Fool's Library

Inside a quiet courtyard at Star University.

A ferret lay lazily on the sofa, its fluffy tail occasionally swaying as it rolled up a few dried fish from a subdimensional space and stuffed them into its mouth.

Opposite Dean Yin was a girl with long, flowing ice-blue hair and an aura of cold indifference.

"Although the royal family opted for an extremely high level of secrecy to prevent the tomb keepers from finding out—the identity of the groom would not be revealed until the wedding day itself..."

"But if you were someone in the know, you should be able to guess who Hiltina's husband is."

Dean Yin blinked curiously: "Little Xia, don't you care about this?"

As a seasoned gossip expert, Dean Yin felt he could keenly sense the scent of sensational gossip.

"I'm a little concerned about it."

Akshia nodded, then shook her head.

On that seemingly expressionless, delicate face, as exquisite as ice and snow, a rare ripple of emotion was revealed.

"However, if I cared too much, it would put him in a difficult position, so I made myself not care."

She raised her head slightly, gazing at the setting sun in the distance with her dark purple eyes.

Then, she gently reached out, and accompanied by silver-blue light spots gathering in mid-air, an ancient book quietly appeared between Akshia's pale fingers.

This is an old children's book, which looks quite old, but it is well preserved, and even the creases are hard to see.

Akshia's pale fingers gently brushed across the old book.

"The fairy tale between him and me has come to a perfect end."

"As for the story after the finale... for me, as long as I can stay by his side and see him safe and sound, that's enough."

"I don't care about other things, and they're not important to me."

"Little Shia, you..."

Dean Yin looked at the girl before him, who was as calm as an iceberg, and showed a look of great disappointment at her lack of ambition. However, in the end, he still gave up.

As the socialite of Star University, Dean Yin is not only Rust's best buddy and Hiltina's best friend, but also Akshia's best confidante.

Therefore, it was well aware that this girl, who harbored the Star Grail of Death within her body, was likely to become an Angel of the Death Sequence in the future... Due to her background and childhood experiences, her personality and emotions were extremely indifferent, unlike ordinary people.

For her, worldly moral values ​​didn't matter much... Perhaps in Akshia's eyes, having a close relationship with a married man wasn't a big deal.

"So, what about you, kitty?"

Dean Yin had just sighed inwardly, feeling that he had missed a dramatic scene, when he suddenly saw the delicate, icy blue characters gathering in mid-air.

"Kitty, why are you here?"

"Normally, don't you stick to his side all day long, unwilling to leave even if it kills you?"

A hint of confusion suddenly appeared on Akshia's usually icy and beautiful face.

"Could it be that he abandoned you, kitty?"

"First of all, I've said it many times, I'm a ferret, not a cat."

"And then, I'm not that guy's pet, so how can there be any talk of abandonment?"

Dean Yin, somewhat exasperated, stuffed a small dried fish into his mouth: "But ever since that guy met Aaron and Ophelia in the capital, he really did drive me away."

"He locks himself in the Ash Courtyard day and night, keeping it completely secret from me, and I have no idea what he's up to."

"I see."

Ice-blue characters appeared in mid-air, and Akshia nodded as if she suddenly understood.

She stretched out her fair finger and pointed at Dean Yin, who was somewhat embarrassed and angry.

"A stray cat abandoned by its owner."

"You son of a bitch, who's the stray cat?!"

“Little Shia, I think you’ve been corrupted by that guy too.”

Dean Yin immediately lost his temper.

"We're breaking up! We're breaking up!"

……

The capital city, the inner city, the royal palace.

The afterglow of dusk streamed through the glass windows, falling upon the magnificent palace and casting dappled patterns on the marble floors.

Hiltina stood before a large silver mirror, her chestnut hair cascading down like a waterfall.

"Sister Wang, this outfit suits you perfectly."

"It has shed some of its usual sharpness and gained a touch of gentleness."

A brown-haired girl in a dress stood behind Isadora.

With nimble, pale fingers, Ophelia gathered Hiltina's cascading chestnut hair and braided it into a princess braid.

A moment later, Ophelia clapped her hands with a grin.

"Okay, that's it."

"If Brother Last saw this, he would surely be captivated by the huge contrast between Sister and her usual self."

Ophelia stared at the large, full-length silver mirror for a long time before finally nodding in satisfaction.

"I will also be attending the wedding banquet tonight as a family member, so I need to change and dress up."

"Well then, Sister Wang... I'll be going now. See you at the wedding."

Ophelia lifted her skirt and gracefully gave a curtsy before quietly retreating.

Within the vast palace, only Hiltina remained.

Hiltina silently gazed at herself in the mirror.

The main color is pure white, but the skirt hem and the trim on the chest are outlined with bright red patterns, like blooming roses.

The high collar and cinched waist are made of a soft, cloud-like material that gently drapes to the ground, creating a long, morning-like hem.

At the collar, the pattern of a black eagle is engraved with gold thread, exuding a majestic and noble aura.

Her chestnut-brown hair, inherited from her mother, was braided into a princess braid and now fell smoothly over her shoulders.

As Ophelia said, when she put on her wedding dress, she shed the sharpness and ruthlessness she had as a night traveler, and in her place became a charming noblewoman, as radiant and beautiful as a summer flower.

With such a presence, she would undoubtedly become the center of attention at any aristocratic banquet.

In fact, as a princess of a country, this is the image that Hiltina should have—to be cherished by the royal family like a pearl, to dazzle everyone at balls and banquets, and to navigate between nobles and powerful ministers with elegance.

Instead of charging to the front lines as a warrior, as she had done before, walking alongside death, and keeping company with steel, corpses, blood, and fire—this was a crude act that was clearly contrary to Hiltina's royal status.

However, gazing at the elegant and infinitely beautiful noblewoman in the silver mirror... Hiltina always felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity.

It was as if something important was about to be forgotten.

The ancient and deep sound of bells came from afar, waking Hiltina from her reverie.

She silently got up, pushed open the door, and went out.

At the end of the long palace corridor lies a spacious open-air courtyard.

Although it's called a garden, it's actually as vast as a grassland, a grassland scattered with all kinds of brightly colored flowers.

The sword that was pierced into the rock, or rather the stone into which the sword was pierced, lay quietly at the edge of the grassland.

The dim light of dawn shone on the garden, and the whole world was silent except for the rustling sound of the breeze blowing across the grassland.

"He who draws this sword will be the king of this country."

This is a royal doctrine that Hiltina had heard countless times since she was very young.

Although the "Holy Sword" is nominally controlled by the imperial royal family from generation to generation, in reality, most of the past monarchs have been unable to pull the Holy Sword out of the stone... All they can do is, as the rulers of a country, barely borrow a portion of the power of the sacred relic.

However, the number of those who truly gained the Holy Sword's approval and were able to pull the sword from the stone is extremely small in royal records.

So no matter how hard Ophelia tries, how precocious, how shrewd, or how calculating she is... no matter how much she achieves in the field of mechanics—

But as long as Ophelia has not received the Holy Sword's approval, Aaron will never change his choice of successor to the throne.

The Holy Sword holds such profound significance for this nation, just as the "Library of Fools" is for the Shore Keepers and the "Monument of Eternal Night" is for the Tomb Keepers.

Hiltina crossed the silent garden, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, and walked to the rock.

Then, quietly place your hand on the hilt of the sword.

She knew that once she drew the sword, there would be no turning back... She had to bear the weight of the fate of millions of people in the entire empire, a weight befitting the holy sword.

That was a duty that contradicted the beliefs of the "Forest Ranger"—

"To become a qualified monarch, one must learn to choose between values," "Saving one group means abandoning another," "The way to make everyone happy and redeem themselves has never existed from the beginning"... These are the philosophies called "King" that her father, Aaron, had told countless times.

However, if she did not draw the holy sword, then Hiltina could only watch helplessly as the boy died in the secret war waged by the tomb guardian quasi-angels.

She had no choice and no other option.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew up, a whistling gale.

The next instant, crimson light illuminated Hiltina's eyes.

It was starlight that pierced the twilight sky, dazzling like blood.

Chapter 237 This time, I bet on myself to win

"Last, a second-year student at Star University, a Night Traveler, whose registered Nightblade is 'Copy Eye,' whose effect is to record and copy, to a limited extent, any extraordinary abilities he has personally witnessed."

"He rose like a comet in less than a year, rapidly advancing from the initial stage of the extraordinary realm to the peak of the sixth rank. However, his background and resume are no longer verifiable. The first time he appeared before the world was as a transfer student who joined Star University, as if his previous experiences never existed."

"Based on investigations conducted in the capital over the past few weeks, and a summary and analysis of their name, appearance, Nightblade, background, personality, etc.—"

"There is a greater than 70% probability that this Night Traveler from Starry University... is the same person who participated in the Battle of the Broken Shore in the Sixth Era and assisted Cecil in killing the legendary Noah of the Abundance Sequence, and is also a member of the Coast Guardian organization with the same name."

"For some reason related to the Night World, he successfully survived the end of the era and lived from the Sixth Era to the Seventh Era."

"The so-called Nightblade 'Copy Eye,' capable of copying the extraordinary abilities of others, is essentially the foundation stolen from us by the first generation of Guardians in the Fourth Epoch—'The Fool's Library.' After its full revival, 'The Fool's Library' possesses the power to encompass all things and reproduce all abilities of all twenty-one sequence levels."

In a secluded house on the outskirts of the capital city.

Someone seemed to be talking to themselves, or perhaps taking notes or having a conversation with someone.

"My divination abilities and prophetic relics are ineffective against this extraordinary individual named Rast... He has been disturbed and interfered with by a higher power, protected by the angelic status, which has shrouded his fate in an impenetrable fog."

"My initial guess is that this is the successor of Cecil in the Sixth Age. The blessing that the guardian Gree bestowed upon her is a blessing from her. She is an angel of the destiny sequence. With my current abilities, I am not yet able to overcome this protection and see through the fog to see her destiny."

"Furthermore, because the 'Library of Fools' also records the abilities of the Angel of Fate, Gray, she might be able to disregard the difference in rank and instead perform divination and prophecy on me... My move to the Imperial Capital may have already been detected by her."

"The University of Stars, whose creed is to explore the night world and suppress the twilight calamity... has an irreconcilable conflict with us and there is no possibility that they will assist me. Therefore, I tried to negotiate with King Aaron of Granville, using the relics as a bargaining chip to obtain the Empire's assistance in our pursuit of the Coast Guardians. At this moment, there is only one week left before the agreed reply deadline."

"The other party possesses the Holy Sword, and at the very least, they have the combat power of a quasi-angel. Moreover, as the ruler of the empire, if we receive their assistance, the guardians will have nowhere to hide."

"On the other hand, if the Empire refuses, I will try alternative solutions, such as taking the close friends of this generation of shore guards hostage... to force them to show themselves."

His voice seemed to pause slightly before he chose to add another sentence.

"Finally... there have been some unusual developments in the Granville Empire recently. They announced the next heir to the throne and will be getting married today. The specific intentions behind the Empire's move are not yet clear."

……

About five kilometers from that house, far from the city center of the capital, it was located on a viewing platform nestled in the mountains.

This terrace, located halfway up the mountain, is normally used by forest rangers to overlook the mountains and monitor forest fires. It serves as a monitoring station where they can immediately report any signs of a fire.

In a sense, it is also the origin of Hiltina's family's so-called "Forest Ranger" title.

Then Last knelt on one knee and squatted in the stands.

In front of him was a slender sniper rifle, its iron-colored metal body reflecting the moonlight.

The scope reflected the silent world in the night, and the window of the house where the tomb guardian quasi-angel stood.

Long-range sniper rifle "Seven-zone field".

Like "Iron Moon," these are the two weapons that have accompanied Rust the longest. They were with him long before Rust became a Night Traveler and before they became a Crest Armor... They have accompanied Rust all the way from the Iron Cross hell of Deep Blue Harbor to this day.

At this moment, under the blessing of the "Mechanical Spark," a relic representing the pinnacle of science and technology and the culmination of the Sixth Age civilization, this old steam-age firearm has truly been reconstructed and sublimated, and given a brand-new look.

A distance of five kilometers exceeds the effective range of almost all modern firearms and optical sights.