“I am sorry.”

Ian bowed his head.

Just a short while ago, he had been officially anointed as the crown prince. However, he was bowing towards someone other than his father.

“Please your head, Your Highness.”

Irene responded in a gentle voice and rested her hand on his arm. Ian slowly raised his head and gazed into her eyes. Although she was smiling, he could see the faintest of tremors in her eyes.

“I would deploy all the griffons of the empire and head to the Pendragon Duchy if I could, but I cannot.”

“I know. I am very well aware.”

Irene comforted him with tears glimmering in her eyes.

It was just as he said.

The Pendragon Duchy was recognized as a kingdom by the emperor’s authority. At the same time, it was a proclamation by the emperor stating that the Aragon Empire would not intervene in any matters of the Pendragon Duchy. As such, Ian was helpless.

The imperial army could not enter the land of Pendragon without an official request from Duke Pendragon, who was enthroned as King Pendragon. The emperor had shown the utmost courtesy by specially allowing the imperial castle’s griffon unit to accompany her brother and Soldrake back to the duchy.

“I am sorry…”

Ian continued to apologize, and Irene shook her head in response.

“I am already yours, Your Highness. I am a woman of the imperial family. There is no need for you to apologize.”

“…..”

Ian bit his lips tightly at her words. She wasn’t even twenty yet.

The emperor did not recognize the Pendragon Duchy as a kingdom and anoint Duke Pendragon as a king without ulterior motives. The decision was precisely calculated from a political perspective.

Although the current issues stemmed from the dark sorcerer called the Nameless Necromancer, there were many roadblocks to anointing Ian as the crown prince. The high lords were voicing their dissatisfaction in front of the current emperor, and it was highly likely that the empire’s political scene would become unstable if Ian ascended the throne.

However, such a dilemma was partially dissolved due to Duke Pendragon’s statement. He alone had endured the attacks and harsh gazes of the high lords, drawing all the attention toward himself and Soldrake.

And now he was headed back to the Pendragon Duchy. As the lord of Pendragon, he had to finish what was taking place on his land. As such, someone else needed to take care of the matters in the imperial castle.

That was the mission given to the one who was now appointed as the crown prince. While Duke Pendragon prevented the Nameless Necromancer from creating a huge disturbance in the Pendragon Duchy and the empire, Ian Aragon needed to take care of the empire’s internal affairs.

The emperor had precisely gauged all of these facts in a cold, calculating move when he elevated the Pendragon Duchy to a kingdom and essentially isolated it from the rest of the empire.

Even if the two families were connected by blood, the most important thing for the emperor was the imperial family and the empire, rather than Pendragon.

“Everything will be taken care of by tomorrow morning. Then I will head straight for the land of Pendragon. I will personally lead the imperial griffons to help your brother and my dearest friend.”

Ian enunciated each word clearly while gazing into Irene’s trembling eyes.

“Yes, yes…”

When she first saw him, he was nothing more than a ruffian prince, but now he was someone she would spend the rest of her life with. Large drops fell from Irene’s eyes after hearing his words.

***

Elsaroa burst into laughter as the six dragons annihilated the evil spirits in the night skies with their breath.

“Oh-hohohohoho! Everyone has gathered! The dragons, and even the dark sorcerer! It is as if everyone has gathered to celebrate my coronation. Good, good! With that in mind, let me show all of you to the seats of honor!”

Even though she shouted in a joyful voice, Soldrake’s gaze remained fixated on the Nameless Necromancer. The sorcerer was drawing closer while leading thousands of monsters.

Elsaroa raised her eyebrows with annoyance after noticing Soldrake.

“Where are you looking, Soldrake? Did you forget that I am your opponent?”

[…..]

After briefly glancing at the Queen of Death, Soldrake spoke softly.

[How pitiful you are, Elsaroa of Alcantia.]

“What?”

Elsaroa’s expression crumpled with anger, but Soldrake continued without stopping.

[Alex died long ago in the past. His soul has been at rest by Illeyna’s side for a long time. The one you long for disappeared along with time. So why is it that you are still here?]

“Shut up!”

Kwarrruuu!

She shouted with fury, and the dark green energy swirling around Elsaroa soared like an active volcano.

“I just need to get rid of you! I just need to erase the name Pendragon from this world! He who abandoned me! I just have to take everything from Pendragon and make it my own!”

[The name of Pendragon will never disappear. Furthermore, Alex never abandoned you.]

“W, what?”

Elsaroa was startled by the unexpected words. Her expression changed in a strange, subtle way. It contained love and hate, as well as a glimmer of hope.

[Alex was never yours. As such, he never abandoned you. Until the moment his soul departed from his body, Alex was my partner and the companion of my soul.]

“…..!”

The faint hope disappeared from her face, and Elsaroa’s expression distorted in a horrible way.

“Ahhhhhhhhk!! Ahhk! Die! Die! Diee!”

She shrieked with rage, then continued after turning her poisonous gaze towards Soldrake.

“What do you know!? Alex was my man until you intervened and philandered with him! He was the one who would have shared everything with me in Alcantia! Duke Pendragon? Ha! Without you, he would have been a king if he only listened to me!”

[Pendragon is now king. The human emperor recognized the land of Pendragon as a kingdom.]

“W, what!?”

Elsaroa became wide-eyed.

[As such, you no longer have anything you can give to Pendragon. To neither Alex, nor that child. You are nothing to Pendragon, Elsaroa. You never were, and not now either.]

“…..!”

Elsaroa’s eyes ripped open and trembled softly. Then she lowered her head as if resigning herself to something.

Guuoooo!

The color of the spirit circling around her body became darker and it picked up pace. Dozens of whirlwinds soon swirled around Elsaroa, creating a spiral current of air.

Kwakwakwakwakwakwa!

“…..”

She slowly raised her head. The storm of spirit surrounding her was enormously powerful, and it felt as if it could tear apart space itself. She parted her lips as she glared at Soldrake, her eyes emitting an intense green light that threatened to devour the entire world.

“I will destroy… your everything.”

Kwaaaaaooong!

Dozens of cyclones shot towards Soldrake.

Kwarrrrrrr!

Soldrake silver-white spirit once again projected as a barrier, rising to protect her and all the humans beneath her. However, she did not think that the barrier of mana was capable of completely blocking Elsaroa’s attack.

There were dozens of winds, and each was the size of a castle tower. Each of the attacks was a crystallization of evil and the power of the Death God, created from the nourishment of fear and resentment suffered by all who perished in this place.

Even though Soldrake was an olden brother of the gods, the attacks contained an attribute that even she could not handle.

There was only one force that could block such an attack.

The power of a god had to be countered by the power of another god.

It was then.

Flash!

Elsaroa had materialized the Death God’s authority into an attack, and as soon as Soldrake’s barrier and the winds were about to make contact, a single point of light appeared in the space between.

It seemed much too weak compared to the two powers, which seemed to devour even heaven and earth. But in the blink of an eye, the light grew exponentially, and it emitted a brilliance that was strong enough to eradicate the storm of spirit emitted by the two powerful beings.

“Ugh?”

It was as if the sun had appeared for a moment. Raven and all others present in Fort Bellint were forced to tightly shut their eyes. Closing one’s eyes during a battle was extremely dangerous, but they could not help it.

In addition, the brilliant ball of light wasn’t simply a blinding flash.

Kieeeeeeehkkkk!

Kyaaaahhk!

There had been a few remaining undead even after Soldrake unleashed her breath. They were enveloped in a halo, then crumbled and disappeared in the light without even leaving any ashes.

“This is…?”

Raven’s mouth opened agape as he looked up at the night sky while squinting his eyes. A full moon had been dimly illuminating the night sky until a moment ago, but now it was like midday.

Kwakwakwakwakwa!

Dozens of whirlwinds had rushed in like a tidal wave, but they could not penetrate the sphere of light. Although the sphere was only the size of a single person, it emitted a radiant light.

“Keugh!”

Elsaroa frowned and turned her head away.

Paaaaaa…

The light slowly faded from everyone’s eyes. The miniature sun’s light suddenly diminished in intensity then flickered like a star.

“That’s…!”

Raven was shocked. He could see a figure in the sphere of light.

“Howdy! Long time no see.”

Woooooong!

The figure’s entire body was covered in a golden scale armor studded with dozens of brilliant jewels. His platinum wings were spread wide open, and they glowed like unquenchable flames. It was the angel Seiel, the guardian of the Lindegor Duchy. He was staring at Elsaroa with arrogant eyes.

“You, you! Why are you here…?”

Elsaroa was stunned speechless.

She expected Soldrake to come. She also assumed the other dragons would make their appearances once they found out that she was resurrected.

But it was different with Seiel.

As the protector of the Lindegor Duchy, Seiel was thoroughly indifferent to the affairs of the human world. He would not spare even the tiniest glance to matters unrelated to the Lindegor Duchy.

In the first place, he would only make a move when the current Duke of Lindegor used a wish, and all the previous dukes had used Seiel’s power only for the sake of their family.

He had nothing to do with the Pendragon Duchy. Rather, the Pendragon Duchy could be considered a rival for the Lindegor Duchy, but he had made his appearance.

“What are you so surprised about? It’s almost like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Seiel smiled.

But the smile did not extend to his eyes. He was a knight of a god. His ability to see through lies and will to destroy evil fluttered in the depths of his eyes like simmering flames.

Elsaroa possessed the power of the Death God Çarcas, who stood in opposition to Illeyna, the master of Seiel and the goddess of life. She felt a fear she never experienced in the past.

“Why is an angel here? Why the hell did you come here? You, you do not become involved in human affairs! Besides, you hate Pendragon, don’t you? The ones who serve you, Lindegor, they hate Pendragon!”

Elsaroa shrieked with disbelief in her eyes.

“That is correct. Over the last hundreds of years, the children I watched over hated Pendragon. But the children, and now the current head of the house, are not fools.”

Fwoooosh!

The energy of the archangel dispelled evil. It pushed away the waves of darkness filled with death and fear.

“Ahhk! Ahhhk!”

Elsaroa screamed while desperately covering her face with her wings. No living beings could kill her, except for the first Duke Pendragon, whom she loved.

It wasn’t because she was strong.

In terms of strength and magic, Soldrake and even Amuhalt were much stronger than her. However, they could never annihilate her. The olden brothers of the gods were still mortal creatures, even if they possessed enormous power.

However, Seiel was different.

The angel was the Holy Spirit created by Goddess Illeyna. He was not born into the world. As such, even if Seiel was weaker than Soldrake and other dragons in terms of pure magic or power, he could become the most powerful sword in the world when faced with a specific power, such as the power of the Death God Çarcas.

“Go away! Go away!”

Elsaroa fiercely screamed with an unsightly expression. However, the light emitted by the goddess’ agent pressured her even further.

Chiii! Chiiiikkk!

“Kyaaaahhk! Kyahk!”

Elsaroa’s skin burned when it made contact with the brilliance of the goddess. She screamed while fleeing to a dark place where light could not reach.

“Queen of Dragons, and monarch of Pendragon. What shall I do? Should I eradicate her? And that 

thing 

over there as well?”

Seiel addressed Raven and Soldrake, the ones responsible for bringing him. He turned his gaze while speaking.

His gaze burned bright as if to drive away all darkness. It was directed at Jean Oberon, the Nameless Necromancer. He was leading thousands of monsters and now nearing Fort Bellint.

However, Soldrake’s answer was quite surprising.