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Chapter 377

The angel’s spear had only two heads, so he was certain. On top of that, the longer he watched, the clearer he could remember the angel’s spear techniques.

Among all the martial arts and weapon techniques in the Angel Realm, the Magic Spear Arts were the strongest. It was known that someone could even kill a god once they mastered all eight techniques, so all the protectors in the Angel Realm were afraid of the technique. The angel had demon blood, so the protectors believed that the angel would point his spear at them one day.

In the end, there was only one reason why the angel was betrayed by both angels and demons: the angel was too strong— strong enough to make god feel threatened, just like humans worried about losing their power.

* * *

Joshua quietly looked around the secret chamber where Lugia had been hidden. He could instinctively tell that there was someone else in this place aside from his unconscious mother. Of course, it didn’t matter who the person was—Joshua had surpassed level 8 and created level 9 of the Magic Spear Art.

“…She’s okay.” Joshua sighed after checking that Lucia was breathing regularly, although she was still unconscious.

His other poor decision almost made him regret it. Since the Wild King, the death knight, had become a Master long ago, Joshua had thought he would be enough to protect his mother.

He heard a loud yet heavy footstep from outside the underground ruins. His eyes turned to the black hole.

“…This energy is…?” His eyes widened.

It was familiar, but it belonged to someone that Joshua had briefly lost his connection to. However, that person releasing their energy again had allowed Joshua to find this place.

“…Wild King?”

The ground shook once again, and a knight wearing black armor appeared, his eyes gleaming gloomily.

“The seal was broken because of the Demon Spirit’s demonic power.”

As soon as Joshua saw who the person was, he could tell that what he was saying was true. The only method to break the contract’s seal was for a stronger demon to use their demonic power. It was also the one and only way to enslave an undead by force, but Joshua’s demonic power was just as strong as the Demon Spirit.

“Are you going to stop me?” Joshua challenged, releasing his energy threateningly.

The Wild King didn’t say anything. It was unclear whether he couldn’t tell a friend from a foe, had become the Demon Spirit’s subordinate completely, or was feeling angry and disappointed with his previous master.

The Wild King finally came to a halt when he was ten meters away from Joshua. His mother was positioned precariously between the two, putting her in danger if it came to blows.

On top of that, the Wild King had even picked up the red spear from the ground. With a Master quickly closing the distance and freshly armed, Joshua quietly began to circulate his mana in his legs.

At that moment… the Wild King finally broke his silence.

-As you can see, the seal that makes you my master is broken. At this rate, I won’t be able to stay in this world anymore.

“You…?”

-You promised that you’d make my dreams come true.

The Wild King’s question came from deep in his mind, a knight’s upright resolve and a man’s yearning.

-And you did make most of them come true. You gave me my revenge and reclaimed my country.

The Wild King was talking about the fight between Joshua and Grand Duke Lucifer.

-But isn’t there a dream you haven’t made come true?

“Ulabis, the Knight of Red Flame…” Joshua muttered.

Before he had died, Duke “Wild King” Altsma was the renowned Master of the Swallow Empire. He had one last wish in this world; thus, Joshua had promised that he was going to let Duke Altsma meet and fight against Ulabis again, but Joshua couldn’t keep his promise because Ulabis had gone missing after the Continental War had broken out.

-It’s said that a defeated general shouldn’t talk… but I want to cross swords with him.

Who would call the knight before Joshua a defeated general? Who could say that the man in front of Joshua was throwing a tantrum like a child?

-That is why I didn’t accept the Demon Spirit’s offer.

The Wild King could have been annihilated at any moment, but he stayed faithful to Joshua until the end. Still, it would have been very painful for the Wild King because he had basically been fighting his instincts; demonic power was the same as instinct for the undead.

The Wild King kneeled and politely offered up the red spear.

-From the start, I decided to serve only one master.

“Wild King…”

It was now Joshua’s turn to repay the Wild King’s trust.

* * *

No one currently lived in the Agnus mansion in Arcadia, the capital of the Avalon Empire. However, Heimdall was standing in the basement of the mansion, wearing his odd black and white mask even though he was indoors. When he took a look around, a little over forty apostles looked back at him. Of course, Heimdall’s apostles couldn’t be underestimated just because there were few of them since every single one of them could be called a Master.

“Everyone, get ready,” Heimdall said.

“Yes, Heimdall.”

“You’d better not make any mistakes.” Heimdall warned, his voice still monotonous. “We’re going to move up the schedule. The new emperor will be decided three days from today, so we will finish everything before then.”

“We’ll get it done, Heimdall.”

“We’ll start our grand plan at midnight. As soon as you enter the palace, secure her first.” Heimdall’s eyes turned cold behind the mask. “If anyone stands in your way… you can kill them all.”

“Heimdall, may I ask a question?”

“What is it, Marco?”

“Does anyone… include other princes?”

The apostles flinched. Marco was cutting right to the heart of the subject.

The only reason why Heimdall had been sparing the princes until now was to distract the other countries and decrease the Avalon Empire’s power. In other words, Marco was asking, “Is this country… ours now?”

Unable to hold back their excitement, some apostles released their energies. They had been waiting for dozens of years; since they had been taken under Heimdall’s wings so long ago that they couldn’t remember when, they had devoted themselves to improving their sword skills. They even forgot about their families to do so.

Heimdall actually had influence around the entire continent. Heimdall had kidnapped anyone with talent, from orphans to children from prestigious noble families. It could have resulted in international disputes, but he did it without hesitation.

The reason why Heimdal could do so was that he had Oblivion Flowers, which erased people’s memory. Marco and Jabel were the only ones who knew about this because their memories were still intact.

Marco and Jabel aside, the other apostles were full of swirling emotions right now. They were killing machines who had been trained for only one purpose, and they were finally about to taste the fruits of their suffering. Thus no one in this place was going to participate in the plan halfheartedly.

“…Spare the princes for now,” Heimdall instructed.

The apostles looked faintly disappointed.

“I promised him that we’ll put an end to everything in the great plaza of Arcadia, where the new emperor will be decided. You wouldn’t want your leader to become a liar.”

“…I understand.” Marco nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.

“Don’t worry,” Heimdall said. “Nothing will change.”

* * *

“…I promise,” Joshua quietly muttered.

A majestic thrum filled the air. Joshua drew up his black demonic power in his hand and held it out toward the kneeling Wild King’s chest without hesitation.

Black electric sparks flew up from the Wild King, engraving a new seal of contract in him. The Wild King shook for a moment as he felt the power pour inside him.

-I will believe in you, my one and only master.

“Thank you for protecting my mother at the risk of losing your life. I hope I can continue to count on you.”

-That is also my promise to you, master. I will protect her until the end even if it does result in my annihilation.

The Wild King was still holding up the red spear. Joshua looked at him and clenched his fists without realizing. It was clear what Joshua should do and where he was supposed to head next. In order to do so… Joshua held out his hand toward the spear.

“It has been a long time,” Joshua said.

The red spear howled as if it was responding to Joshua. Although Joshua and the spear had been apart for a long time, the spear hadn’t forgotten about its master—they had spent an eternity together, after all.

“Do you remember me?” Joshua asked.

The spear hummed loudly. The Demon Spirit called the spear Lugia, but because Joshua had recovered his memory completely, he now knew that it wasn’t the spear’s real name.

“I won’t leave you alone anymore.”

The spear buzzed.

“Nor will I hand you over to somebody else.”

It thrummed in response.

“Can you lend me your power once again?”

The spear lit up with radiant light.

Joshua took a step forward. For the first time in eons, Joshua gazed upon the spear and uttered its true name.

“…Longin.”