Adopt 204

Episode 204

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The night Leo found a new purpose, someone knocked on Belinda’s office door.

As Belinda lifted her head from her work, which kept her up late into the night, she saw Terry standing there, holding a lantern.

“Master, everyone has arrived.”

Despite the late hour, when everyone in the manor was asleep, both Belinda and Terry appeared immaculate in full formal attire, not a hair out of place.

“Watch your step; it’s dark underfoot.”

Relying on the light Terry provided, Belinda carefully made her way downstairs.

Their footsteps stopped before the velvet room.

When she quietly opened the door, she saw that the room—usually crowded with heirlooms—held, at its center, a gaping entrance to a passage below, its mouth wide as an abyss.

This was the secret room that had sealed Sugar for over a hundred years—a chamber so forgotten it had slipped from everyone’s memory.

As Belinda stood at the entrance, a chill, dank breeze skimmed over her hair.

“I will wait here until you return.”

“If you see anyone suspicious…”

“I’ll make sure they sleep so deeply they won’t have a clue this place exists.”

Whether or not they would ever wake again was dubious, but it was a reliable answer all the same.

Nodding, Belinda accepted the lantern from Terry and descended without hesitation.

How far she descended, she couldn’t tell—the only source of light was her lantern.

Eventually, a faint, firelit glow appeared below, like a campfire in the gloom.

Before she reached the last step, yellow butterflies came out to greet her, fluttering around her face.

Following their flight, she saw a small clearing with a white round table waiting in its midst.

Belinda addressed the people gathered around it.

“Am I very late?”

“It’s customary for the host to arrive a little late.”

Cheshire, seated at the table, replied with a light touch.

At her leisure, Belinda took the empty seat at the round table and cast her eyes over the participants.

The crown prince, rightful heir to the kingdom.

The grand duke, lord of the vast northern territories.

One of only five tower lords in existence.

And finally, the high priest who commanded all temples across the Kingdom of Xenos, once a cardinal.

It hit her anew just how rarefied the company in this room was.

Yet Belinda, betraying no sign of intimidation, found her seat and announced boldly,

“Then, let’s devise a plan to avert destruction.”

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On the carriage ride from the port city back to the capital, Giuseppe told me about the future revealed by his power of foresight.

The world’s ruin, he said, began when the Sealed Forest withered, an act that let something cross its leafy border—something that set foot inside humanity’s last sanctuary.

“Monsters, as we know, don’t form packs. They possess only the cunning of wild beasts, nothing more. But this one—its form was almost human. Like a king, it led the other monsters.”

A horde of monsters on the attack.

The North resisted with all its might, but what crossed the woods that day was no ordinary beast.

After the North was destroyed, the continent began to collapse—a sandcastle swept away by waves.

But why did such a being appear so suddenly from beyond the forest?

The answer lay with Sir Cherry.

“Valuashten family makes regular hunts across the woods beyond the forest boundary because monsters learn from predation—they evolve by feeding. Theoretically, a monster that spent decades, even centuries, preying on its own kind and gaining wisdom could—well, the birth of a creature evolved enough to rule other monsters is not so far-fetched.”

But how, then, did such a being traverse the Sealed Forest?

Cheshire added his own answer.

“The Sealed Forest appears sturdy but it isn’t perfect. If it’s assaulted beyond its natural limits, it’s just dead wood in the end.”

All these scattered puzzle pieces fell into place in my mind, finally painting a clear picture.

“Six years from now, a being known as the ‘Monster King’ will appear, one who commands the monsters through countless acts of cannibalism, raising itself to a higher tier. As a result, the Sealed Forest withers, the monsters from the North invade the continent, and that’s the cause of our destruction.”

My opening words to the council received only silence—not, I thought, out of disbelief, but because each of them saw their own implications in what I’d said.

After a long moment, Sir Cherry broke the silence.

“Your words imply that the Monster King is not yet strong enough to cross the forest on his own.”

He was right. So, logically, if we found and eliminated the seed that would be the Monster King in six years, perhaps we could prevent catastrophe.

But there was one major issue.

“Is it even possible to find the Monster King in all that vast land? You might as well wipe out every monster there.”

Cheshire rested his chin on his hand, his arm propped askew on the table, picking up the heart of the issue.

With a bored look, he glanced at Giuseppe as he toyed with a familiar, a messenger animal, on his fingers.

“Unless the Holy Empire sends an army North to help, there’s no way to exterminate all the monsters. It’s impossible with Northern forces alone.”

Cheshire’s words were a direct jab at the Holy Empire.

Giuseppe replied in an official tone.

“The Holy See refuses to challenge fate. His Holiness has decided to humbly accept the end in six years, and instead will seal the Holy Empire behind closed doors.”

I was surprised by the Holy Empire’s approach to prophecy.

Apparently, they were placing a massive barrier around the capital to keep out the monsters.

Preparations for that had already been underway for over a century, but to me, it seemed a selfish answer.

They claimed to accept fate, but in the end, it was just about saving themselves.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one who thought so, since a sarcastic reply followed quickly.

“Ha! Locking themselves up like beasts in a cage. How noble—a fitting end for these priests who speak so much of justice and sacrifice.”

“Events will unfold as they must. Trying to change prophecy may only hasten fate. His Holiness seeks only to save those he can.”

“So you priests agree with the Holy See? In that case, you don’t really need to be here, do you? Your Excellency, what’s your take?”

“If the Monster King exists beyond the woods, we must find and destroy him.”

“Hey, Your Excellency, did you even listen to me? I said it’s impossible to find the Monster King!”

“We won’t know until we try.”

“No, my question is, why do you think you should do it alone? Since it’s a prophecy from the temple, shouldn’t we drag some priests along by the hair?”

“If the temple is willing, I’ll accept help.”

“The Holy Empire will not intervene.”

“See! They back out the moment you ask.”

“And what about the Magic Republic’s position?”

“Why would that matter, when the priests are doing nothing?”

It had been barely thirty minutes since I’d descended into the depths.

“Haha, can’t remember the last time I was at such a shambles of a meeting.”

Mikhail, who had watched in silence until now, smiled kindly.

Meanwhile, the meeting barreled toward disaster like a runaway train with no brakes.

“The Magic Tower won’t move a step unless the temple acts first. You’d better remember that.”

“I’ve told you many times, the Holy Empire won’t participate. Are you deaf, perhaps?”

“I’m still going beyond the forest.”

Ahhh! Would someone please stop all this barking!

Every time they left the planning behind and descended into squabbling, it felt as if another hole was bored into my stomach.

Bang!

At last, I couldn’t stand it—I slammed my hand on the table to shut everyone up.

“I understand your positions clearly—and also that none of you intend to cooperate.”

I met all the disbelieving eyes on me and spoke, weight in every word.

“Yet, despite everything, we still gathered here, didn’t we?”

The Tower Lord and the High Priest—who would never work together—were sitting at one table.

And even the Crown Prince, who always upheld his kingdom’s balance between the temple and the tower by acting as a third party, had come in person tonight.

Fortunately, my words calmed the tension on the razor’s edge.

With a sigh of relief, I signaled to Mikhail.

He now bore the intimidating smile that had earned him the nickname ‘The Butcher of State Council.’

“I have a suggestion,” he said.

His voice carried strangely well in the chamber, commanding everyone’s attention.

“The destruction that’s coming isn’t just the kingdom’s problem, but a disaster for the whole continent. If we’re to draw others in, the scale needs to be bigger, don’t you think?”

He gave a deliberate pause, watching everyone’s reactions before finishing as if it were a joke.

“Coincidentally, the regular five-nation council is scheduled for next summer. Why don’t we raise the issue of this prophecy there?”