CHAPTER 199: LIGHT AND DARKNESS

He waved a slip of parchment in his hand and it was the ancient text that Aaron’s assistant, Reks, had translated.

"Listen to this," the old scholar said, reading it aloud.

’In the world there exists power of shadow and light. Light is what the shadow hunts. Shadow is what hunts the light. Shadow is the primal mother, and is called Aeon.’

"The meaning of these words," Vundo said, his eyes shining with intensity, "is far greater than we ever imagined."

Until now, everyone had believed that all magical power came from the same source and it’s only differing in element or attribute.

Magical beasts were thought to be born from miasma, it was nothing more. But that explanation had always been too simple, too incomplete to explain everything.

However, if what they had been calling miasma was in fact another type of energy and that type of energy is the dark-type magic power then many things would finally make sense.

The ancient text suggested that the world had originally been governed by two opposing forces: the power of light and the power of darkness.

Just knowing that these two kinds of magic existed was, in itself, a major discovery.

Sometimes, to uncover the truth of the world, great danger was unavoidable.

What Aaron had done although it was reckless could even be seen as a remarkable achievement.

Mr. Vundo raised his fist, he was trembling with excitement. He was always full of energy, even at his age.

Quintus couldn’t help but wonder if the old man had slept at all since the incident began.

Sometimes, he half-suspected the old man might be some kind of magical creature himself.

"There are two poles of magical power!" Vundo cried out, his voice ringing across the chamber. "From this point on, our research will change completely! This is a great turning point! And according to this text, there was once a fierce war between the dark force called the Aeon and those of the light, like us. The fortresses that still remain today may be the remnants of that ancient war that was built strong enough to withstand centuries of battle. Eventually, the light side won. The Aeon must have been either driven away or forced to flee and the place they escaped to likely became the demon world. Ah, what a thrilling mystery we have before us to uncover!"

The old man’s face flushed red with excitement as he continued to shout passionately, barely pausing for breath.

Quintus stood up, worried the old man’s enthusiasm might actually make his blood vessel burst.

"What concerns me," Quintus said in a calm, steady voice, "is the phrase from the same passage—’Scatter the keys into the world and let long years pass. Now fulfillment comes. The time has arrived. Through the keys, the door to the demon world shall be opened.’ That likely means the Aeon, the ones who wielded dark magic, planted similar traps all over the world. Ancient ruins, fragments, remnants—anything could be hiding one of these. It has already happened twice. We must be prepared... for the third."

After hearing this, the Prime Minister finally spoke.

"In that regard," he said calmly, "the Foreign Affairs Department will issue notices to all neighboring nations. We must ensure they fully understand the danger, so no one—out of greed or ignorance—dares to tamper with such things. The warning must be clear and widely known. We intend to proceed with great caution and careful consideration."

"Good. I’m counting on you," the King replied quietly but with deep trust, giving a firm nod. With that, the matter was officially entrusted to the Prime Minister and his administrative office.

Then, from the side of the Central Magic Association, another man raised his hand to speak his eyes gleaming with excitement.

The burly man clutching a thick stack of papers was Romas, head of the Institute of Magical Creatures and Beasts.

Romas is the member of the royal family.

He was the King’s younger brother.

Unlike most mages, Romas was the outdoors type of mages.

He like to roamed mountains, deserts, and swamps alike, chasing after magical beasts for his studies.

His face was darkened by constant sun exposure and his short brownish-golden hair was rough and dry from wind and sand.

Since the head of the research institute was always off wandering dangerous lands, it was said that his deputy actually handled most of the work of running the place in his absence.

Romas stood up and spoke in a loud steady voice. "The time given to us for investigation has been far too short and so much of what I will say remains in the realm of theory. However, I would like to present two or three hypotheses that I believe this discovery may help us understand."

His tone was polite, but it was clear he didn’t intend to wait for anyone’s approval.

Technically, he should be addressed as Your Highness, but his rugged and unrestrained manner made it very hard for anyone to think of him that way.

He sat comfortably among the representatives of the various research institutions, unconcerned with royal decorum.

"Until now," Romas continued passionately, "the distinction between magical beasts and magical creatures has always been vague. That was because we assumed all magical energy came from a single type of power. But! But if there are indeed two opposing forces light and darkness, then the differences that never made sense before can finally be explained clearly!"

He jabbed his finger into the air, his voice rising with fervor, so excited that flecks of spit flew as he spoke.

The room grew tense and curious as everyone waited to hear what conclusion he would draw next.

"This next part is my own theory," Romas declared, his voice rising with excitement. "Of course, it will need to be tested and verified later. But this is what I believe to be the truth! Magical beasts belong to the side of dark-type magic power, while magical creatures are creatures born from light-type magic power that have, in some way, been tainted or mutated by the influence of darkness. This explains nearly everything!"