Now that he looked around him and saw the carnage—and saw only one survivor—Beruel did not feel much like a king.
He had gained his prize, but so what? What was a King without subjects?
That was when the first lie of his ancestors became known to the Fairy King. He finally understood an error he'd failed to see all along.
"The subjects don't exist for the King. The King exists for the subjects."
His subordinate was still bowed before him, but Beruel no longer thought of the young Fairy as a slave to him, the master.
No... the relationship didn't feel that way any longer.
'I-I'm happy you survived. I'm happy you still consider me worthy...'
That meant his authority as King didn't come from his being special. No, it came from the people who were willing to treat him as special. His people had been the ones at the top all along.
'It seems Jane was right, in her own feminine way.'
Of course, lots of biases remained, but Beruel was willing to admit the error of his ways—at least in this regard.
"What is your name?" The kneeling subordinate was asked.
"Murel. Murel Levan."
The Fairy King smiled and approached Murel, placing his unoccupied hand on his shoulder and nodding.
"Well, then, Murel... will you keep following me?"
Much to Beruel's pleasure, the subordinate agreed. Thus, both he and Beruel began to learn and harness the power of the Chariot. They had intended to use it to take back their Kingdom, but then Beruel's health became compromised.
Together, they built the fortress where he would remain sustained. A new body was made for him to utilize instead of his older one.
Unfortunately, being no expert at Soul Magic or any kind of Magic-Science Hybrid, other than mechanization and technology, Beruel had no idea how to transfer himself to his new body.
Jane Ursula had made something like that, but he could only somewhat copy her model. Without her unique ability, he was never going to be able to escape his mortality.
The best he could do was create duplicates of himself and utilize them for his own whims.
Through Resonance, he could feel whatever the clone felt, and he could relive the experience of walking and flying as he did in the past.
Unfortunately, Beruel couldn't do that with his own body any longer.
He had no hope to eventually do so, and his pride would never allow him to beg Jane for a cure.
He and his subordinate instead took it upon themselves to search for other Dungeons in order to find an Arcana that would be able to cure him. If they could find one to resurrect his dead subordinates, or to take over the Fairy Sanctuary, then those would also be well appreciated.
It was during one of these searches that they came across another individual who was also interested in the same venture.
This individual took an interest in Beruel, and gave an offer that was nigh impossible to reject.
An Immortal body for he and his subordinate. The possible revival of his dead followers, and also the retrieval of the Fairy Sanctuary. Once all the Arcanas were gathered, all of Beruel's wishes would come true.
The individual he met was a woman in white, and she presented herself as the direct representative of the Cult Leader. It was, in fact, the Leader who personally scouted Beruel.
He spoke to the man in charge via Magic Communication, but the lady in white was physically present during the discussion.
They called their proposed group the Nether Cult—and he was going to be the Third Seat.
Beruel, who had hit a wall when it came to his search for the mystical cards that wielded immense power—and also saw that the Cult already had a few in their possession—decided to join.
Thus, he became an integral member of the Nether Cult, but was eventually moved to the Fourth Seat by the genius of the Midas Race—Kido Midas.
Their group slowly increased, and it was only when Beruel was certain of its security that he involved Murel, his subordinate.
He ensured Murel remained in the bottom ranks—never rising to the top or gaining much attention.
It was better for him that way.
Years passed and Arcanas were secured, though at a slow pace. When Beruel demanded a swifter collection of the god-like objects, the Lady in White, who was still the proxy of the Cult Leader, stated that it was yet to be the right time.
The Cult Leader only spoke to them virtually, never appearing in their physical meetings. Instead, he sent his proxy.
It was only until the recent years that he showed up, and his power was enough to make everyone in the room recognize his authority—despite how young he appeared to be.
Considering how Beruel had known of the Cult Leader for decades, at this point, he understood that it was impossible for him to still be a child.
Therefore, his child-like form had to be a ruse.
When the Cult Leader appeared, things began to take quicker steps.
The Demon Race got involved in their conquest, and before long, the Midas Empire was destroyed.
The Eastern Kingdom was infiltrated, War broke loose, and a very serious search for the Arcanas became a reality.
Unfortunately, even at that... the Nether Cult failed to obtain all the Arcanas.
Murel died in his service to the Nether Cult, thus leaving Beruel all alone.
He couldn't stop now. He had lost too many years and too many people to stop in his conquest.
He had to obtain all the Arcanas!
He had to right his wrongs...
*
*
*
*
*
"So that's how it is." Ana muttered.
"I... I..." Beruel didn't know what to say.
He was just as surprised as the other two present when the memories of everything began to flood in.
Thanks to Kuzon's [The Emperor], even Beruel's subconscious was forced to resurface, and the apparently forgotten memories were exposed.
The tyrant King was shown.
The kind Master was revealed.
The lonely Fairy was exposed.
Thus, Beruel's past was concluded.
