VOLUME 7: CHAPTER 7

Sorry for the delay. It’s been hard to write lately. This chapter also ended up longer than usual.

VOLUME 7: CHAPTER 7

Like wildfire, the news regarding the revelation of the Seven Gods quickly spread throughout the entire Kingdom. Rumors and speculations regarding the so-called sealed demon and ‘The One Who Travelled Through Time’ spread among the masses. Even during the day, people were frequently heard discussing these things inside taverns.

King Alvis immediately issued an order for all of the nobles and officials of the Kingdom to gather at the Capital to discuss the revelation to them by the Seven Gods.

From Barons to Dukes, from administrative officials to Lords – even the nobles and officials who did not belong to any factions were summoned by the crown. All of them were decreed to immediately come to the Capital.

“Duke, we’ve arrived,” said the coachman.

Duke Drakus pulled open the window of the carriage and looked outside. A beautiful garden maze filled with flowers. A large stone fountain. Over a hundred royal guards were patrolling the area.

They’d just arrived at the gates of the royal palace.

Looking at the palace, the Duke was once again reminded of the awarding ceremony last year, after their victory against the Empire. Even now, he couldn’t believe that that devil incarnate managed to amass all those achievements. Even now, he couldn’t understand how that exiled son of his managed to lead his troops to victory.

For the past several months, Duke Drakus had been asking himself if his decision to exile that intemperate, vindictive demon was correct.

“Lui,” the Duke said to the young man sitting next to him. “What do you think of your brother?”

Lui, who’d been mostly silent all throughout their journey to the Capital, was surprised by the words uttered by his father. This was the first time in several years since the Duke used the word ‘brother.’

A smile slowly formed on Lui’s face. “He’s changed a lot. My little brother has grown up.”

“I see.”

Duke Drakus knew that that brat had indeed changed a lot, although he didn’t know what caused the massive change to such an incompetent individual.

Was it the so-called ‘master’ he’d heard about?

No, even if he had the late Algrove Aria as his teacher, it was impossible for someone so incompetent to become that proficient with magic and the sword. Moreover, based on his intel, it seemed that that son born from a concubine was also knowledgeable of curses – going as far as contributing to the lifting of the curse of the royal family.

How did he learn all of these things? Who taught him? And how did he manage to gather all of these knowledge and incorporate it into battle?

There were a lot of questions, and even with his information network, the Duke couldn’t arrive at an answer.

The two of them disembarked from the carriage. Two royal guards immediately approached them and escorted them inside the royal palace. Upon entering the throne room, the noisy chatters of the nobles present inside dwindled. They all looked at the opened door, particularly at the two renowned figures of the Kingdom that had just entered the room.

Looking around, Duke Drakus realized that the King wasn’t here yet. But Duke Youchester – the youngest Duke who hardly attended gatherings – was present.

Lancaster Kelvin openly glared at Lui Marcu, while Kalavinka Kelvin – the so-called genius of the navy – was looking at the floor, avoiding the gaze of other people. It was as though he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

‘Even Kalavinka was invited by His Majesty, huh?’ thought the Duke. He found it quite peculiar.

A brown-skinned middle-aged man greeted the Duke. “It’s been a while, Duke Drakus.”

“Indeed, Lord Chase.” Duke Drakus, with an air befitting his rank, nodded his head. “I heard that Golden Wheat City had an abundant harvest recently.”

Lord Chase broadly smiled.

“Now that there’s no longer any fear of the Black Famine, we’ve proactively started expanding the lands for cultivation,” said Lord Chase. “As long as the Goddess of Harvest permits it, I expect our yield to grow more and more as years pass by.”

Now that he’d thought of it, Duke Drakus remembered that that son of his was the one who’d come up with the method of dealing with those pesky swarms.

The number of achievements he’d amassed last year could no longer be counted in one hand.

“I heard that even the Empire started employing the same method our Kingdom used to cull those insects. As expected of the Emperor. His information network reaches deep even within our Kingdom,” said Lord Chase.

“The Emperor planted several spies among our ranks. You’ve heard of what happened to Lancaster Kelvin, right?”

Lord Chase and Duke Drakus glanced at Lancaster Kelvin, who’s currently boasting about his recently-fortified Rock Castle to the members of the Kelvin Faction.

“I remember the tragedy that befell him at that time. The spy planted by General Rizel,” nodded Lord Chase. “To think that his most-trusted right-hand man was a mole from the Empire.”

“We’ve been weeding out all possible spies in our Duchy after we heard what happened to Lancaster. Just a word of advice, I suggest that you do the same, Lord Chase.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Lord Chase noticed the nobles belonging to the Marcus Faction approaching them from a distance. He politely smiled and lightly bowed his head. “Then, I’ll have to excuse myself, Duke Drakus.”

Unlike Duke Drakus, who valued talent over lineage, most of the members of his faction held disdain over those of common origins. It was understandable that Lord Chase, a commoner who rose to the rank of a Lord of a major city, did not wish to associate with them.

After Lord Chase left, Duke Drakus soon found himself surrounded by the nobles under his faction. A bunch of yes men who incessantly flapped their mouths in their attempts to cajole him.

After Duke Kelvin was imprisoned in the dungeons, the balance in power among the factions immediately tilted to the other side. Nobles started leaving the Kelvin Faction one by one.

Right now, the strongest faction in this Kingdom was undoubtedly the Royal Faction, followed by the Marcus Faction. Although the nobles under Duke Youchester were incredibly loyal, they numbered less than a dozen and held very little military might. Furthermore, Duke Youchester apparently held no desire for the throne; he even declared that he would unconditionally support whoever ascended the throne.

There was no doubt that his son, Lui Marcus, currently held the highest chance of winning the competition for the throne.

“The embodiment of God Nruz. The heart of the

Sun. His Majesty, King Alvis Lukas VI has arrived. Everyone, show your respect.”

The voice of the Grand Chamberlain echoed in the throne room. The door opened and King Alvis, who looked comparatively younger and healthier than before, started walking toward the throne. Following behind him was Lady Ropianna, Marquis Carlos, and Viscount Lakian.

Silence fell as the nobles and officials present in the throne room lowered their heads.

King Alvis sat on the throne and said in a voice filled with vigor, “You may raise your heads.”

The nobles looked at the King sitting on the throne. Although they’d heard the rumors, they were still surprised upon seeing the King in person. Indeed, the King looked so vibrant. The small purplish-black spots that used to cover portions of his skin had vanished, and there was an indescribable strength seeping through his eyes. It was hard to believe that this was the same old man who fainted in the celebratory banquet a year ago.

Standing to the King’s right was the retired general, Marquis Carlos. And to his left was the Seer, Lady Ropianna. A step below him stood the Grand Chamberlain.

“First, I must thank everyone for coming here at a short notice.” The King’s gaze swept through everyone present. “All of you probably heard of it by now. The revelation we’ve received more than a week ago from the Seven Gods.”

It was the hottest topic in the Kingdom right now. This was the reason why even Duke Drakus hurriedly came here despite the short notice from the crown.

“According to the revelation, the demon sealed in the ice prison had woken up from its slumber. After combing the archives and the ancient records in the royal library, we’ve come to the conclusion that the Gods were pertaining to the Demon Lord Barkuvara. One of the strongest demons to have ever roamed this land. And the only demon that had attained the status of an Immortal.”

“More than a thousand years ago, this very same demon was said to be the cause of the collapse of the largest and strongest human Empire in history. A demon that killed more than half the population of mankind.”

The nobles and officials were stricken with horror upon hearing this. They’d never imagined that the demon mentioned in the revelation would be such a terrifying existence.

“K-Killed more than half the population of humans?” mumbled one of the nobles.

“And of the tens of millions of humans killed that time, at least a tenth of them were magicians,” added King Alvis.

Marquis Carlos’ expression turned grim. Even Lady Ropianna showed subtle signs of uneasiness on her face.

“It’s understandable that most of you aren’t aware of this, since this was an event that happened over a millennium ago, and most of the records from that time had been destroyed by the demons.”

King Alvis paused, looked at everyone in the room, and said, “I hope that this would be enough for everyone to understand the gravity of the situation. An Empire with hundreds of thousands of magicians under its command fell under the hands of this demon. Imagine – What would happen if it decided to lay its hands on our Kingdom?”

The entire Kingdom would be annihilated.

This was the only answer they could come up with.

Even Wizzert City would be powerless before such a powerful existence.

“But Your Majesty!” said one of the officials. “I’m certain that it had been hundreds of years since a demon was last seen on this continent – if the records are true at all! How certain are we that this so-called Immortal Demon will show up on our doorst—”

“—the Gods never lie,” interjected the King.

The high-ranking priests present in the throne room glared at the official who questioned the revelation. Seeing those glares, the official lowered his head and said, “O-Of course. Apologies, Your Majesty.”

“The Gods have no reason to lie to us, mortals. Did everyone forget the latter part of the revelation? Seek the help of the one who’d travelled through time. It’s the only way our nation – the human race – could survive,” said the King. “Ropianna.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Lady Ropianna stepped forward and amplified her raspy voice using magic, enabling even those at the back to hear it. “Three days ago, I’ve received divination from the Water God. She left for us two important messages.”

Lady Ropianna’s gaze moved toward the timid-looking boy standing next to Lancaster Kelvin.

“First, we should spare no effort in fortifying the ports of the Kingdom. And second, we should immediately seek contact with the one who’d travelled through time. These were the words imparted to me by the Water God.”

Fortify the ports of the Kingdom?

The quick-witted ones immediately realized what it meant.

“I believe that the demons will come from the west, from the direction of the Mullgray Islands,” said the Seer. “This is the reason why we should fortify the ports and naval bases at once.”

Hearing these, the gaze of nobles and officials moved toward Kalavinka Kelvin. The undefeated Admiral of the Kingdom’s naval forces. Upon realizing that he’d become the center of attention, Kalavinka lowered his head and covered his eyes with his hair.

“Kalavinka,” King Alvis gently said.

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty?”

“We’ll provide you with as many men and resources as possible. I know this is probably too much for someone so young to bear on his own, but you’re the most knowledgeable regarding naval warfare among everyone in this room. Rest assured, we shall assist you as much as we could.”

The King was basically declaring right now that the nobles should fully support this kid from now on, no matter what. Hearing this, a smile slowly formed on the faces of those who belonged to the Kelvin Faction. They didn’t expect that the Royal Family would be granting this much power to Kalavinka Kelvin.

“Can you do it?” said the King.

There were several seconds of silence.

Kalavinka was about to shake his head when Lancaster whispered, “Don’t you dare refuse this opportunity. Father will be sure to hear of this.”

Kalavinka swallowed the lump in his throat. He looked at the nobles around him. All of them were looking at him with eyes filled with expectations.

Eventually, Kalavinka conceded. “Y-Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you.” The King said to the Grand Chamberlain, “Lakian, assign several royal guards to protect Kalavinka. Issue a recruitment notice for the ports under the Kelvin Duchy. We shall immediately proceed with the fortification of the naval bases.”

“I shall do so immediately, Your Majesty.”

“Everyone present here shall contribute to the fortification of the naval bases,” declared the King, his voice loud and clear. “It doesn’t matter if you belong to an opposing faction. There shall be no exemptions.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

King Alvis heaved a sigh of relief. He’d managed to take care of the most urgent matter for now.

“My King, the Seer said that we should immediately make contact with the one who’d travelled through time. But how are we supposed to… achieve that? We don’t even know if what we’re looking for is a human,” said one of the ministers.

“We’ve already sent Farsight and several soldiers to investigate the anomaly seen above the Lake of Full Moon. We believe it should give us a proper lead to the investigation,” said the King. “And think about it. If this person mentioned in the revelation is powerful enough to prevent the destruction of our Kingdom, he should probably be already aware that we’re looking for him right now. Let us hope that eventually, this person would initiate contact with us.”

***

After the meeting in the throne room, King Alvis summoned Duke Drakus and Lui Marcus into his sitting room.

Duke Drakus had been expecting Duke Youchester to be also present, but to his surprise, it seemed that only him and his son had been invited.

“Welcome,” said King Alvis. He was no longer wearing his mantle and the crown no longer adorned his head. He was wearing nothing but a simple tunic with minimal golden embroideries. “Have a seat. I’ve prepared tea.”

King Alvis poured tea into the cups and handed it to his guests. “It’s chamomile. I hope it suits your tastes.”

Duke Drakus and Lui respectfully accepted the tea handed to them by His Majesty. After the King was finally seated, the two of them sat down.

“How’s it?” said King Alvis.

“It’s delicious, Your Majesty,” said Lui.

“Indeed,” said the Duke.

King Alvis smiled gently. “This tea is great in soothing the body. The perfect tea for the evening, don’t you agree?”

The King gently placed his cup on the table. “The two of you are probably wondering why I summoned you here. Duke Drakus, have you heard anything recently from Lark Marcus?”

The Duke stiffened. He’d never expected to hear that name here, of all places.

He immediately regained his composure and said, “I’ve never spoken with him since he’s been exiled to that town, Your Majesty.”

“I see. How about you, Lui?”

Lui noticed that his father was observing him carefully using the corner of his eyes. Still, he truthfully replied, “We’ve spoken with each other after the Coalition Army disbanded, Your Majesty. Back then, I’ve promised to visit him once I’ve finished all of my tasks in the Duchy.”

“Coalition Army,” the King stroked his beard. “That was last year.”

Seeing the King in deep thought, the Duke said, frowning, “Did that brat do something shameful and repulsive again, Your Majesty?”

King Alvis shook his head. “No, no. I’m just wondering… as his father,” he turned his gaze to Lui Marcus, “and as his brother. Did you notice any… peculiar changes on him recently?”

Although Duke Drakus and Lui tried to hide it, the King noticed the subtle changes in their expressions. It was apparent that they noticed the drastic changes that Lark Marcus had undergone for the past several months.

“What do you mean, Your Majesty?” said the Duke.

King Alvis looked straight at the eyes of the Duke. “More than a week ago, your son, Lark Marcus, single-handedly annihilated a thirty-thousand strong monster horde.”

The eyes of Duke Drakus and Lui widened. They’d heard of the news that Lion City was almost overrun by monsters over a week ago. But they’d never expected that the unknown magician who killed all of the monsters was Lark Marcus.

“Daltos, the commander of the soldiers of Lion City, testified that the one who killed all of those monsters was the Lord of Blackstone Town. Drakus, I hope you wouldn’t mind the question of this old man. The Lark Marcus that you knew. That son you exiled to that small town. Is he capable of annihilating all of those monsters on his own, in such a short period of time?”

Duke Drakus opened his mouth but failed to utter a response. He finally realized the reason why the King summoned him and Lui to this room.

“Lark Marcus. That young man was knowledgeable enough to sever even the curse that had been running through the Royal Family for ages.”

“Drakus,” said the King. “Ropianna and I believe that your son is the one mentioned in the revelation of the Seven Gods.”