Memories.

Lucien told me about the loss of his memories, casting them as the primary motivation for his actions.

That means whatever his plan entails must involve that.

I already expected that much.

But not even that knowledge could have prepared me for what I just heard from Alistair.

"W-what...?" My mind goes blank for a moment. "What did you just say?"

My body starts to tremble as I struggle to comprehend the sheer absurdity and the grand scale of utter malevolence that has just been described to me.

It should come as no surprise.

But it still is.

"You heard me, Javier. Lucien is trying to recollect an experience that he only vaguely remembers. To do so, he plans to use the entire Randalorion Kingdom to recreate that tragedy."

It sounds like a rather simple plan.

But—

"What kind of tragedy are we talking about?" I ask as calmly as possible.

"Complete destruction."

"...."

I remain silent while staring at Alistair.

Complete destruction... What does that really mean?

I want to know.

"Lucien’s country was destroyed by a monster, and he was rescued by the Ouroboros Sect. The trauma he received from that experience caused him to forget most of his memories, and even after, he kept losing memories until he couldn’t remember anything from his childhood. His entire life became the Ouroboros Sect, and he excelled greatly as a Leviathan. After all, since he was without any attachments, he also had nothing holding him back." Alistair explains, his gaze turning more solemn, a direct contrast to my disturbed countenance.

"At first, he was grateful to the Ouroboros Sect, the only home he had come to know. But he eventually began to develop resentment. He blamed the Ouroboros Sect for his loss of memories and somehow thought his past was stolen from him as a result of some conspiracy..."

"How do you know all this?"

"He and I were close friends. I... he, well... he told me his suspicions back then, but I didn’t take them very seriously. Lucien has always been something of an oddity—talking to himself, having dreams, remembering things that never happened. He also had some changes in his personality over the years that suggest deep mental instability and mood disorders."

"Basically, he’s a crazy person."

Alistair groans silently the moment he is interrupted by the childish female voice right behind him. In fact, I see a few others roll their eyes or appear mildly uncomfortable with the kind of audacity being displayed.

As you can already imagine, the voice belongs to Elma.

Although it is only a fleeting emotion, I find myself pleased to see that I’m not the only one displeased with the girl and can’t stand her attitude.

"It is as Elma says. He is not well... But that is no excuse for what he has done and what he is about to do." Alistair continues after a few seconds of silence. "A short while before defecting, he informed me of a vision he was constantly having. It involved the destruction of his Kingdom by a rather grotesque monster which transcends conventional description."

"A vision, huh? Not a nightmare or delusion?"

"Lucien is deluded past the point of knowing the difference. He believes this vision is a fragment of his memory, and he wishes to unlock the rest. So, he wants to raze the Randalorion Kingdom to the ground using the same method so that he can trigger his suppressed memories and have them return to him."

"It sounds rather extreme, even for someone insane..." I grit my teeth at the sheer irrationality of it all. "How is he so certain that it will work?"

The Lucien Zevalis that I recognize is a rather pragmatic individual.

He indeed is malevolent, beyond a doubt.

But he is not stupid.

His actions are well thought out, and so anything he would have invested a great deal in should surely have an appropriate justification.

’He already had Zarius setting things up in the Randalorion Kingdom decades ago. Even as a Rank 2, he still had the Randalorion Kingdom in his sights. Surely, there is an objective reason as to why that is the case.’

Unfortunately, Lucien cannot remember why he chose the Randalorion Kingdom.

His visions only started happening recently, too.

That means they couldn’t have been the reason he involved Zarius in his scheme all those years ago. Instead, the vision is what prompted him to take a more drastic action and defect from the Ouroboros Sect.

None of it explains what his initial plan was.

"But even if we are certain of his intention to recreate a tragedy to restore his memory, what assurance does he have that he will gain anything from this?" I think aloud, my voice slowly turning agitated.

I know Leviathans do not place a lot of weight on human life.

Kingdoms are nothing but pieces meant to be moved according to their whims.

However, this plan of Lucien’s took a lot of resources—Special Resources. It couldn’t have been cheap to procure those materials over a long period.

More than those resources, it also took time.

Time is the most valuable resource of any human, and this is even more the case for Leviathans.

We use up our lifespan as the price of our Conceptions.

Time is also something that Leviathans manipulate, and it is the single resource we can never get enough of. Thus, it only makes sense that the Lucien of the past must have had an extremely good reason for focusing on the Randalorion Kingdom even back then.

But what could it be?

"You asked why Lucien is so confident that his plan will work, didn’t you?" Alistair asks me this, and I nod while maintaining my deep frown.

"It’s because it has worked before."

"What?"

"Although he didn’t cause it, one of Lucien’s previous missions involved a city on the brink of destruction. His experience in that city caused him to start having those visions, which he believes to be a fragment of his own memories. Thus, he has reasoned that if he can recreate that event on a much wider scale, he will be able to unlock his full memories."

"That’s absurd!"

"But it’s what he plans to do," Alistair tells me calmly.

I grit my teeth at this moment.

My hands ball into a fist, and I clench them as tightly as I can.

I can’t stand this.

Essentially, Lucien wishes to sacrifice the entire Randalorion Kingdom just for the possibility of unlocking what he considers to be his memories.

Truly deplorable!

"That’s not all we found out. Remember all those people he captured earlier? The whole Enlightened Witnesses of Truth incident?"

I nod.

"Well, it turns out the Cult and its relationship to the paranormal abductions was only a front. He captured far more people and has been using their lives as a catalyst to power a Ritual which he plans to activate once the appointed time arrives."

"What?!"

"That’s what he’ll use to unleash terror on the whole Kingdom."

Damn it!

We were all played by Lucien.

Especially me!

Initially, I found the Paranormal Abductions incredibly suspicious and eventually discovered a Leviathan had to be behind them. This led me to the Cult, eventually leading me to Lucien. Back then, he told me that he only wanted to use the Cult as a way to cleanly eliminate his Lord Krawford identity and cover all his tracks in the Randalorion Kingdom.

But that was also a lie.

A misdirection!

He was actually using that entire thing as a red herring—a smokescreen too obvious to ignore.

By taking that bait and investigating him very closely, he could freely kidnap as many people and sacrifice them for his more nefarious intentions.

—The Ritual!

This sinister plan of his was completely overlooked by all of us.

"He fooled everyone..." Alistair makes a wry smile while placing a hand on my shoulder.

I know he means it in an encouraging way, but I can’t help but feel even more frustrated. Even when I used solid logic and applied all the resources at my disposal, I still fell short and ended up succumbing to his scheme.

This powerlessness infuriates me to no end.

I am constantly reminded of my deficiencies... my insufficiencies... my terrible mundaneness.

Even as a Leviathan... I am extremely inadequate.

Completely ordinary!

’Whether it is in intellect or power... I fall short in all categories.’

It is very sad.

The reality is crippling.

But I have to accept it—my limitation—for what it is.

Only then can I reflect on my actions and learn from them. By reminiscing on my failures and being aware of my uselessness, I can better temper myself for the overwhelming challenges that envelop me on all sides.

As long as I do not give in to despair... as long as I hold onto hope...

... I can continue to strive towards that impossible height that only the special geniuses of the world can dwell.

Did I not become a Leviathan?

If I could achieve that—albeit at a steep cost—is it not possible to become an excellent one as well? All it takes to accomplish this is the single most valuable resource.

It takes time.

Yes...

I won’t lose that much.

Only time.

This sudden realization also opens my mind to yet another possibility.

"The fact that he has exposed himself so blatantly must mean his plan is nearing fruition!"

"...."

For a moment, Alistair is silent.

Then, he shudders.

His composure nearly breaks, as he gasps in profound realization.

"It was all a trap! He knew we planned to corner him here, so he drew all of us out to this point while he made his return to the Randalorion Kingdom."

"How are we certain he is in the Randalorion Kingdom?" Elma asks with a raised brow. "He could be anywhere."

"No, he is surely in the Randalorion Kingdom..." I mutter aloud.

"Hey, I wasn’t asking—"

"Javier is right." Alistair quickly snaps at Elma. "Now that he has drawn all of us out of the Randalorion Kingdom, he has the perfect window of opportunity to begin the Ritual."

Indeed!

Although Lucien, as a Leaper, has access to a month’s worth of time, he can only execute this plan of his in the present.

However, something of such a scale would easily be intercepted by the Ouroboros Sect if he does it carelessly. That’s why he tricked us into coming to Sarvosia and then returned to the Randalorion Kingdom to initiate his plan with no one there to stop him.

"Even our fight earlier...We thought we were shaving off his Interference Power, but he also had the intention to do the same to us. He made sure we used our Conceptions several times, especially Elma and me, so that our Interference Power would be drained to a considerable extent. Since he is at the peak of Rank 3, his Interference Power is much higher than ours, especially if he limits his Conception to the lower Layers of Existence."

Alistair’s distraught tone quickly sends the message to Elma, and then the rest of the group.

Reality dawns on them.

On all of us.

We have been played yet again!

"We have to find him!" I yell as loud as I can. "As fast as we possibly can... quickly..."

BEEP!

BEEP!!

BEEP!!!

Strange sounds begin to echo from Alistair’s garment, causing everyone around us to gasp in both shock and another round of despair.

"Oh no..." Alistair’s face in particular turns pale, as though all the color on it has been drained.

Although I dread the answer I am about to receive, I still muster up the courage to ask:

"What’s that sound for?"

"I set up arrangements all over the Randalorion Kingdom to inform me of any anomalies occurring in their locations, and the beeping sounds are informing me of this development."

"Where? Where are the anomalies occurring?"

Alistair stares at me with a nearly regretful expression as he sighs deeply.

"Everywhere."

"Ah...?" My voice trembles as I struggle to understand his words.

But Alistair repeats himself.

This time, his voice is deeper and contains a tone of finality.

The dread that has taken root finally flourishes and brings forth the fruits of despair.

"It’s happening everywhere, Javier."