Chapter 146: Lucius: It Is Your Wisdom That Is Superior!
"..."
Lucius stood at the base of the long staircase leading to the Pantheon, gazing upward with a hint of complaint.
Although she herself had received the Pantheon's Blessing, if she remembered correctly, it had been quick—enter the Pantheon, whoosh, then beep, followed by a clang, and it was over.
Done.
The statues in the Pantheon couldn't even be bothered to spare her a second glance.
It was as if there were no gods within those statues, as the Magi or priests claimed—just a simple Blessing mechanism.
But she had heard that Noah's name was given by those statues, so perhaps he was different from her?
Lucius racked her monkey-like brain desperately, but in the end, her thoughts dissolved into an even louder exclamation amid her growing impatience:
"So slow!"
That was just how she was.
So much so that Noah had often thought that if he possessed something like a Discerning Eye, he would probably see at least a [Madness Enhancement (D)] on this monkey.
So the fact that she could wait here for a while was already quite an achievement.
If she hadn't promised Noah to keep watch for him, this monkey might have run off long ago.
After all, no matter how strange this world could be, having a monkey guard the door was still far too bizarre.
"..."
Just as Lucius grew increasingly restless yet knew she couldn't leave, a voice came from behind her, startling her.
Because before the voice sounded, she hadn't sensed the other's presence at all.
And the voice was very close.
So…
She spun around abruptly, reaching out to grab the other person.
But the other's reaction was clearly faster, stepping back several paces as she reached out, easily avoiding her grasp.
Even though she hadn't caught them, Lucius didn't mind. Instead, her eyes sparkled as she stared at them.
"So amazing! How did you do that!"
Standing before Lucius now was someone she was absolutely familiar with—herself.
She had used her Mystic Code to alter her appearance, and if she were to undo all the Magecraft, she would look exactly like the person before her.
If it were a normal person, they would at least be stunned by such a sight.
But…
"How did you walk up behind me without making a sound? And that speed just now, so incredible!"
Lucius acted as if she had no idea the person before her looked exactly like herself, completely ignoring their appearance and instead rambling on about what interested her.
—You're focusing on the wrong thing to be surprised about!
Odin, standing before Lucius, screamed inwardly.
That's right.
The one standing before Lucius now was Odin.
He had earlier used Rune Magecraft in the palace to locate Lucius and had come straight here.
He didn't want to be emperor for even one more day!
He wanted out of this prison!
But after finding Lucius, Odin didn't immediately drop his disguise.
Because he still wanted to link this matter to the White Titan—or, in the eyes of the Romans, to the Huns.
Only in this way could he, while going to prevent the White Titan's descent, have the Romans launch a full-scale war against the Huns, and then use such a great war to transition the entire history forward.
So...
Odin ignored Lucius's question and directly addressed her.
"I am Lucius, the current emperor of the Roman Empire. But you, why are you..."
Odin was thinking in his mind while also speaking, and at that very moment, he saw a monkey's fist strike directly toward him, landing accurately and without fail
on his face, interrupting his words!
This punch didn't really cause any harm, nor did it contain any malice or killing intent; otherwise, Odin could have dodged it even while distracted.
But although there was no real damage, it made Odin feel insulted!
However, upon second thought, he had just said he was Lucius, and this monkey attacked—she must be angry, absolutely!
She's upset, she's upset!
That's fine too; it just so happens to fit into his plan!
But before he could even react, he saw the monkey retract her fist, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"Huh? You could dodge just now, so why can't you dodge now?"
Clearly... Lucius was still fixated on how Odin had been able to conceal his aura and evade her grasp earlier...
This scene made Odin's blood pressure rise.
He thought the monkey must not have heard clearly, so he decided to repeat himself.
"I said, I am Lu..."
"Lucius, right? The emperor of the Roman Empire... You already said that once, you know. My hearing is pretty good."
"I..."
It's back, the feeling of being trapped is back!
The feeling Odin had when facing those ministers before is exactly what he feels now facing Lucius!
He had even sympathized with Lucius when he saw those ministers earlier, but now it seems—you're all the same kind of people!
No wonder, before that advisor arrived, Rome was on the verge of collapse, with the emperor and the Senate ministers tormenting each other every day... Aren't you all tired yourselves!
Lucius managed to shatter Odin's composure with just four sentences.
Lucius is like this, the Senate is like this... There's definitely something wrong with your Rome!
Odin no longer wanted to deal with this monkey, so he simply took two steps back to prevent her from hitting him again. Then he flicked his red cloak and repeated
what he had intended to say earlier.
"I am Lucius, the current emperor of the Roman Empire. But you, who exactly are you, and why are you appearing near the Pantheon!"
Odin felt he needed to steer the conversation into his own rhythm.
So he first stated his identity, then planned to observe Lucius's genuine reaction.
But...
Upon hearing this, Lucius didn't find anything odd at all; instead, she directly provided an answer.
"My name is Lucia, and I'm a mercenary, Your Majesty."
—You're lying!
Odin didn't detect any of the telltale signs of lying on Lucius's face.
This monkey couldn't possibly have acting skills of this level!
Clearly, this monkey genuinely believes herself to be Lucia...
Seeing her like this, Odin even checked specifically to confirm she wasn't bewitched by any suggestion Magecraft, nor suffering from any mental issues... So the reason she's like this is entirely because she herself thinks this way.
Is... being a mercenary really that fun? So fun you even forgot who you are!?
Odin pondered for a moment, then spoke again.
"Hmph, do you think I can't tell? You clearly bear numerous traces of Magecraft on your body—you don't actually look like this at all. You should originally look exactly like me, and you probably aren't even called Lucia either!"
He was reminding this monkey.
"Looking exactly like me, using a fake name... It seems you lured me here alone, and with me having no guards, and no guards likely to appear nearby, meeting someone like you—I can guess your conspiracy now. You plan to take advantage of me having no guards, defeat me who is not skilled in combat, and then disguise yourself as me to take control of all of Rome!"
"Guh! What's fake is fake, just kill me! And you, pretending to be me, will be exposed sooner or later!"
Odin felt he had explained in great detail...
He was even thinking about how to remind her further if this monkey still didn't understand.
He told her there were no guards, told her he wasn't skilled in combat, told her this was an opportunity, and even told her the method...
He could even fake his death!
He taught her so much, surely she couldn't still get it wrong, could she?
That's what Odin thought. He considered that Lucius might continue being foolish, and also thought Lucius might come to her senses, but he never expected that after hearing his words, Lucius would seriously nod at her.
"As expected of the Emperor of Rome, seeing through our conspiracy at a glance, and recognizing that I'm a fake! Your wisdom impresses me. Tch, you win this time!"
Lucius hadn't felt much before, but now even she could see it!
This other self had clearly experienced the taste of being emperor and now didn't want it anymore, and even wanted to drag her back to sit on the throne!
To this, she only wanted to say—
No! Way!
So even if it was a bit unfair to Noah, she would lure this fake self away, and then she should run!
After saying this, Lucius turned to run.
Odin was initially dumbfounded by Lucius's response, but when he saw this monkey about to flee, he couldn't hold back anymore!
"Don't even think about running! I don't care about any plans anymore. Today, even if I have to use force, I'll keep you here to be the emperor. This throne was originally yours—don't you dare push it onto me!"
Odin took out his staff, and a special Rune Magecraft symbol lit up above his head.
Then, behind him, a giant plant golem rose and reached out its hand toward Lucius.
During this process, Odin ignored the fact that Lucius had already begun running at full speed, instead conjuring several Rune Magecraft symbols and combining them together.
There was no way he was going to let the other party escape.
To this end, Odin even combined Rune Magecraft to create his signature move—Gungnir!
This strike was guaranteed to hit!
Today, Odin was determined to catch this monkey and stuff her back onto the imperial throne!
Lucius had already run some distance away, but she felt as if no matter how hard she ran, she hadn't moved very far. That enormous hand was always faster than her, reaching directly toward her to grab her.
Lucius was not afraid of the enemy's attacks.
What she feared was this scheming fellow trying to ambush her, wanting to force her back into captivity!
Realizing she couldn't escape, Lucius looked at the huge hand reaching for her and swung her fist with all her might.
"Stay away from me!"
Seeing Lucius like this, Odin let out a sigh of relief.
He knew Lucius's resistance was futile.
This strike of his was certain to...
His thoughts stopped there.
Then, the giant's extended hand evaporated in a burst of light!
It wasn't broken by Lucius, but rather a spear of light descended from the sky, first pinning the giant's hand to the ground, then erupting with light and heat that directly vaporized the giant's arm!
Immediately after... four more spears of light pinned the giant to the ground. Under the terrifying eruption of light and heat, the giant turned to ashes, and even the ashes melted away in the radiance.
To avoid the explosion, Odin had to roll on the ground to dodge it.
He was still wondering what this attack was all about, but then, his gaze involuntarily followed the aura upward to the top of the steps.
He hadn't yet seen a figure in that position, but he faintly heard footsteps.
Even so, Odin widened his eyes. Just sensing the aura, he felt like a mortal beholding a god, utterly terrified.
"This aura... What in the world is this!?"