"That's right, it's me."
Facing Hugh Carlisle's question, Luo Shu nodded without hesitation, admitting he was the mastermind behind everything.
Yet in response, Hugh Carlisle laughed.
He laughed heartily, as if he'd seen something extremely amusing:
"Is that so? So that naive little girl still holds actual power?"
"It seems your connection runs deeper than I imagined."
"Lovers? No, you don't seem the type to share her ideals."
"Should I interpret this as an alliance with deeply intertwined interests?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu glanced at the old man and scoffed:
"What of it?"
"You don't seem particularly concerned about whether I'm the mastermind behind this? I've admitted it, so why don't you believe me now?"
Hugh Carlisle shook his head, then said meaningfully:
"No, I believe you."
"But I also believe that given that clever girl's shrewdness, she would never relinquish command of the entire SDS."
"From this perspective, I'm more inclined to think you and she are in a cooperative relationship."
"Because Lacus Clyne has always been acutely aware of her own circumstances, and what her ideology would bring."
"So she's been searching for a sturdy shell with sufficient deterrent power to house her ideals."
"If we were to liken her to King Arthur's scabbard, then she herself has always been seeking the sword of victory that could be sheathed within."
"Judging by her current state, it seems she's succeeded in finding it."
At this point, Hugh Carlisle chuckled:
"Care to hear an old man's grumblings?"
Luo Shu raised an eyebrow at this, casually gesturing for him to continue.
"Where should I begin..."
Hugh Carlisle wore a somewhat nostalgic expression before sighing lightly:
"Let's talk about the celestial upheaval thirty years ago—something few remember, yet affected everyone."
Luo Shu arched an eyebrow, curious about this so-called celestial upheaval.
He vaguely recalled that sorcerers, supernatural abilities, the Abyss Descent, and Abyss Artefacts had emerged just over thirty years ago.
It seemed the 1990s, around 1990-1994, had been a particularly significant period.
Meanwhile, Hugh Carlisle adopted a reminiscent tone:
"Speaking of thirty years ago..."
"I'd just earned my father's approval and was gradually taking over the family business. That was also when I was at my most ambitious."
"Wealth, power, women—all sorts of things beyond ordinary imagination—I indulged in them recklessly, pursued them desperately."
"To sustain that lifestyle, I underwent two kidney replacement therapies, three vision restoration surgeries, and invested heavily in pharmaceutical companies."
"It was through those frequent treatments that I entered medical circles and encountered the first Abyss Artefacts."
"Of course, back then they weren't called Abyss Artefacts, but 'miraculous objects.'"
"That was when I learned our world had gained items with extraordinary powers, and people with extraordinary abilities."
"Naturally, there also emerged many families that appeared to have existed for ages—yet had never existed in my lived experience, nor should have existed at all."
Here, Hugh Carlisle paused before adding:
"Siegel Clyne's wife, that woman from the Patch Tribe, was the first mystic-side individual I encountered."
Though surprised, Luo Shu wasn't shocked—after all, judging by his knowledge, the Patch Tribe likely originated from the same world as Hao Asakura and Anna Kyōyama.
He also understood why Hugh Carlisle claimed they "shouldn't exist."
"Because the Patch Tribe is a formidable Native American group?"
"Exactly." Hugh Carlisle smiled wryly. "Can you believe it?"
"Almost all of them were scalped by my ancestors to make shoes. Among the extinct tribes, there were actually remnants left, and those remnants were terrifying beyond imagination."
"As soon as they appeared, they used horrifying methods to control multiple families, including mine, and secretly took over many arms groups, competing with shadowy financial conglomerates to continuously expand their power."
"Many behind-the-scenes events occurred during that process, even bringing the USA to the brink of civil war at one point."
"And in the end, it was the Patch Tribe who voluntarily ceased hostilities."
"On one hand, the hidden rulers behind the USA had obtained what they called a Divine-grade Abyss Artefact, which made the Patch Tribe—who also possessed a Divine-grade Abyss Artefact—wary."
"On the other hand, it was also due to a prophecy made by the Patch Tribe's Grand Elder before his death."
"What prophecy?" Luo Shu asked, his curiosity piqued.
Hugh Carlisle responded with a mocking expression:
"At the end of the century, above the month of July, the great king of fear shall descend from the sky, causing the great king Angoulmois to revive, before and after which Mars shall reign by the name of happiness, ushering in the prelude to mankind's end."
"..."
Luo Shu's expression turned utterly speechless. "Isn't this the same old doomsday prophecy that's been circulating forever? Why dig it up again?"
Hugh Carlisle calmly replied:
"At the time, many in the USA believed this prophecy, and the Patch Tribe's chieftain and elders echoed the same words."
"Similarly, across Europe, Asia, and even Africa, many sorcerers with divination abilities made identical prophecies."
Luo Shu frowned deeply. The mystic side had all made the same prophecy? That was indeed quite alarming.
But the great king of fear reviving? What a tired old trope... Wasn't the end of the century in '99 already long past?
"So, at the end of the century in '99, was the great king of fear defeated? Was the world saved?"
Hearing Luo Shu's mocking tone, Hugh Carlisle shook his head:
"The great king of fear did indeed descend at the end of the century, but he wasn't defeated. Instead, he is still growing."
Luo Shu froze at those words.
Just then, Hugh Carlisle continued gravely:
"Whether it was the Five Great Powers using collected Abyss Artefacts for divination, or the Patch Tribe and other powerful races' prophets and diviners employing various methods, all conclusions pointed to the same thing: the great king of fear is growing, and the power of the end is strengthening."
"But no matter how they divined, they couldn't obtain more precise answers."
"Because of this, both the USA and the Patch Tribe have been searching for countermeasures."
"And the method the Patch Tribe found was to nurture a so-called Spirit King—to cultivate a new deity who could prevent the catastrophe."
"And the one they chose as their god..."
Luo Shu frowned deeply, hesitating before asking, "Did the Patch Tribe choose Lacus?"
Hugh Carlisle shook his head and replied:
"No, it was someone else."
"A woman they called the reincarnation of Joan of Arc."
Luo Shu was stunned.
Now, even Joan of Arc's reincarnation was involved...?