The session of the World Parliament began after a rather imposing sound of trumpets in the background.
Arcanite served as the chairman of the session.
But he made no effort to hide his displeasure for having to do so.
“And now, we shall begin a session for designating the One King.”
He spoke in a monotonous tone as if reading from a book.
And to this, all those who were of Kromgard’s faction made obvious reactions. Whether in silence or quietly, they all expressed displeasure at Arcanite’s disrespectful attitude.
Dimetri Medioff who claimed to represent the Human Empire even raised his hands to indirectly attack Arcanite.
“You seem rather unwell today. If it is too much for you, how about you take it easy today? I can take over for you.”
Arcanite glared at Dimetri as if he was going to eat him alive. But the one holding the power of the World Parliament was not him.
He let his anger dissipate a bit and moved to another seat.
“You’re right. You already usurped the role of your king already, why wouldn’t you be able to take over my role as well? Do as you please, I shall watch from behind.”
The Floating Archipelago faction protested loudly at Arcanite’s extremely aggressive thorned statement, but Dimetri who was the recipient of such a statement had a peaceful smile on his face as he stood up to take the seat of the chairman that Arcanite had conceded.
Now the seat of the chairman of the World Parliament was taken by not a King or any of his representatives, but a traitor to his master.
Sungchul looked over to look at the man standing at the center of the conference room, wearing an opaque helmet that did not allow one to peer within.
He stood still silently without doing or saying anything.
Though, it was because there was no need for him to speak up. His fervant supporters would more than represent him and his interest on his behalf without him stepping up.
But not everyone supported Kromgard. Arcanite who had moved from the highest seat to the lowest seat glanced at Daincraft who had his eyes narrowed to a slit with his mouth firmly shit before speaking to Dimetri Medioff.
“But from what I recall, the World Parliament decisions have to be made by a unanimous consensus according to tradition?”
Dimetri nodded.
To this, Daincraft simply let out a hmph! And crossed his arms. The stubbornness to never compromise seemed to be pouring out from every pore of his body.
“I have said this already, but I shall take no action until I Fal Garaz is returned to me!”
Daincraft replied in a voice that made him seem like an ancient oak.
Members of the audience let out a sigh of frustration.
Especially the Kromgard’s faction glared at Daincraft with the coldest of looks.
Meanwhile, original members of the new World Parliament like McRaed, Hesserdein and Arcanite didn’t express anything explicitly, but they seemed to be sympathizing with the Dwarven King.
“Sire, people are watching.”
An old elf standing by the elvan prince Hesserdein noticed the prince’s expression and quickly whispered to him.
Hesserdein squeezed his eyes shut before returning to having a neutral expression.
In McRaed’s case, she seemed to have a dedicated supervisor attached to her.
A man standing in the corner looked only at McRaed and gave her a silent threats.
A man who wasn’t even a King or his representative, a mere civil servant was repressing someone who had position comparable to a master of a crown.
Arcanite’s contributions or national power was strong enough that he could maintain his cynical retalitory stance like the veteran statesmen that he was, but he understood that he did not have enough power to completely stand against the flow of things.
And for the minor powers and states, it goes without saying what their position was.
Already, it was practically set in stone that Kromgard will become the One King.
That is, if he could only get the support of the Dwarven King.
Sungchul suppressed his urge to reveal himself and continued to watch how things develop.
A long line of magicians of the Floating Archipelago wearing masks similar to one Aquiroa had once worn walked into the conference room.
While everyone was murmuring, they began to draw a magic formation on a table at the front of the conference in everyone’s view.
“What’s going on?”
Arcanite asked sounding irritated. Dimetri Medioff sneered as he answered.
“It’s a show to fulfill the wishes of the Dwarven King. Please just wait a moment.”
Sungchul noticed that Dimetri had taken on the role of what Aquiroa had been doing in the past.
Aquiroa, no Ryze Himerr was not visible. Though many people worse masks similar to what Aquiroa had worn, their faces and bodies were covered and disguised by masks and robes so it was difficult to tell them apart.
The magicians quickly finished drawing the Magic Formation before backing off.
One of them glanced at the former right hand of the Emperor.
Dimetri looked to Kromgard. Once Kromgard nodded, Dimetri also nodded.
The Magicians all began an incantation in unison.
The magic formation seemed to glow birght before something appeared at the center.
The humanoid with black feathers of a bird. And a hammer contained within an inexplicably impenetrable display case.
It was Marakia and Fal Garaz.
The magicians of the Floating Archipelago had summoned them both as a whole.
Marakia had surrounded himself with shields and barriers of his own making. Sungchul realized that Marakia must have been attacked before having arrived here.
And as if to prove that point, Marakia looked around at the sudden change in his environment before laughing out loud and speaking.
“I was wondering why you went as far as to summoned a Lesser God to attack me, so this is what you were up to.”
The magicians of the Floating Archipelago instantly covered Marakia from all sides with a barrier.
And behind them, the cultists of the Order of Extinction were prepared to transform into Lesser God at any time just in case.
Marakia was currently a bird in a cage.
“What are you doing? Draw this moment, you artists! It shall become a great piece of art.”
The supervisors of the artists urged them on from behind them.
Sungchul ducked his head and pretended to sketch.
But what he drew on the page was just a bean with eyes and a beak.
A supervisor saw Sungchul’s sketch and trembled greatly.
“If you continue to draw something like this, you’ll be sentenced to the Barbarian pits, so stop messing around and get serious.”
Dimetri stood up and scoffed.
“Hey, Avian. I won’t beat around the bush. Obediently surrender and return Fal Garaz to its rightful owner, Daincraft.”
Marakia flapped his wings.
Marakia turned his neck that had a much higher angle of turn than a human to scratch the armpits of his wings with his beak as he replied.
“I don’t listen to orders of inferior humans who are weaker than me.”
Dimetri’s grin was broken.
A woman stepped forward.
The face was covered by a cloth and her body by a gaudy robe, but Sungchul instantly recognized who this was.
‘Ryze Himerr.’
She was here as well.
She walked forward and bowed to show respects to the kings and their representatives before speaking to Marakia in a clear sonorous voice.
“O’ Black feathered King of Nahak.”
Ryze Himerr said.
Marakia looked greatly surprised.
“Hoh. So you know of the Nahak race. I didn’t realize that there was a competent primate among the troglodytes.”
The atmosphere of the conference room transformed with Ryze’s appearance and Marakia’s subsequent reaction.
The audience whispered amongst themselves as they looked at Ryze.
“Nahak? What’s that?”
“I’ve never heard it before.”
There was no way for them to know.
But Ryze was privy to many things no one knew.
She glared at Marakia as she continued to speak clearly.
“How about listening to our offer first? I believe it is one that the King of Nahak will be greatly interested in hearing out.”
“What is it, the offer?”
Marakia asked with a cold tone.
To this, Ryze Himerr gave a bit of pause to amplify his expectations before resuming to speak with her clear voice.
“If you hand over the hammer, we shall lead you to where your people still live.”
“My people?”
Marakia tilted his head.
He thought of the north, at the Avian Kingdom under the stone mountain under the control of the Barbarians.
But the place Ryze was offering to take him was somewhere else entirely.
“Outside of the continent, at the Floating Archipelago, the descendants of the Nahak lives on.”
“Lies.”
Marakia immediately denied this.
As if expecting his reaction, Ryze lifted up her hands.
And soon, a group of soldiers from the Floating Archipelago showed up, carrying a large bird cage covered in black cloth into the conference room.
Marakia’s eyes steadily grew wider.
The bird cage was brought right before Marakia’s barriers.
The air of the conference room seemed to freeze over.
In the midst of silence, Ryze grasped the black cloth and lifted it up.
“Piii?!”
A bird scream escaped Marakia’s beaks.
Inside the bird cage was a white feathered avianoid.
The Avian looked at the black feathered Marakia and was shocked. Its eyes grew wide and grasped at the bars of the bird cage with both hands.
The wings flapped with no regard to the owners will as it created wind.
“Black Feathers? The legendary King of Nahak?”
The Avian said.
Marakia couldn’t find words to speak.
He couldn’t even imagine.
That conscious members of his species still lived somewhere in the world.
Sungchul saw a tear form in Marakia’s eyes.
This was the first tear he had ever shown.
Sungchul felt like he could understand Marakia’s feelings at this moment.
‘He was always alone. In some ways, it was quite amazing for him. To shoulder the burden of his entire race and still be able to live on as if nothing was wrong.’
Marakia stared at his fellow Nahak with emotions that cannot be expressed in words.
His defenses were visibly becoming weakened.
But this moment did not last forever.
Ryze Himerr ordered her subordinates to cover the bird cage in black cloth once more and carry the cage out of the conference room.
The emotional wall that was becoming softened quickly returned back to normal.
“Now, o’ King of Nahak. As you can see, your people still live on. They are at the Floating Archipelago.”
“Floating Archipelago huh.”
Marakia parroted.
“If you return the Fal Garaz to the Dwarven King, we shall lead you to the Floating Archipelago, and deliver you safely to the place where your people still live.”
To meet the members of your own species that you had believed extinct, this was a difficult offer to refuse indeed.
Sungchul decided to not blame Marakia should he agree to this.
“…”
Marakia closed his beak and did not speak for a great while. He was obviously embroiled in internal conflict.
“Marakia…”
Bertelgia whispered quietly.
Soon, the barriers surrounding him disappeared.
He released them on his own.
Marakia walked up to Fal Garaz and glared at the humans surrounding him.
“I understand what you want to do. It was certainly an attractive offer.”
Being the center of everyone’s attention once more, Marakia opened his mouth again.
“I shall return the Fal Garaz to you.”
Dimetri as well as the rest of the Kromgard faction smiled all at once.
Sungchul did not fail to catch Schnellmerker make his characteristic self-assured smile and joke with his subordinates.
But it was important to hear a man out to the end.
Even if that person was a bird.
Marakia began again.
“Only if, someone appears that Fal Garaz deems worthy.”
The smile on Dimetri disappeared entirely.
Marakia was saying that he would only return the hammer if someone could once again combine the hammer with its carrying case into one.
The only person who was known to be capable of such feat was so far only Sungchul.
“Now, you primitive apes. What are you doing? Come here and prove you are worthy. If even one person is recognized by the hammer as worthy, I shall relinquish this hammer without hesitation.”
Marakia glared at the Dwarven King first.
“You there, you stubby and round bearded monkey. You keep insisting this hammer is yours, come show me your worth.”
It was a clear provocation.
But the Dwarven King did not look even a little put off by this, even giving off a wide grin as he willingly walked up to Marakia.
He placed his large stubby hands on the case of the Fal Garaz. It did not respond to him,
“Oh my, it seems I am deemed unworthy!”
He let out a loud booming boistrous laughter as he returned to his seat before glaring at the audience and shouting with a completely different, angry tone of voice.
“So, I beseech thee, heroes gathered in this hall, bring me back my hammer. I don’t care who. He who returns the hammer back to the Dwarven Kingdom shall be recognized as our benefactor.”
With this, it has become clear.
Marakia and the Dwarven King were colluding together.
Kromgard’s faction were greatly displeased with this.
“As the esteemed king of the swordmasters, how about King Arcanite also test yourself with Fal Garaz?”
Daincraft shouted loudly.
Arcanite walked up to the Fal Garaz with everyone watching and returned without any change occurring.
“Oh my. It seems I am not worthy either.”
Arcanite now glared directly at Kromgard.
“How about the candidate for the ascension to the One King go and give it a try?”
He was provoking them.
Kromgard and his entire faction of backers.
Dimetri’s face grew bright red.
“If you want the Enemy of the World’s position, you should be able to prove you are at least worth that much, won’t you?”
Arcanite’s words carried the old age and treachery worthy of a King. And to this, Kromgard seemed to flinch a little.
And the moment Sungchul saw this, he had the sudden suspicion that this might not be Kromgard after all.
And then an unexpected person intervened.
Schnellmerker and the Order of Extinction stepped forward.
To this, Sungchul felt he had conclusive proof.
‘They definitely have something deep going on.’
One of the cultist became covered in black flames.
He had sacrificed himself to cast Lesser God Transformation.
The shadow of the man covered in black flames reached out and merged with Kromgard’s own.
Kromgard stood up with his body covered in black shadow. He was overflowing with overwhelming power.
‘He must have somehow been transferred power from a cultist who had used Lesser God Transformation.’
The Kromgard, surrounded by black flames slowly walked up to Fal Garaz.
Everyone in the room watched this historic moment.
Kromgard reached out to Fal Garaz without a word with his blackened hand.
But Fal Garaz did not show any reaction.
“It seems you are an unworthy King.”
Marakia mocked him.
The situation suddenly changed.
“Kill that bird and retrieve Fal Garaz!”
Dimetri pointed and shouted a command loudly.
At his command, the cultists of the Order of Extinction moved forward in unison. Their bodies burning with black flames.
They were going to summon three Lesser Gods at once.
For Marakia who could barely fend off against one, this was nothing short of a death sentence.
But Marakia did not bend his stubbornness.
He ignored the Order of Extinction who were threatening his life and shouted towards the crowd who was watching.
“Are there no other who can prove their worth as a warrior? I do not care who, as long as you possess the heart of the warrior!”
No one answered back to this.
For one thing, no one was worthy, and the other, they could not hope to win against the combined power of the Order of Extinction and the Floating Archipelago.
The entire area became submerged into a cold silence.
The Order of Extinction moved forward to threaten Marakia even further.
It was just when everything seemed to be over.
One man suddenly stood up.
“Please, give me a chance as well!”
He was a horribly disfigured limping artist. At his feet was a terribly scribbled drawings of a bird in the shape of a bean with eyes and beak.
With everyone watching, he limped towards Fal Garaz.
Dimetri was going to stop him, but Schnellmerker got in the way.
“Let’s just watch. What this ‘true warrior’ will do.”
He said, glaring contemptuously at the kings and their representatives in the hall, having nothing but scorn and disdain in his voice.
‘These garbages who all deserve to die.’
The reason why he left the limping man alone was to mock the World Parliament.
Under his protection, the limping man was allowed to stand before Fal Garaz.
The hand blackened by charcoal touched Fal Garaz.
Nothing happened.
Disgusting smiles appeared on the lips of Dimetri and Schnellmerker.
Click.
A miracle occurred.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
The fragments of the sky surrounding Fal Garaz began to combine into one. The incredibly complex but harmonious movement soon combined the hammer with its casing to complete the hammer back to its true form.
“…”
The rowdy conference room was plunged back into silence.
And in this veil of silence, the man holding the hammer threw away the hood and the mask he wore away.
And finally, people could see.
That, it was true; the warrior who they had thought been judged and executed by God they believed in was back alive.
“Pigii…”
Marakia looked at the man with tears in his eyes.
Sungchul made a gentle smile towards him before looking back at the audience, especially towards the Kromgard’s faction before speaking calmly but with gravitas.
“…No one shall leave.”
The warrior was back.