Becoming a Shadow in the New World

"What, are you curious, Grayfia?"

Looking at his wife's curious expression about his conversation with Rias, Sazex asked.

Chapter 59 The Lion King's Three Saints

The island nation's mainland, Kyoto Prefecture, in the mountains of Ōe.

The glow of candlelight emanated from an ancient courtyard, nestled deep within the Forest of the High Gods, where the night seemed utterly silent.

This is the headquarters of the Lion King Organization, which is responsible for handling large-scale man-made magical disasters and intelligence work. It is also the usual contact point for the Lion King Organization's main leaders, the "Three Saints".

At this moment, the dim light shines into the inner hall of this ancient courtyard, casting three shadows on the ground.

It wasn't a regular meeting time, and no one was absent. The three saints were all present, yet none of them spoke.

After a long silence, it was Shizuru Ei, dressed in an old-fashioned kimono that covered her entire body, who spoke first.

"This operation regarding the Fourth Progenitor has now been confirmed as a failure. Yukina Himeragi deviated from our planned strategy for various reasons, and Kojou Akatsuki is still unaware of this earliest observer."

At this point, Xian Guyong looked up at the other two figures, paused for a moment, and then continued speaking.

“I think we need to discuss the feasibility of the plan to ‘win over Akatsuki Kojou through blood partners’ again. We have already paid too much for this plan.”

After Xian Gu finished reciting his poem, another middle-aged man on the stage finally spoke.

"It is precisely because we have already paid so much that we cannot give up halfway. As long as we can achieve our goal, what we have paid now is insignificant compared to what we will get."

"But I see absolutely no potential for Xiaogu City to pay off. All I see is that we have lost a sword wizard who could have become one of the Three Saints in the future, and a sword wizard who had a promising future."

Who do you think you are? Are you a god?

As Xiangu Yong recalled Dark Shadow's words, he gritted his teeth and looked at the middle-aged man in front of him who was still greedily pursuing the power of the Fourth True Ancestor. He couldn't help but become agitated.

"And how can you guarantee that Kojou Akatsuki will grow up? In the end, this plan is absurd. Expecting an ordinary high school student to master the power of the Fourth Progenitor, you must have watched too many anime."

In the end, Xian Guyong's words inevitably carried a hint of anger.

"Watch your tone, Xian Gu Yong."

You are still young and inexperienced, so I don't blame you for having problems handling things.

But I hope you will at least learn to respect your elders.

Seemingly provoked by Xian Gu Yong's words, the middle-aged man adopted the airs of a senior.

"And you're saying Akatsuki is an ordinary person? Hahaha."

He's the grandson of Akatsuki Hisano, how could he be an ordinary person?

Although it's impossible to discern anything due to his lack of training from childhood, his ability to absorb the power of the Fourth Progenitor already proves his aptitude.

The middle-aged man's lips curled into a smile.

"And then there's his younger sister, Akatsuki Nagisa. She's living a normal life while using her human body to sustain the life force needed for a True Ancestor's familiar. Judging from the current situation, she might even have the potential to completely control that familiar in the future."

“When Akatsuki Kojou fully masters the power of the Fourth Progenitor and establishes the Night Empire, either you or I will step down from our positions as the Three Saints, and Akatsuki Nagisa will take over. At that time, we will have a Three Saints who can use the Progenitor's Familiars and the power of the Night Empire. Compared with these, the gains and losses at present are insignificant. You are still too young.”

“You have been blinded by greed. You are willing to gamble the entire Lion King organization for your ambition.”

Seeing the greedy look on the middle-aged man's face, Xian Guyong gritted his teeth.

"Ah!"

The middle-aged man sneered at what Xian Guyong said.

"Blinded by greed, for my ambition?"

"What righteous indignation! Have you forgotten that this plan was decided by the three of us in a vote? Now you're trying to absolve yourself of all responsibility?"

"That's why I'm stopping this operation now; the risks are just too great."

If Shadow hadn't intervened and dealt with Akatsuki Kojou, the Fourth Progenitor in his berserk state would have attacked everything he saw out of instinct to complete himself.

Yes, other forces cannot stand by and watch a rampaging Fourth Progenitor destroy the world, but before that, the closest homeland to Itogami Island will be the first country destroyed by Akatsuki Kojou.

We will suffer losses if we stop, but it will still be within our acceptable range.

It's not too late to give up now. With our power, we can pretend nothing happened. The power of the Fourth Ancestor is simply beyond our reach.

Xian Guyong was still trying to persuade the middle-aged man, but the middle-aged man just shook his head and said in a deep voice.

"Give up? Give up and just wait to die? Two years ago, we might have been able to pretend nothing happened, but times have changed."

"how you said that?"

"That's why I said you're too young. Look at the world outside, young 'Idle Ancient Poems,' the world has already changed."

We used to think that we at least had the ability to protect ourselves, so we could stay out of things that didn't concern us.

But now the merging of the three worlds has brought about too many changes to this world and exposed too many things.

The world has only been integrated for less than two years, and there is still the external threat of a global battlefield. The world has already undergone such tremendous changes, not to mention what the future holds.

The Night Empire has its True Ancestors, and the mythical powers have their own supreme gods; they both have the ability to preserve themselves amidst the tides of time. What about us? What do we have?

She couldn't help but swallow, her intuition telling her that what the man in front of her, who was also one of the "Three Saints," was about to say was extremely dangerous.

"If we don't have enough strength, sticking to the status quo will only drown us in the tide of the times. We must find a way to make ourselves stronger."

"And now, this opportunity is right in front of us. Once Xiaogucheng masters the full power of the Fourth Progenitor and establishes the Night Empire, in order for the Night Empire to develop in this world, they will have no choice but to emulate Netheril. That will be our chance to grow powerful through the Night Empire."

Xian Guyong now truly harbored murderous intent; the ambition of the man before her would only lead to the downfall of the Lion King Organization.

"I—oppose!"

These three words were basically squeezed out by Xian Guyong through gritted teeth.

"Hmph, I can only say that she's a woman after all, it's like talking to a brick wall. Let's decide by vote then. I still agree to carry out this plan."

Xian Guyong understood what the man meant, and she couldn't deny that the plan was feasible enough, but there were too many uncertainties in the plan.

If the legend that the Fourth Progenitor is the strongest Progenitor is true, then Akatsuki Kojou, who has complete control over the power of the Fourth Progenitor, would at least be on par with, if not surpassing, the First Progenitor, the Forgotten War King. This strength is indeed qualified to serve as the cornerstone of this plan.

Leaving aside whether Akatsuki can actually master this power, even if this power is only enough to form a foundation, whether it can withstand external pressure is still a question.

The top 15 in the world can be considered world-class combat power, and under normal circumstances, few forces would dare to mess with them. However, those who imitate Netheril's style have provoked more than just one or two of the top 15 in the world.

The confidence that Netheril could be so eager to turn the world against it stemmed from the fact that even the top fifteen players in the world combined couldn't defeat Netheril's emperor.

As for Akago Castle?

Even if his strength reaches the required level, given his personality, it's questionable whether he could defeat a normal top 15 player in the world.

If Akatsuki Castle loses, the newly established Night Empire will be a joke, and will be immediately divided up. At that time, their Lion King Organization will also be exposed and destroyed.

Two of the three saints have already expressed their opinions, one in favor and one against. The decision on whether to continue the plan now rests with the last of the three saints.

Both of them turned their attention to the figure in the arena who hadn't uttered a single word since appearing.

It was a petite figure with a pair of giant slimes on her chest, pale purple eyes and long platinum blonde hair, her delicate childlike face showing a hint of bewilderment that seemed out of place in the scene.

As their gazes shifted to him, the look of confusion on his face deepened, and his body began to tremble.

Suddenly, her body stopped trembling, the confusion on her face disappeared, and her eyes became indifferent. The girl in this state was now the true one of the Three Saints—Anbai Nai.

Its true form is a dark consciousness that has been passed down for thousands of years, through bloodlines. Each generation selects one of its offspring to possess and become its second personality.

Chapter Sixty: The New Sword Witch and Claire's Strangeness

"Why the rush, you two?"

The girl's body, yet her tone of voice sounded very mature. This incongruous scene appeared before his eyes, and even though he had seen it several times before, Xiangu Yong still felt strange.

"Ugh!"

Seeing that the two were still at loggerheads, Anbai Nai could only sigh.

"I support continuing this operation."

Upon hearing this, Shizuka Koyo and the middle-aged man reacted differently. The middle-aged man wore a smug smile, while Shizuka Koyo looked at Anbaina in disbelief.

"Anbai Nai, you might not have..."

“I know what you mean, and I know what you said makes a lot of sense, Xian Gu Yong.”

"Then why do you agree with it? If you really understand what I just said, then you should join me in opposing this plan."

Anbaina simply shook her head.

“He’s right. You are indeed too young and have only been in the name of ‘Xian Gu Yong’ for a short time.”

Although he didn't name names, Xian Gu Yong knew he was referring to the middle-aged man in the room. An Bai Nai, like him, felt that her idea was too naive.

"What you say makes a lot of sense, but so what?"

There's no turning back now that the arrow has been released; since we've already started, we have no choice but to see it through to the end.

"No, we still have..."

"That's why I said you're too young. Things have already escalated to the church; how can you possibly back down and pretend nothing happened!"

Before Xian Gu Yong could finish speaking, he was interrupted by An Bai Nai.

“What’s done is done, and no matter what we do, we can’t cover it up. If this is exposed, it will bring a huge disaster to our Lion King. Our only option now is to continue with this plan. As long as we succeed, what does it matter if the plan is exposed?”