Extra's Revenge: Reincarnated As A Slave-Chapter 67: The Sunlit Order

"The problem isn’t just finding someone competent. They have to be trustworthy. And to be trustworthy, they must be like us."

The woman with black and white hair spoke softly, but her tone was firm.

Her bright blue eyes shone with resolve, anf the others nodded alongside her. The camaraderie in the room was palpable.

Almost as though they were family.

But that couldn’t be.

All of these people looked so differently from one another, with very little traits that connected them.

Even if Rey, who was still observing them closely, wanted to be generous, he cojkd only link a few people as family members.

Yet what was this filial emotion?

Why was it so pure?

’They desired to use me, which means they considered me competent and were certain I was one of them. I am a nameless slave with no relations, so they certainly weren’t referring to familial bonds. Which means...’

Rey narrowed his eyes on the woman in question and had a thought.

He had been especially curious about her monochrome hair for some time now.

It reminded him of his own.

’Could it be—?’

"Although we have all used bloodline suppressants to hide our mixed heritage, we must not forget our half-blood status."

The moment Rey hesrd this, it all clicked.

’They are all half-bloods!’

Logan too!

’Ahh! Now I understand. So it was like this...’

Rey’s eyes shone with instant brilliance.

Half-bloods, also known as Cursed Ones, were extremely marginalized in society. They were looked down upon and reduced to lower class members of society.

Most thst were found were either killed or turned into slaves.

They practically had no human rights.

But Rey had never really thought of other Cursed Ones beyond himself since they were so rare.

Even he had never encountered one before.

At least, he thought he hadn’t.

’But to think Logan... no, not just him. A whole organization of these people exist.’

Rey could see dozens of these people gathered in the cathedral. Compared to the population in this district, they were rather few.

But this was no small number once one realized they were Cursed Ones.

Why were cursed ones persecuted?

One of them was simply because they had the blood of thr Aethers in them. Thr Aethers worshipped the Five Holy Gods and rejected the Ancient Chaos God.

They were the eternal enemies of those in the Land of Nether, so being related to them was essentially a death sentence.

’Aethers aren’t allowed in the Land of Nether, and vice versa. But there are ways to go about it. There are some who keep Aether slaves, and I have read a few stories of Nethers encountering Aethers or even criminals leaving for the Land of Aether by hiding their identity.’

Nevertheless, the general standard remained.

Nethers and Aethers ought not to mix!

Thus, half-breeds were condemned, forced to take on the lowest place in society.

But this was only half of the truth.

There was something else.

’Half-breeds are said to have innate abilities that is born from this unnatural union. This gives them special powers that normal Nethers do not possess. Even those who don’t learn Ancient MajiK develop abilities akin to superpowers. They also tend to have some talent when it comes to Ancient MajiK, particularly affinity-wise.’

Many half-breeds would even possess affinities in Order Art and not Chaos Art, inheriting the power from their Aether parent.

Those ones were especially dangerous.

As for awakening both... such a thing was deemed impossible.

Order and Chaos cannot coexist.

An affinity in both was largely impossible.

Even Rey only had affinity in Chald Art, but unlike the other Cursed Ones, it was his sole affinity.

This wasn’t the case for others.

And it wad precisely because of this that many feared them.

Thus, the Noble Households established laws that reduced half-breeds into chattel, something infistinguishable from livestock.

They encouraged their degredation.

’If that’s the case, I can understsnd why these guys want to destroy the Desgarron Family. It is complicit in their oppression, after all.’

Right ad Rey was still thinking this, he picked up something interesting again.

"We cannot be too picky, though. I remember the deceased slave was initially rejected becauuse of his sole affinity in that filthy Chaos Art."

’Oh? I was?’ Rey’s eyes widened. ’So what changed?’

"Yes..." He watched as Logan sighed in admittance, his own memlries stirring as he recalled the past.

’I see. Is that why he gree distant after discovering my affinity? It wasn’t just because of a lack of talent, but because these people despise Chaps Art which is tied to the Nethers.’

"I initially thought he couldn’t be used. His brutish nature would also make him difficult to control. I even paid a mercenary to enter the Coliseum and kill him so that Augustus would pick another slave, but he surprised me by winning that fight. You all know how it goes from there."

"Yeah. I remeber we decided to use him more for his capabilities than his filial ties."

"He would only be a pawn anyway. Not truly one of us."

"Indeed. Although some of us possess an affinity for Chaos Art, we have never developed such a perverse power. Instead, we have chosen to grow in our other affinities."

"A sole affinity in Chaos Art is not incredibly rare, but it is useless to us beyond this point."

"Indeed."

Rey felt stunned.

So many events were connecting very rapidly.

’So he was the one behind Blood Shark. I suspected that guy wasn’t a slave, but to think it wad Logan thst was behind him...’

It was all making sense.

But he couldn’t understand why they held so much hate for Chaos Art itself.

In the end, wasn’t it just a tool?

Or were they averse to the Ancient Chaos God and his authority, which is said to be the source of Chaos Art?

Rey could not comprehend their intolerance.

’I also despise the Ancient Chaos Gld and have no affection for the Nethers, but I have no issue cooperating or even utilizing this power if it means I achieve my goals.’

Yet these people were different.

Rey could already tell that he wouldn’t be able to work with them.

Their ideals were too different, and they would only ever see him as a pawn. Now that hr had become an undead thanks to the Hollow Technique, they would even treat him worse.

He was now partly a creature of chaos.

An abomination in their eyes.

"The Land of Aethet calls for us. I dom’t desire to spend another year in this place."

"Me too. But we can’t compromise."

"Is there a way we can ask the Head to sponsor us with another half-blood member? If we can—"

"Are you stupid? Must we rely on the Head for everything? This entire mission is to prove ourselves to them, as worthy candidates to enter the Blessed Land of the Holy Gods."

"Exactly. Our loyalty will not be questioned if we can take down one of the 24 Noble Houses in this accursed land."

"The Head has helped us enough. We need to fo the rest on our own... okay?" The woman with black and white hair sighed in resignation.

Evryone nodded at her words.

They could only accept it.

’Ohhh... so that’s what this is all about!’

The final pieces connected in Rey’s mind and he soom began to chuckle within.

’Their sponsor and leader is from the Land of Aether. This person has likely promised them safe passage into the land of Aether if they can prove themselves.’

It was why they were so obsessed with their completion of this task.

They didn’t want to take risks because they were doing this to escape the Land of Nether.

This wasn’t an act of passion.

It was no revolution.

None of them were willing to die for this.

’They plan to complete their mission safely and enter a better world—one that will likely treat them better.’

Rey was clear of this in his mind.

The Land of Aether was famed to be much more tolerable to half-bloods compared to the Land of Nether.

In fact, the Nethers resented them for this.

They considered the Aethers ’too soft’.

’I can imagine that place being an idealized paradise for these people...’

As for himself, Rey felt even more certain.

’I have to stay away from these people!’

Thanks to this experience, he now knew the true reason Logan chose him that day in the slave market.

It was because of his half-blood status.

He understood why Logan took an interest in him and why Logan treated him so well until he awakened a sole affinity in Chaos Art.

Chaos was incompatible with Order.

Since these half-bloods wanted to be welcomed into the Land of Aether, it was clear that they would have to denounce their ties to the Nether Realm.

That included Chaos Art.

Someone like Rey, whose power solely revolved around Chaos, would not be welcomed.

’They were likely planning to sacrifice me once they achieved their goals.’

This attitude of theirs was very compatible with Logan’s treatmsnt of him after his Awakening.

Not only did he try to kill him, but he also went as far as framing him for poisoning Amara.

This gave Logan the window to fully control Rey by forcing him to work for them through the Slave Contract.

That proved both he and the half-bloods didn’t see Rey as a person.

Just a tool.

’They’re much stronger and influential than I am. They have also been planning this for some time. I feel as though I’m in over my head right now. But...’

Rey felt a determination surging within him.

Desire swirled in his heart, and he felt an unmistakable conviction within.

’... They can still be used.’

"This is all for the great dawn that is approaching us." The lady spoke, raising the spirits of everyone in the room.

Some were dissatiafied.

Some were impatient.

Some were even furious.

Yet they all gathered together and spoke in harmony.

"May the five Holy Gods over us and grant us victory in our blessed exploits."

Silence.

Reverence.

And then... a thunderous shout.

"Grace be upon The Sunlit Order."

[A/N: Apologies for the grammatical errors. I will surely correct them soon.]