Reaper of the Martial World - Book 13: Chapter 21: Freee
Madeleine’s indifference caused Emperor Saerus Sapientia to raise an eyebrow. In the end, he shook his head as though he was observing a child who had disappointed him.
“Do you believe that by burning your Sapientia blood and destroying the ocular treasures you were given at birth that you’ve now broken free from us? You cannot fathom the strength of our Sapientia Clan. Do you really believe that a legacy you gained from a mere Half Transcendent could possibly change a thing?”
Madeleine remained expressionless.
This was the reality. Madeleine’s Sapientia blood was burned away after coming into contact with the Legacy left behind by Amethyst. But, who was Amethyst compared to the behemoth that was the Sapientia? The difference between them was like water and mud or the sky and the earth. It was laughable to even try to draw a line of connection.
In that case, how could these matters possibly have ended there?
From the way Saerus was speaking, not only had he been aware of what happened on that day, he simply couldn’t be bothered to deal with it. In fact, he didn’t even care to bring it up until this very moment. This was how dismissive he was of the measures Amethyst had taken.
As for how Amethyst knew of these matters or was even aware that precautions should be taken against this golden eyed clan, maybe Saerus knew, or maybe he didn’t. Either way, it didn’t seem that the answer to this moved the needle for him one way or the other.
Seeing Madeleine’s reaction, or lack thereof, Saerus couldn’t help but chuckle.
Those Sapientia who were watching on from the sidelines couldn’t help but tense up. In all the time they had known this Emperor, this was the
very first time he had displayed anything close to what could be considered emotion.
“This is all a great joke. Just a group of tiny ants trying to kill an elephant.”
As he continued to laugh, his volume grew. By the end, his voice was booming. If all one could hear was his laughter, one would think that he had lost his mind. But, if you paired that with his calm face, the dichotomy was striking to the point of being confusing.
“I understand now.” Saerus said after regaining his calm. “You are simply ignorant. You know nothing about your first life. Maybe if you did, you would understand why your stance now is so laughable. I wonder, if the Angels knew that their Holy Goddess was now a member of my Sapientia Clan, how many of their Ancestors would crawl up from the graves?”
For the first time Madeleine frowned. She didn’t understand what this man was talking about at all.
First life? Angels? Holy Goddess?
Wasn’t the Holy Goddess the woman Lillianna called her leader? Wasn’t she a woman who had a one-sided love for Abraxus’ first disciple?
Of course, she recognized the name. After all, Dyon never hid anything from her. As husband and wife, they had had too many conversations, it was to the point that sometimes they would remain silent and simply enjoy each other’s company. When a relationship reached such a stage, what could they have not spoken about by this point?
Despite her confusion, Madeleine was an intelligent woman. There were many weird things she had already noticed about Dyon’s memory and intelligence lapses. She would have already mentioned them long before had it not
been for Little Yang and Little Yin telling her to avoid doing so.
It only took her a moment to realize that maybe she really was the Holy Goddess Saerus mentioned. And, maybe, Dyon really was Abraxus’ first disciple. In that case, many things made much more sense…
But if all of this was true, what did it have to do with the Angels? Why did Saerus care if she was now a Sapientia? Wasn’t that just a coincidence, was it really something to laugh about? Who cared what blood flowed through her veins, as far as she was concerned, she was a Sacharro from now to death.
“I still have to commend the Angels, though. They actually had a backup plan. But, who would have known that the husband of their little treasure would ruin that second plan too. In fact, their second plan was so incompetent that he actually sided with the very people he was
created to defeat all because the woman he loved also happened to be a Sapientia.
“This is simply the result. This is the inevitability of it all. When you try to work against the world order, only failure awaits you.
“Was it worth it? Sacrificing your life for a man who went off and brought back seven women for you to share him with? Was it worth it? Reincarnating all so that you could have Sapientia blood running through your veins? Was it worth it? Choosing a man who’s the incarnation of everything you’re fighting against?”
Saerus had long since regained his calm. His face was once more expressionless. He spoke as though he was trying to direct a junior, teaching Madeleine the way things should be and the way that they weren’t.
When working against the world order, only failure awaits for you.
It was a simple line. It was even thrown in between countless other ramblings that should have shook her even more. Yet, somehow, these very words were like a stone thrown in the calm lake that was her heart.
This one sentence brought everything together.
The Chaos Path, wasn’t this their exact goal? They saw that the natural order of the world was to tend toward Chaos, so they embraced it wholeheartedly. This was their very goal, to bow at the feet of the inevitable.
But this one sentence that, in all likelihood, was spoken by Saerus without much care or thought… Filled her with endless disgust.
When Madeleine settled on these thoughts, Saerus seemed to catch this change. His expression flickered with a hint of frown before smoothing out once more as though nothing had happened.
“Since this is the way you want to do things, it is fine by me.” Saerus said indifferently. “However, it won’t be very long before you realize that there isn’t any use in anything that you are doing. Very soon, all of this will come to an end. I do not mind entertaining the famous Holy Goddess for her final moments.”
“… I feel sorry for you.”
This was only the second time Madeleine had spoken. The words were just as short and succinct as they had been the first time without the slightest change to her indifference. She had long since regained her calm.
A flicker of rage passed by Saerus’ eyes. But, it was quickly suppressed. In the end, it only seemed as though his eyes had narrowed for but a moment.
His golden robes billowed beneath his slowly growing momentum. His back remained ramrod and his hands stayed clasped behind his back.
“… Your… daughter, was it? Managed to kill three of them before she was saved by you. I wonder how many you’ll be able to kill.”
As though his voice was a cue, the void cracked and shattered once more. However, this time, it wasn’t as simple as just one or two void beasts. A horde that could be counted in the dozens began to slowly make themselves known.
Madeleine’s eyes narrowed, a billowing violet flame erupting from her body. Even with this scene before her, she didn’t seem fazed in the slightest.
‘You’ve held up the skies for me all my life. Let this fall onto my shoulders.’
Madeleine’s aura continued to grow.
Her hair lengthened, becoming a resplendent white along with her eyes and brows. In but a moment, she looked no different from a Goddess, radiating purity and perfection.
On one side, a swath of darkness approached. And on the other, a wall of white light fought against it all.
A lone woman stood in the skies, her visage radiating beauty and confidence.
**
At this moment, a familiar planet of blue and green faintly trembled. Within the catacombs, the very hand that had shocked Dyon as a teen still hung loosely. The chains around its wrists hadn’t moved in the last several hundred years, nor had it in the last several thousand.
But at that moment, its massive hand twitched.
At first, the moment was subtle and almost impartible. But, over time, it became clear that the hand was slowly forming a fist.
The instant the fingers were clasped to its palm, it was as though the world collapsed.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The forearm of The Entity clenched, shattering the chain into countless little pieces. The Entity, after so many years of imprisonment… was free.