"The Eclipse Gate... is extremely difficult to open..."
King Toma quietly tried to defend himself.
He truly had not kept the Eclipse Gate because he had some special plan for it. Besides, the Eclipse Gate was not something that could be opened casually.
"It might be difficult for you, but that doesn't mean it's difficult for someone with the right intentions."
Marco clicked his tongue.
He had a strong feeling that the Eclipse Gate would absolutely cause a massive incident in the future.
Otherwise, there would be no reason for this whole setup to exist.
King Toma's unwillingness to destroy the Eclipse Gate, his desire to preserve it—wasn't that just leaving it around so it could trigger some "major event" later?
Marco could see through that kind of pattern at a glance.
Even without knowing the original story, he could roughly imagine what might happen.
"Don't say anything else. That Eclipse Gate must be destroyed."
Marco had no intention of continuing the discussion and directly stated his demand.
"O-Okay!"
Knowing he was in the wrong, King Toma immediately agreed.
In truth, King Toma could have hidden all of this.
But when it came to Marco, he genuinely trusted him.
Not because Marco was powerful, but because Marco had also trusted him by handing the Grand Magic Games over to the Fiore royal family to host.
Trust went both ways.
Marco had treated Toma well, and he had treated his daughter Hisui with complete sincerity too.
Hisui always spoke highly of Marco, truly seeing him as a guiding light on the path of her life.
Because of that, King Toma was willing to tell Marco these things.
Of course, Marco mentioning the Black Dragon Acnologia was also an important reason.
King Toma still understood priorities.
Before the matter of the Black Dragon Acnologia, his little selfish thoughts and small mistakes were nothing at all.
He could not allow his previous error to lead to an even greater mistake.
King Toma might not have been particularly willing to work, but he had never once brought trouble upon his country.
From that perspective, old Toma had no real problem. In fact, in some people's eyes, an "inactive" king like him was exactly what a wise ruler should be.
A true sage ruler should interfere less and govern by letting things run their course!
After making this decision, Marco grabbed King Toma and leaped upward, jumping out through the entrance and returning to the surface.
Buzz!
To prevent anyone from entering the underground cavern and damaging the Dragon Graveyard, Marco directly sealed the entrance with a Crystal Wall.
"Let's go. I want to see this so-called Eclipse Gate."
After finishing that, Marco looked toward King Toma.
"The Eclipse Gate is inside Mercurius, in the depths of the royal palace."
King Toma spoke.
The entire royal palace, Mercurius, had been built around the Eclipse Gate. The Flower Blooming Capital, Crocus, had then been built around Mercurius.
The beginning of the Fiore royal family had been this very place.
"That's fine. There's still enough time."
Marco checked the time.
There was still a while before the afternoon session of the Grand Magic Games began.
Besides, he did not have to watch it. He only needed to send King Toma, the host, back in time.
"Don't be nervous."
Buzz!
As Marco spoke, he crouched down and grabbed King Toma's shoulder.
Before King Toma could even react, the two of them vanished with a faint hum.
King Toma only felt the scenery before his eyes suddenly shift.
In the blink of an eye, they had gone from Domus Flau in the western wilderness back to Mercurius.
"Amazing... truly amazing!"
King Toma cried out in awe.
This was the power of magic!
He wanted so badly to possess such incredible power himself!
"Lead the way."
Marco ignored King Toma's amazement and simply told him to hurry up and take him to the Eclipse Gate.
Why was he wasting so much time talking here?
It almost felt as if he still couldn't bear to part with it.
"You... don't actually still feel reluctant, do you?"
Marco looked at the dragging King Toma with a speechless expression.
The Eclipse Gate could indeed be considered a "historic relic," but in the face of reality, its danger made it something terrifying that absolutely had to be destroyed.
"I..."
King Toma hesitated.
He honestly felt that nothing would happen with the Eclipse Gate.
Very few people knew that it was inside Mercurius, and even fewer could gather the conditions needed to "unlock" it.
He truly did not think anything would go wrong with the Eclipse Gate.
He dared to say that the chances of him being assassinated were far higher than the chances of the Eclipse Gate being opened again.
Of course, those were thoughts he only kept in his heart.
When Marco questioned him with that speechless expression, King Toma decisively backed down.
There was no need to oppose Marco over something like the Eclipse Gate.
If Marco wanted to destroy it, then let him destroy it.
After convincing himself, King Toma started walking and brought Marco before the Eclipse Gate.
It had to be said that the gate was hidden quite well.
There were even supporting structures built around it, making it look like an ordinary large door that simply remained shut all year round.
But in truth, this was a gate capable of traveling through time.
Whether someone wanted to go to the future or return to the past, this gate—the Eclipse Gate—could do it.
Standing before the towering gate, Marco narrowed his eyes.
Looking beyond the surface and into the essence of things, he saw through it at a glance.
There was nothing behind this door.
This seemingly unremarkable castle within the royal palace had been built specifically as a cover for the Eclipse Gate.
"Actually, people could have lived inside here originally." King Toma spoke.
He had even planned to alter the method of concealment a little in a few years.
Now, it seemed there was no need.
"It's better that no one lives here. After all, I'm going to completely destroy this thing."
Marco nodded.
Whether people lived here or not did not matter.
Even if this had been King Toma's own bedroom, he would still have blown it up!