Chapter 139: Serpent God’s Legacy

Elio sat, crossing one leg over the other.

For a brief moment, he seemed to consider where to begin.

Then he spoke.

"Do you remember the ninth Archduke of the Abyss?"

The question was met with silence.

The name he was referring to was one that few Awakened could forget.

"The Mad Serpent," Levi said quietly.

"Also known as the Serpent God," Apollo added.

Elio nodded.

"Good. Then I won’t have to waste time explaining who he was."

"Get to the point," Neville said.

"Very well."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Some time ago, the Serpent God went mad. His actions became increasingly erratic, and his power threatened to destabilize the balance between the Archdukes. Eventually, the other eight Archdukes were forced to set aside their differences and join forces against him."

Apollo nodded.

"That much is recorded in the Association’s archives. The battle was said to have been devastating. Even with eight Archdukes fighting together, killing him wasn’t an easy task."

"Indeed."

"And what does that have to do with Crimson-Crow?" Levi asked.

Elio’s expression became colder.

"Because the Serpent God’s death wasn’t the end of his story."

He paused.

"Not for me, anyway."

The atmosphere in the office changed almost imperceptibly.

Elio looked down at his hands.

"My parents were the Guildmasters of Crimson-Crow back then. Unlike the organization you know today, the guild had a respectable reputation. It wasn’t perfect, naturally, but it was an organization that genuinely helped Awakened. It offered support to those who had nowhere else to go, organized raids, and occasionally assisted the Association with dangerous gates."

He let out a humorless laugh.

"Hard to imagine now, isn’t it?"

Apollo didn’t answer.

"My parents believed that strength came with responsibility. They weren’t saints, but they had principles. They believed Awakened should use their abilities to protect people rather than prey on them."

Elio’s fingers tightened slightly.

"Unfortunately, not everyone in the guild shared their beliefs."

He lifted his head.

"The current Guildmaster, Elysia, was once one of their most trusted subordinates. She was ambitious, ruthless, and considerably more powerful than the position she held suggested. She believed Crimson-Crow should stop wasting its resources helping the weak and instead become an organization that could take whatever it wanted."

"An ideological disagreement," Levi said. "That hardly explains what happened next."

"No. It doesn’t."

Elio’s eyes narrowed.

"Because Elysia didn’t settle the matter through an internal vote."

For the first time since entering the room, his composure seemed to falter.

"She murdered my parents."

Nobody spoke.

"She assassinated them, seized control of the guild, and forced everyone who opposed her into submission. Those who resisted were killed or disappeared. Those who remained learned to keep their mouths shut."

His voice remained steady, but there was something unpleasantly sharp beneath it.

"I was still a child at the time. I understood that my parents were dead, and I understood that the woman responsible had taken everything from me. But understanding something and being capable of doing anything about it are two entirely different matters."

Elio leaned back.

"Elysia knew that. Perhaps that’s why she decided to adopt me."

Apollo frowned.

"Adopt you?"

"That was the word she used, anyway."

"She treated me like a son in public. She gave me a room, provided me with everything a child could possibly need, and made certain that everyone knew I was under her protection."

He paused.

"Then, one day, she had me dragged into a laboratory."

The words settled heavily over the room.

"That’s where I learned what she was actually planning."

Elio’s gaze moved from Apollo to Levi, then to Choi.

"Elysia wanted to create an Awakened who could surpass the limits imposed by the System."

Choi’s expression stiffened.

"Surpass the System?"

"Not simply reach S-Rank. Not become an SS-Rank or even anything beyond it. She wanted someone who could shatter the restrictions that governed the growth of every Awakened."

Apollo slowly placed the document in his hands onto the desk.

"That’s absurd."

"Is it?"

Elio tilted his head.

"Consider how much the world has changed since the appearance of the System. We measure our strength through ranks and levels. Our skills have their own classifications. We encounter barriers that cannot be overcome through ordinary training, no matter how much effort we put into it."

He spread his hands.

"What if someone could bypass all of that? What if someone could obtain power without being restricted by the rules everyone else follows?"

"Then they would be a threat to every nation on Earth," Levi replied.

"Exactly."

Elio’s expression darkened.

"And Elysia believed she could create such a person."

He took a slow breath.

"After the Serpent God’s death, Crimson-Crow managed to obtain some of his remains. I don’t know precisely how they acquired them, nor do I know what they had to sacrifice to get them. What I do know is that Elysia became obsessed with the idea of using them."

Neville’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Using the remains of an Archduke..."

"That’s right."

Elio looked directly at him.

"He believed that the Serpent God’s power could be inherited by a human. Not through a contract, like those made with living Archdukes, but through direct fusion. If she could force that power into a human body, she believed she could create an existence that would no longer be bound by the ordinary limitations of the System."

For several seconds, the only sound in the room was the faint hum of the air conditioning.

Then Choi spoke.

"How many people were involved?"

"Approximately one hundred children."

The answer came without hesitation.

Choi’s face went blank.

Levi slowly lowered his gaze.

Apollo’s jaw tightened.

"Children?"

"Yes."

Elio didn’t look away.

"They were gathered from various places, some taken from orphanages, others bought from criminals or acquired through methods I don’t care to describe. Most of them were too young to understand what was happening. They were told they were being given an opportunity to become special."

His lips curled faintly.

"They were being given an opportunity to die."

He continued before anyone could interrupt.

"The experiments were brutal. The remains of the Serpent God contained a power that no ordinary human body was capable of containing. The researchers tried different methods of fusion, altering the process whenever a subject died. Some bodies rejected the power immediately. Others survived for a few hours, or even days, before their bodies collapsed under the strain."

Elio’s fingers curled into fists.

"One by one, they died."

He didn’t elaborate on the details.

He didn’t need to.

"Eventually, there were only two survivors."