Rumbleeeeeeee—
Clack, clack, clack, clack—
Lost in his thoughts, Nerva Sephiroth’s expression was dark amidst the sound of hail and fireballs crashing on the castle roofs.
Griiiiip—
‘How dare the king of such a small nation…’
Nerva had asked Minhyuk to have a cup of tea. However, he was rejected by the man because Minhyuk ‘had to eat chicken’.
Nerva was filled with pride. As the emperor appointed by the Battle God, he firmly believed that he was the only man that could rule this land. But, a mere foreigner king was showing contempt toward him. Still, the anger that he felt only boiled for a brief moment.
[The Eighth Plague.]
[A plague of locusts will descend and devour everything.]
“Your Majesty!!!”
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The servants rushed inside. When he followed them outside, Nerva saw a sea of locusts engulfing the entire Luvien Empire.
“…They’re eating all of our crops.”
“We're already suffering from food shortage as it is.”
“…”
Nerva groaned.
‘There is an epidemic going around and even all of the water sources have turned into blood, yet there are still no casualties.’
Even their livestocks were dying, yet no one had died from starvation.
‘This is obviously an illusion!’
Even though he thought that everything was nothing but an illusion, he still feared the coming of the Tenth Plague. What if the warning from the dreary voice about him ‘losing the one that he cherishes the most’ turned out to be true?
“What about the princess?”
“She has developed a fever and even her coughs have gotten worse.”
“…”
Nerva turned nervous. However, the Beyond the Heavens’ King had opted to ignore his summons. He was trapped between a rock and a hard place.
[The Ninth Plague.]
[Pitch-black darkness will cover everything.]
In a situation where there were infectious diseases running rampant, insects infesting everything, as well as hail and fireballs falling from the sky, the sudden plunge into pitch-black darkness of the entire Luvien Empire heightened the fear in everyone.
Even Nerva started to grow uneasy. He quickly ran to see the princess, only to see the child that he loved dearly hacking from the cough that plagued her as cold sweat dripped down her body.
“Father…”
The other princes were not allowed to refer to Nerva Sephiroth as ‘father’. They had always been ordered to call him ‘Your Majesty’. The princess was the only exception. Nerva only allowed her to call him father. Nerva Sephiroth was still a human after all.
“Don’t worry too much. You have been looking quite emaciated these past few days.”
Nerva’s complexion turned pale after seeing the princess, who was still in cold sweat, worrying about him.
[The final disaster will soon fall upon these lands.]
Once again, that unidentified and dreary voice rang loudly.
***
The ‘Bird that Flies a Thousand Miles’ flew at the speed of light to deliver the parchment it was carrying to all races and places all throughout the continent. The parchment carried the figure of a black dragon ascending to the heavens. The symbol was of the sender of the letter, Black Dragon.
Ruth hurriedly accepted the parchment and delivered it to Her Majesty Ellie, who carefully pored over the contents of the chuunibyou-like parchment.
For unverified letters, Ruth would read them first before passing them on to Her Majesty Ellie. He could not help but recall the contents of the parchment that he received earlier.
[Black Dragon is gathering people.]
[He is gathering people that will deliver a huge blow to the Luvien Empire.]
[He has named the group that will be formed through this as ‘Team Darkness’.]
[Black Dragon has given a codename that suited those that will gather under the banner of this team the most.]
[Ellie’s codename will be: Red Flame Swordsman.]
‘Her Majesty will be called Red Flame Swordsman… Goodness, he gave the Continental Emperor the codename Red Flame Swordsman?!’
Aide Ruth felt his cheeks burn from embarrassment. It sounded like the codename of someone that shouted, ‘Take this! This is the Flaming Sword of Justice!!!” or something like that. The thought alone made Ruth’s face turn red. Ellie, on the other hand, remained silent after reading the parchment.
‘Maybe Her Majesty is feeling embarrassed too? That’s why she’s not speaking?’
Ellie just walked slowly and headed out toward the ramparts. The moonlight shone brightly over Ellie and the peaceful Eivelis Empire. Under the light of the moon, one could see the small flush on her cheeks and the slight tremble of her body.
‘She’s really too shy to speak. She’s even tearing up from the embarrassment…’
Was that how a person looked like if they were too embarrassed? Then, Ellie opened her mouth. “Ruth…”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Red Flame Swordsman.”
There was a tremble in Ellie’s voice as she looked up at the bright moon. Ruth, who watched his empress like that, thought he understood her feelings completely.
“It’s too…”
‘That’s right. She must be so embarrassed…’
“Doesn’t it sound so cool?”
“???”
“In the name of Team Darkness, I am the Red Flame Swordsman.”
“???”
“It sounds like the name of someone that can burn the world with just a single strike of their sword, no? I feel more satisfied with this name, more so than the name Continental Emperor.”
“Your… Your Majesty?”
“How should I appear so that I will look cooler? Will it sound cooler if I say, ‘Burn with my sword of flames!’ when I appear once the Masserati Kingdom is in danger?”
‘N, no… Your Majesty…?’
“I really can’t help but admire Black Dragon’s naming sense once again. He’s really a genius. I should consult with him about the name of our next knight order.”
‘…’
The words that Minhyuk told him in the past flashed in Ruth’s head.
—Ellie-noona is a member of ‘Gremory and the Attention Seekers’. Please pay attention and be careful, Sir Aide.
Only then did Ruth realize that those words were true.
Then, Ellie, with a very grave look on her face, murmured, “How… how should I make my appearance more splendid… Hoo…”
“…”
***
At the same time.
The ‘Bird that Flies a Thousand Miles’ had arrived in another kingdom. It was the Lumae Kingdom, a small nation yet it had the power that was comparable to the power of a considerably large empire.
These days, Prince Votto had been very worried about his father. ‘Father…’
Once in a while, his father, King Raldo, would recall the past.
—Son, these days I keep on remembering the battle back then.
Back then, his father was given the codename: Absolute Strongest Uncle Red Dragon, and played an active role in the war. The thrill of that day was something that King Raldo could never forget. There were even times when he would say that he felt like his mouth and hands were itching to do something and that he could not stand it.
“My father received a mysterious letter?”
Prince Votto immediately rushed to where his father was. There, he saw his father, King Raldo, sitting on his throne and shedding tears as he read the letter in his hands.
King Raldo was a legend that built the Lumae Kingdom up from the ground, making it a nation that no other small nation or kingdom could ever dare touch so easily. He was also considered as the strongest existing king in Asgan Continent and stood among the ranks of the Absolute Supreme NPCs.
However, that very same Raldo was weeping. When Raldo and the knights entered with a concerned look on their faces, he just turned to the window and smiled at the moonlight that shone through the windows.
“The day has finally come. They said that they’re gathering people again. And the name of the team this time is even better than before.”
“F, father…?”
“Team Darkness. Isn’t it such a noble and majestic name? Just like that name of the night sky, no?!!”
“D, dad…?”
“Your Majesty…!”
Raldo suddenly covered his face with his large hand, laughter escaping through his mouth.
“Fufufufu. Votto, if you hear the codename that I received this time, you will also want to join Team Darkness.”
“Absolutely, absolutely not! Never!!!”
“The name given to me this time is Darksword. The Darksword that will leave its mark in the annals of history. Fuhahahahahaha!!!”
Prince Votto’s face turned ugly. He looked like he wanted to cry.
‘D, dad. Please…’
***
Beyond the Heavens’ Vice Guild Master Genie walked out while thinking, ‘Only a few people should go as reinforcements to the Masserati Kingdom. Since the public is still in chaos after the war, we should not send many troops.’
If they did that, the people would just grow uneasy. Genie sent a whisper to Minhyuk regarding this concern. Thankfully, Minhyuk sent a whisper back swiftly.
[Minhyuk: My dad said that he will think of a team name. If it’s Gremory and the Attention Seekers, they will definitely come to gain some attention. Don’t worry too much about it.]
[Genie: Gremory and the Attention Seekers?]
[Minhyuk:…You see… They are people that like to seek others' attention…]
[Genie: ???]
Gremory and the Attention Seekers? It was a very strange name. However, Genie still decided to go and see Black Dragon just in case something was amiss.
When she arrived in front of Black Dragon’s house, she saw that the door was already open.
“Huh…?”
Genie stepped inside and saw how unique the house was. To put it in other words, it was very much in his style. Even the gloomy feeling was up to point. At the same time, Black Dragon’s voice rang from deep within the house.
[Come in.]
Genie chased after the sound of the voice and was promptly left speechless by the sight. Britney was curled up in front of Black Dragon while Breaker had his arms wrapped gently around him. Black Dragon giggled as the four dragons surrounded him.
“I’m well aware what Miss Genie is worried about.”
‘Father…’
At this point, they should have already gotten used to Chairman Kang Minhoo’s preferences. However, Genie just could not bring herself to get used to it.
Black Dragon laughed as he continued to speak with his gloomy voice, “All of the members of Team Darkness have agreed to my proposal.”
“I, I see. That’s a relief.”
Genie could see that Black Dragon already had another guest. This guest was none other than Ascar. After her transfer to the Absolute Demigod Class, she had become one of the strong pillars of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.
Black Dragon turned to look at Ascar and said, “As I was saying before, God of the Battlefield, your mission is to use that ‘voice’, that can even show contempt to the gods, and let the world know of the splendid appearance of the members of Team Darkness.”
“…Yes,” Ascar answered. She looked like she wanted to cry.
Genie easily interpreted those words, ‘So, to put it simply… Once Gremory and the Attention Seekers appear, ‘Scar will use her ‘God’s Voice’ and help them make a more splendid appearance…?’
Ascar turned to look at Genie, with an unmistakable look in her eyes.
‘Genie… please help me…’
‘S, ‘Scar…’
Goodness, the only Absolute Demigod Class, Asura Ascar, had turned into Black Dragon’s ‘God of Voice’ shuttle!!!
“Fufufufu. Keuhahahahahahahahaha!!! The slumbering being on my right arm is already going crazy from the activities that we’re about to partake in!!! Keuhahahahahahaha!!!”
“…”
“…”
Genie and Ascar both wanted to cry at this moment.
***
Minhyuk had received a whisper from Genie.
[Genie: Minhyuk, Gremory and the Attention… No, Team Darkness has finished preparations and is ready to go to war.]
He nodded. This was something that he already expected. The Gremory and the Attention Seekers that he knew would most definitely appear in this battle. After all, they would surely attract attention here.
Meanwhile, he was feeling restless.
‘I heard news that the princess had contracted a sickness at this time but…’
The illusion of the disaster would only appear once the plague had been announced. In other words, the princess’ sickness was not something that Minhyuk was involved in, since the Tenth Plague had not yet arrived.
Basically, the princess was truly sick.
‘Is he not going to do anything even though I sent them back?’
Minhyuk had sent the servants back to Nerva to humiliate him. At the same time, the quest ‘A Cup of Tea with Nerva Sephiroth’ had changed to ‘Nerva’s Move’. It was a quest where he had to make Nerva, the emperor of the great Luvien Empire, make a move on his own. If Nerva would not personally come here, then Minhyuk might actually incur plenty of damages with how he acted afterward.
Minhyuk decided to check the situation outside first. So, he opened the door, only to be shocked. It was because Emperor Nerva’s pale face greeted him. The man was just about to knock on the door when he was suddenly met with Minhyuk’s eyes, his hands forced to stop.
“…”
And what did Minhyuk do? It was simple.
Grin—
One side of his mouth curled up into a smirk.
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