Chapter 133 - Indicator (2)

Kinslayer.

A term the people from the Age of Chaos had used to call a group of people who had committed the greatest sin a human could commit at that time—killing their fellow kinsmen.

They were a bunch of savage: ill-tempered, immoral, atrocious, and remorseless of their action. They were the worst group of people in the age where human population was on its all time low.

They killed; not to steal, but for pleasure. No one knew what was going on in their head. They were born as a human, yet they hated human to their very core.

Before human were united, there had been no rule prohibiting them to kill another human. They had done their act discreetly. However, when all human were united, the rule to not kill human was born.

Therefore, people started hunting them, and they did their act openly since then. That was the first time Kinslayer was used as a term.

Due to the intensity of the hunt, they even joined the Monster's side by serving Obelisk Masters, the atrocious Monsters who killed human the most.

...

"Hmmm... It's uncomfortable calling them Monster." The old man caressed his long beard. "I will call them the way we, old people, call them. They are—"

"Demon," Basil finished.

Turning a surprised eyes at Basil, the old man said, "Yes. They are, quite literally. How did you know?" Basil lightly shrugged. "That is not important. Let me hear the rest of your story."

The old man hummed, before shrugging; he resumed his story.

...

Since Demon also had the same purpose—exterminating human, albeit for a different reason—they gladly accepted Kinslayers. However, upon the construction of Dungeon, many Kinslayers were captured.

While their fate was pretty much sealed, they weren't killed immediately, due to the purpose of Dungeon creation—inflicting the same suffering Kinslayers had inflicted upon their victim to them.

They were tortured, and it took a quite some time before they died. Therefore, out of luck, some of them managed to escape the Dungeon they had been jailed at.

Upon returning to the place where they belonged to, the home of Demon; they leaked its location to the Obelisk Master they were serving.

In result, many Dungeons were attacked, and many captured Kinslayers were freed due to that. The chaos turned worse thanks to it. The freed Kinslayers were full of vengeance; they became even more vigorous in their "endeavor."

Upon the happening, a new rule was set. The status of Kinslayer changed from "Capture on Sight" to "Kill on Sight." Although things got better right after this, many had fallen due to them.

Of course, things got better means the situation had calmed down slightly. The population of Kinslayers was greatly reduced. However, Demon still exist; their population hadn't decreased even slightly.

In the other hand however, human had lost a fifth of their already inadequate population. This became a problem. However, no one felt the need to be scared.

They had the Four Heroes on their side, and many other powerful individuals. They believed they were strong enough to fight the Demons.

...

"There is no detailed story about the Four Heroes. However, I have my suspicion," Basil said suddenly. The old man looked to him, then motioned him to speak. "Are they Gregory, Layland, Justina, and Lindy?"

The old man quirked his eyebrow. "Yes, they are. I thought they would be mentioned in your history books."

Basil hummed to himself. "They are mentioned, but for a different story."

"Hoh? What kind of story?"

"The four names I have mentioned earlier are the names of the Four Great Gods. Gregory, the god of knowledge; Layland, the god of peace; Justina, the goddess of justice; and Lindy, the goddess of love."

Upon hearing that, the Kinslayer laughed, "Pfft! Buhahaha!!! Four Great Gods you said? Pfft! What a joke! Buhahaha!" The old man laughed so hard, he was rolling on the ground.

Although Basil also thought the entire thing about these Four Great Gods were ridiculous, it never made him laugh. Therefore, he was slightly puzzled what tickled the old man so much after hearing it.

"Kuhaha! Kuhaha...!" The man got up from the ground, then wiped the tears in the corner of his eyes. "Haah... Darn it! I have never laughed that hard since two thousand years ago." He met Basil's rather annoyed gaze, then laughed once again.

"Kuhum! I'm sorry. That was unsightly of me." He waved his hand in half-hearted apology. "Huuh... Four Great Gods, huh? Did they name their little group by themselves? I acknowledge their prowess was amazing. But to name themselves like that..."

The old man clicked his tongue in disappointment. "The peanuts have forgotten their skin, huh? Laughable!" Curious, Basil couldn't help asking, "What do you—"

However, he was cut by the old man. "Hush! That is not important now. Hear the rest of my story, and you will naturally understand what I mean."

Basil stared at the man, before eventually nodding his head.

The story continued.

...

The Four Heroes were the leading figure of the war between Human and Demon. They were a group of unnaturally talented people. They were also known as the Pioneer of Magic, since they were the first Human that mastered Magic.

They gladly shared the knowledge they had to their fellow kinsmen, and taught them how to use Magic. Five years in teaching their fellow human how to use Magic, another Ninth Circle Mage was born.

His name was Solomon, the pioneer of advanced Magic. He was the newly rising star whose fame was no inferior to the Four Heroes. Some of the people even called him, the Father of Magic.

With Solomon and the Four Heroes, humanity gradually gained the upperhand. Along the way, many people became a Ninth Circle Mage, and almost every Knights had reached the Purple Core Stage.

It was the point where human power was on its peak.

Fourty years passed, and the Obelisk Masters, along with their army were forced to retreat to the Obelisk. Fortunately, out of the existing 72 Obelisks, 36 of them had been destroyed.

After hundreds of years of staying in the bottom of the food chain, humanity finally climbed the stairs, and came out as the winner. That day, humanity became the ruling race of the world.

Of course, human weren't the only existing race. There were Elves, Dwarves, Fairies, and Demi-Human. Due to this, after 40 years of war with Demon, interracial war was started.

No one knew who had started it. However, everyone had suddenly felt the urge to "secure" their territory from the other race, despite knowing how much they had helped each other in the war against Demon.

Thus, the first year after the Age of Chaos was started with another chaos.

When the people needed them the most, the Four Heroes and Solomon went missing, right after the interracial broke. They were the people that united all of the race, and their existence was needed to unite them once again.

However, they had never showed themselves right after. Many people questioned their whereabouts, but no one could answer their question.

Some theorized they had exhausted their power in the war against Demon, and had finally rest in piece. However, some speculated their power was too much for the world to bear, thus they were forced to move to the higher plane.

While people believed that was exactly what had happened to the Four Heroes, they soon found out what had happened to Solomon.

One day, someone found one of his belongings. There was also a message stating he had left behind his legacies, and therefore people should find them to know the truth.

It instantly became a hot topic, and once again Human fought amongst themselves for Solomon's legacies.

Of course, upon finding many of his legacies, none of it contained the truth. In the very first place, they didn't even know the truth Solomon had referred to.

Is it the truth behind his death or is it the truth behind Magic mastery?

No one knew. However, they were sure anything came from Solomon would give them a boost in power.

Thus, the search of Solomon's legacies and the interracial war continued. While the latter ended after twenty years long of war, the former continued up till now.

In the way, they found out the legacy Solomon had mentioned—the one that contained the truth—were his 9 Seals, which was pretty much impossible to find.

9 Seals of Solomon referred to the 9 rings he had always worn. However, no one even knew where his body was. How could they know where the rings were?

Therefore, the truth behind Solomon's death, and the disappearance of the Four Heroes remained a mystery.

Of course, the Second Generation Kinslayer knew it better than them.

...

The old man nodded his head in satisfaction. "Fumu. It feels good reciting a genuine history. Ho-ho-ho!" Caressing his beard, he turned his head to Basil. "How about it? Can you figure the meaning of my word already?"

Basil lightly frowned. "I thought you were talking about Kinslayer AND the Four Heroes. I don't recall you said anything about them."

The old man laughed. "Ho-ho-ho! You look bright, but it seems your look doesn't define you as a person."

"Hoh? Are you doubting my analyzing ability?" The old man merely smirked at Basil's word. Basil continued, "The Second Generation Kinslayer refers to the people who kill their kinsmen over the hunt of Solomon's legacies."

The old man nodded his head wordlessly at Basil's statement.

"However, it still confuses me. Killing in a competition is not a crime. We have lived that way for so long. Why are they, who kill the others to seize Solomon's legacies, are deemed as the Second Generation Kinslayer?"

The old man hummed. "Don't you think you missed something? What do Solomon's 9 Seals contain?"

Basil pondered for a while, before turning his gaze to the old man.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations! A conclusion has been made from the given information!]

Ignoring the announcement from the Guide, Basil said, "The truth. It is not the truth behind Solomon's death or the truth behind the Four Heroes' disappearance. It is the truth behind the war against the Demon, which had something to do with the Four Heroes."

The old man smiled.

"Some people were aware of it, and they didn't want people to find out about it. Therefore, they sent their people to also look for these legacies to 'cover the truth.' However, most of them were killed in the way."

"Then?" The old man asked expectantly.

"The people who know of Solomon's legacies must have been the people who were close to him: his disciples, friends, or followers. These people were desperate of the truth, and held suspicion to the unfolding event at that time."

Basil cupped his chin, then said, "To stop these people from their activity, the people in power sent them to Dungeon, and deemed them as Kinslayer."

The old man clapped his hand in satisfaction, then exclaimed, "Exactly! Now, can you tell me who are these people in power?"

Basil sighed lightly. "They are the people who worshipped the Four Heroes as gods: the Church."

"Now, you should also know why there were six dead priests under my feet when we first met." The old man grinned.

"They were here to test the water."

"True, but not exactly correct. They are here to make a deal. 'Be the God's servant, and we will let you live,' they said." The old man chuckled. "My job is easy. Kill the 'heretics,' which means people like you, who don't believe in God."

Basil snorted lightly. He knew the Church was up to something. However, he was still puzzled by one thing.

Why did the old man address the ungratefulness of the Four Heroes?

"Whom had the Four Heroes betrayed?"

The man quirked his eyebrow, then opened his mouth. "He was —·——·"

Basil blinked his eyes, and the old man's eyes widened. He couldn't hear a single thing the old man had said. He didn't even register the fact the old man was shaking his body.

However, he knew he was losing consciousness.