Chapter 39: The first moves.

The mythical realm where the Astral resided, Modun, existed in a plane of reality that was inaccessible to the mortals living in Esthar. Although the knowledge of its existence was fairly common back in Kibadios' first reincarnation, during this current timeline, not many inhabitants from Esthar knew about it. All because the Astrals preferred to keep it that way. After all, the Great Upheaval, a turbulent series of events that started with the capture of Kibadios' first reincarnation, Zaeryn, and climaxed at the Ragnarok, the last battle of the Second Holy War, had forever scarred the mentality of the Astrals and the myth of their invincibility. During this time, the home of the Astrals, Modun, was almost breached by Zaeryn's followers several times. One of the worst occasions was when 300 Daitengus who served under Zaeryn, fought their way against the Astrals' homunculi all the way to the Gate of Modun. Had they had more support, they could have successfully invaded the Astral's realm. After their victory at the end of the Second Holy War, the Astrals finally decided to sever any physical links between the Realm of Modun and the world of Esthar, out of fear that one day, the mortals might again rise up against their rules. This would mean that the only way that the Astrals could visit Esthar was through projecting their souls through their homunculi. Though, truth to be told, they did not mind the restriction since this was how they have always been travelling in between realms.

Although the Realm of Modun was infinitely vast, with most its terrains mirrored those that could be found on Earth or Esthar, ranging from bottomless canyons to towering mountains, from the ever-expanding grasslands to densely packed forests, the majority of the Astrals have made the expansive crescent-shaped floating island located at the center of Modun to be their home. The City of Immortals was built there to house the large population of Astral numbered almost 30000, with the most important complex of constructs being erected and elevated in midair through magic in a spiral shape. This complex housed all the governmental bodies of the Astrals and at its peak, a pair of massive pyramids were located. This pair of pyramids sat on top of one another, though the bottom one was inverted, with its pointed peak directed to the ground. Dubbed the "Lower Chamber", this pyramid housed the legislative and executive branch while the pyramid on top, dubbed the "Upper Chamber", housed the judicial branch and the Chosen Guards, an elite defense force that was responsible for the safety and security of the City of Immortals. The space wedged in between the two pyramids, called the Infinity Sphere, was made inaccessible for nearly all Astrals, saved for the Enneads and the Ennead Candidates. The Enneads, a group of the nine most powerful Astrals, acted as the supreme rulers of the Astrals, and in effect, the whole world of Esthar. It was said that each of their members could easily destroy half of the world if they were to go all out in their original bodies. That was why, the last time when one of their members had defected and rebelled, the only way for mortals to stand a chance in a fight against her was to give them the control of one of the Primordial Spirits...

「My my!」Exclaimed one of the Astral, sitting comfortably on his levitating cushioned chair. The man was one of the 100 executors, members of the Astrals' executive branch of government. As its name implied, the members of the executive office were responsible for monitoring and influencing events of the mortal world from the shadows. In short, they ensured that the will of the Astrals (of the Legislative Branch) were to be carried out faithfully. Each of the 100 executors were assigned their own "theater of command" so it was a surprise for the man since another executor he rarely saw just barged into his space. 「Lady Adela, to what do I owe the pleasure? 」

「Otto!」Adela arrogantly called out the man's name without a hint of respect. 「I need to take over your theater of the Vernys forest for a while.」

「Huh?」Otto raised his eyebrows in amusement.「What nonsense are you talking about, Lady Adela. You know full well that each of us is supposed to only work within our own region. Except for special directives from the legislative branch or the Enneads themselves, we are not supposed to allow others to meddle in our assigned theater. Besides, after the debacle of the Lorian Incidence that was caused by you, who knows what crazy things you'll be doing to my theater if you were to have control over it.」

「What's the big deal?」Adela dismissed the man's concerns. 「With the Harvest getting so close, the more chaos we're creating, the better. In the end, those people are nothing but fertilizers for our Yggdrasil. That is why the Legislatives and the Enneads did not saying anything about chaos that I made in my own theater of command.」

「They turned a blind eye to your reckless actions because of the influence of your father, Adeus dono, the closest Astral to the seat of Ennead.」Otto glared back at the woman, his patient seemed to be running low. 「If I were you, I would be laying low for now. Why do you want to take over my area of responsibility anyways? It's just a backward forest region.」

「... Do you know the individual named Yllaner from the forest?」

「What about her? Isn't she supposed to be the daughter of the Elven Chief?」

「Yes. And did you know she's Sylvia's reincarnation?」

「Ho? She is?」Otto was amused. Although he has not never met Sylvia in person, he could never forget the name.

「I dont blame you for not knowing since you've only ascended to the rank of the Astrals almost 3000 years after the Second Holy War.」

「Yes, indeed… and the fact that my theater of operation spans more than just the Vernys forest and since those Elves do not worship us, we have almost no influence over them, just like we have no influence over the territories of the Yonko or the lawless Grasslanders.」Otto explained. 「My only duty concerning Vernys is to ensure they do not grow too powerful. It's only natural I do not know all the details regarding all the inhabitants there.」

「THAT IS NOT GOOD, OTTO KUN 」A calm yet authoritative voice suddenly entered the conversation. Realizing whose voice belonged to, Otto hurriedly sprung up from his chair, his body trembling in fear once the figure slowly approached him. The old man stood towering over the executor. His short-cut hair was completely gray yet his appearance was far from an old sickly man. Despite his white robe, Otto could clearly see his bulging muscles underneath the layer of clothes. Flying around the man were ten large lotus flowers, which the executor knew full well were parts of his ever-activated Arte < Kido Butai>. As the man looked down at him, Otto's eyes nervously followed the movement of the lotuses since they had appeared to surround him.

「Adeus dono! It's an honor to have you here.」Otto greeted while gulping down his fear of the man.

「Likewise, Otto kun.」The man grimly nodded. 「and as I said, It's not good that you have overlooked Sylvia's reincarnation despite the fact that she has reborned into your theater of command for more than 20 years now.」

「But Adeus dono, there's no way I would know it's her.」argued the man.

「So now that you know, what would you do?」

「... I should let the Enneads know about her existence?」

「Fool!」Adeus loudly declared.「That means that you willingly let them know about your screw up, having allowed her presence to go undetected for so long? I know you were not one of us during the Second Holy War, but you should know how dangerous she was, don't you?」

「Then… What should I do, Adeus dono?」Otto was visibly sweating.

「Let my daughter, Adela, handle this Yllaner matter.」Adeus leaned in and patted the cowering man on his shoulder. 「Once she has taken care of Sylvia's reincarnation, we can report the resolution of this back to the Ennead. That way, they won't be mad at you.」

「But… We're not supposed to...」Otto was hesitant for a moment before he realized his shoulder was now being crushed by the man standing in front of him. I guess this is not for negotiation, he thought. 「... I'll listen to your advice, Adeus dono.」The executor resigns to the pressure.

「Good!」Adeus let go of the man's shoulder and gave him a comforting smile. 「You made the correct choice, Otto kun.」Without saying anything more, both Adela and her father left the executor and walked away together, having already achieved their objective. It took Otto more than ten minutes before his heart beats returned to normal. He had never met Adeus face to face, and to be honest, he never wished to meet him like this. Even to Otto, an individual who was strong enough to have ascended to the rank of the Astrals, the former king of Eberus, Adeus, was in a completely different league. It was no wonder that he alone managed to repel all the 300 Daitengu that once assaulted the Realm's gate.

「Phew… I'm glad that was over.」Otto wiped away his sweat and moved back to his chair. 「... Though, what is that Adela planning to do?」

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「Thank you Father!」Adela excitedly hugged her father. 「Now that I can freely act within the Forest of Vernys, I can finally have my fun with that woman.」

「... Is there anything you're hiding from me, Adela?」Adeus patted his daughter's head.

「What? Of course not.」Adela lied, not wanting to have her father know about the existence of Kibadios since he was her marked prey. Her own marked prey.「Why do you ask?」

「No, nothing. Just checking.」Adeus replied.

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「So "Ryuujin" was not sealed away but has now assumed the identity of "Ryuu" and follows Zaeryn?」Adela smiled at the tons of confidential information that she has just now received from Ryan. 「and at his current level, he could summon <HaoS> for more than 20 minutes now. Asides from you, his two biggest weaknesses would be his other slaves… Good! Good! Good! All of these information will help me to deal with that monster, Ryan kun.」

「... Can we formulate our plan to deal with that hybrid in a way so that we would not harm Rowan kun and Maia chan, Adela sama?」Despite his raging eyes, Ryan hesitated.「They're also victims of that crazy hybrid.」

「We can try...」Adela looked at Ryan with hungry eyes. Despite his youth, the hero undoubtedly could be considered a handsome individual… Maybe I will add him into my collection after this whole thing ends , thought the Astral. 「Provided they're not interfering with my plan. Though, if I were you, I would not forgive them either. They were also responsible for helping the hybrid corrupting you.」Adela moved closer to Ryan and before he knew it, she placed one of her hands on his left cheek while tenderly kissing his right cheek.

「Haa!」Ryan hurriedly pushed her away, then hugged himself while trembling.

「Aww, look at that. You're now terrified of mere touches just because the hybrid has ruined you and your body.」comforted Adela, then licked her lips. 「Don't worry, after we're done with Zaeryn, I'll make sure to heal your emotional wounds too. Though, if you're acting as my spy, you will have to continue to be used by that despicable hybrid every night… Can you really do it?」

「... I...」Ryan hesitated. 「... I can try… I dont know but for whatever reason, he rarely touched me lately. Still, even if I have to endure this, I want to do it! As a hero serving the Astrals, I can't let this menace roam free like this.」

「I know right?」exclaimed Adela. 「He even concocted ridiculous stories slandering us Astral. That is why, with your help, we will eradicate him and take back the Primordial Spirit of Fire that was stolen from us. Let's help the world to rid it of this Celestial Threat, Ryan chan.」

「I will do whatever to help, Adela sama!」