Chapter 169: Compromise is Self-Murder

Ranni stirred from her seat, roused by the sound at the door.

Her eyes opened, slowly adjusting from their slumber.

A mask she found rather distasteful appeared before her.

It was a mask hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat, its mouth sewn shut with golden thread.

Standing outside Ranni's chambers was none other than her subordinate, Seluvis.

Seeing this man standing silently outside her room, his motives unknown, Ranni's foul mood from her interrupted sleep worsened.

Seluvis was not like Iji or Blaidd.

Ranni felt no affection for him; if anything, she felt disgust.

Even keeping him as a subordinate was merely a necessity for Caria Manor.

Ranni had no issue with Seluvis's craft of making puppets.

The Carian Royal Family also originated from the underground Nox Dynasty, a branch of the Eternal City's descendants.

And the art of puppetry was a tradition passed down from the Eternal City, so Ranni naturally thought nothing of it.

However, seeing such a craft in Seluvis’s hands was truly nauseating.

Moreover, while he was supposedly her subordinate, he was not particularly respectful.

Ranni could sense he harbored his own sordid ambitions.

Yet he fancied himself a master actor, believing Ranni hadn't seen through the fact that he was merely a puppet himself.

Though her mood was sour, Ranni's face remained an emotionless, icy mask.

No matter how impertinent he was, Seluvis would not have come to her chambers without reason.

Ranni looked up at Seluvis, signaling him to report.

Seluvis stared straight at Ranni and began to report on the situation at Caria Manor:

"Lady Ranni, Caria Manor has been invaded by a Tarnished."

"Will you not execute this fiend who dares invade Caria Manor, to uphold the honor of the Carian Royal Family?"

Ranni fell into thought.

Who could it be, invading Caria Manor at a time like this?

A Tarnished who heard tales of treasure and came to plunder?

Still, it was no great matter.

Though she had not relinquished the title of "Lunar Princess," Ranni had no intention of restoring or governing Caria Manor.

Caria Manor had long been destroyed, devoid of even its regular inhabitants and nobles.

The sword monument standing outside Caria Manor... what a joke, she thought.

The Cuckoos lay strewn across the battlefield, indeed. Hah.

The Cuckoos were certainly strewn across the battlefield, but Caria Manor had also become a deserted fortress.

The royal family’s outlying lands were all destroyed, and the Cuckoos had even fought their way into the manor itself...

At the time, her older brother Radahn had already left for Sellia to study, while her other brother Rykard was serving as a praetor in the capital. Only the young Ranni remained.

If not for the steadfast defense of the old Carian retainers and knights, the manor might very well have been breached.

Now, Caria Manor was a place even the Cuckoo Knights couldn't be bothered with.

To hide her identity and evade the Baleful Shadow of the Two Fingers, Ranni couldn't possibly manage the manor's affairs openly.

In fact, almost no one in Caria Manor even knew Ranni was here.

Besides that, there was another reason Ranni stayed away from Caria Manor: the Fingercreepers.

Those Fingercreepers were no allies of Caria.

They were strange creatures brought down from the mountaintops long ago, when her people were still Stargazers.

Before Ranni broke with the Two Fingers, she thought nothing of them.

But after her schism with the Two Fingers, she realized their habit of communicating with their own kind by waving their fingers was eerily reminiscent of the Two Fingers themselves.

For this reason, Ranni would never appear in the lower levels of the manor where the Fingercreepers swarmed. She had to be cautious everywhere.

At most, she would go to the Royal Moongazing Grounds to watch the moon in solitude...

A deserted fortress being invaded was of little consequence.

However, Blaidd was not here. It seemed she would have to go take a look herself later.

Ranni looked at Seluvis.

"Very well, I am aware of the situation. You may leave."

Yet Seluvis did not leave immediately but remained standing in place.

It seemed he would not depart until he had received a definitive response from Ranni.

"Lady Ranni, I think..."

"Seluvis."

Ranni cut him off coldly.

"I do not need you to tell me what to do."

Ranni knew that Seluvis speaking up was certainly not for the good of Caria Manor; he absolutely had his own selfish motives.

Seluvis lowered his head and slowly backed away.

Under the cover of his mask and wide-brimmed hat, no one could see his expression.

After Seluvis departed, Ranni rose from her chair.

"...A Tarnished has broken into Caria Manor. Who could it be?"

"The defensive sorceries on the manor's exterior are intact. How did he get in?"

"And what is his purpose for coming here?"

Ranni's figure became ethereal, vanishing in the next moment.

When she reappeared, she was on the high platform next to the Royal Moongazing Grounds.

There, she saw something that piqued her interest.

Ranni sat on the edge of the high platform, looking down from above, taking in the entire scene below.

Her collaborator, Bai Shi the Storm King, had actually found his way here.

It seemed the 'invader' Seluvis had spoken of was him.

He was currently in the pool, engaged in battle with the phantom of Royal Knight Loretta.

At that moment, they had only just begun their fight.

The moment Bai Shi struck, Ranni noticed a change in him.

Bai Shi had clearly grown stronger again, and in every aspect.

In Ranni's memory, Bai Shi was a pure warrior who fought by manipulating storms.

But his opening attack, the dragon head's flame, was a Dragon Communion incantation.

Then he cast Crystal Barrage, a representative sorcery of the Academy.

The invisible glintstone pebbles were likely a unique magic from the town of Sellia.

Not only that, but his mastery over the storm and his physical prowess had also improved once more.

A storm howled, blanketing the area, yet it could not obscure Ranni's vision.

She could still see everything happening within it with perfect clarity.

When she saw Bai Shi expertly use the Carian Glintblade, Ranni nodded slightly.

It appeared he had learned the Carian sorceries she had traded him.

And when Bai Shi unleashed the Black Flame, Ranni was startled.

The Black Flame was used by god-slayers; it was the weapon of the Gloam-Eyed Queen and her Godskin Apostles.

And it was true that she and her two brothers had some connection to the Godskin Apostles.

Ranni quietly watched as Bai Shi defeated Loretta's phantom.

Only when Bai Shi dispersed the storm and looked up at her did she speak.

"It has been a while, Bai Shi the Storm King."

"Tell me, for what purpose have you suddenly trespassed into Caria Manor?"

Ranni did not believe Bai Shi was like other Tarnished, a treasure hunter who barged in after hearing rumors of riches.

Especially since she had just noticed that, aside from a single Fingercreeper, no other creature in the manor had been harmed.

Clearly, Bai Shi had come to Caria Manor with a purpose.

But what in Caria Manor could warrant him coming in person?

Ranni couldn't recall ever telling Bai Shi the location of her hidden tower.

Then, she received an unexpected answer.

"I came for you."

——

Seeing Ranni suddenly appear on the high platform, Bai Shi was not particularly surprised. After all, Ranni had already demonstrated an ability akin to teleportation before.

And this, Caria Manor, was her domain.

Bai Shi stood by the pool and stated his purpose to Ranni on the platform above.

He had come specifically to find Ranni.

Upon hearing this, Ranni appeared somewhat surprised.

Her hiding place could not have been exposed... In that case, did he simply come here because he knew Caria Manor was associated with her?

Was it a shot in the dark? And to think he actually found her.

"You came for me?"

After a moment of thought, Ranni waved her hand, and all the specters of her retainers and the troll knights consciously withdrew.

Bai Shi lifted the large jar containing the Black Knife Assassin and slowly walked towards the high platform where Ranni sat.

"I found a Black Knife Assassin in hiding, and I discovered some clues on her blade."

"From the mark, I found information left behind from a ritual you conducted."

"The Black Knives used by the assassins who participated in the Night of the Black Knives were imbued with the power of the Rune of Death."

"It was you who infused the power of the Rune of Death into their blades, wasn't it?"

Bai Shi stopped at the foot of the platform's stairs and dispelled the holy seal covering the large jar.

He opened the lid of the jar and pulled the Black Knife Assassin out.

After being curled up in the jar for a day, her entire body was numb, and she lay on the ground at Bai Shi's feet like a caterpillar.

The Black Knife Assassin looked up and saw Ranni, and was instantly overcome with shame.

To be discovered in hiding, to have the hidden truths of the Night of the Black Knives unearthed.

And now, to be bound in such a manner, crawling on the ground like an insect, without even her hood to cover her face.

Ranni's expression remained unchanged.

She just suddenly found it all rather tiresome.

She had been wondering what a peculiar individual like him wanted with her.

Was he really just here to drone on about the past?

"Well now, should I praise your thorough investigation?"

"Yes, you are not mistaken."

"I once stole a fragment of the Rune of Death, channeled it into the black knives through a ritual, and orchestrated the Night of Black Knives."

"I did indeed do these things."

Ranni stared at Bai Shi, openly admitting to her actions.

"So, have you come this time to exact justice for Godwyn, who died on that night? To destroy me, the witch?"

Bai Shi shook his head.

"I pass no judgment on the Night of the Black Knives, nor do I have any opinion on it."

"I have come this time because I still wish to cooperate with you."

Ranni raised an eyebrow.

"But, if I recall correctly, our cooperation is still ongoing, is it not?"

"And you still harbor such thoughts, even after knowing I orchestrated the Night of Black Knives?"

"Or do you think that knowing what I have done gives you leverage to threaten me for some benefit?"

"Fools who cannot read the situation or judge character are held in very low esteem by me."

With that, Ranni's expression turned completely cold.

"I am Ranni the Witch. I have stolen Death in the past, and now I seek a path into darkness."

"One day, I will betray everything, and I will forsake everything."

"Do you truly understand what that means?"

"Once you know all this, you will not have the courage to say such a thing again."

Bai Shi looked at Ranni with unwavering resolve.

"Say it again? Then I will say it again."

"I have come to cooperate with you, knowing full well what you have done."

"And not like our previous, ordinary cooperation. I wish to form a much deeper partnership with you."

"Deep enough for us to rely on each other."

Ranni laughed.

It was not a laugh of joy, but one that mocked Bai Shi's arrogance and conceit.

The dark path she was to tread—who could possibly understand it?

She was to abandon even her own kin, her own brother. How could anyone possibly walk alongside her?

"If you came here with such foolish notions, then please, turn back."

"With what sort of conviction do you speak such words?"

"You do not understand the dark path I seek."

"You are but one of the countless souls in the Lands Between. Can you truly bear the fate of a demigod?"

Bai Shi did not back down. Instead, he stepped onto the stairs leading to the altar, approaching Ranni one step at a time.

Ranni frowned, displeased with this man who refused to listen to reason.

As Bai Shi slowly drew closer, he spoke.

"Whether it was you orchestrating the Night of Black Knives, or you abandoning your flesh to become a doll..."

"I do not know why you did any of these things you've been through."

"And it's true I came to you because cooperation would be more beneficial for me."

"But you are wrong about one thing. I am not completely ignorant of this so-called dark path of yours."

"Right now, you are most likely planning to hunt the Two Fingers."

Ranni was in disbelief. For the first time, a clear ripple of emotion crossed her face.

Bai Shi continued.

"As my exploration of the underground world has deepened, though I have not yet found the path to Nokron, I am no longer completely ignorant of it."

"Especially after I found the relics of the Eternal City, passed down in the sorcerous town of Sellia."

"Within the lost history of the Eternal City, I discovered something. Something I am certain you are searching for."

"The hidden treasure of Nokron, the Eternal City. The Fingerslayer Blade."

With his last word, Bai Shi formally stepped onto the high platform.

He stood before Ranni, looking up at her as she sat on the altar.

When Bai Shi spoke the name "Fingerslayer Blade," Ranni was forced to re-evaluate the man before her.

If he knew of the Fingerslayer Blade, then he could naturally deduce her purpose in wanting to obtain it.

Yet, to hunt the Two Fingers... in the Lands Between, this was an unimaginable crime.

It could even invite the punishment of the Greater Will.

The glorious Nox capital, the brilliant Eternal City—both were destroyed by something sent down by the Greater Will.

Not to mention that the Tarnished were, by their very nature, guided by the Two Fingers.

Under such circumstances, did he still dare to associate himself with her?

Ranni contemplated for a moment, while Bai Shi stood before her, waiting silently.

Ranni suddenly spoke.

"I am curious."

"As a Tarnished, are you not guided by the Two Fingers?"

"From what I know, not only did the Two Fingers provide you with material support before, but their envoy also appeared at your coronation."

"Even so, you still wish to cooperate with me?"

Bai Shi looked at Ranni calmly.

"Let's not play these word games. I know there is more than one set of Two Fingers."

"The Two Fingers at the Roundtable Hold have indeed treated me well."

"So even though they are now damaged, I will not harm them, because my goals do not conflict with theirs."

"Following their will for now is only because what I must do and what they want me to do are temporarily aligned."

"This does not mean I will allow anyone to control my fate."

"In the future, it's not impossible that the Roundtable Hold's Two Fingers might try to hinder me, or control me."

"To prevent that, I must have a way to counter them."

"Compromise is self-murder, and I prefer to struggle."

"From this perspective, we share a similar goal."