Judging from this painting, these people were fleeing from the [Saint Witch].
Those who didn’t leave in time would have their bodies covered in black fur, lying in agony in place. “Could it be…”
The lady’s red eyes narrowed slightly as a logical conclusion formed.
First, this was real history; it probably wouldn’t be tampered with like the history humans passed down for some reason.
So what was depicted here was likely the literal meaning of the image.
“After the war between Supreme Beings, anyone who got close to this [Saint Witch] would undergo such a mutation?”
Ileya had heard Amisa say before that [Supreme Beings] were very ominous existences, or rather, beings of a higher order than humans, Nose Tribe, and Divine Kin.
Just being sensed by them, piquing their interest, could result in a curse.
You didn’t even need to get close, didn’t need to look directly at them. A mere thought might be enough.
Perhaps… that was the meaning of this painting.
For some reason, Til Yaro Rui, who had been hiding inside the [Golden Apple] all along without ever being discovered, seemed unable to fully conceal herself after revealing her power as a Supreme Being.
This caused her aura as a Supreme Being to leak out, creating a so-called “disaster” in some place.
Thinking this over, Ileya slowly moved the stone tablet in front of her aside and looked at the next one…
The things depicted on these tablets were more shocking than the last, and the carving techniques were also more exquisite than the previous one.
What unfolded before Ileya’s eyes now was… a somewhat familiar scene.
A shimmering great lake. Around the lake was a towering giant tree. There was a patch of sparkling water.
“Is this… the scene from my dream?”
The only color carved into the stone was a red gemstone. Ileya spotted it at a glance.
It was embedded in the middle of the tree, and the tree seemed to sense the Supreme Being’s will; the middle section automatically split open, forming a deep, dark passage. A passage.
In the rock painting, Til Yaro Rui was still facing away from the viewer.
She was situated in the middle of the ancient tree, which stood upon the giant island in the center of the lake, shaded by its own canopy.
Countless creatures were bowing in worship.
The reason I said creatures and not humans was because the beings below were all covered in fur or feathers.
Through careful observation, Ileya also noticed that among these prostrating creatures, some actually looked like Ratmen.
Others had faces resembling crows, and some even looked like pythons.
Connecting this with the content of the previous stone tablet, a series of… quite bold guesses flashed through the lady’s mind.
First, it was the Ratmen’s name for Til Yaro Rui. It wasn’t [Saint Witch] but [Red-Hearted Witch], just like what was depicted on the stone tablet.
The only color on her was the red gemstone on her chest.
The title [Red-Hearted Witch] and the divine statue hidden in the village tree probably originated from… no, it would be more accurate to say it was inherited from these stone tablets.
There was also… the Ratmen’s previous behavior, the rules passed down from their ancestors: to treat humans well, protect them, and love them. For a different race, this was an extremely dangerous tribal rule.
Now, linking it to the content of the previous tablet, the answer was clear.
That was, perhaps these people weren’t born “Ratmen” but were “humans” who had survived that disaster!
These foreigners… humans cursed to grow black fur didn’t die; they turned into this kind of monster.
The human settlement depicted here was very likely the “Abandoned City of Rand” from a hundred years ago.
The reason it was abandoned wasn’t because of other things, but because the people of the city were afflicted by the curse of a Supreme Being.
They all turned into “Ratmen,” “Serpentfolk,” “Crowfolk.”
This was the only possibility left.
Historical reasons. Perhaps it was something only related to the royal family and Gilgamesh.
And no one knew this news; it was as if this history was buried.
“So… those Ratmen were actually the original citizens of Rand City, the descendants of ancient people?”
Maybe it really was that way. And if so, those strange customs of the Ratmen would become rationalized.
After all, their ancestors were humans. The “Saint Witch” herself cared for humanity, so leaving behind such ancestral teachings was entirely understandable.
“So that’s how it is.” Ileya looked at the stone tablet before her, and the clouds in her mind parted to reveal the moon.
But this disaster was caused by the Saint Witch. What did it have to do with her aunt?
“Til Yaro Rui Sereton… Golden Apple Adventure Group… Royal Family…”
Ileya murmured these names softly, moved the stone tablet aside, and looked at the last one. It should also be the most exquisite one.
Whoosh!
But the moment she saw this tablet, Ileya felt a dizzy spell hit her, and the pupils in her red eyes constricted rapidly.
“Huh?!”
In another room of the villa, Reliel, who was packing her luggage, seemed to sense something at that moment.
The snake-scale tattoos beneath her clothes rapidly emerged! At the same time, her body entered a state of “rampage!”
She felt an endless surge of strength within her, as if a single light step could carry her a hundred meters!
And the source of all these sensations…
The girl turned her head, her pale blue eyes, now slitted pupils, staring in one direction…
She remembered Ileya was in the study.
The next second, her form transformed into a flash of pale blue light, disappearing from the room and arriving before the study in an instant.
Without a second’s hesitation, Reliel kicked the wooden door in front of her.
Boom!!
The wooden door shattered like paper under Reliel’s foot.
In the next second, the girl’s blue eyes met the red eyes inside the room.
“You…” Reliel, who had just burst through the door, was momentarily stunned by Ileya’s reaction, then seemed to think of something and chuckled softly.
“What? Worried about me that much?”
The information laid out before her was just too much to process.
Reliel, who had been feeling a bit anxious, was now slightly taken aback by this girl’s nonchalant attitude and almost wanted to turn around and leave.
But after a moment’s thought, she still scowled and walked into the room.
Her blue eyes clearly said, “What the hell is going on here?”
Ileya herself didn’t know where to begin sorting her thoughts.
The things depicted on the previous stone tablets were all about the “Disaster” incident.
For someone who had already investigated quite a bit, connecting them and putting together the story’s outline wasn’t difficult.
Ileya shifted her gaze from Reliel, paying her no mind, and looked at the last stone tablet in the stone box. “You…”
Reliel frowned slightly, but an inexplicable feeling urged her to move forward and see what her lady was looking at.
She took a few steps, saw the stone box on the table, and also saw the last stone tablet inside.
It was an exquisitely carved stone portrait.
“Huh?”
It was a half-length portrait of a young woman. She was beautiful, perfect in every way.
Reliel felt she had never seen such a flawless woman.
But… Huh?
Why did the Ileya in front of her look a bit… similar to the person in the stone carving?
Only, she didn’t seem human, because her ears were pointed tips.
Of course.
Having some knowledge of this matter, Ileya could see much more from this portrait than her sister.
First, the person depicted in this portrait was undoubtedly the [Saint Witch, Til Yaro Rui].
The one who had always appeared with her back turned to the viewer was now revealing her true face.
Compared to what Ileya had imagined a Supreme Being would look like, the portrait before her was just too aesthetically pleasing for a human.
Like Reliel, Ileya felt that the term “perfect woman” could barely describe this Saint Witch’s appearance.
But precisely because this portrait was of the [Saint Witch], Ileya felt astonished.
Why did this Saint Witch look so much like Mother… even like her and her sister?
No, no! That wasn’t right…
It should be said, why did they look so much like this Supreme Being?
“Til Yaro… Rui Sereton…” Ileya whispered to herself.
“Shuderian… Sereton… Hiss…”
She stumbled over the final syllable of the Saint Witch’s surname.
The pronunciation of the surnames was almost identical, just changing a few prefix letters.
If you just read them normally, there would be nothing strange about it.
Many people share a surname with a great person; such things are quite common.
But combined with Ileya’s recent investigations… What the hell?
She seemed to have stumbled upon another earth-shattering secret, and she also had some understanding of why the royal family was so wary of, even afraid of, her maternal family.
Why they wanted to block the path of transcendence for the women of her clan.
“…Hmph… So that’s how it is.” Ileya chuckled softly, a grim expression on her face.
This made Reliel, standing beside her, even more confused and a little nervous, wondering what on earth was wrong with this lady.
[We didn’t find you; you found us.]
No wonder the manager of the Golden Sun Circus had said that.
No wonder that so-called crow had been protecting her all along.
No wonder the divine statue in the cave had suddenly changed.
No wonder Arthur regained his memories and wanted to follow her.
No wonder Reliel had developed the black python tattoo.
No wonder…
All the roots were clear.
Bloodline. In Mother, in her, in Reliel, flowed the blood of a [Supreme Being]—the [Saint Witch]!
The Sereton family wasn’t entirely human.
They were half-bloods with a Supreme Being. They were Divine Kin with human appearances!
“I originally thought the royal family was going too far… I never expected… those bastards actually dared to… keep something like this within the kingdom’s borders… Hmph… Truly…”
If it were up to him, he would have already eradicated such a ticking time bomb with overwhelming force.
No, the rulers weren’t fools.
If he could think of it, they couldn’t have missed it.
Perhaps due to some reason, both past and present, they had been unable to make a move against the Sereton family.
But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t in the future.
A scene from the “future,” where she was executed, suddenly flashed through her mind.
Ileya covered her face with one hand, muttering maniacally to herself, punctuated by meaningless low laughter.
“Is that so… So this was the crime they used to execute me.”
At this moment, countless things became as clear as the sun breaking through the clouds.
Even including her aunt’s death…
If she was right, if her guess was correct…
Then Mother’s investigation had been heading in the wrong direction all along.
No one had harmed her aunt. She had harmed herself.
Because she herself was a Divine Kin, a descendant of the [Saint Witch]… Furthermore, judging from the royal ban, the women of the Sereton bloodline were likely natural Transcendents.
But she hadn’t realized her own special nature and instead accepted the blessing of another Supreme Being.
Having the blessings of two Supreme Beings within one human body… was like putting both water and fire inside a single balloon…
The outcome was predictable.