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It looked like the woman was just barely in her mid-thirties. Her hair cascaded from her head in an elegant waterfall.
Right then, she was trembling like an aspen leaf.
“Wh-what is going on—?”
“—Cough!”
At that moment, the horrible sound of a person being stabbed filled the room. The woman shut her eyes tightly, unable to take it anymore.
“La-Lady Lucia
”
The guard that had always safely protected the woman, Lucia, was dying right before her. As soon as he had sensed something was wrong, he had immediately entered the room; the problem was that the opponents that had been waiting for him were too powerful.
“We’ll leave quickly,” a strange man quickly said.
“Wh-Who are you?” Lucia asked.
To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com.
“Stay still. We have no intention to hurt you so long as you don’t resist
”
“Wh-What do you want from me?”
“
Put a gag on her,” the man instructed.
Lucia visibly flinched because she knew the man wasn’t talking to her.
“Y-You’ll regret this!” she warned them, although she wasn’t sure where she had gotten the courage from. Lucia shut her eyes and shouted, “Who do you think I am? I am the Ducal Family of Agnus’s—!”
However, she couldn’t continue because she heard the horrifying sound of flesh being cut.
“Why
?” Lucia sadly murmured. She gave up. Their goal was clear from the start, so no matter what she said, nothing would change.
‘Joshua
’
Lucia couldn’t help but think of Joshua as she pondered her impending death. If her child was really dead
 then could she be with him now? Although she had been terrified, she slowly started to feel peaceful.
After she closed her eyes, she waited for a long time. She couldn’t help wondering what was going on because no one attacked her with their swords even though they were supposed to. The moment Lucia carefully tried to open her eyes


It sounded just like the time she had cut out the rotten part of an apple when she was still just a maid. The sounds were neatly rhythmic, but it would be hard to say that they sound pleasant given what they actually came from.
“Why don’t you—!” Lucia opened her eyes wide but immediately froze up. “Ah
”
She gaped blankly. A surreal, beautiful sight unfolded before her eyes. Instead of the Agnus knights, over twenty masked men’s heads were flying in the air, and one person was standing in the center of everything. As blood spread everywhere, the thick smell of blood filled the room. Although it was a truly horrible sight, like nothing she had ever seen in her life, Lucia had no way of describing the sight except the word “beautiful.”
The person in the center held their two silver daggers in reverse grips and danced and swung their daggers in the air with clear murderous intent, yet what the person was doing was an artistic sword dance, not murder.
“Assassin King, you son of a bitch!” the last surviving masked man cried out loud as he coughed blood. “Are you truly not scared of the Darkness Emperor’s fury?”
“From the beginning
” Aisha, the Assassin King, trailed off for a moment. She smiled coldly behind her mask. “I had only one client.”
The masked man’s eyes widened when he heard Aisha’s voice. “He’s a s-she?”
“Did you mention the Darkness Emperor?” Aisha asked.
The masked man clenched his fists.
“He’ll also die at the Hero King’s hands,” Aisha said with certainty.
“What the fu—!”
The man couldn’t finish what he was shouting because she had pierced through his heart with her razor-edged dagger, although he wasn’t sure when Aisha had moved.
“You
 bas
 tard
!”
Aisha twirled around to look at Lucia and wiped the blood off her clothes as the masked man’s corpse thudded onto the floor.
“You’re
?” Lucia cautiously asked.
Aisha faintly smiled.
“You’ll be able to meet him soon.”
Lucia flinched.
“He’s here right now,” Aisha said.
Lucia trembled; she didn’t have to ask whom Aisha was talking about. Her voice became choked with tears.
“H-he’s really
 he
?”
“Those three years felt like three hundred years, but
” Aisha glanced outside the window. “...It looks like we don’t have to wait anymore.”
* * *
Through a warp gate, Cain and the others arrived at a place where they could get to Arcadia, the Avalon Empire’s capital, within a day. Of course, Lilith, the leader of the information guild named Moon Gate—which was once the greatest organization on the continent—was with them.
“Why are you trying to go with us?” Cain asked.
“Joshua is there,” Lilith concisely replied.
“Huh?” Icarus, who was walking beside her, was dumbfounded by the familiarity in Lilith’s voice; it almost sounded as if Lilith was talking about her lover.
“You didn’t even blink in the Great Plain of Aiyas!” Cain said.
“Well, I was just guessing back then.” Lilith shrugged.
Cain couldn’t believe his ears.
“What?”
“I hold too high a position to move based on a single uncertain piece of information.” Lilith smiled faintly.
“But we don’t?” Cain sarcastically asked.
“Oh my, of course not.” Lilith held up her hand and covered her mouth in mock surprise. “You and Sir Christian are the great heroes and Superhumans of the continent, aren’t you? Compared to you, I’m just a delicate woman.”
“
Huh, where did the Silver-Eyed Ghost Sword go?” Cain murmured. “I can still vividly remember her cutting her enemies’ heads off while she smiled as if it was nothing.”
Lilith smiled. “Women want to look the prettiest in front of the men they like.”
“
Like?” Cain goofily repeated as his forever-alone man’s imagination went wild. “Let’s just have three children.”
“
Pardon?” Lilith asked.
“I want a daughter for our first child,” he absently declared.
“What are you talking about
?”
“Don’t mind him. It’s just an old bachelor’s daydreaming,” Icarus interrupted. She snorted at Cain. “Wake up. She’s talking about our master.”
“
What?” Cain was shocked. He turned to look at Lilith, wondering if Icarus was right.
“I don’t have to bother saying no, right?” Lilith giggled.
“My god, are you serious? Isn’t there a big age gap between you and our master?” Cain asked.
“Age and nationality don’t matter before love. Besides, the gap isn’t that big.” Lilith shrugged.
“
That is quite admirable, somehow.” Cain shook his head and glanced to his side.
When Icarus noticed Cain was looking at her, she tilted her head in confusion.
“Why are you looking at me?”
“Well, it’s just
” Cain trailed off.
“Is there something you want to say?” Icarus asked.
“Nope, nothing.” Cain shrugged.
Feeling the tension in the air, Lilith’s smile deepened as she looked at Cain.
“People don’t really live long,” she abruptly said.
“
What do you mean?” Cain narrowed his eyes.
“Think about the current continent: over the past three years, millions died, so almost the entire population of a kingdom died.”
Lilith suddenly started a very serious story, making Cain shut his mouth.
“Anyone could die at any time nowadays,” Lilith continued. “Thus, don’t hesitate to express yourself. Time doesn’t wait for you.”
Although Lilith spoke nonchalantly, Cain and Icarus felt the sadness in Lilith’s voice for some reason.
“Lilith
” Christian gloomily looked at Lilith. He was the only one who knew her full story.
Trying to brighten up the mood that had suddenly gotten serious, Lilith lightly clapped.
“On top of that, is there a man who is more attractive than Joshua Sanders on this continent right now?”
“That’s
 true.” Cain nodded.
“Right?” Lilith raised her head and flashed a bright smile that made her silver eyes sparkle. “So
 I’m going to try seducing him once I see him again. Although I failed once, little strokes make great oaks fall
”
“No!” someone shouted, loud as thunder.
Lilith tilted her head in confusion.
“U-uhh
! He’s our master!” Icarus, the person who had shouted, stuttered with a red face. She quickly turned her head. “Sir Cain!”
“Hmm?” Cain flinched in surprise.
“You seriously don’t have a problem with this?” Icarus strode toward Cain.
Cain took a step backward, intimidated.
“Wh-What
?”
“She’s going to be our master’s spouse. Do you truly not understand what this means?” Icarus reminded Cain.
Finally coming to a realization, Cain opened his eyes wide. “Our master’s
 spouse!”
“It means she’s going to be our Lady Sanders!” Icarus yelled. “In other words, as vassals, we’d have to treat her like our master once she really becomes Lady Sanders—!”
“No, she can’t!” Cain interrupted, his voice just as loud as Icarus’s had been.
That was when Icarus finally smiled.
“Of course, you—”
“My master’s spouse?! Marriage?! That’s ridiculous! I’m almost in my forties, but I didn’t get to have or do any of those! So how can a kid who hasn’t even become twenty do that?! I can’t let that happen. it’d be really unfair if I let that happen. Yes, of course!” Cain nodded fervently, acting like a typical greedy child that wouldn’t let anyone have something that he couldn’t have.
“
I shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place.” Icarus heaved a long sigh and gave up.
-
Ha, you all are having fun, huh? But you’re not realizing that you’re driving someone else mad
 He should have seen you all.
The sudden voice echoing in the air, drew Icarus to look at the long spear, covered in a thick cloth wrapping, held safely in the arms of the robed doppelganger.
“Wh-what do you mean?” Icarus asked.
-Hey, you idiot. The one who looks like he wouldn’t be popular with the ladies.
“
Are you talking about me?” Cain pointed at himself.
-Is there another idiot here?
Cain gaped dumbfoundedly for a moment.
“
Ha! I’m being scorned by a spear now.” Cain shook his head in disbelief.
-Are you relieved now that you’ve found out he’s alive?
“You know, this area is known for their rib-eye steak,[1]” Cain jokingly replied.
-Are you not curious about why he suddenly disappeared?
Although Cain had been answering Lugia’s question with jokes, he froze up after he heard the last question.
“
Are you going to tell me?” Cain asked with a serious face.
The spear hummed.
-There is no reason to not tell you.
What was Lugia thinking? The demon spear started a shocking story, unveiling a shocking truth.
-He was in the Demon Realm.
Cain and the others’ eyes bulged upon hearing Lugia’s unexpected revelation.
“What?”
“What did you say?”
“The D-Demon Realm?”
Lugia stopped for a moment as if it was enjoying their reactions.
-Did you say only three years have passed in the Human Realm? 
But he traveled for much longer than that. The Human and Demon Realms are two different worlds, so time flows differently in each world.
“What are you talking—? Cain asked.
-Over such a long time

Lugia interrupted, continuing its unbelievable story.
-...He fought a million battles.
“—Hup!” Someone’s breath caught, unable to hold back their shock. One could only fight 365 times in a year even if they fought once every day, so if someone fought a million times

“
What the hell!?” Cain cursed once he finally managed to pull himself together.
* * *
A chasm cracked open, and at least ten masked men jumped out from it.
“
Cough!”
They were part of the assassins that Draxia had hired for the attack. Although he had left them just in case, the result of Draxia’s decision was abysmal.
“Joshua Sanders
” Draxia mumbled.
“I’ll give you a chance,” Joshua offered.
“
What?”
“A chance to resist.”
Draxia’s eyes widened for a moment, but his surprise was quickly replaced with a smile.
“Are you sure it’s okay to make such an offer without your spear? I’m different from them.”
“Don’t worry.” Joshua shrugged. “You’re not really much different from them from my perspective.”
“
You’re arrogant,” Draxia growled, but his back was already soaked in sweat.
Joshua had been injured? Nonsense. Draxia had felt the same way he was feeling now when he had met Grand Duke Lucifer, the hero of his country.
Draxia sprang forward with a crooked smile.
1. The raw is ì•ˆì‹Źì€ ìŠ€í…ŒìŽíŹì§€. ì•ˆì‹Ź means both relieved and tenderloin in Korean. This is Korean wordplay. It has been tweaked a little. ☜