Lord of the Truth

Chapter 2441 The hidden hand

In Glatheon's usual fashion, he wasn't remotely satisfied with knowing only half the truth and leaving the rest buried beneath unanswered questions, so he used his smooth, carefully measured words to contact several powers whose leaders he was already certain had personally committed those acts. He approached them as though he were merely another victim of the same circumstances, complaining about the situation as if he himself had done exactly what they had done, gradually lowering the defenses of whoever stood before him and making them feel comfortable enough to speak openly about what had happened... and eventually, they did speak.

It turned out that the Hidden Hand Syndicate didn't actually use that evidence to directly force those leaders into doing whatever it wanted whenever it pleased. Instead, they simply confronted those leaders with the evidence they possessed and reminded them of exactly what could happen if it were exposed, then asked them to turn a blind eye to the activities of the Syndicate's lower-ranking members operating within their territories in exchange for the assistance the Syndicate had previously provided them.

When those leaders demanded that the Syndicate hand over the evidence that could potentially send them behind the suns if it ever became public, the Syndicate instead informed them that one day in the future, it would issue them a single major order, something significant that they would be required to carry out, and once they completed that order as requested, all of the evidence being held against them would finally be handed over.

That promise became the straw those leaders desperately clung to throughout the following years. They remained silent, tolerated everything happening before their eyes, and allowed both their own territories and the territories of the wider universe to be violated, all while patiently waiting for the day when they could finally repay that lingering debt and recover the documents capable of turning their entire world upside down if they were ever released.

A number of those leaders had attempted throughout history to escape the Syndicate's control and free themselves from the situation they had fallen into, especially after becoming increasingly humiliated by everything the Syndicate continued doing openly beneath their very eyes. However, whenever even a few minor rumors concerning their past actions were deliberately leaked, those leaders immediately returned to the proper path and fell silent once again... and once their obedience had been restored, those dangerous documents disappeared back into secrecy, waiting patiently for the day when they would finally be brought out and used.

The Cursed Behemoth Darvion himself had been one of those who attempted such a thing after becoming a Behemoth, believing he could finally act differently after reaching that level of power, and because of his attempt, information concerning the famous Planet Barstin was leaked to the outside world. However, once Darvion returned to obedience like a dog, the rumors surrounding the matter gradually quieted down again until they eventually disappeared almost completely amid the endless stream of ordinary daily news.

"...Do you think the Syndicate actually used that card to mobilize the powers under its control?" Glatheon asked as sweat began appearing on his face, finally connecting the current movements throughout the surrounding sectors with what he already knew about the Syndicate's methods. "Is stopping Lord Robin really worth sacrificing the greatest leverage they've been holding over the cosmic powers all this time?"

"When else would they possibly use it, if not to stop Lord Robin?" Blokan casually waved his hand, finding nothing particularly strange about that choice. "Even if they lose every single card they possess throughout the sectors between 90 and 120, it'll still count as a victory for them as long as they manage to stop the advance and completely erase this new threat. Once that's done, they can simply create new powers subordinate to them afterward, while threatening the old powers into remaining silent and leaving them alone to do whatever they please with their own people..." Then Blokan chuckled lightly at the final thought. "That's assuming they actually hand those documents over to them in the first place."

"...." Glatheon lowered his gaze again, the sweat on his face becoming increasingly obvious as he thought through the implications of what Blokan had just said. "If the Syndicate is using the possibility of finally handing those documents back to their owners in order to mobilize the powers that had remained inactive until now, then it makes perfect sense that they would suddenly move against us in this manner."

The great empires weren't childish organizations that would mobilize enormous armies to fight one person and defend against another merely because some rumors had suddenly emerged claiming that a particular individual was evil!

After all, which one among the leaders of those great powers hadn't spilled the blood of billions and destroyed at least a few planets somewhere along his path toward reaching and maintaining power?

Glatheon had originally believed that the Syndicate was simply threatening those powers with direct attacks if they refused to move, but if that explanation were actually correct, then an obvious question immediately appeared: Why wouldn't those powers simply unite against the Syndicate itself, just as they had now united against Lord Robin?

There was also the possibility that the enormous wave of public anger was pushing those leaders into action, especially since moving against Lord Robin under the current circumstances could earn them greater popularity among both their armies and their populations... But those possibilities were far too weak to properly explain what was happening. Great leaders rarely cared enough about such things to mobilize on this scale merely because their people were angry; if necessary, they would simply fabricate whatever lies, explanations, and excuses were required to keep the herd moving along the proper path they had chosen for it.

But if the Syndicate was actually using those documents and the possibility of finally returning them to their owners as the price for moving against Lord Robin... then the entire situation was completely different.

"It's a game that has been used since ancient times, repeating itself again and again no matter how much the names and faces involved might change." Blokan sighed as he explained. "The true leaders decide that they want something done, so they simply tell the puppets sitting on the thrones what they want from them, and those puppets then invent suitable reasons and convincing justifications to carry out those actions without openly appearing before everyone as useless puppets that merely obey orders. This arrangement protects the secrecy and identities of the true leaders operating behind them while simultaneously preserving the reputation, authority, and standing of the puppets sitting openly upon the thrones... The excuse they manufacture might take the form of a self-inflicted terrorist attack carried out on one of their own planets, imposing some vague form of protection over another power, or loudly calling for freedom against an occupier who never even intended to occupy anything in the first place... You already know how these things work."

Then Blokan chuckled as he thought about the current situation from that perspective. "Qarun's speech was practically a ready-made excuse delivered directly into the Syndicate's hands at exactly the right moment. They no longer had to waste their effort inventing a separate justification for every individual power to mobilize on its own, because Qarun had already provided them with something they could all use together. Sevar must have been extremely happy while watching Qarun stab at him and accuse him while simultaneously claiming that Lord Robin was his friend, hehe."

"But I still don't understand..." Glatheon lowered his gaze, clearly unable to make all the pieces fit together in his mind. "Does the Syndicate have influence and control over the Council of Thrones and the Star Academies as well?" Then he raised his face toward Blokan again and pressed the question that had been bothering him. "Why are the Star Academies participating in this conflict at all? They personally stopped Lord Kiryan in Mid Sector 118, and they're actively inciting others against us in every sector where our forces and theirs overlap. Some of them have even publicly announced that they may eventually be forced to fight us themselves in order to stop evil from continuing to spread... Why would they do that? The Directors of the Star Academies aren't compelled to go this far or involve themselves to this degree, and none of those Directors are stupid either!"

"....." Blokan remained silent for a moment and appeared somewhat hesitant, as though he were deciding how much he should actually reveal before finally speaking. "Do you still remember what I told you earlier about the source of Qarun's power?"

"Yes..?" Glatheon's confusion only deepened when Blokan suddenly returned to that subject. "...Are you saying the Syndicate was the one that made him powerful?"

"Hmph, Qarun could fold the entire Syndicate under his arm if he ever wanted to. Sevar probably knows about the fact that Qarun possesses multiple Laws, but even he may not know exactly how powerful Qarun truly is, and he may not understand just how deep that power actually goes beneath what can be seen on the surface... but I do." Then Blokan turned toward Glatheon and looked at him directly. "And I also know that the source behind that power is connected somehow to the Syndicate's actions and demands."

"The source of his power is connected to the Syndicate's actions?" Glatheon became even more confused, unable to reconcile the two statements in his mind. "But when I asked you only a moment ago whether the Syndicate was the one that made him stronger, you denied it!!"

"You wouldn't understand what I'm talking about... and more importantly, I don't want you to understand." Blokan slowly shook his head, clearly unwilling to reveal anything further despite Glatheon's confusion. "You'll only burden yourself and fill your mind with things that are far beyond your ability to deal with or interfere in. Even I, when I was at the height of my strength and standing, chose to keep my tongue safely in my mouth and deliberately took several steps backward rather than continue moving toward those matters."

Then Blokan looked directly at Glatheon again, his expression making it clear that this much alone was enough for him to know. "Just understand that Qarun isn't someone simple or easy to deal with, whether you're talking about his individual strength or the enormous influence he possesses. A full quarter of the Directors of the Star Academies are effectively tied to his leg, and he can do with them whatever he pleases, whether because some of them owe him debts they can't escape, because others are controlled through direct threats, or because their very souls are held within his grasp."

Then Blokan turned his face away once more, a suffocated and deeply uncomfortable expression appearing upon it as memories of what he had discovered seemed to weigh upon him. "The world at the top is dark, Glatheon. People always use the expression underworld as a metaphor whenever they speak about crime and the darkness hidden beneath ordinary society, but what I personally saw above was pure evil... I saw an entire world made up of masters, puppets, herds, and sacrifices, with each occupying its own place within that darkness." He hesitated for a moment, grinding his teeth before finally forcing out the last words. "...I saw the devils among men and jinn."

"...Isn't there any way at all for us to find a place for ourselves amid all of this and escape being crushed between them?" Glatheon swallowed hard as he asked.

"There is." Blokan released another tired sigh before answering. "By cutting the puppets' strings and freeing them from what controls them... or by killing the true masters holding those strings." Then he suddenly turned toward Glatheon with his eyes opened wide, leaving no ambiguity in the only alternative he could see. "Other than that... be the villain, endure everything that comes with it, and keep your mouth shut."