Chapter 115: Coincidence... Coincidence... Or Coincidence... |
Before falling any further, Celt glanced downward and saw that the sky from moments ago seemed to have transformed into the present scene.
The pile of debris from the collapsed wood shifted, then was forcefully pushed open from within.
Celt, whose body surface was faintly glowing, struggled to shove aside the wood shavings covering him.
Even without using Spirituality to strengthen his body, Celt could ordinarily lift two or three carriages with his bare hands, yet now, just flipping off a few planks proved difficult.
He was a bit disheveled, gasping for breath, feeling an inexplicable weight pressing down on him, forcing him to constantly expend Spirituality just to stand upright.
And that weight was growing heavier by the moment.
It was as if, although he was now standing on some unknown material, he was still simultaneously "falling."
Naturally, his gravitational acceleration was increasing.
He existed in two states at once: "stationary" and "falling."
He had already ignited his Spiritual Flame, but it only formed a faintly glowing layer on his skin.
This feeling was somewhat familiar.
He had experienced it less than two hours ago.
It resembled Ethen's Perpetual Arboretum.
But back then, Ethen clearly hadn't intended to target Celt as a guest. Though Celt could feel that Ethen's Spirituality was so dense in the surroundings that he could barely ignite his own Spiritual Flame, it wasn't impossible if he really tried.
Now, however, was different.
The master here probably didn't see him as a neighbor dropping by for a visit.
His Spirituality was suppressed deep within his body, barely enough to muster.
Catching his breath, Celt looked up at the sky—or rather, what should have been the sky but was now an upside-down ground.
The original West District streets had vanished, replaced by a magnificent upside-down palace.
A resplendent palace, towering stone pillars, an imposing square.
If you ignored the fact that it was hanging upside down overhead, it perfectly matched most people's imagination of "royal authority."
Between the palace and Celt, a man floated.
He appeared to be a middle-aged man with no beard. Golden hair and golden eyes, his face clean-shaven without even stubble. No scars or decorations, only a crown adorned with a few gems atop his head.
Unlike the upside-down palace, he wasn't inverted. Instead, he aligned with this topsy-turvy world—his head pointing toward the ground, his feet toward the sky.
He hovered there silently, looking down at Celt with an expressionless, stern, and rigid face.
He was the current King of Liastan, Corlemon Odius.
The moment he saw Corlemon Odius, Celt felt the pressure on him intensify, as if trying to force him to kneel.
He tried to resist, but his legs kept bending further.
Realizing he couldn't fight it, Celt gave a sudden push, leaned back, and flopped onto the ground, arms and legs splayed wide, staring up at King Corlemon Odius above.
Celt inexplicably felt a hint of displeasure in Corlemon's gaze.
Corlemon naturally should be displeased.
He had intended to come looking for him several days ago.
To be precise, the moment he sensed Samuel's aura a few mornings ago, he had planned to act.
Samuel had caused quite a commotion, and Corlemon detected the anomaly immediately.
But he couldn't pinpoint Samuel's exact location.
Though Samuel was inside Reins, he just couldn't find him.
This put him in a bit of a bind.
Fortunately, the possessor of "Royal Blood" could designate the area where they lived the longest as their 'Domain.'
And as the original creator of "Royal Blood," he naturally possessed his own 'Domain.'
That was the entire Kingdom of Liastan.
As long as it was within the kingdom, he could alter order, create rules, and influence or dominate everything.
So, he changed part of the "order" here—money reigned supreme—increasing the attraction of banknotes, hoping Samuel would hoard large amounts of money, allowing him to locate him through the portrait on them.
But the influence on Samuel was limited. Samuel did take an interest in the banknotes, but more so in the portrait on them.
Samuel created a massive amount of banknotes, then burned them all.
Though Corlemon managed to barely pinpoint him, it only let him cast a faint gaze, unable to establish much connection.
And he quickly noticed that the building had issues—he couldn't do anything to Samuel through it.
Moreover, by that time, Samuel had already made contact with the Priest of Continuity Church.
He wasn't sure how much Ethen had intervened, but the result was that in less than half an hour, when he looked again, Samuel had already linked up with Priest Ethen of Continuity Church.
On the level of "Law," Samuel had the protection of that building; on the practical level, Samuel had just contacted Priest Ethen, and he couldn't be sure whether the Priest would intervene.
This left him unable to forcefully seize Samuel through [Law] means, nor could he descend directly in person to face Samuel.
So he had to abandon that attempt and continue waiting.
Half a day passed, and Samuel never left the building.
But this was, after all, his 'Domain,' so he could still manage some guidance.
The "Royal Blood," which had dissolved itself a century ago, needed a new master.
So, on the level of fate, he expanded the mystical connection between himself and "Royal Blood," catalyzing its emergence, while constraining fate so that the "Royal Blood" couldn't leave the city of Reins, forced to find its heir here.
This "Royal Blood" would proactively seek out the person most likely to become "King" within the city, and Samuel certainly qualified.
As expected, everything went smoothly—the "Royal Blood" found Samuel on the level of fate. Under Corlemon's will, Samuel was fatefully linked first to Allenay, then to Wyatt.
But Samuel once again escaped fate, giving this "Royal Blood" to his Aspect.
Then, after hesitating for a while and just as he was about to make a direct move, Samuel entered Wyatt's territory.
He didn't fear Wyatt—being one step away from becoming a Law Inscriber was still a world away from a true Law Inscriber.
But Corlemon sensed another Law Inscriber there.
Samuel stayed there until the afternoon before leaving.
Just as Corlemon was about to ignore the other hidden risks and descend directly, Samuel disappeared.
He had been taken to Liant Town.
Then, for several days, he didn't come out.
Coincidence... coincidence... or coincidence...
A series of coincidences repeatedly thwarted his plans.
Clearly, that Law Inscriber had made a move.
He probably wasn't working with Ethen, but on this matter, they both, without prior agreement, chose to oppose Corlemon.
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