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Chapter 422: Unsuccessful Negotiations

“You know very well why I’ve come here, Wilhelm,” Erudis indifferently replied, staring at the green being that sat near where Wilhelm was standing. Sensing the aura the green being radiated, which was that of acceptance, he could not help but feel a tinge of pain as he thought about the divinations he had made before arriving here.

‘Is there really no way for him to escape this?’ he muttered inwardly, thinking about the idea he had while making his way to the continent. Letting out a light sigh, he decided to go with it, looking at Wilhelm before saying, “I want Verdante to come back with me.”

Hearing those words resound from this gray being hovering above them, most of the people could not help but think that the guardian of their kingdom should agree it, lest another calamity befalls their kingdom like Aurus did. In fact, Argentum and the others seemed to view this scenario from a positive note, seeing how there was a chance for Aurus to free from the clutches of the Seraph Kingdom.

However, as Wilhelm had already known how the Spiriveritas operated after being the kingdom’s guardian for a long time, he did not follow the thoughts of the masses, instead responding with a slightly serious tone, “And what if I don’t want him to come back with you?”

“Then, we could only come to a compromise,” Erudis succinctly responded, the aura surrounding him quickly expanding to cover the entire kingdom as it increased in strength. At this point, only those that were above Rank 5 Animate could endure against the pressure. Even Argentum, Herellia, and Horell weren’t exempt from this. Fortunately, they were protected by the energy of both Felix and Eleanor at the very last second, allowing the three to see the next scenario unfold.

Seeing as a great portion of the people in the kingdom were now unconscious, Wilhelm could not help but feel a hint of rage welling up inside him, wanting to vent it out on Erudis by pummeling him to bits. However, he controlled himself, knowing very well that he had the means to make him and the kingdom disappear with a single move.

‘In any case, I was kind of expecting him to do something like this once I declined,’ he thought, recalling how the Spiriveritas operated. From what he could remember, the Spiriveritas would only use intimidation unless they had a kill order. Naturally, to keep all of the Spiriveritae in check, the kill order would have to be approved by the other Spiriveritae. Even the first Spiriveritas, Erudis, was not exempt from this rule.

Then again, he was the one who made the rule in the first place.

“So, what are you willing to do in exchange for your Verdante’s freedom?” Wilhelm asked after a while, taking note that Zeldrion, Dalton, and all the important individuals in the kingdom were still conscious.

“I…” Hearing that, Erudis went silent for a bit, thinking twice once more over the idea he had while he was making his way to the Maerr-viki continent. Naturally, he thought that the idea was incredibly dumb from a certain perspective. But as it stood right now, it was probably his best shot… unless if he wanted all of the Spiriveritae to agree on a kill order. That was something he wouldn’t do unless necessary.

“I… am willing to trade,” Erudis finally told Wilhelm, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief as he believed that the idea would have a high chance of working.

“Trade, eh? What are you willing to give me?” Wilhelm asked in response, looking at Aurus soon after. At the moment, Aurus was as listless as any being could possibly be, seemingly accepting everything that was happening. In fact, Wilhelm could not help but wonder why he wasn’t trying to escape, though it did not take long for him to realize why.

It only clicked in his mind right now that there were two beings that stood at an existence level far greater than him, which meant Aurus had no chance of escaping either way. Indeed, Wilhelm thought that Aurus considered Erudis as a being of higher existence, even though they were at the same level of existence. Well, he wasn’t really certain that Aurus thought of his peer that way, but from how things looked right now, he could only think of it that way.

While Wilhelm was pondering over how Aurus seemed to be accepting everything that was happening, Erudis opened up a rift beside him, allowing a small stone to drop in his hand. Once one looked at it closely, one would quickly notice that there were multiple sword marks of various depths and lengths on it. Normally, such a stone would be incredibly useless. However, this stone Erudis held contained the intent and will of multiple swordsmen from multiple generations, easily making Wilhelm think twice as to whether to keep Aurus a hostage or not.

“I am willing to trade this Millennium Blade Stone for Aurus’s freedom,” Erudis told him. “You know very well how precious this Millennium Blade Stone is. Even for us beings that do not specialize in the sword, this would allow us to bring our skills up to the peak of what a mortal can achieve, possibly even transcending mortality itself.”

“As for those that specialize in the sword, like your descendant over there, you know very well what it means,” he continued. At that moment, Wilhelm looked at his grandson Zeldrion, who was trying his best to say no. Although Zeldrion truly wanted the stone for himself so he wouldn’t have problems ascending to the level of Transcendent, for some reason, every fiber of his being screamed out to not take it, as if accepting it would be akin to going against fate.

Thus, even though he looked defeated, Zeldrion shook his head at Wilhelm, to which the latter lightly nodded, seemingly making a difficult decision himself. Looking back at Erudis, he then calmly told him, “I decline the offer.”

“Hoh?” Raising his eyebrow in curiosity, Erudis quickly threw the Millennium Blade Stone back into the rift before bringing out something that would be more useful for more people. In less than an instant, a stone that radiated energy equivalent to a hundred Wilhelms standing at the same spot appeared in Erudis’s hand as he said, “How about this? I’ll give you this Rank 4 Transcendent Stone in exchange for Aurus’s freedom. Surely you wouldn’t reject this, right?”

Seeing how he was being offered something far more precious than before, especially something that would not just benefit him but the entire kingdom as well, Wilhelm truly wanted to accept the offer. In fact, even his grandson urged him to accept it at this point. However, there was something inside him telling him not to do so. It was as if it was telling him that he’d rather die than accept the offer.

With that, he let out a long sigh, shaking his head as he told Erudis, “Unfortunately, I still can’t accept the offer.”

“Remember to not bite off more than you chew, Wilhelm,” Erudis could not help but say in response. “But since you’re so adamant in ripping me off, then I humbly accept.”

Whoosh!

At the very instant Erudis was finished speaking, the stone in his hand was replaced with an even larger stone that seemed to glisten under the sun. In fact, the stone was radiating enough energy that even a million, perhaps even a hundred million Wilhelms could not match up to. “If you still don’t accept this offer, then there must be something wrong with your head. A Rank 7 Transcendent Stone, specially procured from the Transcendent World itself. I had to wait for over 50 thousand years just for this piece to be delivered safely.”

“Graaaaaahhhh! When I say no… then that means… no…!” Surprisingly, by the time Erudis had brought out the Rank 7 Transcendent Stone, Wilhelm was about to accept the offer, only for a voice other than him to speak out. Naturally, Wilhelm was quite confused as to where that voice appeared since it was not him who said that. However, after noticing that his mouth was currently opened, he could not help but fear that there really was something inside him telling him to reject the offer. With that, he went silent, using his energy to check his body for any foreign entities.

On the other hand, Erudis scratched his head as he wondered if his divinations would actually turn out to be true. Naturally, he had his ways to change fate, even slightly. However, at this moment, he had a feeling that if he changed this fate, something would plague the world which would make him regret changing fate in the first place. Seeing as even fate itself seemed to be on the side of going against his idea of trading for freedom, Erudis decided to bring out one last item. If he got lucky, then that would be that. If not… then let fate take its course.

Snap!

With a quick snap of the finger, the large Rank 7 Transcendent Stone was changed for a small pearl. However, when those that were still awake looked at it with great intent, they instantly felt like they were looking at a Transcendent that stood far above their kingdom’s guardian, Wilhelm. Even Wilhelm himself could not help but get the urge to kneel down in front of this small pearl just from the sheer aura it exuded.

Seeing how it was involuntarily making everyone kneel on the ground, Erudis quickly covered it with his energy before saying, “Here is my final offer. A Rank 5 Transcendent Core. Unlike Transcendent Stones, which rely on your effort to absorb, a Transcendent Core would allow you to inherit the experience, skills, and proficiencies of the person that formed this core. In other words, if you absorb it, you’ll instantly turn into a Rank 5 Transcendent. Even a mortal with no class would turn into a Rank 5 Transcendent once they absorb this.”

Naturally, Zeldrion and the others wanted their guardian to accept the offer, knowing very well how beneficial it would be for the kingdom. However, just like Wilhelm, there was a strong feeling of rejection towards the idea, eventually making them think otherwise. As for Wilhelm, he quickly found out that the voice would only appear if he ever had the thoughts of saying yes to the offer. Not wanting to take his chances on eradicating the foreign entity, if it even existed inside his body in the first place, he let out a long sigh as he replied, “I sincerely apologize… but I have to decline.”

Hearing Wilhelm’s response, Erudis let out a long sigh as well, muttering to himself, “It seems fate truly wants this to happen, huh. Then… so be it.”

Storing the small pearl back where it belonged, Erudis retracted the aura he had extended back as he looked at Wilhelm, then at Aurus. After that, with a slightly forlorn tone, he said, “From this day onward, Verdante is no longer a part of the Spiriveritas Assembly. Although he is still a Spiriveritas in essence, he is no longer one of us.”

Rumble… rumble…

As if the world seemed to say something in response to Erudis’s words, the skies rumbled for a short bit as Erudis made his way back to Mercuria Continent, wondering how he’d tell the other Spiriveritae regarding this matter.

As for Wilhelm and the others that were awake, they stood where they were in silence, wondering whether to be happy or not. In the end, all of them let out a light sigh as Wilhelm looked at Aurus and said, “Follow me.”

In response, Aurus stood up and nodded, following Wilhelm back to the royal palace of the Seraph Kingdom as Dalton dispelled the barrier surrounding them. Soon after, a great portion of the high-ranking mages from the Arcana Tower appeared before him, to which he commanded that they should help out in the recovery efforts of the kingdom.

Argentum and the others, on the other hand, looked at the aftermath of the scenario with a forlorn expression, wondering if they even made a difference in the first place. Of course, the one most affected by this result was Argentum, who bawled his eyes yet again after seeing that there was no hope for Aurus to be set free. However, surprisingly, once the others tried to console him for what had happened, he quickly returned to normal as a solemn expression appeared on his face.

“Felix, teleport us back to Verdant Breeze Town. Our job here is over,” he said all of a sudden, slightly surprising the others. Nevertheless, they were glad that Argentum was quickly over what had happened.

But he wasn’t.

Instead, he remembered the string of thoughts that Aurus had sent him before he had fully accepted his fate. As he restrained from going on a rampage, Aurus’s words resounded in his mind.

“Argentum, if you’re getting this, I’ve fully decided to surrender to the enemy I’m fighting against. After all, an Inanimate fighting against a Transcendent for prolonged periods of time is highly impossible.”

“With that, I hope you eventually get over this and use my memories and the system to its greatest potential. I also hope you grow strong enough to surpass even Transcendents, perhaps even those at the Divinity level.”

“By then, I hope you find the culprit of this whole ordeal and take revenge for me.”

“For now…”

“I’ll be waiting.”