As Ossian thought about the consequences of having his city surrounded by countries mobilising secret armies, Julius' eyes widened in shock. Her revelation clarified many past events for him and was closely related to his brother.
Morgane was his age, born a few months prior. So, those events happened... 'Thirteen years ago,' he thought, a mystery covered in mist unveiling itself in his mind. After all, he always wondered where his big brother came from. Despite asking him several times, he always answered something weird with a grimace like, "I'm an alien, or I came from another world."
'He was telling me the truth this whole time!' He exclaimed inwardly. He had always thought Adam tried to scare him with his answers.
'Is he one of those summoned? Was it the reason Gaston tried to devour him?' He speculated, finally understanding the hateful devil's motive.
But he frowned as the same question haunting them remained. Why was he a ghost when the others clearly weren't?
Irritated by the lack of answers and not caring much about the secret army or whatnot, he said, "We should wake big bro up. He must know about this, too."
Upon hearing his words disturb the heavy silence, everyone gazed at him and nodded. It was time for Adam to wake up.
Then, Ossian walked towards the sleeping ghost and slapped him under everyone's stunned eyes.
"AAAH?! Who dares slap me in my sleep? I'll slap your entire family for months!" Adam screamed in outrage as his dim eyes came to life.
Simultaneously, Julius facepalmed and shook his head vigorously, thinking, 'Why is the first thing you do after waking threatening a tier-six king?!'
Next to him, Nova's lips quivered slightly before curling into a smile. 'Slap this bastard who charged me of guarding this gloomy passage for two hundred years!'
Finally, Ossian's eyes narrowed. Since they had the same face, slapping him instead of the mysterious man was too tempting. Yet, he didn't expect instantaneous threats in response. With a dangerous smile, he said, "Are you sure you want to slap me, boy?"
Yet, instead of answering, Adam materialised his Luminous Wildblade and charged, screaming, "Julius, there is another ghost! protect Morgane."
"WHAT?! STOP!" Julius shrieked in fear, charging behind to intercept him, while Ossian frowned.
"Are you still asleep?" The ghost king said, raising his hand and slapping him again. Then, he said, "I can continue until you remember what you were doing before losing consciousness."
"Argh! Who are you, old ghost?" Adam asked, holding his cheek before looking around and figuring out where he was.
"Wait, I was in the canyon with the kids. Where am I now?" He muttered, focusing on remembering. Yet, what happened after he went to rest in the passage was blurry.
After thirty seconds of intense concentration, he finally remembered his fight and defeat against the dullahan. Then, he swiftly turned his head and sighed in relief upon seeing everyone alive. Reassured, he took a deep breath to calm down and gazed at Ossian.
Wearing his poker face, he asked as if nothing happened, "So, who are you, and why am I here?"
Julius halted in his steps, lost for words, as Nova and Morgane exploded into laughter, wishing they had snacks to watch the scene.
Simultaneously, Ossian's brow twitched. "You are in the palace of the soul society. I healed you after you almost died," he said before adding, his voice filled with irritation, "Watch your manner and words. I'm a tier six ghost king."
"Hah?" Adam exclaimed, the fluttering mist covering his body trembling wildly as his eyes widened. 'He won't kill me right after I recovered, right?' He thought, analysing the situation in a flash before smiling.
"I see, I see. Hum. My mentor is an arcanist, too, and I think he is calling for us. So, goodbye?" He said, doing his best to sound friendly as the two girls burst into laughter again.
"Please, big bro, just stop speaking," Julius said, his face beat-red. Then he explained what had happened after Adam lost consciousness.
"Hahaha. Well done, boy. I knew you would beat him," Adam laughed, patting Julius' shoulder with a wide smile. Then, he turned to the frowning Ossian and said, "Thank you for healing me. I'll repay this favor one day, trust me."
However, Ossian's answer stunned him. "You don't have to. The price has already been paid." Then, he used his soul energy to bring the essence and settle his debt.
"Take this. It was part of the deal," he said as the tier six soul essence phased through the ground to appear before the duo's feet.
Before Adam's shock settled in thoroughly, Ossian resumed their conversation about the secret army, asking, "How many summoned are there in the Belloria kingdom?"
"Around eight thousand," Morgan replied, her voice filled with sadness before adding. "The number varies from one country to another. Since Belloria is among the smallest ones, the summoned population shouldn't rival an empire."
After this new shocking revelation, Ossian fell silent again, a deep frown etched on his face. Eight thousand mages with higher potential than nobles were not a joke. He understood they would reach the apprentice or mage tier at minimum. The most troubling part was his city's location. Established in the unclaimed canyon bordering Belloria and Aurora, he would face immense pressure from both sides.
'I need to find allies urgently,' he thought, excluding the other eternal sovereigns. After all, none would abandon their cities. To make things worse, they were spread around the globe, making communications and logistics impossible without Gates, a technology they did not possess.
But besides them, he didn't know much about the current geopolitics of the outside world. Why would he? His interest waned as kingdoms rose and fell during the past thousand years. Fortunately, three visitors were in his palace.
"I have a new deal for you. I'll grant you a request for information about potential allies," he said, his eyes glowing in determination. Even if others misunderstood him, he lived his life honestly. If he needed something, he would pay the required price.
"Deal!" Adam screamed, instantly recovering from the shock of seeing the item he had been searching for.
"Alright, what do you want?" Ossian asked with a playful smile, anticipating an outrageous demand.
With a smirk, Adam answered, "I want..."