The Story of Hero Among Heroes ~The Founding Chronicles of Arestia - Chapter 150 – 『The Sealed One』

After returning from the north, Ares enjoyed a peaceful daily life.

The days he spent with his wives, although they could be counted as suffering sometimes, nourished his heart.

It was annoying sometimes… but Ares enjoyed it all the same.

However, even as he spent his days with his wives in peace, Ares had grown worried over something.

It was Cornelia.

She was too excellent; A capable politician and extremely good at sacred arts. She’s compassionate, a supporting wife and not to mention that she got along really well with his other wives and is the lynch pin that kept them sorted out… she was the perfect wife. However… there were times when her feats felt inexplicable.

Like how his other wives flocked to and obeyed her.

Why his retainers uniformly showed trust and obedience to her.

And also why the people saw her as a motherly figure.

As Ares pointed out, be it his wives or his retainers….everyone showed one similar symptom. Why do they see her as someone worthy of obedience nearly instantly?

Not only that, Ares found out that her presence alone carried an empowering nature.

There was a report about subjugating a large horde of magic beasts. Ares heard that Cornelia was participating as a commander. The movement of Sharon, Liliana, Elan, and Eckhard was said to be according to her instruction… their work could only be described as splendid.

Cornelia should be an amateur when it comes to military movements. However, her instructions managed to bring about a victory… It was strange to say the least.

And… one thing Ares was most worried about… is that Cornelia’s eye color would change on these occasions.

Mentioned in Zekka’s report, her eyes would turn red in color with some sort of an insignia visible in her right eye.

(That same eyes managed to exorcise Gil’s control over me… And Gil was obviously frightened by it… There must be some secrets involved here.)

Ares sank into a deep thought once again.

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That night, Ares decided to have a talk with the memories of the three great men.

[How rare of you to call upon us like this.]

Gilbert was smiling. Shinn had his usual statue-like expressionless face. Leon had this severe expression as if he had been bitten by bitebug.

[I have something to ask you three.]

Ares tried to be frank and asked the question he wasn’t able to ask before.

[This has been in my mind for a while now. If you guys are just memories, how come we are able to talk like normal people like right now?]

Ares never asked this before. So this time he went straight to it.

Gilbert was the one who answered the question.

[Why of course. We were you from the previous life, our memories hidden deep within your own. Hypothetically speaking, we are you. It was that sorry excuse of a God…I mean, the God of life, Adonis, who separated the memories when you were still a kid, causing us to form our own personalities that are different from yours. It was to help you.]

Gilbert explained. Following that, Shinn also added,

[You were too immature as a『vessel』to inherit our memories back then. That’s why such a roundabout way had to be taken. At least until you grow stronger… By being able to master Gilbert’s magic, learning the entire secret of my swordsmanship and equaling Leon in terms of strategy. Only then we will disappear back into you.]

[Looks like that will be a long way to go…]

Ares laughed.

[Do not say something stupid. You must not be lenient to yourself. You are already over 20 years old. Age-wise, you can be considered as a full adult now.]

Leon reprimanded Ares in a slightly angry tone. Ares could only shrug his shoulders in jest.

[What will we get by threatening ourselves like that… you haven’t been able to get rid of your kingly grit, have you.? Oh well. What else do you want to know?]

Having Gilbert’s approval to ask further like that caused Ares to be confused at first… but he soon made a decision and opened his mouth.

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[…..please tell me about the『Sealed One』]

Ares’ words caused the facial expressions of three to change.

[Back then, I think Gil mentioned about this in the passing, didn’t you? Please tell me more.]

Ares gave Gilbert a look as he said that.

[The insignia in Cornelia’s eye… I think it’s some sort of a seal. But what is it for?]

Gilbert looked back at Ares with a troubled face.

The first person to give any response was Leon instead, who stood next to Gilbert,

[Not only that woman. Actually… you are also a『sealed one』]

[…eh?]

Shinn followed soon afterward.

[But on your part, it was the… 『Sign of a Hero』. We know that much.]

[You’ve been using its power unconsciously. Have you ever wondered? How come you were able to follow through with Shinn’s unreasonable training from the day you awakened our memories? And also why did your magic power rise exponentially all of a sudden?]

Following Gilbert’s word, Ares tried to recall the past. There were indeed many things he couldn’t understand back then. But the certain thing was, the day he awakened the three’s memories… his body experienced a huge change it almost felt like it’s someone else’s.

[Wasn’t that… because of the medicine Gil made for me?]

[That medicine doesn’t have any immediate result. You’ve been mostly relying on the power of that insignia. Well, it’s not like I’ve told you about it.]

[But why?]

[The power of your seal is too enormous. If you consciously use that power poorly, it may end up with your death.]

It was Leon who replied this time.

[Each sealed one has a different ability. The『Sign of a Hero』mainly revolves around the『Power of a Hero』…that is, giving its owner excellent physical and magical prowess.

[Probably, it’s also why people that qualify to become『Heroes』gathered around you. Well, to be honest, we don’t exactly know how the『Sealed One’s』 powers work.]

Gilbert smiled.

[From what I know… so far, we have confirmed the existence of eight『Sealed Ones』… among them, there are two who possess the greatest power… One of them is your wife…who wields the『Sign of Ruler』power.]

[『Sign of Ruler』?]

[We don’t know exactly how the power works. However, after what we’ve seen thus far, we can deduce that it can subdue or incite trust and loyalty within others while also empowering those that are affected by its power. But we can’t be so sure about it yet.]

[In the first place, there was no record in history of someone owning the『Sign of Ruler』…therefore, it’s mostly shrouded in mystery.]

Leon added to compliment Gilbert’s explanation. He closed his eyes for a while… then resumed.

[『Sign of Ruler』seems to be a pair to the『Sign of Overlord』. They have similar power, so to speak. The ability to incite loyalty from the people under his dominion;『Absolute Obedience』; and the ability to empower those people… 『Overlord’s Decree』]

After saying so, Leon closed his eyes again.

[『Absolute Obedience』and『Overlord’s Decree』？」

[Yes… my brother once told me so.]

[Brother?]

[『Sign of Overlord』once belonged to my brother, Raiel.]

[Eh? Leon actually had a brother?]

[It is one memory I never shared with you.]

Leon unusually smiled when he said that.

[Raiel Arcadia….. he was truly a man worthy of the moniker『Overlord』. Everyone respected and feared him equally. The continent would have been united by him….]

[Then… what happened?]

[I killed him.]

[…..]

Ares took a deep breath upon hearing Leon’s answer. This was the first time he heard any of this. Leon, the first emperor of the Great Arcadia Emperor actually had a brother, and he killed his own brother.

[I do not know why, but my brother started murdering his own retainers and people in the middle of his conquest of unification. Therefore, I killed him to protect what was left of his kingdom. And I made sure to leave no trace of him in history… because I do not want people to remember him as a cruel king.]

[…what happened to Raiel that he went mad…?]

[It was due to the power of the『Sign of Overlord』.  The『Absolute Obedience』had an especially awful effect.]

[『Absolute Obedience』?]

[The power to make anyone who he laid his eyes upon to submit. Only another Sealed One or those with especially strong spirits like me could ward it off… everyone else would obey him.]

Ares was left at loss for words after hearing Leon’s story. The Unsealed One’s power… it’s almost like an absolute power. It’s encouraging to have as an ally, but certainly frightening to have as an enemy.]

[I don’t think you’ll meet another one soon. But if you do meet another Unsealed One, you need to be careful. Maybe they’ll end up as your greatest enemy in the future. Just keep that in mind.]

[There is a possibility that you will meet another no matter how small it is. Anyways, history had confirmed the appearance of『Sign of Tyrant』that belonged to King Gilbarus Oldron of Oldron Kingdom. He was infamously known as the worst tyrant in history. There was also an Arcadia prince known to posses the 『Sign of Sage』. He was later known as Sage Remicla. Then there is your『Sign of Hero』and my brother’s 『Sign of Overlord』… We really have no idea what else will appear in this era…]

During that explanation, Gilbert’s and Shinn’s figure disappeared. Leon who stood before Ares also started to dissipate.

[Alright, it seems that the morning is approaching. That’ll be all for today. If you have anything else to ask, come again another day.]

When Gilbert’s words came to an end… the world returned to darkness.

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It was still dark outside. But Ares was already awake. Next to him, Cornelia, who became a hot topic in his dream last night, was sleeping soundly.

[Sealed Ones… huh? What a troublesome thing.]

Ares stroked Cornelia’s hair gently as he muttered.

He was also a『Sealed One』. Perhaps these mighty powers would attract each other, and they would most likely clash.

Fortunately, one of these Sealed Ones, Cornelia, is his wife. But the other ones might still be looking for a conflict in the future.

[You may have been born with such a destiny… but, don’t worry. I’ll always be by your side…]

After muttering that, Ares planted his lips gently on Cornelia’s forehead.