part of a single scheme... a scheme the new deities are far too blind to see.’

’Gu Mo.’

The name echoed heavily within Alex’s mind.

’This has to be connected to Gu Mo.’

That conclusion settled in his mind like cold iron.

’But Gu Mo was sealed at the time. What could he possibly have gained from the deities killing one another—’

Alex’s thoughts froze.

A cold chill ran down his spine.

’No... perhaps that is exactly it.’

His eyes widened in sudden horror.

’Deicide... and the destruction of the totem stele... they both share one thing in common—an enormous release of energy!’

’Such a massive release of energy would undoubtedly have affected the plane itself. The Planar Consciousness would have been forced to respond—to either annul the damage or compensate for the imbalance. But a plane’s resources are finite. To repair one disaster, it must divert resources from something else.

’Something like the seal keeping Gu Mo suppressed...’

Alex’s breathing quickened for a brief moment before he forcibly calmed himself.

’If I am right, then that means Gu Mo may have been released far earlier than I originally expected,’ he deduced.

’At the same time, it would have weakened the plane’s defenders—which, whether I like it or not, had become the new deities. With the old Pantheon gone and the new generation too blind to understand what was truly happening, Gu Mo would have found it far easier to make his move without anyone actively standing in his way.’

’Damn it... even while sealed, this monster was still scheming on the highest possible level.’

If the implications were not so horrifying, Alex might have stood up and applauded Gu Mo’s brilliance.

Of course, all of this was still conjecture on his part. It was entirely possible that he was simply constructing an elaborate narrative born from an overactive mind and too much suspicion.

However, he had read a lot of political and conspiracy literature to recognise when dangerous patterns was beginning to form.

Even so, he still had doubts.

Unlike other moments like this, his otaku—his reader’s— instincts were not fully screaming at him.

’At best, they are only gnawing faintly at the edges of my mind,’ Alex thought.

He knew he might be overestimating Gu Mo. He might be overestimating Juror. He might even be overestimating the entire new Pantheon.

Yet one thing he was certain of—at least, certain enough to trust—was that some form of conspiracy was unfolding beneath the surface.

He simply did not know whose scheme it truly was. Gu Mo’s? The new Pantheon’s? The remnants of the sorcerers? Or perhaps some other unseen player entirely.

That uncertainty made him deeply restless.

’I should prepare for the worst,’ he concluded.

And as part of preparing for that worst-case scenario, Alex turned his attention towards finishing a smaller matter he had already set into motion.

’Since I have already made an impression on Lady Wintermere, I should move quickly and put an end to this Lost Heathen business as soon as possible.’

Unbeknownst to Brock Peyton, the death sentence for both him and his entire group was brought forward.

Alex retraced his route, passing once more through the hidden tunnels beneath the tailor’s shop before returning to the Fortuna Mansion.

After only a few hours of rest and planning, the party moved out once again.

This time, it was to drive the final nail into the coffin of the Lost Heathens.

***