Chapter 168

Chapter 168

“It’s time to make a decision!”

“It’s only been a week? Isn’t that too soon?”

“No. It’s a whole week. With everything going on outside, Harques…! How can a leader abandon the village for a whole week?”

“Hmm. Still, wouldn’t it be better to wait a little longer? In the past, it was common for them to be away for a month or two…”

“Is that the same as now?!”

Pelos and Helia sat at the triangular table symbolizing the equality of the three leaders.

Pelos passionately railed, striving to remove Harques from leadership.

‘If not now, we can never strike down Harces.’

Pelloss is a Titan harboring intense hostility toward Harques.

They were of the same age and ascended to leadership around the same time.

Yet their dispositions were vastly different.

Harkes was inclusive and generous yet inflexible, while Pelo was authoritative and goal-oriented yet adaptable.

Of course, this doesn’t mean Pelos was lacking in his duties.

Pelos was also a capable Titan who contributed greatly to the village’s development.

Yet the village Titans loved and respected Harques, the greatest warrior, more.

‘If that high-and-mighty bastard loses his positions as leader and top warrior, his pride will be crushed to the ground.’

Pelos always resented Harkes for treating him as if he were nothing.

He was the one constantly keeping an eye on him, yet Harques didn’t even bother to notice him.

Peloss’s irritation boiled over at how that arrogant, conceited man acted and spoke to him every single time.

“Just wait a few more days. Harques isn’t some thoughtless Titan; he must be up to something…”

“Helia! Are you always on Harques’ side?!”

“Why would you think that? Pelos, I’m neither on Harques’ side nor yours. As leader, I merely represent the villagers. And by the way, I know you’ve been spreading rumors.”

“Rumors…?”

Pelos’ eyes flicker.

The fact that he’d been meeting with the villagers since yesterday had reached Helia’s ears.

“Yes, just a week. Are you afraid of Harques? Why are you so desperate to make things difficult for him? Do you feel jealousy toward him?”

“What…! I’m only doing this for all the Titans! Jealousy?! That’s an extremely insulting remark.”

Pelos glared at Heliya.

He did so to hide the deep-seated jealousy lurking within his heart from her.

“Insulting… Anyway, I’d like to wait a little longer. Give him about a week more. If he still doesn’t show up, we’ll assume Harques has abandoned the village…”

Given the timing, Helia figured she had no choice but to wait.

So she decided to grant the minimum amount of time.

Then, footsteps approached.

Thud-.

Thud-thud.

Squelch-.

Three distinct sets of footsteps.

Pelloss and Helia turned their heads in that direction and could see three members of different races approaching leisurely.

“Har… Kes?”

“You’re back, Har-Kes.”

***

Central Square.

Most of the Titans from the village had gathered in the square, except for those on guard duty.

Thousands of Titans had gathered, nearly filling the vast square to capacity.

“Pelos, lighten up a bit.”

Helia shot a sharp glance at Pello standing beside her.

At her words, Pello could only manage an awkward smile.

“You say you went to see Lady Eurabia… Leaving without a word was wrong, but I suppose I have no choice but to forgive you?”

“…Do as you please.”

Felloss stood with his arms crossed, watching the plaza for a while before silently turning and walking away.

Because Harques had appeared before the stone slab erected in the center of the plaza.

Thud-thud-.

Harques ascended the steps.

A single Titan mage follows beside him.

Murmurs rise from the front row where the Titans gather.

“Isn’t that the High Elf from back then?”

“Wait, what’s that? Isn’t that a human?”

“How could a human…”

Only after the Harques group had climbed all the stairs did the Titans in the back rows begin to murmur.

“I beg you.”

As Harques spoke, the mage titan chanted a spell.

It was an amplification spell, capable of spreading sound far and wide.

“Can all of you hear my voice!”

As Harques’ voice echoed out, the Titans reacted.

Half welcomed the leader stepping forward directly, but the other half showed negative reactions.

“That traitorous bastard!”

“Didn’t they say Harques left the village?”

“Lord Pellos clearly stated that Harques abandoned the village, caught in the schemes of another race.”

After all, curses always carry farther than praise.

Harkes looked at the Titans hurling abuse at him.

“First, I must apologize to you all. You trusted me and placed me in the position of leader, yet my actions must have deeply disappointed you.”

Harkes bowed his head toward the Titans.

Cheers and boos erupted simultaneously.

A mere bow was not enough to win back the Titans’ hearts.

“Therefore, I will take responsibility and step down from my position as leader.”

Harkes’ expression remained stern.

The Titans who had shown favorable reactions were astonished.

“Isn’t Harques a Titan too? Isn’t this overkill for just one minor mistake?”

“Think of all the hardships the leader endured for us! You’re the ones who should be reflecting!”

“What? Shouldn’t a leader pay attention to every little thing? Then why even be a leader?”

“Exactly! If he was going to let it slide, he wouldn’t have been chosen in the first place!”

Voices erupted from all around.

Some Titans were even pushing and shoving.

Though the Titans’ keen senses made actual combat unlikely, the hall grew extremely chaotic.

“Everyone, please quiet down. I will hear each of your concerns after we finish discussing everything.”

“Titans, please be quiet for a moment. There’s an important matter left to discuss.”

Harkes and Helia calmed the Titans.

Harkes had not come to this place merely to announce his resignation.

Whether he was a leader or not didn’t matter.

The position of leader had been merely one means to an end—a way to consider how the Titans could develop and prosper further. He had never coveted honor or power.

Therefore, whether he resigned or not was irrelevant. What mattered was introducing the man he had brought with him.

“I was away for a week because of you, Lady Eurabia.”

“Lady Eurabia?”

“The goddess, Eurabia?”

A murmur of doubt rippled through the Titans.

The older Titans were more shocked than the younger ones.

“What is that fellow saying? Eurabia? The gods have abandoned us!”

“Hmph. I thought well of him, but he’s been running around doing nothing but nonsense.”

The older generation of Titans belonged to a transitional era where Eurabia’s legacy was fading.

The young Titans of today had built and tended their village with their own hands, but the old Titans knew their parents and grandparents had served Eurabia.

That’s why the Titans’ reaction was cold when ‘Eurabia’ came out of Harques’ mouth.

“I know full well that Lady Eurabia has been forgotten in your memories. I too had forgotten. But the moment I saw this man, I was certain Lady Eurabia exists!”

Harkes pointed at a man.

The gazes of thousands of Titans instantly converged on the human man.

“Ah… No! This one!”

The gaze that had been fixed on Herteias.

Harkes’ finger hurriedly pointed at someone else.

Thump-thump-.

A man steps forward.

Dojae removed his ring and spoke.

“I shall deliver Lady Eurabia’s words. Titans, listen.”

***

Wooong-.

An unknown space appeared behind Dojae.

It seemed like a sub-space, yet not quite.

‘With a feeling like this, it’s easy to mistake it.’

The space formed a perfect sphere, radiating a flawless blackness.

Then, sighs erupted from the Titans scattered about.

Some covered their mouths and screamed, while others wept, repeating only the name ‘Eurabia’.

‘Showing it properly might be trouble, but should I make it just a little bigger?’

Wwoong-!

Dojae amplified Eurabia’s power.

The space behind Dojae, which had been the size of a soccer ball, expanded until it was as large as a bicycle wheel.

Flutter- flutter-!

The hem of Dojae’s robe billowed violently.

Herteias’ long hair beside him also fluttered toward the space.

“Everyone, look! This man is Lady Eurabia’s proxy! That is why he can wield Lady Eurabia’s power! Haven’t you all seen it at least once? The portrait of Lady Eurabia in the history books!”

Though differing in scale and intensity, the space behind Dojae was identical to the image on the stone tablet, the image preserved in the history books.

The Titans either burst into tears or knelt before Dojae.

“My descendants! Though I see you through a human, it is a joy to behold you thus.”

“Oh… Goddess…”

“Ah… Lady Eurabia…”

“To see you all surviving and thriving like this fills me with profound emotion.”

Dojae solemnly addressed the Titans.

Though he merely conveyed Eurabia’s words, her dignity radiated through him, unsettling the Titans and stirring their emotions even more intensely.

“I have words for you.”

Dojae deliberately walked slowly to move beside Harques.

He needed to express Eurabia’s intentions more dramatically to maintain Harques’ standing.

“This one is my distant descendant. Thanks to Harques, I was able to awaken from the eternal seal.”

Dojae was slightly startled by Eurabia’s words.

He asked, carefully hiding his expression.

‘Is that true?’

– Yes. Harques carries my blood. That’s why I could borrow his body, if only briefly. Without that, I wouldn’t have lasted a single minute.

‘It’s fate.’

Dojae cheered inwardly.

Who would have thought Harques was a descendant of Eurabia?

“Oh…! Truly a leader!”

“Lord Harques is a distant descendant of Eurabia! No wonder there was such a grand reason!”

Public opinion flipped in an instant.

The criticism directed at Harques vanished without a trace.

It seems that in any world, nothing holds more legitimacy than bloodline.

“You must all feel in your bones that Tranpeion is in crisis. I have come here to save you from it.”

Doja turned and approached the stone tablet.

The stone tablet engraved with the names of all the Titan warriors throughout history.

“My divine artifact… I bestow it upon Harques.”

Dojae placed his palm on the stone tablet.

Gugugugu-.

Eurabia’s essence flowed through Dojae’s palm, and within the stone tablet, something vibrated, preparing to emerge.

Crack-.

Crack-!

Cracks spread across the entire stone slab.

Soon after, a massive stone wall crashed down, and something touched Dojae’s palm.

“A shield, Aegis.”

A shield larger than Dojae himself, with a diameter of 192 cm.

It was the exclusive property of Eurabia, the ‘Aegis’.