Chapter 167: The Four-Colored Kings

Responding to Hypnos's greeting, which sounded sentimental and deferential yet was completely nonchalant in reality, was another large volley of planetary "bombs" hurtling swiftly from across the space.

However, the God of Sleep's demeanor this time was even more casual.

Without even lifting a finger, the blonde deity merely cast a tranquil, fleeting glance forward. Instantly, under the touch of his seemingly completely harmless gaze, the massive cluster of planets violently shattered, transforming into luminous dust amidst a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering explosion before dissipating forlornly in all directions...

At the far end of the distant starry sky, the white-haired elder who had appeared opposite Kurama and his companions caught sight of this, and his hitherto calm and unruffled expression could not help but take on a hint of astonishment and doubt.

This abruptly shifting environment, mirroring the vastness of outer space, was undoubtedly the "Sanctuary" belonging to this elder—the Second King whose true identity had just been exposed by Hypnos: the King of Gold, Kokujou Daikaku.

Within this space where microscopic and macroscopic physical laws alike lost their effects, and where the laws of probability could no longer function, Kokujou should logically be the sole and absolute monarch of this domain.

All rules were set by him, and the trajectory of every event obeyed his will. In this space, he would lose to no one, nor would he be constrained by anyone—originally, that indeed should have been the case.

Yet at this very moment, right before his eyes, someone had effortlessly neutralized all of his attacks and... thoroughly destroyed his "weapons"...

Such a turn of events was completely beyond the King of Gold's expectations.

Despite being ninety-five years old and appearing entirely like an aged man, the white-haired elder still retained the faint, resolute contours of his youth around his brows and eyes. A quiet and dignified weight, accumulated from long years of standing at the pinnacle of power, emanated naturally from him. With a slightly stern expression and a sharp gaze, he looked toward the handsome, blonde young man opposite him, whose smile remained tranquil:

"This old man is afraid he cannot yet bear your title of 'Your Excellency'."

The person opposite him chuckled softly upon hearing this, appearing utterly unconcerned.

"In terms of intention, perhaps that is indeed true."

His reply was so frank it bordered on impoliteness, yet frankly speaking, Kokujou found himself strangely realizing that he did not feel particularly angry.

—Perhaps it was because the other party's attitude was simply too calm, composed, and self-assured to a fault?

So thought the old man who had stood at the absolute zenith, overlooking the entire nation for half a century, and the taut, stern expression on his face unconsciously relaxed a fraction.

"So, is this the reason why you can act against espers without any reservations?"

He asked in a deep voice.

"Because you are capable of it?"

Hearing this, Kurama was not surprised that the King of Gold could track down him and his companions so quickly through various clues (after all, ever since they began interacting with the Blue King, they had never deliberately concealed their actions and whereabouts), but rather surprised that the King himself had come in person. He unexpectedly let out a soft laugh.

"No."

Meeting the other's intensely sharp and oppressive gaze that immediately locked onto him, the red-haired kitsune smiled with a gentle and refined expression. However, the words he uttered in the next second were even more... unbridled and arrogant than the motive the elder had just guessed:

"It is not because we are capable of it, but because the other side is inviting us to do so."

As he spoke, he raised a pair of bright, emerald eyes brimming with smiles, meeting Kokujou's gaze from afar across the void without the slightest evasion:

"As the party under attack, in a critical situation where our lives face severe threats, rather than rising up to fight back, should we simply sit here and await our doom?"

"Your Excellency Kokujou, judged by normal human thinking patterns, your conclusion... appears somewhat peculiar."

The kitsune said this with exquisite politeness, yet the gentle and mild smile on his face, reflected in Kokujou's eyes, somehow appeared blatantly and glaringly sarcastic no matter how one looked at it...

The white-haired elder raised an eyebrow in considerable astonishment.

It had truly been a very long time since he last encountered someone who dared to speak to him with such phrasing and tone.

He thought with a mild sense of amusement.

Even that proud and austere blue-clad leader of Scepter 4, during their few encounters, had always cleverly hidden those careful calculations beneath a veneer of deference, never truly revealing the slightest bit of it. He had not expected...

"Knowing full well that this old man did not mean it that way, you still insist on misinterpreting it?"

The expression on the King of Gold's face remained unchanged.

He whispered in a steady tone, while several planetary "models"—some unfamiliar, some familiar—suddenly began to revolve around him once more.

—The implication hidden within was naturally self-evident.

Yet Kurama acted as though he felt no threat whatsoever, the amusement in his emerald eyes not diminishing by the slightest fraction:

"It seems the rumors outside regarding Your Excellency are not entirely accurate after all."

He said in a relaxed tone.

"At least none of the ones I've heard suggested that you would strike first once again under circumstances like this."

With a smiling gaze that swept nonchalantly over the various colored planets orbiting around Kokujou, Kurama watched the elder's deep, dark eyes, whose true emotions remained hidden in inscrutable depths, and curved the corners of his lips in a meaningful smile—

"And... it also seems that none of them could tell what subsequent developments would unfold if I were to say the following words to Your Excellency at this very 'crucial' moment."

Blinking with a smile, Kurama parted his thin lips and spoke the words that had subconsciously made the King of Gold feel profoundly concerned ever since a moment ago...

"The Silver King."

"He is not in the place you believe him to be."

—Before his voice had even faded, the previously quiescent gaze of the King of Gold abruptly turned sharp and piercing once more!

＊＊＊＊＊＊

December 16th.

Less than twenty-four hours had passed since the Red King, Suoh Mikoto, was "arrested."

Yet, in this fleeting span of less than a day, countless dazzling and overwhelming changes had taken place.

Putting aside how the "Royal Blue Decree"—personally approved by the King of Gold and issued by the authority of Scepter 4's Blue King, Munakata Reishi—had "infringed" to varying degrees upon the sensibilities of citizens across Japan, bringing a sense of depression and helplessness to high-ranking officials in the Japanese government; the mere fact that the King of Gold had unprecedentedly greenlit Scepter 4's aggressive move and personally telephoned the Prime Minister to justify the decree caused many astute political figures to beat a nervous drum in their hearts—could it be that the political landscape of the nation was about to shift once again?

Yet, regardless of the suspicions and calculations brewing in the hearts of those who wielded the majority of power and wealth in this country, the Blue King himself—who had vaulted into the public eye through this incident and was now the focus of countless probing and scrutinizing gazes—did not offer any form of response.

Remaining entirely unaffected by external factors, the Blue King proceeded step by step according to the established plan, executing the portion of duties assigned to him...

As if!

Looking at the red-haired man sprawled brazenly across the small Japanese-style lounge attached to his office, wearing an expression of supreme boredom and leisure, Munakata—despite his exceptional upbringing—felt a row of bulging veins throb angrily at his temple ＋＝.

"Do you... have nothing else to do?"

His deep voice carried palpable, suppressed anger.

The Red King lazily lifted his eyelids at this, granting Munakata a gaze lasting less than a second, as if bestowing a supreme favor.

"Whose fault do you think this is?"

"……………"

The veins on Munakata's temple continued to throb wildly.

"Suoh, do not forget, this plan was formulated by the people on your side."

He warned in a deep voice.

The Red King's handsome face, with its lowered lashes, remained as languid as ever.

And this time, it seemed he couldn't even be bothered to lift his eyes.

"Those aren't our people." He chuckled softly, his slightly hoarse, sensual voice hovering low in the room with an indefinable, seductive charm. "Besides, when we discussed it earlier, you didn't voice any objections to the plan. Why are you reminding me now?"

As he spoke, the Red King curved the corners of his lips into a subtle, mocking smile that truly looked... exceptionally infuriating.

The Blue King closed his eyes quietly in a display of forbearance.

"The plan stated that you were to be locked in a special cell."

Yet look at where you are right now!

Munakata forcibly suppressed the urge to retort.

He cast a cool glance at the man, thinking that if it weren't for the necessity of using this person to soothe Yata Misaki, Totsuka Tatara, and the others around him, the fellow would by no means be enjoying himself in his office right now; instead, he would have long since been shackled and unceremoniously thrown into the dungeons!

—Thinking along these lines, the Blue King had to admit he felt much better.

He therefore reached out and pushed up his glasses.

"Suoh, you are far too casual."

"Yeah, yeah~"

Came the listless, unenthusiastic response.

Munakata's hand, currently engaged in assembling a puzzle, paused once more because of this.

As the Third and Fourth Kings, representing "passionate violence" and "rational order" respectively, their attributes could be said to completely oppose one another. Although he and Suoh had not become Kings at the same time, the gap between them was a mere two years, meaning they had truly dealt with each other for quite a long time.

To Munakata, Suoh was a remarkably tricky "opponent." Because in dealing with him, all of Munakata's conversational techniques had never once succeeded in achieving their intended effect.

Suoh's style of action was always straightforward, violent, and direct. Complex analysis and careful deliberation seemed to hold zero value in his eyes, serving as useless vocabulary that was never factored into his actions.

This often left Scepter 4 with a sense of helplessness when taking action against HOMRA—because directness also meant there was no reliable precedent to draw upon; you never even knew what astonishing decision the boss of those people across the street would make in the next second.

Thus, when facing Suoh, Munakata would occasionally feel an inexplicable sense of frustration.

—Just like right now.

Faced with a man who was lazy, indifferent, unyielding no matter what was said, utterly unrepentant, and yet entirely self-righteous, Munakata truly found his head throbbing with pain.

Perhaps... considering things too much and agreeing to Totsuka Tatara's plea to treat this person gently had been a fundamentally wrong decision from the start.

The Blue King massaged his brow while thinking gloomily.

Meanwhile, far away on Academy Island, far from the headquarters of Scepter 4.

Looking at the blood-stained white shirt inside the wardrobe before him, the white-haired, beautiful youth wore an expression of incomparable panic.

Yet what he did not know was that in that very same room, not far away, shielded by an undetectable special barrier, a tall, white-haired figure was quietly standing there, gazing fixedly at him with an expression of inexpressible nostalgia and... complexity.