Chapter 1018

"A beautiful woman from the lineage of a noble family. She had come into one of the factories I worked for, looking to oversee some tasks or something like that.

And coincidentally, what she desperately needed to get done, I was an absolute expert at it, hence I was highly recommended by my supervisor.

That was exactly when I discovered that she was a noble who came from a powerful house of mages. Right there, a brilliant strategy clicked in my mind."

Gustav beamed widely as he rubbed his face at the memory.

"... Of course. A noble house would naturally possess all the classified information I sought, right? Hahaha! So, the task she wanted completed, I kept delaying purposely while providing highly legitimate excuses that forced her to keep coming back daily. Along the way, I slowly activated my charms. After all, I’m quite the handsome fellow, don’t you think?"

Grey’s teeth gnashed tightly together as he wanted to shout, curse, and say something cutting in response, but he simply couldn’t.

He was far too weak to do so. It was entirely his raw willpower that he was utilizing just to stand at the current moment.

"... Well, slowly and gradually, she fell completely in love with me. My words. My walks. My supposed hard work. Everything about my persona was charming to her and we fell deeply in love.

There, my master plan was working flawlessly. If I could marry into that family, all the structural data I needed would have been given to me on a golden platter."

Then, Gustav’s teeth grit angrily as he pierced a sharp glare straight at Grey.

"But do you know what happened? Her family didn’t want us together. They flatly refused to approve of our relationship because I was a mere commoner.

A man entirely without ’magic’, hence they refused our union and warned me vehemently to stay far away from their daughter. I was so incredibly enraged.

I was damn close to my ultimate goals and her family was stopping me?

I wanted to electrocute them right there and then, but I absolutely couldn’t reveal my hidden magic. If I used even the slightest spell, Blake would have been notified immediately and my cover would be totally blown."

"...."

"Ah... so I stayed perfectly calm. Clara kept sneaking out to see me, and in the process, I managed to skillfully manipulate her to run away with me.

I convinced her we could live peacefully somewhere else.

If we eloped and got legally married, her family would eventually be forced to accept us, especially since she was the only child they had.

But oh, was I completely wrong.

We got married, went back to her ancestral house, and there her family disowned her immediately, declaring they had absolutely nothing to do with her after she disobeyed their strict orders. They turned us away and we left with nothing."

Gustav sighed deeply and then sat down on his self-created throne while looking directly at Grey, who was staggering around like a common drunkard.

"... We came to this very town. Town Kiten—to start entirely afresh.

I secured a job in one of the small factories here and we lived our lives quietly for a while.

Oh! I was still in constant touch with Jim, who had successfully managed to recruit a few powerful people into our growing organization. We also secured a highly gifted seer in our midst. Very, very important."

He thought for a brief second, then continued his tale:

"As the years passed, Clara kept pestering me for a child. She wanted one so badly and wouldn’t stop talking about it.

Initially, I wanted to refuse because of who I truly was.

But then I thought about the possibilities.

What if we gave birth and our child became a uniquely powerful mage?

Wouldn’t her family be forced to accept us back for the sake of the child’s future?

I was elated at my own tactical discovery, hence I finally accepted her request. A year later, she took in. On the sixth month of her pregnancy, I received a profound prophecy from the Otherworlders’ seer."

The sharp sound of wind howling was heard as Grey couldn’t keep himself standing any longer, and his legs gave out, causing him to collapse heavily to his knees.

He was still fully conscious, still listening intently despite his severe blood loss.

"... The prophecy stated I was going to give birth to an incredibly powerful child.

A youth with the strength and latent potential to rival any prodigies the world would ever throw at him.

I was incredibly elated at this news. I mean, who wouldn’t be?

Aside from my original plans for information, if my child grows strong enough, he could easily assist me in my mission to dominate the entire world.

So I planned to take care of you and nurture you, making sure to groom you strictly on the path I wanted. But before I could celebrate, the seer added an ominous warning to his words, saying my own child could also be my absolute ruin if extreme care wasn’t taken."

"...."

"I thought about it long and hard. You would be my child, yes, but you would also be Clara’s.

Knowing how much of a goody-two-shoes she was, she could easily guide you onto a completely different path and turn you into my ultimate ruin. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Hence, I came to a final decision. I wasn’t going to kill you because I still needed your potential, so I waited. Clara put to bed, and almost immediately after your birth, I cast a restrictive seal directly upon you."

Grey’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief as he stared at the man seated on the throne a few metres away from his position.

"... The entire purpose of that seal was to prevent you from using or even awakening your hidden affinities at all.

You were meant to remain a common cripple in terms of magical capability.

This was an incredibly powerful, complex seal that absolutely nobody in this world could ever break, except for an Original like me. And what were the odds you would randomly come across one? Ha! So I confidently thought."

Then, Gustav’s eyes blazed with a deep-seated rage that threatened to completely engulf his entire presence.

"Years later, after my initial offensive campaign, another Original was lost to the history books, and one more fled entirely to the warrior world, while Blake successfully ascended to the next plain of power.

He became a celestial.

I naturally assumed the cosmic rules of being a celestial would bind his actions and prevent him from interfering in whatever I wanted to accomplish.

I needed to vanish from your daily lives without making it seem like I had simply abandoned you all, so I meticulously orchestrated my own tragic death.

I left, knowing Clara would be perfectly capable of raising you while also keeping you entirely out of my trajectory, since your magical capabilities were firmly locked away."

"...."

"But fuck no!" Gustav roared as he shot upright in absolute anger.

His foot bashed violently against the throne, sending the structure flying backward with thunderous, concussive force.

"That meddling Celestial decided to summon you at the exact moment you were about to take your own life.

He fucking broke the ancient seal I placed on you without my knowledge!

He shattered it completely and decided to engineer your path straight into mine!

He couldn’t stop me directly anymore because of his elevated status as a celestial, hence he decided to push my own son toward me in order to halt my progress! As if taking away every single thing from me in the past wasn’t enough, he still decided to pull this?!"

Blue arcs of volatile lightning began crackling dangerously around Gustav’s body, his teeth grinding repeatedly in pure fury.

"... It was only after you awakened your affinities that another revelation came directly from the seer, prophesying that a specific kid would put a giant spanner in all my grand plans. The vision stated he would become so strong that I might not even be able to take him down. A red-haired youth by the name of Grey."

"..."

"When I first heard the name ’Grey’, I immediately thought of you, but then I quickly calmed down.

After all, before I departed, you were still just a brown-haired kid with a massive seal placed on your potential, so I mistakenly assumed it was another child the seer was referring to.

I kept sending men after men to take you down, but you kept overcoming every single one of them.

I could have easily sent Jim down to finish you off alone, until I finally discovered that the Grey I had been hunting for years was my own damned kid. And he had now become so powerful that no mere underling could kill him, so I finally descended for the first time in decades. I’m making an appearance!"

Gustav spread his hands wide in dark, manic glee.

"Here I am; Gustav Dawn, and my so-called son, who was supposed to be an annoying prick, is here, brought down to his knees within the first few minutes of my descending. How thoroughly disappointing!"

The man spat angrily onto the ground.