Chapter 290
Duke Agnus practically fled from the Great Hall.
“Ha… Hahahahaha!”
The Emperor had been immersed in his thoughts for a while, but he suddenly burst into laughter.
“I already realized this, but Aden’s acting skills are improving day by day, don’t you think?”
“If that really is an act, then I wouldn’t be able to match it, Your Majesty.” Duke Tremblin shook his head, keeping his eyes on the entrance of the Great Hall.
“That just means he’s naturally talented at it. What a cunning man. However…” Emperor Marcus stood up from his throne as he smirked. “He’s not at my level.”
“....”
“How many crises and obstacles have I overcome until now? How many times have I almost died?”
The Emperor’s eyes seemed to glow with madness.
“I drenched myself in my father’s blood and stripped off the flesh of my brothers until I finally rose to this position.”
“....”
“I wasn’t even in line for the throne, so how do you think I managed to sit on this throne?”
Duke Tremblin bowed his head as he spoke, carefully avoiding Emperor Marcus’s crazed stare.
“This is due to the fact that Your Majesty’s skill exceeded that of everyone else.”
“Close. It’s because I looked ahead and prepared more thoroughly than everyone else.”
“....”
“Geschhard.”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“Do you think Aden will obey me?”
Duke Tremblin stopped and thought about it before responding. “Your Majesty, do you think… he’ll commit treason and betray us?”
“I don’t think… I know.”
“...!” The Duke’s eyes widened in surprise. “But if you take Joshua Sanders in consideration, Duke Agnus will have no choice but to go to war—”
“You think Aden has any thoughts of ‘fatherly love’? Hahahaha!”
Duke Tremblin closed his mouth when Emperor Marcus started chuckling.
“Even a random dog on the street would find that funny.”
“Then, Your Majesty, you mean…”
“Aden… he’s a worse person than me.”
“....”
“He claims he likes brilliant people, but he's the kind of person who can casually kill thousands of innocent people to rescue one of his own. He's vicious and merciless and would do everything to achieve his goal.” The corners of Emperor Marcus's lips rose. “That is the Aden von Agnus that I know.”
Duke Tremblin paused for a second before speaking carefully.
“Your Majesty, it may be presumptuous of me to say this, but shouldn’t we be a bit more cautious—”
“No.”
“...!”
“I know Aden better than anyone. He and I share a unique bond.”
It didn’t matter that Duke Tremblin was the Sword Emperor; there was nothing more he could say now that the Emperor had spoken like this.
‘Is there an unknown connection between the two of them? Well, they have been rivals for a while, so there must be some kind of relationship…’
“Don’t worry so much. I will personally deal with Aden.” Emperor Marcus’s eyes gleamed brightly. “You just do the task that I ordered you to do.”
Duke Tremblin shook those thoughts out of his mind.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the Duke answered as he bowed his head.
The Emperor gave a satisfied smile.
“I guess we should double-check to make sure of the death? After all, we do need to exercise caution.”
“...Your Majesty?”
Duke Tremblin was confused by the unpredictable Emperor’s words, but only for a moment. He felt a presence waiting by the entrance of the Great Hall.
“Come in,” the Emperor ordered.
Creak.
With the creaking of the doors, a slender figure entered the Great Hall.
“...!”
Duke Tremblin’s eyes widened when he saw who had entered the hall.
***
“....”
Joshua’s expression hardened as he examined what was in front of him.
It couldn’t be considered an illusion anymore. An unpleasant and musty smell was piercing his nose, and the dampness of the fog seemed to be seeping into his skin.
“This is what I’m afraid of?” Joshua muttered in disbelief.
He looked at the man who seemed very much like himself, especially the impressionable eyes. Joshua wondered whether this was how he would look if he were a bit older.
“Father.”
The identity of the man came directly from Joshua’s mouth.
There was only one person who would be called that by Joshua—one of the continent’s brightest stars, the Dark God Aden von Agnus.
Of course, Joshua wouldn’t really call Aden von Agnus ‘father’ to his face. It didn’t matter that Joshua had Aden’s blood running through his veins; the only thing that mattered was that Aden did not allow Joshua to call him father.
“Joshua.”
Joshua’s fist clenched on its own at the familiar voice. Even the force behind the voice was the same as the real Aden’s.
“Do you resent me?”
“Ha.” Joshua snorted.
The question was absolutely absurd, to say the least.
The man’s brows furrowed at Joshua’s response.
Whoooong!
Soon, the air seemed to vibrate.
“You will never defeat me.”
The man hefted his pitch-black greatsword and advanced; his steps left footprints on the dry ground.
“You are beneath me.”
Joshua’s lips twisted as he lifted his spear.
He didn't want to accept it. Rather, he refused to accept it.
He had thought he had overcome his fears a long time ago. Even if that fear was his father, the Dark God, Joshua had believed he had overcome his fears.
“It must be the vestiges of emotions handed down from my previous life,” Joshua mumbled to himself as he raised his spear to strike at the man.
When Joshua had been a child, the Duke had seemed like a giant. Of course, while it was true that the Duke was powerful, it was only natural for Joshua to have that impression since, at the time, he was just a powerless pawn. By the time he could stand on his own, his father had already left the world.
If someone were to ask Joshua to choose the current strongest person on the continent, who would it be? Excluding himself, of course.
Joshua infused mana into his spear until it hummed. When he was finished, Joshua took a deep, slow breath.
“Even if this is all an illusion, even if this is all in my head… I will never lose. Especially to you.”
That was a commitment he had pledged to himself.
“Because I still haven’t forgiven you.”
That was the first step towards getting rid of everything.
Shick.
Perhaps that sound was a signal? Duke Agnus’s figure vanished in an instant.
No, he hadn’t actually vanished. It just seemed like he vanished.
An illusion that seemed so real. A reality that seemed like an illusion.
It was obviously not real, yet it represented a world in which the victor may take anything from their foe—even their life.
Could that really be called an illusion?
“...!” Joshua shuddered as the Duke’s pressure washed over his body.
Duke Agnus’s figure and the pitch-black greatsword struck from behind.
That sword could rip its enemies—or an entire nation—in two. The great Dark God’s instrument of choice was named Vibrost.
Joshua whipped his body around. Even if his eyesight was the best of the best, trying to follow the attack with his eyes would just lead to his defeat. Joshua needed to use all five senses, especially his sight, to track down his enemy.
And the moment he felt his enemy…
Swish!
That was where his spear would strike first.
CLANG!
The greatsword and the spear collided with a clang and a shower of sparks.
The spear was up against the most powerful weapon on the continent, but it didn’t budge a single bit.
The more pain Joshua felt in his hands, the wider he smiled.
The thing in front of him was only an illusion. The real one was somewhere else. For that reason, the illusion might be a hair stronger or weaker than the real one because it’s all an illusion from Joshua's mind.
‘But since when did I care about things like this?’
Screech! Clang!
“...!”
The initial impact only stopped Joshua’s spear for a slight moment. With a screech of harsh metal, it began to move again.
A look of surprise flitted across his opponent’s face.
‘Yeah, why does it even matter?’
Joshua began to speak as he forced the enemy back with his spear.
“Please allow me to use this occasion to convey my thanks in a way I wasn’t able to in the past.”
“....”
“With this, I will give up the lingering resentment and disappointment leftover from my previous life. But…”
“....”
“We are now in a state where we do not hold any favors or grudges. We are not enemies, but we also don’t have a father-son relationship.”
Perhaps it was just Joshua’s imagination, but the illusion’s eyes seemed to waver.
“If you stand in my path…”
Joshua’s grip clenched around his spear.
“I’ll cut you down without hesitation.”
Clang! Crack!
There was a loud noise and then the noise of human bone breaking.
The spear had broken through the greatsword and pierced the illusion of Duke Agnus. He looked down at the spear with disbelief and fear in his eyes. His heart had been pierced by the spear. He stopped moving.
“...!”
Joshua’s eyes widened at the final words the illusion spoke as it began to disappear.
“W-what?”
Even as it disappeared, it seemed to grin at him. Finally, the illusion vanished, leaving behind a single sphere.
“Joshua!”
Iceline was taken aback when the fog suddenly cleared, and Joshua was visible.
“You—” Theta started to say something before he hesitated, looking puzzled.
Joshua’s eyes were fixed unwaveringly on a single spot.
“What—?”
A mysterious device, glowing brilliantly with five distinct colors, had appeared at his feet. It was the first reward on the 40th Floor, the Demon’s Section.
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