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A black hole appeared in the empty sky, and a person fell out of it.
“Huff, huff, huff…” The person panted. It was Cain, dripping with sweat. He had already surpassed the level of an A-Class Knight and become a Superhuman, so what could he have gone through during that short time?
-He’s like he fared better than I expected.
Lugia seemed faintly shocked. That made Icarus’s eyes widen, but her attention was quickly drawn to the way Cain leaned unstably on his sword.
“Sir Cain!” She hurriedly ran over to him.
“Shit…” Cain collapsed onto his knees with an audible thump, his trembling body unable to hold him up any longer.
Christian urgently approached to help Cain.
“What in the world…?” Christian froze up as he examined Cain’s state. His whole body was covered with wounds; the lacerations were still bleeding. The wound on his right shoulder was the worst because it was so deep that Christian could see the white of Cain’s bone.
“Sir Cain, what happened to you inside there? Who could possibly hurt you like this here…?”
“…Hey.” Cain looked at Lugia instead of answering Christian.
-Huh?
“Did my master really go through that?” Cain asked.
After staying silent for a moment, Lugia turned full circle in the air.
“Answer me,” Cain demanded.
-Well…
“Do you think I’m kidding!” Cain growled.
-Do you think that is the only thing he went through?
A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.
Lugia’s quiet reply made Cain’s eyes widen.
-That space is similar to reality, so I would have shown you everything if I had my full power. It’s a shame.
Cain stayed silent.
-Well, you returned safely, so I guess I should be satisfied.
“Sir Cain,” Icarus interrupted, “tell me: what happened to our master in the war three years ago?”
Cain stayed silent for a long time, but eventually the weight of Icarus's determination drew an answer from him.
“…It was weird.”
“…Pardon?” Icarus asked.
“Do you remember what our master said before he left that day?”
“…I definitely remember…” Icarus pondered something with her chin resting in her hand for a brief moment. “I definitely remember him saying that he was leaving to stop the destined future.”
“Yes, but he couldn’t stop anything.” Cain bit his lower lip.
“That’s…” Icarus tried to say something, but she couldn’t find the right words.
“That really bugged me. Our master knew that the three Stars would join forces to kill the monstrous Duke Agnus and that the Continental War would break out, but nothing changed in the end.” Cain shrugged.
“It was inevitable,” Icarus said in Joshua’s defense. “No matter how great our master is, he’s just one man, so how is he supposed to—?”
“Think: our master is perfect, so do you really believe our master isn’t capable enough to change a future he already knows?” Cain asked.
Everyone shut their mouth.
“The Swallow and Hubalt Empires formed an alliance and mobilized over a hundred thousand knights to attack Avalon for suddenly breaking the peace and occupying Reinhardt,” Cain continued, looking Icarus in the eyes. “Among those soldiers were the best imperial knights of the two empires.”
“…The Martial Emperor and Crimson Sky are known to be the strongest men of the two empires, and they spearheaded that war,” Icarus bitterly added.
Cain nodded. “Yes, but there were only ten thousand knights of Avalon who opposed them. Yes, their commander was the Duke Agnus, but it was clear that they were outmatched. Although the Avalon Empire knew about this, they didn’t send backup, so it’s understandable that there was a rumor that the Emperor of Avalon feared Duke Agnus so much that he conspired to cause this war and use it as an opportunity to eliminate the Dark God.”
Icarus was also aware of this.
“However…” Cain trailed off.
Icarus tilted her head in confusion.
“It turns out that the truth was totally different.” Cain looked down at the ground.
“What are you…?” Icarus blankly asked.
Cain raised his head and fixed his eyes on Lugia.
“It wasn’t Duke Agnus and his ten thousand knights that stopped over a hundred thousand knights of the Alliance.”
“What?” Icarus asked again.
“There were no ten thousand knights in the first place; only one man stood against those knights.” Cain continued.
Icarus’s eyes widened.
“No way…!”
“After the Battle of the Great Plain of Kraden, the people of the continent praised a man and called him the ‘Hero King’, but that name originates from the people of the Swallow and Hubalt Empires. Among the knights from two empires, many of them could use the power that they call ‘materialization’, but unbelievably, the Hero King… made them all retreat,” Cain choked out.
Every word from Cain’s mouth made everyone stiffen in shock.
Cain turned back to Icarus once again.
“The Martial Emperor and the Crimson Sky had hired the Darkness Emperor, and when the three Stars arrived at the plain, they fought Duke Agnus’s son, not Duke Agnus. In other words, they fought our master.”
Once Cain finished speaking, a suffocating silence descended.
* * *
In the capital of the Avalon Empire, Kaiser walked down the outer palace and smiled faintly.
“Returning to this place reminds me of old memories.”
Two men silently followed Kaiser.
“I have some work for you to do. First of all…” Kaiser glanced at the young man who was standing on his right side. “Draxia bel Grace, I need you to head to Agnus Duchy right away, just like I told you before.”
Draxia, who was also known as the War God, frowned.
“Is that an order?”
“Have you forgotten Heimdall’s order?” Kaiser asked. Draxia was unable to reply.
“It’s necessary to earn Brother Kiser’s trust,” he reassured the War God. “And besides, Heimdall already gave permission. Wait, do you not know what that means…?”
“…Fine, I’ll do it.” Draxia shrugged.
Kaiser’s smile deepened.
“This is a matter of the utmost discretion,” the Prince reminded him, “so do not do anything that will make you stand out.”
“It sounds like I won’t have any backup,” Draxia noted.
Kaiser chuckled.
“You’re definitely the War God. Or do you need backup?” he provoked.
Draxia chuckled. “Forget it; one assistant is enough to deal with the current Agnus family.”
“I’m assuming that assistant of yours is trustworthy?” Kaiser asked.
Draxia nodded. “That child is like my family.”
“Okay, I’ll trust you.” Kaiser then turned his head to look at the man on his left side. “Duke Tremblin.”
“…I’m listening, Your Highness,” Tremblin answered.
“Do you know why I mentioned Berche’s Bloody Battle?” Kaiser asked, referring to the conversation he’d had with his brother.
With a grim expression, Tremblin shook his head. “I’m not sure.”
“I should get rid of all the people who might support that son of a bitch in case he returns, shouldn’t I?” Kaiser shrugged.
Tremblin didn’t have to listen further to know which “son of a bitch” Kaiser was talking about because there was only one person Kaiser would bear such a deep grudge against.
“Are you telling me… to kill His Majesty’s knights?” Tremblin asked in disbelief.
“That’s right.” Kaiser nodded.
Tremblin tensed up. “Do you have to go that far? Once you regain power, they’ll be your people, Your Highness. Besides, Joshua Sanders is still nowhere to be found, and the other countries’ citizens believe he’s already dead…”
“You still call me Your Highness, don’t you?” Kaiser interrupted.
Perhaps Kaiser sensed the emotion in Tremblin’s voice. Duke Tremblin shut his mouth straight away.
“I’ll ask again: do you really think that monster died?” Kaiser’s eyes were momentarily filled with murderous intent. “Is that what you want to say?”
“That’s…” Tremblin bit his lower lip.
“I don’t trust anything until I see it with my own eyes, so there is only one answer you can give me right now.” Kaiser pulled out an elegant ring that was engraved with a symbol of a golden dragon from his inner pocket—it was the seal of the Avalon Empire, which had disappeared when the Emperor had gone missing three years ago.
“I’m the one and only person that knows the Emperor’s whereabouts,” Kaiser fiercely growled at Tremblin. “When the right time comes, His Majesty will show himself to this world again, and I am the rightful heir that carries on his will, not Brother Kiser nor Kaizen. Do you get it? Everything I do, I do because I have a plan, so I request you to follow my orders until then.”
After Kaiser finished speaking, he coldly turned away. Tremblin stared at Kaiser’s back, clenching his fists so hard that his fingernail dug into his flesh.
* * *
Right after Tremblin exited the palace, he could feel regret overwhelming him as he headed to his home.
He came to a halt.
“Does His Highness the Fourth Prince Kaiser really know the location of His Majesty?” he mumbled doubtfully. “The ring His Highness had was definitely His Majesty’s seal, but considering His Majesty’s personality, he wouldn’t easily hand over the ring—not even to his children. Unless His Majesty is hurt, sick, or deceased, I should assume His Highness is speaking the truth…”
His musings and his stride came to an abrupt halt shortly after entering a dark, remote alleyway. His eyes turned sharp.
“Who is it?”
The Absolute’s sharp senses were telling him that there was someone else there with him, hiding.
“You’ve got guts to try to hide from me… Are you not going to come out? Then…”
“I had no intention of provoking you,” a man’s low, quiet, sonorous voice assured Tremblin.
Tremblin’s eyes widened.
The man calmly walked out from the shadows under the awning.
“I just exuded my energy because I have a proposal that can benefit both of us.”
Tremblin froze up.
“I want you to pretend to help Kaiser and look into one thing, then I’ll give you the answer to your question,” the man suggested.
When Tremblin saw the man, his jaw slowly dropped. The man's unmistakable deep blue and his surreally handsome appearance—just a while ago, the man had been the topic of the conversation, and Tremblin had concluded that the man was dead during that same conversation.
Duke Tremblin, his tongue clumsy with shock, stared at the man who had finally appeared before him.
“Joshua… Sanders…?”