Chapter 268 – Memory – 1

As I entered the room, various gazes were directed toward me.

Kaiquilia, who seemed very uncomfortable tapping her fingers on the sofa, and Minerva, who was blankly staring into space as if conjuring up violet magic in her head.

Floretta and Luna, who were holding their hands together in prayer with faint smiles on their faces, and Stella and Selene kneeling behind them, doing the same.

Aurora, sitting slightly nervously on the sofa, and finally, Iris, Lize, Erica, and Claudia, who looked stiff as boards.

Except for Nix, who entered the room with me, everyone was staring at me.

Especially Aurora and the knight commanders’ expressions lit up as soon as they saw me.

“To keep a lady waiting in a place like this, such an arrogant attitude, Dark Night Order Knight Commander.”

Kaiquilia shot back sharply. Given that she called me not Delta but Dark Night Order Knight Commander, it seemed she didn’t like even that brief moment of waiting here.

I calmly moved forward. I understood that this was not genuine anger, but merely an expression of her pride. Knowing that, there was no reason to cower.

Besides, I knew a very simple way to easily crush that pride.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I apologize.”

While uttering a meaningless apology, I tickled Kaiquilia’s chin. For a brief moment, her expression softened, but then she suddenly reverted to a rigid and cold demeanor.

The eyes of those around me were focused on Kaiquilia.

Minerva and the Pope sisters looked completely unfazed, but the rest appeared shocked, as if they never imagined that Kaiquilia could have such an expression.

“Dark Night Order Knight Commander, you—!”

Unable to endure her embarrassment, Kaiquilia attempted to rise from the sofa, but I firmly pressed down on her shoulder. Then I continued to tickle and pet her cheeks, chin, neck, and shoulders.

“Calm down, Your Majesty.”

The uniform slightly slid down, exposing her ivory-white shoulder, and her body twitched several times, unable to endure my touch.

“H-hng… how rude…! Get your hands off me…!”

Though she was verbally insisting that I was rude and to take my hands off, her body was honest. She couldn’t even muster a proper resistance; she merely twitched.

Between words and sentences, high-pitched moans began to blend in, and each time she exhaled, heated breaths intermingled. Her extremely sensitive body was already beginning to feel pleasure.

It seemed she still recalled the endless climaxes of the past, as her forehead and neck became damp with sweat. I confirmed this and withdrew my hands.

Such things should end at a proper threshold; when their pride is dragged to the bottom, it would just create counterproductive effects.

As my hands fell away, Kaiquilia quietly closed her mouth and lowered her head. She likely didn’t want anyone to see her half-relaxed face.

“If you waited too long, I apologize. I was just confirming something, which is why I was a bit late.”

I opened my mouth while stroking her dark hair. The sight of Kaiquilia Libanus being easily subdued without putting up a proper fight seemed to astonish everyone.

Especially Aurora, sitting right next to Kaiquilia, and the four knight commanders, who were well aware of the empress’s personality, were even more surprised.

Except for the two mages, who looked as if they knew this would happen, and the Pope sisters, whose expressions were filled with envy.

“It’s okay. Thanks to you, I had quite the show. And you only waited a few minutes, so don’t worry. That girl you’re petting is especially sensitive.”

Minerva wore a grin that didn’t leave her face. It seemed she found enjoyment in watching Kaiquilia being completely at my mercy.

“Minerva, you… Hyik?!”

Kaiquilia glared furiously but succumbed again as I lightly touched her near her lips. At this point, the empress’s dignity was nowhere to be seen.

“I’m sure you’re all curious as to why I asked you all to come here. I will explain everything one by one now.”

I gently ran my fingers through Kaiquilia’s dark hair one last time before pulling my hand away. Then I looked toward the knight commanders, Stella, and Selene.

“You all sit as well. This isn’t something worth standing for. Besides, there are plenty of empty seats.”

At my words, the knight commanders hesitated and then squeezed themselves onto the sofa between the empress and the pope. Stella and Selene quietly placed themselves beside the pope sisters.

I found an appropriate empty spot to sit as well, and once again, the scattered gazes focused back on me.

“Now, let’s hear it, child. Why did you call us all here?”

Minerva asked with a beaming smile. The reason for gathering people who wouldn’t normally get a chance to speak, let alone see each other from afar, was about to be revealed.

“First… I believe you all are aware of the centipede that appeared last time.”

When the immortal centipede was mentioned, the faces of the Silver Dawn Knights stiffened slightly. It seemed they recalled almost dying at the hands of it not too long ago. Kaiquilia and Aurora’s reactions were no different.

On the other hand, the popes, inquisitors, and the inquisitor remained silent.

They had to come to seek help since nothing they did could kill those creatures, but only one appeared, so there wasn’t much of a crisis, especially considering I dealt with it personally.

Instead, it only further solidified my position as a holy one.

“That thing is known as the ‘Immortal Centipede.’ True to its name, it cannot be killed by any means, except for specific methods. There are only two ways to kill it. Use this weapon here, or…”

I pulled out the Immortal blade from behind my back and placed it on the table. The rusted, old, and seemingly crumbling sword had its rust not tarnishing the table at all.

“Or you must use a special ability known as ‘True Death.’ These are the only two methods.”

As if recalling the time I had not obtained True Death and cried out in regret, Floretta and Luna’s expressions visibly darkened.

“…True Death, huh? That’s a first for me.”

“It’s only natural for you to hear it for the first time. After all, it’s not from this world.”

Upon hearing that it wasn’t a technique from this world, everyone except Minerva, who had already been studying violet magic, looked puzzled.

“It gets much more complicated if you dig deeper, but I’ll explain it simply since we don’t have time. True Death is a technique that allows you to sever the essence of life.”

“Severing the essence—how intriguing. Did you gather us here to teach us that?”

Her golden eyes sparkled with curiosity as she had never heard of such a concept before. I shook my head.

“Just because I say I’ll teach you doesn’t mean you can use it.”

“…What do you mean?”

Kaiquilia frowned.

“What did you just say? You said it’s not something you can use just because you’re taught it?”

“Yes. No matter how much of an empress you are, it stands. Excluding Nix and me, no one else can even touch the essence or come close to understanding it. Floretta and Luna have already failed as well.”

The popes nodded solemnly. Kaiquilia, after a moment of tapping her fingers against her arms, stared at me intently.

“You wouldn’t have asked us to come here just to declare it impossible in front of me. Delta, you must have a valid reason. Tell me, what is it?”

“You’re exactly right. There is one way to become capable of using True Death. That’s the reason I gathered you here, including Your Majesty and the others.”

“Is that true, Delta?!”

“What is that method?!”

Upon hearing there was a method, Floretta and Luna rushed forward eagerly. Stella and Selene frantically tried to calm the popes. I waited for the commotion to settle before continuing.

“However, before I explain that, I need to share something I haven’t previously disclosed. It’s information crucial for qualifying to learn True Death.”

“Just one of those would be enough for me to listen, but since both apply, there’s no reason not to hear you out. So please, go ahead.”

Kaiquilia smiled and crossed her legs. Except for Nix, who was quietly closing her eyes, everyone was focused on my next words.

I carefully began to speak.

“It’s a story about my past.”

Since Delta gave the ‘reward’ and departed, Eclipse had been unusually busy.

It wasn’t just because of the reward Delta promised. Eclipse knew how to separate business from pleasure.

With the immortal centipede pouring in, and the creature that devours the world possibly striking at any moment, there was no way Eclipse would do something foolish enough to ignore the task at hand.

If it was a practice for the reward, it was far more sensible to find out its location right away and inform Delta. There would be ample time to initiate it after stabilizing all worlds.

Of course, I couldn’t deny that the slight excitement was mixed into my increasingly rapid movements.

“…Something feels off.”

As Eclipse diligently executed Delta’s orders, it muttered to itself upon sensing a rising unease. This was after there hadn’t been a single immortal centipede appearing since then.

Thanks to that, it could entirely focus on locating it; however, that made things feel even stranger. Just a few hours ago, they had been pouring in by the millions.

According to Eclipse’s calculations, pulling out millions would take just around thirty minutes. Just how much larger was the horde planning to come later that—

“…Oh?”

Finally realizing the reason for that unease, Eclipse suspended all other tasks. It channeled all remaining power into verifying the fact it just uncovered.

It reviewed, inspected, analyzed, investigated, and interpreted, hoping that the unease felt just now was a lie.

But it wasn’t. After repeating the verification multiple times, the same results emerged, and Eclipse hurriedly prepared to contact Delta.

The creature that devours the world was approaching.