The person on the other side of the door didn't barge in but politely knocked three times and patiently waited. Wrath remained rooted in his spot, perhaps too shocked or overwhelmed to speak or move.

Isadore did feel a strange aura lurking from behind the door but he couldn't feel the same thing Wrath was experiencing so he was able to get a hold of himself and slowly walk toward the door.

Seeing the pale face of his bodyguard, Isadore knew that something was wrong but he still went to open the door. This uninvited individual didn't cause a ruckus and even knocked on the door so it was safe to assume that he came bearing no hostile intentions.

It seems to have taken an eternity to reach that door and finally open it with his sweat-soaked hand. Though, when he finally saw the person behind that door, Isadore couldn't help but frown as the youth before him seemed unfamiliar.

There was even a short-haired girl that belonged to the beastmen Race standing behind the clad-armored youth.

It is indeed the first time Isadore saw Leiu in person but he heard the tales of the Nameless Knight so it didn't take him too long to reach a conclusion, especially after noticing Wrath's unnatural reaction.

It is widely known that the Seven Deadly Sins are antagonistic to Leiu as the latter had killed Pride. However, when he came face to face with the Nameless Knight, even an entity like Wrath was unable to lift a finger, much less attack him.

Furthermore, he was serving the King right now so he's obligated to follow the rules and keep his personal matters to himself, just like when he saw Makaze but didn't make a move and simply watched from the sidelines.

"King Isadore Marfront of Green-Leaf, I presume?"

"Yes yes! Please come in."

Isadore didn't dare act arrogantly in front of the youth before him. He welcomed the two guests in and signaled for Wrath to leave but the middle-aged man kept standing there like an idiot.

"I didn't come here for you so calm down."

Leiu waved his hand dismissively while glancing at Wrath and uttering those words. Only then did the middle-aged man dare move, he bowed toward the youth clad in jet black armor then walked to a corner of the room and stood there, motionless like a pillar.

Isadore didn't know why would a mysterious person like the Nameless Knight come here out of all places. He sat opposite of the youth and the little girl and waited for the other party to talk.

Leiu didn't beat around the bush or waste any second, he just gazed at the young King and said:

"Very soon, there'll be a war and I'm simply here to ask you."

Isadore carefully listened to Leiu and nodded his head:

"Please ask."

"What I want to ask is; are you going to participate or merely watch?"

Confused, Isadore tilted his head and said:

"I'm not sure I understand."

A chilling aura emanated from the silent youth, who maintained his silent for a full minute before speaking again:

"There is no need to hide things from me, I know that you've been to Astria and you're currently seeking Arthur. All of that is meaningless, in the end, all that matters is what you'll do when war breaks out. To put it bluntly, will you help Arthur fight the White Specter Clan or back away?"

Isadore didn't know how to give an appropriate response, he pondered for a few seconds before answering:

"Well… depending on the circumstances, I will-"

Before he could finish, he was cut off by Leiu, who retorted:

"I need a short and honest answer. Yes, you will help him or No, you don't think he can win even with your assistance."

While it is true that Isadore wanted to befriend Arthur and ally with him, it was kind of unexpected for the Nameless Knight to come up to him and ask for an immediate and straightforward answer.

In all honesty, the king felt confused and curious about Leiu's intentions which is why he hesitated. What if he gives the wrong answers which will lead to dire consequences?

After a long bout of silence, Isadore gave raised his head, glanced at the girl then at the Nameless Knight and opened his mouth, about to give his reply…

********

It was a medium-sized room filled with monitors, remnants of snacks and sweets covered almost the whole floor and the walls and roof were dyed with a pink and red color. There were lots of large-sized pillows that were soft and comfortable to sit on.

Currently, a man, who's been unconscious for a long time, struggled to open his fluttering eyes only to witness a strange thing. A pink roof and the sound of several running computers. A short figure with long hair entered his sight, she was inspecting his face with a curious expression.

"Oh! You're finally up!"

The girl seemed familiar to the man, who thought he died only to awake in this strange place. The girl had a familiar face and the decoration of the room reminded him of a certain person, a person who disappeared a long time ago.

The girl was pouting as she crossed her arms and harrumphed:

"Is that the way you look at someone who saved your life?"

She snorted again while turning her head toward the large monitors and adding:

"If I was a second later! Those remnants would have sucked your body then your soul!"

Surprisingly, this girl, who looked like a child, was Lolitta, the half-human half-AI who disappeared from Earth after spending quite some time investigating the chip brought by Wolfram.

As for the man who just woke up from a coma, it was Arthur, but not the Arthur of the present. He was the one who accomplished his goals and laid on the grassy field, accepting her death and handing himself to the Time Wraiths.

Never did he expect himself to be saved by Lolitta, who vanished from Earth, never to appear before him again.

After a short silence, the girl said

"I see that you've discovered this place too!"

The only answer she got was complete silence from the weak-looking man. Not only did he feel incredibly weak, his partner, the Dark Blade, was nowhere to be seen.

A strange feeling it was… to wake up alive when one accepted their fate and readied themselves for eternal torment. For those 'devoured' by Time Wraiths, it's said that their fate is worse than Hell itself.

"H-how did you save me?"

"It wasn't just me…"

She pointed at the door leading outside of this room while saying

"He said that he wanted to repay a lifetime favor…"

Though he felt weak, Arthur still forced himself to stand up and slowly walk toward the door, which automatically opened, showing him a spacious underground field.

The first thing that he caught his attention was an enormous beast covered in silver scales. Its large size and majestic appearance matched its race and title. This was a silver dragon, more precisely, a lightning-dragon named Yamak…

A soothing energy enveloped Arthur and helped him move easily, alleviating much of the pain he was feeling. A deep voice soon rang inside his ears.

"Caretaker, thy tale hath not ended yet…"

*****

MoonStar Sect, Astria.

Two figures were busy bickering with each other, one had a red hair and the other had a white hair. Their appearance was similar but their behavior was polar opposites as one had a foul mouth and aggressive attitude while the other was calm and composed.

Randolf and Midolf, who accomplished their master's task, spent their days guarding the sect and doing miscellaneous work.

However, everything seemed to change in one single, brief moment. It was like being struck by lightning, their bodies momentarily trembled and their very souls were shaken.

It was a calling, albeit from a great distance, they still felt it clearly. The two wasted no time and transformed into red and white shadows which traveled through space and headed toward the source of this urgent calling.

******

A gloomy gave, spacious yet cold and lacking any kind of illumination, this is where Gutcha has been quietly cultivating for the past couple of months. Everything returned to normal after Makaze caused that loud disturbance.

As per Arthur's orders, Gutcha has been protecting the strange black box and never budged from his place. His cultivation surprisingly reached the peak of God Realm, only a step away from becoming a Sovereign.

Despite his fast advancement, Gutcha didn't feel that things were becoming harder. Every breakthrough was the same, instantaneous and smooth.

Dark Magic invaded every part of his body, almost becoming one with the pigolo. He still hasn't used Dark Magic in actual battles but Gutcha knew that doesn't pale in comparison to other Peak Gods. In fact, the lethality of Dark Magic will become a great advantage to him in every fight.

One particular day, the peacefulness was suddenly broken. At first, Gutcha started hearing low, cyclic sounds and slowly but surely, they were becoming louder and clearer. When he stopped meditating and started focused on the sound, he found out that it was actually a heartbeat, more surprising is the fact that it was coming from the large black box.

This continued for ten minutes before the whole place started to shake. A deafening yell akin to a banshee reverberated across the whole cave, startling Gutcha and force him to retreat a few steps.

Things only got stranger as the small cracks started appearing on the top of the black box. Witnessing this, Gutcha grew excited as he knew it was finally time!

The cracks stretched to all corners of the black object before its top finally shattered as a hand appeared from within the box. The person inside supported himself using the edges of the box and slowly stood up. All the bones of his body cracked as if they didn't move for a millennial.

In this dark place, the man stretched his limbs then stared at his hand while letting out a chuckle. The only source of light was his red-colored eye which landed on the speechless Pigolo, who bowed toward his boss.

Fifteen seconds after the shattering of the black box, two silhouettes appeared before the man, surprising the excited pigolo. Midolf knelt before the man while Radolf handed him a black robe. The man seemed aware that he was naked but didn't seem to be bothered by it but he still took the robe and wore it.

Radolf and Midolf bent the knee and dropped their heads, paying respects to their master. Feeling out of place and forced to do something to express his sincerity too, Gutcha copied their actions.

"Welcome back, Master."-Radolf

"Is everything ready?"-Arthur

Still kneeling, the red-haired youth nodded his head and replied:

"Yes, thy orders were carried to the last latter."

"Good."

A cold smile appeared on the man's face, he clutched his fist, seemingly thinking about something. A malevolent aura emanated from Arthur's body, it was bone-chilling and ominous.

Gutcha recognized it yet felt it was slightly different than Arthur's past Dark Magic, this one seemed more 'alive'. The aura stretched to all corners of the cave, corrupting it within seconds and causing to crumble along with the whole mountain.

In just dozens of seconds, the whole area turned into a jet black land, even the nearby beasts weren't spared.

Arthur spent some time feeling the passing breeze and staring at the cloudy sky before declaring:

"We're going to war."

END OF VOLUME 7

NEXT VOLUME : VOLUME 8 : Rise of the Undead Act 2 ; I shan't forget, I shan't forgive.