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After Serciarin left, the two men remained in the room.
Armstrong observed the Duke for a while.
“My Lord, what are you thinking of doing now?” he warily inquired.
Duke Agnes remained silent.
“I don’t know what was going through the Princess’s mind when she came here, but one thing is certain,” Armstrong persisted. “There are people who have caught onto our plans. And of those people, one of them is
”
Armstrong grimaced. The word “Emperor” was caught in his throat, leaving his sentence unfinished.
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“We don’t know how much we’ve been compromised,” he continued. “In this situation, it’s too risky to continue. I think it’s best to put our plans on hold for the time being and—”
“As I've stated previously,” Duke Agnus interrupted, his eyes suddenly bright, “The plans won’t change.”
“Then—”
“From this point forward, the entire duchy and its vassals will be summoned and issued a notice of conscription.”
Armstrong's brows furrowed.
“Their destination is the Great Kraden Plains. While I’m carrying out the Imperial Order in Reinhardt, you will lead the troops.”
“You mean
?”
At Armstrong’s question, Duke Agnus’s eyes went cold.
“Isn’t the Agnus Duchy a place where even if you know the strength, you can’t win against; the best family on the continent that can block any enemies with absolute force? Isn’t that what we’ve been working on for so long? For the Greatness of the Agnus Duchy?”
Duke Agnus turned around as he continued talking.
“Do not fret. Do not be afraid. I, the Duke of Agnus, will be with you wherever you may be.”
With those words, he walked toward the door.
Armstrong clenched his fists.
‘That’s right. What do I have to be afraid of? The Dark God—one who has reached the absolute top—is here.’
“As soon as preparations are complete, report to me immediately.”
“Yes, My Lord!”
***
“Aden is most likely thinking the same thing as me.”
“Your Majesty?” Duke Tremblin stared back at the Emperor blankly. He couldn’t comprehend his words. “It might be presumptuous of me, Your Majesty, but I don’t quite get—”
“Keke. How absurd. I cannot believe that there aren’t enough foxes in politics.”
“....”
“Instead, we have people who think ‘That’s impossible’ with things that are very predictable.”
“But Your Majesty, I
”
“I offered Aden a chance to stop being hesitant.”
“...?” Tremblin gave the Emperor a confused look.
“Are you familiar with Rigveda’s Withdrawal?”
Shock took over Duke Tremblin’s expression as he processed the Emperor's voice.
“Rigveda’s
 Withdrawal!” Duke Tremblin muttered.
Fully understanding his reaction required some historical context—the story of the Avalon Empire’s beginnings on the continent. The people of Avalon called it “Heaven’s Will,” but other countries saw it as the exact opposite of heaven’s will.
They saw it as a rebellion.
“The reason the previous kingdom Asgard, once known as a prosperous kingdom, collapsed was because of one reason,” Emperor Marcus intoned in a low voice. “At the end of that dynasty, King Kunir, had a vision like I do right now. That is
to rule all of the continent.”
“....”
“Asgard had the power to do so; after all, they were called the strongest on the continent. Not to mention, King Kunir had a great weapon.”
“Was it
”
Emperor Marcus gave a knowing nod to Duke Tremblin, who appeared to understand the situation.
“King Kunir’s weapon was Rigveda—his long-time friend who was, at the time, known as the best on the continent.”
“....”
“The people on the continent concluded that Rigveda was one of the strongest in history, a monster well beyond Aden. Unlike today where there are arguments of who is strongest out of the Nine Stars, there was no one on the entire continent who could rival his strength.”
“....”
“And then, one day, he received orders from King Kunir.”
A brilliant light flashed through Emperor Marcus’s eyes.
“King Kunir commanded him to conquer the entire continent.”
“....”
“With an elite army of half a million, under the command of Rigveda, Asgard’s three neighboring countries were completely destroyed within mere moments. The entire continent shook with terror. But—”
The Emperor's eyes seemed to glisten with madness.
“Just as King Kunir was so close to achieving his dream, the worst thing that could have occurred happened.”
“That
”
“Rigevda suddenly aimed the army not at the rest of the continent but at Asgard.”
Up until now, this had all been recorded in history. However, Emperor Marcus’s next words were shocking and had never been said before. Even the Duke of Tremblin was taken aback by it.
“How crazy is this? Giving up the continent. Just for some meaningless woman
 kekeke.”
The Duke's eyes widened in surprise.
“What
 What do you mean, Your Majesty?”
“The day Rigveda returned to the Imperial Palace, he beheaded King Kunir, who was clearly shocked. He became the first Emperor under the pretext of punishing the tyrant for threatening peace.”
That was the founding of Avalon.
“After becoming the Emperor, the first thing he did was make the wife of the previous king his own. Keke. Such a terrible thing that it’s not even funny. If he had at least continued his conquest of the whole continent
”
“Then—”
“Ah, you came back just in time,” the Emperor mumbled.
Someone had walked in through the open entrance.
Duke Tremblin couldn’t contain his astonishment once he saw who it was.
“Princess—!”
“Serciarin, did you meet him?”
Serciarin bowed slightly.
“That woman was correct,” she replied to the Emperor.
“Hmm?”
“Duke Agnus, he
 he definitely has other intentions, Your Majesty.”
Serciarin noticed the Emperor’s gaze on her.
“Moreover,” she immediately continued, “Duke Agnus didn't appear to be aware that she was already gone.”
Emperor Marcus immediately froze; an odd smile graced his face.
“Lucia
 no, where is Asiru?”
“I have led her to a different palace.”
“Heaven itself has helped me. I’ve finally found her whereabouts, hahahahaha!”
Emperor Marcus licked his lips.
“Y-Your Majesty? What is
”
“You see, one of my sisters that I couldn’t kill is still alive.”
“...!”
“Aden has kept her under him for years now.”
Duke Tremblin hadn’t thought there could be anything else he would be surprised by, but he was wrong.
“Aden had his way with her, and she gave birth to a bastard, Joshua Sanders.”
“My God
” Duke Tremblin gaped in disbelief.
“A few days ago, when Aden was away, she came to me and begged for help to save her child. A brother who’s only treated his sister badly
 At the very least, I should listen to her request, right? Hahahaha!”
Emperor Marcus laughed for a long time, and after he had his fill, he stopped.
“Aden is a scary man. He’s been hiding his dark intentions for years now just, all for his revenge.”
“....”
“Maybe he has been thinking about this for a long time now, punishing the Brittens who made his mother like that. Maybe he wanted us to pay the same way
. Just like Rigveda
” the Emperor mumbled to himself. “But what is he going to do now? I know everything.”
“....”
“I’m sure he thought everything was prepared. He was probably banking on having his son finish if he failed. Ha
 Aden, is that why you pretended you didn’t want war when you secretly did want it to happen?”
“Your Majesty
”
“GWAHAHAHAHAHA!” Emperor Marcus laughed maniacally. “I’ll take this opportunity to show you that the name Agnus will never be as special as Britten! In the Great Plains of Kraden, the reign of the Dark God will disappear into the annals of history!”
Emperor Marcus’s voice rang throughout the Great Hall.
***
With a deafening rumble, the Tower that seemed to stab the clouds began to tilt.
The Tower of Trials had been made so long ago that no one even knew how it had come into being.
Theta stared in disbelief as the structure swayed precariously, threatening to topple over at any minute.
“I can’t
 believe it,” he said, slack-jawed.
The Tower of Trials could weather any attack. But what was happening right now?
- Is this the time to climb the Tower ever so calmly, Child of Elenburs, and the Master of the Sole Darkness?
“...!” Joshua and the others looked up toward the sky in the direction of the voice.
Iceline was the first to speak. “That can’t
”
Iceline thought it was nighttime when she first came out of the Tower, but it was clear to her then that it wasn’t night at all. The being covered the entire sky; that shadowy figure in the sky was responsible for the darkness.
“A d-dragon?” she stuttered.
“Krevas
” Ash’s fist clenched, slightly trembling.
- Even now, no one is allowed to reach the peak of this structure.
Joshua stepped forward, wearing a grimace.
“Who made that call?”
- I don’t think this is the time for you to be fighting with me.
“Huh?”
- Go back to where you belong.
“What do you mean”
- The entire continent is going to be a sea of blood soon. Places like the human settlements or Elven Forest where you spent your childhood won’t be safe from it.
“...!”
- Joshua Sanders.
“You—”
- If you wish to ascend the Tower again later, I won't stand in your way.
After Krevas saw that Joshua kept his mouth shut, he began to flap his wings.
- We will talk in the future, Master of the Sole Darkness.
“....”
- Choose between ignoring my counsel and resuming your ascent of the Tower, or returning to where we were and continuing our relationship as it was.
Joshua remained silent for some time before he finally responded to Krevas.
“I—”