The Villain's Apocalypse-Chapter 46: Meeting I

Chapter 46: Meeting I

After finishing the meal, he went outside and enjoyed the bustling view of the Royal City for a while. It was relaxing and entertaining at the same time, as the City was packed with people and everyone seemed busy with their lives.

"I have to say, this is one the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen throughout my two lifetimes." He muttered, mesmerized by the entire city’s delicate yet intriguing architecture. It was beyond anything he had ever witnessed, especially coming from a modern industrial world like Earth.

Each building was unique–some were uniquely colored, while others had weird carvings beside their walls. Despite being the central capital of the entire empire, it looked far more natural and lively, rather than industrial and busy.

His eyes wandered through the bustling market filled with different people and different races, coming together to create an intricate system for the growth and development of the world.

There were some pointy-ear elves, dark-skinned duskaris, furry beastirans, and even towering Jotunns–a perfect blend of diversity and multi-racial ethnicity.

"I want to know more about these races." He contemplated, rubbing his chin lightly.

"You can always check the Royal Library, Your Highness," Armes suggested, appearing behind him.

Cassian had already sensed his presence so he wasn’t startled or shocked like before. "I think I will, uncle." He nodded, glancing at him with a questioning look.

His tour that had just begun was cut short by Armes, who swiftly relayed the message sent by the Emperor to him.

"His Majesty is waiting for you, Your Highness." He replied, standing beside him. He was wearing a typical black and white butler suit with black gloves on his hands and a neat hat tugged on his head.

Hearing his words, Cassian nodded and ordered, "Let’s go."

—

They arrived before the Emperor’s room and with a quick knock, entered inside, finding the man himself absorbed in the paperwork laid down across the table beside him.

"I’ll take my leave," Armes remarked, bowing down respectfully at Alexandar and leaving the room. The pair Father and Son were left alone in the room, without any disruption for their piracy.

After Armes’s exit, an awkward silence issued for a while as Cassian stared at Alexandar with some nervousness reflecting in his eyes. He had a lot of things to talk about but, he wasn’t sure how to start the conversation and what should he talk about first.

"You wanted to talk?" Alexander’s deep voice echoed within the chamber. He gracefully placed the papers down and lifted his head above, gazing at Cassian with his hauntingly beautiful sun-like golden eyes. His eyes still held the profoundness and intimidation of the strongest being below heaven but, they lacked the liveliness and appeared rather cold and distant.

’I guess he misses her too much.’ He thought, recalling the image of a beautiful woman inside his mind. She was his mother, of course, Seraphina Louishade.

"Yes, I would like to ask a favor from you." He announced, sounding quite calm and confident.

"A favor?" Alexander gave him a puzzled look, wondering what kind of favor would he need for him to ask him.

He took a deep breath and braced himself against the possible outcome that could come after making the request.

"I would like to learn the way of the Sword." His voice reached the emperor’s ears, causing him to raise his brows in surprise. His eyes sparkled silently with curiosity and intrigue as he raised a question, "Why now?"

Rather than directly answering the question, Cassian matched his eyes with him and slowly started to narrate his entire journey. He described his countless battles in the Silver Mountain Range, the unexpected encounter of the special dungeon, and the acquisition of Genesis. Furthermore, he also recounted the Mirrage Battlefield that he experienced inside the Uravis’s Trial and lastly, his encounter and escape from the Titan-rank creature.

There was a reason why he didn’t hide the information about Genesis and Astralis.

He knew that Alexander would immediately sense the presence of Genesis and Astralis within him, the moment he takes them out from the system’s inventory.

A divine rank individual have a far too keen sense especially when it comes to divinity and cosmic treasures. They could notice the abnormality within the artifact immediately since both of these treasures also follow the concept of universal laws, the very laws that a divine rank individual must grasp in order for them to transcend.

Additionally, Although the system inventory was safe for now, he couldn’t let such powerful weapons rot away inside the inventory instead of using them to fuel his growth. So, rather than keeping their presence a secret, he decided to trust his instinct and exposed them to Alexander, for mainly two reasons.

One, He wanted to see how much Alexander trusts his own son. Obviously, he had unwavering trust in his son but, what would he choose if he had an opportunity to cure his wife? Would he forcefully take his weapons away or would he simply trust his son and decide to support him?

Two, He wanted to see which one was his first priority, His family or the Empire. Both Genesis and Astralis could become a valuable asset to the Empire if their presence were to be revealed. So, he wanted to observe his reaction and decide based on his intentions.

The moment he revealed the presence of the two overpowered artifacts, Alexander displayed a subtle change in his emotions. The previous dim look in his eyes slowly faded, replaced by a newfound hope.

His gaze turned sharp as he paid close attention to Cassian’s words, curious about the origin of those artifacts and their usage.

The story continued until he escaped the pursuit of the Verdant Mammoth, the titan-ranked creature that he had encountered later on.

"Interesting," Alexander remarked, intrigued by the latter’s adventures. "You suffered quite a lot on this journey of yours." His voice turned soft as he looked at his son, feeling proud inwardly from the fact that his son not only escaped the pursuit of two titan-ranked creatures, a feat almost impossible for a star-rank individual to accomplish but, he even survived the trial from a Legendary Magus and came out from there alive and with rewards.

"I’m amazed by the tenacity and willpower that you’ve displayed through your adventures. It’s amazing and relieving at the same time that you survived all those life-threatening encounters and came out of it alive. Very well, I will teach you the way of the Sword." He replied with a firm yet commanding voice, a voice full of unparalleled authority.

Cassiain’s face immediately lit up after hearing his response. He performed a small bow and thanked him for accepting his request, his voice filled with respect and excitement. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Father, Is it alright for me to learn it before the Academy begins?"

"Hmm..." Alexander pondered briefly before answering, "The Academy officially starts next week. So, you have a week of time to comprehend and understand the swordsmanship, Can you do it?" He counted with another question, with a musing smile across his face.

"I will try."

"Just Trying won’t help you, my son. You have to give it your all if you are serious about learning it."

"I am," he replied with firm resolve and conviction.

"Very Well, we will start the training tomorrow."

With those words, he ended the conversation and resumed his paperwork.

"Father,"

"Hmm? Do you have anything more to say?"

"Yes." Cassian nodded, taking a vial of emerald green liquid from his storage ring. He placed it gently on the table, extremely careful about handling the item inside it. This was one of the items he’d acquired from Uravis’s trial, after haggling it out from that petty fairy and it was extremely important for him.

The vial was tiny in comparison to the regular potion bottles and the emerald liquid inside it seemed to be only a single drop of whatever it was.

Alexander stared at Cassian with a confusing look on his face. He wasn’t sure about what the content inside the vial was but, from his son’s reaction, it seemed quite an important item.

After placing the vial down, he matched Alexander’s gaze and slowly introduced the item, "This here is the sap of the Serenity Tree."

After introducing the item, he watched as Alexander’s eyes widened with shock and astonishment. His hand trembled slightly under the immense shock he felt.

"This can be used to awaken Mother from her clumber and potentially suppress the cure." He continued, talking about the effects of the sap and its profound properties regarding vitality and soul.

The Serenity Tree was an ancient creature, part of the wise tree man family, renowned for its immense vitality and lifespan, and capable of living up to a hundred thousand years. The tree’s entire body had magical properties and was considered a rarity even back during the ancient era. Its leaves, fruits, saps, branches, etc everything had its use and therefore, was extremely high in demand in the market.

Sadly, the tree went extinct during the ancient era, due to large-scale hunting and scavenging done by other races. The desire for Serenity Tree was immense and slowly the desire turned into greed, blinding everyone from making the sensible decision.