Chapter 137: House of Spirits (3)

It wasn’t a dragon, but it resembled one, and its mere presence gave it a serene majesty, but it didn’t give the sensation of being alive.

“Is that being the king?”

Ruel asked the Spirit’s Progenitor.

“Child.” The Spirit’s Progenitor took Ruel’s hand. It was warm. “Thank you.”

“What are you thankful for?” Ruel immediately became cautious at the unexpected remark. He didn’t do anything that the Spirit’s Progenitor would be grateful for.

“The power that resides within you is the power that I have lost.”

Cassion chuckled as if he was amazed.

He thought Ruel was good at picking up amazing gifts here and there, but he didn’t expect him to pick up what the king of the spirit’s dropped.

Ruel recalled what the woman who introduced herself as ‘Mayre’ had said.

“The Spirit’s Progenitor fell into a slumber. In order to maintain this place, they had to use all their power and inevitably fell into a slumber. To wake up like this, it’s unbelievable.”

Ruel glanced at Mayre, who was playing with a spirit in the distance, and spoke calmly.

“The spirit stone that has seeped into my body was found in the royal treasury of Cyronian.”

This place was inside a barrier created by the Spirit’s Progenitor.

How did the spirit stone that should have been in the Beast Forest end up in Cyronian?

“I lost them when I was chased by monsters. Someone who follows the Great Man picked up my Spirit Stone and sent it far away so that I couldn’t possess it.”

“You mean the Red Ash?”

Ruel asked, puzzled by the sudden appearance of Red Ash.

“You call them Red Ash?”

The Spirit’s Progenitor smiled innocently.

As he moved his fingers, something emerged from Ruel’s body and took on a form.

Jingling jingling.

It was the spirit stone that made the ringing sound he had heard.

Sniff sniff.

Leo sniffed Ruel.

—This body can still smell it.

“Because it has been absorbed into the child’s body, my power still remains. Don’t worry too much. There will be no harm.” The Spirit’s Progenitor smiled and pointed to the table he had set up.

“Your mind seems troubled. Why don’t you sit down first? Let’s have a conversation, and then you can talk to the guardian next.”

“Alright.”

Ruel’s lips twitched at the suggestion.

There was no need to rush.

There was a being believed to be a king here, the Spirit’s Progenitor who was the origin of the spirit’s, and above all, he now knew what power resided within his own body. All he had to do was listen to the stories calmly.

‘I’ve stumbled upon something big while chasing the spirits.’

He felt like he had discovered a 5,000 won bill buried in the playground as a child.

They walked towards the table and took a seat. The Spirit’s Progenitor planted the spirit stone that had been pulled out of Ruel’s body in the spot where they stopped for a moment.

After the Spirit’s Progenitor and the spirits gave it water, a tree that looked like ore grew in an instant.

—Oooooh!

Leo immediately ran over and touched the tree emitting a faint blue light.

—It’s smooth. Oh! This body feels like it’s gaining some strength!

The Spirit’s Progenitor picked Leo up and walked with him to the table.

Leo wagged his tail and glanced at the Spirit’s Progenitor.

—The spirit’s, um, name is too difficult.

“Then call me Jan. It’s the name Ruel gave me.”

—What is Jan doing here?

“I am protecting the remaining spirits.”

—Why is there no Purifier? Why is this body alone?

Jan laughed silently.

“Are you sad?”

When Leo tilted his head and asked, Jan said while stroking Leo.

“It’s sad.”

Jan took a seat, and Ruel observed while inhaling Breath.

When Leo sat on Ruel’s lap, Jan began to speak.

“Can I speak first?”

“I’m not interested in unnecessary stories,” Ruel said flatly.

He didn’t want to hear anything if the Spirit’s Progenitor intended to bring up trivial stories from the past. His mind was already complicated. He already knew that the being crouched within the flower was likely a king.

“It’s an essential story. It will be helpful to you, too, my child.”

Since the Spirit’s Progenitor made such a request, Ruel thought he should at least listen to what he had to say.

“Fine. Let’s hear it,” Ruel smirked arrogantly.

“Child.”

As the Spirit’s Progenitor continued to use the term “child,” Ruel felt that he had to clarify.

It was quite an unfamiliar way of addressing someone.

“My name is Ruel Setiria.”

“I am Cassion.”

Cassion was also getting annoyed, so he said his name.

“Well, I’m Aris.”

As the self-introduction continued, even Aris noticed and then joined in.

—This body is Leo! Ruel named this body!

And Leo climbed up to the table and felt proud, concluding the series of self-introductions.

Jan laughed happily.

“I’m sorry. Having seen many Setirias living and dying, I’ve gotten used to it. Old habits die hard. Please understand.”

‘Does that mean it’s been over a hundred years?’

It didn’t seem real how many years the Spirit’s Progenitor had spent walking the earth.

‘That would make us seem like babies.’

Ruel moved Leo from the table to his lap and urged Jan.

“Please continue speaking.”

“Child, have you ever thought about what kind of existence you are? Of course, your memories were erased, so it must have been frustrating...”

“I am Ruel Setiria,” Ruel curtly mentioned his name. He had already thoroughly considered and accepted his identity as Ruel Setiria.

“You must have been confused by your special powers to control monsters and see spirits...”

“Please get to the point without beating around the bush,” Ruel interrupted, his expression growing displeased. He couldn’t fathom why the conversation had taken such a lengthy detour.

However, no matter how Ruel looked at him, Jan continued to smile warmly.

“You were the first. To see spirits...”

Growl.

“The power that the king gave to Setiria to command the monsters or the guardians, is the power that only you, who possess that power, can understand.”

Everyone was shocked by Jan’s words.

‘He must have hit the jackpot in his past life.’

Cassion looked at Ruel.

Thump thump.

Ruel heard his own heart beating loudly.

Being the medium of the barrier, the only one who could see spirits, and now having the power to command monsters, it was too much for one person to bear.

Ruel felt suffocated and spoke, “Why on earth did the king give me this power? Is it because I am the only one who can see spirits?”

“Perhaps. Of course, it may not be. I cannot fully understand his intentions either,” Jan looked at Ruel with pity. Jan felt so many emotions from him.

“Don’t worry. We won’t ask anything of you. You have already received a lot, and you are carrying too much already.”

“But didn’t you say that a bridge was needed between you and humans?”

“Child, you don’t have to carry all of that burden alone.”

“Didn’t you say that only I can see spirits?”

Ruel’s voice became louder.

“You have brought my power, so now I can gather more spirits.”

“The Great Man!” Ruel exploded after seeing the calm demeanor of the Spirit’s Progenitor.

How could he be so relaxed with all the power he had found?

“He came looking for me!” Jan kept quiet when Ruel shouted loudly.

The opponent was the Great Man.

“He said it’s time for him to return and declared war after seeing me clearly.”

Jan’s expression darkened gradually.

Listening to Ruel’s gasping breaths, Jan closed and opened his eyes.

“Child. I know how nervous you are. All Setiria’s were like that, and so are you.”

Jan didn’t laugh.

He sincerely wanted to convince Ruel.

“Now, thanks to the power you brought, I can move freely and maintain the barrier without falling into slumber. The situation will improve even more than it is now.”

“How much better does it get?” Ruel asked.

“You don’t need to sacrifice yourself any further. So...”

“So, do you really not want anything from Ruel-nim?” Cassion quietly spoke instead of the exhausted Ruel.Then, he openly expressed his discomfort and continued speaking. “Are you telling Ruel-nim to do nothing simply because you feel sorry for him? Or do you have false hope that he can win after enduring so much until now?”

Cassion mocked Jan, criticizing him.

Ruel had relieved some of the burden with the spirit stone he brought, but not everything was resolved.

If Ruel was the last line of defense, shouldn’t they have protected him better?

They couldn’t properly protect him and ended up burdening Ruel alone, making his burden heavier and claiming it was the truth.

It didn’t sit well with him.

“Why couldn’t you stop the Great Man with all your big talk?” Cassion asked the most fundamental question.

Ruel also wanted to hear this part, so he waited for Jan’s answer while stroking Leo.

“The Great Man knew us better than anyone else.”

‘Knew us better?’

Ruel inhaled Breath.

He realized that there was some reason, some constraint, whether it was vague or whether Jan couldn’t answer directly, that he couldn’t tell him anything.

“Are you saying that this is someone you knew?”

Jan nodded at Ruel’s question.

“Is there some constraint that prevents you from speaking?”

Jan nodded again.

If there was a constraint, he couldn’t ask any further.

Ruel stepped back for now.

“I understand.”

“Child. This is all I have to say to you. Is there anything else you want to ask? I’ll tell you whatever I can within my limits,” Jan said.

“What is the current situation?” Ruel asked.

What Ruel needed to know now was their situation. If they were to collapse, the damage would eventually come back to him, so he needed to come up with a plan.

“Child.”

“Please tell me.”

At Ruel’s urging, Jan looked at Leo.

Leo’s ears twitched.

Jan let out a long sigh and hesitated.

No matter what he said, Ruel was going to fight.

It seemed that he should let go of his stubbornness.

Surprised at the small fire he had been able to extinguish, he had grown impatient to protect what was in front of him.

Jan wondered what it would have been like to fight alongside the spirits instead of protecting them.

But it had already passed.

Jan opened his tightly closed mouth.

“It’s serious. The great man continues to spread corruption to kill the spirits.”

‘The reason for creating the black water wasn’t just to break my seal.’

Ruel bit his lip.

“Spirits cannot exist in corrupted places, nor can they purify it. The only spirits that can purify this are purifiers, and they... I can’t feel them anymore.”

—What do you mean?

Leo perked up at the mention of purifiers.

Ruel’s hand that was stroking Leo stopped.

It seemed like Jan was planning to tell Leo the truth.

Leo grabbed the table and glanced at Jan.

—Does Jan know where the Great Purifier’s are?

“I did. I exist to protect and watch over you all,” Jan replied.

—Then tell this body. When this body meets the Great Purifier, this body has a question to ask. Well, what does this body have to do, what was it born for, again.

Leo’s ears moved around, but he stopped thinking when nothing came to mind.

—In any case, please tell this body.

“Leo.”

When Jan called Leo, Ruel urgently shouted, “Wait.”

Ruel pressed his lips tightly together as he looked at Leo.

His hand trembled as he petted Leo.

“Just a moment, please.”

Author's Thoughts

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