[751] Holy War (2)
* * *
The Synod.
The sight of the twelve rulers who dominated the world gathered in one room was oddly grotesque.
A single word from any of them could shake the world, and any motion agreed on here would trigger massive upheaval.
Though the Vasari governor of the Cotria Republic sat in the presider's chair, the overall balance was such that the Igun King played host while the Seven Thrones kept a wary eye on the Three Sovereigns.
Uorin closed the file.
"Then let's set the supply ratio for the magic shells like this—"
She paused, then, pretending to catch her breath, continued without missing a beat.
"Shall we rest for about ten minutes?"
No one voiced an objection, but the meeting had already been going on for seven hours.
'That's exactly the problem.'
There was only one reason Uorin had stopped: Gustav Havitz XVII, seated directly across the vast round table.
'How long are you going to keep staring?'
Since the Synod began, Havitz hadn't said a word; he hadn't even looked away, simply staring at Uorin without shifting his gaze.
Even after the break was declared, he remained unchanged, slouched at an angle and idly rocking in his chair.
'Provocation. No—something else.'
She analyzed him.
Knowing every hair of her body was being watched made her not even want to imagine what he was thinking.
"Heh heh, now that I think of it… congratulations on becoming the new lord of the Empire."
Mayer, king of Jaive and representative of the central continent, reached out to shake Havitz's hand.
"...."
Havitz didn't so much as turn his head; he only continued his odd rocking motion.
"Hmm, hmm."
Mayer's embarrassment was obvious, and the Jaive guards—the Shinjang—lined up behind him all put their hands on the hilts of the swords at their left sides.
"Heh heh, cut it out. Not here—"
No one would dare humiliate the king of Jaive, yet this Synod was full of people who might.
'Arrogant brat. He held the same position not long ago.'
Before Havitz XVI died, Havitz XVII had been merely a king ruling part of the Empire.
"By the way, what kind of person was Nane?"
Munryong, ruler of the Moon Kingdom, asked, and Jingang, emperor of Jincheon, also showed interest.
"He graduated from Jaive," Mayer said, putting on a strained smile.
"There isn't much to say. He was just an exchange student—and now he's become humanity's enemy."
That curt withholding of information left the faces of the Seven Thrones' leaders sour.
As the atmosphere cooled, Uorin finally met Havitz's gaze for the first time.
"I have one question."
Just when she thought he wouldn't respond, Havitz suddenly spoke.
"How long has it been?"
Behind him, four figures sat on the floor in different poses.
"Seven hours and forty-eight minutes?"
A woman answered as if questioning back. She knelt, dressed so absurdly she might as well be a clown.
Her ornate gown was cumbersome; her face was painted white and her eyelids cut away so her eyes always looked enormous.
She'd drawn thick black lashes—three lines underneath and three above.
Gustav's Four Arts: combat doll Natasha.
Another spectacle of the Synod was the eccentric banners and retainers each ruler brought.
But Havitz had entered without a guard, accompanied only by four champions.
'The ones people only heard of in rumors…'
Though many tried not to show it, attention that had been on Havitz shifted to the figures behind him.
'The Four Arts under the King of Desire.'
Though Havitz was abnormal, many skilled people had come—drawn to his world-class charisma.
The Four Arts were handpicked elites, each the pinnacle of a single discipline.
"Seven hours and forty-eight minutes, huh…"
Muttering softly, Havitz finally straightened in his chair and propped his chin on the table.
"Mitochondrial Eve—surprisingly impatient, that Kashan queen."
The bodies of a hundred wind players trembled, and a strong gust swept the hall.
"Stop."
The wave in the air snapped off instantly.
"There's nothing heroic about it. Being stared at like that makes you feel bad, of course."
Uorin responded in the standard way.
"They say she lives off men's genes, right?"
It was a taboo every Synod representative knew but never voiced.
"How about taking mine instead?"
Lightning flashed in Gando's eyes, but Uorin didn't flinch.
"The predecessor offered that once too."
It was a secret file no one had known.
"But he refused—she didn't meet his standards. And you, who are even worse than the predecessor…"
Havitz yawned.
"That'd be interesting. I'd be curious what sort of bastard would be born. What if my daughter gave birth to my daughter?"
'He's not listening. No trauma either?'
Uorin had deliberately tried to prod him by invoking his father, but she felt nothing.
'Close to madness—narcissism to the extreme.'
Havitz XVI had indulged desire but still had his wits about him.
'A monster born of the times.'
Uorin, who had lived through humanity's history, knew how wicked and cruel humans could be.
But Havitz before her felt like all of them combined.
"Hmm—so have three daughters, and those three have three each… no, use sons to sire daughters…"
Ignoring his endless muttering, Uorin moved the meeting forward.
"Now then, onto the main agenda: each nation's budget for Valkyrie operations and altar defenses."
Even at the Synod, pursuing national interest was a rule.
So sensitive issues like this were customarily raised when everyone's fatigue made compromise likelier.
'Now the real fight begins.'
Just as representatives hardened their gazes to win the smallest advantage, Havitz shouted.
"Exactly!"
The tense atmosphere shattered.
"Breed them! Hang them up and make them give birth to one a day!"
"You bastard!"
Gando sprang up as Jingang slammed his fist on the table.
Kuuuung!
The heavy marble table shook violently. The faces of Jingang's five supreme generals—the Five Dragon Commanders—went hard.
'Father.'
Seongeum had been admitted to the Synod as recognition for facing Nane in battle and now stood as commander-general of the Blue Dragon Unit.
"I don't wish to nag the ruler of the world, but—"
Just the fact that Havitz had looked beyond Uorin told everyone how the room had shifted.
"How about you shut that rotten mouth? Or go and get rid of the stench coming from it."
It felt like something major could erupt at any moment.
"In other words… you want me to shit into your mouth?"
Yeodal, commander of the Five Dragon Unit, shoved his heavy body forward and the Yellow Dragon Unit soldiers hefted their armor and advanced.
Jingang didn't order Yeodal to stop; once you try to hold back, you lose momentum.
"You immature king—this is the last time I'll humor your whiny, fatherless antics. Mind your words from now on."
"And if I don't?"
"I'll give one seat among the Three Sovereigns to a dog raised by my people."
Havitz averted his gaze and sniffed.
"A dog? A dog, you say?"
Then he pointed back at Jingang.
"You?"
Natasha tilted her head and laughed.
"Ahahaha!"
Yeodal braced his body to strike, and Seongeum, quicker yet, cast an ether wave to halt the movement.
'Miss, why—?'
Yeodal's eyes caught Seongeum biting her lip.
'This is between Havitz and Uorin. If Jingang is targeted, everything will fall on us.'
The Three Sovereigns—three pillars—would obviously be the first to suffer if struck.
"Representative of Jincheon, thank you for saying what a woman could not."
Uorin bowed to Jingang and formed an alliance, goading Havitz deliberately.
"I agree. This meeting will decide the future of the world. If you're not fit to butt in, maybe go wipe yourself down in the lavatory first."
"How dare you!"
An elderly man with a topknot behind Havitz leapt up and tore open his shirt.
"Gustav—!"
Blackened nipples and protruding ribs were exposed.
"Havitz!"
Convulsing, he bent his body and rolled his eyes up at Uorin.
Gustav's Four Arts: Domestic Affairs King Smudo.
'What kind of bravado is this?'
Ministers and envoys clicked their tongues, but the leaders around the round table were dead serious.
'Domestic Affairs King Smudo. The only one who can support Havitz. So what Havitz desires is—'
War.
'Is that so? But if he intended to wage war on the world, from the start—'
Uorin, unable to read anything from Havitz's expression, quickly revised her assessment.
'It's not on that level.'
The reason no one could analyze Havitz was simple.
No one could pierce him because he had no thoughts.
'Now I understand.'
Through three resets, Uorin had observed Havitz XVII's life three times.
As with any other person, Havitz killed his 781 brothers and always became king.
'But the problem is—'
In killing 781 brothers three times over, he had never once done it the same way.
'Chaos.'
There was no orderly thought in his head—only emotions tangled together.
In this chaotic age, it made sense that Havitz, the very essence of chaos, would stand out.
"Why? You mad? Then come at me! I'll kill all the Kashans! I'll wipe them off this land—kill and kill and kill!"
"...."
Silence fell because the moment someone answered back, a world war might actually break out.
Only Jingang remained steady.
"Do you really think you can win? Against Kashan, Jincheon, the Seven Thrones here, the dragons, and the Fairfolk?"
Havitz had no concrete plan.
"Yes. I think I can win."
He was simply full of baseless confidence.
'In a way, that's all there is.'
When you truly believe you can do something, reality tends to tilt that way.
"I'll win. So let's do it—war."
Amid a tension so thick even the Seven Thrones' reps swallowed, Uorin's mind stayed cold.
'Is this an unstoppable tide? If so, can we twist the next flag and reverse it? No—that would be too far ahead.'
From the Great Purge onward there were no subordinate incidents to rely on, so even Uorin couldn't predict precisely.
Hence the chaos.
'Where the hell are you and what are you doing?'
She only hoped Shirone had properly received the report.