Layla observed Eren as he left, passing through the second barrier and approaching the boundary of the first.
She appeared to have something to say, expressing a desire for him not to engage with the Sages outside, even if they hailed from the Last Blood Bastion.
Nonetheless, in the end, she shook her head and allowed Eren to go, recognizing the urgency of the task at hand.
It didn't take long for Eren and Edgar to find themselves standing about 2 meters apart, separated by the primary Birdcage Barrier.
"Sage Edgar."
Eren offered a nod of acknowledgment to Edgar and indicated for him to speak.
Edgar maintained eye contact with Eren for a moment before inquiring, "That demon beast is yours, isn't it?" He gestured towards Reen in the distance.
Eren simply nodded, recognizing the futility of concealing the truth any longer. Edgar continued, "So… you are the Osan Woods' Butcher, the one who escaped with the artificial demon beast created by Arthur." Edgar had pieced the facts together, and his expression conveyed both curiosity and surprise.
Eren opted to remain silent, but Edgar interpreted this as confirmation of his suspicions. The Osan Woods' Butcher case had implicated the half-bloods and the entire Last Blood Bastion during Arthur Renar's investigation. As a result, Edgar had kept a close watch on all the known and hidden details related to this notorious figure.
Edgar noted Ivor's presence inside the secondary Birdcage Barrier. However, he realized that even Ivor Osan had been manipulated as a pawn in the grand scheme.
Edgar had plenty of questions for Eren and much to say, but he could only let out a sigh before speaking.
"We underestimated you, brat. Not just the half-bloods, but also the Rankers opposing us, as well as the various monsters and other factions active on Anfang. We all failed to see that there was someone like you planning something this big," he admitted, gazing at Eren as if he were an unsolvable enigma.
Eren chuckled and responded.
"Sometimes, being underestimated is good. It can work in one's favor. I wouldn't be here standing in front of you, alive and well, if I hadn't been underestimated. So I don't mind that. What surprises me, though, is that you're not asking me about the deaths of your clan members." He glanced around the isolated space between the primary and secondary barriers.
Edgar shook his head, denying any potential restatement he might have harbored against Eren. He explained his position to Eren, emphasizing that he hadn't supported or opposed him from the beginning.
The clan members who had acted against Eren under the leadership of Ariella Lowin were not following House Lowin's orders but rather Demonmir's. So, Edgar had distanced himself from that situation. He clarified that he didn't care whether the clan members who had attacked Eren had succeeded or perished.
To him, life's winds brought storms, and he didn't concern himself with every extinguished flame in those storms. He spoke in a casual tone, indicating his indifference.
Eren was a bit surprised to find out that Edgar was unbothered with the fate of Ariella Lowin and the House Lowin members she had brought to fight on Demonmir's behalf. It seemed that the Sage was more interested in observing how Demonmir would handle the opportunities he had been given, which, in his eyes, had resulted in failure.
'Sages from Anfang are really a case study,' Eren thought to himself as he looked at Edgar with a newfound perspective.
"You are behind Demonmir's sudden disappearance, I take it?" Edgar asked another question to Eren. the latter pressed his lips against each other, his expressions screaming 'what do you think?'
"What are you planning to do with him? Where is he?" Edgar asked in a curious voice only to receive a question from Eren.
"You are not interested in Demonmir, are you, Sage Edgar? Not really. You are more interested in how I got to him?" Eren smiled lightly before admitting to Edgar.
"I think you must have your doubts by now. So I'll just go ahead and spare you the trouble of digging any further. Yes, you are right. I received Sansara Sage's complete legacy. That's how I was able to decipher his encrypted runes."
Edgar's eyes widened in shock as his hypothesis was confirmed. Eren had managed to abduct Demonmir just before he was about to launch an attack. Eren had employed a more advanced form of the space-element rune, which he had been using for the past nine years, to accomplish this feat.
Edgar quickly deduced that Eren possessed the complete inheritance of the Sansara Sage.
"How… How did you get your hands on his legacy? Sansara Sage was… wait.." Sage Edgar stuttered his words as he tried to digest the news that Eren was someone with Sansara Sage's complete inheritance.
"No… wait…"
Edgar tried to grasp the implications of this revelation, stumbling over his words. The realization dawned on him, and his face revealed his shock and self-discovery. He connected the dots and spoke further in a shaky voice.
"The Sansara World 1.0 getting blown into smithereens a decade ago in the Edinnica Arena. It was you! You blew up Sansara Sage's artifact to cover up your tracks. You… You… Bloody hell!"
Edgar couldn't contain his agitation at this revelation. He had paid a significant price to launch a raid on Edinburgh's capital in an attempt to acquire the complete inheritance of the Sansara Sage, only to witness the artifact's destruction due to some "unknown malfunction."
To say that he was shocked to discover that Eren was responsible for the incident would be an understatement.
"Haah! And here I thought I was the radical one for becoming a cultist when I was at my peak as a Ranker. I thought I was the shit for becoming a half-blood not by birth but by my own efforts.
What kind of balls do you have to mess with basically everyone like this? Eren, do… do you even understand the consequences of your actions over the years?"
Edgar looked at the Rankers from the Anfang Alliance in the distance before speaking in a serious tone.
