Above Your Head

Chapter 106: Wedding Ceremony (4)

"...You stupid fool. My goal is not the problem right now, but you. If things have progressed this far, I can't uphold the contract between us."

"How come?"

"Well, that's because if it goes on like this..." In a deep and agonizing voice, Celestia whispered into my chest, "If it goes on like this, you will become the Emperor of the Empire..."

I completely overpowered three of the only four Dukes that existed in the Empire. Without even fighting or displaying any sort of special ability, I overwhelmed them just by coming face to face with them. This was completely different from winning against them in a fight.

A strong being with a powerful fighting prowess who appeared to beat up the Dukes would be an amazing feat, but that was all. After all, the position of Duke allowed one to possess authority over the military forces. It did not mean that one's own fighting abilities were stellar. The transcendents who ultimately survived became those that seized power, but that didn't mean they could stand above the others. They were simply stronger, that's all. It was similar to how one couldn't possibly take over Korea just by defeating the President of Korea in a mere fist fight.

Nevertheless… As many as three of the Four Dukes acknowledged me. They abandoned the idea of defying me, because they saw me as a strong being who was capable of overpowering them and even the forces under them. I wondered, 'In the end, it all depends on power, huh.'

I was surprised to see concepts such as Empires, Nobles and royals upon coming to the universe. This was because the forces of the Great Universe must have achieved an advanced civilization, successfully advancing to the Great Universe in the first place. I did not understand why they would retain the monarchy system, which even Earth had abandoned in the past.

The answer to that question of mine was power. If an individual had transcendental power, and that power was tremendous as well as great enough to destroy the civilization he belonged to, then he would become an existence that was free from the bindings of law. He would be judged outside of the rules and framework of society. At the moment, the Dukes currently saw me as such an existence. That explained why Celestia said that they would try to make me the Emperor.

"But…I do not have the blood of the Leonhardt Imperial family in me."

"Yes, but…we are having a wedding," Celestia muttered and sighed. She seemed to suggest that there was plenty of justification for me being the Emperor. Although rumors would spread, those would simply be covered up by the Dukes who currently held onto the reign of power now that the previous Emperor was dead.

'But…' I then recalled Howard, who momentarily grimaced just now. 'I wonder if all of them would agree with that idea?'

The situation had become rather funny. Aside from my marriage with the Imperial Princess, Celestia, I have become the leader of the Nobles Faction. I had also screwed over the Crown Prince, who was considered a central figure of the Emperor Faction, earlier on, and gotten rid of the Great General Norrington, a powerful transcendent who supported him. With all those considerations, I was sure that those from the Emperor Faction must be gritting their teeth at me. Furthermore, I now appeared with the backing of the Nobles Faction.

I wondered how the Emperor Faction would see me as… 'How else would they see me? They would most probably see me as an enemy of the Imperial household. Of course, they are currently staying quiet because they have no justification and have insufficient power to do anything.'

Three of the Four Dukes publicly supported the marriage between Celestia and I, while more than a thousand nobles gathered because of the council conference. That wasn't all. Our marriage was also approved by the previous Emperor, who was now deceased, so there was no justification in stopping the marriage from happening.

Things would have been different if we didn't have any power, but in this current situation, none of them could possibly prevent the marriage. The Emperor Faction included the Royal Knight Order, as well as the Seven Great Generals, but they still could not recklessly take action without any justification.

'Ultimately, they would look for the next opportunity.' Staring at Celestia, I mumbled, "Hmmm. Alright. Now then..."

"Now?" Celestia's blue eyes were filled with a bit of expectation. It was an expression that made me laugh.

"What should we do now?" My question made Celestia's bright smile freeze up. I secretly glanced down at her and noticed that her fist was shaking, but I helplessly shrugged it off. "I am not doing this because I like it either. If I were to try putting it into words, I…was kind of in a drunken state back then."

"D-Drunken? How did you cause the situation to go out of hand in a drunken state? The situation unfolded so suddenly that I failed to utilize any of the preparations I had made for the past 10 years. My people are still standing by at the Detro Galaxy, and you say you were in a drunken state?"

I laughed at the sight of Celestia groaning. I knew my explanation sounded ridiculous and absurd, but I couldn't do anything about it. That was the truth. At that time, I committed those actions because I was in a "Intoxicated by the Divine Spirit" state. I was the most flustered back then, like a drunkard who severely regretted the mess he had caused the day after.

'Of course, it is not as if there isn't a way out of this…' The state I was in, upon opening the door, was definitely not foolish. I obviously had some countermeasures in place, but those countermeasures were things that the current me could not accept.

Waaaaaaah--! The continuous and endless cheers that I have been hearing became much louder in an instant. I turned to look, discovering that I had unknowingly reached the top of the altar.

"Hoho. The both of you should smile, because all of this is being filmed." As we arrived at the top of the altar, a beautiful woman wearing silk clothes welcomed us with a graceful demeanor. I recognized that high-braided black hair. It was Jeong Yu-ri, one of the Four Dukes, as well as the family head of the Shadow Household.

"Would it be alright to just call you Duke Jeong?"

"Huhu. Please speak casually."

"No, no, I can't mindlessly treat a person whom Cel refers to as 'Grandaunt'."

Yu-ri's beautiful smile froze, turning serious. She most probably disliked that sort of title, but she didn't bother to further discuss that matter in the current circumstances. She simply said, "The marriage will be sealed once the two of you share a kiss of oath."

"The process is very short, huh."

Yu-ri smiled at my delighted expression. "Huhu, since you didn't seem to enjoy complicated frivolity, I have taken the liberty of removing all the unnecessary steps." In actual fact, the likeliest reason was probably due to my and Celestia's family circumstances. Originally, the wedding ceremony in the Imperial Capital was often the union between two forces. In our case, however, neither Celestia nor I had any family or forces to bring along.

'Come to think of it, the both of us must be seen as orphans, huh,' I clicked my tongue quietly. In Celestia's case, her biological mother passed away a long time ago and her biological father died after being subjected to a recent terrorist attack. In my case, my mother passed away as soon as I was born.

'Of course, I have a father, but...' There was no way that I could bring him to a place like this. The fact that we were thousands of light-years away was also a problem, but I didn't want to show him a marriage in which a divorce was already promised beforehand.

Flash! Bursts of light spread out. They were not aggressive enough to blind me or bring me discomfort. They were just warm lights that seemed to embrace everything around, somehow. They made me look up, only to see the artificial sun which was located just above the altar. It was becoming brighter.

Oooouuhhh! This is… It is a blessing! It is Ra's blessing! Once again, cheers erupted from all over the place.

Yu-ri, who was in front of us, also looked surprised. "This is...unexpected. There have not been many instances where Ra personally showed a response, even among all the previous Emperors."

"Is that a good thing?"

"It's very good. At this rate, the Emperor Faction wouldn't dare to pick a fight." Yu-ri had a satisfied expression and whispered softly, but she immediately straightened her posture right after. She asked Celestia with a smile, "Well, now then. Does the bride, Ms. Celestia, vow to take the groom, Mr. Kwan Dae-ha, to be her lawfully wedded husband, and love each other from this day onward, until death do you part?"

"I do." Celestia answered without a hint of hesitation. Come to think of it, her performance was utterly amazing. She was answering with a slightly flushed face and a voice that trembled with excitement. She truly looked like a blissful bride, and that sight momentarily enchanted me. This was despite the fact that I knew the circumstances.

'She's a sinful woman...' I thought to myself. At this moment, I couldn't imagine how many men were crying bitter tears as they looked at her. It was because she was like a star who descended to the ground, catching everyone's attention with her brilliant shine.

"Good. Then does the groom, Mr. Kwan Dae-ha, vow to take the bride, Ms. Celestia, to be his lawfully wedded wife, and love each other from this day onward, until death do you part?" I tried to answer this particular question of Yu-ri with a nod. There was no reason to stall for time. I paled in comparison to Celestia, but I was pretty confident in my acting. I had the confidence of answering without any awkwardness, but just before I did…

'Wait a minute.' A sudden question came into my mind. 'Will it be alright if I vow to this?' A person who had acquired a Divine Spirit should not recklessly lie. I thought about Hawa, who promised that she would protect me, and was now caught in a delicate situation where she couldn't do whatever she wanted. I now wondered if it was even okay for me to say 'love each other from this day onward, until death do you part'?

"Mr. Kwan Dae-ha?" Yu-ri had a puzzled expression on her face. She looked at me, who remained silent. Celestia also had an expression that indicated that she couldn't understand what was happening, which may be the same expression of the 100,000 guests watching from afar.

I broke out in a cold sweat, which drenched my back. Woooooonggg----- Just then, the artificial sun that was up in the sky gave off a brighter light. I, alongside everyone, looked up at the unexpected marvel in surprise.

Call it. It was a heavy voice that was calming and unwavering. It was the voice of a faithful loyal subject who would never change upon swearing his allegiance. Call for me. The voice resonated within the region.

As everyone stared at the artificial sun in astonishment, the equally surprised Yu-ri began to stutter, "H-How can this be? No, why?" She was flustered, as if witnessing an impossibility.

I briefly turned my head around, noticing that the many nobles and the other Dukes had also opened their mouths wide open. Everyone seemed so taken aback. I then turned back to the artificial sun and said, "Ra."

That's right. I am Ra, the light and glory that would brighten up the whole world. The artificial sun up in the sky slowly subsided before a bright giant, that was made of light, came down towards my direction.

'This is another peculiar form.' I could not properly discern Ra's form, which was entirely made up of light. In one way or another, he was different from the entirely metal Ares. Ra seemed to be composed of the light element.

As he gently fell down, Ra arrived at the altar in an instant. Boom! Despite the fact that he was made up of light, the altar shook greatly when he landed. It was as if he had some sort of mass. Coming down right in front of me, he knelt down on one knee and bowed to me. But from this moment onwards... I will be your sword, shield, and proof of honor. His body shone brighter, along with his calm voice. And at some point… Flash! He disappeared with a dazzling light.

When I came to my senses, there was a crown shining brightly on top of my head and I could hear people whispering.

Oh my God. It's the Crown of the Sun.

The Crown of the Sun has reappeared.

The Crown of the Sun that no one had been able to wear since the First Emperor...

Of course, not everyone was surprised and pleased by the sudden turn of events. "Why... How come?" A voice rang out and I could see Howard glaring at the crown above my head with an unbelievable expression. He came running to the altar in surprise, but he couldn't come too close. His devastation was still very obvious from a considerable distance away.

Just then, I heard a sharp voice. It was Ares. Did I... Did I or did I not remind you to not get distracted?

"Given the situation, please put up with it."

Ahh... For me to believe in this guy and… Ares' odd lamentation came to an abrupt halt and everything became quiet again, now that everyone else was drowning in shock and confusion. It was needless idle chatter, but thanks to that, I finally got myself together once again.

"I swear to marry Celestia."

"Huh? Oh? Yes? Oh... alright." Yu-ri, who was completely mesmerized, nodded in a hurry.

Then, I asked hastily, "So, is the wedding ceremony over now?"

"Ahhh... yes. T-Then with this, Mr. Kwan Dae-ha... No, I mean, that concludes the wedding between Kwan Dae-ha-nim and Celestia." Upon my urging, Yu-ri nodded and announced the conclusion of the wedding to the world. Upon hearing her voice, the tens of thousands of people staring at the shiny crown above my head began yelling.

As the huge crowd was being asked to leave Ra's Dwelling, Celestia and I became a married couple.