2323 - The Symbol
Hoom
The serpent began to move, and the gear started to emit noise. The golden light emanating from them made Kiryān and Zavarus stare with furrowed brows… Something inside them told them they were witnessing something greater than themselves.
"Creation… Causality…" Kiryān murmured, his eyes gleaming with the golden light falling upon them.
As for Glacion, he sighed with a smile… The amount of power in both symbols was minuscule. Lord Robin had no intention of doing anything massive that would trigger the automatic appearance of the Master Symbols, but he had most likely shown them deliberately for Zavarus and Kiryān to see!
Then the scattered pieces of the council began to gather and merge again.
The floor that the Winged Beast had destroyed returned anew, and upon it, the seats and sofa began to form from top to bottom until they resumed their original positions.
The symbol did not disappear afterward.
Hooooom
The Barren Area, which Marlik had destroyed with his charge—stretching for kilometers around the council and consisting of mud, wood fragments, and charcoal—began to change…
The Giant Trees rose and intertwined, the Small Lake absorbed the water from the mud and refilled its place, and even the Ancient Stones returned to their positions. The million-year-old plants swayed once more with the wind.
Even the beasts injured by the explosion, including the one lying behind Zavarus, were affected.
Some beasts rose in confusion, unaware of what had suddenly happened.
Others remained lying in place, unmoving.
Robin pointed toward those beasts and said, "I've gathered their bodies and repaired them. Give them the proper burial they deserve."
"……..?" Zavarus opened his mouth, almost saying something, but quickly closed it and nodded deeply. "Thank you." Then he gestured toward the Council. "Please rest. I won't be long."
"Take your time~" Robin waved, then walked over to the main sofa and sat down calmly. He lifted his legs onto the sofa, placing them beside him, and leaned against the plush armrest nearby. "Hmm, this place is really nice."
Then he gestured to Glacion and Kiryān. "Sit."
"Yes." Glacion stepped forward and quickly sat to Robin's right, taking the nearest seat.
As for Kiryān, he paused for a moment. "…" Then he nodded and sat down in his place silently.
From Kiryān's posture, it was clear he was bracing for an interrogation.
The person who had come and trampled on the face of Marlik the Butcher would not show an iota of regard for the Oppression Behemoth, and would most likely receive orders, insults, or both.
But the silence lingered…
Kiryān raised his face for a moment and stole a glance in Robin's direction with the corner of his eye, trying to see the reason for his silence, and whether he was staring at him or waiting for him to start speaking...
But the answer was simpler than that.
Robin was staring at the horizon with eyes gleaming with a calm gold, and a slight, genuine smile showing his teeth.
At that moment, Robin seemed to be undoubtedly enjoying his surroundings.
Thinking about it, Kiryān began to look around him... the place was truly breathtaking.
“....” But Glacion stared at Robin's face with a worried expression.
Those expressions from that person... what had he found to make him show that smile?!
“I apologize for the delay.” Zavarus landed several meters away from the Council, then approached, walking with dignity and respect, until he reached the seat next to Kiryān, and sat down, placing his hands on his knees, “Thank you for dealing with my unfortunate beast kings, and thank you for repairing the bodies of the rest. This is a blessing I will try to repay as much as I can.”
Around them, there was some movement, as several of Zavarus's followers descended beside the bodies and began dragging them away.
And others stood watching from a distance...
Among them was Zavarus's daughter and business manager, Zina.
They had accompanied Marlik to the place and remained there, witnessing everything from afar—she and her siblings—but none dared to take a step forward… not when part of the garden was destroyed, and not when the beasts were killed. They all stood watching their father; if anyone attacked him, they would intervene.
They would intervene to die with him, or to give him a chance to escape!
"Simple matters." Robin waved a few times, then finally averted his eyes from the horizon and turned them toward Zavarus.
His smile calmed slightly, but his eyes still gleamed with gold. "I heard things haven't been going well for you lately, Your Excellency the Savage Behemoth."
"Zavarus is enough." The old man in the purple robe waved calmly. "…Indeed, things aren't going well, but I haven't lost yet."
"Not yet, hehe." Robin chuckled.
In truth, Helmor the Destroyer had also sent armies to Sectors 109 through 106, all of which attacked those sectors and destroyed the greatest powers within them, then began the process of Subjugation… everyone who swore allegiance to the Behemoth of Destruction would survive, and everyone who refused… would be touched by destruction.
At first, Zavarus made grand claims, taking his entire army to Middle Sector 106 with the intention of clearing it of enemies, then moving toward Middle Sector 107 afterward. He wanted to seize the opportunity that Helmor had divided his forces and attack the Oppression Behemoth across several sectors as well.
But what happened was that he was stopped in Middle Sector 106.
He had sent most of his sons there, and he himself visited the sector more than once, wanting to declare that the sector had been cleansed of Helmor's army, and to restore his reputation as Helmor's equal and a center of power… but that did not happen.
Helmor's sons from the Second Tier were surprisingly strong, and the most he could achieve was a situation similar to that between Darvion and the Six Greats: mutual battles and retreats, an attack and retreat that destroyed part of the sector.
When he realized that staying in 106 would only bring him shame, he decided to quickly return to Middle Sector 105, pretending that what was happening in Middle Sector 106 was a battle among the boys, and that he had nothing to do with it…
But this caused him to lose a large piece of the sector, and that piece was growing.
And if this was happening in the adjacent Middle Sector 106… what was happening in Middle Sectors 107, 108, and 109?
"Hehehe," chuckled Robin. "There's a common saying, what was it... Ah: My honor and Sector 106 are one, huh?"