Chapter 668 The Midas City

>VWWWUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMM<

Warbling energy radiated from Kuzon, and his domain swiftly expanded faster than its usual pace, consuming everything within seconds.

"N-noo!" Kido yelled, lunging hard and fast at Kuzon.

However, as this was now mostly the young boy's domain, he was practically untouchable.

"Fall."

Gravity took over, and its heaviness sent the last of Kido's avatars crashing into a vast ground that suddenly appeared.

>BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM<

His crater created a huge impact, but Kuzon ignored them and focused on concluding his mission.

"S-stop this, Kuzon... s¢&###@@"

At this point, Kido's voice became incoherent and completely unintelligible.

Kuzon's golden influence spread through the Special Grade Mana Core—or rather, the Realm Of The King.

And then... finally....

"Haa...."

... He was done.

"The King... has been... dethroned."

Kuzon had always believed this, and his position never changed. Even now, as his body was being consumed by the side effects of his own power, he didn't waver from that belief.

"Nothing beats the Emperor."

Using [Marionette], he brought the final vestiges of Kido to himself since it was virtually impossible for him to take another step.

Struggling under the control of Kuzon's invisible threads, the older Midas was grunting and groaning.

His confidence had been destroyed, and his powerful appearance had vanished. Kido's hair was pretty dishevelled, and any semblance of authority seemed non-existent.

"How does it feel, Kido?" Kuzon smiled at his powerless uncle.

"You..."

"How does it feel to have lost?"

"You're going to die too, you know? So what if you've taken over my world? That changes nothing. You won't—"

"Silence."

Even [The Empress] wouldn't defend Kido from Kuzon's command—or rather, it couldn't.

It was now in its cooldown phase, so the young Midas didn't have to exert any effort in uttering his command.

Kido could do nothing but silently wait for Kuzon's next course of action. Surprisingly, the boy wasn't even looking at him.

"Look..." He whispered.

Suddenly, the entire landscape changed.

Skies appeared in the empty plane, and a huge city arose from the barren grounds.

The sky had an orange glow to it, and the golden sun hung clearly in the firmament. The clouds looked puffy and soft

"Like cotton candy." Kuzon smiled with nostalgia, glancing everywhere

The city that rose from the earth looked even more amazing than the Fairy Sanctuary.

Unlike the land of the winged folks, the buildings were all built on the ground—with the exception of a floating castle.

The royal palace and its premises looked beautiful with their black and gold structure, and the entire city looked glorious.

It was, quite literally, a land of golden beauty.

The streets were clean and paved with golden tiles. Precious materials were utilized as household designs.

Rubies, Emeralds, Sapphires... they were all treated like simple decorative tools. The true jewelleries were the Magic Items, and they were worn by practically anyone in the city.

Yes, this city... this city seemed otherworldly.

"You remember this place? Ah, and look at the Overwatch. Everyone dreamed of working there, you know? The ultimate goal of the Midas Race was to uncover the mysteries of the world."

The Floating Castle hummed as it floated in the air. Kuzon's eyes sparkled anytime he saw it.

His mother had been the head of the research institution, after all. She was the one who possessed [The Empress] Arcana, and the reason Kido had it now was because he had been her deputy.

"She took me to that place often. I thought to myself that I wanted to be a part of it one day... well, we all know how that ended up."

The Midas methods were complicated and would sound strange to most people, but their entire civilization was woven around Magic—more specifically, the study of Aether.

"You caused the Whites to infiltrate the Midas homes and copy their signatures, while using your Original Magic on the more powerful ones, right? To think you would have used my father's gift to you—your Familiar—to achieve your ends and easily kill off your enemies."

Kuzon's eyes contained hate once more, but he didn't act on it. He kept his breathing steady. It was the best way to prolong his life.

With his mission accomplished, and the entire world under his control, Kuzon could have deactivated his Transfiguration, halting the petrification process, but he wouldn't dare.

It was the only reason he was still breathing, after all. The moment he undid it, the young Midas knew he would die.

"But I'm betting your Familiar wasn't very keen on attacking me or my Familiar when you tried to get it to do so." Kuzon's gaze remained on the amazing city in view.

"You wanna know why?"

His question was met with silence, but Kuzon didn't seem to mind. The tranquillity of the place, as well as the glorious view of his city, gave him enough satisfaction.

"The Midas Empire has been the haven and breeding ground of the Phoenixes. It's one of the reasons why we stay separated from the outside world. It was because of our treaty with their race, as well as to prevent our research from falling into the wrong hands."

The world outside always warred, but the Midas Race had no interest in that foolishness.

That was probably why they were the first to discover Aether.

"Yet, you destroyed the Empire. You achieved what you desired, but I'm guessing your Familiar wasn't too happy with you. I'm sure you hardly ever use her, or even talk to her. I'm also very sure you plan on dying with her."

Suddenly, the landscape changed once more. It became all blank—completely white all over.

In this white space, only Kuzon and Kido existed. The young Midas stood in front of the older one. Now face to face, inches away from each other, silent conversation ensued between them.

Kuzon smiled and his rage melted away. For the first time since he witnessed the death of his Empire, he felt the weight on his heart vanish.

He felt free.

"We're both going to die here, Kido. You're going to release your Familiar, just as I am going to release mine. They're going to be free, and we'll both die."

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[A/N]

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