The Principle of a Philosopher by Eternal Fool “Asley”

Warren’s statement momentarily left me frozen.

Well now call the Duodecad the ‘Twelve Starsigns’… which is likely a reference to the E’to, the astrological system traditionally passed down in T’oued.

“Presumably, everyone here is already aware of the complete contents of the Prophecy Monument.”

Wait, what? When was it deciphered?

As Pochi and I tilted our heads in confusion, Irene made a somewhat troubled expression before scratching her head.

“Warren, why don’t you explain it to Asley?”

“Oh, did I never mention it to him? Apologies.”

Okay, that was clearly intentional — it is something one would easily be able to tell after spending just a bit of time with Warren.

The fact that he never explained it to me after all this time implies that there is a reason for him to withhold the information.

As I kept a stern expression and remained silent, Warren began to elaborate on the complete contents of the Prophecy Monument,

～～～～～～～～～～～～

Denizens of the future, prepare thyselves for the coming Devil King…

O, The Army of Twelve, thou shalt be the guiding lights o’er the world

O, The Army of Twelve, thou shalt be the people’s lights o’er the night

O, the Army of Twelve, thou shalt rise with the Twelve Starsigns

O, the Twelve Starsigns, together with the Army of Twelve, thou shalt help the Chosen One

O, thou who revere days long past, the Devil King’s return is near

Thou shalt love God, and shalt obey His word

Do so, and the Way will be shown, if with but a ray of Light

Before long, the Chosen One will appear, and he shalt show thou the Way

O, the Army of Twelve, follow the Chosen One, and be the guiding Light o’er the World

O, the Army of Twelve, follow the Chosen One, and be the People’s Light o’er the Night

On the coming of the Chosen One, hold on to love, power, and laughter, and crush the Devil King’s ambition to pieces

The Chosen One — the Holy Warrior, Poer

～～～～～～～～～～～～

……Okay, I have somewhat grasped the reason why Warren did not tell me.

When I looked at Warren, he returned an innocent smile. He is a man of — that much is clear.

But that’s enough tangent… The important part is that, if I had known about this prophecy in the previous stage, then perhaps this magic might not have been completed.

“In translation, it is called the ‘Starsigns’ because the ‘Zodiac’ we are familiar with is associated with the constellations. This astrological system is more about certain types of beasts and their characteristics, you see, which means the ‘Starsigns’ actually refer to the Familiars under the command of powerful mages. In essence, those who command the Twelve Starsigns are what the prophecy refers to as the Army of Twelve.”

So in short, the Army of Twelve — not to be confused with the War Demon Nation’s Duodecad Conference — is the group that commands the twelve beasts of the Zodiac. Makes sense.

“I was told that the Prophecy was written by Lady Jun’ko, by the way.”

That’s understandable, considering her special type of Evil Eyes.

But why would she do that? Something about this doesn’t feel right…

“The beasts of the Zodiac are the following: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig.”

Warren briefly paused. During this time, Barun looked around at everyone and spoke up,

“Oh, I see. Now that I think about it, we all do have the right Familiars for the signs.”

Warren nodded.

“Yes. The Rat sign is Konoha… which is close enough, and he is commanded by Baladd. The Ox is Weldhun, commanded by Lylia. The Tiger is Maïga, commanded by Hornel. The Rabbit is my Familiar, the Horned Rabbit Latt. The Dragon is Baladd, commanded by Lina. The Snake is Master Tzar, commanded by Lala. The Horse is Platina, commanded by Fuyu. The Sheep is Shiny, commanded by Natsu. The Monkey is Ricky, commanded by Sir Barun. The Rooster is a type of bird — so Miss Irene’s Familiar Hawk… which is a sparrow, should suffice. The Dog is Tarawo, commanded by Tifa. The Pig is… Bull, commanded by Master Tūs…”

“…So that’s why you never told me about the full Prophecy Monument?”

“Exactly. If I had disclosed that information, your magic spell might not have been completed. Defying the prophecy has the very real risk of leading to defeat.”

True, if I had known about the full prophecy, my attention might have been diverted there, and the spell might not have been completed. Truly befitting the Black Emperor, a leader of the Resistance… actually, no, I can’t help but feel manipulated. As I marveled at Warren’s talent, I noticed Lina looking distressed. Hornel, also noticing that, turned to Warren and spoke to him,

“T-that doesn’t sound right!”

“Yes, I know.”

Looks like Warren has already anticipated that, too.

“The Army of Twelve and the twelve beasts… It’s supposed to add up to twenty-four individuals. But right now, we are missing one… One who has already left this world!”

“…Gaston.”

Irene said the name that no one else dared to.

Well, it’s understandable that Irene, with her long history with Gaston, is the only one who could do so.

“The Devil King’s associates knew about this prophecy. That was why Billy killed Sir Gaston.”

“If even one of the entities mentioned on the Prophecy Monument disappears, the prophecy won’t hold true…”

Fuyu clenched her fists tightly as she spoke.

“…That’s why Billy went after Sir Gaston so persistently…!”

Hornel, Lina, Futu, Irene — everyone here is quite visibly furious.

Warren raised his glasses slightly and continued his explanation, changing the topic,

“Remember, the prophecy doesn’t explicitly mention twenty-four individuals — it only refers to the ‘Army of Twelve,’ which is basically twelve one-man armies, and the ‘Twelve Starsigns,’ which aren’t even starsigns at all. Nowhere does it state that Baladd cannot be both a one-individual army and a beast of a Zodiac sign. Is that not why my ancestor created a new Familiar Contract between Baladd and Konoha? That’s how I interpret it, at least.”

Having learned about Bright and the others through the message from Shi’shichou, I have shared the details of Konoha’s contract renewal with everyone. It’s reasonable for Warren to reach this conclusion.

“And the truth is that, even without twenty-four entities, Asley’s magic has been completed. This is the most significant proof — which I didn’t expect to fit so well, I admit. Never have I thought that everyone involved would be so strongly connected to the Holy Warrior Poer.”

Warren looked at me, smiling.

Indeed, this is undoubtedly the result of the path I have walked. Perhaps the words God spoke had this meaning as well.

“Sir Asley’s magic does have a… very unique style to it, yes.”

Tifa murmured.

“Sir Tangalán even walked out with his face all red when everything was over! Ahahaha!”

Barun chuckled innocently.

“It’s hard to handle, but it’s actually kinda similar to the magic Li’l Irene taught, you know!”

Natsu said, suppressing her laughter.

“Hey, Natsu! Be quiet!”

Wait, Irene? How? Wasn’t Natsu supposed to have been taught magic by Trace, considering how she went to the University? Well, I guess that’s just how Natsu works — learning more effectively from Irene and Lina.

“Huh? Why?”

“Just be quiet!”

“Mmm, so weird!”

And Irene had been frequently trying to steal my magic — that’s how Natsu learned my style, in a way. But is my magic really THAT unique?

As I tilted my head in contemplation, I noticed another person who seemed troubled out of the corner of my eye.

It’s someone in a situation similar to mine… Pochi.

“Hmm… Hmm…!”

Noticing something was up with Pochi, Lylia spoke to her,

“Something the matter, Pochi?”

“This isn’t right!”

“What?”

“Why am I not one of those twelve beasts!? I could be either the Dog or the Rooster! They’re excluding me on purpose! I feel so betrayed!”

Right, that’s also the point that bothered me.

The full scope of the Prophecy Monument has now been revealed, the missing contents all filled in.

However, not all the pieces are in place yet. Or maybe it just doesn’t seem so.

This is something everyone in this place understands, I’m sure.

Perhaps unraveling the mystery of this prophecy is the key to being victorious the Devil King.

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