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The harsh winter that had frozen the whole world had come to an end. As the new years passed, the snow and ice started to melt. Greens could be seen everywhere.

It was the 4th month of the year, and the color of spring was out in full force... Azell finally decided to go on a long journey.

‘Now that I think about it, it’s been exactly 1 year.’

The thought came over Azell as he looked out the window. He had woken up in the Balan Forest one year ago today. He had gone through a lot after he woke.

If he had his way, he would have left much earlier. However, he had made relationships here, and he had a lot of things he had to do before he could leave his friends.

In the past 3 months, Azell and Kairen had focused on their training. Azell had taught a lot of things to Kairen. In turn, Kairen passed on the knowledge to Arrieta, Seigar and Giles.

Three month could be considered to be long or it could be considered to be short depending one’s perspective. However, everyone’s ability increased drastically in this period of time. The chaos caused by the fall of the Nadick Empire, the Great Darkness and the machination of the Dragon Demon King worshippers had caused the loss of concepts and techniques. They had the very rare opportunity to learn these lost concepts and techniques from Azell.

“I’ll be leaving.”

Azell didn’t have much to pack. Usually, people packed heavily for a long trip, but Azell only packed the items he thought were a necessity.

“Hmm. Are you really going to leave?”

When Azell came out with his pack, Giles was waiting for him with a question.

Azell replied.

“Yes. In truth, I’ve been here too long.”

“I want to thank you for all you have taught me. I don’t know how I’ll repay this kindness.”

“It is hardly necessary to say such a thing.”

In the past, techniques were exchanged and shared during the Dragon Demon War. He just did something that would have occurred during that time.

He had woken up after a long sleep, and he had developed valuable relationship with these people. However, they weren’t his family or his students.

“I’m sure there will come a time when you’ll need power. I want you to choose trustworthy people, and you should build up your ranks.”

He didn’t have to teach them, but he felt that it was a necessary task. This was why he hadn’t hold back in his teachings. He was sure the remnants of darkness was roiling beneath the surface of the world, and there will come a time when it’ll wake up once again. Even a single person, who would fight alongside him, would be a boon for him.

Giles nodded his head.

“I will do my best.”

Azell patted Giles’ shoulder once, and he exited the corridor.

When he arrived at the front door, Arrieta, Seigar and Enora was waiting for him.

Arrieta spoke. She had on a slightly sullen expression as she spoke. It was an expression that one never saw on her, and it made her look her age. Azell unconsciously smiled at the sight.

“Is it true that you aren’t taking the horse I gifted you?”

“Yes. I appreciate the thought, but a horse is too slow.”

Azell grinned as he spoke. This was the reason why he didn’t have much luggage. Azell didn’t plan on traveling like a normal traveler. He planned on running to his destination in the shortest amount of time.

Arrieta burst out laughing as if he had said something absurd.

“You said a horse is slow... If people don’t already know you, people will think you are crazy.”

“Fortunately, you know me.”

“Yes. It is unfortunate, but you are right. If I knew this would have happened, I would have prepared something else.”

“It is the thought that counts.”

Azell grinned. Arrieta spoke that way, but it wasn’t as if he hadn’t received anything from her. He was given travel money, and the amount was much more than he needed.

Azell suddenly felt a gaze on him, so he looked to the side. Seigar was also looking at him with a sullen expression.

Unlike the others, the relationship between Azell and Seigar never improved. When he arrived at the Dukedom of Taranton, Seigar had suffered a thorough defeat at the hands of Azell. Afterwards, Seigar acknowledged Azell’s superiority, but he never displayed a friendly attitude. This was why Azell had made no efforts in trying to become friendly with Seigar. He had no reason to make such overture.

Still, he had learned a lot from Azell, so there was respect in Seigar’s attitude. Segiar spoke as he brought up his hand.

“I’ll pray for your success in future battles. I’ll work hard, so I can vindicate myself next time we meet.”

“I’ll look forward to it.”

Azell still smiled as he shook Seigar’s hand.

Enora stayed still until that moment. She was of lesser station, and she couldn’t open her mouth until she was prompted by a person of higher rank. Azell was aware of this fact, so he initiated the conversation.

“When I see you next, Ms Enora would have grown into a slender lady. Since Ms Enora is great at your work, you’ll probably be a veteran maid for the royal family. I bet you’ll have a lot of people working for you by that time.”

“Are you planning on not coming back for that long?”

Enora asked with round eyes. The new year had come, but her birthday was in the summer. She was only a 14 year old girl. She was in the midst of her puberty, so she had grown a lot from the time he had met her. However, she was still a young girl, who still hadn’t lost her baby fat. If he planned on seeing her when she was a slender lady, how many years was he talking about?

Azell laughed.

“Well, it’ll be great if I get to see you before that happens. Anyways... I owe a lot to Ms Enora.”

“At least, you are aware of it.”

After giving his farewell to Enora, he also gave a farewell to Havanz and the staffs of the estate. Finally, he searched for Kairen. Havanz let out a bitter laugh as he told Azell to head outside.

“You are too slow. By the time you finish your farewell, the day might come to an end.”

Kairen had come out early, and he had been waiting for Azell. The problem was the clothes he was wearing.

Azell queried.

“...are you going somewhere today, Duke?”

Kairen wore his armor, and he had equipped his two Dragon Swords. He was fully armed. Moreover, he had on a magic tool that hid his horns, pointed ears, and the Dragon Stone. He was disguised as a human knight. On top of it all, he had a travel pack strapped to his back. No matter how one looked at it, it looked as if Kairen was planning on leaving for a trip.

Kairen spoke.

“I’m guessing you are going to the former county of Karzark. I believe you are going to a region taken over by monsters.”

“...duke?”

“I have talented people under me, so my territory will be managed well even if I’m not here. Don’t worry about it. You know how talented Havanz is. Even if I’m gone for an extended amount of time, it won’t be a problem.”

“No. Wait a moment...”

Azell furrowed his brows. He had never considered this scenario. Kairen was one of the great nobles of this country. He was a shield that protected the people from the Dragon Demon King worshippers, and he was a member of the Guardian Shadows. Azell never expected someone of his personage to just follow him.

However, no one seemed surprised by his intentions. It seemed Kairen had told them about his decision beforehand.

Azell sighed as he asked the question.

“Are you serious about this?”

“Of course, I’m serious. I hid it, because I wanted to see your expression. I have a legitimate reason, so don’t look at me as if I’m some thoughtless child.”

“...you accurately figured out what I was feeling, and I want to thank you for packaging your words in such a manner.”

Kairen ignored Azell’s words as he explained the reasons behind this move.

“As a member of the Guardian Shadows, I’ve fought against the Dragon Demon King worshippers.... I have a gut feeling that I have to go with you.”

“.......”

“I feel as if your existence and what I experienced recently portends the beginning of something big. It is not my style to be in the dark. I don’t want to react and cope with the situation blindly. If I stay with you, I have a feeling that I’ll be able to get to the heart of this problem.”

Kairen didn’t lie. He told the truth. Kairen had fought the Dragon Demon king worshippers for over several dozen years, yet he had never been able to get to the core of the problem. On top of it all, he didn’t even know the real identity of his own organization.

However, events started to change rapidly when Azell came into the scene. The real identities of his enemies were slowly peeled away, and he was able to find out about the Guardian Shadow’s secret.

So how could he not follow after Azell?

He wasn’t patient enough to step away from a fight, and wait for the result to come out. He always ran to the heart of a fight, and he dictated the result with his own hands. This was why he was the living legend of the Rulain kingdom. This was why he was called the Dragon Sword Duke.

After listening to Kairen’s determined words, Azell looked at him for a brief moment. In the end, he had to laugh.

“If you are resolute on this, I won’t say no to you. I just feel a bit sorry for Mr. Havanz.”

“The Duke has done this many times before. Please look out for the Duke.”

Havanz spoke with a voice mixed with a sigh.

This was how the two men left the Dukedom. They would have to cross two borders, but in Azell’s mind, the distance didn’t seem too far away. Kairen and Azell crossed mountains and plains as they ran like the wind.

2

The forest had been calm and still only an hour ago, and the darkness of the night ruled over the land. However, an explosion accompanied by fire shattered the darkness, and the fire started to spread.

Duran put on the appearance of the Black Knight as he conducted a slaughter within the forest.

“Ah-ahk!”

As the flames burned the forest, Duran cut down a boy that hadn’t even reached puberty. He had killed the boy with a single strike, and he immediately headed towards his next target.

At that moment, a blue thunder struck Duran, and it stalled his advance.

Gwah-gwah-gwahng!

“Hmmm.”

If he was a normal human being, he would have died on the spot. However, Duran used the Insulation technique to ground the electricity. He glared at his enemy.

The enemy was a young girl. A freckled young girl was shaking in fright.

“Can’t you tell your resistance is useless? It’ll be easier for you if you accept this.”

The girl flinched at his words, which had come out like a sigh. She raised her magical energy. She was young, but she was a magician with enormous magical power.

Pah-hahk!

However, she looked inexperienced and lacking in front of Duran. Before her concentrated magical energy could do anything, his sword cut her throat open. She fell as blood sprayed out of her. Her eyes were wide open.

“You evil bastard!”

A bloodied young man cried out in despair, and he approached Duran from the side. He wasn’t a magician. He was a Spirit Order practitioner like Duran.

“You threw away your faith, and you killed your master. How dare an immoral person like you say such a thing to me.”

Duran spoke as he easily parried the other’s sword strike. Fire burned within the young man’s eyes.

“You are a crazy devil! You aren’t qualified to talk about immorality and duty!”

“You are wrong. You guys are the ones that are crazy. You had the chance to follow the true faith, yet you voluntarily turned away from it.”

The young man used to be a prospect that the Dragon Demon king worshippers had groomed for his combat potential. He had been indoctrinated with the true faith from a young age, yet he had killed his teacher. He had tried to escape with the others.

However, this young man wasn’t the true mastermind behind the escape attempt.

The young man was lured away by sweet talk, and he had committed a deadly sin. He was a pitiable soul. Duran knew this, so he asked a question.

“Yuren chose to take up the name seeped in sin. What did this evil traitor do to you all? What words caused you to commit such foolish actions?”

Yuren was recently causing a lot of problem within the ranks of the Dragon Demon king worshippers. He had killed all his comrades affiliated with the organization he was affiliated with, and now he was on the run. Moreover, he was going around destroying the bases connected to his organization.

The problem was the fact the there was no strict structure to how the Dragon Demon king worshippers were organized. This was why even the ruling class in the Plain of Darkness wasn’t able to keep up with all the activities of the various organizations.

However, Yuren was able to find out the overlapping points in these organizations, and he continued to attack the Dragon Demon King worshippers.

From the perspective of the Dragon Demon king worshippers, Yuren’s action was so astounding that words didn’t even come out of their mouths.

Until a year ago, Yuren had been a prospect placed in a secret training facility for magicians. Basically, he hadn’t even been officially recognized as a magician.

Moreover, he was only a 20 years old human. Unlike the Dragon Majin, he hadn’t been born with naturally high reservoir of magic. Moreover, he was only an apprentice, so he hadn’t received any valuable knowledge. The valuable techniques were only given when one did something of merit.

Despite all of that, Yuren had already killed Dragon Demon king worshippers in the hundreds. There were many Dragon Majin included in this number.

‘I don’t understand that bastard.’

Duren still haven’t seen Yuren in person. It was only in recent days that the upper management had inserted high quality individuals like Duran.

As Duran followed the traces left behind Yuren, Duran was getting further away from understanding this young man.

In the first place, why did Yuren betray the Dragon Demon king worshippers? Moreover, how was he able to improve his skills so much? However, as time passed, Duran didn’t worry about such thoughts.

“We now know the truth. We know how crazy and evil you guys are!”

The real problem was the existence like the young man pointing his sword towards Duran.

The human Dragon Demon King worshippers were divided into two categories. There were the humans nurtured within the organizations. Then there were the humans akin to Duran. The truth was told to an outsider, and this human outsider became a convert.

The children nurtured from within were mostly orphans. They were indoctrinated with the beliefs of the Dragon Demon King worshippers from the time they were able to talk. The children were indoctrinated in a completely controlled environment, so they shouldn’t have any selfish desires.

However... Something had happened to Yuren, and it made him have a change in heart.

‘Even if was a magic that affected the mind, it would take a very long time and massive effort to change an inflexible mind. So how is this possible?’

“Die!”

Duran held the question in his heart as he looked at the young man, who swung his sword. The young man didn’t care about his own safety. His strike had the intent of taking both of them out. However...

“You are foolish until end.”

Before the young man could swing his sword, Duran’s sword sliced through the young man’s neck.

After the teen fell, Duran approached a young Dragon Majin. The Dragon Majin youth was wearing the same armor as Duran. He spoke.

“Yuren is on the run with the cold-blooded queen.”

Duran was an exception. He was a human given that was given a high rank. Naturally, he had command over both humans and Dragon Majins. Everyone knew about Duran’s skill and accomplishments, so no one objected to his command. They respected him.

“Did they get to safety as they threw these powerless children into the maw of a Dragon?”

“I don’t think that is entirely true.......”

At his words, the young Dragon Majin let out a bitter laugh. Duran looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Mmm?”