*

Hawa looked through the scope calmly, while her finger rested on the trigger. Peeking through the circular frame with one eye, she saw a young black-haired man with a rather calm expression. There was a blue-haired girl sitting next to him. Kwakkkkk! The asteroid she was lying down on suddenly shrunk with a terrifying roar, but she continued pointing a sniper rifle at the man and murmured softly, "Is it a wedding?"

She took in a light breath and collected herself. She wanted to know the exact circumstances, but she couldn’t read his thoughts. Although she was an Untouchable which was even regarded as a God, she did not have a strong enough cognitive ability to read the minds of another existence from other galaxies. She mumbled, "Because of the useless promise..."

She previously promised Dae-ha that 'at the very least, I'll protect your life from any danger whatsoever.' That promise was made out of fear, since she was weary that Dae-ha would awaken the potential in himself by using the key which was a keepsake from his Father. However, that promise was now the worst choice she had ever made.

This was because Dae-ha had revealed his ability to awaken the Godly bloodline with a mere thought. As long as he could handle the Godly bloodline at will…she must never show up in front of him. Otherwise, he who had awakened the Godly bloodline could now give her orders just by perceiving her. 'It's dangerous,’ she thought.

If it were any other situation, Hawa would have abandoned him and hid somewhere else in the distant universe. She could then remain hidden, because the power of the bloodline that Dae-ha possessed was so abnormal that searching for her would be an impossible task. His body itself could not go against the gravity of the planet, so he couldn’t find her once she went across five or six galaxies to reach a completely unknown location.

However, ultimately, the problem was the promise. She had promised to protect him from death and, to keep that promise, she had to keep a constant mark on his condition. This was precisely the problem.

Dae-ha was an existence that had a High-rank Divine Spirit, which surpassed an Untouchable, but he had the quality of a human and a human body. Due to the fact that he had a frail human body, he could be killed by a single bullet. He was a being that even a First-Tier God, who could twist an entire Galactic System, couldn't touch. Yet, he would simply die from mere minor blows such as a brain rupture and a heart attack…

"This is a comedy,” Hawa muttered, and she was right. However, despite her complaints and bitter smiles, reality would not change. She resigned to lying down on an asteroid that flew in space to watch Dae-ha from a distance.

She had to admit Dae-ha’s High-rank Divine Spirit, the status of a Low-rank God, and the quality of a mortal was an abnormal condition, but…that made him into an extreme existence. Not keen to be controlled by him and not able to run away, all she could do was prepare to shoot from another galaxy. Moreover, the fact that she had to intercept the enemy’s attacks that were directed at him was also…

"We have to kill him."

"...I told you not to talk to me for a while, didn't I?" Hawa frowned at that sudden voice, but she did not act surprised. She didn’t even take her eyes off of the scope, but Adam continued speaking as if he was unfazed.

"We have to kill him, Hawa. We have to kill that guy."

"Shut it."

"Don't avoid it. His abnormal state is just part of the process. He is just a bastard, who knew nothing of Father's will nor his ideals, robbing Father's Status of God!"

Dekarma's status was currently vacant. It had only been 400 years since Dekarma's death, so it was natural that no one was qualified enough to sit in his position. Moreover, Adam was the only existence that was the closest to reaching his position in the whole universe thus far.

Adam had attacked Hawa, who was considered his only rival, and broke her. She then turned into numerous fragments and dispersed throughout the universe. Taking advantage of that, Adam was able to bring forth a little of Dekarma’s status…and Dae-ha suddenly appeared at that very moment.

"His flesh and blood? Don't be ridiculous. He was able to take Father's place naturally just because of that reason? That sort of thing is a possibility?" Hawa rolled her eyes.

The bloodline of the Untouchable was born with outstanding talent and soul power, but there was a definite limit to that. It was rare for even the Leonhardt Imperial family to attain the realm of transcendence, let alone the High-rank or Intermediate-rank. They inherited the blood of the Golden Lion God, a High-rank Transcendent, as well as the blood of the First Emperor who was an Intermediate-rank transcendent. They also received the help of Jwa Ja, who was the Keeper of the Bloodline. Although those were all facts, there was still a limit.

However, it wasn’t just an Intermediate-rank or a High-rank in Dae-ha’s case… It was a First-Tier God that left behind his flesh and blood, and Dae-ha had the capability of inheriting his Father’s Status of God. Furthermore, his body was nothing but a shell of what Dekarma, an existence that dominated a concept, had.

"We have to kill him, Hawa. We have to kill that guy..." Adam continued muttering as if he had completely lost his mind, and Hawa let out a deep sigh. She knew that no words could reach him, and this was something she had experienced for hundreds of years. If Adam was an existence that she could communicate and have a discussion with, he wouldn't have blatantly come up to talk to her as if nothing had happened. After all, he had robbed her powers and broke her into fragments. Even if that previous image of him could no longer be found, he had been an extremely prideful being in the past.

'That's pathetic.' All Hawa did was smile bitterly and paid Adam no further attention. This was because she knew that there was nothing she could do anyway. No matter how insane she was, she couldn't attack Dae-ha as long as she was a Legion. She had already confirmed with her own eyes that she was incapable of doing any proper harm to Dae-ha, as well as the other people who were related to him.

But nevertheless, the madness of Adam only deepened. "We have to kill him."

*

The royals and the nobles had been long bound by blood relations. After all, most of the previous Emperor's partners were nobles, or those arranged by the nobles. It was then unsurprising that most of the current members of the Imperial family had maternal families, which made up a group within the Emperor Faction. They were very closely related to the royals and gave strength to the Emperor's decision.

Moreover, to them, Celestia was a very unfamiliar existence. That was because she did not have a maternal family and no household supporting her, since her biological mother was someone similar to a sex worker who served the former Emperor at a price. 'That's what it says on the records,’ As I thought about it…

Boom! A huge shadow appeared from the other side with a heavy step. Controlling one’s weight was as simple as breathing, so it seemed that the new-arrival had no intention of hiding their existence. They walked heavily enough to leave a trace.

"Howard."

"Is he someone you know?"

"He's one of the Four Dukes. He's the last Duke that you haven't seen before."

Howard was a man with a shaggy beard that covered more than half his face, and had rock-like muscles all over his body. He had a huge build and height. Aside from being big in size, he was over 3.5 meters tall. He was in the form of a human being that was even bigger than Chun Hyun-il, a white bear. Currently, he walked to a huge chair that was previously prepared and sat down. Then, he stared at me with a displeased expression.

Howard's Duchy

An overbearingly sturdy body, Howard

"An overbearingly sturdy body?" I wondered quietly. It seemed to be a title related to martial arts, but I could feel a different type of Aura coming from Howard. It was unlike the Martial Arts Transcendents I had seen so far. Although he did not do anything, his mere existence was clearly imprinted on the world. However, there was a problem that I whispered over to Celestia, "He seems to have a lot of complaints."

“That is very likely, because Louis is his one and only grandson."

"Louis" referred to the current Crown Prince, Louis Leonhardt. He was Celestia's half-brother. He had tried to kidnap Celestia upon my initial arrival to the Imperial Capital with her, which was perfect timing. My existence had ruined his plan. Even though he brought the Great General Norrington along, in order to thoroughly handle the matter, Norrington died so easily in the hands of Hawa, who was protecting me.

"There's a chance that he knows about what happened with Norrington."

"Even so, it's a useless thing to do. No matter how famous his audacity is, he wouldn’t have the balls to go against the revered great hero in front of all the nobles,” Celestia spoke with a slightly stiff tone, which made me turn to look at her. However, the bright smile made me feel like I had hallucinated her tone of voice. She waved at the people who were cheering below the altar.

Just then, Diana, who was standing next to me, whispered quietly, “Now, all you have to do is get up and slowly walk up the spiral staircase. You don't have to go to the very top. You just have to walk to the podium that sits just below the top. Ah, and if you don't mind..."

"If I don't mind?"

As I heard her slightly hesitant tone and questioned her back, Diana carefully continued, "Please smile a little brighter, Dae-ha-nim."

"…Alright." I managed my facial expressions the best I could and got up from my seat. Then, Celestia hugged my arm with a blissful expression. It was a beautiful and dazzling sight that could possibly sell like hot cakes when made into a frame, but I knew this image of her was fake. I asked, "Cel, do you not like this situation?"

"You're asking if I don't like it? Haahhh..." Celestia let out a soft sigh as she walked slowly. She was careful to control her expression. I also walked alongside her, waving at the huge crowd below us.

Flutter! Despite the lack of wind, the pure white dress that Celestia wore started to flutter. It was not a big deal that the dress was fluttering on its own, but… It was obviously designed extremely lavishly while retaining its sense of weightlessness. This was an item that could only be made from fabric that was directly imported from the Saint Realm.

"You." Then, Celestia asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Do what?"

"What? Did you just say do what?" Celestia's voice turned sharp. However, she immediately pulled herself together and spoke in a relatively calmer voice, “I don’t dislike anything, but saying that will lead me to become a woman without any conscience. Right now, you have almost achieved all the goals I have always wanted to achieve with all my life.”

“What are those goals that you wanted to achieve with all your life?”

Not answering my question, Celestia buried her head in my arms. Right now, all I could see was the commotion of people down below, screaming 'Uwaaaahhhh' and 'Whooooahhhhh.’ Then, I asked again, "Cel?"

"...You stupid fool. My goal is not the problem right now, but you. If things have progressed this far, I can't uphold the contract between us.”

"How come?"

"Well, that's because if it goes on like this..." In a deep and agonizing voice, Celestia whispered into my chest, "If it goes on like this, you will become the Emperor of the Empire..."