A full moon hung up high in the night sky, but a cloud passed across the moon, hiding the brilliant moonlight.
“Now!”
The moment the entire palace was blanketed in thick darkness, three men began to move. The security of the outskirts of the palace was very high; it was filled with all sorts of magic traps and countless guards, and there was only one gate.
“Wh-who—!”
The two of the Imperial Knights that were guarding the main gate were knocked unconscious with two audible smacks, their eyes filled with disbelief.
“Great work. You’re good.”
“Of course, we’re some of the best knights within our battalion.”
“You’re really confident too.”
“By the way, are you really going to be okay?”
“Why not?”
Four Imperial Knights usually guarded the main gate during nighttime, and two of them were from the Auxiliary Battalion. On top of that, the Auxiliary Battalion was usually in charge of guarding the outskirts of the palace, so the outcome of their infiltration was pretty obvious.
“It’s a good thing I contacted you in advance. People make fun of us for being in the Auxiliary Battalion, but our titles come in handy in times like this. Those high and mighty knights from the superior battalions always turn down the task of guarding the outskirts because they’re too large or working as gate guards since it’s tiring,” Ranger sneered.
“Don’t let your guard down. We’re just getting started,” Cazes whispered in a worried voice.
“Yeah, yeah,” Ranger flippantly answered. He gestured at the person standing behind them. “Let’s go in, Lady Charles.”
Charles emerged from the darkness. “...There is really nothing better than having inside help.”
Even during the night, her beauty was eye-catching. The two knights guarding the gate gaped dumbly at her.
“I can never get used to how beautiful Lady Charles is.”
“I envy His Highness. Fuck...”
“Haven’t you heard?” Ranger asked with a mischievous voice.
“Pardon?”
“Lady Charles will personally treat the person who makes the biggest contribution in this operation to a meal.”
The gate guards’ expressions changed completely.
“I-is that true?”
“Sir Ranger...!” Charles gave Ranger a death glare.
Ranger quickly sidled up to her and whispered, “It’s to increase morale. The knights’ morale.”
“But you can’t lie...”
“Come on. To be honest, you can treat my boys to one meal after everything is over, right?”
Charles sighed.
“Anyhow...” she mumbled anxiously, “isn’t something strange?”
“...Pardon?” Ranger tilted his head in confusion. “By strange, you mean...?”
Marco bit his lip. “No... sir,” he said after a long moment of inner conflict. “I’ll proceed with your order.”
“Do you think I’ll let you go?” Joshua interrupted. Marco immediately froze.
Heimdall stepped forward. “You and I still have things to talk about,” he said to Joshua.
“No one will be able to escape from this place,” Joshua declared.
“...Jabel, assist me.”
Heimdall stood in Joshua’s way, his snow-white clothes swishing. Jabel, Heimdall’s second apostle, was the only one who hadn’t been caught up in Joshua’s storm of aura—the rest were piled around him.
“Do you want to meet the same end as them?” Joshua asked Jabel.
“You monster...!” Jabel mumbled, gritting his teeth as he put a humming layer of the highest-class aura over his sword.
However, Joshua’s response was very simple.
Jabel’s eyes widened. Joshua’s mana overwhelmed the area and then corroded through the aura Jabel had projected around himself little by little yet quickly. The difference in their levels was clear. The moment Jabel came into contact with Joshua’s mana, his aura, an ability which only a Master could use, dematerialized and dissipated.
Jabel looked blankly at his sword. “Ho-ho-how in the world...?”
He had seen his fair share of things in life, but he had never witnessed someone’s aura being wiped out of existence without even coming into contact with it.
That was when Heimdall stopped observing the situation and intervened. Something tall rushed toward Joshua bearing an enormous amount of mana, shaking him faintly.
For a moment, Joshua pondered if he should stop the runner or block the weapon that was flying toward him.
-You’re cocky. I’m right in front of you—can you afford to think?
Heimdall delivered his message through telepathy a fraction of a second after he’d already acted, so Joshua reacted by instinct first.
Metals clashed violently against metal. Marco had already disappeared from the council chamber by then; however, it didn’t matter to Joshua anymore because Heimdall was swinging his black greatsword against Joshua from every direction.
Joshua gripped his spear as tightly as he could. Maybe Heimdall was buying time because he was giving his best from the start. Since Heimdall was the greatest Absolute in this generation, Joshua forgot about everything else and concentrated solely on his opponent.
The layer of Heimdall’s mana over his greatsword left a scratch on Joshua’s cheek—but of course, Joshua wasn’t one to take a hit without replying. Joshua immediately swung his red spear and slashed Heimdall’s face. It met resistance and cut through with an audible swish.
Heimdall’s black and white mask was neatly cut in half and the pieces clattered onto the floor, revealing Heimdall’s face. Joshua was able to see a middle-aged man with whom he was more familiar with than anyone else. His deep blue, almost black, hair fluttered in the air—the man was Aden von Agnus, the Dark God that was thought to have died three years ago, and Joshua’s biological father.
“I knew it...” Joshua ground his teeth together. There was no twist—the cause and mastermind of everything was exactly who he expected.
“I know you have a lot of questions for me... but you know my ways, don’t you?” Aden asked.
Joshua couldn’t restrain his murderous intent any longer.
“Now you feel like fighting for real.” Aden smiled faintly.
“...Don’t regret it.”
“Regret?” Aden immediately chuckled, his eyes fixed on the spot where Emperor Marcus had been. “I’ve never known that kind of emotion in my entire life.”
Aden released an enormous amount of mana through his black greatsword, shaking the ground beneath his power.
“Come, my son. I’ll welcome you with all my heart.”