Chapter 63 Prelude To Tragedy

Lucien knelt on one knee, his head bowed in subservience as he faced the red silhouette with eyes that shone like fire.

"Greetings, my lord," he said respectfully.

The red silhouette responded with unintelligible language that only Lucien could understand. He listened attentively, then spoke in a low voice.

"My lord, to the best of my knowledge, the Seed of Sins was not affected by any holy attribute magic or anything that belongs to the Vatican. It was affected by some powerful seal, but I don't know what it is because it has not manifested itself. It's as if the king's magic vein suddenly became unopened, like any mundane man's magic vein."

The red silhouette responded again, this time seeming deep in thought. Lucien waited patiently, his head still bowed.

"Yes, my lord. I will begin at once," Lucien said, still speaking in a low voice. He then began to clear the room, using his magic to burn any furniture that was in the way to ash.

Once the room was cleared, Lucien retrieved an old human skin scroll from his robe and activated the magic within it using his mana. At that moment, the blood of the king seemed to move on its own, as if it had been granted a life of its own. It moved in a pattern, drawing a large demonic magic circle on the floor of the study room.

As the drawing is complete, the atmosphere shifts to one of foreboding and unease. Lucien begins to chant in an unintelligible demonic language, pouring his full magic vein capacity into converting natural mana to magic mana. The task at hand seemed impossible, but he continued his ritual with unshakable determination.

Time passed, and the chanting grew louder and more intense. The corrupted mana gathered on the body of the king, swirling and pulsing with an ominous energy. The red silhouette at the middle of his back seemed to beckon it, drawing it in with an irresistible force.

Suddenly, the foul mana coalesced into a thick, black ooze that clung to the king's body, sapping the blue energy from his very being. And then, with a suddenness that left everyone breathless, the red silhouette descended into the warm body of the king. The king's body lifted and floated, as if an invisible hand was holding him up.

The air grew thick and heavy, and an overpowering sense of malevolence filled the room. Mercy and empathy were nowhere to be found. The king's eyes glowed red, with a sinister slit like that of a devil. Two little red horns protruded from his forehead, and his very presence exuded an aura of darkness.

Finally, the king floated down to the ground and stood on his two feet, his voice trembling with a mixture of melancholy and nostalgia.

"Aaaahh, at last. How long has it been since I've last stepped into the mortal realm?" The scene was one of pure evil and ominousness, leaving all who witnessed it in a state of shock and disbelief.

Lucien quickly knelt down on one knee in subservience.

"If history serves us right, I believe it has been 841 years since the 3rd crusade led by King Richard The Lionheart and Saladin," he said.

At the mention of Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, the new king's anger flared up, and flames erupted from his feet, threatening to consume everything around him. But just as quickly as it had appeared, the flames subsided, leaving Lucien trembling with fear.

"Ah, yes. Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. They joined forces and killed my host back then. But they are still mortals, destined to die when their time comes," said the new king in a melancholy tone.

"My Lord, how much power can you wield in that form?" asked Lucien, concerned for his master's well-being.

The new king looked down at his hand and summoned a small wisp of hellfire into his palm. The flame started as a tiny flicker before gradually growing in size until it stabilized at the size of a tennis ball. As the fire grew, the hand holding it began to burn, and a sizzling sound filled the air. The atmosphere was thick with malevolence, and even the bravest of souls would have quivered in fear.

The new King dispersed the ball of hellfire and his hand quickly regenerated back to its previous state.

"Unfortunately, this king's body is a little lacking, and the seed was temporarily sent into a sealed state, which has greatly diminished my connection to his sin. His body can only hold 12% of my full power. It's a pity... his body has the potential to hold 25% of my power, just like when I fought with Richard and Saladin. If only he hadn't lusted after that woman, Koyuki, and lost a part of my power to her when she bit his third leg off," the new king lamented, looking at his faithful servant Lucien.

"Thank you, Lucien. As we agreed, this worthless kingdom will be yours. And this is the power you asked of me, a fraction of my power will also be yours," the new king said, waving his hand towards Lucien, who smiled in glee.

Dark power gathered into the hand of the new king and quickly condensed into a crimson obsidian crystal that shone with an ominous glint. Lucien received the crystal gently, his face filled with excitement as if he couldn't wait to consume it whole.

After Lucien received the crimson obsidian crystal, the new king smirked in satisfaction and pulled his hand back. Suddenly, hellfire shone again and burned all of his clothes, engulfing his entire body in flames. When the flames subsided, the new king was dressed in a blood-red suit with a black shirt, red tie, and red pants with black leather shoes.

"I need to travel the world and gather all of my power back. You stay here and don't forget to kill that Magitek. He's too dangerous, and if you can manage to catch the Witch of Wrath and deliver her to me...I'll grant you another reward. This time, I'll even grant you the power and authority of an Archfiend in my realm!" the new king promised, his tone filled with authority.

Lucien bowed deeply in gratitude and respect. "As you command, my lord. I will not fail you," he vowed.

"By the way, is that woman Envy still alive?" inquired the new King.

Lucien nodded and replied truthfully,

"Yes, my lord. Grand Councilor Envy is still alive. Do you know her, my lord?"

The new King's expression turned serious. "Then I need to be cautious. During the Third Crusade, I would have won if she hadn't intervened. My current power is not enough to fight her," he said, impressed.

In fact, he needed his real body here in the mortal realm if he wanted to defeat the Witch of Envy. She had restrained the majority of his power during the Third Crusade until he was weakened enough to be finished off by two powerful mortals, Richard the Lionheart and Saladin.

"Then, Lord Satan, may your journey be fruitful!" Lucien said, with a hint of flattery.

Satan nodded and, with a wave of his hand, disappeared in a flash of hellfire, leaving Lucien alone with the ominous crimson obsidian crystal in his hand. Lucien knew that the task ahead would not be easy, but the promise of power and reward from the devil was enough to fuel his determination.

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— A day later - Tessia Kingdom Air Force Base —

In the commanding officer's room of an air force base, a beautiful blonde woman dressed in a pilot suit stormed in and slammed an order paper on the table in fury. Her face clearly had the distinction of Asian beauty despite her dyed blond hair.

"Are you out of your mind, sir!? Why was this insane order approved!?" she asked loudly and with great dissatisfaction.

"Captain, discipline!" her commanding officer admonished.

"This is wrong! You know the target has over a thousand innocent people, including hundreds of children! Why didn't the higher-ups send in a SWAT team instead? If they say that a very dangerous terrorist resides there!?" the captain inquired, clearly frustrated with her mission.

"I'm sorry, Elina, but you don't have enough clearance to know. The only reason why you didn't get promoted despite your outstanding ability is that despite serving the country, you didn't serve the royal family, which is the owner of this land!" her commanding officer said with a low growl.

"Tell me the truth, Colonel. Why does the royal family want us to bomb an entire condominium full of living people in the middle of a city!?" the pilot named Elina inquired with frustration.

"Do your job, Elina. You don't have enough clearance to know! The only reason why you were chosen despite your rebellious attitude is that you are the only one who could accurately bomb the target without affecting a nearby hospital!" The Colonel stood up and shouted in fury. He, too, had his limits and didn't want this dirty mission.

"FUUUUCCCCKK! You know that this is WRONG! WHY!? Are your royalists full of psychopaths!? FUUUCCCKK!" Elina exploded, shouting in the face of her commanding officer.

"Let her be, Colonel. Let me take this mission. I heard that there is a very nice bonus for anyone who takes this mission," a man's voice sounded from the entrance.

"Homer… You…" Elina uttered the name of the newcomer, as if she couldn't believe her ears.

"Sorry, Captain, but my wife was about to deliver, and I need a lot of money. This mission just came in time. Besides… those who oppose or disrespect his majesty deserve to rot in hell! They deserve death. Those people who died should be considered heroes of the country for letting the terrorist think that he is safe as long as he lives amongst the innocent. This led to us being able to take him out with their sacrifice!" Homer said with a bit of a fanatical smile.

"Do you truly believe that, Homer?" Elina asked.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Homer said without hesitation.

Elina sighed. She used to think like that once. If not for her father working in the government, she wouldn't have been disillusioned by the royal family for countless facts and proof that her father showed her.

"Homer… I hope you can comfortably hug your newborn son with those bloody hands of yours." Elina said before she pulled out her rank badge from her suit.

"Take it, Colonel. I'm out of this fucking place." Elina said before she stormed out of the commanding room.