Azel entered the Emperor's office.

It had been quite a while since he was here, but at least he remembered the place clearly… the same hallway lined with polished gold pillars, the same high balcony view from the castle's top floor.

Even the same two guards stood outside the door, wearing golden armor that reflected off the sunlight… they looked as dashing as ever.

And they were much more powerful… he could practically feel it radiating from them.

Both were elites, probably close to the level of a Grand Knight, but strong enough to crush a Rank 2 monster if they fought together.

But even so, Azel knew that if he went all out, if he used everything in his arsenal… he could kill them while almost dying in the process… Just like he was sure of his chances of going against a Grand Mage like Luke.

"Welcome, Azel," one of the guards greeted. "You've really grown."

Azel gave a small nod, offering a polite smile. "Thank you."

He didn't remember if they'd greeted him the last time he was here, but it was progress nonetheless…

The other guard opened the massive mahogany door and stepped aside. "His Majesty is expecting you."

Azel walked through.

The office was exactly as he remembered it… it was very clean yet messy at the same time..

The Emperor's desk stacked with scrolls, papers, and official seals.

There were piles of documents on both sides of the table, with a golden quill still dripping with black ink.

Back when he'd first been here, he had thought that taking hold of an entire Empire wasn't that hard.

But after ruling Lycas for even a short while, Azel finally understood.

He could only silently sympathize with the man behind the desk and avoid anything that tried to make him the ruler of this goddamn empire.

"Please, sit," Aldric said, not even glancing up at first.

His voice carried that authority Azel had grown used to.

Azel took the seat opposite him.

The Emperor finally raised his head, and Azel noticed how tired he looked.

There were shadows under his eyes, and that was clear proof that the man had been working through the night… probably for several nights in a row.

Despite that exhaustion, Aldric's composure was unshaken.

"I heard you finished your werewolf hunt exceptionally well," Aldric said, signing something before setting the quill down. "I knew you'd be able to handle it."

Azel smiled. "Thank you. I also met with Naelia, Ira, and Elizabeth."

Aldric nodded.

"I'm aware. Grand Mage Crono informed me that he allowed you to stay longer in Karan." He leaned back slightly, resting his elbows on the armrest. "That matter is settled now. Let's move on."

His eyes narrowed as he changed the topic. "I want to ask you about the underground base you discovered."

Azel stayed silent.

"How did you find it?" Aldric asked.

Before Azel could even think of a response, a screen crossed his vision.

[You are currently being influenced by an outside force… The Eye of Truth forces you to tell the truth.]

[Kyone's Blessing has negated its effect.]

Azel's lips almost twitched into a frown.

'Ha! He can't even trust me?' he thought.

Then again… he couldn't entirely blame him. This was an Emperor… suspicion was part of the job. Still, forcing a truth spell on him was unnecessary. There wasn't even much to hide anyway.

He decided to play it cool.

"The werewolf case was too simple for me," Azel began confidently. "So I decided to investigate something else. I started following on the gangs that terrorized Karan town from what Captain Rhun told me. They seemed to have influence even in the place. After tailing one of their men for a while, I watched him head into the outskirts. He used a kind of teleportation circle and disappeared underground."

Aldric's fingers drummed on the table. "And?"

"The next morning, I went to investigate," Azel continued. "The circle was already destroyed by then, but I found another path down. I entered the base and… well, it was larger than I expected. They were running experiments, manufacturing something. A drug." He paused. "One that could turn humans into mindless soldiers."

Aldric stopped drumming his fingers.

"I tried to stop the operation," Azel said. "I managed to kill a few, but before I could find out more, the entire base self-destructed. The explosion wiped out everything. I only managed to escape because I was near the exit when it happened."

He left out the part about the demons.

He wasn't about to tell the Emperor about that… especially not when the Church was still eager to "purify" anyone who had even seen one.

He was certainly not going through a 10 day cleansing to rid his soul of the demonic impurities that came with touching them…

"I see…" Aldric finally said.

"Thank you for dealing with their base." He paused. "However, there's a problem."

Azel tilted his head slightly. "A problem?"

"That compound," Aldric said, folding his hands together. "The drug you described… it was created using Naelia's blood."

Azel's eyes widened in apparent shock. "Her blood?"

"Yes." Aldric's expression hardened. "It seems that the unique properties in Starbloom blood were refined to manufacture it. Specifically from Nyala."

He leaned forward slightly. "So I want to ask you, Azel… what were they doing when Nyala was kidnapped?"

Azel's gaze lowered slightly. "They were taking her blood."

"That's not what I asked," Aldric interrupted sharply. "I asked what they were doing."

Azel blinked slowly, trying to keep his face neutral.

'What else were they doing? They were trying to get her blood though…' he thought, though outwardly he looked puzzled.

"I think," Azel said carefully, "they were trying to use her blood for something."

Aldric's expression didn't change immediately.

Instead, he stood from his chair and walked toward the large window behind his desk.

Sunlight spilled across his figure, outlining the sharp edge of his posture.

When he finally spoke again, his voice was dangerously calm.

"They weren't just experimenting, Azel."

Azel looked up, brow furrowing. "What do you mean?"

Aldric turned halfway, his golden eyes catching the light. "They were trying to use her blood to summon something."

"Summon what?" Azel asked, could the Emperor already have caught on…?

Aldric faced him fully now, eyes cold. "The Dragon of Death, Falnirr."

'So he knew?' Azel thought.

"The… Dragon of Death?" he repeated slowly.

"Yes." Aldric said grimly. "Falnirr… There were two more Empires in the world two hundred years ago. However they incurred the wrath of Falnirr and as a result? Two Empires which were the banes of this world were completely destroyed overnight. That is not an enemy we can beat."

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