Chapter 260 - 256: "Returning to the Ancestral Fold

Chapter 260: Chapter 256: "Returning to the Ancestral Fold

After such an emotional rollercoaster, the three of them had lost all interest in breakfast. Although they went to the dining room, they mostly just watched the two mysterious figures eat.

Fortunately, the chefs at Chakus Manor were quick on their feet, just barely managing to satisfy the pair’s appetites.

Their movements were elegant and their pace didn’t seem ridiculously fast, yet for some reason, the food vanished with incredible speed.

It wasn’t until breakfast was over and everyone had left the dining room that the sweating kitchen staff could finally breathe a sigh of relief. From their perspective, the strain was obvious; just handling simple tasks like frying eggs and bacon had been utterly exhausting.

...

By now, Mansa and Corini finally believed Hilbert’s story about destroying the Evil Spirit the other night. What the three of them wanted to know most was the identity of these two mysterious figures and what connection they had to the Chakus Clan.

They were in front of the same fireplace, with four servants bringing tea and desserts, the only difference being that this time it was morning.

As their hunger gradually grew, the three of them treated the pastries as a substitute for the breakfast they had skipped.

Once all the servants had left and closed the living room door, Qin Xiaoxia organized his thoughts before speaking.

"To be honest, we only recently recovered some information about the Chakus Clan ourselves. For a very long time, we had forgotten about each other."

This sentence marked the beginning of an explanation of their shared history.

"Before I continue, I need to show you something. I wonder if you’ll recognize it."

Before the three could react, Qin Xiaoxia gave Su Su a slight nod, and they both extended their arms.

A faint, subtle, yet distinct light began to glow, and two brand-like marks that hadn’t been there before materialized on the palms of their right hands.

Old Corini’s breath hitched, and he stared at the two of them in utter disbelief.

"You? Are you also members of the Chakus Clan?"

Hilbert and Mansa were even more bewildered, but then they immediately recalled Corini mentioning "the other clan emblem."

"Corini, could that be...?"

"Yes, I’m certain of it. This is the other clan emblem, the one that was painted over and hidden within the Chakus castle!"

Old Corini replied, his voice trembling with excitement.

’Could these mysterious figures be from a lost branch of the family?’ The same question rose in the minds of Hilbert, his mother, and Corini.

Qin Xiaoxia smiled and shook his head.

"Corini, we are not members of the Chakus Clan. Or, to put it another way, you’ve misunderstood the relationship."

"Allow me to correct you. This symbol is not the emblem of the Chakus Clan..."

...

Dawn! It was the first time the three had properly registered the name.

Judging by their reactions, Qin Xiaoxia confirmed that the ancestors of the Chakus Clan had not passed down any information regarding the Association. After all, their family was considered one of the more successful transitions within Dawn; unless absolutely necessary, there was no need to leave behind any superfluous traces.

However, that was of no concern to Qin Xiaoxia. Strictly speaking, what he was doing now could be considered nurturing the descendants of former Dawn Members.

And as he slowly spoke, the history of the Association and its relationship with their family gradually took shape in the minds of the three listeners.

He spoke of the long ages past, of the crises faced by humanity and the world, and of the beginning and end of the last Dark Tide.

From the front lines to the shadows, from glory to decline, for a hundred years, a thousand years...

The Dawn Association gathered a great number of people from all over the world who possessed Extraordinary Power. With immense strength and unwavering conviction, they silently fulfilled their oaths.

And the Chakus Clan was one such branch within the ancient Dawn Association.

After the last Dark Tide had ended and the Dawn Association began to be persecuted by mainstream society, they gradually retreated from the public eye. Later, they accepted a noble title to more easily provide cover for their comrades in the Association.

As for when their line of succession was broken and when they lost contact with the Association, that much was unknown.

As the mainstream human world gradually forgot its past fears and the source of the Demons was contained, the remaining Demons were hunted down in secret by the Association until they were all but extinct.

During this period, the Association itself experienced many ups and downs. In the last century or two, it suffered numerous shocks during the modern era, causing a great deal of information to be lost and countless Secret Places to be abandoned one after another.

With only the remaining inheritors keeping a quiet vigil as time passed, it seemed for the best that things would continue on this peaceful course.

This history left them sighing with emotion, lamenting how humanity could never fully comprehend the secrets hidden within the river of time. But before they could dwell on these feelings for long, Qin Xiaoxia’s tone shifted.

"But, is our world truly safe now?"

Hilbert immediately thought of his father’s death and the Evil Spirit he had destroyed. ’Weren’t the Demons supposed to be all but extinct? Then what is all this?’

He voiced this question with trepidation and received an answer he had dreaded to hear.

"That’s right. They are coming. Just as in the ancient Darkest Hour, the Dark Tide is once again surging beyond our world!"

"And the preliminary effects are already beginning to show. Demons have been continuously breaking through the world’s barrier into our world. The one your father encountered, and the one you fought, were merely some of the first."

Mansa, Hilbert, and Corini were all stunned. For a brief moment, they stopped breathing. If the Old Baron’s death had been a source of grief for his family, what now filled their minds was the reflection of a terrifying, horrific truth.

From what they had just learned, they now understood all too well what the Dark Tide was. Which meant...

The end of the world was upon them once more!

It was no longer difficult to imagine why Dawn was now trying to consolidate its power by any means necessary, especially by seeking out the lost bloodlines of its ancient members.

Powerful Magic Controllers had been born among those ancient members, and their descendants’ bloodlines often concealed latent power. For them, even the probability of awakening Magic Power was greatly increased.

As the three of them thought back carefully, they realized the current international situation was indeed quite delicate.

Among their family’s business holdings, sales of luxury goods had been slowly but steadily declining since the end of last year.

Sometime before that, major importing nations had even begun to reduce luxury imports or raise tariffs at a policy level. The reason, it now seemed, was not unrelated to the changes happening to the world.

Qin Xiaoxia and Su Su did not disturb their thoughts, sitting quietly to the side and sipping their tea while they waited for the trio’s breathing and heart rates to return to normal.

"In accordance with our standing principles, I will give the Chakus Clan a choice..."

...

Three full days later, in the afternoon, the Chakus Family’s yacht docked at a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean.

The location was a full 800 nautical miles from the United Kingdom mainland. It was not an extension of any continental shelf, but rather an isolated island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

’To be honest,’ Qin Xiaoxia thought, ’I used to think that islands in international waters would also be public domain. I only learned later that, aside from the Antarctic region, there’s very little land above sea level in the world that isn’t claimed by some nation—newly discovered islands notwithstanding, of course.’

This particular island had come into the possession of the Chakus Clan around the dawn of the Age of Discovery. Dawn had not been short on money back then, and the Association’s private fleet often used the island as a navigational beacon.

The island had a total area of about 2,400 acres, nearly ten square kilometers. Its overall shape resembled an irregular, hooked crescent, complete with a natural-looking bay and a diving area. With its mountains and lush vegetation, it was quite scenic.

A rare feature was the large, flat expanse of land on the high ground of its Northwest corner, and it was here that the Chakus Clan’s castle was built. The truly magnificent ancient structure could be seen from far out at sea.

With their current eyesight, Qin Xiaoxia and Su Su could even clearly make out the lighthouse tower at the top of the castle, as well as an obviously modern addition: a large, dish-shaped satellite antenna.

Several windmills scattered across the island served as the main source of electricity, and among them, two classic, mill-style windmill buildings had been preserved.

"It’s so beautiful!!"

Seeing the island in its entirety and the bright, sandy beaches, Su Su’s eyes curved into smiling crescents.

"What a great place!"

Qin Xiaoxia sighed in admiration as well. ’The Red Demoness would probably love it here, right?’

He glanced at Su Su’s happy face and briefly imagined her in a bikini: natural, pale-gold hair and a delicate Eastern face, paired with an ample-yet-tasteful bust and a graceful figure... ’Stop, stop!’

’Right, all the girls in the Association will probably love it here!’

’To think an island like this was so crudely named Chakus Island. Do they have no aesthetic sense at all?’

"The Unsinkable Moon-Boat at Ocean’s Dawn... So this is the place..."

His quiet murmur was clearly audible to everyone. In any case, since Qin Xiaoxia was already planning on "confiscating" the island, he didn’t mind being shameless enough to rename it as well.