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A gigantic castle, just as magnificent as the Imperial Palace, was engulfed in fire.
“Arggghh!” The people’s screams soon filled the sky.
This was the castle of the Great Ducal Family of Agnus, one of the Avalon Empire’s Five Ducal Families and also once the greatest Ducal Family among those five families.
“Mo-monster!” a knight mumbled. There was a symbol of a golden mane embroidered on his chest, signifying he was part of the Ducal Family of Agnus’ first corps.
“It has been a while since I heard that.” A woman with waist-length brown hair smiled. She seemed like she had just become twenty years old.
Behind her, an opaque shape of a vicious lion appeared.
-Grrrr...
“A hi-high-ranking wind spirit? But you’re too young…!” the knight stammered in disbelief.
“I used to hear that often when I was little, but of course, I don’t hear that anymore after an even bigger monster than me showed up.” The woman shrugged.
“Wh-what are you talking about…?” the knight asked.
“You know, it’s a bummer; I quite liked the nickname.” The woman smacked her lips in disappointment.
“Syllairon,” she called, her eyes gleaming.
-Roar!
As soon as the woman gave her command, the lethal wind clawed the knight.
“Arg-arghh!”
Soon, the horrifying sound of human flesh being cut filled the air. The knight’s head rolled across the ground, accompanied by blood splattering everywhere.
“Coming back here brings back old memories, but I didn’t know I'd be destroying this place with my own hands after I’d spent half my life here.”
“Anna,” a man called out to the woman.
“Oops…”
“Don’t talk too much,” the man admonished her.
Anna bowed immediately. “I’m sorry, Father…”
“…It’s fine. So did you say she was there?” the man asked.
Anna went over her memories again before answering.
“Those thorny roses in the garden… Yes, I’m sure that place is Vanessa ben Britten’s palace.”
“What about the other one?”
“…Ah! Lucia ben Britten is…” Anna hesitated a little before she continued. “I made a request to the continent’s best expert in this area since I heard he happened to be here—”
“The Assassin King?” the man interrupted before Anna could finish. She nodded, affirming his assumption.
“Did he take the request?” the man pressed her.
“Yes, he took it like it was his job in the first place.”
The man pondered for a moment.
“…If you think so, then that would be the best decision,” he replied. “Besides, we won’t have to worry about getting the job done if the Assassin King I know took the job…
“But you shouldn’t kill her,” he continued with gleaming eyes. “Because she’s different from Vanessa ben Britten.”
Anna nodded. “I’ve also made that clear that we’re asking him to abduct Lucia ben Britten, not assassinate her.”
“…It must have cost quite a fortune.” The man raised an eyebrow.
“Does it matter?” Anna finally smiled faintly. “This is the land of the once-greatest family in the Empire; the treasure house of this place will have fine—”
“You cannot go any further!” Someone shouted at the top of their lungs.
Anna turned to the voice; standing in front of her and the man were over a hundred knights standing in formation.
“Who are you people?” one of the knights bravely shouted. "How dare you attack the castle of the Great Ducal Family of Agnus—!”
But he couldn’t finish speaking.
A wind suddenly blew, creating an opaque cloud of dust that rushed over the knights.
“…You’re really noisy; whining men aren’t attractive, you know.”
“Spirit summoner…!” The knight gritted his teeth. He wore an embroidered symbol of the golden mane, just like the knight that had been killed just a while ago. The one difference was the elaborately engraved number one, meaning this knight was the Golden Mane Corps Commander.
“Co-Commander Chiffon,” someone suddenly said from behind Chiffon.
Chiffon turned and saw the Duke’s knights assembling one by one.
“Why are there so few of you?” Chiffon growled. “I’m quite certain I ordered the entire four corps of knights to gather!”
“Uh… as you already know…” the knight hesitantly reported, “His Grace headed to the capital, so half of us…”
“Oh… fuck!” Chiffon cursed without listening any further.
“He departed this morning, so it would take at least half a day for them to return even if he moved as quickly as possible…”
“Don’t worry.” Anna shrugged.
Chiffon’s planning halted mid-thought, and he raised his head to look at Anna.
“We’re going to wait here until Babel von Agnus comes back,” she proclaimed with a grin.
“You bitch…!” Chiffon mumbled, gritting his teeth, but then he flinched. Why was he suddenly remembering the shocking stories he had heard from His Grace?
She was too young to be a high-ranking spirit summoner, and she knew every little bit about the Ducal Family of Agnus. While she looked ordinary, she somehow seemed familiar to Chiffon. Just then, one name suddenly flashed through Chiffon’s brain.
“Anna bel Grace…?” he blankly mumbled.
“Oh, you remember me, Mr. Duchess’s Gigolo.” Anna giggled.
When his suspicion turned out to be true, Chiffon’s breath in his throat.
“Then…!”
Chiffon head jerked toward the other intruder. He hadn’t even paid attention to the man standing next to Anna earlier because she was massacring everyone on her own. The man was very forgettable, but if the woman in front of him was actually the Anna bel Grace then Chiffon’s assessment of the man was dead wrong
“The forest green hair, your face… You’re definitely….” Chiffon muttered in deep shock. “...the War God…?”
“We’ve wasted too much time.” Draxia, the man who had been standing beside Anna, still as a sculpture, took a step forward.
As he stared at Draxia, Chiffon’s eyes widened as much as human eyes possibly could.
* * *
Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.
The beautiful silver-haired woman anxiously paced back and forth.
Suddenly, a humming noise shocked her out of her fidgeting.
“Why are they already here…?” the woman, Lilith, blankly murmured.
A small gate formed of white light appeared, disgorging a group of people before Lilith.
“No matter how many times I use this thing, I can never get used to this motion weakness.”
“Wh-what happened—?” Lilith began to ask, but her words died in her throat when she saw someone in the group who shouldn’t have been there. While she had missed that person more than anyone else on the continent, that person might be the only one who could change the situation they were in.
“Jo-Joshua?” Lilith dumbfoundedly mumbled.
“I need to trouble you to go through the process again,” Cain said without paying attention to Lilith’s mumbling.
Lilith naturally turned her head in the direction of Cain, and found that he no longer looked like the free-spirited man he used to be.
“We-were you really in the Great Plain of Aiyas?” Lilith asked. “Then over the past three years, why…?”
“He’s not my master,” Icarus interrupted.
“…What?”
Icarus shrugged. “To be exact, he’s my master’s doppelganger.”
Lilith’s eyes widened.
“You heard about the legendary monster that copies not only a person’s appearance but also their abilities and behavior, right?” Icarus explained.
“Then he’s…?” Lilith pointed.
“That’s right.” Icarus nodded, making Lilith gape slightly.
Even if he was Joshua’s doppelganger, he looked too similar to Joshua. In fact, he looked exactly the same as the Joshua that Lilith had last met three years ago—before he had disappeared. Although Lilith was disappointed on the one hand, if the doppelganger had Joshua’s ability just like the legend said…
“We’re heading to the Avalon Empire,” Cain said, bringing Lilith back to reality and drawing her attention to Cain.
“Starting from there, we’ll set the twisted destiny straight and put an end to this old, tiring war,” Cain calmly continued, meeting Lilith’s gaze.
“…Is he… in the Avalon Empire?” Lilith asked, voicing the question that had been on her mind for a while.
“We don’t know anything yet, but…” Cain glanced at the doppelganger that wore Joshua’s appearance. “There is a high possibility. Although I couldn’t even find a trace of my master over the past several years, I get to meet him like this…”
Lilith’s eyes shone for a moment.
“This is actually good. In fact, the timing seems perfect.”
Icarus tilted her head, confused. She hadn’t expected Lilith to calm down so quickly.
“What do you mean?” Icarus asked.
“Soon, the Avalon Empire will soon make an official announcement.”
“What…?”
“The imperial family will acknowledge that the missing emperor, Marcus ben Britten, has died,” Lilith explained.
“Finally…!” Cain tightly clenched his fists.
Icarus couldn’t remain silent either.
“Do-does that mean…?”
“Yes.” Lilith nodded. “The next emperor of the Avalon Empire will also be decided that day.”
“Unbelievable!” Icarus shrieked. “The formal heir hasn’t even been decided yet; that is why this civil war has continued for so long that it tore this Empire apart. Unless one of the two princes dies, the civil war will never—”
“A few days ago, someone capable enough to end this stalemate showed up in the Imperial Palace of the Avalon Empire,” Lilith said in a serious voice.
Icarus, Cain, and Christian flinched, and their eyes popped open.
“Wait…”
Lilith shook her head. “It’s not your master.”
Cain shut his mouth, disappointed, but what Lilith said next quickly changed his expression.
“This person and the Dark God were called the two strongest people in Avalon.”
“…What?” Cain asked, baffled.
“Duke Geschard kon Tremblin showed up,” Lilith said.
Someone held their breath.
“The Sword Emperor showed up after three years,” Lilith continued while everyone was in shock.
“Oh my god…”
“In the end, the prince that the Duke supports will be the heir to the throne since his influence is absolute in the current state of the Avalon Empire.” Lilith glanced at the expressionless and unmoving “Joshua” and faintly smiled. “But… things have become interesting.”
The rest of the group tilted their heads in confusion.
“How would the Avalon Empire react if the great Hero King appeared in a situation like this?” Lilith asked.
The rest of the group’s eyes popped wide open after they finally came to a realization.
“Well, he is technically not Joshua, but everyone else will think it is once they see him, won’t they?” Lilith shrugged.
“Wh-What’s your plan?” Cain stuttered.
Lilith grinned. “Let’s turn the Avalon Empire upside down.”
When Lilith finished speaking, silence filled the air.
* * *
“How are you here…?” Tremblin slowly brought his hand to his waist. However, Joshua didn’t even flinch.
“Please,” Joshua implored. “I have to get to the Agnus Duchy right away.”
Tremblin pulled out his sword.
“It’s funny; I’ve been doubting you ever since you disappeared in the war three years ago.”
“…Do you think I’m involved in the Emperor’s disappearance?” Joshua asked.
“Of course! So I need to lock you in the Palace’s dungeon. I’ll look into the details by interrogating you myself!” Tremblin declared.
“Like I said, I don’t have much time.”
“That’s your problem!” Tremblin yelled as he drew up his energy, making the sky shake. He was truly living up to his title of the strongest person in Avalon, but…
The Sword Emperor’s eyes widened because Joshua continued to stand still, but at some point, Tremblin was no longer able to detect any energy from Joshua, almost as if nothing existed in the first place.
“This is…?” Tremblin’s lips trembled; he could instinctively feel that Joshua had gotten stronger than before he had disappeared that day three years ago. The current Tremblin… couldn’t beat Joshua…
“What in the world…have you gone through the past three years?” Tremblin asked in disbelief. In the end, the Duke dropped his sword to the ground. “Joshua Sanders…”
“You’re definitely the Sword Emperor. You definitely know when to retreat.” Joshua shrugged.
“What do you… want to know?” Tremblin closed his eyes.
“There is some big tycoon that Emperor Marcus didn’t even know of behind Kaiser,” Joshua said.
“Wh… What!” Tremblin’s eyes widened.
“So I want you to look into the person named ‘Heimdall’.”