Chapter 20 - Blood Ball (IV)

Alastor had to admit, the man didn't look like he was about to die, on the contrary, the Knight of Ruin seemed in very good health. Almost as if he were young again. This made the young Lord of House Agrece narrow his eyes.

Rowan Gellert's forty-year-old appearance wasn't the problem, there were potions that allowed him to maintain a youthful appearance until the day he died. However, this potion was like painting a wall without caring about the termite-ridden interior.

In the end, despite the beauty, the inside was still being eaten away by termites. The same happened to anyone who took such a potion. Aging was something no human ever gained or would gain in the future.

That's why seeing the Old Marshal walking around, smiling and drinking as if nothing had happened made the guests show strange expressions, even the atmosphere of the party seemed wrong.

Just as Alastor was about to say that something was wrong, he noticed his father, Achille, standing next to him. He didn't even feel it when the man appeared next to him! He didn't even hear the slightest noise as the man approached

"Roxane, Alastor." Achille looked at his children and spoke, drawing the attention of both of them, including the girl from House Vertium.

"From this moment on, kill anything that poses a threat to you." Achille spoke with a terribly cold tone. The killing intent in his tone left no room for mercy.

"What's going on?" Alastor asked frowning, at which point even a fool could see that something was terribly wrong with this birthday ball!

"Rowan has become a Herald of the First Light, Badrim." Achille replied, his voice grim, irritated to the extreme. Although he had known the news before coming to the ball, he had hoped that his friend was wrong about the Marshall, but seeing Rowan, the disgusting smell that belonged to an Outer God was impregnated in the body of his father's old friend!

Alastor or Roxane couldn't notice, but he could perfectly well notice the disgusting smell on Rowan's body.

His words made Alastor, Roxane and Lisanne's expressions change dramatically. There was disbelief mostly on their faces and then terror.

Who was the First Light? One of the five Sons of Chaos! Just like the Crimson Moon! An outer God who rules a dimension called the Light of Truth.

And the one who became a Herald was none other than the Marshal of the Golden Order himself!!!

A man who was supposed to be the pinnacle of the fight against madness, gave himself up to the very monsters he once swore to kill.

"Is the Midnight Citadel involved?" Roxane asked a very important question, the Marshall was mainly served by witches at all times, they were responsible for almost controlling many departments in the Golden Order. It was impossible for their actions to go unnoticed by the Witches!

She finally understood why her father on his way to Lordran seemed to be going to war, he was literally going to war! A war against the Marshall of the Golden Order himself!

"Some witches did the same as Rowan, but Mereoleona decreed death for those heretical witches." Achille replied without hiding the appreciation in his eyes.

Roxane nodded somewhat relieved that Mereoleona Marttins, the Witch of Destruction, a Special Grade Beyonder was still loyal to the Golden Order.

"That was very rude, Achille."

Suddenly, a cheerful, mature male voice sounded next to them.

Achille's face showed no surprise at the old Marshall's arrival, his senses had never stopped tracking Rowan in the crowd.

Yes, it was Rowan Gellert who had arrived at their side!

Rowan's golden eyes showed a trace of amusement as a smile played on his lips.

"You are an eternal stain on the Marshall's post. Your name will be condemned for all eternity as a traitor." Achille commented with a cold, chilling tone, looking at the man in front of him.

The smile on Rowan's face didn't change at all with Achille's words, he was two hundred years old, it took a lot more to make his emotions revolt with mere words.

Then Rowan's eyes fell on Alastor, there was a nostalgic look on his face as he gazed at the boy who looked so much like his old comrade-in-arms.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look like your grandfather? Ares and I were best friends. We fought together for over a hundred and fifty years." Rowan spoke in a very gentle tone, his voice full of nostalgia.

"My grandfather must be screaming with hatred in Hell at the abomination you've become, Rowan Gellert." Alastor replied in a calm, cold tone, similar to that of his father. There was no respect in the voice addressing the Marshall of the Golden Order, of which he was a member.

Rowan nodded in agreement with his words while showing a gentle expression, he replied with a genuine tone of sadness. "That's true, Ares must be cursing me elegantly in hell for what I've become."

"But." He paused for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully, and continued. "But I'm alive and he's not. This shows that honor, values and glory are mere idiocy created by humans, he will be forgotten even after working all his life to protect these hairless apes."

"Slag." Alastor, Roxane and Achille replied at the same time, the whole family feeling only deep contempt and disdain for Rowan's words.

What would humans be without values, honor or glory? They would be nothing more than animals without falling into an abyss called decadence and ruin. Sinking into debauchery, madness and horrors, slaves to their own desires. In the end, without any of these things, the human foundations collapsed like a sand castle resisting the waves of the sea.

Ruin was what humanity would be when the castle collapsed completely.

"House Agrece, the always honorable and unchanging with its ancient and archaic customs." Rowan commented in a voice tinged with amusement. His eyes didn't hide the disdain and contempt when he mentioned House Agrece.

"Better than becoming a filthy slave." Roxane spoke in rebuttal to his words, she showed no fear in the face of the Special Grade Beyonder she had as a variation of the Knight's profession.

"I guess you don't know?" Rowan sipped his champagne and spoke, his eyes full of amusement falling on Alastor. "Your brother has become very famous recently, after all, it's not every day that someone is chosen to be Consort of the Crimson Moon."

When he had finished speaking, Rowan saw the girl's eyes remain calm and indifferent, which made him admire her a little. It wasn't everyone who could stand fearlessly before one of the Sons of Chaos.

"Interestingly, my Master is also curious about your brother." As soon as he had finished speaking, dozens of golden eyes appeared in his head. They all seemed to have a life of their own, as they blinked and moved normally. All the eyes were fixed on Alastor, staring at him with an almost suffocating intensity.

Throughout the conversation, Rowan or Achille didn't try to hide the conversation, everyone around heard every word very well. Each guest seemed to move further and further away from their group. Including Lisanne, not that she was a coward, but she would only be a burden around them.

Tereza and Gregory were protecting Alastor and Roxane, both prepared to die. Gregory in particular looked at what Rowan had become with a complicated expression. As Steward of Ares, of course he knew the Marshall of the Golden Order.

Alastor looked at the dozens of golden eyes in Rowan's head and didn't look away. "What are you looking at, freak?" A gentle, warm male laugh rang out throughout the hall, for some reason, everyone thought they were seeing a white light full of purity and compassion, but they didn't know that behind this sacred and beautiful feeling, there was madness, horror and eternal servitude.

This was the First Light, a being who could create as many fanatics as he wanted with his mere presence.

Along with the happy, gentle laughter, Rowan's body began to change drastically. Rowan had dozens of eyes spread across his head, his head was beginning to combust, surrounded by white flames. His body grew to three meters tall, he looked so thin that you could count how many ribs he had. A giant battle axe appeared in his hands.

"O my lord, sovereign of Light and purification, source of all power and redemption."

"May the radiance of your glory consume the darkness of this world, sweeping away its corruption!"

"May his divine Light, implacable and pure, be reborn as hope in the midst of chaos, and restore humanity to the path of salvation!"

Rowan spoke each word with a devout and compassionate tone.

He was no longer Rowan Gellert.

But.

Rowan - The Apostle of Purity.

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