A few days later, Dragna Kingdom.

Miko was sitting on his throne looking down on the man kneeling before him. He was the former Aloe King Kaju Shidou.

“Kaju, you have lived up to your promise and have turned over full authority of your country to my kingdom. From now on, the Aloe Kingdom will forever be a colonial state of the Dragna Kingdom.”

Miko said.

“It is as you say. The Aloe Kingdom is no more. Everything now belongs to the Dragna Kingdom.”

Kaju replied.

“Good. I no longer have any need for you.”

After Miko said that, Mayumi appeared before her kneeling father.

“Mayumi, he’s your responsibility now. Whether he lives or dies is your choice. That goes for the rest of the royal family.”

Miko said.

She looked at him with a smile of appreciation.

“Thank you, Miko.”

“No problem. I’m just fulling my end of our agreement.”

Miko replied.

Mayumi smiled at him and turned her face away and glared at her father.

“……….”

Despite knowing that his daughter was in front of him, Kaju didn’t dare look up at her. It wasn't because of fear though, it was mostly because of shame.

“Hello, Father.”

Mayumi spoke to him, but he didn’t look at her.

“Look at me.”

“…….”

Kaju still silently kept his head down.

“I said look at me, you son of a bitch!”

Mayumi grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her.

“Look at me, the daughter you abandoned. The daughter that you rejected.”

“Mayumi…”

There were tears in her eyes as she spoke, which made it harder for Kaju to look at her.

“Kill me if you must, but please spare your mother and siblings.”

Kaju said.

“Spare them?”

Mayumi suddenly started laughing.

“You didn’t hesitate to protect them, just like how you didn’t hesitate to lock me away. The difference in treatment makes me jealous.”

She released his face and stood up.

“I seriously want to kill you all.”

Kaju wasn’t surprise to hear that. After all, what he did to a young Mayumi was worthy of death.

“However, I won’t do it.”

It was this moment that he was surprised.

“Why?”

He couldn’t help but to ask.

“Because that would be letting you off easy.”

Mayumi replied.

“I’m gonna do something even crueler.”

She pointed at Kaju.

“Kaju Shidou, you and the rest of the Shidou House are now exiled from Aloe Kingdom and anywhere that falls under the Dragna Influence.”

“What?”

Kaju was shocked by what she said.

“I’m not finished. You will be stripped of all of your fortune and powers will be sealed. And finally, every member of the Shidou house will be exiled to a different place in the world.”

“Wait, Mayumi! You can’t do that! Your brother and sister are not even 8 years old! They can’t survive on their own!”

Kaju shouted.

“Like I care.”

Mayumi answered coldly.

“When I was their age I had already experienced years of isolation in a dark, cold room with only rodents and insects as your only friends. They’ll be fine.”

Kaju gritted his teeth when he heard that.

“Kill me! Just kill me and spare the others! I was the one who made you suffer not them!”

Mayumi shook her head.

“I said it earlier didn’t I? Death is too easy. I prefer you constantly be tortured by the thoughts of your family helpless somewhere in the world, out of your reach. You’ll wonder if they’re still alive, if they’ve become slaves, whether they’ve become someone’s playthings.”

Mayumi showed a cruel smile.

“And what makes it worse, its all your fault.”

“You bitch!”

Kaju pounced at Mayumi with a roar.

“Woah, there.”

Miko appeared between them and caught Kaju’s face. Lahmu image appeared behind him.

“Seal.”

*BAM!*

Suddenly kaju was blown back and a strange mark had appeared on his chest. Miko had instantly sealed off his powers using Lahmu’s power.

He walked up to kaju who was laying on the ground.

“I-I’ll get you for this! You and that bitch!”

He shouted in rage.

Miko smiled amusingly and said-

“No you won’t. Because you’re only just a minor character in my story. No one worth mentioning again.”

After he said that, he stretched his hand out and Kaju was teleported away.

Miko then turned back to Mayumi.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I see.”

Miko walked up to his throne and sat back on it.

“So when are you leaving?”

He asked.

“In a few hours. I’m going to take my siblings and go on a journey.”

Mayumi didn’t have any intention of putting her innocent siblings in harms way just to satisfy her thirst for revenge. She just wanted to mentally break down her father, so that he would forever be tormented wondering where his family was and what was happening to them.

After all, Mayumi wasn’t heartless.

“What about the rest of the Shidou House?”

Miko asked.

“Lock them up and let them live the rest of their days as prisoners. All of them are guilty, even that bitch of a mother.”

She said grudgefully.

“I understand.”

Miko looked at her from head to toe and smiled.

“I’ve gotta say, I’m gonna regret not having you as my woman.”

“Stop it. You have enough women problems as it is. I don’t want to get caught up in all that drama.”

Mayumi said with a laugh. Miko laughed as well, before silently staring at her. She stared back with a gentle gaze.

After a while, Miko finally spoke again.

“Goodbye, Mayumi. I hope we never meet again.”

Because of Mayumi’s decision to defy her prophesy there was a high chance that if the two were to meet again the laws of fate would try to correct itself and have Mayumi die to protect Miko. It was an absurd theory, but they couldn’t take the chance.

As such, it was best they never meet again.

Mayumi knew that, so she gave Miko a gentle smile and replied.

“Yeah. Please live a fulfilling, Miko. I’ll always be checking up on you from a distance.”

She then turned her back to him and walked away.

“Goodbye, my master.”

That was the last thing she said, before disappearing from Miko’s sights.

“……….”

Miko stared at the door for a while before leaning back in his throne.

“Are you alright, Miko?”

It was then that, Tiamat appeared out of nowhere and sat on his lap.

“I’m fine. I’ve just realized that I strangely can’t take someone leaving me behind, despite always leaving others behind.”

Tia wrapped her arms around him.

“That isn’t anything new. You’re a selfish person after all. You could never let anything go.”

“Hahaha….I guess you’re right.”

Miko then laid his head on Tia’s chest.

“Hmmm….I wonder if Mayumi’s breasts were this soft?”

*Pah!*

He was immediately slapped after he said that.

“Hmph.”

Tia immediately disappeared after that. In her place, Ishma appeared.

“Damn, she’s really pissed off.”

She held her fist out.

“Nice.”

Miko bumped her fist with a smile.

“Teasing Tia is what I live for.”

The two laughed.

“So, partner. When are we going to fight that intercontinental war you talked about earlier?”

Ishma asked.

“Who knows. I need to properly establish the Dragna Empire first. After that, it will depend on how our enemies react.”

“I can’t wait!”

Ishma suddenly shouted.

“I order you to establish your empire now!”

“Since when can you order me around.”

Miko punched her on the top of her head and said.

“You don’t need to tell me that. I was about to do it anyway.”

A few days later, the Aloe Kingdom sent a worldwide message declaring its surrender to the Dragna Kingdom. It was later announced that the Aloe Kingdom was now a subordinate country of the Dragna Kingdom and was waiting for a new king to be assigned by Miko.

Another few days later, two other countries announced their surrender to the Dragna Kingdom. They were the Azalea and Taurus kingdoms that Sola and Yota belonged to. These countries were already secretly Miko’s for a while now. It was just that Miko only decided to make it public now, to magnify the affect it would have on the world.

With three countries falling on their rule in a short span of time, the Dragna Kingdom was no longer seen as a small kingdom. In fact, it wasn’t even a kingdom anymore.

It was now an empire. The Dragna Kingdom was no more, it was now the Dragna Empire. And the one who created it was none other than Miko, who was now the first Dragna Emperor.

Miko had moved up from a king to emperor at the age of 14. This was unheard of before now.

Demon Continent.

There was a swamp near the southern tip of the continent. This swamp was swarming with demonic beasts of all natures. Each of these monsters could strike fear into the hearts of the bravest men.

Inside such a swamp, a group of people were walking through it. They were Rihan, Aeon, Leon, and Kristen.

“Miko became an emperor?”

Leon asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. According to my lackeys back in the kingdom, he captured three countries and placed them under his control. Apparently he led a group of the clan’s youth to do so.”

Rihan answered.

“The fact that you three aren’t in his team is because he doesn’t trust you. Or rather, he’s cautious of me, who’s behind you.”

“Well, we weren’t really that trusted in the first place.”

Said Leon.

“And for good reasons.”

Kristen added.

“Too bad too. I heard that he broke out some weapons from the Imperial Treasury and gave them out to those in his team.”

Rihan said as if mocking the three of them.

“You better make us way stronger to make up for that.”

Said Aeon.

“Don’t worry. I brought you to this place for that specific reason.”

Rihan replied.

“This place is a den for demonic beasts for a reason. The miasma in this swamp is great for strengthening ones demonic powers. The monsters all stay here in hopes of evolving into a more powerful demonic beast.”

“So you want us to stay here?”

Asked Aeon.

“Not you. Since you’re human and haven’t trained in any demon Arts, continuous exposure to the miasma here will kill you.”

Rihan replied.

“Leon and Kristen are now demons, so this place is paradise for them. A couple years in here will make them experience massive growth.”

“Wait. Did you just say a couple years?”

Leon asked.

“Yup.”

“We can’t stay here that long!”

“You have no choice. I already told you about the future state of the world. In order to survive, you’ll need to grow stronger.”

Rihan replied.

“Then you’re saying that we either survive here or die in the outside world?”

Asked Kristen.

Rihan nodded.

“Well, with that said.”

Rihan placed his hand on Aeon’s shoulder.

“See you in a few years. Do your best to survive.”

After he said that, he and Aeon disappeared.

“Roooooaaaaaar!”

It was then Kristen and Leon heard a terrifying roar resound in the swamp. They could suddenly feel like the entire swamp had their eyes on them.

With Rihan, who was scaring them away, gone the monsters started to show themselves.

“Looks like we have no choice.”

The two took a fighting stance. They then began their battle for survival that lasted for years.