Seed of Titan-Chapter 113: To Be Controlled or Killed

"Anyway, let’s talk more about this later. We should make haste and clean up the rest of these Crimson bastards along with this whole mess. I reckon my artifact can last for a couple more hours if I use my powers efficiently." Zar said as he checked the white gem on his forehead.

"Okay. But can I ask one more question first?"

Still examining his artifact, Zar glanced at Drai and nodded.

"So, I now know that this Verdant Order of yours plan to follow your founder’s wishes, but what about the Crimson Order? If they betrayed your founder, what use would they have for me, the so-called Prophesied Child?" Drai asked. This question had been bugging him since earlier.

"Simple—they want you to lead them to power. In other words, they’re aiming to put you under their reins," Zar replied as he walked to Drai, finally done inspecting his gem.

"So is that their goal now? Power?" Drai questioned while taking a glance at the dead dean near his feet.

"It is, and it always has been, which was why those bastards betrayed us in the first place. You see, throughout the years, there have been countless hypotheses among our members regarding what the Prophesied Child signified or what his true identity would be. But despite the highly varied opinions of these matters, nearly all of us agreed on one thing: that the Prophesied child would possess insurmountable power," Zar explained.

Seeing that Drai was tilting his head in confusion, Zar continued. "The first reason for this is the ability to grow enormously that we were told of. Assuming that the size and strength ratio remains the same, we just need to multiply an ordinary person’s physical attributes by dozens if not hundreds to gain a rough estimation of a hill-sized person’s strength, resulting in a monstrosity that had probably never existed before in Gaia—at least among humans."

Drai was quite astonished by Zar’s explanation as his skill also worked similarly, multiplying his stats according to his size.

"And the second reason is related to our founder’s decision to create the organization," Zar said. "From the stories we’ve heard, we know our founder wasn’t greedy nor was he altruistic. He was simply apprehensive toward the idea of steering fate.

"So, this begs the question: what on earth could make someone who wasn’t tempted to rule nations nor swayed by the deaths of millions suddenly take action? What did our founder see? Logically, it must be something greater than the rise and fall of kingdoms or the loss of countless human lives, right?"

Drai nodded, agreeing that this was a sound rationale.

"Therefore, it would make no sense if such a momentous event to involve a mere weakling. Combining these two reasons, it was very reasonable why most of us thought very highly of the Prophesied Child’s power or potential, including those Crimson bastards. So, returning to your question, these guys simply believe that you will become incredibly powerful, and they want such a person to serve their interests," Zar finally concluded.

Drai was speechless. All that was happening now was exactly as Christo had predicted on their first night here—either to be controlled or killed by others. But Drai didn’t expect that it would happen this fast. It hadn’t even been one semester since he evolved.

Zar patted Drai’s back reassuringly. "Like I said, we’ll talk about it later. After we’re done cleaning up, I’ll inform the others and introduce you to them. I’m sure you’ll be less worried if you get to know our members."

Drai sighed softly and gave a small nod. He still didn’t completely trust Zar and took his words with a grain of salt. But Drai had no choice but to follow the rector’s arrangements. Since the Crimson Order had already marked him, refusing Zar’s aid would only leave him more vulnerable.

"By the way, I met a really strong fire mage earlier, but I think he’s still no match for you," Drai mentioned, as he was suddenly reminded of Nero.

Hearing this, Zar knitted his eyebrows and asked, "A fire mage? How strong is he?"

Drai replied with a shrug, "I’m not sure, but it’s obvious that he’s much stronger than me. His giant fireball was so heavy that I couldn’t even withstand it for a second even in my strongest form."

"He used a heavy fireball? Is it him?" Zar remarked.

Noticing Zar’s peculiar reaction, Drai decided to ask, "Do you know him, Rector? Is he one of the former friends you mentioned earlier?"

"...Possibly. Anyway, let’s hurry. If this fire mage is really who I think he is, then the professors are in danger," Zar urged.

Suddenly, a deep voice responded, "Don’t worry. They’re not my target."

Recognizing the voice, Drai frantically looked around with his arms raised, preparing himself for combat.

Meanwhile, Zar simply stood there, staring coldly at the darkness ahead of him.

A few seconds later, Nero appeared in front of them, walking leisurely while holding his scarlet staff at his side.

"Hm? Who’s that?" he immediately asked upon spotting Wilfred’s corpse behind the duo.

"Hmph. Stop acting, Adrian. Wasn’t he the one who told you about our location?" Zar scoffed.

Nero shook his head, seemingly in dismay. "I really don’t recognize the man, Zar. My subordinate was the one who suggested that I come to this area. I didn’t even know that you would also be here."

Realizing what Nero’s words implied, Zar remarked, "So, you already know about Drai’s identity, huh?"

"I do," Nero nodded. "It’s quite the surprise, really. I received an urgent message that was cut off halfway, which was why I decided to check the situation. Who would have thought that the Anomaly we were targeting would turn out to be the long-awaited Prophesied Child? And apparently, our operation is in shambles too, since my people are busy fighting small fry instead of killing you. It makes me wonder what other surprises are in store for me tonight..."

"There are no more surprises, Adrian. You’ll simply leave in a casket—just as you were always meant to," Zar said callously.