‎The rumblings of thunder and the dark clouds followed by the heavy rain in the distance made all the knights anxious. The reason for their anxiety was because no matter where they looked, the dark clouds slowly moved toward the capital city. They didn’t know when the demons would come, but one thing they knew was the fact that they weren’t ready.

‎Julius walked down the dark spiral stairs with only a torch in his left hand. He didn’t have anyone following him because he didn’t want anyone to know where he was going.

‎When he walked down the last step, he looked at the dim light of the torches attached to the cave walls. There was no sound but his footsteps echoed throughout the massive cave tunnel. He didn’t find it eerie when he stared at the statues of the Zevrathi family that were carved on the cave walls.

‎Julius remembered when he was brought to this place by his late father, revealing the truth behind the cost of attaining peace. His whole life, he only visited this place less than five times because he didn’t want to have anything to do with them and didn’t believe in their divinity. He wasn’t a religious type because he didn’t believe in divine will, mercy, and intervention when it was the humans who used it for their own gain.

‎Julius walked into the dark hall with no light but the torch he held. There was a figure wearing a black robe and hood, staring at the statue of Michael in complete darkness and silence.

‎”Everyone is already left, and I thought you had left with them already,” Julius’ voice echoed throughout the hall. “What do you want?” He asked calmly.

‎The figure slowly turned around to look at Julius as they pulled down the hood to reveal their face. Julius already knew who it was because the only one who dared to summon the emperor like that was Luke of the Heissman family, the family of Kingmaker.

‎”All the ringleaders from the low table are missing without a trace. Until this day, there’s no sign of them, and I believe they’re all dead,” Luke said as he walked toward Julius. “This place has been breached, Your Majesty. The reason I choose to stay here is because those who have left, they’re might be in danger,” he revealed.

‎Julius hummed as he stared at the young man in front of him. He had tried to gather any kind of information about Luke, but he barely even scrapped the surface. He knew that Luke held information related to the Zevrathi family and their whereabouts, but he couldn’t find anything.

‎”Rasmus Blackheart knew about this place and he seemed to know a lot about what’s happening down here,” Julius revealed as he lit the torch on the wall. “The ringleaders, your associates might have been killed by him and gathered the information from them,” he said and continued to light the other torch.

‎When the hall was no longer dark, Julius saw a figure hiding in the shadows. He didn’t notice that person until now, and he never thought there was someone else in the hall with them. The figure was oddly suspicious, especially when they wore a robe and a hood that covered their identities.

‎”He’s with me, the Lord himself sent this man to protect me,” Luke assured Julius as he signaled the figure to leave them alone by tilting his head toward the door.

‎The figure moved without making a noise and the way he walked seamlessly as if he was floating above the ground. Julius narrowed his eyes and never left the man until the man left the hall.

‎”That thing…” Julius muttered as he turned to look at Luke, wondering what kind of a being that man was.

‎”Thing? He’s not a demon, Your Majesty. Well, he used to be but God pardoned him and took him back to serve under the Lord’s command,” Luke said with that nonchalant and calm expression. “Well, Your Majesty don’t care about that, right? So there’s no need for me to go into details about that,” Luke walked toward the bench and sat down as he pointed at the bench across from him.

‎Julius sat down and made himself comfortable on the bench. He didn’t have a reason to stay for long, but he had a hunch that Luke had something to offer. He had been dealing with countless people with different personalities.

‎”Your Majesty mentioned Count Blackheart and his knowledge about us. Your Majesty is telling me that the disappearance of the ringleaders is Count Blackheart’s doing?” Luke crossed his legs and looked to his left at Julius.

‎”I have seen it with my own two eyes. There was a being behind him that could make humans lose their sanity. Whatever that being was, that thing used some kind of black smoke that everyone inhaled and their minds were being controlled and manipulated,” Julius answered as he stared at the statue of Archangel Michael behind the altar.

‎”Ahh, that being is a Dark Spirit,” Luke leaned back as he nodded. “To think that a Dark Spirit at this time and age still exists, that being is a powerful one,” he pointed out.

‎”Dark Spirit? You mean Evil Spirit?” Julius looked at Luke with a flat expression.

‎”No, they’re completely different beings. The Dark Spirit is the strongest form of Spirit, it comes not from a living being like humans, but dragons,” Luke explained as he crossed his arms. “Your Majesty might be right. The ringleaders might be dead and Count Blackheart because of Count Blackheart. Although, that wasn’t my concern, Your Majesty,” he added.

‎Julius furrowed, thinking that Luke might take this matter seriously since earlier Luke had said that the cult was breached.

‎”It wasn’t your concern? Then what is?” Julius asked.

‎”A powerful demon has infiltrated us, and I don’t know since when. But luckily, they won’t get anything from us. To be exact, the one that knows everything is me,” Luke answered with a smile on his face.

‎Julius narrowed his eyes slightly, finding Luke’s background filled with mysteries. He knew there was a reason why Luke told him that, and he knew Luke wanted something in return for that kind of information.

‎”You should consider leaving this place. We’re not confident that we will win this battle. The reason the demons invade my empire is because the thing that exists below the capital city, this place,” Julius pointed out with a calm expression.

‎”I know, and I know that this day will come. We have been warned that one day demons would come to invade this world. Since the Sun Empire has been so nice to us, letting us do our things down here and giving us protection, of course, we will lend you a hand,” Luke said as he stood up and approached Julius.

“Lending me a hand? With what?” Julius looked up at Luke with a cold gaze.

“What else? Our Lord has decided to help you, repaying for everything,” Luke gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Who’s your lord exactly? That being?” Julius turned his head to look at the statue of an angel holding a scale and a sword. “Or the Zevrathi family?” He asked.

“Does it matter? Either way, our Lord has decided to send his greatest people to assist you in this battle,” Luke answered as he walked toward the altar as he stared at the magnificent statue behind it. “I can assure you that they’re capable and you won’t be disappointed,” he glanced at Julius from over his shoulder.

Julius stood up and stared at Luke for a moment before he finally opened his mouth.

“The demons are coming, and they might be here at any moment. I’m not sure that your reinforcement will be able to assist us in time,” Julius responded.

“Oh? You didn’t know? Well I suppose you wouldn’t know,” Luke walked down from the altar toward Julius. “They’re already here, among Your Majesty’s soldiers. They have been here, they have always been,” he smiled coldly.

Julius’ eyes flinched when he found out that the cultists had placed their people in his army, which was something that he shouldn’t be amazed of. Suddenly, he felt like the ceiling was collapsing and immediately flinched and bent his knees. However, when he looked up, nothing happened, and he wasn’t the only one who reacted like that, Luke was also bending his knees and looking up at the ceiling. They looked at each other and they concluded that something had happened on the surface.

“They’re here,” Luke said as he kept staring at the ceiling.

Julius didn’t even think and immediately ran out of the hall. Luke was following him from behind with that mysterious man behind him. The three of them walked up the stairs hurriedly, and when they reached the top of the palace, they heard the sound of bells from all directions, warning the soldiers to get ready for war. They could see everything beyond the walls, and they saw thousands of demon army with five demons that were flying in the sky with their demonic wings spread open.

All the soldiers on top of the walls were trembling in fear from seeing the demons. The dark clouds had covered the whole sky as the cold and strong wind brushed against their faces. Every flash of lightning and the ear-tearing rumble of thunder made everyone flinch.

Arandil and Castor looked at the tallest figure, wearing a black ragged robe and hood, standing in the middle of the demon army. They knew it was the leader, and the battle would be an all-out battle that decided the fate of humankind.

“Prepare the weapons!” Arandil shouted, his voice reaching Kiel’s ears.

All the mages immediately activated the Mana stones on each magic tool and weapon. The soldiers began to operate on magic weapons that looked like cannons and pointed them at the demon army.

“Fire!” Arandil shouted as he raised his hand.

The mages imbued Mana into the magic tools and weapons, automatically creating seven magic circles on each magic weapons and releasing Mana spheres toward the demon army. The moment the spheres reached the demons, they exploded by the impact to the point that the dark clouds above the explosion got pushed away and the sunlight highlighted the demon force.

When the smoke finally dissipated, they saw thousands of demons scattered on the ground, leaving only chunks and parts of their bodies. The soldiers couldn’t help but smile, finding hope that they might be able to win the battle. However, their smiles disappeared when Kiel raised his left hand and the demons that got blown up by the Mana spheres slowly came back to life and regenerated their missing limbs.

“It seems that we know the only way to win this battle,” Castor said as he stared at Kiel with his eyes narrowed.

“Yes, to kill them, we need to kill their leader,” Arandil nodded. “However, it would be foolish of us to charge at him without a proper plan. We need to find the opportunity to kill their leader, and by doing so, we might have to sacrifice a lot of lives,” he unsheathed his old greatsword that had been his companion for decades.

“Anything for the survival of humankind,” Castor nodded in agreement.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep