Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 624: Crownstar Life Rankers

In a blur, Asher appeared within his room; the very moment he materialized, he let out a low sigh as he shook his head slowly, his gaze instinctively turning to the side where an elaborate cuisine of dishes had been carefully arranged, spread out in a lavish and almost extravagant manner. At the sight of the food, his stomach could no longer maintain its silence and finally growled audibly in hunger, as though protesting the delay.

Asher simply walked forward with unhurried steps, took his seat, and began to eat in silence. As he ate, his mind wandered through everything that had occurred within the past few minutes. Not even hours had passed since he woke up, and yet everything had already begun to spiral into utter madness.

The moment he had opened his eyes, he had intended to take a quiet, long-deserved break; he would return to the Star Academy, notify them of his mission’s completion, and then spend some time chatting casually with Williams and Finch, as it had been quite a long while since they had last done so.

If possible, he had even planned to accompany them on one of their level of missions, simply to get a breath of fresh air and momentarily distance himself from the chaos that seemed to follow him everywhere.

His thoughts shifted almost immediately to the villagers he had saved. ’I wonder how the Star Academy is treating them,’ he thought to himself, his expression remaining calm even as his mind remained tireless.

’I should probably return as soon as possible; perhaps the Star Academy or I would be responsible for escorting them back to their respective villages.’ His thoughts continued to flow without pause, one after another, his mouth moving in tandem as he steadily consumed the food placed before him.

Inevitably, his thoughts drifted toward Malrik and the Eight Elders, and he found himself wondering whether the madness had already begun. A part of him wished he could be there to witness it firsthand, but he was far from foolish; an attack from individuals of that caliber would end him instantly, leaving no room for resistance. His Star Energy, no matter how potent, would be rendered completely useless in the face of such an overwhelming disparity in power.

After some time, he finally finished his meal. Letting out a long, satisfied sigh, he leaned back slightly and patted his stomach, which now felt overly full. Asher had eaten more than he ever had since his transmigration, an amount that would have seemed excessive under normal circumstances. His battle with Debro had drained him to such an extent that his body demanded replenishment without restraint, and even he couldn’t help but wonder if anyone else could eat so freely at the sight of the chaos outside.

”That hit the spot,” he murmured softly under his breath, his voice quickly swallowed by the heavy silence surrounding him. Despite the distant noise and chaos that echoed faintly from beyond the estate, the Wargrave Estate itself remained eerily quiet, as though it existed in a world separate from the madness unfolding outside its boundaries.

’I wonder if the Eight Elders are all at the Crownstar Life Rank,’ Asher thought to himself as he sat in reflective silence.

If the Eight Elders were indeed all Crownstar Life Rankers, then alongside Azaron, Malrik, Yveric, and Jennifer, names Virelass had previously mentioned, that would bring the total number to an astonishing twelve Crownstar Life Rankers. Such a concentration of power was nothing short of terrifying.

However, it was unlikely that all of them stood at the absolute peak of the Crownstar Life Rank. More realistically, some of them would occupy different sub-Life Ranks such as Flare, Spark, or even Dust; after all, reaching the Radiant sub-Life Rank was a feat that very few could accomplish, requiring not only talent but also time, resources, and opportunity.

Another thought gradually surfaced within Asher’s mind. If the Wargrave family alone possessed twelve Crownstar Life Rankers, then how many would the Imperial Royal Family of the Zarethorn Empire possess?

Surely, they wouldn’t have anything less, and there was an overwhelming likelihood that they possessed even more. After all, they could not afford to simply watch as the Wargrave family amassed such power without maintaining their own superiority.

And what of the other Ducal families, or even the Marquis families scattered throughout the Empire?

Suddenly, Crownstar Life Rankers did not seem as rare in Asher’s eyes as they once had. Yet, no matter how he rationalized it, they were still extraordinarily rare; after all, such individuals existed within a population that spanned over twenty billion inhabitants across the Zarethorn Empire.

In many novels, it was often portrayed as a fundamental truth that noble and ancient families possessed hidden ancestors, extremely old and powerful figures who remained in deep hibernation due to their dwindling life force, or who had withdrawn entirely from the world, only emerging when their family stood on the brink of annihilation.

Asher couldn’t help but wonder whether the Wargrave family harbored such beings.

His purple eyes drifted downward unconsciously, as though attempting to pierce through the ground beneath him, searching for some hidden underground chamber where these ancient existences, likely no less than seven hundred years old, might be lying dormant in silent slumber.

Suddenly, Asher recalled the moment he had casually told Malrik that perhaps only a hundred Crownstar Life Rankers existed throughout all of Crymora. Now, that estimate seemed laughably naive, almost embarrassingly so. It was entirely possible that within the Zarethorn Empire alone, there were already around a hundred Crownstar Life Rankers.

And those were merely the ones affiliated with noble families and the Royal Family. He had not even begun to consider those who had risen from nothing, individuals who started as commoners and carved their own path to power without swearing loyalty to any faction. What of the Adventurer Guild? The Mercenaries? How many Crownstar Life Rankers might exist within such vast and far-reaching organizations that spanned the entire Empire, all governed and controlled by singular entities of immense authority?

Of course, Asher did not fully believe that reaching the age of one thousand marked the inevitable end of one’s life. Surely, there were individuals who had lived to twelve hundred or even thirteen hundred years, perhaps through the use of rare artifacts or the consumption of mystical resources capable of extending one’s lifespan far beyond natural limits.

’I seem to be thinking a lot today,’ Asher mused inwardly as he slowly rose to his feet, his movements calm and unhurried.

”You may come in and clean the table,” Asher stated casually, already aware that the butler remained stationed just outside his door, ever ready to attend to his needs in Lyra’s absence.

Upon hearing the command, the butler immediately stepped inside, only for his eyes to be met with the sight of Asher levitating effortlessly toward the ceiling, his figure phasing through it as though the solid structure offered no resistance at all.

Asher appeared atop the roof of the family estate, he settled himself down with natural ease, sitting comfortably as a wine glass and a bottle of fine wine materialized within his hand. His expression remained calm and composed as he gazed outward, observing the commotion unfolding within the boundaries of the Wargrave territory, his eyes quietly taking in the extent of the chaos as far as his vision could reach, as though he were a detached observer to a world slowly descending into disorder.