NOVEL NEXT Chapter 609: Yamato Empire
"An actual zombie!" Hope cheered. "How come you never said anything before?"
"Jeez. I wonder why. I was so weak that I was bullied and killed, then reawakened as something that's not human," Connor retorted. "It's not a light memory. It was a dark past that I kept avoiding."
Elliot pat Connor's shoulder in comfort. He was the first person to see his true form as an Infernal after he confessed to him what happened. Elliot was sympathetic for his friend, but he cannot shake the feeling of why his new title just unlocked.
"Is it because of Hell?" Elliot pointed out. "That you became a Harbinger of Death."
"Possibly," Connor sigher. "Back when I first entered this realm, I always had an eerie feeling. It was like something was coming after me, or something was watching me. But then I realized that it's not that."
Connor waved his right hand above him, a pale blue energy lit from his palm, and a surge of pale blue butterflies emerged from the light. Their wings fluttered across everyone, causing a bright surge of energy from him.
"I am not just an Eternal from Inferno." Connor raised his other hand, now another surge of butterflies wrapping towards him, engulfing him with the light. A few moments have passed and Connor's hands reached out from the vortex of butterflies.
With a grunt, the winged critters dissipated, revealing Connor with a new form. His body was taller, his entire being was changed. He wore an armored suit with a magician's hat, a cane replaced his staff and his sword hovered behind him, spinning like a hand of a clock.
"I am the Harbinger of Death, and in this life, I'm the friend that's supposed to betray Elliot."
A collective gasp echoed the room, all eyes stared at him in disbelief. Connor watched Elliot who he couldn't read, the expression on his friend's face was an enigma that he cannot decode. He wasn't afraid, he wasn't surprised, nor he wasn't angry.
Elliot was smiling.
"What?" Connor's composure was down, face scrunched hin confusion. He stared at Elliot for a couple more seconds before the former jumped at him, arms wide open. "Elliot, I am to betray you in the future. Why are you happy?"
"I was warned," Elliot grinned. "All those traitors of the previous owners of the Manual were killed by their friend who were unaware of their intentions. They didn't know that they are going to betray the owner. Connor, you broke the curse."
Irus appeared behind Connor, his hand on the latter's shoulder. There was a huge look of relief in his face, one that felt like a thorn had been removed from his heart.
"I have always wondered if you could figure it out since, like the others..." Irus cleared his throat. "You're kind of slow. But then you did. Congratulations."
"I'm happy for you and all, but what is going on?" Lance asked, face contorted. "What is this about betrayal and figuring things out. Let us in on this."
Elliot told them about the curse that would corrupt the first friend that the owner would come across. Irus have observed this curse over hundreds of years and found one small clue on how to break it.
'Betrayals will come from those you would least expect.'
The title of 'First Friend' would create a special relationship to the owner, and the trust would be the highest with them. The first friend was the confidant of secrets and him being Infernal was Connor's secret. He would fixate on the owner and become possessive, thinking that he should be the only friend.
But Connor's situation was different. He had other factors that helped him slowly crack the curse until he could finally break it. The first one was the First Friend title that he earned. He wasn't the actual first friend that Elliot made after obtaining the Manual.
Although unacknowledged, the first friend was Francoise after the old man offered to help Elliot with his Valorium blade. The affection for first friend was directed to the old man without his own awareness. He made the first friend with Connor, but the curse has already been weakened.
Throughout the course of their journey, Elliot didn't became alone with Connor for a long period of time. They found a guild which divided the affection of friendship, causing the curse to get even weaker. Irus observed this when he was still inside the Manual, and for the first time in his life, he wanted to escape.
"I have seen many owners and First Friends killing each other, but it wasn't until this time that I want to help," Irus said, glancing at Elliot. "My desire to escape intensified at the Championship of the Greats where I saw my siblings. It was when I broke free and studied more on the First Friend. The latch of the curse on him was weak, and his status as an Eternal made it even weaker. This curse was almost broken even before Connor realized it."
"But you had to make sure," Connor smiled. "Thank you, Irus. I possibly couldn't live a life knowing I killed a friend over an... Obsession."
"But the Man could," Elliot interjected. "Why is that? You told me before how First Friends would eventually kill themselves after the overwhelming feeling of killing. But then, why didn't the Man killed himself after what he did to my parents?"
"Perhaps because we didn't actually die." Melissa spoke. "If our souls were lost forever and the Spirit Catchers didn't have the time to revive us, then the Man would've killed himself. But then we didn't die."
"So the curse on him is broken too." Elliot deduced, his hand placed on his chin. "But if he isn't cursed, then... He's doing all of these out of his own free will?"
Irus sighed, looking at a panicked Elliot. "Unfortunately, I think he is doing it because he wanted to."
--
A dark spiralling sphere exploded from a castle. It bulged out for a few seconds before shrinking at a rapid rate. People screamed inside, guards tried their best to defend but they were hopeless. Their kingdom was about to fall and the thousands of guards protecting their castle were annihilated by a single man.
"Who are you?!" the king yelled, his hands clutching on his crown as he sat still on his throne. "I am the new king of the Sakura Palace. You have no right to attack us like this!"
"Your title has no merit over a god." A tall man spoke, his killing intent on eyes alone was suffocating the king. "I am the soon newly crowned Absolute. Your rule as king of this kingdom has ended. You may now rest."
"No! I was just crowned—"
The king wasn't able to finish. His head rolled to the ground as the subjects in the throne room gasped in shock. The Man laughed as he crushes the king's body along with the throne without holding it. In his face appeared a smirk as he conjured a new throne made of dark steel, shaped like a giant monolith with a sharp tip.
A jester ran across the room and stood in front of the Man.
"To the Kingdoms of Takeno, Asahiro, and Mizuhara, I present to you, your new ruler."
He chuckled before spinning, pivoting to the side and bowing.
"I welcome you to the crowning of the three united kingdoms..." The jester stood, arms waving.
"The Yamato Empire!"