The moment Sven’s sword cut through his flesh, Kevin sank into an abyss of memory. In that lonely space where nothing existed, he just spent his time floating.
His fierce battle with Sven in Dmitry and the many things that happened before felt so detached, as if they had nothing to do with him.
How much time did he spend there? The moment he questioned why he was in this space, his mind was caught up in this storm of memories, just like this black hole.
He blinked.
In Kevin’s line of sight, he saw some men barging into the house.
Crack!
The furniture was broken. The men smashed the things there with their feet with a stern look on their faces and grabbed his father’s hair as he tried to stop them.
To Kevin, his father was a being from the heavens. It was shocking for Kevin to see such a great person get treated like this.
He was enraged. He wanted to scream and run at them right away, but he couldn’t take a single step, as if his feet were stuck in place.
And he only realized this was a memory then. Recalling the memories of the past, Kevin wasn’t really living and breathing in this space.
His father was trampled on. While his mother was slapped on the cheek as she tried to stop it, and the only thing that could be heard was the cry of his little sister from behind.
Crack.
Crack.
The space warped, and he was now talking with his father. When asked why they were being treated like this, his father told him it was fine.
Shrrk.
Crack.
And now, on the street, in response to their father’s instructions to stay inside the house, Marie, his sister, went out to retaliate and found the men who attacked the house.
And then he witnessed it. Marie screamed, shaking off the men’s hands, but their grip was too strong on her.
And the people who glanced at the alley just turned their gaze elsewhere, even though they knew a crime was being committed. It was because they saw the patterns on their forearms. And that pattern meant that people couldn’t go and help them.
Then Kevin ran. He got beaten up, but because of the attention that this brought to the people, Marie managed to escape.
Shhhrrkkk.
Shhhrrkk.
And then his mother said,
“Don’t do it next time.”
The reason their family was able to live was because of them, and if he stepped out recklessly, he might lose his life.
The opponent was the Blood Fang, a heinous criminal group. They weren’t people to be regarded as unskilled, and she spoke to him with a scared face. It was from then on that his life began to fall apart.
Crackle.
Shrrrk.
He was being plunged into the abyss. Then the memory was fading away.
The Ghost Illusion Demonic Art was a dangerous power, and from the moment it entered the stage of encroachment, it was accompanied by the danger of the Heart Demon.
At the cost of using excessive force for the first time, his mind broke down. It wasn’t time for him to reflect on his memories, but it was the right time for him to forget them.
Shhhrk.
Crack.
It was a tiring day. Kevin, who was doing chores, bumped into the street with the Blood Fang.
Remembering everything that happened, they initially pushed him for money, and then it turned into a serious beating. It hurt. And in the middle of that beating, he heard a voice he had never heard before.
“Stop.”
Before this, no one had stepped up to help him. However, for the first time, the man who didn’t turn a blind eye to his difficulties looked at the Blood Fang and said,
“You people have broken the laws of Dmitry. Therefore, from now on, as the eldest son of the Dmitry family, I will execute the sentence on those of you who broke the law.”
At that moment, he woke up. What did he live for? When he reached his purpose in life, he remembered the familiar voice in the dark.
“Until I leave, by all means, overcome that Heart Demon.”
Just like back then, Roman Dmitry recognized all his difficulties. He would live for him. If he could survive this, he wouldn’t have the time to be lost in thoughts like this.
Wheik-
That was when the darkness got pushed aside, and Kevin struggled to get up as he asked Hans’s small figure,
“…how long has it been?”
That was Kevin’s first memory after overcoming the Heart Demon.
Hans threw a fit. Looking at his body and asking if he was alright. Kevin calmly responded.
“Tell me what happened.”
He could feel that a lot of time had passed. Being alive like this meant Sven died, and he could also guess that Roman Dmitry was alive from Hans’s bright expression.
Still, he wanted to know what happened. Looking at Kevin’s pale face, Hans cautiously said,
“What happened was…”
Their conversation was long. He started talking from when Sven attacked up to the current events. And when he talked about Roman, he added what he had heard from the physician.
“I heard from the physician that Young Master Roman really risked his life to heal you and Henderson. He expressed how devoted he was, as he shared his life force with you. That’s how much the Young Master wanted to save you, Kevin. If he sees you like this, I think the Young Master would be really happy.”
That was a nice thing to hear. He could feel that his life wasn’t in vain if someone had tried to save him. But Kevin felt confused. At the words life force, something popped into his mind.
‘Could it be the innate energy shared by his ancestors?’
The power that he had learned from Roman Dmitry’s teachings emphasized that it was quite a valuable power because it was an innate energy that he got from being born. So wearing out such energy meant he could die.
Looking at Roman Dmitry, who seemed to have used up such a thing to treat him, Kevin thought that he might have used his innate qi and energy for him.
He gritted his teeth. He was very grateful that he did it for him, but it was unacceptable for Roman Dmitry’s vitality to be drained for the sake of a guy like him.
Moreover, he heard that he had declared war on Kronos to avenge Dmitry. The fact that he was taking care of a person like himself, he just couldn’t lay in bed.
“I will head to the Western Front.”
“Kevin!”
He got up from the bed despite Han’s earnest plea and went outside, bringing his sword.
And he coincidentally ran into Fernando. After looking at where he was going, he guessed what was happening and said,
“Kevin, go back to your bed and rest. I know what you want, but even if you follow me now, there is nothing you can do for our Lord. Rather, how about taking enough rest and devoting yourself to recovering your body so that when the Lord comes back from a victorious war, we will have more reason to rejoice.”
“I am sorry, but I can’t do that.”
Kevin firmly said. The words Fernando said meant nothing to him.
“The reason for my life is for my Lord. If he is on the battlefield, I must be there with him. When I leave him, it will only be when I cannot carry out his orders.”
And he stepped ahead. Seeing him pass by, Fernando looked at him and scratched his head.
“How do I stop him?”
Kevin, even in Dmitry, was famous for his determined nature.
Fernando looked away. His mission was to protect Dmitry. He didn’t want to stop Kevin, who was leaving to do his part, by following Roman.
The peace was short-lived. After the talks a few days later, seeing the imperial army advance from afar, the soldiers urgently sent signals.
Dang! Dang! Dang!
“Enemies!”
“The enemy is advancing!”
The castle was turned upside down. The soldiers went to their positions in perfect order, as they had been trained, and Marquis Vandenberg, the commander of the Western Front, moved ahead armed.
From the moment Dmitry declared war, he didn’t let his emotions get the best of him, even for a moment. To respond to the attack of the enemy, he set up his senses in a keen manner.
From above the castle wall, he could see the enemies. Baron Noel, who had been tagging along with him, spoke with a firm expression as he saw the people pouring in.
“…it’s a lot sooner than we had expected. I expected that it would take time to detoxify the poison Roman Dmitry used, but Duke Bamford seemed to have made a quick decision. At this rate, we fall short of the time we were trying to secure.”
“The opponent is Duke Bamford. If he is a veteran on the battlefield, he must have instinctively judged that we shouldn’t be given time.”
Vandenberg and Bamford. They had encountered each other a few times on the battlefield.
Duke Bamford was a tough man, and he knew how to fight a war instinctively. Meanwhile, Marquis Vandenberg never won a single battle in several battles. And it wasn’t simply because of the difference in power between an empire and a kingdom.
Even in the battle of strategies, he failed to gain an advantage against Duke Bamford. Was that why he was feeling cold? Despite all the preparations, he couldn’t shake off this ominous feeling.
Flora Lawrence said,
“Commander, don’t worry too much. We expected an all-out war with the Kronos Empire, and we have thoroughly made preparations. Even if the mages of Kronos step forward, there is no way the castle wall will break down with the layers of magic defense we have put up. As always, we just need to believe in Roman Dmitry and do what we can do.”
“…truly right. Even if the enemy rushes in to attack, our preparations for the situation will not change.”
Clench.
He grabbed his sword. He trusted Roman Dmitry. He showed miraculous results in the previous war, and in the war against Kronos, he might win the war that everyone else thinks is impossible. But the process wouldn’t be easy.
Roman Dmitry had also told them he would risk his life, so Marquis Vandenberg intended to risk his life for his role.
It was then, among the troops of the empire, approaching from a certain distance, a mysterious figure appeared.
There was just one person, and Baron Noel spoke at the sight of his robe.
“A messenger?”
“No. If it were a messenger, he would have raised a white flag and let us know that he had something to deliver. I don’t know what the Kronos Empire is thinking, but it is clear that they are trying to do what the empire intends.”
Vandenberg shook his head. Then he could think of one thing. The method of using magic at a distance where arrows couldn’t reach was a pattern that had been used a lot on the battlefield.
In the ‘Battle of the Great Warriors,’ placing magic traps where the mages would cast their magic showed amazing results.
Thanks to that, they were able to block the enemy’s attack. However, they didn’t set up traps this time because they weren’t sure how the enemies would prepare.
The man in a robe walked confidently. Without the need to check for a magic trap, he stopped walking at a distance where he could use his magic.
And Marquis Vandenberg gave the signal.
“Prepare the ballista!”
“Yes.”
The ballista was a weapon used for long-range attacks. Contrary to its destructive power, it was somewhat less accurate, but a modified ballista was created for the purpose of hindering the mages from casting magic.
It was done by increasing its accuracy at the cost of lowering its destructive power. If a mage was attacked where he stood, the mage couldn’t continue to cast his magic, and he had to cancel it and move aside.
“Ready.”
“I will give the signal soon.”
Swish.
And then he raised his hand.
They watched the robbed man closely, and when they noticed he was preparing something, the Marquis lowered his hand.
“Fire!”
“Fire!”
Tung!
Tutututung!
A huge arrow moved through the air. The magic enchanted arrow found the location of its target and moved toward the head of the robed person. It all happened instantly.
Seeing that he didn’t step back, the Marquis was sure that this person would end up dying.
And at that moment…
Wheik.
Pupupuak!
A white sheet blocked all the arrows. Even though it didn’t seem like they were preparing anything in particular, the magic happened with just one touch.
And then…
“Funny ones.”
Rumble.
Rumblllleeeeee.
And the magic manifested. The robed person pulled up his robe, revealing his gray hair. It was a face they were seeing for the first time.
However, from the dark clouds that swept across the sky, Marquis Vandenberg realized that this ominous entity existed.
People said that a 5-star aura swordsman was the same as a 6-circle magician. Meanwhile, a 6-star aura swordsman was the same as that of a 7-circle magician.
The Twelve Swords of the Continent that people talked about were 6-stars, and the mages were usually 7-circles.
Beyond that was the supreme level, which was known to exist, but no one had witnessed before. In front of their eyes…
“Fury of Heaven.”
Rumble.
Rumblleeee.
The gray-haired mage manifested 8-circle magic.
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