Reincarnated Hero System - Chapter 1207 - 1207: Valmone's Investment

As the credits rolled, signalling the end of the ‘movie’ that had been playing on the screen, both Evan and Artemisia stayed seated in silence.

The quiet lingered until the credits finished and the hall lights came on, and only then did Evan finally speak.

“What the hell did I just watch?”

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? It’s a story about two girls with a bond so strong they would literally die for each other, and how that bond turned into one of them wanting the other dead.”

Artemisia’s response made Evan roll his eyes, and he turned to her with a deadpan expression as he asked,

“So what? Beatrix thinks you, of all people, killed her family? And now she wants you dead? Anyone can see there was clearly a third party orchestrating the whole thing. Someone clearly wanted your faction out of the way, and this was obviously their plot. How can she not see it?”

He didn’t give Artemisia a chance to answer, immediately following up with another question.

“To start with, does she really think you, of all people, would actually kill her family? What could you possibly gain from doing that?”

“Do you really think a conclusion drawn from circumstantial evidence, placed conveniently in front of someone as emotional as her while she’s in grief and rage, would be sound?”

Artemisia’s flat-toned question made Evan sigh and facepalm. There was a lot he wanted to say, but he decided to set those thoughts aside for now, knowing there were far more important questions to ask.

“Wait, we’ll get to that later. What I want to know now is how any of this concerns Aidos.”

Indeed, that was the main question Evan needed answered.

“If what you just showed me is accurate, then Beatrix could have killed you during that incident. You were far more weakened than you let on to your subordinates, and even if exhausted, if Beatrix truly wanted to, she could have ended this entire situation then and there.”

From Evan’s perspective, Beatrix made a lot of unnecessary moves in her fight with Artemisia, missing multiple opportunities to put an end to the whole debacle.

The way he saw it, Beatrix had missed the chance to kill Artemisia when she could have, dismantled the New gods faction, divided their territories, and then gone radio-silent for several decades before suddenly reappearing, controlling Gozon from behind the scenes with her son as the only Demon King, orchestrating the demons’ attack on Aidos.

Perhaps those decades of silence were spent consolidating control over Gozon, but he still couldn’t discern the connection between her apparent objectives and her actions.

Hearing his words, Artemisia sighed softly, holding up a few fingers as she counted before speaking.

“I suppose you’re now the fourth to be aware of this. I genuinely dislike that this number is growing.”

There was a trace of irritation in her tone, but it faded as she turned toward him and asked,

“You’re aware of my title as ‘Valmone’s Favourite,’ correct?”

“Yeah, I am,” Evan replied, recalling having seen it when he’d appraised the teenage Artemisia during his time on Aramis.

Nodding lightly, Artemisia began to explain.

“My power of Evolution is not limited to sentient organic life. I can affect celestial bodies, from planets to stars, and eventually, the universe itself.

I’m sure you realised this when I told you that Gozon denied me access to its surface.” [Chapter 1111]

Evan nodded in affirmation, as that was indeed the case. He had drawn that conclusion when he first heard it from the teenage Artemisia, which was why he had urged her to tell him the reason if she ever discovered it.

“I discovered this years later, and through that, I finally understood the full extent of why the universe considered me its favourite,” Artemisia said, pausing briefly before continuing.

“Planets can evolve. From Low, to Mid, High, Prime, and finally Apex Worlds. Galaxies can evolve as well, resulting in an increase in ambient energy, the number of stars, habitable planets, and higher-level planets.

The entire universe is also capable of evolution.”

As she spoke, Evan silently skimmed through his ‘Prisma Book’, sensing that something about this had been recorded there, and soon found what he was looking for, confirming his suspicion.

“Primary and Secondary Universes?” Evan muttered, his eyes widening as he uncovered more memories. “Valmone is a Secondary Universe…!”

The realisation dawned on him, and he didn’t need Artemisia to say another word to understand where she was going with her explanation.

“Valmone favours you because your power of Evolution can make it advance to a Primary Universe.”

“Exactly,” Artemisia confirmed.

“It’s why I’m granted more privileges than other Race Rulers, why I can break certain universal laws with little to no consequences, because the universe itself indulges me so that I can one day use my power to aid its evolution.

It’s more accurate to call me ‘Valmone’s Favourite Investment’.”

Evan certainly thought that was a more fitting title, as Valmone was quite literally investing in Artemisia.

“Anyway, this indulgence allows me to do things others cannot,” Artemisia continued.

“And this indulgence has something to do with Aidos and Beatrix wanting it invaded?” Evan asked.

“Yes. It has everything to do with Aidos and the reason Kirone wants it destroyed.”

As Artemisia spoke, Evan couldn’t help but notice that she still addressed Beatrix by her middle name.

‘Force of habit? Or lingering feelings?’

These thoughts crossed his mind, but he didn’t voice them and instead let Artemisia continue.

“You’re aware that I am Immortal, right?” she asked.

Evan nodded slightly, recalling when EOTD had hinted about it. [Chapter 726]

[Besides, even if all the gods in the Universe combined their powers together, they still wouldn’t be able to kill Artemisia.]

Those were the words the man had said, and from the story he’d just watched, they were far more accurate than he had realised.

Just as Evan thought Artemisia would expand on that, she began giving him a brief exposition on Immortality as a concept.

“There are various kinds of Immortality, none of which can be considered truly perfect as far as I know.

The Eternal Life that pure-blood gods acquire by default upon reaching the Deity Realm is one type.

Others include Immortality through Resilience, Reliance, Regeneration, or Reincarnation. Parasitic immortality, which involves abandoning bodies, exists, and Deathless Immortality, where one isn’t bound by life or death at all, also exists. Jamie Westley is a prime example of a Deathless Immortal.”

Indeed, the Demon King from ‘Beyond,’ whom Evan had spent considerable time with during his blast from the future, was a clear example of that last type of immortality.

Just as Evan was about to ask where she was going with this, Artemisia pivoted back to the original topic.

“Kirone wants me dead, but instead of confronting me directly, she’s concentrating on having her son invade Aidos. She’s the one who linked the Dimensional Rift on the Dark Continent to Gozon when it opened, and the one who expanded it enough for Transcendents to enter Aidos.”

“She did that not long ago, too,” Evan muttered, recalling the moment he sensed that familiar Authority over space-time during the battle in Tarse a few hours earlier.

“The reason for that,” Artemisia explained, “is what ‘Aidos’ referred to as my ‘greatest secret’ when you first met ‘her’.”

Artemisia’s words sent Evan down memory lane once more, replaying the conversation he had when he first encountered the Planetary Consciousness ‘Aidos’.

Looking up at Artemisia, he asked, “Is Beatrix putting so much effort into having Ginaroad attack and destroy Aidos because the condition to bypass your immortality is on Aidos?”

Artemisia shook her head.

“Close, but not quite. The condition to bypass my immortality isn’t on Aidos.”

For a moment, there was silence, and Evan blinked, Artemisia’s words echoing in his mind again.

“!”

Then, gradually, his eyes widened as he made a seemingly absurd connection, and even though she was looking at the blank movie screen, Artemisia noticed the expression on his face and began speaking.

“Like I said, the universe indulges me, allowing me to break its own laws without facing repercussions, and to do things others cannot.”

The video on the screen began playing again, showing the scene when Artemisia was rescued by Beatrix during the Divine Civil War as she continued to speak.

“I possess Reliant Immortality, Evan.

I am benefited by several other kinds of immortality, from resilience to regeneration, as long as a certain object grants me those benefits.”

The scene changed to when Artemisia and Beatrix fought following the death of Beatrix’s parents, and Artemisia spoke in a calm tone.

“The reason Kirone didn’t try to kill me that day was simple. She knows that it doesn’t matter even if you rip out my heart, burn my body to ash, or roast my soul atop the heat of a thousand stars…”

Slowly, Artemisia turned to Evan, her golden eyes meeting his grey ones as she revealed her ‘greatest secret’.

“…as long as the ‘Planet Aidos’ exists, Artemisia Mallory Delgasso can never die.”