Side Story Chapter 289

Side Story Chapter 289

Aaron del Killian strode through the palace. The Imperial Knights saluted at him, visibly surprised, but he didn’t even give them a glance.

“Hmmm...”

However, Aaron’s sharp senses felt something similar to a cold drop of water falling on his nape; two knights were quickly scanning him as they walked away from him.

“...Good.” Aaron smiled crookedly as he continued to walk forward. He luxuriated in the tension in the palace. Lucifer, the Crimson Sky, had been an eyesore, but he was gone. The Flame Emperor, Aaron’s longtime rival, had also perished. Today, the future of Swallow would be determined, and it was going to be Aaron’s world.

When Aaron arrived before the council chamber’s tightly shut doors, the head butler announced his arrival.

“Presenting Duke Killian!”

With a creaking sound, the door opened, and Aaron strode into the chamber without missing a beat.

The chamber fell silent after the doors closed behind Aaron, but Aaron could sense numerous hidden eyes on him.

No one was sitting on the throne.

“...Fox Master.”

The soft tap of footsteps broke the suffocating silence. Arash, with her fox mask, emerged from behind the throne.

“I was told that this is a strategy meeting. Have the other dukes not arrived yet?” Aaron asked.

“Yes; you’re the first one to arrive.”

Aaron’s smile widened. “I would say I’m the first and last one to arrive.”

Arash chuckled. “I expected you to come even if you knew everything.”

The Imperial Knights poured into the chamber from hidden cubbyholes. There were hundreds of them, at least.

“That’s a lot of people to take down one person.”

“After all, you are Duke Aaron del Killian.”

“But I’m disappointed, Fox Master. I thought you were smarter than this.”

“What do you mean?” Arash asked.

“Instead of eliminating me, you’re just going to give me all the justification I need.”

“Do you actually believe you can escape?”

Instead of answering Arash, Aaron unleashed his energy.

The Imperial Knights froze up for a moment but quickly surrounded Aaron. Nevertheless, the storm of Aaron’s energy only got stronger.

“As you pointed out, I am Duke Aaron del Killian,” he said with a shrug.

“Attack him!”

The Imperial Knights rushed him from all directions like a deluge of steel, letting out battle cries to shake off their fear. Despite the rain of attacks, Aaron remained perfectly calm as drew his sword.

“Then how about this?”

Aaron cocked his head. Then he heard footsteps.

After a moment, Aaron’s lip trembled, the first chink in his confidence he’d shown.

“You...”

The last people he had expected walked into the room, one after the other.

* * *

‘Creshua!’ Kireua cheered.

The black-eyed boy was a black dragon hatchling, not a human. Even then, Kireua felt something strange about the boy that made him reluctant to approach Creshua.

‘...Why do I only sense His Majesty’s presence from Creshua?’ Kireua wondered. He would have noticed immediately if his father was borrowing someone else’s body, but this was like the emperor was dormant inside Creshua’s body.

Creshua turned to look at Kireua, scowling.

-Are you the one who opened the door?

-Did I upset you?

-Upset me? Yes, I guess it’s a similar emotion. You opened the door because you thought I’d take care of those people for you, didn’t you?

-Not really, but I have a question—

-You’re annoying me. Why do I have to answer all of your questions?

Kireua stopped sending messages. He didn’t understand why Creshua was so hostile; it was like he was talking to an entirely different person. Above all, the mysterious energy that he could sense from Creshua bothered him too much.

-Take care of those vermin around you first if you want to talk to me. I was planning to teach them a lesson anyway for crawling around above my place, getting on my nerves.

Creshua’s last remark came as a relief to Kireua. Although he didn’t know why Creshua had returned to the vault, Kireua knew how special it was to Creshua. Creshua would never let trespassers taint his memories of his time with his parent.

-I’ll get one fact straight before I leave. I didn’t know you were here. I just came here to get what’s mine.

While Kireua could detect tens of thousands of enemies around the palace, he could also sense numerous other presences.

Creshua’s expression subtly changed.

-Yours, huh? How many of those undead do you seriously think you will be able to bring with you? Hundreds? Thousands?

-We’ll find out soon enough.

Kireua let the stinging murderous energy that was pouring onto him roll off of his skin as he took a sharp breath before activating both of his two Evil Sins—Wrath and Greed—at once.

-You’re crazy...!

Creshua’s dismay Kireua didn’t stop him from luring out the undead using his Evil Sins as bait.

The entire vault shook as if an earthquake was taking place under their feet. As Hubalt’s knights screamed in panic, Kireua quietly said, “Heed my call.”