The rain that marked autumn had ended began to fall.
The Pope refused to go out because of his chronic illness. But David was different; he showed no signs of nervousness when the Emperor called him into a secret room.
Fabian was sitting on the throne in a locked secret room, waiting for him, with his sword around his waist.
âI see you, Your Majesty.â
David gave an example with an elegant gesture. He looked so fine even though Fabian was ready to kill him right away.
âYouâve found meâ¦..later than I expected â¦..â His tranquil purple eyes stared at Fabian.
Fabian still had doubts about David. So, for now, he couldnât act rashly. Fabian wouldnât hesitate if it were him before. But now, he had many things to consider.
âDonât you dare to read my mind!â
There were so many hidden meanings behind Fabianâs resolute words.
âNo matter how cunning and wicked you are, I know that you canât use your power now.â
David recalled the figure of Emperors in the past from Fabianâs appearance as he guessed accurately.
âYour Majesty, the Emperor, is always right. Alwaysâ¦.. during this long history.â
âYouâre talking as if youâve witnessed it.â
âTime is relative.â
David showed a faint smile. Fabian also wouldnât be surprised if David had lived an eternal life. In a sense, he was someone who could control demons.
âDonât even think about trying to deceive me. Even if youâre a God, I can tear you apart and kill you without hesitation.â
David felt the sincerity in Fabianâs black eyes and low voice. His ancestorsâ thirst for slaughter and violence still lingered in his blood. If David was an ordinary human being, he might have collapsed right now.
âI donât mean to deceive you. I mean it. And I never intended to harm this Empire.â
Davidâs casual remarks made Fabianâs lips twisted. It was a sneer at his unbelievable words. But David continued to spoke as if he had expected such a cold response.
âIâm not Your Majestyâs enemy. As proof, I will tell you about who I am, who youâve often vaguely guessed.â
David knew already that Fabian must have been somewhat close to the truth about him.
Fabian also had assumed David would make such a guess. However, Fabian was hard to believe when he revealed his true identity so easily.
âYou must have investigated many things, including my whereabouts as the guardian of the tower.â
Fabian shut his mouth.
âThe history of this Empire today begins from a tower. The guardian of the tower exists to balance the human world after a man came to the tower to seal his bloodlust madness.â
âI told you not to deceive me.â
â That man is the ancestor of the imperial family whoâs also Your Majestyâs ancestor. And Iâm the descendant of the man who guarded the tower at that time. This is not a legend nor a lie. Itâs the history and the fate of this continent. Thatâs why now Iâm standing in front of you.â
David spoke in a hushed voice, but Fabianâs eye didnât shake.
âA guardianâ¦If youâre such a great person, you must know what I want to do.â
âNo matter what the truth is, you will still try to kill me. I already felt it from outside the door,â David said. He seemed indifferent to talk about his life.
âAre you confident you wonât die in my hands?â
âWhen I die, the guardian of this worldâs balance will also disappear. This world doesnât want that, so maybe â¦â¦ I wonât die in your hands.â
Fabian spat out a low laugh, âYou seem to be under delusion and mistaken for something. I didnât approach you. I called you in. And I donât want to stain this place with blood.â
âIf my death is predestined, I am ready to accept it at any time.â
David was insensitive to human emotions. So he didnât feel the slightest fear of the human Emperor before his eyes.
Over the years, he had only one thing he was afraid of the imbalance of the world.
âReally?â
Fabian lifted his body from the throne, and his sword touched Davidâs neck at an invisible speed. Before he felt pain, a drop of blood had formed on his sharp blade.
âSeeing youâre red blood, it looks like you are also a human being.â
âThe guardians are basically human. However, we live an eternal life until our mission is fulfilled.â
Davidâs voice didnât waver a bit even though the knife sliced open his neck.
Although Fabian himself wasnât an ordinary person, he couldnât let his guard down as his opponent this time was also not an ordinary human.
âIâll say youâre great that youâre not afraid of meâ¦â¦But you tried to kill my child.â
Fabian was barely able to resist the urge to slit his throat, but David just stared at him with his purple eyes without denying it, ââ¦Yes. I did.â
Fabian nodded with his perfectly convinced eyes, âSo, is there any more reason why I shouldnât kill you?â
David was called to come into this room, and meeting Fabian alone was already a sign.
He purposely chose a day when Evelyn was busy and met David privately. If all his suspicions were correct, he was determined to confront the Vatican by taking Davidâs life first.
âAside from the towerâs guardian, is there another reason?â
Davidâs eyes caught a glimpse at him. Fabianâs cold eyes shook with hankering now.
Was it also because a life that wasnât meant to exist was already born?
âThen Iâll ask you the opposite. If your childâs existence is the cause of the entire continentâs destruction â¦. is there a reason for that child to live?â
âHow dare youâ¦â
âEven though heâs a life that shouldnât exist. Should your child still be alive?â
Fabian slashed his sword deeper into Davidâs neck, and fresh blood flowed again through the blade. âWhat did he do?â Fabian asked David, who was looking at him with calm eyes.
But David was sure he had something else in mind. Thatâs why Fabian couldnât behead his head right away.
âI asked you what he did.â
But, Fabianâs patience had its limits.
âAre you worried about the fate of this continent? If anything happens to my son, I will destroy this continent with my own hands, and Iâll find that damn tower and sink it into the ground covered in blood. Of course, Iâll let you live until then so you can see. Because Iâm very generous.â
The sharp voice of threats deafened Davidâs ears. Fabian had calculated, if he were a towerâs guardian, David wouldnât do something reckless since he was afraid to break the balance.
âDo you know, the Imperial Emperor is never wrong? Whether itâs ruling this continent peacefully or making this continent a battlefield to vent my anger, everything will be justified. In the first place, if I kill half of the humans outside the Empireâ¦..Wouldnât the balance that you so exalted be broken?â
Davidâs eyes trembled slightly for the first time. Being a guardian was a fate he couldnât escape.
Apart from that, there were other reasons. David was a person who also returned to the past after witnessing Fabianâs massacre after Evelynâs death. In other words, he had already seen the hell-scene that Fabian was talking about.
âThe Emperor never changes.â
Thereâs a bitterness in Davidâs voice. He recalled Fabianâs black eyes, which were stained with blood. Even David had done everything he could to stop that frightening sight.
âDonât you believe what I said?â
âNo, I believe. Rather⦠I already know. The countdown to the destruction of the Continent starts when you begin the massacre. Once youâre overwhelmed by madness, the blood of your ancestors will awaken, and you cannot stop.â
Fabian frowned at his words.
âI canât kill a human as well as the ability to stop you.â
âMy child. You tried to kill my child.â
After a long sigh, David shook his head as Fabianâs sword was still threatening his neck, âRight now, this world is on the wrong trajectory by mistake. So â¦â¦ Thereâs a life that shouldnât exist.â
Sadly, Fabian seemed to know who David was referring to.
âYes, your child is a child who shouldnât exist in the original world. Heâs a life that was born into this world and died without even seeing the sunshine.â
âThe original worldâ¦â¦donât blur my argument with that nonsense.â
âIn the end, everything will go according to fate. Even if I die here, in your hands, I canât stop fate.â
âThere is no such thing as a fate for a child to die.â Fabian glared at him. But David didnât avoid his eyes.
âI think thereâs. If youâre a helpless murdererâ¦â¦ Your Majesty, your intuition must have exceeded human beings, so why are you pretending not to know.â
As he said, Fabian had the same intuition as a sixth sense passed down from generation to generation of Emperors. And right now, he was trying to ignore what his instincts shouted.
Davidâs words were like scattered pieces, so he would get some terrifying results if he set them in order. But Fabian didnât want to admit it.
âMy child is innocent.â
âThatâs right. That child didnât do anything wrongâ¦..Itâs Your Majesty; Itâs because of you that your child must die.â
From Davidâs mouth came a calm and bizarre reply. Remarks that he didnât want to believe stuck in Fabianâs ear.
His hand holding the sword shuddered hard at one point, but Fabian managed to overcome his confusion and threw the sword away.
âI wonât kill you here easily. I wonât be fooled by you either.â Fabian roared low.
âWhoâs out there!â
As he shouted out loud, Serus and the Black Hawk Knights who had been waiting came into the room.
âYour Majesty, whatâs going on?â
âThe Vatican Paladin tried to assassinate me.â
As Fabian calmly made his prearranged statement. David didnât resist at all when Serus approached him, making him knelt on the floor and tied him up.
âThis will be a big problem,â said Serus.
Fabian nodded, âTell the Pope about this. This incident must be handled according to imperial law.â
âYes, Your Majesty, Iâll also ask the Elders for help. We have to interrogate and find out what his intentions are before heâs executed.â
This was part of Fabianâs plan. Coincidentally, the Senate elders were at the Imperial Palace because of Adrianâs matters.
Fabian tried to uncover the truth by using the wisdom and power of their sacred relics that had been passed down from generation to generation. Then he decided to cut Davidâs neck as soon as it was cleared up.
âLetâs wait and see who you are and the truth of all your words.â
Fabianâs voice towards David sounded cold.
âYour sin for daring to hurt my child, you will never see the sunshine again with sanity.â
After he had succeeded in suppressing the Popeâs power and discarded Duke Metis, now, David was also already in his hands without a hitch.
âThereâs a dungeon in this palace. Iâve never even gotten to the bottom of it. â
It was a terrible place. That bunker was so bad that it hadnât been recorded in history. The Emperors used it as a torture chamber for their political enemies. They made them confessed and told their secrets by tormenting their mental health.
âIâ¦â¦.â
âDonât talk nonsense anymore.â
David looked at Fabian in silence. He could only remember what he saw within the eyes of the person before himâthe black eyes full of madness. And endless screams of life and despair inside it.
âIâm not on anyoneâs side.â
Buuk!
At the end of his speech, David passed out after Fabian couldnât stand it and kicked him in the stomach.
âYour Majestyâ¦You said we shouldnât kill him.â
âI havenât killed him yet.â
Serus secretly quivered at Fabianâs reply and immediately ordered the Knights to take David away as he was afraid that if left like this, Fabian would accidentally kill him.
Only
âBut once he confesses all of his guts, Iâm going to tear him to death with this hand.â
âYes, I believe you will.â
Serum could see, Fabian must have killed David dozens of times in his mind. So he felt that his decision to take David out was the right thing to do.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
The rest of the role would now be assisted by the Elders.
The Duel of the Truth* was about to begin.
Nobody could lie in the battle, and nobody could last with a sane mind.
( *Chapter 81 )
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