Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2259 Reading the situation

”.....” Faced with Glacionʼs cutting words, Omes stared at him with an expression devoid of emotion, neither anger nor agreement visible upon his face, as though he were weighing every word he had just heard and measuring its value before deciding whether it deserved a response at all. Then he turned away and returned to stand before his throne.

Then, with a soft motion that seemed strangely synchronized, both he and Omira sat down upon their thrones at the same time, their movements carrying the quiet confidence of rulers who had occupied those seats for countless years.

Omira was the first to speak. ”We are not as insignificant as you portray us, Glacion. We are Guardians of the Minor Disturbance Law, a branch of the Fundamental Chaos Path. Either one of us is capable of turning an entire sector upside down alone, and together, fighting shoulder to shoulder as we always have, even Lord Blokan—the very person whose name you keep invoking—could not defeat us easily.”

”.....” Glacion furrowed his brows slightly, then waved a hand dismissively as though the argument itself had already exhausted him. ”Forget it. Iʼve done everything I could, and the message has been delivered. Whether you understand it or not is no longer my concern. Do whatever you want.” Then he began to turn, intending to take Holak and leave before the conversation could circle back into threats and pride once more.

”Glacion.”

But Omiraʼs voice made him stop before he could take another step.

”...Did you truly view yourself so poorly when you agreed to submit to the Grave Empire? When you humiliated yourself before the entire universe and broke your promise to the Sorcerer Behemoth? When everyone believed you were terrified and trembling in fear of Lord Hedrick, and that was why you raised the white flag? When countless people mocked you behind closed doors and openly questioned your courage?”

Glacion stopped and turned back toward Omira with slightly furrowed brows. Before delivering a harsh response, however, he studied the manʼs expression first.

Omira was not looking at him with arrogance, nor did he seem to be intentionally mocking him or attempting to provoke him for amusement. His expression was calm, and his eyes were focused and sincere, carrying a seriousness that made the question feel genuine rather than insulting.

It appeared that he genuinely wanted an answer.

Even so...

Those words were exceedingly harsh.

”Heh~” Glacion sighed softly, the sound carrying a faint trace of weariness. ”Perhaps Iʼm not as strong as the two of you. Perhaps Iʼm not as wealthy as the Sorcerer Behemoth, nor as sharp-minded as the Behemoth of Oppression. Perhaps there are countless things I lack compared to the monsters who stand at the peak of the universe. But if thereʼs one thing I can praise myself for, itʼs reading the situation.”

Then he continued, his voice becoming quieter and more deliberate. ”...Back during the period when the conflict between the Sorcerer Behemoth and the Grave Empire intensified, when the Grave Empire began securing its internal fronts through alliances and promises while preparing for the storms everyone could see approaching, they came to me just as they came to you. All they wanted was a non-aggression oath for a certain period of time. In exchange, they offered commercial alliances, preferential treatment, and all of those pleasant little benefits that rulers enjoy hearing about.”

”...” Omes and Omira listened attentively without interruption. After all, Aro had approached them as well with similar threats and offers, and they understood better than most how those negotiations tended to unfold.

”...I was on the verge of accepting those offers.” Glacion shook his head slightly. ”What was happening had nothing to do with me, and I had no desire to create problems with Lord Robin, who was already known to be supporting them at that time, and whose relationship with the Elder Cosmic was already well known across numerous information networks. Remaining neutral seemed like the obvious decision. It seemed like the safest decision. But there was something that changed my mind and made me choose to become a Wing... something they never even offered me in the first place.”

”What was it?” Omira asked immediately, unable to hide his curiosity.

”The Soul Inheritance Array,” Glacion answered without the slightest hesitation.

”Hmm?” Omes furrowed his brows, clearly uncertain where Glacion was heading with the subject. ”The Array that converts ambient soul units into emeralds? Hmm, it became enormously popular at the time and remains one of the greatest inventions of the modern era. There are entire farms dedicated to using it nowadays, industries built around it, and countless organizations that depend upon its output... but what about it?”

”The timing of its release was peculiar,” Glacion replied without hesitation. ”It appeared during a period when the Shadow Swords were being persecuted, when the Mid Sector 101 was being dismantled piece by piece, when the Council of Thrones struck at the Cosmic Academy project, and when the Behemoths of Relativity, Gravity, and Destruction began unofficially opposing Lord Robinʼs interests openly.”

”Yes?” the two brothers asked simultaneously, both still failing to see the connection.

”Thatʼs it.” Glacion smiled faintly. ”Lord Robin sent the method for creating the Soul Legacy Formation to the Soul Society and allowed them to manufacture it, and from that moment onward everything changed.” Then he continued, ”The numbers of the Shadow Swords increased. Marshal Aro struck Behemoth Zargol in the heart of his own territory. The six Guardians of Mid Sector 101 were completely healed and began carrying out special missions together, reviving the resistance. Meanwhile, an enormous number of Cosmic Academies were established from nothing, without requiring the support of the old powers, and suddenly a situation that had seemed hopeless from every angle began reversing itself.”

”Youʼre saying he sold the Soul Inheritance Array to solve his problems?” Omira asked in surprise, still unconvinced. ”That alone was enough to make you believe in him?”

”You still donʼt understand...” Glacion shook his head slowly. ”All of those problems had been piling up on top of one another for years. Every one of them was large enough to demand the full attention of major powers, and yet they all appeared simultaneously. Then suddenly he emerged, handed the blueprint of a legendary array to another competing power like the Soul Society, and everything was resolved.”

”Donʼt you see what I see?!” Glacion took a step forward, his voice becoming more animated. ”That person was most likely secluded somewhere. Then he emerged, learned what was happening, selected something random from his collection of projects, handed it to the Soul Society, and went straight back to his research while telling his followers to handle the rest!”

Then he raised his voice slightly. ”You donʼt understand! Everyone who chose the Syndicateʼs side is a fool, an idiot, a blind imbecile incapable of seeing whatʼs right in front of them!” Then he waved his hand sharply. ”Lord Robin doesnʼt hide himself because heʼs afraid. He doesnʼt appear because he isnʼt interested in whatʼs happening. Every crisis that an appearance from him could solve can be resolved simply by throwing out some random array before returning to his research. That person cares about nothing except research and development!”

”...?!”

His voice rose even further until both brothers visibly trembled beneath the intensity behind his words.

”Have all living creatures stopped using their brains?!” he shouted. ”The Elder Cosmic came out publicly and declared that Lord Robin was responsible for saving his life. Who exactly can save the life of the Elder Cosmic, the very person who shaped everything we know and established the system we all live under? The same existence that countless generations relied upon without even understanding the scale of his contribution to the universe? Does someone like that need help? Do you think he needed a friend to chat with? The same Elder Cosmic lived through three great Truth Chosen before Lord Robin and was a personal friend of Azramid himself, yet none of them managed to do anything for him!”

Then he pointed directly at Omes, his expression filled with genuine frustration.

”Open your minds, you damn cattle. Anyone capable of saving the Elder Cosmic is either someone possessing power on the same level as his, or someone whose research achievements have reached a height nobody in history has ever touched before. Someone whose knowledge is sufficient to push the universe a billion years forward. A true genius whose existence strips the word ʼgeniusʼ of its value when it is applied to anyone else, because every comparison becomes meaningless the moment he enters the conversation!”

”Fools... fools and idiots!” Glacion shook his head repeatedly, as though he could scarcely believe the conclusions reached by so many influential people. ”You say I was afraid of Lord Hedrick and surrendered because of him...” Then he raised his voice once more, louder than before. ”Lord Hedrick himself surrendered and went off as a mercenary into another sector solely to kill someone who was annoying Lord Robin, who was Lord Hedrick afraid of then?! You cattle incapable of understanding the simplest facts!!”