“Gasp...”

Dulandal was overwhelmed by Grid’s overbearing pressure and barely managed to breathe after collapsing.

‘What?’

The Saharan lineage was special and Dulandal was born with red energy from birth. He might be lacking compared to the other imperial princes, but he was beyond an ordinary person in terms of ability. It was unthinkable that he would be scared and restricted by someone when he had the strength of red energy.

‘Someone with a poor pedigree overwhelmed me?’

Dulandal had heard of Grid’s reputation over the years, but he had never acknowledged Grid’s ability. Grid’s achievements were so great that it was too much to say they were achieved with personal skills. Prince Dulandal noted that there were many helpers beside Grid and thought he was a cunning person who used people with his silver tongue.

He judged that Grid’s accomplishments were possible due to the sacrifices of those who were exploited by him. From the beginning, he was a commoner who became king. He was a traitor who betrayed the royal family he served and seized the throne. He must be an ordinary person.

So Dulandal ignored and despised him.

‘Isn’t he cool?’

Prince Dulandal realized that Grid’s skills were real and looked at Grid again. In fact, he didn’t care about personality when evaluating talent. He felt uneasy about Grid because he was worried he would be fooled by Grid’s tongue, not due to personality.

‘I want to make him my own.’

Dulandal was fascinated by Grid and wanted to obtain him at any cost. He had no intention of using Lightning God Kyle and the Black Knights to threaten Grid with force. He wanted to approach it widely and buy Grid’s affection.

“Resh.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Recently, his skills had greatly improved so he was selected as a promising figure within the Black Knights. Dulandal gave a task to Resh who was waiting outside the great hall.

“Find out how many wives and children Grid has.”

It was an easy mission. Resh immediately replied, “He has one wife and one son.”

“He doesn’t have any concubines?”

“Yes...”

“He doesn’t seem fascinated by beautiful women. Hmm, then find out how much wealth he has accumulated.”

“Are you thinking about giving him money?”

“That’s right. Isn’t satisfying desires the easiest way to win a person’s heart?”

“However, King Grid should be richer than Your Highness.”

“......”

Dulandal suddenly remembered the news that the Overgeared Kingdom had accumulated considerable wealth despite being a small kingdom. What could he give to buy the heart of a person who didn’t need women or money? Resh offered advice to the confused person. “First of all, why not apologize?”

“Apologize?”

“Weren’t you rude to King Grid? If you really want to please someone, shouldn’t you first acknowledge what you did wrong and let your heart go?”

Resh had been disappointed with Dulandal from the beginning and had become Grid’s man after exploring the Abyss with him. Dulandal never dreamed of it, but his every move was reported to Grid every day. This was why Dulandal was still alive.

Both Resh and Grid already knew that Dulandal had abandoned his ambition to become emperor. He realized that no matter how hard he tried, it would be impossible to bring down Basara who had succeeded the throne from Juander. He hadn’t gathered as many people as he expected. He didn’t have a good foundation, so the only thing he could do was play drunk and scold Basara and her entourage.

What was he doing with Lightning God Kyle next to him? If he was to use Kyle’s power to occupy the imperial palace, then troops from all over the empire would immediately punish him. However, if he could get the Overgeared King Grid...

“I know. I have to apologize.”

Apologize—Dulandal became determined to do something he had never done since he was born and returned to his palace. He washed himself with clean water and changed clothes to get rid of the smell of alcohol he had sprinkled on himself. He went to the restaurant where Grid was eating and stiffened like a stone statue.

He saw Basara smiling brightly when eating with Grid and recalled old memories. Every time he called her aunt...

She always smiled in that way.

“......”

Dulandal wondered. Did he cry like her on the day his father died? He really didn’t know. He only remembered being jealous of Basara and cursing her, who was crying despite wearing the crown that he so longed for.

‘Dammit.’

The reason Basara didn’t kill him or drive him out after gaining the throne was because she still considered him family. Why had he forgotten that? Since when had he been so blinded by power that he hated his family?

“Your Highness, what brings you here?”

Red armor blocked Dulandal’s view as he stopped at the entrance and watched Basara. The Red Knights protecting Basara openly guarded against Dulandal. Dulandal once again realized how he had been acting during this time and spoke with a sorrowful expression, “I want to greet Her Majesty for a while.”

He realized that the first person he should apologize to was none other than Basara. Suddenly, a huge explosion occurred. This was Titan. What happened in the middle of the capital of the Saharan Empire? The following earthquake shook the restaurant and there were screams from everywhere.

“Your Highness!”

The Red Knights were still suspicious of Dulandal and shouted angrily. They thought Dulandal had done something to hurt the empress.

“I will arrest you!”

“Keuk!”

Dulandal ignored the knights drawing their swords and released the red energy. Then he flew at Basara and took the debris that was falling toward her head using his back.

“Cough... Are you okay?”

“Dulandal?”

Basara’s eyes shook fiercely as she was confused by the sudden situation.

“Your Highness!”

The Red Knights who were still suspicious of Dulandal caught up with him.

“It is a great demon.”

Grid was the one who realized the situation. His gaze was focused on the imperial palace not far away. The symbol of the empire that shone a brilliant gold was currently being eroded by sinister demonic energy. He could see 3rd Imperial Prince Benoit staggering beyond the veil of demonic energy.

“Dulandal.”

“Eh?”

Grid hadn’t understood Juander’s last request asking not to hurt his sons. 1st Imperial Prince Roland was gentle, intelligent, and helped Basara, but the 2nd Imperial Prince aimed for the throne, so he wondered if it was right to protect him. Moreover, Dulandal was a dangerous person with the same ideas as previous emperors.

He didn’t understand cultures and races outside the empire and suppressed them using force. The reason Grid didn’t hurt him and kept him alive was because Basara wanted it. Grid had been in contact with Resh and Kyle for the past few months and discovered that Basara cherished her nephew, Dulandal. She hoped that Dulandal’s heart would change one day.

It happened today.

“I will leave her safety to you.”

“Y-Yes.”

Dulandal proved that he could change. It was proof that the goodwill Basara showed wasn’t meaningless.

‘Now I just need to grab that guy.’

The stability and development of the Saharan Empire was an absolute to the Overgeared Kingdom. In order to stabilize the empire, it was necessary to prevent accidents with the imperial princes. Therefore, Benoit had to be detained and stopped from wandering all over the continent and summoning great demons.

“Why? Why is this nation so peaceful?! Just like the one who killed my mother! I will break it with my own hands!”

Grid arrived in front of the veil of demonic energy using Shunpo and frowned when he heard Prince Benoit’s screams. Empress Marie—the person who caused chaos in the empire by poisoning Empress Aria and damaging Juander’s intelligence. Prince Benoit’s anger and vengeance that had been directed at her started wandering and he felt lost. His twisted hatred for the home he was supposed to defend led to the disaster of the great demon being summoned.

“Chwirik! Chwiririk! There are humans everywhere I look! Okay! Chirik! Human who summoned me! If your hope is to destroy this place! Chirik! I, Botis, am happy to make that wish come true!”

[The 17th Great Demon, Botis, has descended to the human world to take over.]

[A terrible poison is suffocating all nearby existences.]

A snake covered in scales from head to tail, with a pair of arms that resembled that of humans—the heavens and earth became turbulent when the great demon with a bizarre appearance, Botis, let out a menacing roar and emitted poison. The veil of demonic energy gradually expanded its range and dyed the empire with poison.

“Kyaaaak!”

“Hihihiiik!”

“This is crazy!”

Great chaos was created among the millions of people staying in Titans or traveling to and from it. In the face of a sudden disaster, human order became meaningless. The soldiers who were supposed to protect the people cowered and fell back. The running people trampled on the fallen soldiers or grabbed each other’s collars. They did everything possible to get away from this place. The situation of the players was similar.

“I can’t log out?”

“This XX! Get out of the way!”

Players still vividly remembered the destructive power of the 19th Great Demon, Saleos, who killed the allied forces and trampled on the rankers. There was no one who could be calm after seeing the emergence of Botis, a great demon who ranked higher than Saleos.

Everyone showed their backs while running away, but no one could blame them.

『 No, summoning a great demon in the middle of the empire... 』

『 If the damage to the empire increases, then the entire West Continent will change dramatically. The prices of all industrial goods produced by the empire will skyrocket, refugees will become bandits and security will collapse... 』

News broadcasters from different countries learned about the empire’s situation through the breaking news and clicked their tongue. The fleeing people could only look at each other sadly and pray there weren’t many casualties. Just then, the scene of a dragon ascending and piercing the veil of demonic energy was captured by the cameras of broadcasting companies all over the world.

The identity of the dragon devouring the snake who frightened millions of people was none other than Grid.

The amazed news hosts stood up.

Many people made hopeful observations that escape would be successful while Grid bought them time. However, Grid surpassed people’s predictions. He overwhelmed the 17th great demon alone without anyone else’s help. It was a feat that seemed to proclaim he would protect everyone.