Yeon-woo nodded. “I was the one to introduce him to By the Table.”
“Ah! So that’s why…!” Ananke nodded as if she realized something.
Yeon-woo tilted his head at the nuance of her words. He asked, “Is there something you know?”
“Unlike Freesia, who led from behind the scenes, the successor Yul often made some surprising decisions in many ways.”
Ananke’s explanation was simple. She stated that Freesia enjoyed roaming between worlds and the Tower to search and develop talented people. Although Yul had become Freesia’s disciple relatively later, he displayed unequaled results.
“He had great talent, and he would tenaciously see to the end of whatever he was assigned… Freesia complimented him often. She said she could entrust many things to him when he grew up.”
Many people were born with talent, but few worked hard to develop it. However, Yul was a part of this few.
“There were many who bothered him out of envy, but he defeated them all… He eventually surpassed the older disciples and became the successor. And after he was given authority, he’s been leading the group since.”
Unlike Freesia, who kept By the Table as a secret convention and rendezvous for the elite, Yul expanded the group and drove out any other factions to take central authority. The secretive atmosphere was no more, and By the Table became more publicized.
The foundations that Freesia had already laid were so sturdy that almost no one could stop them. If someone were to get in their way, Yul would just kick them aside. The moment one offended Yul, it would be impossible to step foot inside the industry.
“Due to this, there’s no merchant group that can ignore By the Table’s influence. Even multiple societies within the heavenly world are wary of them. They say he’s a tyrant.”
“…”
『Haha! So you’re saying it’s due to my son’s influence that child is acting like that?』
“Is it not?”
『No, it most definitely is.』
Yeon-woo didn’t partake in Ananke and Kronos’ pleasant conversation. However, he had mixed feelings as he recalled Yul. ‘He was headstrong, but he was just a little kid who cried a lot back then. He’s changed that much?’ It appeared time flowed not just for Yeon-woo, but Yul as well. Yeon-woo wondered, ‘What happened during that time?’
Feeling like the questions surrounding By the Table wouldn’t be solved so easily, Yeon-woo asked Ananke, “Ananke. Could you help me?”
“Of course. I’ll try contacting him.” Ananke nodded solemnly. “But I can’t give you a definite answer. Although By the Table became more open after Lord Yul took authority, there are a lot of secrets. He might stay undercover if he’s trying to hide something…”
By the Table always had the upper hand in any relationship. Their reputation was well-known throughout the entire universe. However…
“No. They’ll come out.” Yeon-woo instantly refuted Ananke’s statement.
With widened eyes, Ananke asked, “Why do you think that?”
“Please add this to the message you leave him. If he doesn’t appear…I’ll take it that he’s joined sides with the societies that are probably burning to ashes right now, and I’ll leave By the Table in the same state as them.” Yeon-woo’s eyes flashed.
* * *
“…Is this supposed to be a declaration of war or a warning?”
“What are you thinking, sir?! This is a mockery of By the Table! The sender of this message must be looking down on us to send something this absurd!”
Warm sunlight poured down on a round table surrounded by beings of unique appearances. However, they were all wearing the same wooden mask. The only thing different was the flower on each mask.
It was the Round Table Conference, a meeting held by the thirty-three leaders of By the Table to convene important topics. However, the seats that were usually always filled were nearly empty today.
At the highest seat sat a man who was representing Freesia, who hadn’t shown herself for several months. Unlike the other leaders, he wasn’t wearing a mask. He simply watched the discussion of the other leaders silently.
“Then what do you suggest we do, Artichoke? Do you have an idea?”
“What…!”
“Our opponent is the Death King! He not only toppled the Tower but became the Black King’s ego, and now, he set fire to the heavenly world! Are you saying we should just ignore his warning?”
The nickname “Death King” was now a symbol of fear to transcendents and large organizations throughout the universe. At first, it was merely a title gained after succeeding the Throne of Death from Hades, but now, Yeon-woo had become Death itself.
[The godly society [Avesta] is burning!]
[The supreme god Ahura Mazda desperately pleads to stop it!]
…
[The godly society [Deva] focuses all forces on the intense battle. The gap between their strengths widens.]
[Death is commenced!]
[Death is commenced!]
…
The heavenly world was a mess, with messages like these popping up multiple times a day.
It was rare to focus all your forces into battle in wars within the heavenly world unless you were mortal enemies. In most cases, the power between both groups was similar, and even if one were to win, other surrounding groups would attack, so they’d be defeated like sitting ducks.
Regardless, Olympus didn’t seem to care. They were fighting an all-out war as if to carry out Yeon-woo’s commands as soon as possible.
But they were just too strong—especially the leaders of each corps who were Apostles of Yeon-woo. They had received the power of the Black King, so obviously, it wouldn’t be easy to defeat them. Fighting alongside them were the Ghost Giants and dragons of death. More than anything…
“The gods and demons of death are subservient to the Death King and creating chaos within their societies, I hear? I’ll ask you again. If the Death King decides to attack By the Table, will we be able to stop him?!”
With the gods and demons causing internal strife from their societies, there was no one to go against Yeon-woo.
“Or would you like to lead your forces and fight him for us, Artichoke? I heard your group has been doing well in Baharata, was it? This is an opportunity for you to gain honor!”
“T-That isn’t what I meant. Ahem!”
“Then shut up if you’re going to say unrealistic things! This is why I said we shouldn’t accept contracts from the heavenly world!”
Artichoke, who had been arguing that By the Table needed to stand against Yeon-woo’s tyranny, realized that multiple people were glaring at him and lowered his gaze.
The magic regions to absorb Earth’s vitality had been set up by By the Table. It was the result of several societies who had sided with “them” putting pressure on By the Table. There had also been sympathizers within By the Table. Artichoke, who had been blabbering about fighting, was one of them.
At that moment, Rafflesia, who was sitting next to Artichoke, carefully spoke up. “What if we hide? If we put our minds to it, even the Black King’s ego won’t be able to ‘recognize’ us completely.”
“True, that’s a solution. We’ll get away with our lives. But when we come out in the future, everything will be destroyed… but if that doesn’t matter to you, I won’t stop you.”
“…”
“And if you’re caught in the future, you won’t be able to die easily.”
Sighs were let out from around the table. All of them were powerful beings from their worlds and planets, but in front of Yeon-woo, they were like candles fighting against the wind. And as if pushing them to come to a decision…
[The demonic society [Jie Sect] requests relief supplies from [By the Table]!]
[The demonic society [Jie Sect] provides a higher price than what is offered!]
[The demonic society [Jie Sect] even suggests giving a majority of their territory to [By the Table]!]
…
[The demonic society [Jie Sect] presents a new offer to [By the Table]…]
…
[Death is being commenced for [Jie Sect]!]
“…”
“…”
“Ha! As you can see, this is the situation. How can we go against him?”
Jie Sect was one of the most powerful demonic societies, right next to Niflheim. Once, they were so all-mighty that Vimalacitra had been with them for a while, but now, they were on the edge of falling.
Just then, the young man sitting at the highest seat spoke up for the first time. “Then what do you suggest we do, Bush Lily?”
All gazes shifted to the highest seat, then back to Bush Lily. The elderly man who had argued to collaborate with Yeon-woo spoke solemnly. “First off, regardless of whether our relationship has been friendly or not, Ananke has contacted us. They said ‘The war seems like it’ll last longer, so we wish to be supplied what we lack.’ That means they won’t bring up the magic regions for the time being, doesn’t it?”
“Or they might not have realized that it was us.”
“I don’t think the Death King is that stupid!” The elderly man snorted and spoke vehemently. “So! I don’t think it would be bad to discuss things with them in person.”
“That seems to be such a carefree idea.”
The man seated at the highest seat narrowed his eyes at Bush Lily. His eyes didn’t contain any emotion, but Bush Lily knew that whenever that young man had those eyes, many people disappeared without a trace.
What had happened to those who resisted him at the beginning of his authority when he said he’d change By the Table’s objective?
However, Bush Lily didn’t seem to care. He went on, “The Death King is someone our leader sponsored individually in the past, and she’d had great success with that outcome. After lending the Ark to his people, they formed a close relationship. And this wasn’t confirmed, but there are rumors that she’s related to his hidden past somehow.”
“…”
“So let’s meet them and discuss. Even though they came out harshly, they must mean they’ll listen to what we have to say first since they don’t have any bad feelings toward us.”
The man at the highest seat continued to watch Bush Lily without any change in expression.
“And we’re merchants who seek profits, are we not? In situations like this, the worse it becomes, the more we earn. If we’re going to take sides, shouldn’t we side with the winning side? We need to change direction now that we have the chance!”
“You seem to think the Death King will win, Bush Lily.”
“Wouldn’t he?”
“However, that doesn’t mean we can just ignore the other societies of the heavenly world and not expect any retaliation.”
“But…!”
“I understand. As you said, we’ll attempt to set a meeting with them.”
Bush Lily nodded heavily. “Good.”
The man at the highest seat shook his head. His eyes were still empty of emotion. “But we won’t completely side with the Death King. You said so yourself, Bush Lily, that merchants will seek profit. I will choose the side that will guarantee us that.”
