Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 2007 First King

The mysterious newcomer curiously looked around.

The sense of victory he felt after patiently waiting for thousands of years was slowly replaced by a sense of pure shock.

What is this spirit sea? He couldn't help but wonder.

This is more refined than even mine!

Such purity. Such depth. Amazing… Simply amazing!

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt when another figure abruptly appeared in front of him, standing at least a dozen meters away from him.

This young man had shoulder-length raven hair and a patch of bone-white hair at the temple. He wore pristine white robes and looked at him with seemingly mild curiosity. But upon closer observation, he was simply trying his best to mask his fear.

This young man looks nothing like me, the old man thought to himself.

Is he really my descendant?

I thought I had left clear instructions.

Just what is going on?

Before the old man could question the youth, the latter shot a series of questions at him.

"Who are you?!" Adam blurted out.

"How did you enter my spirit sea? I-Identify yourself!"

Adam made sure to display just enough fear and curiosity on his face. He had a pretty good idea about what was going on. He simply wanted to fish for more information from this old man standing before him.

The old man, noticing Adam's panic, couldn't help but feel slightly amused. He twirled the corner of his mustache and said with dignified authority:

"Answer my question, young man. What is your name?"

"N-No!" Adam shook his head. "You first! You're the one who invaded my spirit sea! Actually, don't bother with your name! Just get out!"

The old man did not get offended. Instead, he felt even more confident.

"Fool!" he admonished. "You are in the presence of Phillipe d'Aubigny, the first King of Valouis, and the ancestor of House d'Aubigny!"

Although Adam had already guessed as much, he still couldn't help but feel a little inwardly surprised.

"A-A-Ancestor!"

He stammered frantically and quickly went down on his knees, his forehead touching the surface of the still waters.

Phillipe nodded to himself. "Now, tell me your name, boy. You don't look like a d'Aubigny to me. So who are you?"

"I am called Henri." Adam kept his head low, struggling a little to hide the smile on his face. He quickly answered, "I'm but a bastard child of King Louis. Technically, I'm still a member of House d'Aubigny, but—"

"Silence." Phillipe interrupted him.

A frown found its way to his austere face. "A bastard child, you say?"

"Y-Yes!"

Phillipe looked deeply at Adam's kneeling figure and thought to himself:

A bastard child was able to meet the strict requirements I had set for my descendants and not a pure blood of my house?

Phillipe had established extremely demanding requirements for whoever entered the royal crypt and inherited his legacy.

Only descendants who possessed exceptional talent in spellcasting and were below a certain age would qualify. Talent was essential. Age was also equally important. Phillipe needed a descendant whose potential was high enough to support what he intended to do.

On the surface, it appeared to be the greatest reward the royal family could receive—a chance for one of its most talented descendants to inherit the legacy left behind by the first king.

But the truth was far more sinister.

Heh…

Phillipe sneered inwardly. He had never intended to simply pass his legacy to his descendants.

He intended to be reborn through them!

His soul had been hidden within an artifact inside the coffin, an object similar to a lich's phylactery. For thousands of years, he had patiently waited for the right descendant to enter the crypt and remove his coffin's lid.

The moment one of his talented descendants touched the arcane robes, his soul would transfer directly into their spirit sea.

The same bloodline would ensure that the process of rebirth went smoothly. The closer the descendant's bloodline was to his own, the easier it would be for him to take over the body and reconstruct himself.

Phillipe looked down on Adam's subservient figure with contempt.

A bastard child? Well, no matter, he thought coldly.

So many generations have passed. The bloodline was bound to be diluted anyway.

At least, this brat is still someone from my lineage.

As for the strength of this descendant's spirit body?

Hmph!

Phillipe was even more disdainful. He was not concerned at all.

Although his own spirit energy had declined considerably over the course of countless years, his spirit body was still powerful enough to rival that of a Mana Seed Magus.

For any descendant at or below that level, resisting him would be nothing more than a futile struggle. Besides, one of the requirements he had left behind for his inheritance was that the person's arcane rank could not exceed the Mana Seed level.

This had been Phillipe d'Aubigny's carefully prepared plan. He had waited for thousands of years for the perfect descendant to appear.

And now… that descendant was kneeling right before him.

"Rise, Henri."

His words echoed across Adam's spirit sea, noble and dignified.

"Y-Yes!"

Adam quickly rose to his feet. His head was still lowered, as though he was afraid, or perhaps unworthy, of looking directly at the progenitor of the royal family.

"Tell me, child." Phillipe began, hands clasped behind his back as he radiated the gentle and kind demeanor of an elderly person who wanted nothing but happiness for his children.

"How does the family fare?"

Adam looked the old man in the eye and said with overwhelming grief, "They're dead. Every last one of them. Actually, they've been dead for over two thousand years now."

Phillipe's eyes narrowed.

"…What?"

Adam still had a sorrowful look on his face, but his next words hardly contained any grief.

"The last king turned out to be an ambitious pig," he continued.

"He bit off more than he could chew. In the end, his sins caught up to him. It's a pity that his family had to die alongside him, though. But, oh well. The heavens are indifferent to the plight of mortals. What can we do?"

The more Phillipe heard Adam speak, the more his face darkened. If what the latter said was true, then that meant…

"You're not my descendant, are you?"

That wasn't really a question, judging by the oppressive aura radiating from Phillipe.

"You filthy grave-rat!" His words were full of venom. He was truly offended that he had been lied to by this scavenger.

Adam shrugged. Not offended in the least.

"I would have loved to play with you more, but my little brother is getting impatient," he said.

"Give up your body!" Phillipe pounced at Adam. "Your arrogance will be your downfall, boy!"

Adam did not reply verbally. His response was pure action.

He raised his arm, and in the next moment, a pristine white lotus appeared upon his palm.

His lips parted, and he coldly whispered:

"Bloom."