CHAPTER 90: DENIAL

Death.

What does it mean?

The end of life.... right? It is an unstoppable conclusion that we must all arrive at.

Everyone will die.

It is inevitable; thus, a person’s reaction to death depends on the context.

If a young person dies, we mourn.

If an old person dies, we celebrate.

If an enemy dies, we are relieved.

If a friend dies, we are anguished.

And so on...

Life and its vicissitudes offer a plethora of reasons to rejoice and despair, and death is one of the ways in which it expresses this variety.

After dying once, I now have a unique perspective on death, which has allowed me to understand many things. For one, I no longer fear it for myself. I simply wish to live to the fullest, so when it comes, I would embrace it readily.

However, the ironic thing is that I am greatly moved by the death of others.

Because I know... Nothing matters in death.

So—

"The Aditi Estate fell under attack, and a slaughter occurred. It was set ablaze, and everyone inside was butchered like lambs. That’s right... EVERYONE IS DEAD."

I don’t recognize the letter’s handwriting.

It must belong to someone in the Minor Families, so could this be some kind of scheme?

No.

This has gone too far, even for a scheme.

But... how am I expected to simply believe this? That my entire family is dead.

What? No way!

I nearly laugh hysterically, but stop myself after realizing how many eyes are on me at this moment.

"What the hell are you all looking at?" I almost yell out, feeling a strange surge of anger inside me, until I notice that the wine that spilled from my broken glass has somehow stained by pristine attire.

"Ah..."

While I am still stunned by this development, I am approached by a few people.

Serena and Prince Korrin especially take the lead.

"You alright, Javi?" Serena asks, using the same nickname my sister gave me.

"Huh? Ah, yes... I mean, no..." I stumble on my words, before handing over the letter to her, my expression grim.

She gasps the moment she sees this, before giving it to Prince Korrin, who frowns mildly.

"Where did you get this? When?"

"Just now," I respond, my voice now shaky.

"But how did—?"

"It doesn’t matter now!" I snap at him, not even filtering my words before the prince. "I-I’m sorry, your Highness, but I have to confirm this. May I be excused?"

"I don’t have the authority. My parents are—"

"Please inform them for me..." I yank the letter from his hands and run off, my body violently shivering, but not from the cold.

I know... that this could all be a lie.

Maybe it’s a trap.

Maybe it’s some sort of surprise or prank, or a deep scheme I’m unaware of.

But—

I keep running, away from the Hall, into my Carriage, away from the Royal Palace.

Just... away!

"To the Aditi Estate! Now!"

"Sir? The Aditi Estate? But that’s—!"

"I SAID NOW!"

Against the rage of someone such as myself, the coachman falls silent and starts the ride.

His anxious expression is completely ignored by me.

Everything is.

I simply hold the letter, shaking down to my bones.

I know I’ve disrespected the Royal Family by leaving so suddenly, especially without informing the King and Queen, but to hell with them. If they cannot understand my reasons, then I can’t be bothered to explain any further.

Right now, the only thing on my mind is the safety of my family.

My sister, Selicia...

My brother, Craig...

My mother, Janith...

My father, Luther...

Leon and Uncle Damon should be away, handling business, but I know for sure that my main family ought to be in the Aditi Estate. I constantly pray to the gods for their safety, my heart beating faster at every passing moment.

As the days roll by and the journey gets rougher, I continue to pray.

The Coachman eventually got too tired, and the Carriage encountered issues due to our continuous journey, so I abandoned him at a nearby town and took a horse with me.

Not stopping... even once... I charge ahead.

Please...

’Please... let this all be a lie!’

It wasn’t.

A lie—it wasn’t a lie.

Even from afar, I can see plumes of smoke ascending to the sky. Dark clouds float in the distance, with thunder lowly rumbling and hints of lightning flashing. I feel cold winds assailing my body, and the feeling of dread growing stronger.

But this only pushes me forward even more, my bloodshot eyes wide open in determination.

The closer I get, the more it dawns on me.

The realization...

It’s true!

Upon returning to the Main Estate, I clearly see the entire compound in flames, with roaring fires dancing violently like a disastrous tsunami.

Right at the doorstep, I see a pile of corpses—all mashed up and devastated beyond recognition.

But, I see the traces.

I see my brother’s slim, delicate hands.

I notice my sister’s jade green eyes.

My mother’s lump, naked and headless body, gutted like a pig.

My father’s head, pierced with a stake, at the center of the piles of corpses.

Then, the dozens of servants and hundreds of guards... all their bodies form a small mound of gory resplendence. Blood oozes, some fresh, some dried up, and others simply rotting already.

Disregarding the logic of the scene, or absence thereof, my body nearly collapses at the sight.

It’s true...

They’re all... EVERYONE IS DEAD!

"Argghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Tears gush down my face as I kneel in front of all these corpses, my body shaking violently as I scream. I pull out my hair, cursing and thrashing like a man submerged in insanity.

Thunder rumbles lowly in the sky, and heavy rain pours down, finally putting out the fires and leaving behind the charred remains of what I used to call home.

It’s all in ruins now.

The Aditi Main Family has been wiped out.

Why?

Why did this happen?

How could this have occurred when I did everything to protect them?

No.

Does it matter now?

They’re dead—and it’s all my fault.

*************

After spending several hours in the rain, dwelling in the pain, and embracing the grief, I am eventually joined by the Minor Families.

Their Carriages stop at a distance and they pay their respects.

I only take a glance at them.

They seem genuinely distraught, unable to believe the scary sight that now unfolds before their very eyes. It could all be a pretense, and they could be the ones behind this, but I find that highly unlikely.

Even if they were so malicious, they don’t have nearly enough power to cause such slaughter.

Then... who?

Isn’t it obvious already?

It’s the Dark Guild—or rather, the Mastermind who controls them.

"Haaa..."After exhaling deeply, I slowly rise to my feet, my sleep-deprived and swollen eyes resting on the entire scene in front of me.

Then, I go over everything.

Logically.

"It makes no sense. Even though I traveled non-stop, it still took me at least ten days to reach here from the Royal Palace..." I mumble softly, feeling the chilly wind blow past my disheveled hair.

"But, when I arrived, the flames were still burning, and some of the corpses even seemed fresh. All of this couldn’t have happened more than a day before I arrived."

So, how is all this possible?

’Hmm...’ My eyes flash with a dark, eerie light. ’I intend to find out!’

I promise... whoever did this will suffer.

They will scream and writhe in pain before I finally put them out of their misery with my own two hands—I’ll make sure of it.

This, I swear!

*************

After burying my family and observing our religious rites, I began my investigation in earnest.

I barely rested.

Whenever my body reached its limits, I slept in the charred ruins of the Main Estate.

But, the only things that visit me in my sleep are nightmares.

Nothing more.

As for the fruits of my investigation, despite applying cold, hard logic to the case and diligently seeking out even the littlest of clues, I keep reaching a rather unsatisfactory conclusion.

"This makes no sense!"

Nothing about this case is even remotely tied to logic.

My receiving that letter informing me of this tragedy ten days before the actual event occurred was the first discrepancy I noticed. However, it doesn’t end there. After interrogating all the Minor Families, I have come to realize that none of them sent the letter.

In fact, none of them were aware of the situation at all when I received the letter.

From what they told me, the family closest to our Estate observed the fires and hurriedly informed the rest. After they all gathered together, they hurried to the Aditi Estate.

I know some aspects will be exaggerated to make them seem more loyal to the Main Family, but even after removing the fanciful parts, I can tell that they were largely being sincere.

What must have happened is that they didn’t hurry as much as they claim, but the fact that all the Minor Families arrived several hours after me clearly shows they couldn’t have known about the incident for more than a day.

This proves two things:

The slaughter was recent... and the person who sent me that letter is likely the culprit.

Now that I think of it, it was rather strange that I received the letter at the Royal Palace, all things considered. The culprit must have wanted to draw me out, and only after coordinating with their allies did they enact such a grievous sin.

Using this as my base logic, I decided to investigate deeply.

But—

After checking footprints, Trace Elements, blood splatter, and all the other clues I could find, it truly doesn’t add up in any logical way.

For one... based on the evidence, there seems to be only one attacker.

How?

How is that even possible?

A single person cannot take down an entire army of hundreds of competent guards, with many of them even wielding Armaments. Even if that person was skilled or wielded an immensely powerful Armament, it would still take him a long time to commit the murders.

But here’s another strange thing.

Looking at the footprints and everything else I managed to unearth, it doesn’t seem like the person was even trying at all. Their footprints resemble someone walking, both towards the Aditi Estate and away from it.

Based on the blood splatter, there doesn’t seem to be any belonging to them.

And, strangely, there was no sign of a struggle with the corpses of all the guards. It’s almost like they ’allowed’ the enemy to kill them, not even trying to attack or resist.

However, even with all of these weird and rather illogical discrepancies, the most absurd part remains the absence of Trace Elements.

No Trace Elements!

How is such a thing even possible? I could still manage to believe it if the perpetrator used Potions and Armaments to single-handedly take down the Aditi Estate, especially if they utilized high-grade ones.

But, all Potions and Armaments give off Trace Elements—the higher the grade, the greater the leftover effects. Trace Elements also don’t disappear until at least a week has passed.

In the case of high-grade Potions and Armaments, it takes longer for it to disperse.

So why is there not a single foreign Trace Element?!

How can I even track down the perpetrator if they leave behind nothing?

No... could such a perpetrator even exist?

Was there even one?

It makes no sense that one person simply walked to the Aditi Main Estate, casually killed everyone without any struggle, and dragged all the corpses to form a heap, burned the Estate down, and then left, all within a single day, while also knowing I was on my way after receiving that letter... all without using a single Potion or Armament.

Such a power does not exist.

Even Magivores would not be able to do this without leaving more clues to follow.

This is why I said Logic doesn’t apply to this case.

I can’t fathom it.

If there’s anyone capable of this kind of feat, such a being can no longer be considered human.

They’d be a god.