Chapter 57 57. I Was Born With It And I Will Die With It.

[Once upon a time]

Inside an enormous assembly hall decorated with various antiques and designed with ancient architecture, a white light spread all across, enlightening every corner.

A red carpet that flowed like an endless river, divided the assembly hall into equal halves.

At the end of the carpet were seven stairs, and at the peak was a huge, luxurious, and beautiful throne.

The throne was made of gold, embedded with precious gems, rubies, and diamonds, along with comfortable cushions on it.

On top of the throne was the head of the red dragon Kilmish. With two giant horns on its head and red stony skin, its eyes and mouth were closed as if it was in deep slumber but still, there was a subtle aura of supremacy around it.

Similar luxurious thrones were placed alongside the carpet where members of the court with premium clothes were seated.

Behind the members were the soldiers clad in exceptional armour.

At the entrance of the assembly hall was a huge door made of gold and blue gems opened.

"The King has arrived!" A soldier standing by the door alerted the court.

Following him, the court turned completely silent while anticipating their King's arrival.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of the King's footsteps echoed throughout the court and with every footstep, an overbearing pressure was released on every member of the assembly hall.

A masculine figure with long blonde hair, clad in sleek and shining golden armour, walked on the red carpet leading toward the throne up ahead.

"All hail the King!" A soldier shouted and everyone inside the assembly hall knelt on the floor in unison.

Thump! Clank!

A loud noise of armours stomping on the floor reverberated in the assembly hall.

Tap. Tap.

The King climbed every step and his footsteps slowed as he stopped in front of his throne.

The eyes of the sleeping dragon opened and a fierce red hue spread in the assembly hall and,

Swoosh!

The King turned and faced the kneeling members as eight clean and milky white wings appeared on his back.

The attendees followed the suit and wings similar to the King appeared on their backs as well.

It looked like an assembly of angels. However, there was a big difference.

The man who knelt a step below the king had six wings and the decreasing order followed till the last man standing near the door with a single white wing.

The king sat on the golden throne, embedded with precious gems, rubies, and diamonds.

On top of the throne, the red dragon opened his mouth and roared.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Its eyes were fierce as if they would burn the world, and its sharp teeth were like thousands of swords.

If left untamed it could run havoc and destroy a few worlds with its single breath was the expression of the dragon.

"Hmm…" The King hummed and with a side glance, the dragon lost all the fire in its eyes and shut its mouth.

"Spherion." The King said, and the man knelt a few steps below the king stood up and bowed to the king.

"My Liege, we have captured the enemy general. If my liege permits, he shall be presented to the court for the liege's jurisdiction." Spherion, a man with six wings and light blue hair said with his deep voice and looked at the guards at the gate.

…

Tap. Clank. Tap. Clank.

Following Spherion's order, the guards brought the general of the enemy they had captured.

A man with a toned body and a demonic aura arrived at the court.

His skin was beautiful but not smooth that could allure even superior beings.

With two small horns on his head covered with shabby black hair, his appearance was different from those present in the assembly hall.

Even when the man was tied with multiple heavy and glowing chains with a collar on his neck, he held his head high, and with a calm and serious expression on his face, no fear in his brimming dark eyes, the man directly looked into the king's eyes.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

When the guards noticed this disrespect, they pulled him as if he was a bull and poked a spear in him, telling him to keep his gaze down.

But the man did not even flinch.

His gaze was locked onto their King's and was filled with arrogance.

Clank. Clank.

With his, every steady and confident footstep, the chains bound to his body echoed through the assembly hall in a rhythm.

Even when only his lower body was covered with a cloth, revealing his entire body, the man did not care and walked confidently.

His muscular and toned yet slim body was covered in sword cuts, burns, and lash marks. His appearance sent chills down to the spines of the low angels.

Although he was dragged into the assembly hall, no one dared to laugh at his condition, rather everyone except for a select few was sweating profusely.

If it was anyone else, the attendees would've humiliated him, beaten him up, or something even worse.

But this man was different.

No matter how much they tortured him, he did not let a single scream out.

They beat him with everything they had even the holy weapons, but it was futile.

They burned his eyes, peeled his skin, they even cut his crotch, yet, yet he did not scream, much less cry.

He was punished by the most brutal lash that even the angels feared, still, he did not flinch.

It was a nightmare for every torturer since the man did not react at all.

They thought he would break, cry, and beg for mercy, but to their surprise, the man not only remained calm all this time, but he also had the balls to match the gaze of their King.

"…"

When he stopped in front of the King, the entire court was silent.

Even the air did not dare to make any sound.

As if time stopped.

Except for the King and Spherion, no one dared to breathe.

Ba-thump. Ba-thump.

Some of the elders sitting near the King felt their pulse bursting through the roof.

Their body shivered because of the silent battle between the chained man and their king.

"Huuu… Haa…" The man in chains smiled slightly when he heard the King's right hand, Spherion sucked a cold breath to calm himself.

"How does it feel to be here again, Belial?" Breaking the ice, the King asked the man in chains, Belial.

"Hm? What was I supposed to feel, archangel Mi- oops! Justice King Michael?" Belial said sarcastically while emphasizing the word King.

The temperature of the entire assembly hall slowly turned cold as King Michael released some of his aura.

As Belial's powers were sealed by the chains, the change in the temperature started freezing his body, but the glint in his eyes did not die.

"Hmph!" He harrumphed and stood calm as a mountain.

When King Michael saw Belial's indifferent and unfazed attitude, he said,

"I will let you live if you convert back to an angel-"

But even before he could complete his sentence.

"I refuse and I don't care about the angels anymore," Belial said immediately.

"As Prideful as ever, huh?" Michael faked a chuckle and ice started covering Belial's feet.

"That petty Pride of yours will kill you today, Belial." King Michael sighed and rested his head on his fist.

The ice slowly moved upward and covered half of Belial's body.

He wasn't going to entertain Belial anymore.

This general of the demon's army had singlehandedly killed over a hundred thousand archangels.

Even the elder angels feared him.

"Yes, me and my Pride. I was born with it and I will die with it, unlike a certain someone. Pftt~ HAHAHAHAHA!" Even when Belial's whole body froze, the Pride in his eyes did not die.

Even after his death those arrogant eyes remained locked on King Michael.

"The sinful has died! The King has given Justice!"

"All hail the King!" The angels celebrated as their king brought justice.

"All hail the King!"

'Even in the face of death, that damn pride does not die, huh?' King Michael ignored the hails, and looked at the frozen figure of Belial, which still held its head high in arrogance.

…

"Umm, Michael? Demon Clan Order? What is that, Michael?" Kevin asked again as Michael stopped speaking abruptly and did not answer for several minutes.

[Pride… But why don't I remember anything?]

"Huh? What pride? Oh, the Clan Pride? What is it that you do not remember?" Kevin furrowed his brows.

[Yes… It is Clan Pride. The most dangerous amongst the seven.]

"Can you tell me more about it?"

[Unfortunately no, as I don't remember… But there is one thing I am sure about, Kevin.]

To Kevin's question, Michael did not have the answer.

"Yes? What is it?"

[Always take down the Pride clan before any other clan when you face them before their Lord.]

That was the only advice Michael had for Kevin.

"Oh, okay." Kevin did not understand Michael's intentions but he trusted Michael, so he did not pry further.

"Well, leaving those matters aside, what do you think about my swordsmanship, Michael?" Kevin changed the subject.

[You are still far from it Kevin. Nowhere near Michael was.] Although Michael acted like before, something deep inside Michael changed.

Michael felt that change and decided to wait for the future.

…

[A/N: Since the last few days, our novel has got good exposure and we've received a lot of new members.

So I welcome you all!

I hope you all are doing great.]