Upon entering the Aurelian Fortress, Rex was taken aback.
He was expecting it to be a normal city or perhaps a place full of barracks but it was neither.
The Aurelian Fortress was divided into four levels, and the gate was at the third level.
Based on the eager guard behind him, who was all too excited to talk about the fortress, Rex gained a deeper understanding of its structure. The first level—which was the lowest level of the fortress served a dual purpose.
It housed the spirit beasts for war and also hosted a prison.
It was the worst part of the place that was reserved for the heavy maintenance.
On the second level was the living space for the soldiers and workers—the barracks, supply rooms, and other utility spaces were located there. Naturally, the second level was also the most crowded as that was where the heart of activity lies within the fortress.
As for the third level, it was the living space of Knights, eting rooms, and intelligence archives.
Only a few people were on the third level and it was significantly smaller than the second level.
And lastly, the fourth level was reserved for Marquess Hadrian, his relatives, and high-profile guests.
Considering that the Sun Church was only second to the Spirit Emperor, a Priestess of Purity—is easily recognized as a high-profile guest. As a result, the guards withdrew to a lower level while Viora, Ferric, Rex, and Linthia ascended to the fourth level.
Upon reaching the fourth level, Rex looked around and found that there was only one building.
A small castle at the center was connected to a hub of bridges leading to the walls.
Nobody seed to be on the fourth level other than them.
"Leave us," Viora instructed softly.
"Priestess…" Ferric sharply glanced at Rex and Linthia before he stepped forward in protest—he couldn't possibly leave Viora alone with these two outsiders. It would be dangerous for Viora, "Let stay, I'm only going to watch over you. At least, let stand outside—so you can scream for help in case these two are trouble"
Viora didn't press further and nodded, "Okay, you can stay outside"
Continuing ahead, the four headed to the castle with Ferric at the very back.
He was extrely worried that sothing would happen to Viora.
In the case of that happening, he will hang.
On the other hand, Rex didn't put Ferric in his eyes at all—he was more interested in what Viora had to say to him. Surely, she wouldn't be bringing him and Linthia all the way here if what she wanted to say was not important.
Entering through the castle's gate, Viora, Rex, and Linthia were t with the grand hall.
It was spacious, dominated in royal blue and brass colors, and refreshingly comfortable.
Most likely because the life energy was the densest here.
"Close the door behind you," Viora glanced at Rex and instructed.
Rex doesn't mind closing the door but for so reason, her voice was slightly shaking as she said that.
He didn't miss that detail.
Pivoting around, he made eye contact with Ferric who was glaring at him warningly as he closed the gate. As soon as the gate was closed shut with a loud dull sound. But the mont the latch clicked into place—a presence stirred behind him.
His instincts flared.
Almost instantly, Rex whipped around—expecting so sort of ambush.
Living the kind of life he was living—his senses were trained to always expect an ambush.
But what he saw instead froze him in place.
Viora.
She hurried toward him, her steps uneven and her breaths shallow.
"For… For the Chosen of Strife," She murmured as she approached.
Her golden eyes, usually resolute behind the veil, remained downcast—her countenance flickered with a hint of sothing Rex couldn't yet decipheedr. As she reached him, she lifted the edges of her robe with deliberate grace and spoke, "The one who treads the impossible path, the challenger who dares where Gods faltered and keep going,"
In a slow and pious motion, she dropped to her knees and groveled in front of Rex.
Viora was so low that her forehead practically touched the royal blue carpet.
Seeing this, Rex looked down with his gradually widening eyes.
He was shocked.
Once she lowered herself to the proper level, her trembling hands reached forward, clasping Rex's foot with reverence as if he were a divine being, "This lowly priestess greets the Candidate for Invincibility," She whispered lightly.
Her voice quivered before she pressed her lips against his foot.
Linthia who watched this shocking scene from the side covered her agape mouth in absolute shock.
Out of all the things that crossed her mind as to what could Viora possibly want to say to Rex, this wasn't even close to what she anticipated. Not in her wildest guess—would she anticipate Viora to go down to her knees and revere Rex like this.
Not to ntion, the way she embraced Rex's foot—it was almost like she revered him as a God!
Rex was also in the sa exact thought process as Linthia.
He was wondering what was inside Viora's mind but he never expected it to be this.
Blinking his eyes to recover, his expression hardened, "Linthia, close your eyes and cover your ears"
"Eh…?" Linthia glanced at him in confusion but she was t with Rex's sharp gaze that terrified her.
It was the gaze he used when he was on the verge of losing control.
Realizing that he was serious, Linthia did as she was told.
She didn't know what was going on and why what Viora said made him angry but she didn't want to probe further, that's the least she could do as he was her Emperor. Once she closed her eyes as well as covered her ears, Rex turned her attention back to Viora.
Sensing the coldness coming from him, Viora asked hesitantly, "Did I upset you in any way?"
"How did you know about that?" Rex ignored her and asked with a cold voice.
Upon hearing this, Viora was confused.
Despite what seed to be an obvious question for Rex, the question was puzzling for her.
Rex suspected her of keeping information from him and with a violent motion, he bent down to grab Viora by her hair and forced her to look directly into his eyes. If Ferric saw what Rex did, he wouldn't hesitate to decapitate him on the spot.
Not even the royal families dared to do sothing like this to a Priestess of Purity.
All of them feared evoking the Saintess of Purity's wrath.
But at this mont, Rex didn't care.
He wanted to know the answer to his question so badly.
"I said…" He whispered lightly—his tone low and laced with malice. "How did you know I am a Candidate for Invincibility? I demand you to answer with the truth right now. I'm confident in my power but I am not confident about my patience,"
"E- Eyes of Fate!" Viora quickly answered. "I have the Eyes of Fate!"
"Elaborate," Rex continued demandingly.
Viora nodded her head, "The Eyes of Fate allowed to see the strings of fate from other people, I can partially see—what the future lies for them. It's- It's the power the Saintess bestowed upon all of the Priestesses of Purity. I knew your esteed self is a candidate since you don't have fate strings"
"It ant you're connected to a higher power above fate," She continued.
Out of everything, she doesn't want to be on Rex's bad side.
So she was desperate to satiate Rex's desires.
Rex, on the other hand, was taken aback when he heard her explanation.
For the longest ti, the System has always been referring to him as either the Alpha to give respect to his Werewolf bloodline or as the Candidate for Invincibility. Taking into account the System's na, he thought that those two were only nicknas for him.
He never expected that it was an actual thing.
So Viora is a seer, similar to Qonvale—and she could tell that I have no fate strings, fateless.
And the reason for that was my connection to a higher power so she imdiately suspected —as a Candidate for Invincibility. But could that higher power be the System rather than invincibility itself? Or was the System, in truth, Invincibility all along? I honestly had no idea.
Rex still has limited knowledge about this.
All he knows is that there are other candidates for invincibility like the Fifthborn.
Other than that, he was really oblivious.
So this is a chance for him to learn more about his situation.
About what he truly was.
"Do you know about the System?" Rex blurted out, staring straight into Viora's eyes questioningly.
Despite having the System for so ti now, he still only has surface-level knowledge about it.
Other than the basics, he only knew that the System had previous owners before.
And the previous owner should be the First Human Sovereign, the creator of the Executors.
Rex doesn't know how on earth the First Human Sovereign had the System when he wasn't a Werewolf or what drove him to take drastic asures in the Ancient Era. Now, perhaps, Viora has another piece of information that could help him unveil what the System really was.
However, he was disappointed in the next second.
"System? What do you an, System?" Viora asked, still kneeling on the ground submissively.
Upon hearing this, Rex waved his hand dismissively.
It seed Viora really didn't know about the System because has no reason to lie.
She reverse him so Rex trusts that she is telling the truth.
"Okay, explain to what you know about the Candidate for Invincibility," He changed the topic.
If Viora doesn't know about the System then maybe learning more about the Candidate of Invincibility, the occupation that seed to be branded into him forcefully the mont he obtained the System, would shed so light.
Not even hesitating, Viora nodded.
But before she could explain, Rex stopped her, "First, we should move to a more private place"
"Do I have your permission to stand up?" Viora asked ekly.
Rex tilted his head and sighed, "No need to act like this in front of . As long as you listen and do not plot against , I'm not going to do anything to you. So get up," He gestured forward. "and lead to a more private place"
Despite nodding as if she understood, her deanor didn't change at all.
She was still acting as if she was walking on eggshells.
"Co this way…" Viora mumbled and led the way to the other room.
Just as Rex went to the other room, he quickly poked his head out from the corner again and stared at Linthia—who still dutifully had her eyes closed and her ears covered. Summoning the Red Dawn of Kaiser, he pointed his index finger forward and shot a small beam of life energy.
Swish!
It struck Linthia right on her shoulder.
Of course, it didn't have enough strength to hurt her but it still sent her pushed her to the side.
Opening her eyes, Linthia looked around and found Rex nowhere to be seen.
"Linthia!"
Glancing at the source of the sound, Linthia saw Rex across the grand hall.
"Co on, you're going to get left behind if you stand there all day," He shouted before leaving again.
"You're the one who told to close my eyes and cover my ears," Linthia stomped her foot in protest but seeing that Rex—was already gone, she quickly sprinted to chase after him. "B- Brother Rex! Wait for !"
anwhile, on the other side, Ferric has his ear pressed against the gate.
He thought there was no chance to eavesdrop on them but he was surprised to hear faint noises.
For so reason, Viora, Rex, and Linthia were talking right beside the gate.
Ferric could hear Viora's voice but unfortunately, it was too light.
He couldn't make what she was saying no matter how hard he pressed his ear against the gate.
"Cursed this thick gate…" He mumbled under his breath. "I can't hear anything!"
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