Chapter 257: Chapter 257: The Primordial Beasts

"Honey, calm down."

"How can I calm down, Seraphine? He threatened my child!"

Theo listened from the sidelines, and when he thought there was a slight gap in the conversation, he chimed in.

"Father, please be calm about this. That beast... It was in no way normal. It even said that it was waiting for the devils’ doomfall for 400 years now."

"I don’t car—"

The Baroness elbowed the Baron’s rib one time to make him stop, and he did, only to grumpily lean back in the chair with his arms crossed.

"Theo, if that really was a beast that talked with you in your head, then it means it might be one of the primordial beasts."

"Primordial beasts?"

"We are not sure if it is or not. It could just have been a person who used some mental magic on you. But if I believe you, and see it as a beast that can talk as well as a human and directly in someone’s head, then it can only be a primordial beast. In the past 300 years, we as humanity haven’t been able to help a beast grow to such heights."

"I am close," the Baron chimed in with a click of his tongue, making the Baroness look at him with cold eyes, which made him look toward the window.

"He is not close, Theo. Nobody from our generation, the ones before us, or yours, has been able to reach that level. What I am about to tell you will not even be available in the academy’s libraries. They don’t have the authority level to have them. Only the royal family does." She spoke, making Theo listen closely.

Her gaze went to Clara and Elias, who flinched a little.

"This is information that I would like for you to keep a secret, children." She spoke with a mild smile.

But for some reason, Clara and Elias felt threatened even from that and nodded profusely.

The Baron grinned, looking at the mood of the Baroness.

"The primordial beasts are ones that have reached a point in strength that varies from each one of them. Some have been here since the point when the benevolent artifact came to us."

Theo got up from the chair in shock. This was knowledge he hadn’t known, nor did the ones behind him. All three were completely shocked.

"There are beasts and tamers who have been living for so long? What level are they?!" Theo asked, which made the Baroness gesture for him to sit first, which he did.

"The most current primordial that was found was level 30, Theo. It had lived for a long time. Those who know about primordials, it’s basic knowledge for them that the beasts can talk fluently and their abilities are unimaginably powerful."

Before he could speak, she continued, "As for their tamers... that is a mystery we have been trying to solve till now, Theo. Not a single primordial we found ever leaves the place they are at. No matter what we ask them, their answer is only one thing."

She spoke.

"They are waiting for their master’s orders. and who their masters are, we don’t know. It’s eevn possible that they are long dead but it’s just a speculation."

Theo felt a slight chill when the Baroness said that.

"These beasts are said to be strong enough to even destroy the royal family if they want to. But for some reason, they never get out of hiding."

"Also, it’s taboo to even interact with any of them unless you’re a noble, so this should never get out—that you talked with one."

Theo looked at his mother with awe and hesitation.

"...Why did you believe me when I said I heard one, even though I am a child, mother?"

The Baroness only chuckled. "Silly child, it’s because you’re a Merrick. You wouldn’t be so unserious about something this important. I’ve known that about you since you were born." She spoke in a warm tone.

"And also, the description you gave me, that could only happen if a strong tamer or a strong beast did it. If it was done by a human, then the person had powers we can’t comprehend currently. So we will take it as a primordial beast, as it told you it was one. Alright?"

"Alright."

"Also, don’t worry about your father acting up. Even he knows that if he were caught fighting or interacting with a primordial, then not even the king would be able to remove the bounty on his head." She spoke in a casual tone, which got a ’hmph’ out of the Baron.

But the Baron chimed in again.

"But that beast... it saw your affinity as a threat, as if it knew it. But your affinity is unique to begin with..."

"Honey, unique is just a tag we give to something that has not been recorded yet."

When the Baron heard that, something flashed in his eyes for a moment before it died down.

"You mean... my affinity is not unique?" Theo spoke. He wanted to massage his head now. Things had become a lot more complicated.

"Theo," the Baroness was very serious when she stared into his eyes, "We both know that you talked with Old Man Bernard. We know what he asked you to do in the academy."

Theo froze. He didn’t know what to say to that.

"I am not apprehending you for that. You have your own free will. But you’re so deep in all this now that I want you to know that our whole family has been trying to find answers to things that have been wiped from history. Only a few clues can be found even in the royal family, that’s how badly they have been wiped..."

"You want to find answers too?" Theo asked, even though he already knew it. He was just too shocked right now.

"There are powers in this world that we don’t know about right now, but we have many small clues. Some lead to small answers, some lead to big ones, and some just spin out for years only to finally realize they were nothing."

"All we can tell right now is that we should be hiding your affinity’s power as much as we can. There are some more questions I have right now. Answer them and go rest, it’s been a long journey."