Ascension
Author: Michael Sisa
Date: 2022-02-13T18:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy
Description: VOLUME 8 OF LEGEND OF THE ARCH MAGUS An Arch Magus dies, only to find himself in the body of a young man in a medieval Kingdom. He finds out that he is the second son of a Duke, exiled to a desolated town by his own family. Shackled by the notorious reputation of his new shell, he tries his best to develop his domain, implementing new policies and innovations, leading his subjects to prosperity. In this world where magic is undeveloped, he shall once again pave a new path.

Contents

VOLUME 8: PROLOGUE

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 1

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 2

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 3

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 4

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 5

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 6

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 7

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 8

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 9

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 10

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 11

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 12

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 13

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 14

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 15

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 16

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 17

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 18

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 19

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 20

VOLUME 8: EPILOGUE

AFTERWORD

VOLUME 8: PROLOGUE

Normally, it would take more than a month to travel from the capital to Blackstone Town. The roads leading from one city to another were frequently winding, built to circumvent the monster-infested territories in the kingdom.

King Alvis knew he couldn’t wait that long. People were dying in the hands of the demons. If he dallied any longer, several more cities of the kingdom would have already fallen by the time he reached his destination.

To solve this problem, King Alvis and General Carlos came up with a plan of taking the shortest, most direct route to Blackstone Town. They decided to pass through the monster-infested territories, forgoing the comfort of paved and soldier-patrolled roads.

“Sir, isn’t this too dangerous?” said one of the royal guards escorting King Alvis.

King Alvis was not given even the luxury of riding a carriage. He was riding his mount, along with several dozen royal guards. This made it possible for the king and his entourage to move through the forest.

“It’s not like we have a choice,” spat the retired General Carlos. “If we want to reach Blackstone Town in two weeks, this is the quickest path. Keep your eyes straight ahead. Focus and stop yapping. Look, even His Majesty isn’t complaining.”

The royal guard glanced at King Alvis, who was in the middle of the group. Although the old man looked exhausted, he never complained and hadn’t requested for them to rest for more than an hour for several days now. The royal guard was worried the king would suddenly faint and fall off his mount if they kept proceeding at this rate.

“Kobolds ahead!” General Carlos shouted the moment he noticed the four-foot tall monsters hiding in the thicket.

The monsters, which could be mistaken for goblins at first glance, were aiming their wooden spears at the guards. Although the tips of their spears were made of stone, they could still kill their target when properly thrown.

Elias ‘Farsight,’ who’d been positioned at the rear of the group, took out his bow and fired almost a dozen arrows in a mere second. Each of his arrows hit the monsters directly in the head; some of the arrows even swerved at incredibly sharp angles, before hitting their target.

After taking care of the small fries, Farsight nocked another arrow into his bow and aimed it straight ahead. The other soldiers couldn’t see it yet, but a kilometer away, Farsight noticed the kobold leader lying in wait.

Farsight imbued mana into his arrow before releasing it from his bow. The arrow whizzed past the soldiers and swerved past the trees, eventually hitting the six-foot-tall monster. The kobold leader couldn’t even scream as the arrow snuffed the life out of it in a single strike. Seeing their leader dead, the other kobolds hiding in the forest scampered away in fright.

“What did you kill?” said General Carlos.

“Just another kobold,” said Farsight.

General Carlos was really grateful that the best archer of the kingdom had decided to escort them all the way to Blackstone Town. This reckless plan of traversing these monster-infested territories would have been incredibly dangerous without Elias Farsight.

“I’m almost out of arrows,” said Farsight.

The royal guards in charge of rations and weaponry handed him a full quiver.

“Hey,” Farsight said to the woman riding next to him. “If you keep this up, you’ll die before we even arrive.”

Lady Ropianna, who was clearly struggling with her mount, replied, “How could I dare rest when even His Majesty has hardly slept these past several days?”

“You should have just stayed behind,” Farsight said in his usual unfriendly voice. “The alchemists still haven’t come up with an antidote to cure those humans, right?”

“Nothing would change even if I stayed at the capital. You know it too, Farsight. It’s impossible to create a cure in days.”

Farsight clicked his tongue. This old woman, really... He sighed and said, “Don’t be stubborn. Come here. Ride behind me. You’re skin and bone anyway. Your weight should be negligible.”

“My, how gentlemanly.” Lady Ropianna chuckled. “It’s very unlike you, Farsight.”

“Shut up and come over here,” spat Farsight.

Using a wind spell, Lady Ropianna skillfully rode the same mount as Farsight. She gently wrapped her arms around his back. Indeed, it was far easier for her now that another person was maneuvering the mount.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

The two fell silent for a moment.

“Do you remember the words of the demon that appeared at Fork Meadow?” said Farsight.

“Of course. How could I forget?”

“Listen, old woman. The enemies this time will probably be far stronger than any we’ve encountered during our lifetime. They’ll be unlike those rebel soldiers and the scum of the empire,” said Farsight. “If you encounter one of those so-called high demons, run away and don’t look back.”

“You’re telling me to run away like a coward?” Lady Ropianna asked incredulously. It was extremely rare for Farsight to be this talkative. Moreover, he was even giving her a warning.

“I’m telling you to live out the remaining years of your life,” said Farsight. “Out of all the Royal Court Magicians, you’ve served the royal family the longest. Between you, Nickolai, and I, you’ll probably be the first to die.”

Lady Ropianna knew it too. Even before Minerva and Wisgarsus died in the Forbidden Region, she was the weakest among the Royal Court Magicians of the kingdom. Although she specialized in healing and protection spells, she hardly had any offensive spells at her disposal.

“How ironic, the youngest among us is telling the oldest to run away and survive,” said Lady Ropianna. “The little kid I took care of is all grown up.”

Farsight frowned. He took out his bow, nocked his arrow, and aimed at the monsters he spotted half a kilometer ahead.

Without uttering another word, Farsight continued slaughtering the forest monsters.

***

Two weeks quickly passed by. Finally, King Alvis and his entourage arrived at Blackstone Town.

“Is this really… a town?” murmured one of the soldiers.

A colossal wall, far larger than the capital’s, surrounded Blackstone Town. Moreover, a translucent, dome-shaped barrier, similar to the famous barrier protecting the capital, was enclosing it, giving it the appearance of an impregnable fortress.

“Isn’t this a fortress?” mumbled another soldier.

Unlike King Alvis, General Carlos, and the Royal Court Magicians, most of the soldiers hadn’t heard about the gargantuan wall that had recently erupted and enclosed Blackstone Town overnight.

They recalled the massive northern farmland they passed along the way here. Unfortunately, the farmers had just finished harvesting the wheat. Otherwise, they would have been greeted by a vast golden field encompassing several kilometers.

This territory was surprisingly thriving, even more than the major cities of the kingdom.

Seeing this, King Alvis was even more convinced that his decision to come all the way here had been right.

“Let’s head inside right away and meet with the Lord of Blackstone Town,” said King Alvis. His previously tired voice had regained its strength. His hope had been rekindled and conviction strengthened.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Without concealing their identities, King Alvis and his entourage entered the barrier and the gate. The guards stationed at the gate were dumbstruck upon learning the identity of the old man.

“The… the r-royal seal?!” The guard stared at the royal seal shown to him by General Carlos, then at the old man in the middle of the group.

“H-His Majesty, King Alvis?!”

“His Majesty wishes to meet with the Lord of Blackstone Town,” said General Carlos. “We are running out of time. Lead the way.”

The guards finally broke out of their stupor. One of them saluted and said in a loud voice, “Right away! P-Please follow me!”

With the guard at the lead, King Alvis and his men entered Blackstone Town. They were first greeted by several hundred shacks upon entering the town. Seeing the curious gaze of King Alvis and his men, the guard explained.

“They’re temporary houses made for the migrants from the city,” said the guard.

“I see,” said General Carlos. He immediately understood what had happened. What transpired at Lion City had been written in the news, after all. “The frequent monster attacks at Lion City forced all of these people to migrate to Blackstone Town.”

“The lord plans on relocating all of them once the residential houses in the Eastern District are complete,” said the guard. “But for now, they’re staying in those shacks.”

“They look well fed,” said King Alvis. Despite staying in those small houses, the migrants looked healthy and motivated. “Did the lord provide all of these people with ways to earn a living?”

The guard was disconcerted to receive a question from the king. Never in his life had he expected to see His Majesty, never mind speak to him directly.

The guard replied, “Most of them have received appropriate jobs from the town hall, Your Majesty. The lord has been keen on expanding this territory. The town hall is always on the lookout for helping hands. As long as they’re willing to work mundane jobs, there’s always one available in this town.”

“A town hall…” King Alvis stroked his beard.

“I heard… that it’s something similar to the local government offices in major cities, Your Majesty,” said the guard carefully.

“Similar to the local government office?” said General Carlos.

The guard guiding them scratched his head in embarrassment. “Forgive me, sir. I was a former illiterate. About the town hall and how it truly works… I’m not certain of the specifics.”

General Carlos did not miss the words ‘former illiterate.’

“You’ve received education, soldier?” said General Carlos.

The guard nodded. “I know how to read and write, sir. But unlike the veteran soldiers, I’ve yet to receive higher education like theology and arithmetic. I’ve only received a basic education, sir.”

The king and his entourage were stunned.

Basic education?

Theology and arithmetic?

Their guide sounded as though he was a noble or the son of an affluent merchant from the city.

No, even a merchant’s son would seldomly receive that much education. Such education was normally available only to the high nobles.

The guard misread the peculiar expressions of His Majesty and his men. Afraid that he had sullied the image of the Lord of Blackstone Town, the guard added, “M-Most of the other soldiers are unlike me, sir. The majority of the original residents have already learned how to read and write and are capable of basic arithmetic now!”

King Alvis and General Carlos locked eyes with each other. Without uttering a word, the two of them understood what was going through each other’s minds.

All of these developments were incredible for such a small territory. Judging by the shacks and migrants they passed along the way, it seemed that even after taking thousands of new residents, peace and order had not declined in Blackstone Town.

Not only were the fields vast and abundant, the town felt secured and protected, and its residents were filled with vibrance.

As the king and his entourage continued traversing the streets of Blackstone Town, more and more residents started recognizing who he truly was.

How could they miss the insignia of the royal family? Moreover, General Carlos and the two Royal Court Magicians riding alongside the group were famous throughout the kingdom. It did not take long before the news of the king’s arrival spread around Blackstone Town.

Mikael Garios, who’d been feeding the horses at the stable, immediately ran out of the mansion hearing of His Majesty’s arrival.

“Your Majesty!” Mikael knelt on one knee seeing King Alvis.

King Alvis and his men halted. On the streets, onlookers had gathered.

“It’s been a while, Mikael,” said King Alvis.

“Apologies,” said Mikael in a heated voice. “For me to not realize His Majesty’s arrival!”

“It’s fine.” King Alvis waved his hand. “Stand up, Mikael.”

Mikael stood, placed a hand on his chest, and lowered his head.

“More importantly, is it alright for you to reveal your identity in front of his crowd?” said General Carlos.

“The candidate already knows,” said Mikael. “It shouldn’t matter if I reveal my identity to these people.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Mikael saw Arturo looking at him with wide eyes. The short man was clearly baffled why a coachman like him was speaking to His Majesty and the general directly. Arturo almost ended up dropping the bag filled with ecaruits in his hand.

Mikael glanced behind him. As expected, if he, a coachman, had heard the news, the lord would naturally have heard that the king had arrived at Blackstone Town.

“Your Majesty,” said Mikael, after seeing the young man walking toward their direction. “The man you’ve been wanting to meet—the Lord of Blackstone Town—is here.”

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 1

King Alvis and his retinue fell silent as they gazed upon the young man walking toward them. They’d seen him before at the capital, but for some strange reason, the air surrounding him seemed to have changed.

How should they describe it? It felt as though his presence had gotten a lot heavier. A regal presence that even overshadowed the king for a moment.

Lark gave a passing glance at Mikael, before proceeding to kneel on one knee before King Alvis. To his surprise, the king grabbed his shoulder, preventing his knee from touching the ground. The king shook his head.

“There’s no need for you to kneel, Lord Lark,” said King Alvis.

The onlookers who heard felt something was amiss. Clearly, there was reverence and fear within King Alvis’ voice. It seemed to some that the king was horrified by the very thought of Lark kneeling before him.

Lark studied the king for a moment, before nodding his head. He placed a hand on his chest and lightly bowed his head. “I greet His Majesty, the sun of the kingdom.”

The king looked uncomfortable.

Lark added, “Apologies… for not coming out sooner to greet His Majesty.”

“No, no, it’s already an honor that Lord Lark went out of his way to meet this old man,” said King Alvis, not minding the crowd listening to them. He no longer minded appearances and made it obvious to Lark that he was subservient.

“Is that really His Majesty?” whispered one of the onlookers.

“It seems so? But why does he seem so afraid of the lord?” said another.

“That’s right… he even prevented the lord from kneeling on the ground.”

A buzz and murmurs filled the streets as the onlookers speculated on identity of the old man. Although most of them did not doubt the king’s identity, they were puzzled why the ruler of the kingdom was showing such reverence to a mere lord of a town.

“It appears that news of His Majesty’s arrival has reached the ears of everyone in Blackstone Town,” said Lark, realizing that hundreds of people had now filled the streets to get a glimpse of King Alvis.

To a normal citizen of the kingdom, especially those who did not live in the capital, it would have been impossible for them to ever get a glimpse of a monarch.

“Although it might be lacking, I have a sitting room prepared at the mansion,” said Lark.

The king glanced at the onlookers gathered on the streets. Thankfully, the guards accompanying him were enough to deter the residents of the town from approaching any further. Moreover, Lark commanded respect among the residents of Blackstone Town. The onlookers consciously left a path open on the streets for the king and Lark.

With Lark at the lead, the king and his retinue walked through the town’s main road. Along the way, they passed by the Central Plaza. Since the Eastern District had yet to be fully expanded, this was currently the heart of Blackstone Town.

The Central Market. The newly built inns and taverns. The town hall and the school next to it. The developments this town had underwent during the reign of Lark Marcus was truly impressive. Even Elias Farsight, who held no interest in political affairs, knew how great this feat was. This territory felt like a small city, rather than a town.

Several minutes after passing by the Central Market, the group finally arrived at the mansion.

To King Alvis’ surprise, the mansion was surprisingly small. Well, it was far larger than the inns and the taverns they’d passed by along the way. But for a noble from a ducal house, it was incredibly lacking. Even the town hall was taller and larger than this one.

It seemed that the lord was living quite a modest lifestyle.

“Father!” a familiar voice was heard.

A woman in leather armor ran past the gates and jumped into the king’s embrace. Her body was soaked in sweat, as though she’d been running around the town all day.

“Esmeralda?”

The princess, who reeked of sweat, tightened her embrace before letting go of her father. She grabbed King Alvis’ hands and excitedly said, “I ran here as soon as I heard of your arrival! I can’t believe you’ve come to visit Blackstone Town!”

King Alvis felt the princess’ calloused palm and fingers—the hands of someone who’d swung the sword hundreds of times each day. The hands of a swordsman. Looking below, King Alvis noticed a sword hanging on her waist.

“I’ve come to meet with Lord Lark,” said King Alvis as he began patting her head.

Princess Esmeralda glanced at Lark then mumbled, “To visit the lord? I see...”

The king smiled mischievously. “Did my precious daughter think that I came to visit her?”

The princess removed the hand patting her head and took a step back in embarrassment. “Of course not!”

The king chuckled. It seemed that part of her remained unchanged. She was still easy to fluster.

Princess Esmeralda averted her gaze. She finally noticed the familiar faces standing behind her father.

“Lady Ropianna?” said the princess.

The Seer, who’d been taking care of the past two generations of the royal family, was a mother figure to her. After all, she’d never known her biological mother, who died after giving birth to the youngest princess. Ever since, the role of a mother had been filled by this elderly female magician.

“It’s been a while, Princess.” Lady Ropianna smiled warmly. She also noticed the sword hanging by the princess’ waist. “You’ve finally embraced the sword. I am glad.”

The princess scratched her cheeks. “The lord told me I have no talent in magic. So, I decided that I might as well wield the sword instead.”

“The lord did?” said Lady Ropianna, casting a glance at the Lord of Blackstone Town.

The king and the Lady Ropianna knew how much the princess detested the sword. Ever since she was young, she disliked wielding it, calling it a barbarian’s weapon.

Who would have known that this time would come? That the princess, who was a natural-born genius with the sword, would willingly embrace her talent?

Noticing that the Lord of Blackstone Town was patiently waiting for them, King Alvis cleared his throat and said to the princess, “We’ll be discussing important matters with the lord, my dearest daughter.”

“Ah, of course.” The princess nodded, the beads of sweat on her forehead sliding down her cheeks. “I’ll see you later, father.”

After parting with the princess, the group entered the mansion and went to the sitting room on the second floor. The king asked everyone to leave the room, save for General Carlos, Mikael Garios, and the two Royal Court Magicians. The moment the butler shut the door, the king prostrated on the floor.

“My Lord! I’ve heard from Mikael that you’re the legendary magician, Evander Alaester!” the king said with heated desperation. “Please! I’m begging you! Save this nation!”

Lark was stunned. The king of the nation was prostrating before him, his head firmly touching the ground. Moreover, his body was quivering, as though afraid Lark would reject his desperate pleas. He’d never expected to see King Alvis like this.

Lark glanced at General Carlos and the two Royal Court Magicians. Although they looked conflicted, it seemed that they’d expected things to turn out this way. They made no attempt to pull up King Alvis. Mikael, on the other hand, was clearly taken aback by the sudden prostration of the king. He repeatedly looked at the king, at Lark, then back.

“Your Majesty…” Lark frowned. “Please rise.”

It felt painful seeing King Alvis in this state. In his past life, Lark had seen his fair share of kings, emperors, monarchs. Suffice to say, despite his shortcomings as a ruler, King Alvis was definitely among the virtuous ones. This king was easygoing despite his age and frequently cracked jokes at his men every now and then. Lark could even vividly remember when King Alvis offered him one of the named swords of the kingdom in exchange for marrying his youngest daughter.

Lark could not bear to look at the king like this, his head touching the ground, quivering from fear. Even his voice was croaking, as though he was close to crying. Even during the war with the empire, Lark had never heard the king sound this desperate.

“Please rise,” repeated Lark, his voice gentle.

Seeing that King Alvis was reluctant to stand up, Lark gently tugged his arms, ushering the old man up.

Lark sighed in relief upon seeing the king finally standing up. He glanced at Mikael, then said to the king, “Everything I’ve told Mikael is the truth. That’s right. I am Evander Alaester.”

The king and his retinue realized that, surprisingly, Lark had no intention of denying his identity.

Lark snapped his fingers and a magic formation, similar to the one he’d used to reveal his identity to Mikael and Gaston, appeared on the floor. It shattered into numerous particles of golden light, eventually forming the image of a middle-aged magician wielding a staff.

The king and his retinue silently watched as the magician cast his spell, summoned a colossal ball of golden fire, and destroyed an entire mountain. A feat even Royal Court Magicians couldn’t hope to achieve.

“Your Majesty,” said Lark, gazing directly at the eyes of King Alvis. “Please be at ease. I’ve already decided to protect this kingdom.”

The king’s shoulders finally stopped quivering. More tears started forming at the corner of the old man’s eyes. He’d been wanting to hear those very same words, ever since he’d arrived here at Blackstone Town.

The arduous journey through those monster-infested territories had paid off. They’d finally obtained the help of this legendary magician.

King Alvis repeatedly thanked the Gods above.

“Your Majesty, first, for me to help you,” said Lark in a calm voice. “I need to know the current state of the kingdom.”

King Alvis nodded. He looked at his companions for a moment before recounting everything he’d learned the past couple of weeks. The fall of Port Kalavinka. The fall of the Kelvin Duchy. The current predicament of the Marcus Duchy, the Leonard School, Rock Castle, and Quasan City. The number of demons, their appearances, and their apparent abilities.

“It took us half a month just to arrive here,” said King Alvis, his face grim. “Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing the current situation at the front lines.”

Lark silently listened.

One of the three duchies falling to the hands of the demons was a terrible blow to the kingdom. More than a hundred thousand people had probably perished during that time. Lark found it unfortunate that he hadn’t fortified the defenses of the Duchy before the demon horde arrived.

“The demons have this strange ability to corrupt their prey,” said Lady Ropianna. “Those humans… it’s as though they’ve become walking corpses. They’ve lost all their freewill. They couldn’t even die if they wanted to.”

“Parasitized humans.” Lark immediately came into a conclusion after hearing the story from King Alvis and Lady Ropianna. “It seems that the demons that attacked the Duchy belong to the parasitic demon tribe.”

Lady Ropianna looked at Lark curiously. She hadn’t expected to hear the demon’s identity immediately from Lark.

“Parasitized humans?” she said.

Lark nodded. He cast the same magic as before and willed the golden particles of light to form a certain demon. A humanoid creature with serrated mouth, a single horn on its head, and several tentacles forming its lower body.

“This here is a parasitic demon,” explained Lark. “Even the weakest members of their tribe is capable of taking over the body of animals—even humans—as their host.”

The image distorted for a moment, before forming the image of another demon. A creature with an ovoid body, dozens of eyes, a large serrated mouth, and innumerable fleshy tentacles. A creature several times larger than the first parasitic demon Lark showed them.

“Although they’re not that strong, the higher-ranking ones have incredibly fast regenerative abilities. This one’s a high-ranking nest. A demon capable of giving birth to other lower-ranking nests. It’s a creature with far greater regenerative abilities than a troll. It’s practically an immortal monster. I doubt even the Royal Court Magicians could kill one of them in battle.”

Everyone in the room shuddered upon hearing this. The image of the high-ranking nest alone was enough to give them chills. The monster looked so grotesque and disgusting, as though all of the hatred and filth in the world had gathered to form a single monster.

“Even if you cut its body into dozen pieces, it would not kill this monster. It will regenerate its body indefinitely, unless you destroy its core,” said Lark.

He paused, looked at everyone in the room, and added, “Although high-ranking nests are extremely rare, if by chance you encounter one, run and enter the nearest barrier.”

“Then… the barrier protecting the capital…” said King Alvis.

“Even a high-ranking nest isn’t capable of destroying that one,” pointed out Lark. “Even the flying demons you spoke of won’t be able to enter the capital.”

What a relief.

As expected of a barrier formed from a pinnacle-grade spell.

The king felt more at ease knowing his subjects would be safe inside the capital, at the very least.

Lark fell silent for a moment. He said, “Your Majesty, as long as their bodies are still alive, it is possible to save a parasitized human.”

King Alvis and Lady Ropianna looked at each other. Although the alchemists at the capital were trying to find a cure for the parasitized humans, they believed it would take them a long time before they finally found a way to revert those humans to normal.

“L-Lord, are you saying that you know of a way to return those humans back to normal?” said Lady Ropianna.

“Medicine concocted from mandrake leaves,” said Lark. “Fortunately, the town’s herbalist has managed to successfully grow several of those mythical plants. Although the number of mandrakes is currently limited, we should have enough to concoct a few hundred vials.”

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 2

The news regarding the existence of a cure for parasitization rekindled hope within King Alvis and the Royal Court Magicians. They hadn’t expected a cure to have already been cultivated at Blackstone Town.

“Frost moonlight lilies, roots of a coneflower, and leaves of a mandrake,” said Lark. “At equal amounts, boil the three together under extreme heat for a minimum of five days and feed the concoction to a parasitized human. The formula’s simple, right?”

Everyone in the room listened attentively as Lark recited the ingredients and the steps needed to concoct the cure for parasitization. Although frost moonlight lilies were seasonal plants that grew only during winter, they believed that there were several of them stashed away in the Alchemist Guild in the capital. Coneflowers, on the other hand, were quite easy to find. The real problem was the number of mandrake leaves Lark could provide.

“Five days? If we wait that long…” muttered Lady Ropianna. It was a lot of time, considering the demons must be attacking the other cities of the kingdom right now. They did not even know if the demon horde had already breached the defenses of the front lines and reached the capital.

“Mandrake leaves are infused with mana. Unfortunately, even I do not know of a way to hasten the process of extracting its essence,” said Lark, a bit dismayed that he hadn’t bothered to learn how to hasten the process back in his previous life. Potions capable of curing parasitization were common, after all, in the Magic Empire.

“Lady Ropianna, please delegate the task of concocting the potion to the alchemists of the capital,” said Lark.

“Of course. I’ll work them to the bone, Lord Lark,” replied the elderly female magician.

“I’ll stop by Herbalist Mores’ house after this, before going straight to the front lines.”

“We’re going straight to the front lines?” General Carlos did not like the idea of bringing King Alvis to a place overrun by demons. “Lord… forgive my impertinence, but isn’t it too dangerous to head straight there? And it’ll take us longer to ride all the way to the west, instead of heading straight to the capital.”

Their group hadn’t heard anything from the western region since they’d left the capital two weeks ago. There was a chance that the cities defending against the demon horde had collapsed by now.

“It’s not easy to destroy a pinnacle-grade barrier. Although parasitic demons have incredibly high regenerative abilities, they do not have high offensive strength. The capital should be safe, even now. Our best course of action right now is to head straight to the west, to the front lines.”

King Alvis nodded. “I agree with the lord. I also believe that we should immediately head straight to the western territories.”

General Carlos frowned, but did not utter another word. He knew how stubborn King Alvis was when it came to the safety of his citizens. Nothing he said here would change the old man’s mind.

“To save those that can still be saved,” said King Alvis to General Carlos. “Isn’t this what we came here for?”

The king turned to Lark and said, “I may look frail, but this old man is still capable of riding all the way to the west. I believe my presence there would greatly increase the morale of the soldiers. Please let me accompany you all the way to the front lines, Lord Lark.”

“Alright,” said Lark. “I’ll gather the mandrake leaves from the herbalist. Your Majesty, two hours from now, please meet me near the mines at the Endless Forest.”

King Alvis and his retinue were puzzled why Lark was asking them to meet in the opposite direction of the western region, but decided to simply nod their heads regardless.

After Lark left the mansion, he headed straight to the Training Hall. Over a hundred soldiers had just finished their daily stamina training; they were stabbing and cutting the air with their spears. Overseeing them, the recently promoted Commander Qarat and Anandra.

“Continue with your training,” Lark said to the soldiers, preventing them from stopping and greeting him as he passed by.

“Young Lord.”

“Master.”

Commander Qarat and Anandra immediately saluted and greeted him.

“Good work training the soldiers. I came here to give you this.”

Lark handed a sword to Anandra.

“This is…” mumbled Anandra as he stared at the sword in his hand. It was incredibly beautiful. An item worth at least several hundred gold coins, probably more.

“A gift,” said Lark. “It’s made of adamantite.”

“Adamantite…”

Anandra knew how valuable adamantite was. It was so rare that it was even coveted by the dwarven race. He couldn’t believe that his master was gifting him something so precious without batting an eye.

“Do you remember what I taught you a few days ago?” said Lark.

Anandra nodded. “Yes.”

“Try it.”

Following Lark’s command, Anandra unsheathed the sword, revealing a platinum blade that glimmered with the touch of light. He channeled mana into it, coating the sword with a translucent white aura. Several soldiers halted in their training and stared at the sword in awe. It was the first time they’d seen a sword so beautiful.

“It’s easier to channel mana into a sword made of adamantite, right?” Lark grinned.

“It’s light and easy to use, Master Lark.” Anandra swung the sword in the air, creating a sharp cutting sound. As expected of Anandra. He’d managed to learn coating his weapon with mana in days.

“I’ll be gone for quite some time. Practice coating your weapon and your body with mana, until then.”

“You’ll be leaving, Master?” asked Anandra as he sheathed the sword.

“I need to accompany His Majesty to the Kelvin Duchy and its nearby ports. Once you’ve fully mastered coating your body and weapons with mana, I’ll start teaching you how to open the seven gates.”

The Seven Gates of Mana.

Lark had mentioned this technique to Anandra before, back when he was teaching him how to coat his sword with mana. The same technique used by the so-called Immortal Beastman who once led the Third Legion of the United Grakas Alliance.

Even that beastman general managed to open only three out of the seven gates. But Lark believed Anandra, who had an incredibly strong body capable of surviving the corrosive attacks of a male basilisk, should be able to open at least five out of the seven gates.

“His Majesty…” said Anandra. “I see.”

Anandra remembered the news of the king’s arrival this morning. But unlike the other residents, Anandra forbade the soldiers from going out to the streets to get a glimpse of the king.

“Increase the training of George and Austen. If they complain, tell them it was their master’s orders.”

“Of course.”

It was subtle, but a devilish grin formed on Anandra’s face for a moment. It seemed the brothers would complain about their hellish training again once Lark returned to the town.

“Commander.”

“Young Lord!”

“Here. I’m giving you this first.” Lark handed him a spear wrapped in a cloth. “Although it’s only made of iron, it should be easy enough for everyone to use. Just think of it as something similar to the pillars of the Training Hall.”

The commander unwrapped the cloth, revealing a spear with tiny runes carved on the blade and the shaft.

“It’s a magic spear,” said Lark. “Just will it and the runes inscribed in the spear will heed your call.”

The commander’s hands trembled hearing the words ‘magic spear.’ He knew how precious such items were. He couldn’t wait to test out the weapon later.

“T-Thank you so much, Lord!” Commander Qarat said in a passionate voice. Embracing the spear with his arms, he bowed his head low.

Lark addressed the soldiers, “All of you who participated in the war with the empire, will also be given a similar spear once I’ve returned. Look forward to it.”

The veteran soldiers were visibly excited to hear this. The new recruits, on the other hand, looked at their seniors with envy.

If they worked hard, would they receive a magic spear too?

The new recruits clenched their fists with renewed determination.

After handing the weapons to Anandra and Commander Qarat, Lark headed to Herbalist Mores’ house and plucked out several mandrake leaves. Thankfully, the herbalist had managed to grow several dozen mandrakes. The only problem was the ear-splitting screams of the mandrakes the moment Lark started plucking their leaves one after another. If not for Lark’s sound-canceling magic, the herbalist and his assistant would have probably vomited on the ground from the grating, ear-splitting sound.

***

At the outskirts of Blackstone Town, near the kalrane stone mine, King Alvis and his men patiently waited for Lark to arrive.

General Carlos and the soldiers started discussing ways to alleviate the burden on His Majesty during their travel toward the Kelvin Duchy. Although King Alvis said that he still had enough strength to travel all the way to the western territories, General Carlos knew that it was a façade. He was worried His Majesty would collapse during their travel.

“Is everyone here?”

The Lord of Blackstone Town appeared from the direction of the mines and walked toward King Alvis and his men.

“Yes, Lord,” said the king.

The other soldiers were clearly uncomfortable that His Majesty was showing such reverence to a mere lord of a town, but still kept their mouths shut.

“We’ve already replenished our rations and fed our mounts,” said General Carlos. “We’re ready to move out at any time.”

“Mounts?” said Lark. His right hand held a small leather bag filled with mandrake leaves. “No. We’re flying to the front lines.”

The soldiers looked at the Lord of Blackstone Town in wonder. Flight magic was incredibly hard to sustain, even for Royal Court Magicians. Not only did it require fine control over mana, it also continuously consumed large amounts of it. And now, the lord was telling them that they would be flying all the way to the western territory?

“Farsight and I can use flight magic for a couple of minutes, Lord Lark,” said Lady Ropianna. “But that’s our limit. And it would be extremely hard for us to use other spells while maintaining flight magic.”

Lark understood. Although they were Royal Court Magicians, it was impossible for them to use flight magic on several people at the same time. Not everyone had an incredibly fine control over their mana, like Lark.

“It will be fine,” said Lark. “We’ll be riding a flying mount.”

“A flying mount?” said Lady Ropianna.

Lark activated the gem on his necklace and transmitted a message to a creature living at the border of the Endless Forest.

“Blackie. There’s no longer any need to conceal yourself,” said Lark. “Come to me immediately.”

After the message ended, Farsight felt an ominous presence coming from the forest. He pulled out an arrow from his quiver out of reflex and nocked it on his bow, ready to fire at any moment.

“Old woman,” said Farsight.

“I know,” said Lady Ropianna.

The two Royal Court Magicians glanced at Lark warily, then in the direction where the clumps of mana were coming from. Soon, the source revealed itself. Flocks of birds flew and tremendous pressure swept through this part of the forest. A shadow loomed over the king and his men.

A seven-headed monster with two pairs of bat-like wings.

By estimate, it was almost as large as the colossal wall enclosing the town. Around fifty meters in length, the creature’s black iridescent scales glimmered with the touch of light.

Time seemed to have momentarily halted as they stared at the monster. The soldiers shuddered, their mouths agape.

“W-What… What is that?!”

“M-Monster!”

“P-Protect His Majesty!”

General Carlos unsheathed his sword and, along with the royal guards, assumed a defensive stance in front of King Alvis. Elias Farsight imbued mana into his arrow, while Lady Ropianna started casting a barrier. Everyone was so terrified of the gargantuan monster that for a moment, they forgot that Lark had previously mentioned the existence of a flying mount.

The seven-headed monster hovered right above the king and his men. All of its seven heads were looking at the young man with short silver hair.

The seven-headed monster spoke in human tongue, “I’ve come, God Evander.”

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 3

Although they’d been petrified by fear, the royal guards still formed a defensive formation around King Alvis. Their hands were trembling as they held their swords, their legs wobbling and their faces drained of all color.

“Lower your weapons,” said King Alvis. “This mons— this creature means no harm.”

Although King Alvis was visibly terrified just like his men, he’d heard the words uttered by this seven-headed monster the moment it arrived. Although it sounded preposterous, it seemed this creature was subservient to the Lord of Blackstone Town.

“Blackie,” said Lark.

Gusts of wind swept through the forest as the seven-headed monster flapped its wings.

“God Evander,” replied the Scylla in a meek voice.

“This man is King Alvis, King of the Kingdom of Lukas,” Lark started introducing his companions one by one. “Lady Ropianna, Elias Farsight.”

Lark gazed at the bulky old man wearing armor next to His Majesty. Seeing Lark’s gaze, the old man said, “Viscount Carlos, former general of the kingdom.”

“You heard him,” said Lark. “And as for these men, they’re valiant soldiers of this kingdom.”

The seven-headed monster continued hovering in the air, its gaze indifferent. Only the third head nodded its head in acknowledgment. It was apparent that this massive creature saw these humans as nothing more than insects. In the eyes of the Scylla, Austen and George held far greater importance than the lives of all these people.

King of a nation? Such a title was trivial when compared to God Evander’s direct disciples.

“Come down, Blackie. Make sure not to damage the trees too much,” said Lark.

The seven-headed monster immediately landed on the ground, and amazingly avoided damaging the trees, faithfully following the orders of Lark.

The first head of the Scylla sneakily moved closer to Lark, and to its delight, received a pat on its snout. The first head closed its eyes in bliss.

“This is Blackie,” said Lark as he continued patting the first head’s snout.

The other heads, realizing what was happening, growled, startling King Alvis and his men. The other heads also moved closer to Lark, in hopes of also receiving a pat or a rub.

“With its help, it should be possible for us to reach the front lines within a single day.”

Silence befell the group for a moment.

They were still stunned by the sudden turn of events. They’d never expected a creature this domineering to suddenly appear from the forest. Moreover, judging by what the Lord of Blackstone Town had said, it seemed that they would be using this seven-headed monster to reach the west.

“We… We’re riding that?” muttered one of the soldiers, disbelief evident on his face.

The seventh head snorted upon hearing the remark of the soldier. One of the heads glared at him, its eyes clearly saying: ‘This insect. If not for God Evander, I would have ripped you to shreds.’

It was amazing how the creature’s gaze could easily convey its message.

“Lord Lark…” said Lady Ropianna. “This… majestic creature. It’s the one the royal knights encountered in the labyrinth, right?”

As the one who’d received the message from the survivors of the first expedition to the Forbidden Region, Lady Ropianna was the first to realize the true identity of the seven-headed monster.

“It was the creature guarding the lowest floor of the labyrinth in the Forbidden Region,” said Lark. “That’s right.”

“T-The monster that killed the royal knights?!”

“But what is it doing here?”

The royal guards started whispering to each other. The story of how the royal knights were almost annihilated was a famous story among the soldiers of the capital. Some of them thought the story had been blown out of proportion and greatly exaggerated. But now, they were seeing the seven-headed monster in flesh.

“God Evander,” said the first head, “I dislike these humans.”

The murmurs died in an instant. Upon hearing those words, the soldiers immediately shut their mouths.

“I’m indebted to these people,” said Lark. “King Alvis and Lady Ropianna, in particular, have been of great help to me in developing Blackstone Town.”

Indeed, King Alvis had been incredibly lenient to him, going as far as brushing off the incident when he refused to take on the role of a Royal Advisor. Despite the various nasty rumors surrounding Lark Marcus, the king had still entrusted him with the role of leading the Third Army, granting more than ten thousand men under his command. The king even went as far as granting him sovereignty over the Endless Forest. A territory larger than the kingdom itself.

Lady Ropianna, on the other hand, had been pulling the strings in the Temple of the Water God, making sure things were convenient for Lark.

“God Evander is indebted to these people,” said the first head. It looked at King Alvis and his men. “We understand.”

From worthless insects, the status of King Alvis and his men had been promoted to ‘humans it should protect should danger arise.’

“I hope you will let them ride on your body,” said Lark. “We’re going to the western territories.”

The Scylla replied, “Of course. If it’s God Evander’s will.”

The prideful Scylla lowered its body.

“The sooner we get there, the better,” said Lark. He jumped on top of the Scylla’s body. “Let’s go, Your Majesty.”

Everyone, particularly the royal guards, was hesitant at first. It took them some time before they were able to muster up the courage to climb on top of the seven-headed monster.

The moment everyone was onboard the Scylla, Lark cast a protective barrier, protecting everyone from the wind the moment they started flying in the sky. As long as they were inside the barrier, it wouldn’t be too dangerous, even if they were to fall off the Scylla’s back.

“Let’s go,” said Lark.

The Scylla roared, jumped to the sky, and unfolded its wings. King Alvis and his men desperately clung onto the Scylla’s body, unaware that Lark’s barrier was more than enough to prevent them from falling.

As they gained altitude, Lark noticed several people below. It seemed that news of the appearance of the unknown monster had spread to all of the miners. Holding their pickaxes in their hands, they all looked up and stared at the Scylla flying in the sky.

“Top speed,” said Lark. “To the west.”

“Yes, God Evander!”

The Scylla flapped its wings, increased its altitude, and flew toward the west at an incredibly fast speed.

The scenery below shifted at a dizzying pace. With its two pairs of wings, the Scylla flew several times faster than Lark’s flight magic.

King Alvis and his men still couldn’t believe that such a method of transportation existed.

“This is amazing,” mumbled one of the royal guards.

If they kept this pace, it would be more than feasible to reach the western territories in less than a day.

***

[Marcus Duchy – Gryphon City]

Duke Drakus had hardly slept these past several days. After the demon horde ravaged the Kelvin Duchy to the ground, they immediately set their eyes on the neighboring territories.

Although the demons had split into several groups, a bulk of their forces decided to attack the Marcus Duchy. All of the nearby towns and villages had already fallen to the demon’s hands. Now, all that remained was Gryphon City.

Wearing full plate armor, Duke Drakus stood on top of the battlements, personally leading the soldiers to battle.

“Pour the oil!” roared Duke Drakus.

From atop the twenty-meter-high stone wall, castrel oil incessantly poured down on the demons below.

“Archers! Fire!”

Flaming arrows rained down on the parasitic demons. Tentacle monsters and parasitized humans—none were spared from the soldiers’ attacks. Their bodies were engulfed by flames, scorching them alive. The scent of burned flesh wafted strongly in the air.

The tentacles within the mouth of the parasitized humans violently squirmed; some of them even tried getting out, but to no avail. The parasitic demons, on the other hand, screeched in pain, their tentacles repeatedly banging against the walls.

The soldiers had learned of this little trick several days ago. After the surrounding towns and villages had fallen to the demons, they’d learned that the damnable creatures were capable of taking over the bodies of their prey. Duke Drakus knew that the only way for them to survive a prolonged battle was to prevent the demons from utilizing that ability. Simply killing the demons wasn’t enough. They needed to get rid of the corpses too. Without hesitation, the duke ordered his men to burn all the bodies of both humans and demons.

Duke Drakus’ decisiveness played a critical part in how the city had managed to survive until now. Although burning the bodies of their fallen comrades seemed cruel, it rendered the parasitic demons’ abilities useless.

Screeches were heard from the sky. Looking up, Duke Drakus saw hundreds of sky demons approaching the city.

“The pesky bastards are back again,” Duke Drakus said, frowning. “The nets?”

“Ready at any time, Your Grace,” said a soldier.

“Good.” Duke Drakus sheathed his sword, grabbed a crossbow, and aimed at the flying demons in the sky.

Over a hundred barrels of castrel oil were currently stored in the city. With the walls protecting Gryphon City, it should be possible for them to continue with their current tactic for several more weeks. The only problem was the demons coming from the sky. Even now, they hadn’t come up with an effective way for the soldiers to fight against those bastards.

“Not yet,” said the duke.

The archers stationed on the walls patiently waited for the duke’s command, their arrows aimed at the demons in the sky.

“Not yet,” the duke repeated.

The sky demons loudly screeched, signaling the start of their attack. They swooped toward the soldiers stationed on the battlements. Duke Drakus tightened his grip on the crossbow. The moment the sky demons reached a designated range, he roared, “Fire!”

On command, the archers fired their arrows. Although a third of them missed their targets, the majority successfully struck the demons swooping from the sky.

Unfortunately, unless it pierced their heads, a single arrow wasn’t enough to kill a sky demon.

The sky demons angrily screeched and brandished their talons. They wanted to grab the humans and tear them into shreds. But before they could reach their targets, a net made of small iron chains abruptly rose from the ground and blocked their path. Unaware of the humans’ trap, the sky demons collided with the nets. The soldiers didn’t miss this opening. Even without the duke’s orders, they started stabbing the sky demons with their spears.

The sky demons desperately tried evading the spears, but to their horror, their talons had been entangled by the meshed chains. Now their ability to fly had been temporarily sealed off by the humans, they were helpless cut down.

Duke Drakus watched in satisfaction as his soldiers one-sidedly slaughtered the demon horde. The sky demons that managed to survive encircled the city for several minutes, before flying away toward the direction of the Mullgray Islands.

“Lui’s strategy is working really well against these demons,” muttered the duke.

Although Duke Drakus ordered the burning of the bodies, the iron nets were proposed by his son, Lui.

The duke said to an officer. “How many men did we lose today?”

The officer said, “We’ve lost fifteen soldiers, Your Grace.”

Fifteen men.

It was a surprisingly small number, considering they’d been fighting against thousands of demons on the ground and hundreds of flying demons in the sky.

When they were first attacked by the demon horde, the Marcus Army lost several hundred soldiers in a single day. It was only after the duke ordered the burning of the bodies that they managed to drastically reduce that number.

“Reporting, Your Grace!” A soldier ran to Duke Drakus and saluted. “We’ve killed all of the demons at the southern gate!”

Duke Drakus smiled in satisfaction. As expected of his son.

The northern gate, along with the western walls, was guarded by Duke Drakus himself. Lui Marcus, on the other hand, guarded the southern gate and the eastern walls. Moreover, several groups of archers had been stationed through the city, protecting the city from the sky demons.

“Good work,” said Duke Drakus. “Tell my son to take a rest.”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

Duke Drakus gazed in the direction of the Kelvin Duchy. Although he’d never gotten along with the Kelvins, he still couldn’t believe that such a powerful family met a fate so tragic at the hands of these demons.

“How regretful,” muttered the duke.

With this, as long as they survived this war with the demons, Lui’s ascension to the throne was practically secured.

Duke Drakus wondered what the scheming pig locked in the dungeon was feeling right now. While he was locked up, his territory had been ravaged to the ground, gone in the blink of an eye.

And as though that wasn’t enough, several of his sons had been killed and the residents of the Duchy had been turned into parasitized humans.

Duke Kelvin looked at the corpses burning below the walls. Most of them were probably former residents of the Kelvin Duchy. The duke even caught a glimpse of someone who resembled Zaask Kelvin. It was regretful, but they needed to burn all their enemies if they wanted to protect the city. This was the only way for them to survive against these parasitic monsters.

The duke took off his helmet and sighed. Tomorrow, another wave of demons would probably attack.

He was about to go down the walls and return to the lord’s castle when he noticed a large shadow approaching the city from the east. A creature far larger than the flying demons.

The duke trembled.

The black creature was massive. If it stood up, it would probably easily tower over the walls of the city. Its tail alone would probably be enough to destroy the walls. Those black scales—they looked as tough as iron.

A dragon?

No.

Based on what he’d heard, dragons did not have seven heads. This was an entirely different monster.

“Y-Your Grace!”

“O-Over there!”

“Wh… What the hell is that monster?!”

Duke Kelvin’s mind blanked for a moment.

Even when he faced the parasitic demons and the sky demons, he’d remained calm and collected.

But what’s this?

How could mere humans hope to win against something so massive?

“Your Grace! Your orders?”

The soldiers visibly panicked. Metal clanked as they pulled out their swords, nocked their arrows, and raised their spears. The few magicians stationed on top of the walls started casting their magic.

The seven-headed creature finally reached Gryphon City, its body casting a massive shadow over the city.

Duke Drakus’ shock quickly turned to denial, then despair. The city would be destroyed at this rate.

Just when he’d thought that they would soon meet the same fate as the Kelvins, a familiar figure jumped down from the seven-headed monster and landed on the battlements.

A young man with short silver hair and blue eyes.

“L-Lark?” whispered the duke.

This was the first time in years since the name of that human trash came out of the duke’s mouth.

The young man looked at the corpses of the sky demons sprawled on top of the walls, then at the burning corpses below.

“The parasitic demons are incredibly weak to fire. It was good judgment to burn them along with the parasitized humans,” he commented.

The young man finally looked at him.

“It’s been a while, Duke.”

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 4

“It’s been a while, Duke.”

Although the young man spoke to him with honorifics, there was no trace of familiarity or affection within his voice. The duke felt as though he was speaking to an entirely different person.

His second son, who’d been always afraid to even look at him, was now looking him straight in the eyes.

For a moment, the duke had the urge to avert his gaze and lower his head. An indescribable sense of authority emanated from the young man’s body. Even the previous king of the kingdom—the so-called Tyrant King—was not this domineering.

An uncomfortable silence befell everyone.

Lark stared at the duke for several seconds. He spoke, “Your Majesty, it should be safe for you to come down now.”

His Majesty?

The duke and his soldiers instinctively looked up at the massive flying monster in the sky. From atop its body, several men—assisted by wind spells—started to hover down. They all landed softly on top of the walls, right behind Lark.

The duke finally found the courage to speak. “Your Majesty?” he whispered in disbelief.

What was the king doing here, of all places? Moreover, the ones accompanying him were prominent figures of the kingdom.

The former general of the kingdom, Marquis Carlos.

Elias Farsight.

The Seer, Lady Ropianna.

And several royal guards.

All figures that served as pillars of this kingdom.

“Duke.”

Duke Drakus almost flinched when his second son spoke.

“How long has it been since the sky demons escaped this region?”

His second son was looking at the west, in the direction of the Mullgray Islands.

“Just… Just a while ago,” the duke almost stuttered. He was surprised that he answered the question of the devil incarnate. Under normal circumstances, the duke wouldn’t even bother giving an answer. He’d just broken the vow he made several years ago not to speak with him.

“I see,” said Lark. “Blackie.”

The seven-headed monster hovering above the city spoke in a deep voice.

“God Evander.”

“I’ll be gone for a moment. Protect this city. Make sure no harm comes to His Majesty.”

The seven-headed monster fiercely flapped its wings, creating strong gusts of wind. All seven heads lowered their heads and said, “As you wish, My God.”

The duke and his soldiers trembled.

There was nothing more terrifying than a colossal, intelligent monster. But what horrified them the most was that this monster was showing such deference to a single person.

The soldiers who’d recognized Lark questioned if he really was the duke’s second son.

“Your Majesty,” said Lark. Massive amounts of mana visible to the naked eye started gathering around his body. “Please stay inside the city.”

King Alvis lightly bowed his head. “We’ll patiently await your return, Lord Lark.”

Lark’s body slowly hovered up. Without uttering another word, the mana surrounding his body exploded and his body shot toward Mullgray Islands. In seconds, his figure turned into a dot in the sky, before completely disappearing from sight.

After Lark left, the seven-headed monster landed at the outskirts of the city, just a few hundred meters in front of the gate. For several seconds, it longingly stared at the west. It folded its wings, slumped its head on the ground, and closed its eyes.

Duke Drakus looked at King Alvis. Even now, his mind still could not process everything that transpired before him.

King Alvis gently smiled. He could understand how stunned the duke was.

“Drakus, this old man is willing to answer whatever questions you may have.”

***

Lark flew at top speed.

After passing through the destroyed towns and villages adjacent to Gryphon City, he finally arrived at the Kelvin Duchy.

Lark slowed to a stop as he scanned what used to be one of the largest territories of the kingdom. The Duchy, which boasted a strong army of hussars, had been ravaged to the ground. Half the city was burned and dismembered bodies littered the streets. Judging by how mutilated most of the corpses were, it seemed that the soldiers fought against the demons until their last breaths.

Lark seethed with rage. Tens of thousands of people had been killed by the demons in mere days.

“If only I’d got here sooner,” he mumbled to himself.

Screeches were heard from the sky. Hundreds of sky demons appeared and flew toward Lark. Below, hundreds of parasitic demons started unburrowing themselves from the ground.

Lark emotionlessly gazed at the flock of demons shooting toward his direction. He raised his hand into the air and cast the same spell he’d used back in Lion City.

Grand Scale Magic: Wrath of the Sun God.

A massive magic circle formed in the sky in seconds. Like glass, it glowed brightly for a moment then shattered. Thousands of fist-sized golden orbs of light appeared and rained down from the heavens.

As though they had lives of their own, the golden orbs of light shot toward the sky demons and toward the parasitic demons below.

Like a hot knife cutting through tallow, the golden orbs of light easily pierced through the bodies of the demons. Soon, the whole Duchy was filled with death throes as the parasitic demons were slaughtered by the dozen.

Seeing their kin being slaughtered, the sky demons at the back of the flock immediately made a turnabout and tried to escape. Seeing this, Lark cast another spell. A similar-looking magic circle appeared in the sky and over a thousand spears of golden light appeared above Lark.

Grand Scale Magic: Spear of the Sun God.

With speed far surpassing the golden orbs, the spears of golden light shot toward the sky demons trying to escape from Lark. The spears impaled the sky demons right at their chests before exploding and bursting into flames. Hundreds of sky demons, their bodies still burning with golden flames, fell to the ground like rain.

***

[Mullgray Islands]

A couple of weeks had passed since the parasitic demon army attacked the empire.

To Plagas’ surprise, his attempt to obtain the body of the so-called prince and his general had ended in vain. Despite ordering all of the parasitic and sky demons in the empire, they still failed to breach the defenses of the imperial city.

A group of magicians capable of flight suddenly appeared and intercepted the sky demons’ attacks. As well, a female human who appeared to be their leader, was capable of reanimating the corpses of demons, turning them into her soldiers. With her on the empire’s side, the humans quickly tilted the tides of war.

A necromancer.

And a powerful one at that.

Plagas thought those despicable magicians had been erased from this land after the fall of the Magic Empire.

Who would have known that he would encounter one, after attacking one of the cities of the empire?

“Witches of Aravark, was it?”

Plagas learned of the name of the organization after spying on the humans for several days. According to what he’d heard, the Witches of Aravark were a powerful organization that served as the guardians of the northwest part of the empire. An organization equal in strength with the royal knights.

Plagas stood from his throne and licked his lips. “Even the body of that female is fine. I need to obtain it, no matter what.”

Realizing there was a surprisingly large number of powerful humans in the empire, Plagas no longer bothered overseeing what was happening in the Kingdom of Lukas. He decreased the number of parasitic demons directly connected to his consciousness. He deemed that even a mindless mob of demons would be more than enough to slaughter such a weak nation.

Currently, the Lord of the Parasitic Demons’ priority was to secure several strong human bodies to become hosts of his nests.

The moment he’d managed to create several dozen high-ranking nests, it should be possible even for him—the weakest among the tribe leaders—to wage war with the entire human race.

“My beloved nest,” Plagas stroked the fleshy tentacle of the high-ranking nest next to him, “take me there.”

The high-ranking nest screeched. It gently wrapped its tentacles around Plagas and placed him on top of its body. They were about to depart for the empire when suddenly, Plagas felt the links binding him to the sentries he’d placed in the kingdom disappear one after another.

Plagas furrowed his brows and mumbled, “What's happening?”

Several links had disappeared at the same time. Even the parasitic demons he’d ordered to hide underground were gone.

Plagas closed his eyes and took over the consciousness of a parasitic demon located at the Kelvin Duchy. He was stunned by what he saw.

“What... What’s this!?”

Through the eyes of the parasitic demon, Plagas stared at the massacre unfolding at the Kelvin Duchy.

The parasitic demons were being slaughtered by the dozen. Hundreds if not thousands of golden orbs of light were falling from the sky. The parasitic demons were rendered helpless as the golden orbs of light pierced through their bodies, melting their innards and killing them with a single strike. Even the sky demons above weren’t spared from the golden orbs’ wrath.

A one-sided massacre.

The parasitic demons and the sky demons couldn’t even fight back.

“Who? Who is it?!”

Before Plagas could see the perpetrator of the massacre, the parasitic demon he was linked to was struck by the golden orb. Plagas flinched as the pain the parasitic demon felt was transmitted to him for a moment. His vision turned black and his consciousness was forcefully sent back to his real body.

Plagas fell silent.

He was certain that at least a tenth-tier magic was cast to create that spell. Whoever the caster was, he was certainly a very powerful magician.

Plagas rubbed his chin. His silver-black tentacles squirmed.

He could afford to lose thousands of parasitic demons. As long as he had his high-ranking nests with him, it should be possible to create them indefinitely.

“A necromancer and a strong unknown magician,” he mumbled.

Plagas initially wanted to go to the empire personally and take the body of the prince and the leader of the Witches of Aravark. But now, he’d changed his mind. He decided to first investigate the identity of the unknown magician. His instinct was telling him that the unknown magician was far stronger than the necromancer protecting the empire.

Plagas sent a mental transmission to the middle-ranking nest hiding at the Kalavinka Port.

“Find the magician and bring his body to me,” ordered Plagas.

Upon receiving its orders, the middle-ranking nest screeched and immediately shot toward the Kelvin Duchy.

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 5

Lark hovered in the air as he gazed at the corpses of the parasitic demons below. According to His Majesty, the Kalavinka Duchy was not the only territory attacked by the demon horde.

The viscounty where the Leonard School was located, Rock Castle, Quasan City, Marcus Duchy. Even Tranta had been attacked by the demons.

Thousands, if not tens of thousands of people were probably fighting right now for survival.

“Now’s not the time to be conserving mana,” said Lark.

The bracer on his right arm slowly morphed into a two-meter-long staff. Its shaft platinum, its white crown adorned with five gemstones of different colors—each representing the five basic elements. Each of them created from the core of an Elemental.

Morpheus still had enough mana to cast several pinnacle-grade spells. Although using a large portion of the artifact’s remaining mana carried risks, he’d decided to go all out, using one of the strongest spells at his disposal.

Lark raised the staff and the five gemstones on its crown rapidly spun around. Clumps of mana formed at their center and shot up, forming two overlapping massive formations that covered a portion of the sky.

Using the Sword of Morpheus as its medium, Lark started casting two pinnacle-grade spells at the same time. A feat that should have been impossible for a mere human.

Had Lark attempted to do this without the Sword of Morpheus to act as a medium, he would have immediately died from the severe backlash before completing the spell. Even a dragon’s body—if used as a medium—would suffer grave injuries.

Mana continuously shot up from the Sword of Morpheus toward the magic formation. The amount of mana was so colossal that it started parting the clouds, as though a giant hand punched a hole through the sky.

The cores of Elementals not only stabilized the mana, it also hastened the formation of the spell severalfold. And with Lark’s guidance, two pinnacle-grade spells were easily formed. The two magic formations overlapped, forming an entirely different spell, giving birth to Unique Magic exclusive to Evander Alaester.

The massive, overlapping magic formations glowed. From within, a thousand ethereal humanoid figures slowly emerged. Their bodies were made of golden light, their wings a semblance of fiery lava. Each of them was holding a spear of fire.

One of Evander Alaester’s Unique Magic—Sun God’s Army.

One of the skills he used back when he single-handedly repelled the demon lord’s army, fifteen hundred years ago.

“Scatter and kill every demon that you find,” said Lark in a cold voice. “Half of you—remain behind. Go.”

As though they understood everything Lark had said, the golden soldiers placed their left hands on their chests, bowed their heads, then flew in all directions.

Lark looked at the five hundred golden soldiers that remained. Now the Sword of Morpheus was almost out of mana, he’d decided to keep these soldiers with him.

Lark flew toward the west, in the direction of the Mullgray Islands.

***

[Leonard School]

The Leonard School was among the territories that had received the brunt of the demons’ attack. After weeks of defending against the demon horde, the territory was finally on the verge of collapse.

Several military officers gathered in the headmaster’s office in the academy, discussing their next moves.

“Viscount, we’ve lost contact with the scouts,” reported one of the military officers.

Viscount Zacharia furrowed his brows. Black marks circled his eyes, as though he hadn’t slept for several nights. His cheeks were sunken. The large cut across his face— he’d sustained from fighting the demons several days ago—had yet to fully heal.

“This is the third time,” the viscount said in a suppressed growled. “We can’t even request reinforcements from Yorkshaire Fortress.”

Unlike Gryphon City, the walls enclosing the viscounty hardly passed seven meters. The parasitic demons could easily climb them using their tentacles. Moreover, although they had six thousand soldiers under their command, more than two-thirds of them were students. Greenhorns who’d never experienced real battle before.

It was already a miracle they’d managed to survive this long.

“I’m sure His Majesty has noticed our situation,” said another officer. “We just need to hold on a bit longer. I’m sure reinforcements are on their way.”

“Let’s hope for the best,” sighed Viscount Zacharia. His voice felt weak and weary. “We’re not the only ones being attacked by those damn monsters. But… if I were His Majesty, I would send out reinforcements to Marcus Duchy and Quasan City first. As long as those two territories do not fall, no harm should befall the capital.”

Everyone in the room wore grim faces upon hearing those words. They knew that the viscount was right.

“Brother, at the very least, we need to find a way for the students to escape,” said Viscount Zacharia.

The current head of the Leonard School nodded in agreement. “I’ve already spoken with the instructors. We’ve already transported the rations in the dungeons. Worse comes to worst, we’ll send all of the students there and cover the entrance with boulders.”

The strategy sounded simple, almost foolish, but all of the instructors—the current headmaster included—were desperate. They knew it was only a matter of time before the demons finally breached the viscounty’s defenses. When that time came, it would be a lot better to hide the students in the dungeons than let them become prey to those monsters.

The Leonard School’s dungeon was located deep underground. Hopefully, despite their ability to burrow underground, the demons wouldn’t find the students.

They’d seen how those demons turned their comrades into mindless monsters. A fate worse than death for soldiers like them.

After the meeting with the top brass ended, Viscount Zacharia went to the underground chamber of his mansion. Every day, without fail, he’d been visiting the only prisoner locked up here.

“Zach,” the viscount said in a longing voice.

An eleven-year-old boy named after his father. The kid’s body was tied to the walls using metallic chains. His eyes were bloodshot, and small tentacles squirmed out of his mouth.

This boy was among the unfortunate ones near the gates during the monsters’ first attack. Although he no longer seemed human, Viscount Zacharia would not give up on his son. Despite the protests of some of the military officers, Zacharia did not kill the boy. Instead, he locked him up in the underground chamber of his mansion.

“Your father is here,” said Viscount Zacharia in a trembling voice. His normally domineering voice was gone. His shoulders were quivering as tears flowed down his eyes.

“Zach, what should I do?” The viscount’s voice was almost pleading. “How can your father help you?”

Viscount Zacharia was close to breaking down.

Like a rabid beast, the boy roared. It desperately tried unshackling itself, rattling the chains every now and then. He glared at his father with eyes filled with killing intent.

Viscount Zacharia took out the meal he’d prepared for his son. Raw chicken meat with its innards still intact. The viscount had tried feeding the boy with all kinds of food, but this was the only thing he didn’t spit out. Just like the other humans who had turned into monsters, this boy craved nothing but raw meat.

“It’s time to eat, Zach,” said the viscount.

The viscount’s eyes looked lifeless as he hand-fed his son. Forget finding a cure—they couldn’t even call for reinforcements. He knew that they would probably die here, unable to do anything.

A cure.

The viscount was desperate for one.

Even if he had to kneel to His Majesty for help, the viscount was willing to do anything in order for his son to recover from this curse.

Several loud knocks were heard on the underground chamber’s door.

“Viscount! Are you inside?”

Viscount Zacharia recognized the voice. It was the leader of the guards in his mansion.

The viscount gazed at his son and said, “Father will be right back,” then went out of the underground chamber.

“What is it?” he said.

“My Lord, it’s terrible!” The leader of the guards was visibly shaken. “The gates have been destroyed by the demons!”

Viscount Zacharia turned pallid. The thing they’d been fearing the most was here. Finally, the demons had breached the defenses of the viscounty.

Viscount Zacharia clenched his fists. He ran upstairs, donned his armor, grabbed his sword, and left the mansion. He immediately issued commands and led the soldiers toward the gate.

Upon arrival, they were greeted by a scene of carnage.

Thousands of parasitized humans and parasitic demons had already poured into the viscounty. Dead bodies of soldiers littered the streets. Viscount Zacharia even recognized several familiar faces among the parasitized humans—most of them were his subordinates, soldiers who’d dedicated their lives to the territory.

Seeing this, all of the soldiers were visibly shaken. Would they become like that too, if they fell prey to these demons?

“Father!” shouted one of the younger soldiers. He almost dropped his sword, seeing his father turn into a monster. He was about to run to his father but was stopped by the viscount.

“Snap out of it! Do you also want to become a monster!?” snarled the viscount. “The headmaster is probably evacuating the students underground as we speak! We need to hold them off here!”

Screeches were heard above. Viscount Zacharia despaired seeing hundreds of sky demons above.

What the hell was happening?

The number of demons attacking them felt more numerous than usual.

Viscount Zacharia remembered his brothers, his wife, his sons. His oldest brother aside, the rest of his family members were non-combatants. He couldn’t afford to let any of these demons pass.

With his vast experience honed from numerous wars during the reign of the Tyrant King, Viscount Zacharia led the remaining soldiers into battle.

“Hold the line! Do not falter!” snarled the viscount.

“Hooah!”

Although they were greatly outnumbered, the soldiers fearlessly blocked the path of the demons. Swords and fleshy tentacles clashed. Arrows whizzed, screeches echoed. The scent of blood permeated the air.

Viscount Zacharia roared as he continued cutting down parasitic demons one after another. His normally stoic image was gone as he desperately fought for survival.

“Viscount! It’s the flare!” shouted one of the soldiers as he pointed. Red powder had exploded in the sky. “It’s the signal! They’ve successfully evacuated the students underground!”

Viscount Zacharia kicked the parasitized human in front of him, sending it flying and rolling on the ground. Using his only hand, he cut the tentacles of the parasitic demons to his left, spun around and evaded the attack to his right, then stabbed the head of the parasitized human at his rear. Everything happened in seconds. Although they were greatly outnumbered, luckily, the martial arts of the Leonard School were extremely effective against the demons.

“Finally,” huffed the Viscount. He leaped back and evaded the attack of a parasitic demon hiding underground.

Although they could not accommodate everyone in the underground dungeon, the headmaster promised the viscount he would evacuate his family to the underground shelter, along with the rest of the students.

Your Majesty, I trust that you’ll send us reinforcements.

Even if he died here, at the very least, his family would be safe. Although it might take several days or a couple of weeks, he believed that King Alvis would not forsake this territory and send reinforcements.

With no longer any regard for his life, the viscount charged deeper into the enemy’s line. Following behind him were several loyal soldiers, who’d decided to die alongside their lord.

Like a cornered beast, the viscount—a man with a single arm—slaughtered the demons left and right. Even when the soldiers behind him dwindled in number, even when his body was cut and pierced through by fleshy tentacles, he did not stop.

He was in a battle trance.

Right now, there was nothing but him and the demons. His sword moved fluidly as he pushed through the limits of his body.

A tentacle pierced his stomach. His legs wobbled and he almost lost his balance. Summoning his remaining strength, he gripped the hilt of his sword tight and cut the head of the parasitic demon from top to bottom, cleaving its body in half.

Viscount Zacharia looked around him. Most of the soldiers were already dead—only a few hundred remained. A majority of the demon horde had successfully entered the viscounty and were now massacring the residents hiding inside their homes.

Viscount Zacharia’s body quivered. He fell to his knees.

This was the end, he was sure of it.

He took out a dagger and pointed it at his neck. At the very least, he wanted to die a human. The last thing he wanted was to become a monster and attack his surviving comrades.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

Viscount Zacharia was about to slit his throat when an indescribable heat swept throughout the viscounty. Everyone, including the parasitic demons, looked up at the sky.

The viscount’s pupils trembled at what he saw.

Over a hundred golden humanoids were flying in the sky, their hands holding spears.

Monsters?

No, they felt more like soldiers.

If the sky demons were abominations, the golden humanoids felt like divine creatures. It felt as though the messengers of the Gods had suddenly decided to appear before the mortals.

“What’s… this?” said the viscount in a whisper. He dropped his dagger and slowly stood.

The sky demons, the parasitic demons, and the parasitized humans stopped in their tracks, clearly afraid of the golden humanoids in the sky.

‘They’re retreating?’

The viscount noticed that the parasitic demons started burrowing themselves underground. The sky demons, on the other hand, kept a safe distance. Even the parasitized humans stopped attacking the humans.

Even from this distance, the viscount could feel the heat emanating from the golden soldiers.

It was surreal. Their bodies were clearly made of fire.

The bodies of the golden soldiers glowed, and as though on cue, they started flying toward the demons in the sky and the parasitic demons below.

The golden soldiers flew at a frightening speed, closing the distance in seconds. Without hesitation, they brandished their fire spears and stabbed the bodies of the sky demons. The sky demons shrieked as their bodies were quickly engulfed by flames. The moment the golden soldiers pulled out their spears, the sky demons fell toward the ground, scorched and lifeless. The parasitic demons below, despite hiding underground, met the same fate.

Viscount Zacharia stood there, frozen, as he watched the one-sided battle.

The demons that had almost destroyed the entire viscounty were being easily massacred by the golden soldiers.

The only thing that worried the viscount was the fact that the golden soldiers did not discriminate between the tentacle monsters and the parasitized humans. Even children that had turned into monsters were killed on sight.

“My Lord!”

Several surviving soldiers ran toward the viscount.

“Your wounds!”

The soldiers were horrified to see the large hole in the viscount’s stomach. It was amazing that he was still alive after sustaining that much damage. A normal soldier would have already died by now.

“This is nothing,” said the viscount in a weak voice. He’d sustained injuries worse than this before—and he’d survived. “More importantly… those golden soldiers.”

The soldiers next to the viscount stared at the massacre unfolding before them. They, too, felt that a god had decided to send his soldiers to this realm to aid mere humans like them. For a moment, they had the urge to kneel down and pray.

“Divine retribution…” mumbled one of the soldiers.

“I don’t know what those things are… But it seems we’ll survive to see another day, My Lord.”

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 6

Through the senses he shared with the middle-ranking nest, Plagas felt the massive clumps of mana headed his way.

The middle-ranking nest, along with thousands of parasitic demons marching under its command, felt insignificant in comparison.

Soon, he realized he was right.

Plagas abruptly stood from his throne upon seeing the hundreds of winged, golden soldiers in the sky. Their bodies—even their spears—were made of golden fire.

“How… How could such creatures exist in this realm?” Plagas shuddered in terror.

The golden soldiers were neither human nor monster—Plagas was certain of it. It felt as though massive amounts of mana had been gathered, solidified, and turned into humanoid creatures capable of flight.

Was it magic?

A summoning?

Even the Lord of the Red Tower—considered the most intelligent demon in the Demon Realm—would likely be hard-pressed in finding an answer.

Despite being a high demon, Plagas was certain that a few dozen of those golden soldiers would be more than enough to kill him.

‘I should escape immediately. I have to go back to the Demon Realm.’

Plagas had survived this long by trusting his instincts. And right now, his instinct was screaming at him to flee, that he would perish if he fought those creatures.

His pride aside, his priority was to ensure his survival.

“I’ve done enough reconnaissance. I’m sure the Demon Lord Barkuvara won’t mind if I finally return.”

Through the middle-ranking nest’s vision, Plagas watched in horror as the hundreds of golden soldiers swooped down and started massacring the parasitic demon horde on the ground. The few sky demons were also killed on sight.

“There you are,” a voice was heard.

A human—a very young one at that—had landed next to the middle-ranking nest.

“You,” said the human. “You’re watching, right?”

Plagas’ eyes widened. He realized that the human was not speaking to the nest, but to him.

Was it out of fear? The nest screeched and immediately shot out several tentacles to the human in front of it. But to Plagas’ surprise, several golden soldiers moved in front of the human, protecting him from any harm. The tentacles, blocked by the spears of fire, burst into flames. The nest shrieked and squirmed in pain.

For a moment, it looked like a scene of knights protecting their king.

Plagas realized that this human was the master of these absurdly strong creatures massacring the demon horde.

“Not going to speak?” said the human in a cold voice.

It sounded as though the human was certain it was possible for Plagas to communicate through the middle-ranking nest.

The human gathered mana at his fingertips and fired a thin thread at the fleshy monster in front of him. The moment the nest’s body was struck, it froze in place, as though its body had become enclosed with ice. Its tentacles remained suspended in the air, its eyes and mouth wide open.

With unhurried steps, the human walked closer to the nest.

“Plagas, was it?” said the human in a voice full of hatred.

Plagas fell in his seat and inadvertently gripped the throne’s armrest tight, shattering it in an instant. The Lord of the Parasitic Demons had never expected to hear his name come out of a human’s mouth.

How did the human learn of his identity?

And how did the human know he was connected to the nest?

The human grabbed the fleshy body of the still frozen nest, yanked it closer to him, looked at it straight in the eye, and said, “I should have annihilated your tribe. Your father, that bastard promised to never attack humans again if I spared his tribe back then. That damn liar.”

Chills crawled down Plagas’ spine.

Upon hearing those words, he finally realized the identity of this human.

He’d heard before how their tribe was almost annihilated during the First Great War, fifteen hundred years ago.

Back then, the parasitic demon tribe was almost erased from existence by the hand of a single magician.

“I’m coming for you,” said the human. “Wait for me.”

Massive amounts of mana were forcefully channeled into the middle-ranking nest’s body, destroying its core from within. The link connecting Plagas to the nest vanished and he found himself inside the throne room once again.

For several seconds, Plagas sat there, horrified by what he saw.

That was no human. It was a monster far more terrifying than a high demon.

If he was not mistaken, it was the same human who almost annihilated the parasitic demon tribe more than a millennium ago.

“Impossible. He should be long dead by now,” mumbled Plagas. “A human couldn’t possibly live this long.”

Although Plagas was still uncertain regarding the true identity of the human, he knew that the strength the human showed was real. No matter the human’s true identity, one thing was certain—Plagas would meet his end here if that human managed to reach him.

The golden soldiers alone were probably more than strong enough to annihilate all the parasitic demons in these islands. Staying here was far too dangerous. Plagas had decided to concede this territory and leave everything behind.

“We’re leaving!” shrieked Plagas, his face more pallid than usual.

The high-ranking nest sitting next to the throne rose. It wrapped its tentacles around the body of its master and placed him on top of its body.

At full speed, the high-ranking nest shot out of the Pirate King’s palace. Using brute force, it bored a hole through the walls and made its way to the ocean.

Plagas looked behind him nervously as they fled the Mullgray Islands. He was afraid the human would suddenly appear and attack him from a distance.

“To the portal,” he ordered.

The high-ranking nest screeched. Using its tentacles, it swam through the ragiacrus’ territory.

Unlike humans, the sea wyverns did not fear the parasitic demons. Shoals of ragiacrus started attacking Plagas and the high-ranking nest the moment they entered their territory.

“Out of the way!” snarled Plagas. His silver-black tentacles shot out and pierced the bodies of the sea wyverns. At the same time, the high-ranking nest released dozens of eggs, which immediately hatched into tentacled, parasitic monsters.

A fierce battle started unfolding in the Black Expanse, as the sea wyverns and the parasitic demons fought for dominance.

The sea wyverns—the so-called rulers of the Black Expanse—were clearly unhappy with the sudden appearance of the parasitic demons in their territory. Despite losing several of their kin in battle, shoals upon shoals of sea wyverns continued appearing and attacking Plagas and the high-ranking nest.

The sea wyverns were so persistent and territorial that Plagas ended up taking several hours to finally reach the portal.

Above them, a vortex of mana with an azure sphere at its center covered the sky.

The portal to the Demon Realm.

Plagas heaved a sigh of relief upon finally reaching it.

“Pesky sea lizards,” Plagas angrily spat. Dozens of dead sea wyverns floated about. “I’ll make sure to annihilate every one of you when I return.”

Plagas’ silver-black tentacles wrapped around the high-ranking nest’s body. Using mana, he propelled himself toward the sky and entered the portal.

The azure sphere at the center of the vortex momentarily glowed.

Plagas, and the high-ranking nest he’d brought with him, disappeared from sight.

***

After passing through Port Kalavinka, Lark flew straight to the Mullgray Islands. The golden soldiers under his command would immediately disperse upon reaching an island, wiping it clean of demons in less than an hour.

Lark looked at the corpse of the middle-ranking nest floating next to him. He’d been using it to locate the whereabouts of Plagas. Unfortunately, a few minutes ago, he’d completely lost track of the Lord of Parasitic Demons. The high demon had probably retreated back into the portal.

“He’s gone,” said Lark.

Below him, the golden soldiers continued massacring the parasitic demons on the island.

Dismayed, Lark disabled his wind magic; the giant fleshy corpse fell from the sky and struck the ground with a loud thud.

‘Survivors?’

Lark noticed several islanders had come out of hiding. Together with the golden soldiers, they started fighting back against what remained of the parasitic demons.

Although he could see less than a hundred, Lark was still glad that several people had survived until today.

Some of the survivors noticed Lark as he hovered in the sky. Although they couldn’t properly see him due to the distance, it was apparent by his clothes that he came from the mainland.

Lark ignored the stares and issued a command to the golden soldiers. “Clean this place up. Proceed to the next island and kill every demon that you find.”

The golden soldiers placed their hands on their chest upon receiving their orders. After killing all of the parasitic demons in this territory, they immediately moved to the next island. Lark, on the other hand, flew in the direction of the portal. Eventually, he arrived at the Black Expanse. The territory where the ragiacrus lived, where the portal was currently located.

A massive vortex spun in the sky, at its center a colossal azure sphere. The same sphere that once appeared above the Lake of the Full Moon in the Kingdom of Lukas.

The only difference was that this one was a bit smaller, probably around two-thirds the size of the one that had appeared in the kingdom.

Lark looked at the ocean below. Several dozen sea wyvern corpses floated on top of the water. Judging by their dead bodies, it seemed these twenty-meter large monsters died recently. Lark could also see several hundred parasitic demon corpses floating here and there. It seemed that the Lord of Parasitic Demons killed all of these sea wyverns before leaving this realm.

The sea wyverns put up a decent fight, considering the opponent was a high demon, thought Lark.

Lark gazed at the portal in the sky.

According to the Arzomos, they’d made preparations before leaving their village in the Demon Realm. Agreas was supposed to sever the supply of mana connecting the portal to the mana well, before altering its coordinates and suppressing its size using several pinnacle-grade spells.

But judging by the portal and how the demons could freely enter and exit it as they pleased, it seemed that Agreas had failed.

Or a demon, capable of altering a portal this large, has appeared on the enemy’s side.

How troublesome.

If such a demon really existed, Lark vowed to prioritize killing it once given the chance.

“Morpheus should still have enough mana for a single pinnacle-grade spell,” said Lark as he gazed at the bracer in his arm.

His golden soldiers would eventually disappear several hours from now. Even if they managed to annihilate all of the parasitic and sky demons in the Mullgray Islands and the kingdom, the same problem would persist as long as the portal was open.

Now that Plagas had returned to the Demon Realm, a larger number of demons would likely soon invade this realm.

‘I need to replenish the sword’s mana after this.’

Lark’s bracer transformed into the same two-meter-long staff he used before. Clumps of mana gathered at its crown, and the five gemstones hovering on top of it rapidly spun around.

The clumps of mana shot toward the portal and wrapped around it, enveloping the azure sphere with Lark’s magic. Lark repeated this several times until the Sword of Morpheus finally ran out of mana. His beloved artifact, now drained of all mana, latched on his arm and morphed back into a bracer.

The spell wrapping around the portal was neither a pinnacle-grade spell nor grand scale magic. It was eight-tier at most and would immediately explode the moment someone touched it.

With over a hundred layers wrapped around the portal, the next demon army to invade this realm would be immediately blown to pieces the moment they stepped foot inside the portal.

The explosion would probably be powerful enough to evaporate a portion of the Black Expanse. A simple, yet effective spell, considering the current circumstances.

Lark’s welcoming gift to Plagas.

He sincerely hoped that the Lord of the Parasitic Demons would be the first to enter the portal.

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 7

“Hey, it’s been more than a day already,” pointed out one of the soldiers standing on the walls of Gryphon City. “That monster hasn’t moved an inch since then.”

The soldiers looked at the seven-headed monster sitting several hundred meters outside the walls. Its wings were folded and all of its eyes were closed.

“I heard that it’s waiting for the second young master,” said another soldier.

The soldiers looked at each other, doubt and uneasiness evident on their faces. As though they were afraid the seven-headed monster would hear them, they huddled and lowered their voices to almost a whisper.

“But is it really the second young master?”

“That’s what I’ve been asking myself too! I once escorted the second young master to the brothels before, and I’m telling you… the one who showed up a day ago is an entirely different person!”

The huddled soldiers nodded at the last statement. They, too, found it hard to believe that it was the second young master.

“Forget the sword,” a soldier said in a mocking voice, “he can’t even cast a proper spell despite being taught by various magic instructors.”

The soldiers snickered. Most of them had been tormented by the second young master before.

A young soldier, who’d just climbed on the battlements, ran toward them and said, “I heard some news!”

The young soldier was a known gossip. It must have been incredibly interesting news, to make the young soldier this excited.

“Lower your voice. What is it?”

“I heard from the captain himself!” the young soldier said animatedly. “That creature outside the walls! That seven-headed monster!” There was a small pause as the young soldier gasped for air. “It’s the same creature who almost wiped out the royal knights of the capital!”

For several seconds, the soldiers stared at the seven-headed creature. Slowly, their faces drained of all color.

They’d heard that the royal knights had been almost annihilated by a monster. But never had they expected that it was the same creature sitting over there, just outside the walls.

“Y-You stupid greenhorn! Are you sure about this?!”

“There’s no doubt! I heard it from the captain himself!”

The soldiers’ knees wobbled. They realized they’d been stationed near a monster that had once killed dozens of people. If that monster suddenly decided to attack the city, even the Silver War God would probably be helpless to stop it.

They were truly fortunate that it had been obediently sitting there the entire time.

“H-Hey! It’s moving!”

The soldiers shrieked in terror seeing the seven-headed creature had started moving. It slowly unfolded its bat-like wings. Its seven heads slowly rose as it gazed in a western direction.

Soon, they realized why the seven-headed creature had finally decided to move.

A human, who bore the characteristic traits of someone from the Marcus family, flew through the sky and quickly closed the distance. He hovered right above the seven-headed creature.

The seven-headed creature excitedly wagged its tail. In a deep voice that gave the soldiers shivers, it said, “Welcome back, God Evander.”

The human chatted with the seven-headed creature for a moment, patted all of its seven heads, then flew off and landed right on top of the walls.

Some of the soldiers instinctively took several steps back. There was no doubt about it. The young man was Lark Marcus, the second young master of the Marcus family. The black sheep of the Marcus Duchy.

The soldiers, who’d been gossiping about the second young master just a while ago, froze.

The second young master seemed like an entirely different person.

“I need to speak with the duke,” said Lark. “Take me there.”

There was an indescribable air of authority emanating from the second young master. Out of reflex, the soldiers made a snappy salute.

“As you command!”

***

The news of the second young master’s return immediately reached the duke and His Majesty. To Lark’s surprise, both the duke and King Alvis greeted him at the entrance of the duke’s palace. Standing behind them were Lady Ropianna, the retired General Carlos, Elias Farsight, and Lui Marcus.

“Welcome back, Lord Lark.” King Alvis lightly lowered his head in greeting.

“Welcome back, my son,” the duke also greeted him.

It was surreal that the duke, who was known to have disinherited the original owner of his body, was now acting so amicably with him. The way he was looking at Lark, it seemed as though he was genuinely happy he was finally back.

Lui Marcus, on the other hand, was glaring at Lark. If looks could cut, Lark would have been bisected several times by now.

“You must be tired, my son,” said the duke, emphasizing the last two words of his statement. “We’ve prepared a hefty meal in preparation for your arrival. Come. Come.”

Lark felt uncomfortable with the way the duke was treating him. He met the eyes of the king. King Alvis slowly nodded his head, wordlessly saying that he’d told his family everything.

With the duke at the lead and Lui Marcus silently following behind, they soon arrived at the grand hall. Luxurious dishes were already served on the long table. Almost a dozen servants were lined up next to the walls.

“All of them have undergone the Oath of Silence, after they were freed of their collars,” the duke said after they passed the servants. “There’s no need to fear any information leaking out.”

“They’re slaves?” said Lark.

“Former slaves,” corrected the duke. “They’re working here of their own volition. Please do not be mistaken.”

Although the duke was treating him as though he was his son, he was definitely being more polite than usual. He even went as far as explaining such mundane things to Lark.

Lark remembered the guards who’d accompanied him all the way to Blackstone Town. Although they knew they would probably not be coming back to the Duchy, they still heeded the duke’s orders to accompany his exiled son, regardless.

For some reason, the men working under the duke were incredibly dedicated and loyal.

“Slaves are efficient as a workforce, but there’s a limit on what a shackled human can accomplish,” said the duke. “This is why slavery has been long abolished in the Marcus Duchy.”

Lark was starting to see the duke in a renewed light. Exiling his own son aside, it seemed he was a good master to his servants. A charismatic leader people unquestionably followed.

After everyone had been ushered to their seats, the feast started. The king sat at the head of the table, with Lark to his right, and the duke to his left. Next to the duke was Lui Marcus, and next to Lark was the retired General Carlos. The seating arrangement made it apparent that Lark was being treated at least on par with the duke.

“Your Majesty,” said Lark, his knife slicing through the steak. “How much did you tell them?”

“Everything,” the king said.

As expected, his family already knew everything. No wonder Lui Marcus had been glaring at him all this time. The duke, on the other hand, overhauled his demeanor and became amicable with Lark.

“I see,” said Lark. He sighed, placed down his utensils, and stood up.

“I know a simple apology won’t suffice. I don’t know why I’m suddenly in this body, but…” Lark bowed his head low. “For taking over the body of your son, of your little brother—I sincerely apologize.”

Heavy silence fell. The king and his retinue wore complicated gazes. They were clearly uncomfortable seeing Lark lower his head.

The duke, on the other hand, studied Lark for a moment. He nodded. He did not seem displeased in the slightest. On the contrary, it felt as though he was glad that Evander had taken over his son’s body.

The duke said, “We heard from His Majesty. It’s out of your control, Lord Evander.”

“Father!” growled Lui. He abruptly stood, toppling his chair in the process. He smashed his hands against the table. “What are you saying? Out of his control! That’s it?! Are we not going to ask for an explanation? A way? A cure? We should be doing everything we can to find a way to return the real Lark Marcus!”

“The real Lark is probably dead,” spat Duke Drakus. “You heard the whole story from His Majesty, didn’t you?” The duke raised his voice, “Sit down, Lui.”

Lui didn’t listen to his father. He glared at the duke, then at Lark. Lui’s eyes were bloodshot, his hands curled into fists, his body quivering.

Lui looked as though he wanted to pummel Lark to the ground. He looked as though he wanted to beat him up, until the real Lark came back. But alas, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt one of his family members.

Lui bit his lip, creating a large cut on it. Blood flowed down his chin. He glared at Lark and the duke one last time, then left the grand hall.

Moments after Lui left, those in the grand hall heard a loud thud sound coming from the hallway. Lui probably struck the wall with his bare fist out of sheer anger.

“Lui can be really stubborn at times,” said the duke.

“You’re taking this lightly, Duke,” said Lark.

The duke wryly smiled. “I probably look like a heartless father to you, Lord Evander. But you’ve never met the real Lark Marcus. The real owner of that body is a demon spawn. A human scum that should have never been born.”

Lark remained silent. He’d heard several times before how evil the original owner of his body was. Even the priest residing in Blackstone Town had been almost beaten to death by the original Lark.

“Honestly, I’m glad that you took over the body of that brat.” The duke sipped his wine. “That son of mine killed some of the servants before. He beat up the soldiers he didn’t like. And when he started messing even with the temple, I decided to finally exile him to that faraway town.”

The duke smirked. “I would have exiled him to the Mullgray Islands had Lui not stopped me.”

This was the first Lark had heard of this. He knew the original owner of his body led a hedonistic lifestyle, but he’d never heard that he’d even killed people with his own hands. After all, Gaston never brought the topic up.

“Like mother, like son,” mocked the duke.

“The mother…”

“Dead,” said the duke. “The damn maid died after giving birth.”

So many things had been cleared up from this meeting. The duke was surprisingly accepting of everything.

“I have only one thing to ask of you, Lord Evander,” said the duke. “Please consider it as”—he carefully chose his next words—“an exchange? The only thing I ask is for you to acknowledge that you’re my son, that you’re a member of our ducal house.”

The duke was basically asking him to remain part of the Marcus family, even after knowing his real identity. Lark believed it was a reasonable request considering he had taken over the body of the duke’s son.

“Remain a member of the ducal house…” Lark pondered. “Alright.”

The duke smiled, clearly pleased with Lark’s answer. He said to the king, “Your Majesty, don’t you have something you wish to say to him?”

The king furrowed his brows, displeased by the duke’s blatant display of greed. Still, he could not find the words to admonish him.

“Lord Lark,” said the king. “Or should I also call you Lord Evander?”

“Either is fine,” said Lark.

“Then I’ll stick with Lord Lark,” said the king. He sounded as though he held a deeper attachment to that name. “I’ll get straight to the point.”

The king looked Lark straight in the eyes.

“Please ascend the throne. Please become the new ruler of this nation.”

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 8

Become the king of the nation.

Lark fell silent as he carefully considered His Majesty’s offer.

He’d been offered similar positions before, back in his previous life—to rule over some of the annexed nations of the Magic Empire—and he refused every single time.

But this time was different.

This kingdom’s military power—its soldiers and magicians—were far too weak to defend against the demon’s attacks. The army stationed in the capital aside, the king himself held very little military might. Had it not been for the three ducal houses, this kingdom would have been long annexed by the empire.

Lark believed that there was a limit to what he could achieve on his own. Currently, he did not have enough political sway over the nation. He needed a higher status in order for him to move all of those nobles, particularly those belonging to the other factions.

The nobles of this kingdom have been given too much power, thought Lark.

The royal family, the three ducal houses, and the other nobles were maintaining a delicate balance in power. Lark was certain that with the fall of the Kelvin Duchy, the scale would finally tilt to one side.

With bated breath, everyone waited for Lark’s answer.

“I dislike the idea of being tied to a nation,” said Lark.

King Alvis’s head drooped upon hearing this. The duke looked dismayed. Lady Ropianna gazed at Lark with eyes filled with understanding, the retired General Carlos knitted his brows, while Farsight remained as expressionless as usual.

Everyone held different reactions to his answer. Lark realized that King Alvis and the duke wanted him to ascend the throne the most.

Lark added, “Becoming the king is impossible, it’s too cumbersome. But if it’s something temporary—like, say… a regent.” Lark looked the king in the eyes. “I believe that such a position is the ideal for me right now.”

King Alvis’s eyes lit up.

A regent.

Indeed, it was also a viable choice as of this moment.

“Of course!” the king said in a voice louder than usual. He was clearly excited that the idea had not been completely rejected by Lark. “What do you think, Carlos? Ropianna?”

The retired General Carlos grinned at his lifelong friend, “I believe it’ll work, Your Majesty.”

Lady Ropianna smiled. “I believe so too, Your Majesty.”

For the first time in several years, King Alvis and the duke smiled upon locking eyes with each other. Although it was temporary, the status of the Marcus family would be elevated with this.

Moreover, the king was too old. The duke believed it was only a matter of time before he finally stepped down from the throne. When that time came, the current regent would have the highest chance of becoming the next monarch of the kingdom. If by chance Lark declined, Lui would be more than qualified to take his mantle and rule over the kingdom.

The king said in a voice filled with excitement, “Then, three weeks from now, we’ll formally appoint Lord Lark as the King Regent of this kingdom. It should be more than enough time for the other nobles to arrive at the capital.”

The king gazed at Lark and waited for his approval.

“Three weeks,” said Lark. “My preparations should be done by then. Alright.”

King Alvis heaved a sigh of relief. A tremendous burden had been lifted off his shoulders. As much as he wanted to protect this kingdom, he knew there was a limit on what an old man like him could do. The war that was about to come far surpassed anything they’d seen so far. King Alvis doubted if even his father—the so-called Tyrant King—would be able to properly command the soldiers to battle against the demon race. The enemy this time far surpassed them not just in strength, but also in number.

The king silently thanked the Gods for the presence of Evander Alaester.

“Duke,” said Lark.

“My son,” the duke shamelessly replied.

Lark placed a small vial on top of the table and slid it toward the duke. “It’s the cure for parasitization. Take it.”

“Parasitization?” said the duke, his eyes gazing curiously at the vial. He took the vial and looked at the dark green fluid sloshing inside.

“Humans who become like rabid beasts after being struck by the demons,” said Lark. “As long as their bodies are still alive, it should be possible to return them to normal. This potion will force the parasitic demon egg to leave the host’s body. Please let those that have been affected drink this medicine.”

The duke’s eyes widened. They’d been killing everyone who’d been turned into monsters. He’d never expected to have his hands on a cure this soon. Had he known, he would have ordered his soldiers to capture those people instead.

Lark seemed to have read his thoughts. He said, “Your decision to burn all the demons—the parasitized humans included—was not wrong. At the time, it was definitely the best course of action.”

The duke nodded bitterly. “I know.” He raised the vial and said, “How much medicine can you make?”

“A thousand at most,” said Lark. “If we include the remaining ingredients back home, we can probably make enough for five thousand people.”

“A limited supply,” said the duke.

The parasitized humans from the Kelvin Duchy alone surpassed the ten thousand mark.

“We’ll be able to increase the amount eventually, but it’ll take several more months. Until then, please make sure that only those whose bodies are still alive will be given this medicine.”

Lark handed the duke a paper containing the medicine’s recipe. “It’s a pretty straightforward method. Even the servants should be able to concoct it.”

No hesitation.

It was apparent that Lark did not care if the recipe for the cure spread among the masses. It seemed that he was handing him this recipe out of goodwill. The real Lark would never do something so benevolent. That brat would probably extort people before handling them the medicine. The duke was truly glad that Evander Alaester was now residing in that demon spawn’s body.

“I’ll instruct the servants well. If needed, I will also coordinate with the Alchemist Guild,” said the duke as he pocketed the paper. “What do you plan to do next? Will you be staying here at the Duchy?”

Lark glanced at the bracer on his right arm. “No. I need to go somewhere after this. But once I return, I’ll cast a barrier on the entire Duchy.”

The duke remembered the barrier he’d seen at the capital. It was surreal that a single person had managed to create a spell so colossal. A part of him still couldn’t believe that the magician who’d cast that spell was his very own son.

The duke felt that there was no one as reliable as his second son right now. It was a strange feeling, since just a day ago, he abhorred the very thought of being involved with him.

“A barrier,” said the duke. He remembered the phenomenon they’d seen a day ago. The unknown figures that flew over their territory.

“Yesterday,” the duke carefully said. “We witnessed several golden creatures fly over the Duchy. They massacred all of the demons in the nearby territories. Those things… Were they also your doing?”

Lark nodded.

As expected, those mysterious creatures were associated with Evander Alaester.

“It’s a spell I created myself,” said Lark. “Although they’re not capable of following complex commands, they’re intelligent enough to kill any demons on sight and protect the caster from any harm.”

A spell he created himself. The duke felt chills down his spine upon hearing this.

He added sentience to magic?

Even the founder of the City of Magic shouldn’t be capable of such a feat.

The duke heard from a reliable source that those golden creatures appeared not only in the Marcus Duchy, but also at the Leonard School, Rock Castle, Tranta, and Quasan City. They were so absurdly powerful that all of the demons in those key territories were annihilated in a single night.

A spell capable of annihilating all enemies all over the kingdom.

This reinforced the duke’s belief that Lark should remain a member of the Marcus family, no matter what.

Seeing the duke’s dumbstruck gaze, Lark added, “It’s not a spell I can cast on a whim. It consumes a lot of mana, you see.”

The duke broke out of his stupor. In embarrassment, he cleared his throat. “Of course.”

Lark glanced at the door. He found it unfortunate that Lui left the banquet this early. If he was not mistaken, that man treated the real Lark as a precious member of his family.

Hopefully, the man would have the courage to confront him after enough time passed.

Lark sipped his wine. There were so many things he needed to do.

***

The next day, after exchanging several words with King Alvis and the duke— mainly about the looming threat from demons—Lark left Gryphon City.

He flew toward the Scylla and landed on top of its body.

“Lord Evander!” the Scylla squeaked loudly.

The soldiers on top of the walls were stunned upon hearing this. The colossal monster, who’d made them sleepless from sheer terror, was acting like an overeager puppy. Its tail wagged several times as all its seven heads started panting.

Was it really the same monster who nearly annihilated the royal knights?

“I need to refill the sword with mana,” said Lark.

The Scylla roared, “Of course! Leave it to us!”

Lark smiled in amusement. “To the Forbidden Region.”

On cue, the Scylla jumped toward the sky, unfolded its wings, and flew south, in the direction of the labyrinth.

With the Scylla flying at top speed, they eventually reached the Forbidden Region’s labyrinth after several hours. The Scylla swooped down and entered through the hole it previously made, before landing on the lowermost floor—the floor where the golden statue was formerly located.

Lark walked toward the large hole where the Scylla previously slept, where the Dragon Vein was located. He jumped down, and upon landing, stabbed his sword in the ground.

“Time to eat, Morpheus,” said Lark.

Upon activating the Sword of Morpheus, the artifact started sucking in clumps of mana from the Dragon Vein below. From a translucent sword, it slowly turned into a glimmering white sword.

Lark hadn’t expected to need to replenish the mana within the sword this soon.

“I need to increase this body’s mana pool,” he muttered to himself.

Once given the chance, he planned on increasing the physical training of his body. At least until the point where he wouldn’t have to worry about dying from backlash, once he started forcefully expanding his mana pool using the pinnacle-grade mana stones.

This body still has a long road ahead of it, he thought.

After filling up the sword with mana, Lark left the labyrinth and went back to the Forest Border. He entered the castle, took several items from the treasure room in the golden statue, and flew toward the Lake of the Full Moon.

As he’d previously promised, he had returned to give the high demon core to the Arzomos.

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 9

The members of the Arzomos Tribe, together with the guardian, greeted Lark the moment he entered the underwater dungeon. Kel’ Vual looked so pleased seeing Lark. He stood there with an uncharacteristic broad grin on his face.

“You’re back,” said Kel’ Vual. “We heard from Jaraxus. Someone attacked you the moment you left this dungeon?”

Lark remembered the incident quite some time ago. “Just a petty squabble over some trivial matters,” Lark brushed it off. “More importantly, I brought some elven wine.”

Seeing that Lark did not think much of the incident, Kel’ Vual did not probe any further.

“Elven wine?” Kel’ Vual started ushering Lark toward the mansion at the center of the village.

Although he’d seen it before, Lark still found it amazing that a village this large was located underneath the Lake of the Full Moon. Moreover, each of the houses was clearly made by the humans who’d lived centuries ago in this kingdom.

Lark pulled out a bottle from his leather bag. “It’s more than five hundred years old. A gift from the elven king himself.”

Kel’ Vual’s eyes glimmered as he looked at the leather bag in Lark’s hands. “Half a millennium?!”

Like a kid who’d been presented with his favorite toy, Kel’ Vual gawked. The warriors of the tribe had never imagined that they would see this side of the tribe leader. He looked so pure and innocent as he chattered with his lifelong friend.

“But where did you meet those elves? The ones living in Marut were all killed by the demons.”

“In the forest next to Blackstone Town,” said Lark. “They’ve been living in hiding there all this time. Their king gifted me this wine after my territory became trading partners with their kingdom.”

Kel’ Vual was surprised to hear that the elven race still existed. The race loved the most by the spirits.

Lark glanced at Luvart. He handed him the bag in his hand. “Here. Inside is a high demon core.”

Luvart halted in his tracks. Although Lark made it sound as though he was handing him an ordinary item, Luvart and the rest of the Arzomos knew how precious a high demon core was. Just killing a high demon was already an incredibly hard feat. Making sure the core was left intact was a different matter entirely.

With trembling hands, Luvart received the bag. “T-Thank you, Lord Evander. But… is it really alright for someone like me to receive this? If I fail to incorporate this into my body—”

“Then we’ll just try again,” said Lark. “I still have a couple of those in the treasure room.”

“That would be too wasteful!” protested Luvart, his hand tightly holding the bag.

“Luvart, this much is nothing for the son of a friend of mine,” Lark said firmly.

Kel’ Vual’s pupils trembled. He felt a squeezing sensation in his heart, hearing those words. He looked away and knitted his brows to conceal his thoughts. He willed back the tears forming at the corner of his eyes and inwardly reprimanded himself for being so sentimental.

He’d really gotten too old for mere words to move his heart.

Still trying to maintain a stoic face, Kel’ Vual cleared his throat. “We’re here.”

They stood in front of the largest mansion in the dungeon. The three-story stone structure was located right at the center of the village. For some reason, the design was similar to the king’s castle in the capital. Not only did it have a gate, it even had a lawn filled with grass that grew only in this dungeon. The founding king of the nation had really put his everything in helping create this haven for the Arzomos.

“We prepared a feast the moment the nests notified us of your arrival,” said Kel’ Vual. He grinned. “Look forward to it.”

True to his words, a sumptuous feast had been prepared in the dining hall. The Arzomos must have frozen the meat and stored it, all in preparation for an event like this.

“You’ve been leaving the dungeon?” said Lark, noticing some of the dishes.

The feast consisted not only of fish found in the lake, but also meat found in the nearby forest. Moreover, Lark could see several delicacies from Lion City.

“We’ve been entering the city,” Kel’ Vual admitted.

Lark did not utter a reply. He would probably have done the same if he was in the same predicament. Although the village was habitable, there was no real reason for them not to wander outside the dungeon. There were no real threats to the powerful Arzomos Tribe in this kingdom. Even Luvart, in his current state, was probably more powerful than “The Thunderlord” Nickolai.

The residents of Lion City wouldn’t be able to catch these Arzomos, even if they tried.

They probably stole these things from the merchants, thought Lark. He made a mental note to give them several gold coins later, so they would no longer have to steal such items.

Just to be sure, Lark asked, “No one saw any of you, right?”

Kel’ Vual laughed. “Of course! Who do you think we are?”

Lark sighed. “Good thing I brought some blood emeralds with me.”

With Kel’ Vual at the lead, they all sat at the table. As though she’d been practicing for this moment for a long time, Jaraxus skillfully served Lark, Luvart, and Kel’ Vual. It was apparent that she treated them as her superiors, compared to the other members of the Arzomos Tribe.

“Blood Emeralds?” Kel’ Vual was clearly surprised.

They were rare items.

First the high demon core. And now, blood emeralds. Kel’ Vual wondered where Lark managed to get all of these things in such a short period of time.

Although more than a thousand years had passed, Kel’ Vual could still vividly remember how they used blood emeralds to alter their physiques into that of a human’s. Agreas and Kel’ Vual used them to enter human cities, together with Evander Alaester. It was one of the reasons they managed to accompany him during his travels.

Magic barriers would easily reveal illusions and face-altering spells, but a body altered by blood emeralds was different. With their help, it should be possible even for demons to enter human cities protected by the strongest of barriers.

Fortunately for humans, blood emeralds were incredibly rare.

Lark took out several thumb-sized stones from his pocket and slid them on the table, toward Kel’ Vual.

“I need your help, Kel,” said Lark.

There was not even a pause nor hesitation as the leader of the tribe replied, “Of course. What do you need me to do, Evander?”

Lark looked at the other Arzomos. Judging by their expressions, it seemed that they, too, were willing to assist him in anything he asked for.

“I’m going to be the king of this nation soon,” said Lark.

Kel’ Vual was dumbfounded. He looked at Lark bewilderedly. “What?”

It sounded absurd. In his previous life, Evander Alaester had been offered similar positions several times by the emperor of the Magic Empire—and he refused every single time. Back then, he’d been offered to become the monarch of the smaller nations annexed by the Magic Empire.

“I’m going to be the king soon,” repeated Lark. “Although it’s a temporary position—I’m going to become the ruler of this nation.”

Kel’ Vual still had a quizzical look on his face. “But why? Why did you accept such a position, after all this time?”

“This time is different,” explained Lark. “This kingdom will fall into ruins if I don’t do anything.” He paused and looked at the leader of the tribe in the eyes. “Kel, this isn’t the Magic Empire.”

The Magic Empire was the strongest nation on the continent during Lark’s previous life. A powerful nation capable of defending itself against the demons—even against dragons. This was why he found it easy to reject the emperor’s offers. Even without him, he knew that the Magic Empire would survive. Lark was certain that had it not been for the cataclysm—a catastrophic event that wrung dry the mana of this world—the Magic Empire wouldn’t have fallen.

“Of course,” Kel’ Vual said in a serious voice. “This isn’t the Magic Empire.”

When they visited the nearby human settlements, the Arzomos also realized how weak the humans in this nation were. Their magic aside, the technology of this kingdom was far too primitive to defend against the demons’ attacks.

Even Plagas alone could probably topple this nation.

“What do you want us to do, Evander?” said Kel’ Vual.

Lark picked up one of the blood emeralds. “I need a powerful unit under my direct command. A unit similar to the Black Mages of the Magic Empire.”

The Black Mages.

A group of powerful magicians under the direct command of the emperor of the Magic Empire. Evander Alaester used to belong to this organization, back in his younger years. But eventually, he left to search for the elixir of immortality.

It was a common belief back then that the Black Mages held equal might to the Royal Court Magicians of the Magic Empire.

“So, you want us to alter our bodies and pretend to be humans,” said Kel’ Vual, fully understanding the intent of the young man in front of him. “And follow you to the capital.”

Lark nodded. “That’s right.”

Kel’ Vual looked at the members of the Arzomos Tribe. “What do you think, everyone?”

“That sounds exciting, leader.”

“I’ll follow you, Lord Evander!” said Luvart.

“An elite unit under the direct command of King Evander.” Kel’ Vual stroked his chin. “Or is it King Lark? It doesn’t sound so bad, right, everyone?”

In the crowning ceremony at the capital three weeks from now, Lark planned on introducing the elite unit to all of the nobles of the kingdom and the residents of the capital.

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 10

The members of the Arzomos Tribe found the idea interesting. Serving under Evander Alaester in the guise of a human did not sound so bad. With this, it would be easy even for demons like them to explore the human land.

“We’ll be mingling with humans?” Kel’ Vual said gleefully. “Now, that’s nostalgic! It’s been quite a long time since I used a blood emerald myself.”

The tribe leader’s ebullience was contagious. Even the other members of the tribe started feeling thrilled with the prospect of temporarily turning into a human.

“I only brought five blood emeralds with me,” said Lark. “But there should be enough gemstones stored in the treasure room.”

“Whose blood are we using, Evander?” said Kel’ Vual.

“Mine,” said Lark.

“Your blood?” said Kel’ Vual. “But, Evander,” he carefully studied Lark’s body. “Those arms. They look like I could easily snap them in half.”

Lark wryly smiled. Kel’ Vual was right.

Although he’d been diligently training his body, he still looked like a scrawny little kid to the members of the Arzomos Tribe. Most of the warriors of the Arzomos Tribe were over two meters tall. Kel’ Vual, in his prime, was almost twice that size.

“Although I may look like this.” Lark raised his arm. “I still have the blood of the Marcuses running through this body. Theirs is probably one of the strongest human blood you can obtain in this kingdom—probably even in the empire.”

Kel’ Vual stroked his chin. “One of the strongest in the entire kingdom, huh?”

The blood of the human absorbed by the blood emerald would serve as the catalyst in transforming the physique of the user. The stronger the blood, the stronger the shell they would be able to utilize. Moreover, the blood would directly influence the body’s appearance.

After consuming the blood emerald, Kel’ Vual knew that he would end up with a body very similar to Lark’s. Silver hair, blue eyes, pale white skin. Most of these traits would come out, no matter what.

“But before that,” Lark looked at the young Arzomos sitting next to Kel’ Vual. “Let’s incorporate the core into your body first, Luvart.”

Finally, the time had come.

Luvart nervously nodded his head. “Yes, Lord Evander.”

Lark glanced at the well-kept interior of the mansion. “We should probably move out of this dungeon.”

“Outside the dungeon?” said Luvart.

“There’s a chance that you’ll go berserk the moment your body rejects the core,” said Lark. “It’d be a shame if we end up destroying this haven.”

With fear evident in his eyes, Luvart looked at his father. To his surprise, it seemed that Kel’ Vual had already expected this. He nodded knowingly and said, “Don’t worry, Luvart. I may be old, but I still have enough strength to suppress a young Arzomos.”

***

After the feast, Lark, Kel’ Vual, and Luvart went out of the underwater dungeon.

Lark immediately cast an illusion spell around the lake and erected a barrier, preventing other people from entering the vicinity.

“This place should be good enough,” said Lark. “If you’re ready, we can start.”

Luvart looked at the barrier enclosing the lake. Judging by its strength, there shouldn’t be much damage to their surroundings even if he went on a rampage.

Luvart took a deep breath. “I’m ready, Lord Evander.”

“It will be painful,” said Lark. “Steel yourself.”

With those words as a cue, Lark’s bracer morphed into a long needle and shot toward Luvart, piercing him right in the chest. The Sword of Morpheus forcefully pried the young Arzomos’ chest open, revealing the fist-sized core within it. Lark pointed a finger at the exposed core, removed it using magic, and replaced it with the high demon core.

The process may look simple to others, but Luvart and Kel’ Vual knew that such techniques required an absurd amount of control over mana. The tiniest error could damage the core and cripple the demon.

This technique would have been extremely hard to pull off without the help of an artifact like the Sword of Morpheus.

Luvart’s body trembled. Still, he did not scream nor move his body despite the excruciating pain. He simply hovered above the water, unmoving, as he endured the process.

Not bad, thought Lark.

Lark willed the Sword of Morpheus to close the gaping wound. And using the massive amounts of mana stored within it, he activated the high demon core.

“Kuuggh!” A scream finally escaped Luvart’s lips.

Like a sponge, the high demon core started sucking in all of the mana and miasma within Luvart’s body. The young Arzomos desperately resisted at first, but he soon found himself unable to supply the mana needed for the newly implanted core. Slowly, Luvart found himself losing consciousness. He was falling to his primal instinct. He felt parched, like a tree that hadn’t seen rain for decades.

His newly implanted core was screaming at him that it wanted more. Mana, blood, miasma. It wanted anything it could get its hands on.

And Luvart finally lost control over his body.

Luvart roared and shot toward the nearest source of meat he could find—Lark.

“Kel,” said Lark.

“I know.”

Kel’ Vual moved in front of Lark, and with a single hand, blocked Luvart’s attack. The shockwave created by Luvart’s attack immediately froze a portion of the lake. It even created small cracks on the barrier. The attack was a lot stronger than they’d expected.

Kel’ Vual’s hand felt numb after blocking a single strike.

“Snap out of it,” said Kel’ Vual.

Luvart roared, pulled back his hand, and released a barrage of attacks on Kel’ Vual. Each of his strikes was infused with freezing energy, and had it not been for Lark’s interference, the entire lake, along with a portion of the nearby forest, would have been frozen by now.

Kel’ Vual did not bother dodging the attacks. He received each of them head-on, his body absorbing all of the impact.

He planned on taking all of the blows, until his son regained his consciousness.

***

[Boris County]

Days quickly passed by.

After Lark left the Marcus Duchy, King Alvis immediately sent out messengers all over the kingdom. Soon, the news regarding the upcoming coronation of the king regent spread throughout the kingdom.

“My Lord!” Arzen’s assistant barged into his office.

Arzen furrowed his brows, clearly annoyed that the man entered his room unannounced. Just like before, stacks of documents were piled up on Arzen’s table.

“Lower your voice,” spat Arzen. “What is it?”

The assistant was huffing as he handed him a newspaper. “You won’t believe it! The news! You have to see it, My Lord!”

Arzen put down his quill. “The news?”

The assistant squeaked, “The second son of Duke Drakus! He’s been chosen as the winner of the competition for the throne!”

For a moment, time seemed to have slowed down. Arzen dumbfoundedly stared at his assistant, then at the newspaper in his hand. Arzen’s hands trembled. “What did you say?”

The assistant pointed at the newspaper. “It’s all over the news, My Lord! There! It says that Lark Marcus will soon become the king of this nation!”

Lark Marcus?

That noble who garnered the greatest number of achievements in the war with the empire?

Arzen admitted that he was indeed a worthy rival, but never in his wildest dreams did he believe that he would ascend the throne—moreover, this soon.

What happened?

Why did His Majesty suddenly make such a declaration?

Arzen gripped the newspaper tight. Almost everything written on it was related to the young man.

Lark Marcus, the man prophesized by the Seven Gods?

Arzen almost cursed upon reading the headline.

True to the prophecy of the Seven Gods, demons started attacking the kingdom. Even the Mullgray Islands weren’t spared from the demons’ wrath.

According to reports, Aurora Island, all the way to the Three Peaks Island, fell to the demons’ hands. The Pirate King “Ragiacrus Hunter” Zayn Pierson fell in battle. Mad Eye, the Pirate King’s right hand, was nowhere to be found.

Port Kalavinka and the Kelvin Duchy had been ravaged to the ground.

On the next page was another eye-catching headline:

Is the Kelvin Family Over?

The House Kelvin received the brunt force of the demons’ attack in this battle. The Kelvin Duchy, which boasted thousands of hussars, failed to stopper the demons’ advance and fell in a matter of days.

-Lancaster Kelvin.

-Zaask Kelvin.

-Amphus Kelvin.

-Sven Kelvin.

Four members of the prominent House Kelvin have been killed in battle.

With the death of these men, the destruction of Port Kalavinka, and the fall of the Kelvin Duchy, what does fate have in store for these High Nobles? Is Duke Kelvin, supposedly imprisoned in the dungeons, still alive?

Arzen breathed deeply. He started reading the part where Lark Marcus had appeared with a seven-headed monster and massacred every demon he encountered along the way.

“Seven-headed monster?” mumbled Arzen.

Just over a week ago, the former captain of the royal knights and Arzen’s current sword instructor finally revealed the reason for the royal knights’ demise: A monster with seven heads, powerful enough to evaporate a portion of a lake with a single breath attack.

Although Captain Symon did not tell him why the royal knights had to face such a monster, Arzen surmised that the monster mentioned in the newspaper was one and the same.

But how did the second son of Duke Drakus tame such a creature?

If Captain Symon was right, that monster could probably fight on par with the dragon guarding the dwarven kingdom.

There was simply no way for such a monster to be tamed by a mere human.

As he was lost in his thoughts, a voice was heard behind the door. “My Lord, a letter from the capital has arrived,” said the butler.

“From the capital?” said Arzen. He finally snapped out of his stupor. The newspaper he’d just read felt like a giant clump of revelation. Even now, he couldn’t believe all of it transpired just days ago. “Come in.”

The butler entered the room and handed Arzen the letter. “It appears to be from the royal family,” said the butler.

Arzen stared at the wax seal. He opened the letter and read the words written inside.

“A decree for all nobles to gather at the capital,” mumbled Arzen.

It was a summons from the crown. A gathering of nobles, for the coronation of the king regent in the capital.

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 11

“Shine upon the darkness! Burn my enemies!” shouted George. “Fireball!”

A fist-sized ball of fire shot from George’s fingertips and hit the boulder ten meters away from them, leaving behind almost inconspicuous burn marks on its surface.

“You sound stupid.” Austen picked his ears in embarrassment. “Can’t you come up with better words for the chant? Shine upon the darkness?” Austen cringed. “You know we don’t really need words to cast our spells.”

“But won’t it look cooler that way?” said George.

George cast another fireball spell—chantless. This time, the spell was completed in two seconds. It was also larger—around the size of an adult human head—and stronger. George willed it to rapidly spin before flying toward the same boulder. It exploded and destroyed a portion of the target on impact, sending pieces of stones flying about.

George and Austen grinned at each other.

They’d really come far after meeting their master. With such dangerous spells in their arsenal, they were confident that even the soldiers in Lion City were no longer their match.

Hours of repeatedly running around the town with weights strapped on their bodies and endless hours of mastering the core magic formation had finally paid off.

“Master said we should aim to have our cast time reduced to half a second,” said Austen. He cast the same spell as George, destroying what remained of the boulder. “We did great coming up with the idea of making the fireball spin rapidly, but it still takes us two seconds to cast the spell.”

George nodded. “We still have a long way to go.”

Austen laughed. “But isn’t it exciting? Master said that as long as we keep on training, the time will come when we’ll be able to surpass even the Master of the Tower.”

According to Lark, the massive mana pools of the brothers gave them an edge to the other magicians of the kingdom. With such reserves of mana, it was possible for them to repeatedly train and cast their spells, accelerating their growth severalfold.

“The Master of the Tower, huh?” George sat on the grass and looked up at the cloudless sky. “If we really do become that strong…”

Although their master told them with certainty that they had great future ahead of them in the field of magic, the brothers still couldn’t believe it. After all, they used to be nothing but errand boys from Lion City.

“But big brother, I heard from Chryselle that most magicians use chants for their spells. It’s a lot different than how the master taught us.”

“Trust the master,” said Austen. “There must be a reason he decided it’s better for us to skip straight to chantless magic.”

“I’ve thought of it before,” said George. “But if making the fireball rapidly spin increases its power, wouldn’t our spells become stronger if we forcefully compress it before making it spin?”

Austen raised a brow. “As if it’s that eas—”

Austen stopped midway through his speech when George summoned a ball of fire in front of him and forcefully shrunk it. And as though it wasn’t enough, it also started to spin rapidly.

“You can do it too if you try,” said George, unaware that what he was doing was no easy feat. From the size of a human head, the ball of fire had now shrunk to the size of a fist. Compared to the fireballs they’d been casting before, this one looked more solid.

“You! When did you learn to—”

“I’ve been practicing in my room.” George pointed at the sky and the compressed fireball spell shot up, eventually disappearing from sight. “I know you said that doing it alone is dangerous, but we have the item the master gave us, right?”

Austen couldn’t believe it. The little brother who’d been having a hard time grasping the magic formation before had now surpassed him and become this proficient in fire magic.

Austen sighed. He shrugged, as though he’d come to accept everything that had transpired, then sat next to his little brother and ruffled his hair.

“Hey, what are you doing?” said George, irked by the way his brother was touching him.

“Nothing.” Austen also looked up at the sky. “I’m hungry. Let’s grab some meat skewers in the Central Market and go home.”

George beamed. “Sounds great! I’ve saved up a lot of money recently. Let’s buy our siblings lots of bread and meat!”

After becoming the disciples of the Lord of Blackstone Town, money was no longer a problem for their family. The amount they were being paid each month was more than enough for them to live lavishly even in major cities. The brothers were truly grateful they’d moved to this town and met Lark.

After their training, the brothers left the forest edge and went to the Central Market. With the establishment of the Merchants Guild, the place was bustling more than ever before.

“Young Masters!” the meat vendor shouted in greeting. “It’s been a while! Here for more skewered meat?”

Young Master? thought Austen. He found it odd that the vendor seemed to be more polite to them than usual.

“Give us eighteen sticks, old man!” said George.

“That’s quite a lot, Young Master. Bringing some home, eh?” said the vendor. “Eighteen sticks coming up!”

George said to Austen, “It smells so good. I can’t wait!”

“Wipe the drool off your face.” Austen frowned.

“It’s really good to have money,” said George. “We can buy such delicious food for all of our siblings. There’s also cool-looking leather boots I saw in the newly built shop near the temple. They’re a bit expensive, so I’ve been saving up to buy them.”

“That’s why we need to continue working hard,” said Austen. “So don’t you dare slack off, brat.”

“Who’s slacking off?” George rubbed his nose. “I’ll surpass everyone soon and become Master’s best disciple. Just wait!”

Austen thought of Anandra and Chryselle. For some reason, Austen had this strange feeling that they would never become stronger than those two. Especially Anandra—that man was like a monster now. The last he’d heard, Anandra had managed to defeat all of the humanoids at the Training Hall at the same time. The Master of the Tower felt like a more reasonable goal, now that he thought of it.

“Here are your skewers, Young Masters,” the meat vendor politely handed them the bag. “Please come again!”

“Thank you, old man!” said George.

After buying meat skewers, the brothers immediately went to the nearby baker. To Austen’s surprise, even the vendor of this stall was acting unusually polite.

“Young Masters!” said the woman. “What can I get for you today?”

Austen frowned for a moment. “Three loaves of manchet please.”

“Manchet, is it? Of course, right away,” said the woman.

Austen nudged George’s ribs. He whispered, “Hey.”

“What?” said George, not bothering to lower his voice.

“Don’t you find it strange?” said Austen.

George shot a quizzical gaze.

“They’ve been calling us Young Masters,” whispered Austen. “The old man, and now, this. Why are they acting so polite to kids like us?”

“Isn’t it normal to be polite to customers?” said George, as though he found everything natural. “When we’re still errand boys in the city, we had to bow several times to our bosses, right?”

“That’s different.” Austen rubbed his brows. “Look, they never called us Young Master before, right? Why would they start acting so politely now?”

A passing customer—a man who worked in the mines—met George’s eyes. To George’s surprise, the man smiled and lightly bowed his head in greeting.

Seeing this, George finally realized that something was not right.

“Y-You’re right,” said George.

The woman handed them the bag filled with machets. She looked at the people in the Central Market who were happily chattering with each other.

“Everyone’s really in high spirits today,” she said. “Even I can’t help but feel excited.”

Austen received the bag. “Excited about what?”

The woman’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh my, you haven’t heard the news yet?”

Austen and George looked at each other. They’d been training at the forest edge since this morning.

“What news?” said George.

The woman deeply breathed in, as though trying to reel in her excitement. “Lark Marcus! The Lord of Blackstone Town! The two of you are his students, right? Soon, he’s going to become the king of this kingdom!”

Austen almost dropped the bag he was holding.

George repeatedly opened and closed his mouth. “K-King? M-Master is going to become the king?”

“That’s right!” said the woman excitedly. “The news came from the merchants who arrived this morning! Who would have known that the lord would become the next ruler of this nation! It’s really exciting, don’t you agree?”

They finally realized why all of these people were treating them with utmost respect. After all, they were known to be students of Lark Marcus—the next King of Lukas.

The woman sighed while looking at them. “How envious. To be the students of our lord. The two of you will probably end up living in the king’s castle in the capital, surrounded by numerous servants.”

The woman added, “Now that our lord is going to become king, I’m pretty sure this town will prosper even further. No wonder everyone is in high spirits today.”

The brothers could no longer hear the last few words of the woman. They were stupefied by the news that their master was soon going to become king of this kingdom.

***

The next day, news of Lark’s return spread throughout Blackstone Town. Bards sang on the streets as everyone celebrated the return of the future king of the kingdom.

George and Austen immediately went to the mansion to greet Lark.

“Master!” George barged into his office unannounced.

“Hey, at least learn to knock!” shouted Austen.

The two halted in their tracks upon entering the lord’s office. To their surprise, ten people aside from Lark were already inside.

Gaston, Big Mona, Chryselle, Anandra, Princess Esmeralda, and five unknown men wearing hooded cloaks stood before Lark. The five unknown men were even taller than Anandra. Moreover, each of them felt dangerous, as though they could snap a human’s head with their bare hands.

George and Austen instinctively took a step back upon meeting the unknown men’s gazes.

“They’re my remaining disciples,” Lark said to the five men.

“I see,” said one of the men.

Immediately, the ominous aura filling the room vanished. George and Austen felt like they could properly breathe again.

Now after a careful look, each of the five men had an unusual resemblance to their master. Their hair had tinges of silver, and one of their eyes was blue—as though the blood of the Marcus family was flowing through their veins.

There was something eerie about their appearance, but the brothers couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“George, Austen.” Lark smiled broadly. “It’s been a while. I heard from Anandra that the two of you have been training diligently while I was away?”

“Of course!” said George. He looked as though he wanted to show off his spells in front of all these people.

Lark chuckled in amusement.

“Master, we heard the news,” said Austen. “You’re going to be the king of this nation?”

“King regent,” corrected Lark. “It’s a temporary position.”

Lark paused. He looked at everyone in the room. “And I want every one of you to come with me to the capital for the coronation.”

Big Mona broadly grinned, his body quivering from excitement. Looking at his eyes, it was apparent that he was inwardly squealing in glee. “Of course! My time has finally come! I’ll be sure to show those Vont bastards that the newly enthroned king is on my side!”

Chryselle averted her gaze upon hearing those words. She’d heard from Lark how her maternal family pushed Big Mona’s father into bankruptcy, eventually leading to his death. She said to Lark. “I will follow you anywhere, Master.”

Anandra simply nodded his head and didn’t utter a word. Gaston, on the other hand, looked conflicted. After several seconds of silence, the butler bowed his head. “I’ll follow you.”

Lark heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing Gaston’s reply. Although it would be a great loss for Blackstone Town if the butler were to come with him to the capital, Lark believed that the town hall could still function without them around.

Lark needed capable people he could trust once he’d ascended the throne—and Gaston fitted that position the most.

“Princess, please use this chance to return to the capital,” said Lark.

The princess furrowed her brows. “I’m not returning to the capital, I’m simply coming with you. There’s a difference between the two.”

The youngest daughter of the King was as stubborn as before. Lark decided not to argue with her.

“George?” said Lark. “Austen?”

The two said in unison, “Of course, we’re coming with you, Master!”

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 12

The day of the crowning ceremony loomed closer.

Using what remaining time he had, Lark started assigning more key personnel to various management positions in Blackstone Town.

A year ago, taking Gaston with him to the capital would have crippled the administrative strength of his territory. But with the establishment of the town hall and the various ministries, Lark was confident that the town would do well even in the butler’s absence.

Although the current ministers were still lacking in experience, they were no longer the same illiterate men who scavenged for tree roots just to survive the winter.

Moreover, the soldiers guarding the town had become well versed in battle. According to Anandra, some of them were even capable of holding their ground against the humanoids of the Training Hall.

Lark, along with Anandra, Austen, and George, were at the Training Hall. Gathered before them were over a hundred Blackstone Soldiers, more than half of them wielding the magic spear Lark had given.

“Listen up!” said Commander Qarat. “The lord will be picking fifteen soldiers to accompany him to the capital of the kingdom!”

The soldiers were thrilled upon hearing this. Although it wasn’t clearly stated by the commander, they knew that the soldiers picked here today would become the personal guards of the lord—a man who would soon become the king of this nation.

“We’ll be holding a competition to see who will accompany the lord to the capital!” said Commander Qarat. “The rules are simple! Just like in training, fight with the humanoids and show the lord your worth!”

Becoming the personal guard of the king was vastly different from being the soldier of this town. The title alone would give them a status far exceeding what they currently had. Moreover, the soldiers picked here today would be able to personally serve the Lord of Blackstone Town. Everyone felt that there was no honor greater than that. With heated gazes, they glanced at the lord then at the commander.

“The soldiers in front! The five of you!” said Commander Qarat. “Step inside the arena!”

“Yes!” the five soldiers said in unison.

All five of them were ‘veteran’ soldiers. They were among those who’d survived the invasion of the United Grakas Alliance almost two years ago. They were among those who’d been granted authority to wield the magic spears personally crafted by the lord.

With firm determination, the five soldiers entered the small arena in the Training Hall and faced five humanoids. The moment the commander gave his signal, they activated the magic spears and charged straight toward their opponents.

Metal clanked as the soldiers and the humanoids clashed.

“Do we really have to do this?” said George while watching the battle.

“Do what?” said Austen.

Along with Lark and Anandra, the brothers watched the battle in the arena.

“Can’t we just take everyone with us to the capital?” said George. He gasped out loud when one of the five soldiers managed to land a hit on one of the humanoids. “Wow! I never knew our soldiers are this strong!”

“Of course, they’re strong,” said Austen, as though it was obvious. “Those men have been sparring with those metallic monsters every day. They can probably win against those corrupt patrols in Lion City without breaking much sweat.”

One of the five soldiers ran out of mana and failed to block a kick from one of the humanoids. He flew and stumbled several times in the arena, before passing out unconscious on the ground.

Seeing this, the brothers flinched.

“That looks painful,” muttered George. He was reminded of that time when the Master of the City of Magic beat them to a pulp.

“Although the soldiers clearly want to accompany our master to the capital, it’s not like we can take all of them,” said Austen. “If all the soldiers leave, who will protect the town?”

“The next five, get ready for battle!” shouted Commander Qarat.

As expected, the five soldiers who entered the arena first failed to defeat the humanoids. Although the soldiers now carried greater power with the help of the magic spears, they still couldn’t properly hit the humanoids made from the essence of a basilisk.

“My Lord,” said Anandra.

Lark looked at him and wordlessly urged him to continue speaking.

“Maybe it’s too early to give the soldiers the magic spears,” said Anandra. “Some of them have become too reliant them. Although they’ve greatly improved their skills, they still lack the basics.”

Lark shook his head. “It’s not like we have a choice. This is much better than them fumbling around, not knowing how to use the magic spears, once they confront the demons in battle.”

Under normal circumstances, Lark would have waited at least a year more before handing them the magic spears. But with the current state of things—with the threat of demons invading the kingdom looming —he no longer had such leeway.

While Lark was watching the soldiers’ heated battle against the humanoids of the Training Hall, he noticed Mikael Garios approaching their group.

After King Alvis visited the Lord of Blackstone Town a few weeks ago, the observer knight no longer pretended to be a mere coachman.

Mikael walked toward Lark and greeted him in his usual stoic manner, “It’s been a while, Lord Lark.”

“Sir Mikael,” said Lark. “What brings you here today?”

“I hope I’m not bothering with the training of the soldiers,” said Mikael as he cast a glance at the soldiers fighting against the metallic humanoids in the arena. “But I would like to make a request.”

“A request?” repeated Lark.

“Yes, Lord,” said Mikael. “I heard that you’ll be leaving for the capital tomorrow morning.”

Mikael lowered his head and earnestly said, “I apologize if I’m overstepping my bounds, but please allow me to come with you to the capital. Although you’ve already been chosen as the successor, my job as the observer is to—”

“Sure, go ahead,” said Lark, as though he found it natural for Mikael to accompany him to the capital. “An hour before dawn. Don’t be late.”

“Ah.”

Mikael opened then closed his mouth. He stared at Lark for several seconds. Finally realizing that his worries had been for naught, he muttered, “Thank you, Lord Lark.”

***

The next day, an hour before dawn, Mikael arrived at the forest edge near the mines. The sky was still dark, and the forest quiet.

Mikael thought that he would arrive earlier than everyone else, but to his surprise, Anandra was already there, silently leaning on a tree.

Anandra looked at Mikael as he approached the meeting spot, then lightly nodded his head once in acknowledgment. The two of them stood there silently and waited for everyone else to arrive.

Soon, the fifteen soldiers who’d won the little competition yesterday arrived. And they were followed by the princess and her knights.

“Ah, instructor!” said Parzival the moment he saw Mikael. “I should have known you’d be coming with us!”

The other knights also greeted Mikael respectfully. Despite his current shabby appearance, he was once one of the most-esteemed instructors of the knights in the kingdom.

While Mikael was exchanging greetings with Princess Esmeralda and the knights, Lark and the remaining members of his retinue arrived.

Big Mona, Chryselle, Austen, George, and Gaston followed right behind Lark. Moreover, several dozen large men with tinges of silver in their hair arrived alongside them. Peculiarly, their eyes were of different colors—one was blue, while the other was black. For a moment, Mikael wondered if the blood of the Marcuses flowed through the veins of all these people.

There were almost a hundred of them, and each of them was even taller and more muscular than Anandra. Their gazes were predatory, as though they would readily twist your neck without hesitation if Lark gave the order.

Mikael had been observing Lark Marcus for over a year now, and this was the first time he’d seen these people.

Who were they?

Where did they come from?

Mikael’s instinct was telling him that each of those men was dangerous. Although it sounded absurd, Mikael felt that even the weakest among them could cripple him with a single punch.

It was not only Mikael who looked warily at the men. The fifteen soldiers selected to accompany Lark and the knights of the princess fell silent.

They must have felt it too. The eerily dangerous aura those men exuded even from this distance.

“Is everyone here?” said Lark.

“I believe so, Master,” said Anandra.

Lark nodded. “Good. Then, let’s call Blackie over.”

Mikael silently observed Lark as he channeled mana into the necklace he was wearing. Based on what King Alvis had told him, the same creature who nearly annihilated the royal knights was residing in the Endless Forest. Moreover, it was subservient to the Lord of Blackstone Town.

Although several miners had already seen the creature, Mikael had yet to see for himself what it really looked like.

Minutes passed.

Soon, Mikael felt something colossal headed their way. Flocks of birds flew out of the trees and a loud whizzing sound was heard from the deeper parts of the forest.

Although everyone here was already aware of the presence of the monster, they still couldn’t help but be nervous as it made its appearance before them.

A monster with seven heads, two pairs of bat-like wings, and black iridescent scales. Each flap of its wings created gusts of wind.

With wide eyes, Mikael Garios’ stared at the creature for several seconds. This monster could probably destroy the entire kingdom on its own. It was surreal that it was subservient to the lord.

“I’ve come, God Evander,” said the Scylla in a deep voice.

“It’s time to leave for the capital,” said Lark.

The Scylla scanned the faces of everyone below. Its predatory gaze visibly softened upon landing on Lark and his disciples.

“Of course, God Evander,” said the Scylla.

The seven-headed monster slowly hovered down and landed on the ground, right in front of Lark. It lowered its body, making sure that Lark would have no problem mounting it.

Using a split-second burst of wind magic, Lark jumped on top of the Scylla’s body. He said to everyone, “Climb up. We’re flying straight to the capital.”

Mikael swallowed the lump in his throat. After Anandra and the unknown large men climbed on top of the Scylla, he quickly followed suit.

For the former instructor of the knights, this was his first time riding such a large creature.

After everyone was finally onboard the Scylla’s body, Lark gave his order, “To the capital.”

“Yes, God Evander!”

The trees around them momentarily shook as the Scylla roared and unfolded its wings wide. It jumped up, flapped its wings, and flew toward the capital.

***

It was late evening when Lark and his retinue finally arrived at the capital.

In order to not cause unnecessary terror to the citizens of Behemoth City, they disembarked from the Scylla near the outskirts.

“Go back to Blackstone Town for now,” Lark said to the Scylla. “Protect the territory while I’m gone.”

“As you command! I will make sure no harm comes to the town, God Evander!”

“Thank you.” Lark smiled.

The Scylla flapped its wings and flew away, disappearing from sight.

“Let’s go,” said Lark.

Their group started walking toward the capital. Even from here, they could see the large, translucent barrier enclosing the city, along with a small portion of the nearby forest.

Maybe it was due to the fact that a similar barrier was enclosing Blackstone Town, but for some reason, the scenery before them felt underwhelming. Even the walls enclosing the capital were smaller than those enclosing Lark’s territory.

Their group entered the barrier.

As expected, with the help of the blood emeralds, even the pinnacle-grade barrier spell wasn’t able to detect the demonic energy flowing inside the bodies of the Arzomos Tribe. They were considered humans by the barrier and permitted entry.

The barrier was strong, but it was not infallible.

“There’s a lot of refugees,” said Big Mona.

They saw the thousands of shacks haphazardly built right outside the walls of the capital.

It seemed that even after Lark annihilated the demons in the Kelvin Duchy and the nearby territories, the refugees still refused to leave the capital.

Well, it was understandable. After all, Blackstone Town aside, this was the only city protected by a pinnacle-grade barrier in the kingdom.

A group of beggars gazed at Lark’s group, but did not even dare approach them, probably due to the presence of the Arzomos. The members of the Arzomos Tribe, whose human bodies were even larger than Anandra, looked terrifying even from a distance.

Soon, they reached the gates.

“Halt,” said one of the soldiers. “We need to confirm your identities before you’ll be given ent—”

The soldier stopped midway through his speech. Upon seeing Lark, he immediately realized his identity.

Everyone had already heard that the second son of the Marcus family was going to ascend the throne. The characteristic silver hair and blue eyes of the young man in front of him were a dead giveaway that he was Lark Marcus.

“L-Lord Lark!” The soldier immediately made a snappy salute. He shouted at the soldiers on top of the walls. “Open the gates!”

“Open the gates!” the other soldiers echoed. They, too, immediately recognized someone from the Marcus family.

“Aren’t you going to check our identities?” said Lark, not minding going through the procedures.

The soldiers shook his head several times. “N-No. Well… you see, there have been a lot of refugees lately. We had to restrict access to the capital, otherwise, it’ll overcrowd the city. But there’s no need for Lord Lark and his group to undergo such procedures.”

Using exaggerated movements, the soldier pointed at the opened gate in a fluster. “Please go ahead and enter!”

They were only at the gates, but they were already seeing the tremendous influence the future king of the kingdom had over its citizens.

“I see,” said Lark. “Thank you for the hard work.”

“My Lord… ? Those people,” the soldier carefully picked his words, afraid of offending the young noble.

Lark glanced over his shoulder. Although it was their meekest gaze, to other people, it looked like the Arzomos were glaring at them.

“They’re with me,” said Lark.

“Ah, of course,” said the soldier. “The gates are open. Please enter, Lord Lark.”

Even the members of the Arzomos Tribe no longer had to undergo the usual procedures and were given free passage through the capital.

This would have been a cumbersome process if Lark had not been proclaimed the next successor to the crown.

“The name Marcus really holds so much value these days.” Big Mona clicked his tongue.

He seemed dissatisfied that the members of the Arzomos Tribe were easily granted entry to the capital. The fat merchant wanted to show his worth to Lark by negotiating with the soldiers, but it seemed that such trivial things were no longer needed as long as they used Lark’s name.

“We should probably wait here, partner,” said Big Mona.

Lark cast a quizzical gaze at the merchant.

Big Mona stared at the wide road ahead of them. “Remember, in a couple of days, you will be the king. There’s no need to stoop so low as to check into an inn or personally go all the way to the king’s castle.”

Now that he’d become Lark’s exclusive merchant, Big Mona vowed to protect Lark’s prestige as a noble, no matter the cost. He would never let anyone sully the name of his precious gold mine.

“Remember this, partner,” said Big Mona. “You are not just any noble. You are not just any king. You are the greatest Arch Mage who has ever lived. It is only proper that we act accordingly to such title.”

Big Mona confidently added, “And considering King Alvis’ personality, it should arrive any moment now.”

True to Big Mona’s word, over a dozen carriages arrived at the city’s entrance. The number of royal guards escorting it made all of the nearby residents halt and stare in awe. Although they’d been living in the capital for decades, this was their first time seeing so many carriages and soldiers come to escort someone.

Several high-ranking officers of the royal guards and the patrol disembarked and approached Lark’s group.

“It is an honor to meet you, Lord Lark,” greeted Danack, the Head of the Patrol. Next to him was the Grand Chamberlain, Viscount Lakian.

The Grand Chamberlain scanned the faces of everyone present, inwardly relieved they’d prepared enough carriages to accommodate everyone.

“We’ve prepared a sumptuous feast in anticipation of Lord Lark’s arrival,” said the Grand Chamberlain. “Please allow us to escort you to the king’s castle.”

George and Austen stared at the luxurious-looking carriages in awe. Their exteriors were embedded with silver and golden patterns. Even the horses looked majestic, as though they’d been fed nothing but high-quality hay.

The royal guards opened the doors to the carriages and respectfully ushered everyone in.

Lark and Big Mona entered the first carriage, along with the Grand Chamberlain and Danack.

“His Majesty wished to come and escort you personally, My Lord,” said the Grand Chamberlain. “But I vehemently objected against it. His Majesty is old, and the recent gathering of nobles has taken its toll on his health. I sincerely hope for Lord Lark’s understanding.”

Big Mona seemed dissatisfied, but decided to remain silent for now.

“It’s fine,” said Lark. “You mentioned a recent gathering of nobles?”

The Grand Chamberlain slowly nodded his head. He wryly smiled.

“All of the nobles summoned by the crown for the coronation ceremony arrived at the capital, two days ago,” said the Grand Chamberlain. “I’m sure Lord Lark already knows of this…” he carefully said his next words, “but you’re not exactly popular among the other nobles.”

Big Mona scoffed. “The Kelvins?”

The Grand Chamberlain said, “Yes.”

“I heard that their Duchy was overrun by the demons,” Big Mona sneered. “And they still dare bare their fangs against us?”

The Vont Family was the greatest supplier of arms for the Kelvins. Back then, when he heard that the Duchy was destroyed by the demons, Big Mona squeaked with glee.

“The other nobles are protesting about the sudden decision of His Majesty, King Alvis. It’s two years earlier than the promised time of succession, after all. Although they would have probably kept their mouths shut if the successor to the throne belonged to their faction…”

Big Mona leaned back. As expected of a carriage meant for royalty, even he found the carriage more comfortable than usual.

“How foolish,” said Big Mona. “Even after what happened to the Kelvins, they still can’t see the bigger picture of what’s going to come, huh? Not only this kingdom, but the entire continent will be soon engulfed in war.”

The Grand Chamberlain slowly nodded his head. As one of the close aids of the king, he understood what the merchant was trying to say. With the threat of the demons looming in, now was not the time for petty squabbles among nobles.

Along the way to the  castle, they passed a large, five-storey building with a three-meter-tall stone statue of a merchant at the entrance. It looked so luxurious, even compared to the mansions in the Inner District of the Capital.

The Merchants Guild of Behemoth City.

The ‘castle’ of the Vont Family, one of the most influential families of the kingdom.

Seeing the familiar building, Big Mona’s brows twitched. He could still remember the day, several decades ago, when his father knelt and begged before those scum. Big Mona would never forget those arrogant expressions, looking at his father as though he was nothing but an insect they could squash with their feet.

Noticing Big Mona’s gaze, the Grand Chamberlain said, “The capital’s Merchant Guild. It’s so beautiful that it looks like a palace, doesn’t it?”

Big Mona wryly smiled. In a sarcastic voice, he uttered, “It sure is.”

Lark sat silently as he listened to their exchange. He observed Big Mona’s expression. Unlike the Grand Chamberlain, he knew of Big Mona’s desire to overthrow the current rulers of the Merchant Guild of the capital. A desire driven not only by greed, but by spite.

Soon, they arrived at the castle.

The moment Lark disembarked from the carriage, he was immediately greeted by King Alvis.

“Lord Lark, it’s a great honor to have you here!” the king respectfully ushered Lark and his retinue into the castle. “Hopefully, the feast we’ve prepared will suit your taste.”

Princess Esmeralda looked uncomfortable with her father being inordinately polite to Lark. Even the royal guards escorting them looked conflicted.

“I heard that your health is failing,” said Lark. “It’s fine if we have our conversation tomorrow morning.”

King Alvis shook his head. “This is nothing compared to when I collapsed from the curse. I’m… just tired of dealing with those nobles from the Noble Factions. Some of them still hold key positions in the kingdom, you see. It’s hard, even for me, to simply dismiss their words.”

Lark nodded but didn’t utter a word.

He understood clearly the struggles King Alvis was going through. Although the king held the greatest power in this kingdom, his power was not absolute.

Some lower-ranked nobles held enough power to threaten even higher-ranking nobles. A good example of this was the Aria Family from Wizzert and the Boris Family who served as the guardians of the kingdom against the monsters of the Forbidden Region.

The Aria Family, despite being low-ranking nobles, was the absolute ruler of Wizzert and the Magic Academy. The Boris Family, on the other hand, controlled the large city of Daxton and its surrounding towns and territories. They also had a significant number of soldiers under their command.

Even the low-ranking nobles under the Kelvin Faction held significant positions within the kingdom. This was why King Alvis couldn’t simply brush off their complaints. They all held enough authority to sway the current flow of the kingdom.

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 13

Calisto Kelvin lay in bed inside his room in the Kelvin family’s estate in the capital. Bottles of liquor were scattered on the carpeted floor. His hair was disheveled as he absent-mindedly stared at the ceiling.

The past few weeks had been the worst of his life. He’d never felt so hopeless and insignificant before. Although some minor nobles still followed the Kelvins, it was apparent even to him that their influence had been greatly weakened.

“Damn shits, all of them!” he roared while lying down.

Calisto abruptly stood and stumbled from the sudden dizziness that assaulted him. His head ached and he felt like puking.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he repeatedly cursed. He uncorked another bottle of wine and chugged down half its contents. “Even that damn Count Sith no longer answers my summons! Even those lowly barons dare to ignore my orders!”

Calisto threw the bottle toward the wall, shattering it into pieces.

“Wine! Where are the damn servants?” Calisto looked like a madman. “Bring me more liquor!”

The head butler of the estate immediately entered the room, along with several servants.

“Master, you’ve drunk more than enough today,” said the head butler. He was among the servants who’d been serving the Kelvin family for several decades. It pained him to see one of the three great families reduced to this state.

Calisto hiccupped. His breath stank. He glared at the butler. “If I were Lancaster or Zaask, you wouldn’t dare question my orders, you damn servant.”

“Your older brothers wouldn’t have let themselves wallow in despair in the first place,” said the butler. Unlike the servants beside him, he did not cower.

“This damn butle—”

“My Lord,” said the butler. “Please come to your senses. With Duke Kelvin imprisoned and Masters Lancaster and Zaask dead, you’re now the head of the family.”

Calisto fell silent. Deep inside, he knew that the butler was right. But what could he do? He was powerless right now.

Calisto spat, “Give me my wine and get out.”

The butler sighed. He signaled the servants to give Calisto another bottle of wine.

“I will be here if you need me.” The butler bowed his head and left the room.

The door closed and Calisto once again found himself in the darkness of his room.

“Lancaster, Zaask,” he mumbled. “Why did you both have to die? If you were in my shoes, what would you do? With the Duchy gone, what can I do?”

Although Duke Kelvin had more than twenty sons, most of them did not know how to properly run the territories. If only Lancaster or Zaask Kelvin were alive, Calisto wouldn’t have to bear all of these responsibilities.

“Lord Calisto,” a voice was heard inside the room.

Calisto was momentarily surprised to see a figure dressed in black, his face covered by a mask.

“Black Midas,” Calisto muttered the name of the group the masked figure belonged to.

“Lark Marcus has arrived at the capital,” said the masked figure.

Calisto’s face contorted. He scowled. “I’m sure you didn’t come here just to tell me that?”

“Of course not, Lord Calisto,” said the masked figure. “Duke Kelvin has a task for you.”

“From father?” Calisto’s mind immediately became clearer hearing those words.

That’s right. Although his elder brothers were dead, their father was still alive.

So what if their father had been imprisoned? At the end of the day, he was still the Duke of the Kelvin Family. The absolute master of the Black Midas, the ruler of the largest underworld syndicate of the kingdom.

“We cannot let Lark Marcus ascend the throne. Otherwise, it’ll be the end of the Kelvin family,” the masked figure repeated the words of Duke Kelvin. “Although it’ll be impossible to stop the coronation ceremony, it’s still feasible to tarnish Lark Marcus’ reputation. The citizens do not trust him yet. Lord Calisto, the duke needs you to spread a rumor.”

“A rumor…” muttered Calisto.

Even though their family had been greatly weakened after losing the Duchy, it should still be possible to spread nasty rumors regarding the future monarch.

They still had their estate in the capital, Rock Castle, their gold mine near Quasan, and the largest underworld syndicate—Black Midas.

They could rise again from the ashes, definitely.

“Before Lark Marcus was exiled, he nearly killed a priest of the Water God,” said the masked figure.

“Everyone knows that,” said Calisto. It was the event that finally led to the banishment of the second son of Duke Drakus to that faraway town.

“And several months before that, Lark Marcus also defiled several virgin women in Yan City.”

Calisto whistled. The Marcus brat was a bigger bastard than he’d thought.

“He did that?”

“He didn’t. But the truth doesn’t matter,” said the masked figure. “If the duke says black is white, then it is white. We’ve already planted several women from Black Midas. We’ve also procured evidences of human trafficking, drug trades, and prostitution—all of them linked to Lark Marcus. Tomorrow, the rumors will spread throughout the capital.”

Calisto rubbed his chin. He nodded in understanding. It would be easy to fabricate everything with the help of the underworld organization.

“Rally the remaining nobles under your banner. Your role is to bring all of these to light, Lord Calisto.”

Calisto grinned broadly. As expected of his father. Even though he’d been locked up in the dungeons, he still came up with countermeasures to prevent Lark from ascending the throne.

So what if King Alvis favors Lark Marcus? At the end of the day, if the citizens of the kingdom saw the new monarch as the demon incarnate, the coronation ceremony wouldn’t end well.

This was not the empire where the emperor’s words were absolute.

“Amusing.” Calisto chuckled. “I can’t wait to see their faces once the rumor starts to spread.”

“The duke expect great things from you, My Lord.”

“Of course.”

The masked figure placed his right hand on his chest, bowed his head, and slowly disappeared into the darkness.

“He’s probably one of the leaders,” said Calisto as he picked up a wine bottle.

Although he was now the temporary head of the Kelvin family, Calisto still did not have a full grasp of how Black Midas worked, who their leaders were, and how many men were under their command. All that he knew was that the organization controlled almost all of the underworld syndicates of the kingdom.

A knock was heard on the door.

“Who is it?” said Calisto.

Several seconds passed before there was a response.

“B-Brother?” said a meek voice.

“Kalavinka?” said Calisto, his voice clearer than before despite being intoxicated by alcohol. “What are you doing outside my room at this hour? Come in.”

The door opened, and a boy whose face was half-covered by his hair entered.

Kalavinka looked at the broken shards of glass and at the empty bottles of liquor on the ground.

“I heard from the butler,” said Kalavinka, his voice full of hesitation. “D-Drinking this much is bad for your health, brother.”

Calisto studied the boy trembling before him. He sighed then put down the bottle in his hand.

“Come here,” said Calisto, his voice a lot gentler than before.

Kalavinka nodded and slowly walked toward his older brother.

“I stopped drinking, see?” said Calisto, his breath stinking with alcohol. “Now go to sleep.”

Kalavinka mustered the courage to look his older brother in the eyes. “You should sleep too, brother. I… I’ve asked the butler to prepare the guest room next to mine.”

Calisto smiled. He stroked the boy’s hair. “You want me to sleep there?”

Kalavinka slowly nodded. “This… place is dirty.”

Calisto chuckled. “Then, let’s go.”

As expected, nothing beats the warmth of a family. Calisto vowed to protect his remaining brothers, no matter what. Especially this boy, Kalavinka.

Calisto stood up and together with Kalavinka, left the room. In the hallway, they passed the butler and several maids.

“Clean my room,” Calisto said in a cold voice. “And prepare the bath for me. I’m sleeping in the guest room next to my little brother’s.”

The butler looked relieved that Calisto had finally left that dark place.

“As you wish, My Lord.”

***

The next day, King Alvis and Lark’s group were caught off guard by the rumors that suddenly spread throughout the capital.

Inside one of the sitting rooms in the king’s castle, King Alvis and Lark’s group gathered.

“Lord Lark.” King Alvis was frowning. “We’ve received reports. You probably heard from the Grand Chamberlain this morning…”

King Alvis rubbed his brows. His head ached just thinking about it.

“More and more citizens of the capital are gathering and protesting outside the castle right now. There are rumors,” King Alvis carefully said his next few words, “…and evidence of Lord Lark sexually assaulting several virgin women, a few years ago in Yan City. There is also evidence of Lord Lark being involved in smuggling drugs, human trafficking, prostitution, and the ordering of the assassination of priests from the temple.”

Lark remained calm despite the number of crimes and accusations thrown at him by the citizens of the kingdom.

Honestly, he did not have any way of knowing if all of these were true. Judging by the dream he’d had more than a year ago, the original owner of his body was a bastard who killed small animals for entertainment. He wouldn’t be surprised if the original owner of the body did all of these things.

Big Mona frowned, clearly displeased by what he’d heard. “It’s no coincidence that these things popped up now, a day before the coronation ceremony,” said Big Mona. “Don’t you think so, partner?”

Big Mona’s eyes glimmered dangerously for a moment.

“It’s no coincidence,” Lark said calmly. “Your Majesty, you said there is evidence?”

King Alvis nodded. “That’s right.” He looked at the retired General Carlos and said, “Give him the documents.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

General Carlos handed Lark several documents. Written on it was the list of crimes Lark had supposedly committed. The details and evidence presented were so concise and detailed that even Lark doubted if they were fabricated.

This was the problem of not inheriting the memories of the original owner of his body. He did not know if the original Lark actually committed all of these crimes.

“The citizens of the kingdom are demanding we postpone the coronation ceremony,” said King Alvis. “Even the Mercenary Guild, the Alchemists Guild, and the Merchants Guild, are demanding the stance of the royal family regarding this matter.”

“And the temple?” said Lark.

“The temple hasn’t issued its statement yet,” said King Alvis. “I’m sure Lady Ropianna is pulling some strings.”

The temple assuming a neutral stance was fortunate. Out of all organizations, the temple probably had the strongest influence over the people. If the temple declared that they deemed Lark as a heretic, a criminal, the capital and its citizens would be in uproar. No one would want such a demon to ascend the throne.

A soldier whispered something to General Carlos. The retired general frowned.

“Your Majesty, the number of people protesting at the castle gates has reached a thousand,” said General Carlos. “They are demanding that we postpone the coronation ceremony until the truth comes to light.”

King Alvis sighed. “I know that you only recently took over that body, but Lord Lark… Just in case, do you have an idea if those crimes were really committed by its original owner?”

“I do not know,” said Lark. He remained unperturbed despite the sudden turn of events. Looking from a wider perspective, such trivial things did not really matter compared to the impending invasion of demons. “But it wouldn’t surprise me if the original owner of this body did all of those things. Based on what I’ve heard, he was a real bastard, after all.”

King Alvis and the Grand Chamberlain looked at each other.

They knew that they had to find a way to fix this mess, if they wanted the coronation ceremony to proceed smoothly. After all, a monarch without the support of its people was like a parched, barren land. You can plant the seeds, but they would not grow no matter how long you waited. There was a limit on what a king could do without the support of his subjects.

“Partner, can I look at those documents?” said Big Mona.

Lark nodded. “Go ahead.” He handed him the documents.

Big Mona quickly read everything. He put the documents down and sneered. As someone who frequently schemed to reach where he was now, the way the evidence had been presented screamed of the word ‘fabricated.’ Big Mona could smell cheap tricks from a mile away.

“Partner, give me a few days,” said Big Mona, his voice confident. “It should be possible for me to fix this mess.”

“Then the coronation ceremony?” said Lark.

“It’ll be better to move it to a later date. Say… a week from now,” said the fat merchant.

Move it, not postpone it.

Lark, King Alvis, and everyone in the room understood the implications of the fat merchant’s words. He was telling them that he could reverse everything during that short period of time.

King Alvis stroked his ashen beard. “We can move the date to a week from now. It should be possible to appease the nobles who’ve arrived at the capital for a short period of time.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” said Lark. He turned to Big Mona. “Can I leave this matter to you, Mona?”

Big Mona grinned. It was a perfect opportunity to show his worth to this legendary magician. “You can leave it to me,” said Big Mona. “Even if everything written in here is true, there are ways to twist reality. Everything is possible with money, power, and the right connections.”

Although he’d known Big Mona for less than two years, Lark knew the fat merchant wasn’t someone who would carelessly blabber about such things if he wasn’t confident of achieving the results he wanted. This was the same man who mobilized the Pollux Tower, gathered the mercenaries, and initiated the creation of the Magic Towers in Lion City. Although he was greedy and ruthless, he was one of the most competent merchants he knew of, even in his past life.

“But before that, can I borrow one of them?” Big Mona pointed at the large man standing behind Lark Marcus. His hair had hints of silver, and one of his eyes was blue.

For a moment, there was a look of amusement in Lark’s eyes as he looked at the Arzomos.

“What do you need them for?” Lark asked curiously.

“Bodyguards,” said Big Mona. “I haven’t seen them fight, but they’re probably freakishly strong, isn’t that right, partner?”

It was spot on. Lark was amazed by the fat merchant’s intuition.

“How many do you need?” said Lark.

“Even two would be fine, but please make sure they will listen to my orders, no matter what.”

Lark looked over his shoulder. “You heard him. What do you think, Kel?”

“I don’t mind,” said Kel’ Vual. “I can send him two of my people if he wants.”

Big Mona grinned.

***

After the meeting with Lark and King Alvis, Big Mona left the king’s castle. The guards ended up forcing the angry citizens gathered in front of the gates to disperse, otherwise, it would have been impossible for Big Mona’s carriage to pass through.

“Lark Marcus, show yourself!” shouted one of the angry citizens. “Because of the drugs you smuggled into the city, my son fell into debt and lost his sanity! You damn demon!”

“You enslaved my daughter and sold her to the Red Light District!” shouted another.

“Come out! You don’t deserve to become the next king of this nation!”

“The rumor that he erected the barrier isn’t true anyway! That damn lying bastard!”

“He even killed the two priests who used to feed the slum people!”

“He’s probably in cahoots with the demons!”

“Show yourself, Lark Marcus! Come out!”

“Come out!”

The shouts filled with accusations overlapped with each other and reached Big Mona’s ears inside the carriage.

Big Mona smirked.

This was too organized to be a mere coincidence. The fat merchant was sure that among those shouting in anger were people from the organization who orchestrated this mess.

He knew these petty tricks too well.

Big Mona had used a similar tactic before, when he ousted one of his competitors for the Merchants Guild head position in Lion City.

“The question is who,” Big Mona muttered softly to himself as he leaned on the couch. He said to the coachman, “You’re driving too slow. Speed up!”

“Yes, sir!”

They left the angry mob and entered the main road of the capital.

Big Mona’s goal today was to meet with an old partner. The leader of one of the three information guilds headquartered in the capital. Although this Information Guild was located near the slums, it was probably the most reliable among the three right now.

“Hey, where are you going?” said Big Mona to the coachman. He realized they were going to a different location. The coachman didn’t answer and just continued driving the carriage.

Soon, they came to a stop.

The coachman disembarked, opened the door of the carriage, and said to Big Mona, “Come with us quietly, if you value your life.”

Alone inside the carriage, Big Mona scanned his surroundings. From the alleyways, several men clad in black appeared and surrounded the carriage.

Big Mona snorted. “So, who was it? Who leaked the information of my destination?”

Lark, King Alvis and his men aside, there were only three other people in the room that time.

“Is it the guard? Or is it the maids who served us?” Big Mona snorted, as though he found everything amusing. “Of course, you damn lot have infiltrated even the ranks of the royal servants.”

Big Mona exited the carriage, fixed his bowtie, and looked at the masked figures in front of him. Contrary to the masked figures’ expectations, the fat merchant remained composed despite the perilous situation.

“They’re desperate enough to mobilize assassins, huh?” said Big Mona.

Big Mona looked at the coachman. “And that face you’re wearing. It’s fake, isn’t that right?”

The coachman didn’t answer, but Big Mona knew that his conjecture was spot on.

“Why capture me?” said Big Mona. “You could just kill me. I didn’t bring any guards with me, after all.”

“We’re not here to answer your questions,” said the coachman.

The masked figures unsheathed their swords and threateningly closed in the distance.

“Knock him out,” said the coachman. “We still need to capture Lark Marcus’ disciples after this one.”

Without uttering a word, one of the masked figures shot toward Big Mona. He was about to punch the fat merchant right in the abdomen when suddenly, two large men appeared right in front of them.

“W-What?” muttered the coachman.

All of the masked figures halted in their tracks.

“So, this is why you wanted us to discreetly follow the carriage,” said one of the members of the Arzomos Tribe.

Big Mona grinned broadly. He hadn’t shown fear since he knew that these two were following him from a distance, all along.

“Have you killed humans before?” Big Mona said to the two Arzomos.

“We can kill anything,” said the Arzomos. “Even demons.”

Big Mona shivered in delight. What a satisfactory answer.

Big Mona was thrilled he had such powerful guards protecting him. Although the shadows serving his Merchant Guild in Lion City were strong, Big Mona was uncertain they would be a match with their current enemies.

“The coachman seems to be their leader. Including him, leave four of them alive,” said Big Mona.

“And the remaining ones?”

“Kill them.”

For a moment, the fat merchant felt uncomfortable ordering around these monsters. But to his relief, the two nodded and proceeded to slaughter the assassins.

The bodies of the two Arzomos disappeared in the blink of an eye, before reappearing right in front of the assassins. Judging by the way they moved around, Big Mona realized they were probably stronger than a high-ranking royal knight.

“Wow!” squeaked the fat merchant.

Big Mona shivered upon seeing his two guards kill the assassins in mere seconds, before knocking the coachman and three others unconscious.

The assassins couldn’t even scream or run away. Everything happened in a flash.

Big Mona wondered where Lark found these men. They were insanely strong to the point that it felt absurd.

“What should we do with them?” said the Arzomos.

“Throw the four of them inside the carriage. Make sure they won’t be able to lift even a finger if they wake up,” said Big Mona. “The Information Guild is nearby. I will drive.”

The two Arzomos silently entered the carriage, along with the four unconscious bodies.

Although he found it distasteful, Big Mona sat on the driver’s seat and drove all the way to a small building near the slums.

“One of you, follow me,” said Big Mona. One of the Arzomos wordlessly followed the fat merchant inside the building. The other stayed behind to watch over their captives.

The guards at the entrance immediately recognized Big Mona and gave them a free pass. Big Mona approached the counter together with Arzomos.

“What brings you here, Sir Mona?” said the clerk.

“I’m here to use a token.”

Big Mona placed a golden token on the counter and slid it toward the clerk. The clerk’s expression quickly transitioned from curiosity to surprise. She nodded her head. “Of course. I shall inform the leader right away.”

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 14

The clerk left the counter and after a few minutes, returned and ushered Big Mona and his guard to a room located underground.

A hunched old man greeted the fat merchant. Although the old man was wearing shabby clothes, Big Mona knew he was the leader of the Information Guild.

“Mona, it’s been a while,” said the old man.

“Casius,” said Big Mona. “I’m here to use the token you gave me a decade ago.”

The old man chuckled. “Is it to quell the rumors surrounding Lark Marcus?”

As expected of the Information Guild. They already knew the purpose of Big Mona’s visit.

“That’s correct,” said Big Mona.

Casius stroked his white beard. “Sit down first.” The two of them sat down. Casius said, “Even if you’re using a token, this matter is a bit… different, Mona.”

Big Mona was displeased with the leader of the Information Guild’s answer. A golden token was a privilege obtained only after transacting with an Information Guild for decades. It was the most absolute payment an Information Guild could ask for. If converted into money, it should be equivalent to ten thousand gold coins. Moreover, it represented an Information Guild’s honor.

Telling him it would be difficult despite this was akin to telling him that the Information Guild couldn’t take on the request.

“Is it the Vont Family?” said Big Mona.

Casius fell silent for a moment, before slowly bobbing his head. “Yes. But it’s not only the Vont Family who wish to prevent Lark Marcus from ascending the throne, Mona. The Alchemy Guild, the Mercenary Guild, even several high-ranking priests from the temple. Moreover, the Kelvin family and several nobles in their factions are pulling the strings. I’m telling you all of this, Mona, since you’re a long-time client of the guild, but this isn’t a simple matter our Information Guild can handle.”

Veins started forming on Big Mona’s temples. As expected, the damn Vont Family was hindering his path once again. And this time, they were colluding with several influential organizations and nobles of the kingdom.

“This is just the start, Mona,” said Casius. “Do you really think they are going to stop with mere rumors?”

“Are you telling me that they’ll take up arms and forcefully take over the throne?” said Big Mona. Even he found it preposterous.

“It is the only conclusion we could think of,” said Casius. “The solid evidence presented regarding the crimes of Lark Marcus is a perfect excuse, don’t you think?”

“Those fools!” roared Big Mona. “They’ve seen what happened to the ports and the Kelvin Duchy! And they’re here, orchestrating a plan to spark civil war and take over the throne!”

“The greed of humans knows no bounds, Mona. Yesterday, we were contacted by a messenger from the Kelvin family. And do you know the message Duke Kelvin passed to us?”

“What?” spat Big Mona.

“Submit to us,” Casius repeated the words of the messenger from Kelvin family, “if you do not wish to see the destruction of your little guild, old man.”

Casius laughed and said in a grim voice, “In my seventy years of life, it wasn’t the first time I’ve been threatened by such bastards.”

From a kind-looking old man, Casius’ face twisted into that of a demon’s, rage evident within his eyes.

“Who do they think they are?” said Casius, his lips curled into a smirk. “Big Mona, I want to help you. Not because you hold a token, but because I don’t like how that Kelvin brat does things.”

Casius said to one of the guards standing behind him, “Hey, give it to him.”

The guard handed Big Mona several documents containing the details of the members of Black Midas, their location, their numbers.

Big Mona did not know how Casius managed to get hold of such crucial information, but he was satisfied regardless. The fat merchant tried his best not to show his surprise.

“Black Midas…” mumbled Big Mona. “Don’t tell me…?”

Casius said, “That’s right. The one controlling the largest underworld syndicate of this kingdom is the Head of the House Kelvin.”

So, this was the reason the royal family couldn’t cull the infamous underworld syndicate even after all these years.

Big Mona had just received highly classified information that all nobles would covet, no matter the cost. Seeing that Casius had willingly handed him such information, Big Mona realized that the leader of the Information Guild had decided to bet on their faction, for now.

“But there’s one condition,” said Casius. “Eliminate the members of Black Midas residing in the capital. Do that, and my Information Guild will provide you with everything you need to get through this mess. Even dealing with the Vont Family, the Alchemist Guild, the Mercenary Guild, the Kelvins, and the other nobles should be possible with my help.”

Casius wouldn’t have given this task to Big Mona had he not known of how absurdly strong Lark Marcus was. As the leader of the Information Guild, he knew the credibility of the feats Lark Marcus had shown the past year.

“I’m risking my Information Guild to help you,” said Casius. He leaned closer and smiled. “You can do at least this much, right?”

For a moment, it felt like a deal with the devil.

A grin slowly formed on Big Mona’s face.

Under normal circumstances, this would have been an impossible task for Big Mona. Black Midas was the largest underworld organization, after all. For more than a hundred years, they’d ruled over this kingdom’s underworld.

But with the help of Lark Marcus and his men, wiping out the members of Black Midas in the capital should be possible.

“I’ve already captured several of them,” said Big Mona. “Those fools attacked me on my way here.”

“Oho!” Casius’ eyes glimmered. “Can you give them to me? Maybe they’ll answer some of my questions if I ask nicely.”

The leader of the Information Guild laughed. Big Mona knew of the terrible fate those Black Midas bastards would face once he handed them to this old man.

“Sure, go ahead,” said Big Mona. “You can do anything you want with them.”

Casius’ face contorted once again. He licked his lips. He still hadn’t forgotten how Duke Kelvin threatened him and belittled his guild.

How dare a declining family threaten him?

***

After leaving the Information Guild, Big Mona summoned the shadows that had been protecting his guild. These were the shadows stationed at the capital ready to do Big Mona’s whims. He also sent a letter to Lark Marcus, asking to borrow several more Arzomos.

“Check all of these locations and report to me,” said Big Mona.

The leader of the shadows bowed his head. “As you wish.”

The shadows formed smaller groups and dispersed throughout the capital.

“Can’t we just attack them now?” said one of the Arzomos.

Big Mona shook his head. “That would be foolish. Although I’ve been partners with Casius for several decades, right now, we have no way of verifying if the information he leaked is correct. I trust no one but my own men. We will not move until we’ve confirmed that all the information given to us is correct. The last thing we want is to fall into the trap of some lowly nobles.”

Big Mona fixed his garb. He said, “It’ll take a while for my men to verify the information’s authenticity. Let’s not waste time. We’re moving to the next location immediately”

Big Mona smirked, glad of how the gears were turning.

With the powerful Arzomos acting as his guards, Big Mona went to the nearby slums. They reeked of poverty, death, and despair. Numerous malnourished children roamed the streets, and several women who did not qualify for the Red Light District were enticing men and offering their services.

It was a disgusting place Big Mona wouldn’t have gone to under normal circumstances.

Although the capital looked prosperous on the outside, places like this were still present within the Outer District of the city.

“If they’re going to live like this, they should have just sold themselves as slaves,” Big Mona mumbled, his voice filled with disgust. “Even the stupid slave that cleans the sitting room in my Merchant Guild lives a better life than this.”

The Arzomos walking behind him heard, but remained silent.

As they were walking through the alleys, numerous gazes naturally fell on their group. The fat merchant looked like a tasty target, but due to the large, muscular men walking behind him, the slum people did not even dare attack him. Even the beggars didn’t dare approach the merchant out of fear of the Arzomos.

“Ah, damn it,” mumbled Big Mona. “Where is it again?”

Unsure of the exact location of their destination, Big Mona called out one of the beggars nearby. “You, come here,” said Big Mona.

The beggar—a boy in his early teens—hesitantly came forward. He stuttered, “Y-Yes, sir?”

“A man called Luvik should be living around this area,” said Big Mona.

The beggar’s eyes widened for a moment. It was apparent that it was a name known only to slum people like them.

“Lead me to him.”

The beggar opened then closed his mouth. He wanted to refuse the merchant’s request immediately, but the predatory stare of the two muscular men crippled all of his obstinate thoughts from forming.

Unable to outright refuse the merchant, the beggar instead asked, “W-What do you need Luvik for, mister?”

“That’s none of your business,” said Big Mona. He took out a gold coin from his pocket and handed it to the beggar. “This is more than enough, no? Now, lead me to him.”

The beggar’s hand holding the gold coin trembled. He looked left and right and noticed other beggars staring at him. He knew that the moment the merchant and his guards left this area, the other people of the slums would beat him up and take this money.

It was all or nothing.

The best course to ensure that he got to keep his coin was to escort this merchant.

“I’ll escort you there, sir!” said the beggar. His voice overeager.

With the beggar at the lead, Big Mona traversed the complex alleys of the slums. The air was putrid, the ground grimy. They even saw a dead body sitting in a corner, rotting. A textbook example of unchecked poverty.

Soon, they arrived at a small building located deep within the slum area.

Big Mona knew he was in the right place upon seeing several men with swords and knives strapped around their waists roaming about.

“Here’s the place, sir!” said the beggar in an uncharacteristically loud voice. A voice loud enough for everyone to hear. “As your escort, I’ll wait for your return here, sir!”

Big Mona smirked in amusement. The beggar was shrewd despite his looks.

With those words, he’d just implied that he was a member of Big Mona’s group. If the people of the slums aiming for his gold coin attacked him now, they would risk earning Big Mona’s ire.

For a moment, Big Mona was reminded of when he was young. He also employed cheap tactics in order to survive. He’d killed people and used them as stepping stones to achieve his goals. He did everything just to survive the clutches of his enemies.

Look at him now.

He was now the head of the Merchants Guild in Lion City. And he was now the exclusive merchant of the future king of the kingdom. Moreover, he could now fight against his enemies on even ground.

“If you live long enough, you’ll do well in life, kid,” said the fat merchant.

He meant those words.

Big Mona entered the small building along with the two Arzomos.

“Who are you?” said one of the guards.

“A client,” said the fat merchant.

Big Mona had an air of arrogance as he scanned his surroundings. Although it looked like a cheap pub at first glance, he knew that this was the gathering place of the leaders of the slum.

“I’m here to meet Luvik,” said Big Mona.

The guards looked at each other. Judging by Big Mona’s attire and the guards behind him, they knew that this client was a big shot.

At first, they wanted to inquire about the fat merchant’s identity before informing their leader, but eventually decided against it. Sometimes there were things mere underlings like them were better off not knowing.

“Please sit over there, sir,” said one of the guards. “We’ll immediately inform Sir Luvik of your arrival.”

One of the guards went up and called for Luvik, while Big Mona sat on the wooden chair at the center of the pub. The wooden chair creaked, but didn’t break the moment Big Mona sat on it.

“I heard you’re looking for me?” A muscular man with a large burn mark across his face came down from the second floor and approached Big Mona’s group.

“Luvik?”

“That’s right.”

“I’m here to offer you a job,” said Big Mona.

Luvik looked at the two muscular men behind Big Mona, then at the fat merchant.

“You’re making my men uneasy, bringing those weapons of carnage with you inside this place.” Luvik sat right in front of Big Mona. With a single glance, Luvik realized that they probably wouldn’t be able to win against those two guards even if they called all of their men from the slums.

“The two of you remain,” said Luvik to his men. “As for the rest, leave us.”

“Yes, sir!”

After the area was cleared out, Luvik spoke. “So, what is it?”

“I need you to help quell some rumors,” said Big Mona.

Luvik raised his brows. “Rumors.”

Big Mona said, “You’ve heard the rumors regarding the next monarch, right?”

“The rumors regarding Lark Marcus.” Luvik nodded. “Of course. Everyone must have heard them by now.”

“You see, Luvik,” said Big Mona. “In order to quell a rumor, you need a bigger one. Or if that doesn’t work, create another.”

Although the Information Guild promised to help him if they killed the members of Black Midas, Big Mona knew that alone wouldn’t be enough.

Even if they destroyed the syndicate, the rumors surrounding the new king would still continue spreading among the citizens.

Big Mona wouldn’t let such things tarnish the reputation of his most beloved partner. Lark Marcus was, after all, his gold mine.

Luvik smirked. “I see now. Lark Marcus, huh… I heard he’s affiliated with the Merchant Guild in Lion City. You’re Big Mona, aren’t you? So, what do you want us to do?”

Although the nobles thought of the slum people as powerless and voiceless, Big Mona knew, based on experience, that was far from reality. Although the slums held little military might, they still constituted a significant portion of the kingdom.

Moreover, rats had their own ways of living that normal people wouldn’t understand. The people of the slums were perfect for this job.

Big Mona took out a large pouch filled with gold coins and put it on the table. “Two hundred gold coins. And two hundred more after you successfully complete the task. Show me the slum’s worth. I need you to instill the idea that the current rumors are false. I want you to spread rumors that Lark Marcus is this kingdom’s hero, it’s savior.”

Big Mona clasped his hands together and leaned forward. “Although you’re the leader of the slums, you don’t want to live the rest of your life in this filthy place, isn’t that right?”

It was spot on.

Although Luvik enjoyed his power and authority here, at the end of the day, this was still the slums and he was nothing but a large frog in a well.

Like a devil, Big Mona started spouting words to entice Luvik.

“As the exclusive merchant of the future king of this kingdom, I promise to support the slums once Lark Marcus ascends the throne,” said Big Mona. “But of course, before that, all of you should first show me your worth.”

“And what kind of support are we talking about?” said Luvik.

Taking this job meant Luvik would end up going against some of the big wigs among the nobilities. He wanted to know if the money was worth the risk they would be taking.

Big Mona leaned back, almost destroying the backrest of his wooden chair in the process. “How about restructuring the slums completely?”

Luvik was dumbfounded.

“We’ll integrate the slums into the capital itself. All of the slum people will be given proper jobs, food, clothing, houses. With the power of the new king, that much should be possible. This is the slum’s chance for salvation, Luvik. The chance for these people to finally get out of this rat hole.”

Luvik’s eyes widened. Even his guards standing nearby trembled hearing those words.

Salvation.

The slum people had longed to hear those words for generations.

The previous Tyrant King and the current king paid no attention to people like them. In the capital, the majority of the slum people were treated worse than slaves.

And now, this fat merchant in front of him was giving him a way out of this hellhole.

The promise made by the exclusive merchant of the next king was worth way more than the coins sitting on the table.

Luvik fell silent as he pondered.

“With this much money, it should be possible,” said Luvik, then he looked up and sighed. “But can I trust you, Big Mona?”

The merchant’s promise sounded too good to be true. Such drastic reformation of the slums felt impossible, now that Luvik thought of it.

“Lark Marcus is far greater than you think, Luvik,” said Big Mona. “You might be thinking that giving new life to the slum people is impossible, but to the next king, such things are trivial. You’ve seen the barrier enclosing the capital, haven’t you?”

Luvik remembered the barrier that suddenly enclosed the capital in the span of a single day. Although the royal family didn’t divulge the specifics on who created the barrier, there were rumors that Lark Marcus was behind it.

Luvik fell silent.

Luvik firmed his resolve. Even if his decision was probably foolish, for now, he decided to trust the merchant’s words.

“I’ll gather the members of the slum and delegate jobs to everyone. We can infiltrate and spread rumors to almost everywhere in the capital, as long as it’s outside the Inner District where the royal family resides.”

“I want it done in three days,” said Big Mona.

Luvik nodded. “You can expect great results.”

“Excellent.” Big Mona stood up. “You will receive a message from one of my men tomorrow morning, containing further details regarding this mission.”

Big Mona paused. He looked at the door, then at Luvik. “The boy at the entrance seems promising. He’ll be useful. Shelter him.”

Such uncharacteristic words came out of Big Mona’s mouth. Even he was surprised that he didn’t want the boy to die the moment he left. A gold coin was a fortune for the people of the slums, and they wouldn’t hesitate to kill the boy for that amount.

Luvik was puzzled why Big Mona cared for a kid, but nodded his head regardless. As the leader of the slums, a single word was all it would take to make sure they wouldn’t hurt that boy.

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 15

The next day, inside the dungeon in the capital, Duke Kelvin was sitting on hard ground. The air was cold and stale, and the scent of iron bars filled the room.

“Almost,” he mumbled. “Just a bit more.”

He’d endured staying almost a year in this filthy place, all for the sake of accomplishing his goals. Although the Duchy and the naval bases had been destroyed by the demons, Duke Kelvin still did not lose hope. Although the coronation ceremony was looming closer, he did not look at it as an obstacle, but as an opportunity. If he played his cards right, he could use the previous atrocious deeds of the new king as an excuse to spark a civil war in the kingdom.

From the shadows of the dungeon, a voice spoke, “Duke, your son, Calisto, seeks an audience with you.”

Finally. The long-awaited report from his men was here.

Duke Kelvin looked at the empty space in front of him. “Bring him to me.”

“Understood.”

Bypassing the guards guarding the entrance of the dungeon using magic, Calisto and several members of Black Midas entered the prison.

Calisto removed the hood over his head and knelt on one knee upon meeting the gaze of his father.

“Have you been well, father?” said Calisto. He noticed that the duke had become a lot slimmer.

“Stop with the pleasantries,” said Duke Kelvin. “Report.”

“Of course.”

Calisto took out a fist-sized crystal and handed it to the duke. It was a recording crystal created by the Elders of Wizzert. A rare artifact that cost half a thousand gold coins.

“We’ve spread the rumors as you’ve ordered, father,” said Calisto. “The entire capital is now in uproar. The royals had no choice but to postpone the coronation ceremony to a later date.”

Duke Kelvin smirked. Everything was going according to his plans. Like a puppeteer, everyone was dancing on the palms of his hands. He activated the recording crystal and played the recorded contents inside. The hazy faces of several people protesting in the Central Plaza soon came into view.

“He repeatedly raped my daughter, and as though that wasn’t enough, killed her!” shouted one of the women standing on a wooden platform.

“He also beat my grandfather to a pulp after he accidentally spilled Lark Marcus’ drinks in a tavern!” another woman shouted in a hysterical voice. “Without any money, we couldn’t even ask the healers for help! Before we could even reach the temple, my grandfather perished!”

Even from the recording device, the duke could see the heated expressions of the mob. They trembled in rage hearing of all these crimes.

“Commoners like us are whipped for petty crimes like stealing bread to survive another day! But what about Lark Marcus? Even after smuggling drugs and illegally trafficking children and turning them into slaves, he remains unpunished!”

“Even when Lark Marcus rapes an innocent woman, or kills a hardworking grandfather, he remains free! Because of what? Because he’s a goddamn noble of this kingdom!”

The crowd in the Central Plaza roared. They started chanting in unison.

“Punish Lark Marcus!”

“Punish Lark Marcus!”

“Make him pay for his crimes!”

“He does not deserve the throne!”

“We shouldn’t let him become the next king of this kingdom!”

Duke Kelvin chuckled as he turned the device off. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“Your men sure know how to act,” Duke Kelvin said to the leader of Black Midas in the room.

“Not all is an act, Duke,” said the leader. “Most of those people are real victims of Lark Marcus. Although the part regarding the rape and the death of the old man are fabricated, Lark Marcus was indeed involved in smuggling drugs and trafficking children.”

Even Duke Kelvin was surprised upon hearing the last part of the statement. “He was involved in trafficking children?” said the duke.

“Based on the information we’ve gathered, yes,” said the leader. “We have strong evidence that he tortured those children for the sake of entertainment.”

The duke’s eyes widened. He guffawed, his laugh echoing through the dungeon. Thankfully, the magic cast here made it impossible for the guards at the entrance to hear him.

“He’s a bigger bastard than me, huh?!” said the duke.

With this much evidence against Lark Marcus, it would be extremely easy to turn the kingdom against him. It was no exaggeration to say that the moment he ascended the throne, a civil war could easily take place.

Although drugs and prostitution could be easily forgiven, involving children—moreover torturing them—would never be acceptable to the citizens. It was the vilest act imaginable, even for nobles like them.

“Calisto, how are the nobles in our faction?”

Calisto said, “Almost half of them started joining the Marcus Faction, but with the current scandal surrounding Lark Marcus, it should be possible to win them over. Moreover, the guilds started showing their support to us, after hearing of the crimes Lark Marcus committed. It’s only a matter of time before the Marcus family falls from grace, father.”

Duke Kelvin nodded approvingly. “Good, good!”

No matter what the royal family chose, it would still end as Duke Kelvin’s win. Even if Lark Marcus ascended the throne, these crimes that had come to light would forever tarnish him. As long as there was an opening, an opportunity, Duke Kelvin was confident of sparking a rebellion.

“But there’s a bit of a problem,” said Calisto.

“A problem?”

Calisto looked at the assassin leader next to him, prompting him to report in his stead.

The leader said, “Big Mona started moving, My Lord.”

Duke Kelvin frowned. He knew of Big Mona’s abilities very well. From a nobody, that fat man rose to become the head of the Merchants Guild in Lion City. Moreover, he was connected to several influential people throughout the kingdom.

“Who did he come into contact with?” said the duke.

“Casius and the leader of the rats of the slum, My Lord,” said the assassin leader.

“That meddlesome pig,” muttered the duke. “Threatening Casius wasn’t enough, huh? To think that he would ally himself with Big Mona. That fool.”

“The rats of the slum also started moving throughout the capital, father,” said Calisto. “Although it isn’t certain, we believe that they’re trying to quell the rumors we’ve been trying to spread.”

Duke Kelvin clenched his fists. He couldn’t let those lowlifes do as they please.

Those damned people from the slums. They should have just stayed in their ratholes, away from everyone’s sight. They would soon regret choosing the wrong side in this battle.

“Mobilize the spies we’ve planted in the king’s castle,” said Duke Kelvin.

“Your orders?” said the assassin leader.

“The method doesn’t matter. Kill Big Mona,” said Duke Kelvin. “Also, send several men to Casius and the leader of the slums. Threaten them to stop what they’re doing, and if that doesn’t work, kill them.”

The assassin leader placed his hand on his chest and bowed his head. “As you will.”

***

The rats of the slums were surprisingly effective in spreading new rumors regarding the next king of the nation.

Using the money they received from Big Mona, they started dressing in decent clothes and infiltrated the Outer and Middle Districts of the capital.

At a tavern in the Outer District…

“Hey, did you hear? Lark Marcus wasn’t actually involved in the smuggling of drugs in Yan City,” the man from the slum whispered inside the tavern, his voice just loud enough for the tavern staff serving food at their table to hear.

Another man from the slum replied, “Yeah. I heard it too. My sister was a seamstress working in that city. According to her, the rumors are a lie! She saw everything herself!”

“What did she see?”

The man leaned closer, as though the words he was going to say were top secret. Still, he made sure his voice was loud enough for the tavern server to hear.

“She saw it herself. The men from the Kelvin family were the ones involved in smuggling drugs into Yan City!”

At a temple near the Central Plaza…

“God Nereus, thank you for giving us salvation,” another man from the slum knelt and prayed loudly. It was early in the morning, and only he and an elderly priest were present.

“For saving my brother from the demons, for granting us the cure…”

The man from the slums trembled, as though he couldn’t contain his emotions. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he stared at the Water God’s statue.

“I thought that I was going to lose my brother as well,” the skilled actor sobbed. “But he survived! And it’s by your grace, oh merciful God!”

After praying, the man wiped the tears in his eyes, stood up, and left the temple. The moment he was about to reach the exit, a voice was heard behind him.

The man from the slums suppressed a smile from forming on his face. It was the response he wanted.

“Wait!”

The man looked behind him and saw a priest panting. From the altar, he must have run all the way here.

“Wait,” huffed the elderly priest.

The man from the slums stood there and waited, but did not speak. Based on his experience when he was swindling people in the dark alleys, in moments like these, the fewer the words, the better.

“You said that your brother was cured?” said the elderly priest. For some reason, he did not have the air of dignity and composure usually held by a priest from the temple. And the man from the slum soon understood the reason.

“Just like my friend… Your brother. Did he… become possessed by the demons too?”

Parasitization.

Even the citizens of the capital had heard of the demons’ abilities to take control of their prey’s bodies. Even now, a cure was unheard of. No wonder the priest was dumbfounded upon hearing such words coming out of the mouth of this devout believer.

The man from the slums looked the priest in the eyes. He slowly nodded his head and said, “Yes.”

“B-But how?” said the elderly priest. “We have some priests residing in Quasan City. And among them… a close friend of mine was possessed by the demons. I was told that a cure was impossible...”

“Lark Marcus,” said the man from the slums.

The elderly priest had not expected to hear that vile human’s name here. That human trash who tortured children for the sake of entertainment. Even now, the priest couldn’t understand why they hadn’t arrested and executed that devil incarnate.

“Lark Marcus has managed to create a cure. My brother is a living testament to it. If you’re doubting my words, priest, you can go to the Alchemist Guild and confirm it.”

“The Alchemist Guild…” mumbled the elderly priest.

The man from the slums politely bowed his head. “If you’ll excuse me.”

The priest remained standing there, long after the man from the slums left. He couldn’t understand it. Why would that devil incarnate, who raped women and killed children for the sake of entertainment, create a cure for the demon’s curse?

It was gradual, but the priest started doubting the credibility of the rumors circulating in the capital. After pondering for some time, the priest decided to verify and see the truth for himself. Together with some acolytes, he went to the Alchemist Guild.

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 16

[Marcus family estate: Inner District of the capital.]

“Father, are we really going to just stay here and do nothing?” said Lui Marcus. “Those people! They keep on slandering Lark’s name!”

Although Lui knew another person was inhabiting the body of his little brother, he still couldn’t help but fume with rage hearing all the rumors and accusations spreading through the capital.

“It’s not slander.” The duke calmly read the newspaper in his hand. As expected, even the newspaper was filled with articles regarding the crimes Lark had committed. “Most of them are true in the first place.”

As the head of the Marcus family, Duke Drakus knew very well the various crimes Lark had been committing behind his back. He was even aware of how Lark trafficked children and tortured them, all for the sake of entertainment.

Back then, the duke used his authority to cover up his second son’s mistakes. He continued covering for the atrocious misdeeds of his son, until the incident involving the priests from the Temple of the Water God.

It was the last straw. Even he, a duke, couldn’t afford to make enemies in the temple.

“But still!” said Lui. He clenched his fists as he looked at his father. “We should at least send our men and—”

“Lui.” The duke put down the newspaper and looked his eldest son in the eyes. “You saw it, didn’t you? That seven-headed monster that could probably destroy the whole kingdom.”

Indeed, Lui Marcus had seen the creature back at the Marcus Duchy. It was so massive and the mana undulating around it so powerful that even Lui knew there was no way for humans to defeat it.

“A human who could tame such a creature is nothing short of a god in this realm,” said the duke. “You worry too much. Your little brother, Lark Marcus, will easily be able to deal with this himself.”

Lui couldn’t utter a rebuttal.

Would a magician as powerful as that even need their help?

“But it’s regrettable,” said the duke. “Even now, we are cleaning up the mess made by that damnable brother of yours. It truly is fortunate that Lord Evander took over his body. That kid, that human trash, doesn’t—”

The duke stopped midway through his speech upon seeing Lui’s fierce gaze. It was truly troubling how much the Silver War God cared for his family. He showed brotherly love even for that devil incarnate. If only Lui wasn’t this naïve, he would be perfect.

“Father—”

The duke sighed and rubbed his brows. “Times have changed, Lui,” said the duke. “We will send help if they ask for it, but for now, stay put. Don’t do anything unnecessary. I received a message from Big Mona.”

“From the merchant?”

The duke looked out the window. “Something big will happen soon. And when the time comes, we’ll show everyone why they shouldn’t make an enemy out of the House Marcus.”

Big Mona had sent letters to several trustworthy members of the royal faction and the Marcus Faction that had come to the capital for the coronation ceremony. In his letter, he clearly stated that the chance to prove their worth to the next king of the nation would soon present itself.

***

Two days after Big Mona met with the leader of the Information Guild and the leader of the rats of the slums, he finally returned to the king’s castle.

Immediately, he requested a meeting with Lark.

“It’s been a while, partner,” Big Mona greeted.

Following behind the fat merchant were the two members of the Arzomos Tribe acting as his guards. Judging by Big Mona’s movements, it seemed that he’d gotten used to ordering the two of them around.

“I read your letter,” said Lark. “You need more men this time?”

After confirming the authenticity of the information given by Casius, Big Mona decided to launch an attack on Black Midas.

“That’s right.” Big Mona sat on the couch, across from Lark. Using his thumb, he pointed at the two Arzomos behind him. “Can I ask for several more of them?”

“How many do you need?”

Big Mona rubbed his chin. “Considering there are three main locations where the underworld syndicate is located in the capital, around fifteen should suffice.”

That would probably be enough to kill even a high demon. If they worked together, they could even slay a dragon. Of course, Lark did not tell Big Mona this.

“What do you think, Kel?” said Lark.

From inside the room, a voice spoke, “If it’s to help quell those stupid rumors, then I don’t mind.”

Big Mona’s eyes slowly widened the moment the leader of the Arzomos revealed himself. The fat merchant realized that he’d been inside the room the entire time, hiding himself using invisibility magic or something similar.

Big Mona looked at the two Arzomos standing behind him. It seemed only he did not know the leader was in the room.

“We only need to kill a few humans, isn’t that right?” said Kel’ Vual.

Kel’ Vual’s predatory gaze, coupled with his large physique, made his statement sound more threatening. For a moment, Big Mona felt shivers down his spine. Just like the two Arzomos who served as his guards, it seemed even the leader had no constraints when it came to taking someone’s life. Fortunately, these monsters were loyal to Lark.

“They’re members of the largest underworld syndicate of this kingdom. Scourges of this nation,” Lark said to Kel’ Vual. He turned to the fat merchant. “But, Mona, how reliable is this information from the Information Guild?”

“Don’t worry, partner.” Big Mona smiled broadly. “I tasked my men to verify the information and the locations themselves. We’re certain they’re indeed connected to the underworld syndicate.”

Big Mona pulled out a folded parchment from his inner pocket and slid it on the table, in Lark’s direction.

“This is?” Lark took the parchment and unfolded it. He started reading its contents.

“List of nobles who agreed to participate in our plans,” said the fat merchant.

Lark looked at the list of nobles written on the parchment.

Duke Drakus, Viscount Zacharia, Lord Chase, Viscount Lakian, Viscount Carlos, Baron Morivar, Duke Youchester, and several other unfamiliar names.

Lark was surprised that so many powerful nobles agreed to help them with their plans. They could probably include more nobles, but for now, Big Mona had decided to contact only the trustworthy ones.

“Even Duke Youchester,” mumbled Lark.

“That man is stubborn. I heard from His Majesty that the Youchesters promised to support whoever was the chosen winner in the competition to the throne,” said Big Mona. “And the duke is sticking to his promise.”

The Youchester Family.

A ducal house that ruled the northeastern part of the kingdom’s territory. Their territory was right next to the dwarven kingdom. Out of the three ducal houses, the Youchesters held the most fertile land.

“No matter how thorough and careful the Kelvins are, there’s bound to be evidence linking them to Black Midas,” said Big Mona. “As long as this plan succeeds, it should be easy for us to reverse their cards.”

Moreover, the head of the Information Guild promised to help them as long as they took care of the underworld syndicate.

“Very well.” Lark folded the parchment and put it in his pocket. “Mona, I’ll leave this in your hands.”

“Of course.”

***

After meeting with Lark, Big Mona went to his room in the castle. He’d hardly slept the past two days, as he was busy meeting with different people, sending messages, and formulating plans to deal with Black Midas and the Kelvin Faction.

Big Mona did all of these things to show his worth to his beloved partner. His goal was to become an irreplaceable member of Lark’s faction.

Truthfully, Big Mona was glad that this opportunity had presented itself. With this, it should be possible to solidify his position.

“How tiring,” said Big Mona. He removed his coat, and without bothering to remove his shoes, slumped on the bed. His fat body sank deep into the mattress. “Tomorrow will be a busy day,” he mumbled.

Big Mona decided to sleep and recuperate for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, they would raid the three main bases of Black Midas in the capital, and hopefully, wipe them out. Although Big Mona wouldn’t personally participate in battle, he would still be supervising everything from afar. Moreover, he would be coordinating with various nobles the moment they got their hands on the evidence linking the Kelvins to the underworld syndicate.

Soon, Big Mona fell asleep. Loud snoring sounds reverberated in the room.

One of the maids unlocked the door using a spare key and entered the room. Without making a sound, she slowly walked toward Big Mona. Her eyes glimmered dangerously as she gazed at the merchant.

Without uttering a word, she took out a dagger, raised it high above her head, and stabbed the sleeping merchant in the neck.

She tried to.

To her surprise, the dagger made a loud clanking sound the moment it struck the merchant’s neck. The dagger didn’t manage to pierce the merchant’s flesh. It couldn’t even cut the skin.

She did not know what happened, but it felt like the dagger struck an invisible barrier.

“What?” the maid uttered in surprise.

She was about to stab the merchant again when suddenly, she found herself unable to move, as though her body had been frozen.

“This is the third time today, isn’t it?” a voice, whose owner the maid couldn’t see, spoke.

Another voice answered, “This human doesn’t even know his life is being targeted by these rats.”

Under the command of Kel’ Vual, the two Arzomos serving as Big Mona’s guards made sure to protect him from all harm. They even secretly dealt with the assassination attempts of Black Midas.

“We do not like this human, but he’s still needed by Lord Evander.”

“Like pests, these people sure are persistent.”

The ice started crawling up from the maid’s feet. She lost all color on her face, realizing her fate. At this rate, her whole body would become frozen. She tried moving, but her body refused to listen. She tried screaming, but no voice came out.

It felt like she was trapped in a nightmare. And she couldn’t even see the people responsible for this hell.

She was willing to die for the sake of the organization. But not like this!

Ice soon covered the maid’s body. One of the Arzomos tapped the ice prison with his finger imbued with mana, shattering it into pieces, along with the maid’s body. Peculiarly, no sound was heard even as the ice shards fell down, even when the maid’s body disintegrated and turned to dust.

For the third time today, the two Arzomos prevented an assassination attempt on Big Mona.

“This human sure knows how to sleep,” said one of the Arzomos.

Big Mona, unaware of what just happened, snored in his sleep, mumbling incomprehensible words every now and then. Drool dripped from his mouth.

Even as he slept, the fat merchant looked so happy, as though he was looking forward to tomorrow. The day they would launch an attack on all the bases of the largest underworld syndicate in the capital.

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 17

“Boss, we found Jowel’s body.”

Jowel was one of the people they’d sent to spread new rumors regarding Lark Marcus. He was among the best actors in the slums. A former member of the Blue Moonlight Troupe who had fallen into debt and decided to settle in this filthy place.

Luvik puffed out smoke from his pipe, his face looking grim.

“Where?” said Luvik.

“Near the temple. His body was cut into pieces,” said his subordinate. “And here.” The man handed Luvik a bloodied parchment. “We found this letter next to his severed head.”

Luvik read the parchment.

Stop meddling, rats.

It was a warning, a threat telling them to stop trying to quell the rumors spreading through the capital. A warning that they could easily massacre the slum people if they wished.

Luvik crumpled the parchment in anger. For the past two days, more than a dozen men from the slums had been killed, cut and mutilated beyond recognition.

“Those damn bastards,” growled Luvik.

Even slum people had rules they did not dare violate, no matter what. Unspoken rules they followed even in the ruthless jungle called the slums.

You could steal, but if possible, do not kill.

You could sell your body, like those women from the Red Light District, but do not involve young children.

Never touch the priests from the temple.

Do not get involved with the patrol.

You can loot dead bodies, but do not desecrate a person’s corpse.

“Boss, isn’t this getting too dangerous?” said one of his subordinates. “I understand that we’ve been given a fortune by that merchant. But involving ourselves in a battle between nobles…”

Although the other people in the room did not voice their complaints, judging by their expressions, Luvik knew they were also starting to feel threatened by the deaths their group had sustained these past few days.

The subordinate added, “Boss, please reconsider. This is too big a battle for people like us.”

“People like us?” said Luvik in a deep voice. His eyes were predatory as he looked at everyone in the room. Seeing his gaze, everyone instinctively shrunk their shoulders.

“This is the problem with the slum people. We are too content with the status quo. And we are too afraid of the unknown,” said Luvik. He paused, “Listen. We are not doing this just for the sake of money. Do you really believe I would have accepted this task, despite knowing that our enemies are high-ranking nobles? Just for what? A few hundred gold coins?”

It was a lot of money. A fortune. But Luvik believed that the lives of the slum people were way more valuable than the glittering gold.

“This isn’t a simple battle between nobles. We are not simply disposable pawns. This is our only shot at finally getting out of this filthy hellhole,” said Luvik. “Our only shot at salvation.”

“But, boss! It feels like we’re gambling with our lives here—”

Luvik smirked. The words uttered by his subordinate were spot on.

“That’s right, a gamble,” said Luvik. For some reason, the words rolled off his tongue. “And we’re going all-in on our bet on Lark Marcus.”

***

Zerachiel, the Lord of Death.

The name granted to the leader of the first division of Black Midas. The title of the undisputed strongest member of the organization.

Throughout the history of Black Midas, only three people had been granted this name. And among the three, the current Zerachiel was said to be the strongest.

“Lord Zerachiel,” said one of the assassins. “We’ve lost contact with all of our men in the king’s castle.”

Zerachiel gazed coldly at the assassin kneeling before him. “The merchant?”

“All assassination attempts have failed, Lord.”

It was subtle, but Zerachiel could see that the assassin kneeling before him was trembling. It was understandable. Failure was equivalent to death in Black Midas, after all.

Zerachiel remained silent. He looked at the five naked men tied up on the walls in the underground chamber. Particularly, he gazed at the old man in the middle.

The old man was Casius, the leader of the Information Guild Big Mona was associated with.

Upon receiving Duke Kelvin’s orders, Zerachiel immediately mobilized his men and captured the leader of the Information Guild. Moreover, he was also the one who ordered the brutal massacre of the slum people.

This was just the start.

Just as Duke Kelvin ordered, Zerachiel used all methods available to attain their goal.

“Casius,” said Zerachiel in a chilly voice.

The old man, whose face was swollen, slowly opened his eyes. Although he’d heard it before, Casius still couldn’t help but feel shivers whenever the leader of the first division spoke.

It felt like the man called Zerachiel was devoid of all emotion. It felt like he’d stopped being human a long time ago.

“Six hours. By tomorrow morning, if you still refuse to speak…” Zerachiel snapped his fingers and the heads of the four men next to Casius exploded, sending flesh, bone, and blood flying. “You’ll meet a fate more horrible than death.”

Casius looked at the headless corpses of his men and bit his lip. These four men were his most loyal guards who’d been serving him for more than a decade.

For several hours, they’d tortured Casius and his men. They flayed their skin, tore off their nails, whipped them, and poked their bodies with needles.

It was already a miracle that Casius had managed to remain alive this long.

A mocking smile slowly formed on Casius’ face. “The so-called largest underworld syndicated of the kingdom failed to kill a mere merchant. How laughable.”

Honestly, Casius had not expected things to escalate like this. He did not expect Black Midas would be desperate enough to actually abduct someone as influential as him.

Maybe he’d grown too old. What a blunder, Casius thought.

Still, even after being tortured for several hours, Casius never opened his mouth. He knew he would lose the only leverage he had with these people if he spoke.

Casius chuckled. “Listen. Even if you kill me here, it’ll be only a matter of time before that swine, who you serve as your master, falls from grace. Big Mona is no fool. With the information I’ve given him, he will surely find you.”

For the first time, a frown formed on Zerachiel’s face. Although he was regarded as a monster even by the members of their organization, he’d remained loyal to the duke and to the organization his whole life. For a moment, he had the urge to kill the old man for insulting his master.

“Watch your tongue,” said Zerachiel. Blood lust oozed out of his body for a moment, effectively making Casius shut his mouth. Even the other members of Black Midas in the room couldn’t help but tremble. Like cornered rabbits, they froze.

Zerachiel snapped his fingers, and Casius’ right arm was bent to an impossible angle. Creaking sounds were heard as bones, joints, and flesh were twisted in the most gruesome manner.

“Ahhhh!” Casius screamed from the excruciating pain, his voice reverberating throughout the underground chamber.

“Patch him up,” said Zerachiel.

“Yes!”

Swiftly, the other members of Black Midas moved and started administering healing potions on Casius. They had no intention of letting the old man die, at least until the promised date. They planned on wringing him dry for information until his last breath.

Strange, thought Zerachiel.

As the undisputed strongest in the organization, his senses were the sharpest. And right now, for some strange reason, he could not feel the presence of the other members of the organization on the upper floors.

Although they were underground, Zerachiel’s senses were usually sharp enough to estimate the number of people moving aboveground.

Zerachiel glanced at Casius and the members of Black Midas behind him. They should be more than enough to guard the feeble old man. Without uttering a word, he left the underground chamber.

As he was walking through the underground passageway, the eerie feeling within his chest became stronger. For the first time in many years, his heart loudly pounded. His instinct was screaming at him that he should get out of here quickly. That a monster far more dangerous than him had infiltrated their headquarters.

‘No. That’s impossible,’ said Zerachiel.

There were several dozen members of Black Midas stationed on the upper floors. Some of them were disguised as merchants and some acted the role of herbalists. On the outside, this place was a well-known store selling medicinal herbs and potions. If a fight broke out, Zerachiel would have surely noticed, no matter what.

With this in mind, Zerachiel shook off the uneasy feeling in his heart.

And he immediately regretted not trusting his gut feeling afterward.

Arriving at the ground floor, Zerachiel was stunned to see several dead bodies lying on the ground. There were dead bodies on the counter, next to the shelves, and some even sitting on the chairs.

Judging by the position of the corpses and the state of the room, Zerachiel realized that all of them were killed in an instant. Massacred without even putting up a fight.

Who was it? Who was capable enough to slaughter these elite assassins in seconds?

As Zerachiel was pondering this, his body instinctively moved on its own. He unsheathed the sword on his waist and raised it to block his face.

To his surprise and horror, a massive force strong enough to pulverize his body struck the sword. Had he not moved instinctively, his head would have been blown off his body by now. With just a single blow, his sword formed cracks and shattered.

Zerachiel’s body moved on its own once again. On instinct, he let go of the broken sword, sidestepped to the right, then ducked. Although he couldn’t see the attacks, he knew that he managed to dodge all of them within that single-second exchange.

Zerachiel leaped back. He looked around. Even now, he couldn’t see his opponents.

“Show yourselves,” he said in a cold voice.

As though on cue, three large men slowly revealed themselves before him. Their hair had tinges of silver and one of their eyes was blue. The first one was leaning on the counter, the second standing by the exit, while the third one—the one who attacked him—stood a few meters in front of him.

“Impressive,” said the one leaning on the counter.

“This is the first time someone blocked our attack, isn’t that right?” said the one standing by the exit.

The third one grinned. “The others died without even noticing us. Even those on the upper floors. This is one impressive human.”

The members of the Arzomos Tribe genuinely praised Zerachiel. Lark Marcus aside, this was the first they’d seen a human as strong as this one.

The Arzomos near the counter said, “We found the leader. Let’s clean this up.”

For the first time in his life, Zerachiel trembled not from rage, but fear. Although the three in front of him looked human, Zerachiel instinctively knew they were monsters beyond his realm.

What were they doing here?

Why were they attacking this place?

From that single exchange, Zerachiel knew it would be impossible to win against these opponents. The only way he could live was to escape.

Duke Kelvin still needed him. He had to survive, no matter what.

Decisively, Zerachiel immediately shot straight toward the exit. He fearlessly charged toward the Arzomos guarding the door.

“You’re not leaving.”

The Arzomos guarding the room reached out his hand to grab Zerachiel. But to his surprise, the leader of the first division of Black Midas twisted his body at the last moment and nimbly evaded him.

I got through! thought Zerachiel.

He had confidence in his speed and wind magic. As long as he managed to get outside, those three shouldn’t be able to catch him, no matter how strong they were.

Just as his hope was being rekindled, he suddenly felt a sharp force hitting his abdomen. His body was sent flying back inside the building. He hit the tables, the counter, and eventually the wall.

Blood dripped from his lips as he looked at the thing that had impaled him.

‘Ice magic?’

He realized that a long, sharp ice crystal had hit him and sent him flying back into the building. The speed of the projectile was so great that even he was unable to evade it.

“We stood guard outside, just in case. But to think that someone actually managed to escape.”

Zerachiel’s pupils trembled seeing two more Arzomos enter the room. It seemed that two of them had been waiting outside, all along.

Zerachiel heard several footsteps to his right. The assassins from underground must have heard the commotion and were running here right now.

Although Zerachiel wanted to warn them, he knew it would be futile. There was no hope for escape. Each of these people was strong enough to kill him, the first division leader of Black Midas, after all. His subordinates would never be their match.

With blood still dripping from his lips, Zerachiel mustered his remaining strength. In a weak voice, he said, “Why?”

On the verge of death, Zerachiel at least wanted an answer.

The Arzomos next to the destroyed counter reached out his hand. He grabbed Zerachiel’s face and slowly put more strength into his grip.

“A dead man does not need to find out.”

With those words as a cue, the Arzomos increased the strength of his grip and crushed Zerachiel’s face without remorse or hesitation.

“We’ll split up and search the place,” said the Arzomos who killed Zerachiel. “Since a leader is here, we should be able to find several important documents.”

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 18

The attack on the bases of Black Midas in the capital ended in a success. Evidence linking the Kelvin family to illegal arms trade, drug smuggling, human trafficking, and assassination of various government officials had been recovered in one of the bases. They even found strong evidence that the Kelvins had been trading in secret with the pirates of the Mullgray Islands.

They also managed to rescue Casius, the leader of the Information Guild Big Mona was associated with.

The next day, King Alvis ordered the royal army stationed in the capital to seize all of the Kelvin family’s assets. Moreover, they captured all of the family members linked to the crimes the ducal house had committed.

“What’s the meaning of this!” roared Calisto Kelvin.

Dozens of soldiers barged in and took control of their estate in the capital. Their guards couldn’t even properly defend and react as they were immediately disarmed by the elite troop of the royal family.

“B-Brother,” said Kalavinka. The boy stood behind Calisto, his body trembling in horror.

Calisto placed his hand on top of Kalavinka’s head. “It’ll be alright,” he softly said to his little brother.

“Commander Danack,” said Calisto. “Surely, you know the repercussions of this? To think that a mere commander of the patrol dared to barge into a ducal house’s territory.”

Even under the fierce gaze of Calisto, Danack did not flinch. He said in a calm voice, “We are moving under the orders of His Majesty. Apologies, Lord Calisto, but we are to take control of the estate until the ministers are finished reviewing the documents we’ve recovered from Black Midas’ bases.”

For a moment, Calisto stiffened. “Black Midas?” Calisto said in disbelief.

“Yes, Lord Calisto. We’ve gotten our hands on several pieces of evidence linking the House Kelvin to the underworld syndicate.” Danack looked at the boy trembling behind Calisto. “Rest assured, none of the Kelvins shall be harmed until we’ve finished reviewing the documents. But for now, no one shall be allowed to leave this estate.”

A mere soldier dared to dictate whether or not they could leave their estate? This damn arrogant bastard. Calisto finally lost it. He lunged toward Danack in an attempt to pummel him to the ground.

Danack sighed. He effortlessly dodged Calisto’s attack, grabbed the noble by his collar, and threw him to the ground. For a moment, Calisto’s world turned white from the impact.

Unlike Lancaster Kelvin and Zaask Kelvin, Calisto was not well versed in military tactics and martial arts.

“Brother!” shouted Kalavinka. He immediately ran toward his brother, tears streaming from his eyes.

Calisto groaned and slowly sat up. After feeling the difference in strength with his body, Calisto finally calmed down.

Now that he thought of it, this incident was insignificant in the grand scheme of things. He’d seen the man called Zerachiel for himself. The undisputed strongest leader of the underworld syndicate. The current first division leader of Black Midas.

Even if they seized all of the Kelvin family’s assets, as long as the first division of Black Midas stood, they would be able to get out of this incident unscathed, no matter what.

“My father,” said Calisto. “What about my father?”

Although his father was locked up in the dungeons, he was still one of the three dukes of this nation. Calisto was confident that his father would have a way out of this mess.

“We are currently investigating the duke for the assassination attempt on His Majesty, several months ago.”

Hearing this, Kalavinka’s pupils shook.

His father did what?

“After careful consideration, we’ve decided to move the duke to the royal family’s underground prison. He shall stay there, until the royal family and the ministers arrive at a consensus on an appropriate punishment. Please understand that we are trying our best to be as objective as possible on this one, Lord Calisto. Although the crimes he committed are great, at the end of the day, he is still the head of a ducal house.”

The underground prison located in the king’s castle.

Unlike your typical dungeon, it was filled with various artifacts capable of sealing one’s magic. Moreover, it was guarded by elite soldiers and knights. It would be hard, even for the first division of Black Midas, to come and go inside that dungeon.

Calisto glared at Danack.

“How pathetic. Do you even hear yourself?” spat Calisto. “Hah! You make it sound like we’re already criminals! This damn commoner!”

Danack stared at Calisto. Since it seemed that he didn’t have an idea of what truly happened last night, he decided to divulge some information to the noble.

“I’ve seen the evidence myself, Lord Calisto,” said Danack. “After we annihilated all of the members of Black Midas in the capital, we’ve managed to obtain not only documents, but even the sigils connecting the Kelvins to the underworld syndicate. The corpse of the man called Zerachiel, the so-called Lord of Death, was bound to the Kelvins using the same artifact.”

Calisto’s eyes widened.

Zerachiel was dead?

Impossible.

The master of the Magic Tower aside, no one should be strong enough to kill that monster. The leader of the first division was a man with strength way beyond this realm.

Seeing Calisto’s dumbfounded face, for the first time, a smile slowly formed on Danack’s face.

***

While the royal family and the ministers were deliberating what to do with the Kelvins, Big Mona did not waste time and immediately moved to the next step of his plan.

He went to the office of Lukas Daily, the largest newspaper company in the kingdom. A five-story building in the middle district of the capital.

Although Lukas Daily was well known to be a newspaper company that catered to commoners, in reality, it was run by nobles. Particularly, the Kelvin family.

Duke Kelvin used this newspaper company to twist the truth to his benefit. It was among the reasons they managed to quickly spread the rumors regarding Lark Marcus.

Accompanied by several royal guards, Big Mona entered the building and demanded an audience with the company’s owner.

“I need to speak with Lily,” said Big Mona arrogantly. “Bring me to her.”

The workers of the newspaper company couldn’t do anything but comply with the merchant’s demand. Big Mona was, after all, accompanied by the royal guards. The merchant probably came under His Majesty’s command.

Although hesitant, they brought Big Mona to the room at the topmost floor.

“What brings you here, Mona?” said Lily, a fat, spectacled woman wearing heavy makeup. She glanced at Big Mona, then at the royal guards standing at the back. “Come inside.”

Big Mona entered the room. And when the royal guards were about to enter too, Lily spat, “Only you. Those soldiers, tell them to stay outside.”

Big Mona rubbed his chin. He looked at the royal guards and said, “Alright. You heard her. Wait outside the room.”

The royal guards nodded but didn’t utter a word. As expected of elite soldiers, they silently moved back and complied with Lily’s request.

After the door was shut, Lily said, “Sit.”

Big Mona and Lily sat on the couch, right across from each other.

“It’s been a while,” said Big Mona. “I should have visited you sooner, Lily.”

“Stop with the pleasantries,” said Lily. She didn’t bother to hide the disgust and irritation within her voice. “I’ll ask again. What brings you here, Mona?”

Lily used to work for Big Mona’s father, a few decades ago. From an early age, they learned the tricks of the market from the same people, from the same place. But after the death of Big Mona’s father, they grew apart and separated ways. Big Mona migrated to Lion City and eventually became the head of the Merchants Guild, while Lily founded her own newspaper company.

Big Mona took a brooch from his pocket and gently placed it on top of the table. Lily’s jaw slacked. She had not expected to see such an item to come from Big Mona’s hand.

Big Mona grinned upon seeing Lily’s reaction. “So, you recognize it, don’t you?”

Lily frowned. “How did you get your hands on it, Mona?”

It was the sigil of Zerachiel. The sigil symbolizing the first division leader of Black Midas. They obtained the brooch from the leader’s dead body.

“The first division leader of Black Midas is dead,” said Big Mona. “Although it’ll be hard to track the remaining members scattered throughout the kingdom, we’ve managed to annihilate those residing in the capital.”

Lily opened then closed her mouth. As one of the people influenced by Duke Kelvin’s whims, she knew the significance of that statement. She was among the few who were aware of the real identity of the nobles behind the underworld syndicate.

“Lily, listen.” Big Mona leaned closer. “I know the Kelvins are your company’s biggest supporter. But it isn’t too late to change sides. Leave the sinking ship and join our faction.”

Lily knew that Big Mona always moved for the sake of profit. Although it sounded as though he was doing her a favor, she knew there was an ulterior motive behind it. This offer—it wasn’t for free.

“Are they going to execute Kelvins?” said Lily. She managed to quickly put the pieces of the puzzle together. If the leader of the first division was really dead, then it was more than likely that they’d managed to get their hands on several pieces of evidence linking the ducal house to Black Midas.

“I don’t know about his sons,” said Big Mona, nodding, “But I’m certain that they plan on executing Duke Kelvin in front of everyone.”

A public execution of the head of a ducal house.

Even Lily was stunned speechless hearing this one.

“But, Mona, the other nobles won’t just sit still and do nothing,” said Lily. “Even if His Majesty declares that the duke committed treason, for them to publicly execute him—”

“The other nobles will not be a problem. I assure you that,” said the fat merchant. “Do you think I would have come here without considering it from that angle?”

The letters Big Mona had sent to the various nobles currently staying in the capital for the coronation ceremony would soon prove useful during the execution of Duke Kelvin. The nobles under the royal faction and the Marcus Faction had already promised to show their support; they’d already promised to show the next king their worth.

Even if the execution was met with severe backlash from the other nobles, particularly those who belonged to the Kelvin Faction, the other powerful nobles of the kingdom promised to quell all unrest and prevent a civil war from happening in the capital.

All that’s left was to convince the people, the citizens, that the execution would be held on just grounds. This was the reason Big Mona decided to come all the way here to meet with the owner of the newspaper company.

“Duke Drakus and Duke Youchester have already agreed to this,” said Big Mona. “What can the remnants of the Kelvin Faction possibly do at this point?”

Lily fell silent.

Just like before, Big Mona always moved while mitigating all possible risks and danger he would encounter along the way. The way he handled things was really a stark contrast to his naïve father.

After pondering for a while, Lily looked at Big Mona straight in the eye and said, “What do you want from me?”

“Your loyalty, Lily.” Big Mona smiled broadly. “Swear an oath to me. And together with your company, Lukas Daily, help Lark Marcus become this nation’s absolute ruler.”

Lukas Daily was one of the most powerful weapons used by the Kelvins to manipulate the views of the citizens of the kingdom. As a newspaper catering to commoners, it was easy to twist the truths behind rumors; it was easy to fabricate things to sway the public’s opinion.

Big Mona believed that Lukas Daily would become a firm foothold for Lark Marcus once he’d ascended the throne. After all, a king, no matter how powerful, needed the support of his people.

“Do this and I promise you that all of the crimes you and your company have previously committed shall be pardoned by the new sovereign. No one will know. No one will find out that you were moving under the orders of the Kelvins.”

Lily frowned. It was a tempting offer, she had to admit. But for some reason, it felt more like a threat than an offer of partnership.

“And if I don’t?” said Lily.

“Then I’ll just have to find someone else to run the company in your place,” Big Mona said without remorse. He had no qualms on killing even a lifelong acquaintance to reach his goal.

Lily looked up and sighed. “You should have just killed me if you’re going to replace me with a damn puppet anyway, Mona. Why bother with oaths and contracts? You really haven’t changed, you heartless bastard.”

“I’m sure you’ll do a better job than a puppet, Lily.” Big Mona grinned. “So, what do you think? It’s not a bad offer, is it?”

Lily wryly smiled. “It’s not like I have a choice, do I?”

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 19

The next day after Lukas Daily allied itself with the Marcus Faction, the newspaper company released an astonishing special article regarding the recent events in the kingdom.

Using the documents Big Mona had acquired from the bases of Black Midas and the Information Guild had provided, Lukas Daily revealed not only the heinous crimes the Kelvin family had been committing through the years, but also its association with the infamous largest underworld syndicate of the kingdom.

The newspaper company exhausted all possible means to not only spread the news in the capital, but to the nearby territories of the kingdom. With the capital as its epicenter, news regarding the Kelvin family’s atrocious acts soon spread to the masses.

It was still morning, but the taverns in the Outer District were already bustling. As expected, the topic was the recent scandal surrounding the ducal house.

The members of the slum did not let this opportunity pass. They infiltrated various popular and crowded places in the kingdom and planted seeds of doubt. The pubs and taverns, in particular, were the main targets of the actors.

“Hey, did you hear? It seems they plan on executing Duke Kelvin in a few days.”

“That’ll be right before the coronation ceremony then?”

“I guess so?”

“But if the Kelvins are the ones behind the human trafficking in Yan City, does that mean Lark Marcus is innocent?”

“Listen, I heard this from a friend of mine. According to him, Lark Marcus hardly left Gryphon City during the time the trafficking of children took place. And don’t you find it odd that someone so young is involved in such heinous crimes? That pig, Duke Kelvin, probably pinned the blame on him.”

The chatter inside the tavern died in an instant. They all looked at the man who openly insulted the head of the ducal house. Under normal circumstances, he would be reported to the patrol and whipped several times to make an example out of. Worse comes to worst, he would be executed for the crime of slandering a noble.

Seeing everyone’s reactions, the man—an actor from the slums—shrugged and smirked.

“Hey, hey! What if someone hears you?”

The man from the slums tilted his head and said, “What can the Kelvins do? The head of their family is soon going to be executed. Frankly speaking, isn’t their status worse than a slave’s right now? Those damn criminals.”

It was gradual, but the seeds of doubt and resentment planted by the slum people slowly sprouted within the hearts of the citizens of the kingdom.

A day after Lukas Daily released the articles, the protests at the Central Plaza completely stopped.

Although the capital had become comparatively quiet without the protests, everyone knew that a big incident would soon occur in the kingdom. They waited with bated breath for the verdict of the royal family and the other nobles of the kingdom.

***

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!” Duke Kelvin repeatedly muttered as he bit his nails.

It had been more than a day since he’d been transferred to his new cell in the royal family’s dungeon. He’d been trying to activate the sigil connecting him to the leaders of Black Midas, but to no avail.

“It’s probably those artifacts,” he mumbled like a madman. “I have to destroy them, no matter what.”

He’d heard before that the royal family’s dungeon was filled with artifacts capable of interfering with magic and mana. As long as he was locked up here, it would be impossible for him to contact the division leaders of Black Midas.

“I can’t die here.” His eyes frantically moved left and right. “What is Calisto doing? He probably knows that they plan on executing me! That incompetent son of mine! He should be coming for me!”

For the first time in several years, Duke Kelvin felt what true fear was like. Even when he’d been locked up in prison almost a year ago, he knew he could easily escape if he wanted to. Everything was possible with the help of the underworld syndicate.

But now, things were different. Not only had they managed to gather strong evidence against their ducal house, he also could not contact the remaining division leaders of Black Midas.

The guards outside the duke’s cell spoke to each other. The duke had been mumbling to himself for several hours now.

“Shouldn’t we give him more food? Maybe once a day is too little—” said one of the guards.

“Hah?” said another, clearly annoyed. “Since when did you have sympathy for criminals? You heard it, right? That pig is the one supporting that damn Black Midas.”

The faces of all the guards turned grim. They’d been hearing of all the atrocious acts the underworld syndicate had been committing for several decades. Unfortunately, they’d never been able to crack down on the organization until this week.

The third guard looked at the fat man biting his nails inside the cell. He said, “It’s disgusting, isn’t it? To think that one of the three ducal houses is the one behind that group of criminals. No wonder all attempts to take down that organization in the past failed.”

The fourth guard sighed. “Honestly, I’m more disappointed rather than disgusted. I was an admirer of the hussars since I was little.”

The second guard rubbed his chin. “I remember. Didn’t you try to become a hussar before, back when Zaask Kelvin was still their vice commander?”

“That was almost a decade ago.” The fourth guard scratched his head in embarrassment. “Looking at the situation now, maybe it was a good thing that I failed back then.”

All of the guards fell silent at those words.

According to the reports, all of the hussars of the Kelvin family, save for the ones they’d sent to the capital to make a report, had been massacred by the demons.

“Damn commoners,” spat Duke Kelvin. To everyone’s surprise, he was listening in on their conversation.

The duke snarled, “Stupid soldiers. Good thing that you failed? You failed because you were incompetent in the first place! You disgusting little shits!”

The guards looked in the duke’s direction. His eyes were wide from anger, almost popping out. Dark marks encircled his eyes and his lips were chapped.

“What is he saying now?” said the second guard.

“Doesn’t he get tired of insulting us?” The third guard picked his ears.

They were used to the duke’s antics by now. When he was first sent here, he repeatedly spouted threats and curses on the guards, one after another. At first, it was terrifying, but after a full day had passed and after hearing the same words dozens of times, the guards had become used to it. Now, it was nothing but useless ramblings of a prisoner on death row.

It was amazing how the fear of the unknown could change a person. The duke, who’d always remained calculative and composed no matter the situation, became a madman the moment he lost contact with the underworld syndicate.

Duke Kelvin grabbed the iron bars of his cell. He tried pushing his head through the gaps and shouted, “Listen! I’ll definitely make it out alive! You! I’ve memorized the faces of all of you!” The duke’s voice echoed through the dungeon.

“What’s going on here?” said a deep voice.

The guards immediately saluted the moment they saw the man approaching the cell. Behind the man was the retired General Carlos, Viscount Lakian, and Elias Farsight.

“Warden!” the guards said in unison.

The warden ignored the saluting soldiers. He said to the people behind him, “We’re here. This is the duke’s cell.”

General Carlos frowned upon seeing Duke Kelvin. He looked so dirty. His hair was a mess. His wide reddish eyes, coupled with his chapped lips, made him look like a slave working in the mines.

“It’s been a while, Carlos, Lakian,” the duke chuckled eerily. He smiled menacingly. “Even Farsight is here.”

“Kelvin.” General Carlos no longer bothered with honorifics. He said in a cold voice, “With the authority bestowed upon me by His Majesty, I shall now escort you to the gallows.”

Hearing this, Duke Kelvin’s smile slid down his face. He trembled.

There was a long pause.

Without warning, the duke shouted, “You damn lapdog of the royal family! Who do you think you are! Execute me, a duke?! Hah! Try it, Carlos! My sons will hunt you down! Mark my words!”

General Carlos nodded at the warden. “Open it.”

“Open it,” the warden said to the guards.

“Yes, sir!”

The guards opened the cell and bound the duke’s hands and neck with an artifact capable of suppressing magic. It was a precautionary measure, since they didn’t know the exact method the duke used to contact the underworld syndicate.

“Unhand me! These damn commoners dare to lay their hands on a high noble?!”

Duke Kelvin resisted with all his might, but all forms of resistance proved futile before the guards. Although some of them looked naïve at first glance, they were still elite soldiers tasked to guard the royal family’s dungeon.

“He’s too noisy,” said General Carlos. “Make him shut his mouth.”

One of the guards hesitantly said, “H-How do—”

“Just put a gag inside his mouth then tape his lips,” said General Carlos.

The guards immediately did as they were ordered.

The duke glared at General Carlos. He tried spouting curses, but only muffled sounds came out.

“Did you know? The former minister of agriculture was a good friend of mine. And your group of criminals flayed him alive,” General Carlos said with disdain. “For what? Information?”

General Carlos’ face contorted in anger. He added, “Disgusting.”

General Carlos crouched and looked at Duke Kelvin, who’d been kneeling on the ground, straight in the eyes. He said, “Kelvin, you deserve everything that will occur a few hours from now. Look forward to it.”

General Carlos stood up. “Take him away. To the gallows.”

“Yes!”

With General Carlos, Viscount Lakian, and Elias Farsight at the lead, they left the royal family’s dungeon. To Duke Kelvin’s surprise, dozens of royal guards were already waiting for them outside. He realized the royal family had sent these elite soldiers as a precautionary measure, in case the remaining members of Black Midas suddenly appeared to rescue him.

The presence of Elias Farsight alone would prove a rescue difficult, and now, dozens of royal guards had been added to the equation. Moreover, with the artifacts shackling him, Duke Kelvin had no way of contacting the remaining divisions of the underworld organization.

On their way to the Central Plaza, where the execution was going to take place, the duke’s procession was met with an unbelievably large crowd. The streets of the Inner District, Middle District, all the way to the Central Plaza, were filled with people.

Shouts of anger and curses flew as Duke Kelvin passed by. Some even started hurling rocks, fruit, and dirt toward him. Fortunately, the royal guards blocked each of them, preventing the projectiles from hitting him.

“Damn criminal!”

“Pig!”

“Serves you right!”

“You even dared to frame Lark Marcus, the man who saved the kingdom from the demons!”

“This swine! I will surely spit on your corpse once the execution is over!”

“The royal family should have killed this bastard sooner!”

Duke Kelvin did not know how things managed to turn this way in a matter of days. Not only had they managed to annihilate the members of Black Midas residing in the capital, they’d also managed to reverse the negative image of Lark Marcus.

With heavy steps, Duke Kelvin kept walking through the crowded streets.

And when he arrived at the Central Plaza, for the first time in his life, all form of hope finally left him.

No, not like this, thought Duke Kelvin.

Tens of thousands of people had come to see him executed. The Central Plaza, all the way to the streets leading to the taverns and temples, was filled with people. Seeing this, his tears flowed incessantly.

Duke Kelvin’s eyes quickly scanned the crowd.

Inside the tent near the scaffold were the king, Lark Marcus, Duke Drakus, Duke Youchester, and Big Mona. Judging by the way they were seated, they were probably the ones who orchestrated everything. Duke Kelvin repeatedly cursed them in his mind.

“Kneel here,” said one of the guards.

Duke Kelvin resisted, but the guards made him kneel in front of the chopping block regardless. With his mouth still gagged, they locked his neck with wood and tied his arms on the platform using chains.

The Grand Chamberlain cleared his throat, his voice heard through a voice-amplifying artifact. Slowly, the chatter and murmurs died down.

“Twenty-nine nobles, five ministers,” said the Grand Chamberlain. “Together with the royal family’s verdict, the decision was unanimous. We have judged that Rannulfus Kelvin, head of House Kelvin, has committed crimes worthy of the death penalty.”

The crowd went into an uproar. The majority cheered, while a few questioned the judgment of the royal family.

The Grand Chamberlain added, “Furthermore, the House Kelvin shall be stripped of its ducal status. All of their assets shall be seized—from their estates, treasuries, and gold mines—and will hence become the property of the Kingdom of Lukas.”

Duke Kelvin, his mouth still gagged, looked in the direction of the tent where the king was located. He trembled with rage seeing the smirk on Big Mona’s face. The fat merchant was really enjoying the spectacle.

‘That damn merchant. I should have killed him sooner!’

Duke Kelvin tried spouting curses, but only muffled sounds came out.

‘These bastards!’ cursed Duke Kelvin. ‘At least let me speak! If the people hear my pleas… then, surely!’

As Duke Kelvin was scanning the crowd, he saw some familiar faces. The first was Lily, the owner of Lukas Daily. She wore the same thick makeup as before. When their eyes met, she averted her gaze. Although she’d allied herself with the Marcus Faction, her fear of the Kelvins remained. The second was Reginald Vont, the leader of the Merchants Guild of the capital and head of the powerful Vont Family.

Unlike Lily, Reginald did not avert his gaze meeting the duke’s eyes. Instead, he looked at him with eyes filled with pity. Or was it disappointment? The duke was not sure. It seemed Reginald Vont had been expecting more from him. But now that things had escalated to this, he decided to abandon the ducal family.

Duke Kelvin realized that the Vont Family, who could probably halt the execution at the very least, was washing their hands off him.

‘Reginald, you damn liar! We had an agreement! I gave you the location of the mana stone mine in exchange for allying with our family!’

The Grand Chamberlain raised his voice. “With the authority granted unto us by the royal family, and with the blessing given to us by the temple.”

The guards pushed Duke Kelvin’s kneeling body further into the ground. The guard next to the Grand Chamberlain raised a giant axe right above the duke’s neck.

“Wait, wait!” Duke Kelvin tried shouting through his gagged mouth. “Not like this! I can’t die like this!”

“We shall now execute the criminal.”

With those words as a cue, the guard swung his axe downward, neatly cutting Duke Kelvin’s head from his body. With his eyes still wide open, the duke’s head rolled on the ground.

The crowd cheered.

Big Mona guffawed.

Lily covered her eyes.

Reginald turned and disappeared through the crowd.

VOLUME 8: CHAPTER 20

Despite the rattling events of the day before, the royal family decided to proceed with the coronation ceremony.

It was still early in the morning, but the capital was already bustling with life. The servants in the castle busily moved about as they decorated the castle with gold and silver. The floor was covered with the finest carpet, and the walls lit with kalranes.

It was amazing that the servants had managed to prepare this much, despite the limited time given to them.

“Please raise your arms,” said one of the servants.

“This part here is wrinkled,” said another. “Someone straighten it out.”

Inside his room in the king’s castle, Lark was being clothed by the butlers and the servants.

A dozen maids and three butlers currently attended to Lark. Some of them were fixing his hair, some preparing his clothes, and some were applying makeup on his face.

“Does it feel tight around the neck, Lord Lark?” said the head butler.

“It’s fine,” said Lark. “It doesn’t feel stuffy.”

The head butler nodded approvingly. “Then, we can probably add the empyrean brooch over here. Hey, bring the gemstone over here!”

“Yes, head butler!”

Layers upon layers of clothes were put on him, one after another. Moreover, dozens of jewels were pinned on his clothes. And when all preparations were finally complete, the servants placed the coronation mantle over his shoulder.

“Ahh…”

“How perfect!”

The servants gasped in awe as they looked at their finished product. It turned out way better than they’d expected. Lark’s naturally good-looking face, coupled with his authoritative air, made him appear to be a domineering ruler.

Lark normally did not bother fixing his hair and garb even when meeting with royalty. He found it cumbersome and unnecessary. This was the first time since he took over this body he’d had his hair fixed and dressed this elegantly.

‘Kahahaha! Look at you, Evander!’ Kel’ Vual said through mental transmission. He was hidden through invisibility magic inside Lark’s room. ‘I can’t believe you let them put that much makeup on your face!’

Kel’ Vual’s laughter echoed inside Lark’s mind. The leader of the Arzomos Tribe had been laughing and teasing him since the servants started applying the makeup.

‘Shut up, Kel,’ Lark spat back. ‘You know this is a rare occasion. It’s not like I can refuse when this is part of their tradition.’

The person ascending the throne should look as majestic as possible during the coronation ceremony. This was one of the rare occasions when appearances mattered the most. Knowing this, Lark did not object when the servants asked him to wear these gaudy clothes and jewels.

‘Of course, of course!’ Kel’ Vual laughed. ‘But I really wish I had a recording crystal with me right now!’

Lark sighed. The leader of the Arzomos Tribe was really enjoying the spectacle.

“Is something the matter, Lord Lark?” said the head butler, hearing Lark’s sigh. “Is something not to your liking?”

The head butler scanned Lark from head to foot, taking note of anything that might be amiss.

“No, it’s nothing,” said Lark.

Although Lark dismissed it, the head butler scanned Lark’s garb once again, just to be sure. Their pride as servants of the royal family was at stake in this event. Everyone in the room wanted Lark to appear as majestic as possible during the coronation ceremony.

A servant entered the room and whispered something to the head butler. The head butler nodded then said to Lark, “Lord Lark, we’re almost done with the preparations. The Grand Chamberlain will be assisting you from here on out.”

The Grand Chamberlain entered the room and respectfully bowed his head in greeting. He gazed at Lark for a moment, before flashing a polite smile.

“Please allow me to escort you to the grand hall, Lord Lark,” said the Grand Chamberlain.

“Lead the way,” said Lark.

“Please follow me,” said the Grand Chamberlain.

Accompanied by the Grand Chamberlain, several royal guards and servants, Lark walked through the hallways and eventually arrived at the grand hall of the king’s castle. The whole place was glimmering with gold, silver, and kalranes. Dozens of nobles, priests, government officials, merchants, heads of guilds, and other renowned people in the kingdom filled the grand hall. Even his disciples—Austen, George, Anandra, and Chryselle—were present.

The moment Lark entered, everyone turned in his direction. The chatter died down as everyone stared at Lark Marcus.

“Master!” said George, beaming. “You look dashing today!”

George repeatedly waved his hand above his head until Austen nudged him on the ribs. Chryselle’s face was flushed as she stared at him, while Anandra wore a proud look on his face as he looked at his master.

Lark smiled.

This was the first time he’d seen his disciples wearing such expensive-looking clothes. Right now, they all looked like nobles. Anandra, in particular, looked like the prince of a kingdom. The default glare on his face, his smooth golden hair, and his large stature reminded Lark of the princes he’d met back in his previous life.

“To the dais, please. His Majesty is waiting,” said the Grand Chamberlain.

Standing next to the dais were His Majesty, King Alvis, the retired General Carlos, Priestess Thea, and two priests from the Sun God’s Temple. Ushered by the Grand Chamberlain, Lark walked toward them, his gait slow but confident. Even when under everyone’s gaze, Lark did not flinch nor cower. He’d been through a much bigger ceremony before.

Dwarves?

He saw several people, who appeared to be dwarves, as he walked toward the dais. Lark also saw several brown-skinned men wearing unusual clothes. He surmised that they were probably envoys from the other nations.

Were they from the empire, the Mullgray Islands, or the Republic of Everfrost? The dwarven kingdom and the United Grakas Alliance aside, these were the only nations near the Kingdom of Lukas.

Lark had heard there were also other nations north from here. Nations that shared their borders with the Great Empire.

The Principality of Rinvixia.

The Kingdom of Steelwall.

The Three States Alliance.

But Lark doubted these nations would have had enough time to send their delegations for the coronation ceremony, considering the distance.

I heard that the dwarves kept to themselves, thought Lark. But they still came, huh?

It was surprising that the dwarven kingdom decided to send representatives for the coronation ceremony of a human nation. For centuries, the dwarves believed that there was nothing to be gleaned or learned from mere humans, after all.

“Lord Lark,” King Alvis greeted him the moment he reached the dais. The king was smiling from ear to ear. To an outsider, it would have appeared as though passing on the crown to Lark was the greatest honor in King Alvis’ life.

King Alvis said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “I’m truly grateful that you accepted this offer. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you, Lord Lark.”

A heartfelt expression of gratitude. The king truly loved the kingdom and his subjects more than anyone.

“The honor is mine, Your Majesty,” said Lark.

King Alvis laughed. “Is that so?” He cheekily added, “My daughter, Esmeralda, told me that she learned so much during her stay in Blackstone Town. If by chance Lord Lark wishes for an heir—”

“Your Majesty,” said Lark. “Forgive my impertinence, but as I’ve said before, I have no intention of taking your daughter as my wife.”

King Alvis coughed. “Of course, of course. But if by chance you change your mind… I’m sure that my daughter…”

The old king was really stubborn. Lark wryly smiled.

After that brief exchange, they soon proceeded with the coronation ceremony. Unlike the other nations in the continent, the Kingdom of Lukas was a staunch believer of the Water God and the Sun God. These two religions formed the foundation of this kingdom.

The Sun God represented the royal family’s might. A representation of unyielding justice. While the Water God represented the royal family’s virtuousness. A representation of sincerity, loyalty, and kindness.

For centuries, all coronation ceremonies in the Kingdom of Lukas had been preceded by rituals from these two temples. The blessing of the two Gods were needed before someone could ascend the throne. This was why it was truly fortunate that the temple assumed a neutral stance during the previous scandal several days ago. Otherwise, had Lark Marcus been branded as a heretic, it would have been impossible for him to ascend the throne.

The rituals of the two temples were quite straightforward and simple. The priests from the Sun God’s Temple lit several large candles, knelt, and prayed. Priestess Thea of the Water God’s Temple, on the other hand, simply asked Lark to wash his hands in a basin filled with blessed water.

“By the authority granted unto us by the Sun God…”

“By the authority granted unto us by the Water God…”

The priests from the two temples chanted in unison.

“We declare Lark Marcus a child of Eternal Fire…”

“We declare Lark Marcus a child of The Healing Water…”

Everyone in the grand hall, the envoys from the other nations included, silently watched as the ritual took place.

“May the light of the Seven Gods shine upon this child!”

“May the light of the Seven Gods shine upon this child!”

It was a simple ritual, and Lark was certain that no spells nor mana were involved. Still, to the citizens of the Kingdom of Lukas, this was a sacred ceremony—a tradition—that had been passed down for centuries.

After the ritual, the priests and priestess bowed their heads and stepped down the dais.

The Grand Chamberlain activated a voice-amplifying artifact. He said in a clear voice, “Lark of the House Marcus has been blessed by the Sun God and the Water God! Be honored, take delight! For the new king is blessed by the light!”

The Grand Chamberlain paused and took in the gazes of everyone present. His dignified voice echoed, “We shall now proceed with the passing of the crown!”

With those words as a cue, Lark knelt on one knee and lowered his head.

King Alvis raised the royal staff in his hand and placed it on Lark’s shoulder. His voice also amplified by the artifact, King Alvis spoke, “The seven gemstones embedded in this crown symbolize the seven virtues a ruler must uphold at all times.

“A ruler must not only be honest, but also just. A ruler must be compassionate to the struggles of his people. A ruler must be courageous. He must be willing to die for his motherland. A ruler must be selfless. He must take into consideration the welfare of his subjects first before himself. A ruler must be pious. He must be a devout of the Sun God and the Water God. A ruler must be the father to the land. He must take care of his children and have only their best interest in mind. And lastly, a ruler must be virtuous at all times, no matter the consequences, no matter the hurdles before his path.”

It was an idealistic view of a ruler. But King Alvis could confidently say that unlike his father, the so-called Tyrant King, he did his best to follow this path throughout his life. Whenever he felt that he’d been going astray, King Alvis would always recite these words in his head. A reminder that he should always remain a kind and virtuous ruler.

“Lark Marcus, do you accept these virtues,” said King Alvis, “these responsibilities, as the new king of this nation?”

Lark closed his eyes and said, “I will uphold them to the best of my ability. In the name of the Seven Gods, I swear to be a virtuous ruler of this kingdom.”

King Alvis raised his royal staff and using its tip, struck the ground seven times.

“With the blessings of the Seven Gods, I therefore declare Lark Marcus”—King Alvis’ voice echoed through the grand hall—“the seventh King of the Kingdom of Lukas!”

King Alvis lightly lowered his head, and the Grand Chamberlain took the crown from him and placed it on top of Lark Marcus’ head. The moment the crown had been transferred on to Lark’s head, the entire grand hall went into an uproar. Lark’s disciples—the brothers in particular—shouted in glee. The nobles clapped, the merchants cheered, and the priests clasped their hands in prayer. Duke Drakus clenched his fists. Finally, the Marcus family had become royalty!

After King Alvis handed the royal staff to Lark, Lark stood and faced the crowd. This simple action stirred the crowd even further. Austen and George hugged each other and did their weird tap dance, Chryselle placed her hand on her chest, and Anandra nodded approvingly at his master. Big Mona laughed out loud, while Reginal Vont stared at Lark with an expressionless face.

“Now, King Lark,” said the Grand Chamberlain. “The citizens are waiting for your appearance.”

The balcony near the grand hall had been modified just for this event. With the Grand Chamberlain at the lead, Lark went to the balcony to greet his subjects.

To Lark’s surprise, the moment he appeared, the crowd that had been waiting below the castle cheered. The ground trembled as the people shouted and cheered for the newly crowned king of the nation.

“He’s finally here!”

“It’s the new king!”

“The coronation ceremony is over!”

“King Lark!”

“King Lark!”

Lark did not know how Big Mona had managed it, but it seemed his popularity had shot through the roof in a short period of time. From spite-filled stares, the tens of thousands of people below were now looking at him with hope-filled and expectant eyes. It felt as though they were looking at their savior, the man who would bring salvation to this kingdom.

King Alvis walked toward him and softly uttered words near his ear.

“King Lark… The name has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” said King Alvis. “Please speak to the people, Your Majesty.”

For almost a minute, Lark gazed at the people gathered below. There were easily more than ten thousand of them. And all of them gathered here just to see him, the newly crowned king of the nation.

Lark amplified his voice using magic, “Citizens of the kingdom.”

The cheers started dying out. Everyone attentively listened as Lark spoke. To everyone’s surprise, despite his young appearance, Lark’s voice sounded dignified. An air of authority incomparable even to King Alvis emanated from him. An air of authority that made everyone listen to his every word.

“I am Lark Marcus, the seventh King of Lukas.”

The remaining chatter died. It was strange how that single statement carried such power. It felt as though each word carried great weight that pressed down on everyone’s shoulders.

“Most of you must have heard of the events that transpired in the western territories, particularly the ports and the Kelvin Duchy,” said Lark.

Several people nodded. The demon invasion was a popular topic in the capital even now. Most of the people were uneasy, afraid of the future of the kingdom.

“Fear not,” said Lark, his voice echoing not only through the  castle, but to the nearby places in the capital. “For I will accompany everyone in this battle.”

Massive amounts of mana, visible even to non-magicians, gushed out of Lark’s body and started forming an absurdly large magic circle spanning three hundred meters in diameter. It appeared right above the castle, covering a portion of the sky.

This was the first time the citizens of the kingdom, even the magicians, had seen a magic formation this large.

Just for this event—for the sake of raising everyone’s morale—Lark decided to pour more mana and forcefully expand this grand scale magic to six times its normal size.

Grand Scale Magic: Pixies Dust.

“The Kingdom of Lukas shall remain strong,” said Lark, his voice deeper and fiercer than before.

The magic formation glowed, shattered, and turned into innumerable particles of golden light. It was the same healing spell he’d used in Lion City, when he annihilated the demon horde that had managed to penetrate its defense.

Lark decided to use this spell during his speech for one reason: It was one of the most beautiful spells under his arsenal.

“Be it against our fellow humans, be it against monsters or demons.”

The spell continued raining from the sky, covering the city with golden light. The castle had turned silent. No one had never seen such an ethereal sight. It felt as though the newly crowned king was a god who’d decided to come down and lend his hand to mere mortals.

“Our nation, the Kingdom of Lukas, shall not fall.”

VOLUME 8: EPILOGUE

[Several weeks ago, after Plagas entered the portal…]

“Haa! I made it!” said Plagas in relief.

The Lord of Parasitic Demons did not expect that a time would come when he would be this happy seeing the dark and gloomy walls of the Great Cavern.

Finally, he was back in the Demon Realm.

“That was terrifying,” said Plagas, his hands still trembling from the very thought of that unknown magician chasing him. “But at least I managed to bring you along, right?”

Plagas affectionately rubbed the tentacle of the high-ranking nest next to him. This was his greatest spoil during his stay in the Human Realm. The body of the so-called Pirate King turned out to be a perfect host for this creature.

“You’re finally back, Lord Plagas.”

Plagas almost jumped from fright, hearing a voice behind him.

“Muuka!” said Plagas.

Muuka was an old tormentor from the Red Tower assigned to oversee the portal in the Great Cavern. One of the executives under Elrenar’s direct command. Unlike the other tormentors who knew nothing but brute force, Muuka held intelligence almost similar to the Lord of the Red Tower.

Looking at Muuka, Plagas finally noticed the changes in the Great Cavern. He finally noticed the seventy-meter metallic snake coiled on the spikes dripping from the ceiling. He also saw several dozen tormentors guarding the pathways leading to the outside.

“I-It looks like you’ve been fortifying the cavern’s defenses, Muuka.” Plagas’ voice turned meeker than usual.

Although he had the high-ranking nest next to him, the colossal snake coiled on the ceiling was a mythical creature capable of devouring even Gryphons. It was one of the strongest creations of Elrenar, the Lord of the Red Tower.

“Indeed,” said Muuka in the same monotonous voice from before. “Although we’ve managed to temporarily connect the portal to the mana well below, if left on its own, the pathway of mana would be severed again. Even my master, Lord Elrenar, is finding it hard to reconnect it completely.”

Muuka rubbed his brows and shook his head. He sighed. “That damn Arzomos really made sure to make things hard for us before he died.”

For a moment, Muuka gazed at the high-ranking parasitic nest, then at Plagas. “It seems that you enjoyed your stay in the Human Realm, Lord Plagas. The Demon Lord Barkuvara has been waiting for you.”

Plagas swallowed the lump in his throat.

Enjoyed his stay in the Human Realm? Did he stay for too long? Several thoughts started to concurrently run through his mind.

“H-How is the Demon Lord Barkuvara?” said Plagas.

Muuka clearly heard the parasitic demon lord’s stutter, but decided to ignore it. “The Immortal Demon has not fully recovered his strength yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”

“I-Is that so?” Plagas forced out a laugh. “T-That’s great to hear!”

Domineering against the weak, and meek against the strong. All of the tribe leaders in the Demon Realm knew that the Lord of Parasitic Demons was the greatest coward. He couldn’t even appear dignified in front of Elrenar’s right-hand man.

With his great intellect, by merely observing Plagas’ movements and gestures, Muuka surmised that something of grave importance must have occurred in the Human Realm. He had several questions in his mind, but Muuka decided not to voice them. Muuka deemed that such questions should come from the Immortal Demon personally.

“We’ll open the entrance leading directly to the outside,” said Muuka. “Please come and report to the Demon Lord Barkuvara at the capital, Lord Plagas.”

Muuka hissed in a strange voice. In response, the colossal snake coiled on the spikes in the ceiling slithered, revealing a pathway located near the ceiling. Unlike the other pathways protected by the tormentors, this one led directly to the outside.

“O-Of course,” said Plagas. “Come, my beloved nest!”

The high-ranking nest wrapped its tentacles around Plagas’ waist and placed him on top of its body.

Using its tentacles, the high-ranking nest climbed the walls of the Great Cavern and entered the main entrance that had been opened by the colossal serpent.

***

[Capital of the Demon Realm]

After the death of Naberius and Malphas, the Lord of the Red Tower acceded the role of the demon lord’s right-hand man. Not only did he manage to successfully reconnect the severed pathway connecting the portal to the mana well, he also managed to activate it and force it open.

Unfortunately, the Lord of the Red Tower failed to fully assimilate with the body of Agreas. Elrenar couldn’t pinpoint what exactly the problem was, but there was something preventing him from fully taking over the Arzomos’ body.

“The missing piece… I need to find it,” said Elrenar.

In front of him were several round glass tanks containing the bodies of different demonic species. There were several dozen of them inside this room granted to him by the Immortal Demon. In a sense, this place was similar to the concoction rooms of the alchemists in the Human Realm. A place where Elrenar could freely conduct experiments and test the bodies of his subjects.

At the center of the room was a large tank where the body of Agreas was submerged. The Arzomos had died long ago, but his corpse had been well-preserved by the Lord of the Red Tower.

“What is it?” The three faces of Elrenar, which had been stitched together, frowned. “Why can’t I take over his body?”

It was frustrating.

Elrenar knew that the moment he managed to assimilate with the body of this Arzomos elder, he would gain strength far greater than a high demon. It wouldn’t even be an exaggeration to say that he would gain strength on par with the Immortal Demon.

“Lord Elrenar,” a voice was heard inside the room. It was from one of the tormentors under his command. “The Lord of Parasitic Demons has arrived in the capital.”

Plagas, that coward, had finally returned. Honestly, Elrenar was interested in hearing about what Plagas found during his stay in the Human Realm.

Without glancing to his rear, Elrenar replied, “Is that so? Await further instructions. I shall personally inform the Demon Lord Barkuvara.”

“As you will.”

After leaving the room where he’d been conducting his experiments, Elrenar went to the throne room where the demon lord was resting.

Elrenar knelt down before the throne.

“Oh Absolute One, it seems that the Lord of Parasitic Demons has arrived in the capital,” said Elrenar subserviently.

The Demon Lord Barkuvara, a demon whose body had yet to fully heal after being trapped in the ice prison for more than a millennium, coldly gazed at the demon kneeling before him. Every now and then, the demon lord’s body would turn to wisp and smoke, before reverting to its solidified state. The four large horns jutting out of his forehead aside, the demon lord looked like a muscular human.

For several minutes, the demon lord remained silent. At the same time, Elrenar remained kneeling before him, unmoving.

Elrenar felt uneasy. It was peculiar, but it felt as though the demon lord could see the depths of his very soul, as though he could hear his thoughts and feel his emotions.

Finally, the Demon Lord Barkuvara spoke, “Elrenar.”

Elrenar shuddered. The voice of the demon lord alone carried tremendous amounts of mana. Even he, a high demon, felt immense pressure just hearing it.

“Absolute One,” said Elrenar.

“Bring the Lord of Parasitic Demons to me,” said the demon lord.

Despite his human-like appearance, it felt as though the demon lord was a huge mountain looming in front of him. Although the demon lord had yet to fully recover his strength, Elrenar knew that this creature could kill him with the flick of his finger.

“Right away!”

Immediately, the Lord of Parasitic Demons was granted an audience with the Demon Lord Barkuvara in the throne room. Plagas visibly trembled as he knelt in front of the Immortal Demon.

“Y-Your humble servant greets the Absolute One,” said Plagas, his slimy body wetter than usual, “the Immortal Demon, the ruler of the skies, the—”

“Stop with the unnecessary titles and flattery,” said the Demon Lord Barkuvara, his chin resting on his hand. “Report.”

“A-Ah, yes!” said Plagas. “Of course!”

Nervously, Plagas started recounting everything that transpired during his stay in the Human Realm.

From the day he arrived at the Black Expanse, how he’d successfully slaughtered the humans residing in the Mullgray Islands, to the time he encountered the unknown magician.

Of course, Plagas left several events out of his story. In particular, he did not divulge the fact that he ran away with his tails between his legs.

“I would have captured and killed that impertinent human, oh Absolute One!” said Plagas, his hands and tentacles moving animatedly as he continued recounting his story. “But the human suddenly decided to flee from battle! That damn coward!”

Elrenar was frowning as he listened to Plagas’ story. He was glancing at the Immortal Demon every now and then, checking for any reaction. It seemed that the Lord of the Red Tower found several loopholes in the Lord of Parasitic Demons’ story.

“Had I been given more time, I would have been able to destroy those human nations, oh Absolute One,” lied Plagas through his teeth. “But alas, my time to return to the Demon Realm has come.”

Deafening silence fell.

Seeing the Demon Lord Barkuvara silently staring at him, Plagas instinctively shrunk his body and lowered his head, averting his gaze.

Although he’d seen it before, Plagas still couldn’t get used to the deep, piercing gaze of the demon lord.

After what seemed like an eternity, the demon lord spoke, “So, did you get the name of this human?”

Although Plagas undermined the strength of the human in his story, for some strange reason, the Demon Lord Barkuvara showed interest in him.

“N-No,” said Plagas. “But the human told me that he’d met my father before, oh Absolute One. And…” Plagas carefully said his next words, “He told me that he shouldn’t have spared our tribe back then. Ridiculous, isn’t it? A human couldn’t possibly live that long.”

Again, the Demon Lord Barkuvara fell silent. He calmly gazed at Plagas for several minutes. It seemed that he was in deep thought, Plagas was not sure.

“Elrenar,” said the Demon Lord Barkuvara.

“Yes, My Lord.”

“Summon the Lord of the Corrupted Land and the Lord of the Wraiths,” said the Demon Lord Barkuvara. “It is time for them to enter the Human Realm.”

AFTERWORD

Once again, thank you for buying a copy of the novel’s latest volume!

As an indie writer, it would really help me if you could leave behind a review on the book’s Amazon page. It helps a lot with the algorithm. It also pushes me to keep on writing despite not having a publishing company as a backing.

The next volume will be focusing more on politics, kingdom building, and preparation for the demon’s invasion of the Human Realm. There are already several chapters available, if you wish to read in advance, on Patreon.

Link: Patreon.com/crazyblackchili

I’ve been hiring professional proofreaders for the last few volumes (this volume included). For the earlier volumes, I did not have the money to hire proofreaders back then, a few years ago. But now, I’ve managed to hire a professional. She is working on the earlier volumes – and hopefully she’ll be done by the first quarter of this year. She’s the same person who proofread this volume.

Once again, thank you very much for your support! It is only through the readers that an indie author like me could continue writing without worrying about his finances. It is truly very very much appreciated ^_^

P.S. From a med student, I am now a licensed physician. It’s been a long journey, everyone.