Chapter 206 - There Will Be Blood

'Agony' was such a tiny word, and yet it conveyed an entire spectrum of meaning that could not be conveyed. In a sort of macabre way, it was somewhat magical when Reed thought about the semantics of the word. 

Agony.  A-g-o-n-y.  Derived from the Human-Greek word 'agonia,' which itself defined as a struggle or contest for victory...

That was where Reed was mentally at the moment. He was so far gone that he had receded into his own mind for refuge. Needless to say, it was a pathetic sight to behold, but that was the price Reed had chosen to pay for the sake of peace. 

A beautiful hall that would have made even the wealthiest man in Mulia blister in jealously surrounded a very long dining table, which held more than two dozen individuals at once. 

Exotic, unknown dishes flanked both of Reed's sides, surpassed only by the main dish in front of him — a seafood dish that had... an entire head of what seemed to be a giant crocodile. 

What in the hell is this? I mean, how do you even eat something this? I-I can't even...

And a fleet of servants in traditional Mulian robes stood at attention akin to living statues as they waited for the command of the Master of Ceremonies, the person who had set up the event... 

Ulbo, the Master of Ceremonies, had such a dazzling smile on his face that it could have probably outshone an actual star in luminosity... well, if any of them still existed nowadays. 

"Please, beloved friends and family! Drink! Eat! Today is a reconciliation, bonding, and happiness for all!" said Ulbo and laughed heartily in delight. 

Cheers resounded across the table as everyone raised their cups in the air and began to drink even more liquor, only to have their cups refilled by the attendants behind them for the umpteenth time.

It would not be a lie to say that the amount of liquor that each person had already drunk would have killed a regular person via alcohol poisoning. 

Savages, the lot of them. How the hell is this a 'formal meal'?!  This is the kind of stuff you'd see in a story about primitive peoples from the stone age or something...

To think these are the same peoples who once conquered the vast sea of stars and even meddled with the fate of countless lesser universes in their prime. 

'Never meet your heroes', was the adage that best conveyed Reed's feelings on the matter. As Reed quietly observed the crude merrymaking around him, the more he felt the already minuscule amount of respect and admiration he had for the Ancient Mulians fade away...

It still embarrassed him how much he had been fascinated by, back when he had been nothing more than an ignorant child. How he had once perceived them as living demigods to be feared and respected. 

AAAAHHHHH, F.U.C.K! GODDAMNIT, WHY DID I HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT?!

Reed wanted to die.

In an effort to forget his shameful memories, he grabbed his goblet and downed his liquor in a single go... Which, naturally, garnered delighted cheers of approval from the entire table. As far as everyone else was concerned though, it was an encouraging sign. 

Whether Reed liked it or not, he was fitting in beautifully. Almost as if he had never left in the first place.

That line of thought gave Reed the chills, so he quickly brushed the thought away and wallowed further into his new habit of drinking his problems away...

Lu'um, on the other hand, was having the time of her life as she personally refilled Reed's goblet with a gentle, demure smile. Even though she knew that Reed probably wasn't enjoying himself that much, she was still thrilled that he agreed to come in the end. 

Only time would tell how fast his wounded heart would recover, but if there was a way to hasten the process, then she'd do it in a heartbeat.

She'd go out of her way to recreate the old-school blood rituals  that her ancestors used to hold to appease their gods. Suffice to say, Lu'um's determination to make amends with Reed was nothing short of absolutely terrifying. 

This was, after all, a hopeless maiden who had patiently waited over five thousand years for Reed to appear in Mulia on the word of an ancient crone who had been banished from Citlai for her unforgivable sins. 

For what it was worth, Reed wasn't any better — this was coming from a guy who had at one point, blindly followed the instructions of a mysterious person who had snuck into his mind...

Which was another reason why Reed wanted to leave as soon as possible. His patience was starting to wear thin the longer he had to look at...

Him. 

The longer Reed stared at that long silver hair and those penetrating golden eyes, the more he wanted to tear Him into pieces. It was an instinctual d.e.s.i.r.e stemming from the most primitive part of his mind.

The sapient, intelligent minds were not built to tolerate the concept of doppelgangers, since it violated the fundamental notion of a being having a unique,  personal identity. 

Who was the creator and who was the created? 

Who was the original and who was the copy? 

Who was the genuine article and who was the imitation? 

Naturally, they both had their own answers when it came to these questions. And any other answers except their own were nothing more than falsehoods to be disregarded. Or rather, they couldn't accept any other answers  — neither one of them could risk blurring the line, nor would they allow to concede even an inch to the other.

Such was the fate of the two sides a coin possessed; they were part of the same whole, but were destined to be at odds with another...

It was irritating looking at His face, so Reed kept his gaze locked on the idyllic scenery behind Him, ignoring the bastard in front of him as if he didn't exist at all. 

Lu'um did not any attention to him either, but Ulbo and her mother's incessant meddling had forced them to engage in a 'conversation,' if it could even be called one. 

"...Is the meal not your taste? Don't be shy, okay? If you'd like, the cooks can make you whatever you want," said Shaali in a sugary tone. 

"Stop meddling, mother. It's unbecoming... especially at your age," said Lu'um as she beamed a respectful smile at her. 

It went without saying that her respectful demeanor did not match the context of what she had said, an obvious fact that everyone at the table picked up. 

"Meddling is a mother's job, specifically when it comes to the affairs of children. Since it's our job to clean up their messes," said Shaali. 

Lu'um c.o.c.ked her head curiously and politely replied, "...And what would you know about being a mother?" 

Unbeknownst to Reed, that reply was founded on entire lifetimes of incidents, grudges, and fights between the two that had been lost to the ages. Still, he knew what a shot across the bows looked like, even he didn't understand what it was founded upon. 

Raucous howls echoed across the hall as guests sang an ancient war cry in jubilation, for the entertainment had finally arrived.

A traditional feast without a good show to watch was a telltale sign that a celebration would be subpar garbage.  But — as always — the royal family knew how to deliver and show their guests a good time.

Already, people had begun to set up bets among themselves as they eagerly awaited for the inevitable... 

Reed contemplated stopping them since he had been the cause for this, but when he saw how focused they were on each other, he understood that it would meaningless to try. He also felt like he did not a right to stop them anyway, given he wanted to do the same to the bastard across the table from him. Hypocrites had no right to condemn others. 

Itotia squirmed in her seat as she silently pleaded for Him to intervene with her eyes, but He ignored her and simply gazed at Reed with his cold, penetrating golden eyes...

Not even Ulbo, who was usually the voice of reason, spoke up to stop them and simply pretended as if the mounting bloodl.u.s.t between the mother and daughter did not exist.

He understood them well enough to know that tension had been mounting between them at a disturbing rate ever since the day that Reed left Citlai by himself. Though the mother-daughter usually had their petty squabbles and major fights sometimes, Ulbo had never seen their relationship deteriorate to this degree before in his life.

He knew that today would be a bloody day and there would be nothing  he could do to stop it.

Underneath their beautiful crafted masks of false serenity hid unholy fiends that'd probably make the Devil cower in fright. These demonesses had hit their breaking points. And if they did not resolve their grudges tonight, well... 

And then the first shout echoed across the royal hall like the bang of a war drum.

Blood! 

It did not matter who said it first because no more than a half-second later, that shout was succeeded by another three louder calls. And they were in turn, followed by an even greater amount of cries until the royal hall was filled to the brim with them. 

Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! 

To disrespect a direct superior — be it a high-ranking official, a member of the royal family, a superior officer, or even one's own parents — was considered a serious offense to the Ancient Mulians.

The hierarchy of authority could not be forsaken, for that was how all discord stemmed from. Such was to be expected from a people that valued order, stability, and tradition. 

One individualistic person was all that it took to topple an empire...

This was something the Ancient Mulian understood well. Very, very well...

To break the rules, to defy authority, to ignore tradition; such grave offenses demanded punishment. 

Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! Blood! 

The people demanded it, the laws demanded it, tradition demanded it, and most importantly, the two women themselves demanded it... 

Blood would be spilled tonight...