Chapter 60
Three Days Later – The Nation of Arcadia
Marun City
Amidst the bustling streets of Marun, the blaring sounds of music intertwined with the shouts of vendors lining the sidewalks. One of them cried out enthusiastically:
"For one week only! All food is completely free!"
The streets were packed with people celebrating, others drinking and dancing carelessly, as if the city had transformed into an open festival. In the midst of this chaos, Ryan, Samuel, Amy, and Emre made their way through the crowd.
Amy suddenly stopped, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she took in the dazzling scene around her:
"This is unbelievable! Free food for an entire week!"
Samuel, however, was more cautious. His eyes scanned the area as he observed the reveling crowd. With a questioning tone, he said:
"The World Sages decided to make everything free inside Arcadia for a week? As a reward for our victory over the nation of Braidus?"
Ryan shook his head, his tone carrying a mixture of skepticism and frustration:
"This is an unprecedented recklessness from the Sages..."
But Emre didn't care. She waved her hand dismissively and said:
"Let's not waste time. We need to head to the headquarters!"
They continued walking through Marun's lively streets, a city basking in joy, celebrating a victory whose hidden consequences were yet to be revealed.
---
The Royal Palace – The Heart of Arcadia
The Royal Palace stood tall in the capital's heart, its pristine white walls adorned with golden engravings that reflected the sunlight, appearing like flames dancing in the air. Inside, beyond its luxurious walls, was a grand meeting hall filled with opulence, where the five World Sages gathered around a meticulously carved wooden table.
Silence dominated the room. Their sharp eyes exchanged glances, the heavy tension making the very air feel suffocating.
Breaking the stillness, Arkadius spoke, his deep voice laced with concern:
"We must reveal the truth to the world!"
Everyone turned to him until Xavier responded sharply:
"Yes! We have received reports that the Devil's Power has been stolen... The sorcerer Suero Rashid is the one who took it!"
Leonardo clenched his fist atop the table, his voice tense:
"The situation has spiraled out of control... We can no longer hide this. There's a real possibility that the power will be activated!"
Silence filled the room once more before Kaiser spoke in a low but deeply concerned voice:
"Could the vision of the King of Kaisima come true? Just as his prophecy about the beasts did before?"
Arkadius sighed, his eyes heavy with worry:
"It's possible... But we must pray that the one who activates 'Obliteration' is not the sorcerer Suero Rashid!"
Magnus finally spoke, his voice calm yet burdened with grim truths:
"We sent the campaign, led by Captain Raizo, to the cursed land of Kaisima. We also established the Rizsius Organization, with one goal... Raizo was supposed to seize the Devil's Power and activate Obliteration on Kaisima itself, fulfilling the King's vision as foretold in the book..."
Xavier lowered his head, his tone filled with evident frustration:
"But the mission failed when they encountered the sorcerer Sbyam Brius..."
Leonardo continued, his voice tinged with defeat:
"After that, we resorted to our final option. We sent all our aerial forces to annihilate Kaisima entirely, to erase its history from existence... But now, we are faced with an even greater shock—Suero Rashid has obtained the power!"
He paused for a moment before continuing, his tone seething with suppressed anger:
"We have always wanted to obliterate Kaisima, erase it from the map... Its history alone was enough to make it a threat to the entire world."
At that moment, Arkadius suddenly stood up. The other sages raised their heads toward him, their expressions tense. His eyes were now filled with unwavering determination—there was no room for hesitation anymore.
"The decision is final!" he declared firmly. "I will prepare a speech and take the Stage. This will be the first time a World Sage appears before the public, and I will reveal everything... I will announce the danger that threatens humanity!"
Xavier exhaled slowly, his eyes bearing a heavy burden:
"Yes... We have no other choice. We must tell the world about Suero Rashid... because he may become the curse that dooms us all."
Silence fell upon them once more, each of them fully aware that the fate of the world could change the moment Arkadius's words echoed through the loudspeakers.
—
At the Soldiers' Headquarters – The State of Arcadia
In one of the rooms overlooking the sea, Captain Leo stood by the window, watching the sun sink into the horizon, painting the sky with a fiery orange glow. The sea breeze blew gently, yet boredom seeped into his very core. Behind him, the room contained three beds—one occupied by Maria, who leaned against the wall engrossed in a novel, while Raizo lay on his back, deep in sleep.
Leo sighed as he stepped away from the window, arching his back in frustration before muttering in a hopeless tone:
"What misery!... I'm dying of boredom! I wonder when my time will come?"
Maria did not lift her eyes from the pages of her novel as Leo crawled over to her bed, sitting beside her with childish curiosity:
"Hey, what are you reading?"
She replied indifferently:
"Can't you see? A novel."
Silence filled the room for a few moments, but Leo was not the type to give up easily. He continued speaking:
"Oh, that reminds me! You once told me about your lover... Brown, wasn't it? But you never finished the story. Where is he now? And why have we never seen him?"
Maria paused for a moment before replying calmly, without much interest:
"In a mental hospital."
Leo's eyes widened in shock, his expression twisting in disbelief as he muttered:
"WHAT MISERY! My battlefield companion is in love with a lunatic?"
Maria flinched with childish anger, yelling at him:
"YOU IDIOT! He is not a lunatic—he has a mental illness!"
Leo raised an eyebrow with sarcastic curiosity:
"Isn't that the same thing?"
Maria snapped in frustration:
"SHUT UP!"
Then, after calming down a little, she continued in a more serious tone:
"Brown suffers from seizures that affect his mind. He chose isolation and doesn't want anyone near him, and I respect that."
Leo got up from the bed carelessly, letting out a sigh of boredom before saying in a sarcastic tone:
"What misery! His life is just as dull and exhausting as yours!"
Maria's face turned red with anger, her brows furrowing as she retorted with childish indignation:
"You're the one who asked to hear the story, you idiot!"
Without replying, Leo turned to the window, his eyes catching sight of four children in the street. Suddenly, he raised his hand and waved enthusiastically, shouting:
"HEY! You kids!"
Ryan, Amy, Samuel, and Emre turned toward the window, where Leo was waving energetically. They exchanged glances for a moment before waving back with evident joy.
With a sly grin, Leo continued loudly:
"Come up here! I'm bored!"
Amy laughed excitedly before responding:
"As you wish, Captain Leo!"
At that moment, Leo turned toward Maria and, crossing his arms, said mockingly:
"I found something far more entertaining than your boring story!"
But Maria paid him no mind, remaining focused on her novel, completely unfazed by his words.
Just then, from the third bed, Captain Raizo suddenly jolted awake, gasping violently, his breath labored. Furrowing his brows, he placed a trembling hand on his head and muttered in a shaky voice:
"NO... NO... I dreamed of them again!"
Maria tensed, immediately standing up as she asked with concern:
"Who?!"
Raizo slowly raised his head, his face consumed by fear, his eyes wide, his breath unsteady—as if trapped in an endless nightmare.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and three of the children—Amy, Samuel, and Emre—entered, but Ryan was absent.
Leo gestured for them to enter as he spoke calmly:
"Come in."
However, Maria wasn't paying attention to them; she was fixated on Raizo, who looked as pale as a ghost, staring at the ground, his hand gripping his head as he murmured in a trembling voice, filled with dread:
"Was I... was I truly that much of a tyrant? I made them fight and kill each other without even realizing it... Was I really that monstrous?"
Maria took a step toward him, her brows furrowed in worry:
"What do you mean?"
Then, Raizo's tears began to fall, streaming down his face. Suddenly, he screamed—a cry that shattered the silence of the room, making the walls tremble:
"I'm so sick of all this... Borna, Spailo, Sbyam, Moryo, Suero..."
He clenched his fists so tightly that his skin turned pale, before crying out again, his voice filled with unbearable grief:
"I'm... I'm sick of this guilt! I did this to them! Over and over again!"
Silence engulfed the room. No one moved. No one even dared to breathe too loudly.
Raizo lowered his head, his tears continuing to fall, breaking upon the cold floor. The three children quietly closed the door behind them and sat beside Leo and Maria, their eyes filled with shock and confusion.
Leo spoke in a hushed voice, though inside, he was deeply unsettled:
"Who are these people?"
Raizo continued staring at the floor bitterly before whispering in a barely audible tone:
"They are the people of your nation, Leo."
Leo's eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat as Raizo continued, his voice drenched in regret and disgust:
"It was the campaign forced upon me by The World Sages after I first went to Kaisima."
Maria looked at him in shock, trying to grasp the weight of his words:
"You mean the period that followed after you took Leo?"
Raizo nodded slowly, his voice exhausted and filled with despair:
"I'm tired... I don't deserve to live! I killed a woman who truly loved me, just so I could obtain the power of 'Phantom Onoko'!"
Everyone froze in place. No one could believe what they had just heard.
Raizo slowly raised his head, looking at them with bloodshot eyes before continuing in a trembling voice:
"And even though I killed her... she still loves me... even now, in a body that does not belong to her."
Samuel shuddered, while Amy covered her mouth in shock.
Raizo continued, as if his confessions would never end:
"I made a young man kill his own family... made him slaughter millions of his own people! I started a war, forced a master to kill his own student, drove friends to fight each other... Even a hired assassin... I made him kill his own innocent child who only wanted to live..."
He paused for a moment, then lifted his head, his eyes hollow with despair:
"All of this... all of this happened because of the campaign I led... and repeated... over and over again."
Everyone stared at him, overwhelmed with conflicting emotions—fear, shock, pity... and disbelief.
Raizo raised his trembling hand, gazing at his palm as if it were stained with blood only he could see. In a weak, broken voice, he muttered:
"I just want to apologize... but will they accept it? Will they understand that I had no choice? I..."
He slowly clenched his fist, squeezing his eyes shut, a lone tear slipping from the corner of his right eye before he whispered, his voice barely a breath:
"I laughed hysterically... I forced my face to look evil so I could believe I was a monster... so I could complete the mission... so I could become a puppet in the hands of the sages... but the guilt never left me!"
Maria stepped closer, her voice filled with worry and anticipation:
"Raizo... please, let us help you... tell us everything!"
But he did not answer.
Raizo clenched his fist tighter, his eyes remaining shut, as if the mere thought of revealing his past was tearing him apart. In a voice barely audible, he whispered:
"Can I... can I really tell you?... I don't know."
Leo, Maria, Amy, Samuel, and Emre all gazed at him in horror, utterly unable to process what they had just heard.
—
The information available for disclosure:
"Thirty-six years ago, the World Sages decided to conduct the first forbidden experiment on humans in order to create an invincible military force. However, the experiment proved to be a failure when applied to other living beings, prompting Raizo, who was a scientist at the time, to predict that it might be effective against humans. Following this, the World Sages gathered with the leaders of major nations and decided to implement the experiment in a nation that was economically, socially, and politically weak, choosing Kaisima. Raizo was sent along with a group of assistant scientists to activate the experiment there."
—
Flashback – 36 Years Ago
In the Nation of Kaisima
A modern military aircraft slices through the smoke-filled sky, its doors slowly opening to reveal a group of scientists aboard. Raizo, an eighteen-year-old young man, steps forward to the front of the aircraft, his face displaying a mix of anticipation and indifference. Beside him stands Carla, a 29-year-old woman, the only one accompanying him among the scientists, all of whom are significantly older, possessing years of experience that surpass his. Yet, perhaps none of them share his vision and genius.
Raizo's feet touch the ground of Kaisima first, and he is met with a hellish scene befitting a land ravaged by war and experiments. Buildings lie in ruins, flames dancing everywhere, while bodies are scattered like discarded dolls, some still groaning beneath the rubble. A heavy silence dominates, broken only by the hiss of the wind mixed with the scent of death and ash.
Raizo gazes at the scene with cold, unmoving eyes before whispering in a low but clear voice:
"Here we are... Kaisima."
End of Chapter.