"Alexander Gascoigne..."
The Black King, or rather, Antia Trois, repeated Silas's alias. Her red eyes swept over him from head to toe, lingering for quite some time on his exceptionally handsome face.
"Not bad..."
she murmured.
Then she raised her voice and asked, "So who are you really, and why do you have the key Roselle left behind?"
Before Silas could answer, she continued, "I've already told you my story. It's only fair that you tell me something about yourself in return."
"As for me..."
Silas considered his response for a moment.
"I never met Roselle in person, but in a way, I still had dealings with him."
"You never met him, but you had dealings with him..."
A faint smile appeared on Antia's face, but she did not press him for details.
"You have secrets of your own, don't you? Just like Roselle. You're a Sequence 4 Beyonder of the Secrets Suppliant pathway, yet you've somehow managed to retain your sanity instead of turning into a fanatical worshiper of the True Creator."
She saw through my pathway...
Well, that was only natural.
She was a Sequence 2 angel. It would have been strange if she hadn't noticed. Even so, she shouldn't have been able to detect the tide inside him.
As Silas gained more experience, he had become increasingly convinced that his golden finger was at least on the level of a True God, perhaps even something greater.
"You're right. I'm a Sequence 4 of the Secrets Suppliant pathway, a Black Knight."
Silas admitted it without hesitation.
"Countless dead lie within the shadow beneath your feet,"
Antia said. It was obvious that she could sense the dense, horrifying aura of death clinging to him.
"Some were criminals who deserved what happened to them. Most were innocent people who died for no reason."
Silas remained calm.
"The guilty will remain inside me forever, suffering without end. The innocent will receive my corrupted salvation and find peace within my shadow."
That was what he said, and it was exactly what he had done.
"Good."
Antia's clear eyes reflected his composed expression. After studying him for a moment, she suddenly smiled.
"It seems you're a true Beyonder who has genuinely understood the essence of the Hanged Man."
"..."
Silas said nothing.
Given the choice, he would never have wanted to understand such a painful truth in the first place.
"What are you doing these days?"
"I'm wanted by several nations across the Northern Continent, and officially, I'm considered a notorious pirate."
Silas continued, "But I don't prey on ordinary people. Most of my time is spent attacking the colonial powers at sea, destroying their government offices and intercepting their slave ships..."
He paused briefly.
"In a sense, you could say I'm tearing down the wave of colonial expansion Roselle once set in motion."
Antia gave no indication of whether she approved or disapproved.
She's evaluating me...
Silas waited, but when she remained silent for some time, he finally asked, "What do you plan to do now?"
"What do I plan to do? Heh..."
His question drew a quiet laugh from Antia.
"If I told you I planned to leave on my own, would you really let me go?"
She looked at Silas with an amused smile.
"...I honestly can't say."
Silas shook his head.
Even if I refused, I wouldn't be able to stop you.
She was a Sequence 2 Duke of Entropy, an angel walking the earth, while he was only a Sequence 4 demigod.
He did possess abilities powerful enough to flip the entire situation on its head, but using them here would be an extremely poor decision.
"If you pretended you were willing to let me leave, I'd only think you were a hypocrite,"
Antia said.
"Don't worry. I have no intention of going against Roselle's final command."
So that means... she plans to acknowledge me as her master?
Silas raised an eyebrow slightly.
"To be honest, I'm a little surprised," he said. "After everything Roselle put you through, you're still willing to follow that emperor's final instruction."
If Silas had been treated that way, following the man's final command would have been the last thing on his mind.
He would have hunted down Roselle's grave, dug up the body, and beaten it just to vent his anger.
The black-haired Antia shook her head.
"That's because you don't understand. That was Roselle Gustav. He was never the kind of man who would leave a potential threat behind."
She gestured toward the chain around her neck.
"I was given restraints from the moment I was created. My spiritual instincts make it impossible for me to refuse a contract with you."
No wonder they called him the Son of Steam...
"Roselle's abilities as an Savant truly were extraordinary,"
Silas said sincerely.
"That isn't the whole reason."
Antia glanced at him.
"Savant abilities alone couldn't place such a powerful restriction on a Sequence 2 angel. My obedience comes from something else."
Silas went still.
"Something else?"
he repeated.
"Yes. He influenced my spirit."
Antia lowered her voice.
"It was a fundamental pressure rooted in the deepest part of my soul, the absolute suppression a higher Sequence can exert over a lower Sequence within the same pathway..."
Seeing that Silas still did not fully understand, she explained more directly.
"I suspect Roselle and I belonged to the same pathway, and that his Sequence was higher than mine."
That explanation certainly made sense.
No one understood the degree of influence a higher Sequence Beyonder could exert over a lower one within the same pathway better than Silas, who belonged to the Secrets Suppliant pathway.
At the same time, however, the information left him stunned.
A Sequence higher than hers?
She was already an angel!
Could Roselle have been a Sequence 1 of the Lawyer pathway? Or could he have risen even higher and become a True God?
But according to the diary Roselle had left behind, he had unquestionably been a Beyonder of the Savant pathway, a chosen figure formally recognized by the Church of Steam.
Unless he had switched pathways at some point...
Countless thoughts raced through Silas's mind. He felt as though he had found the edge of an important clue, yet one crucial piece was still missing.
"Are you sure Roselle himself was the source of that influence?"
he asked solemnly.
"Probably. It happened 152 years ago, after all,"
Antia replied.
"Why? Is it really that important?"
Of course it's important. I can't even be sure what this might mean...
Still, her account alone isn't enough. Maybe I should contact the Queen.
Silas considered it briefly, then shook his head.
"We can come back to that later."
He looked up at Antia.
"For now, let's deal with the matter in front of us."
Silas met her striking red eyes, and his expression gradually became serious.
Things had already reached this point, and he had made his decision. He would persuade her to join him and turn this Sequence 2 angel into one of his allies.
With a Sequence 2 ship as his flagship, his strength would rise to an entirely new level.
He would have enough power to stand against the other kings of the sea or the official Beyonder factions without being at a disadvantage.
"I'll get straight to the point."
Silas finally stated his true intention.
"Antia Trois, would you be willing to become my flagship?"