CH 519

The man who had killed the tyrant emperor had not been gloating about his achievement, but instead spent centuries mourning his family as a ghost.

"Yes, you and your family are innocent, I vouch for you as the emperor. I'll also erect a statue in your honor, so you'll be remembered as a hero."

Voom

Blue flames lit up in Graham's eyes, which then fell like tears.

'I'm so glad… I can finally go too…'

Graham's entire body began to turn into light particles, which floated up into the sky.

"Stop! No! Wait!!"

(He can't leave yet!)

Allen quickly took out his Grimoire, then pulled out the Sacred Beast Stone and held it towards the particles of light, all of which were sucked into the stone.

"Why did you have to ruin that moment…"

Cecile looked annoyed at Allen's desperate actions during such a wondrous moment.

'You obtained the soul of a cleansed Sacred Beast. Currently analyzing it.'

"Good good, he's being analyzed! I'll only accept a positive outcome! Everything will go my way!!"

'...I'll try.'

The Grimoire showed similar logs as when he obtained Makris, which Allen stared at.

He did not know who replied through the Grimoire, but he did not care if it was successful.

He had put on that show during the meeting only for this.

'...Sacred Beast successfully analyzed.'

'Sacred Beast reconstructed as a summon.'

'Wraith S summon unsealed.'

A few more logs appeared in quick succession.

"Alright! I caught the Wraith S summon!!"

Allen shouted with all his might while holding the Grimoire up, before breaking into a happy dance that everyone just watched with unimpressed eyes.

The emperor was about to ask if he could go home now, but the Dragon King spoke first.

'I see, that's what you wanted me to see. So Astel might be in this realm as a ghost too .'

The Dragon King understood why he had been invited to come along.

"Hm? Ahh, right. He did pass away without reaching his goal after all."

Allen was brought back to reality by the Dragon King's voice.

There were multiple ghost swarms in the divine realm, even around the temples of gods.

So it was possible that Astel's soul was also wandering around the divine realm as a ghost.

(But there's also millions of dragonkin here, maybe he can find a new Rider too.)

The Dragon King was old, but Allen believed he had not reached the end of his life yet.

'Is it really alright though? The dragonkin are oppressed enough as is.'

The Dragon King felt guilty being allowed so much freedom. He had not even gained access to the divine realm himself, but had failed and was brought by Allen.

"They're all working with us already, so don't worry about that."

(I doubt he'll intrude on too many things, but even if something happens I can vouch for him.)

The divine realm had certain rules. The dragonkin patriarch was the only one with authority.

If the Dragon King got in the way, things could get hairy.

'...I see. I'll search for Astel then. Tell me if you find anything too though.'

The Dragon King spread his wings and flew away to search for Astel.

"So Allen, we're going to meet the Heavenly King next?"

Temi from the Ten Heroic Beasts was the next one to talk.

"Yes, though I don't know how much longer he'll make us wait. Emperor, what do you think?"

They had been waiting for days already.

"Hm?"

"Our audience should happen soon enough. Would you like to meet the Heavenly King too?"

"Hmph, I'm not interested in that."

(Well, the dragonkin did say the Heavenly King is extremely stuck up.)

Giamut's emperor did not feel like meeting some king for no reason, not to mention he only went there to apologize to Graham as he had promised, which Allen was very grateful for.

"I see. Well, if you ever need anything that won't intervene with the war, just tell me."

Allen had also promised to help the emperor if he needed something.

"...Hmph, don't forget that."

The emperor was getting fed up with how casually Allen kept talking to him, so he looked at Helmios so he would do something, but Helmios just grimaced, knowing Allen's personality.

Meanwhile the cardinal seemed excited to meet the Heavenly King, so he remained, while the emperor and his ministers returned to the human realm. The cardinal seemed to have an adventurous side.

The Ten Heroic Beasts went to meet the patriarch to learn about the divine realm, since they would likely go search for Garm's Village of Primordial Beasts.

Meanwhile Allen's party went to Boaso's outskirts to test out his Wraith S summon.

"It's finally time."

Sophie watched with starry eyes, excited about Allen's new power as he summoned Graham.

"Alright, come out Graham."

Just like Makris and Kuwatoro, the Wraith S summon already had a name.

He appeared as a large skeleton of blue flames, wearing a scarlet cape and wielding a greatsword and greatshield. He was also larger and appeared stronger than as a ghost.

He was 15 meters tall, there was a helmet on his head, and wore a chest plate and a cape.

He was roughly the same size as Haku now.

(He seems to be a frontliner from what I can see.)

Allen looked at his stats, and while he did not know what the Skills did, they seemed to be sword skills, reflecting Graham's past as a master swordsman.

[Species] Wraith

[Rank] S

[Name] Graham

[Strength] 40000

[Mana] 40000

[Attack] 40000

[Endurance] 50000

[Agility] 40000

[Intelligence] 50000

[Luck] 40000

[Blessings] Endurance +5000, Intelligence +5000, Enhanced Focus

[Special Skills] Spectral Slash, Spectral Explosive Attack, Magic Eater, Soul Saber, Warrior Roar

[Awakened Skills] Possession Combination, Sacred Bead Creation, (Sealed)

Luck also went up to Allen to look at Graham's stats.

"Oh wow, he looks super strong! Maybe we can kill Nestiad with him!"

(Soul Saber looks promising against ghosts. Hmhmm, his Intelligence is also high for someone that fights with physical weapons.)

Allen continued looking at the Grimoire and Graham repeatedly, while Graham slowly raised his bony hand and held it to his chest.

'...So you're Allen, who that angel Lupto mentioned?'

"Yes. You're my summon now."

Allen did not care about using a respectful voice towards his summons.

(So Lupto was the one analyzing Graham. We haven't seen her yet even though we're here.)

Lupto was Merus' twin sister, and the current First Angel of Elmea. It seemed like she was the one turning Sacred Beasts into summons for Allen.

(I guess she told me to help Graham since she already had started working on his Skills, and that would go to waste if I left him.)

According to Merus, summons took at least a year to be built.

'I see. I guess this is also my fault for not making up my mind faster…'

Graham voiced his thoughts.

(Making up his mind? About turning into a summon? No, maybe it's his past life, and the death of his family.)

"The tyrant emperor has come back as the Demon King and many people are suffering. Will you fight with me?"

Allen asked Graham.

'Yes, I will. I won't doubt myself anymore. Let's work together, Allen.'

The two settled their plan to collaborate.

"Do you have any memories from your time as a ghost?"

'None at all.'

He just felt like he had been asleep for a long time.

"What about your memories before dying?"

'I obviously have those…'

Allen continued talking with Graham, though he seemed to not like those memories much.

He had seen his family be eaten by slimes, so it made sense.

This was not the best place to have a conversation in, but Allen wanted to know more about the tyrant emperor. And the fact that Graham still kept his memory meant he remembered how to fight as a knight.

Allen also tried various Special Skills, since he needed to know what they did if he wanted to deploy Graham in battle.

After one hour, he had a good grasp on Graham's Skills.

'These feel pretty different to the Skills I had while I lived.'

"I guess all your Skills were rebuilt when you turned into a summon."

'It appears so. Are you going to keep testing this for long? I'm starting to get tired.'

"How old were you before you died?"

'I believe I was 52.'

"For a moment I thought you sounded like an old man, but you're actually still young."

That was also Allen's age, if he combined his past and current lives, but Graham sounded like an old man. Maybe Graham had grandchildren, but he was clearly not a decrepit old man yet.

'So these are the hardships she mentioned…'

Lupto had told him he would be working hard.

"Alright, this means I'll be getting three Sacred Beads at a time. Now I just wish I had a Dragon S summon too."

'Hmm, you seem to be some sort of researcher.'

Graham realized Allen was not done testing things.

Just like Makris and Kuwatoro, he would likely produce a Sacred Bead each 10 days.

Synthesizing a Wraith and Dragon summon allowed Allen to call an Angel summon.

Now he had a Wraith S summon, so now he just had to find a Dragon S summon.

Thinking of all the new possibilities made Allen jump around with excitement.

He also knew that making the emperor kneel and apologize had been a good idea.

"Now for the main dish, Possession Combination. Wait, c-could it be…"

Allen's finger trembled with expectation.

"Hey, Allen. Why are you drooling like that?"

Cecile scolded Allen's reaction.

"Okay okay, I'm doing it. Possession Combination!!"

Allen loudly spoke the name of Graham's Awakened Skill, [Possession Combination].

'Hmph!'

Graham grunted as his entire body and equipment was engulfed in blue flames.

Then he began running at full speed towards Allen.

"Huh? Ah, ghah?!"

Allen was assaulted by an indescribable sensation as the flames wrapped around him.

Cecile and the rest of his party stared in shock.

Allen reached down to his sword, and realized that the blue flames had surrounded the scabbard.

(Oh, my Swordsmanship Level is going up.)

"Hey, Allen! Are you alright?"

Cecile felt like Allen's experiments were getting out of hand.

"What power! I'm invincible! I've obtained the ultimate power!!"

While his party watched filled with worry, Allen spread his arms and legs and shouted loudly.