The God of Jesters
Chapter 43 - 2.11.1 The truth.

Chapter 43: 2.11.1 The truth.

Walking into the basement of the library that acted as Durum’s branch of Radiance society, Maisel soon came across a woman that he had only seen one time. A woman with a book in her hand that was a lot more familiar to him than he might like. "Can I borrow it?" He asked in a polite manner.

Though his actions were anything but polite, he snatched the book from the hands of Remira and thanked her for it.

But Remira didn’t reply, she didn’t dare to, for she knew the man in front of him didn’t seem of sound mind and the blood on his clothes told what he was doing before coming here. The man seemed burning like the sun and volatile at this moment. It would seem he would attack anyone at any moment.

Maybe expecting this, Maxim has requested her to stay during this meeting. But how can an old man with no sight know that Maisel would be in this state when he arrives?

Unless the events before coming here were not the cause of this. Instead, it was the letter that was sent soon after she had told Maxim everything.

Making her wonder what was in the letter.

"Oh, you are here?" Maxim said. Only reacting after he had heard the voice of Maisel. His senses and strength still weakened after the accident. "Why do I smell blood on you?"

"Not my blood. The blood of the scum from Blue Lotus." He said, before turning towards Remira. "Are you going to involve her in this discussion as well?" Maisel asked before he put his coat on the chair and then sat on it beside Maxim.

"I didn’t wish to drag her into this, but she forced her way in. I can’t change her mind." Maxim said, helpless at his situation. "And besides, we need your help. Just like my teacher, she might be able to feel it whenever it is close."

"I should say, she already did feel it multiple times before. I just didn’t put the two and two together."

Remira still remained ignorant of the events that happened in the past and why the book in her hand held so much meaning to these old-timers.

"Then her funeral, because as far as I understand. The rat king is working with the Blue Lotus."

"Please don’t worry about me, I can take care of my own," Remira replied, but Maisel just shook his head in denial. Showing that he was not ready to accept her so easily.

"Yes she can, I have seen her do it. She even saved our companions from what I assumed to be our enemy. She would be very helpful in this mission." Maxim said, his smile encouraging and showing his belief in Remira.

But while the two talked, Remira remained confused and she couldn’t help but ask. "Thank you for your kind words, but I wonder. Who or what is this enemy? Who was it that tried to play games with Pierta’s mind?" There was eagerness in her voice and a desire for revenge was noticeable as well.

Pierta was the only remaining family she had left, and the enemy tried to play games with her. There is no way he is letting this go so easily.

"Who is it?... Better than to tell you that, I should just tell you the sin I committed and why this is happening." Maisel said, causing Maxim to look at Maisel with distress for a while. But soon Maisel, in a calm tone, said. "These are classified information, but as time is of the essence, I would allow it." There was some guilt in that voice, causing Remira to wonder just how a small purification and murder mystery reached the level of matters involving the country.

"Well then, how to begin..."

The story began and Maxim was the one who narrated it.

He told of a time when he was still a young man on a job hunting down a very special spirit that was the center of many tragedies and deaths.

Not to mention, the rats that were left wherever they went.

"The rise of Yehtel was by no means his clean, he had many enemies on his way, and enemies that acted to support him were even more."

"But each time he would be able to find the traitors and then punish them appropriately. Somehow he always knew who was against him or who was with him."

"As for whether any of his claims were true? Only those in the past know. But know this, this method of his helped him rise in the political hemisphere of the country old Ocath without much trouble."

Ocath was the true name of the nation which Yethel took over. A weak nation that was easily bullied by the Wortham Principality and forced to take part in wars that were not their own, but by the Cyanark Kingdom.

Slaves to a country, not their own, and being treated like less than humans. It was why it became easier for Yethel who rose to the ranks of magi at a fast rate, leaving many others behind.

"The being, the spirit that had helped Yethel all this time. The Radiant Society had been after him for half a decade and the spirit’s relation to Yethel was found out much later."

As it was mentioned in the dream, the Radiant society had been hunting the Jester for many ages but each time they would fail for some reason, each time the Jester would survive each conflict and then appear to the world once again.

But after so long, the Radiant society was also not stupid, they started to notice a pattern of Yethel’s visits and the spirit’s appearance each time.

He understood that there was some connection between the two. And just one meeting with Yethel proved that something was wrong with him.

They sent one hunter that was adept at catching lies and learning the nature of a person.

"Ikuras Yethel was not the kind of many to prefer any violence, he was a calm and collected man that never wished to harm others, completely opposite to how he appeared on the surface."

"Which would mean he was being influenced by someone or something, and after the rumors of the bizarre puppets around him started to appear, this was a solid fact at that point."

"It was also around the time the war between the Yethel Republic and Wortham Principality was at its highest. And the losses came out unexpectedly from the perspective of Cynark."

"This was meant to be an easy win, but things were getting worse day by day."

The political intricacies behind the war twenty years ago were a lot more serious than one might think.

Many consider that the Wortham Principality won without any major losses. But it was all a lie, Yethel republic, albeit a small nation, was able to employ tactics and resources unheard of in war before.

There was no honor in that war, only savagery and death. The soldiers of Yethel fought like Guerilla fighters, employing all sorts of traps in the Jaegral Forest, in order to keep Wortham at bay.

And even so, this war ended with the defeat of the Yethel Republic. This also made it clear to the Cynark Kingdom that this new neighbor of theirs might turn out to be problematic if not taken care of early.

"It was why I was sent. We along with those from Radiant society went to assassinate Yethel Ikuras and the demon he harbored."

The young Maisel was ignorant of the world. Easily swayed by the beliefs and emotions, he wished to keep his young family safe and after learning that a demon had taken hold of the leader of a country, he came out at the forefront of this assassination mission.

"Talha Maisel? An odd name?" Said an old man, who seemed tired of life and everything around him. "But, but your soul, it’s beautiful."

The old man said while presenting him with his burning heart. "Now time to make it more beautiful, devour it, and obtain the power to cleanse the murkiness of this world." The old man said, his voice low and weak after ripping out his heart.

But he never faltered and just kept staring kindly at Maisel.

"Bu... but what about Maxim? He is your disciple." Maisel asked in confusion, knowing full well what it meant by taking over this power.

Taking over this flame meant carrying on the legacy, which he was not ready for.

"Him?, He is long gone, not worthy of this flame anymore."

There were bodies everywhere and the cries of people can still be heard from time to time. But no one else seemed to be alive around here.

"The monster... the bastard was not a demon, our preparations were flawed." Said the man, his eyes still confused about how things went this bad. "But we have hurt it and ended the life of its puppet. But the threat still remains, so take this flame and deal with burning the bastard the moment it surfaces."

There was more the man wanted to say, more he wished to explain. The scene he had witnessed with its eyes of Radiance and the omen he had felt.

The man named Yethel was kind, but he was controlled by the glib tongue of the devil and hence was far from innocent. His life needed to end to fracture the contract that might have existed between the two.

But, there was no contract.

This was a unique lifeform that was previously unheard of. And now this being had long run away.

"So it’s not a demon?"