Emperor of Steel

The next day after meeting with Reina, Luke heard the good news that the warlocks from Dark Moon had arrived at Wolfs.

“Huh? There are wizards from Symphonia outside the gates?” At the messenger who came to report the news, Reina questioned.

“Yes, Your Holiness. However, they don’t seem to have the accent of the southern part where the Kingdom is located, rather they sound northern. I was feeling a little suspicious, and the chief guard asked them to stay outside. Should we bring them in?”

In the current situation, the Holy Imperial Army was in the middle of the enemy territory.

As a result, they couldn’t help but feel suspicious about everyone.

At the report from the messenger, Reina looked over at Luke to confirm the fact.

Luke nodded his head and vouched for the men.

“I am the one who asked to come and help out this situation. They stay in the north as they have been sent into exile from the Volga Republic.”

“I see. But would they really be able to help?”

The wizards from the Holy Imperial Magic Tower were already working themselves to death in finding a cure.

Marquis Reas, an 8th circle wizard, the other wizards that were expert medical mages, and every other wizard was at least 5th magic circle.

And with that much skills, Reina didn’t think that a few more wizards would be able to help them out of their situation.

“Surely, if they were regular wizards I wouldn’t bring them here.”

“You mean…?”

“Huhu, whatever you are thinking are right on point. They are the ones I have been secretly bringing.”

At Luke’s whisper, Reina was startled.

She was already told about the warlocks when she got there, and Marquis Reas did mention that he should try examining the disease from a dark magic user’s perspective.

However, it was inevitable that asking warlocks to enter the Holy Empire was dangerous.

The moment their real identity was revealed to the public, all the priests and paladins would never leave them alive.

And Luke, who vouched for their credibility, would also face great trouble.

However, the zombie disease was a priority. Reina decided to take the help and asked, “Are you sure they are skilled?”

“When it comes to the undead, they are more knowledgeable than anyone else. Surely, they will be of great help to us.”

Luke smiled confidently when speaking about them.

As a result, Reina gave permission for them to enter, and the messenger, who was waiting for her answer, immediately retreated.

Luke waited for the warlocks to come.

Suddenly, he could feel something weird, an anxious feeling, he ran out of the magic tower and went toward the gate.

‘I knew it…!’

Maybe his worst fears began to appear. The warlocks were being confronted in front of the Ford Magic Tower.

“These men! How dare they come in here!”

“Uhh…”

There was a man in front of the warlocks that pulled his sword and yelled at them.

It was none other than, Arch Duke Gregory, who was out patrolling the magic tower.

‘I did a mistake. I was too excited about seeing Reina that I forgot to tell Arch Duke Gregory!’

Honestly, Luke had sent Sebastian to the warlocks before they left from Dark Moon to help them hide their magi.

On the way to Jackson, there was a high possibility that they would encounter priests and paladins.

And Luke saw the effect of the reagents that Sebastian made.

Even the high ranking priests or paladins failed to notice their magi.

However, there was one exception—Arch Duke Gregory.

When Luke entered the Dark Forest with his Hydra assassins, Gregory, who had extraordinary senses, noticed the magi’s presence in the assassins.

No matter how great the reagent was, unless one was as skilled as Luke in hiding his magi, the twisted nature of magi could be felt.

“Wait a minute, please listen to us. We are…”

“Shut your mouth! How dare you step into the land where the Holy Father resides!”

Thud!

Gregory yelled while stomping his feet.

He did hear from Luke that there were good warlocks out there protecting people from the zombies.

Nevertheless, the ones in front of him were people who hid their magi and entered the city like thieves.

For him, a person who always put the safety of the pope as his priority, these men were nothing less than suspicious.

“Stop!”

Kang!

When Arch Duke Gregory struck his sword against the warlocks, Luke intervened by stepping in and using his sword.

“Your Majesty, why would you…?”

“Take back your sword. These men belong to me! I have called them over as they will be essential in helping us come out of this situation.”

Hearing those words, Arch Duke Gregory looked at the warlocks.

And the warlocks were all bowing to Luke.

And it wasn’t some sort of military salute. It was their way of respecting the man, and that was all it needed for Gregory’s doubts to turn diluted.

‘But, King Luke learned dark magic. And the fairy called Nanas turned out to be a witch. She did say that the warrior’s descendant had extended his hands toward Saymon’s remnants…’

It wasn’t unusual for Luke to have warlocks under him.

When Gregory took back his sword, Luke sighed.

“Let’s move now. We’ll go to the magic tower and tell you the details.”

Luke took the Dark Moon warlocks into Ford Magic Tower and introduced them to Reina.

“My Greetings. I am the Holy Pope Veronica III, the Pope of the Holy Empire.”

“Uh!”

The warlocks were shocked at what they saw.

They knew that the situation in Jackson was serious, but they never assumed that the pope herself would be there.

And who was the pope for the warlock? The natural enemy, more like a predator for the warlocks.

The warlocks had immediately turned into a herd of herbivores who met the most violent predator in the food chain.

Soon, Luke and Arch Duke Gregory lowered their eyes as a sign of asking the warlocks to greet her.

“We humble beings greet the Holy Pope.”

“You are the people who seek the truth in the darkest places. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

From Reina’s words, the warlocks were certain that she knew of their identity.

‘Did our zeitgeist tell her the truth?’

‘I guess the rumor about her being his fiancé was indeed true.’

While the warlocks were feeling uneasy, Marquis Reas, who was the only one in the room who wasn’t told of their identity, tilted his head.

He wasn’t as super-sensitive regarding one’s energy as Arch Duke Gregory, yet he was an 8th circle wizard with divine power.

That was why he could feel something suspicious coming from the crowd which was in front of him.

However, before he could open his mouth and ask, Arch Duke Gregory spoke ahead of him, “Your Majesty, please explain to us in detail about them. How and when you met them?”

“Fine.”

Nodding his head, Luke spoke, “They were the ones whom I accidentally met 4 years ago or so. They are the descendants of Devil King Saymon.”

“Wh-what was that?!”

Arch Duke Gregory, who heard Luke’s words, casually nodded his head.

However, Reas, who was hearing this for the first time, was in shock and was dismayed.

Devil King Saymon, he was the man with whom the Holy Arthenia Empire had gone into a furious and fierce fight 500 years ago.

The Holy Empire, which had taken in considerable damage at that time, was shaken to the core to the point where the pope had to give out strict orders to get rid of Saymon’s remnants.

And the people in front of Reas’s eyes weren’t normal warlocks but the descendants of that man, and they were now standing in front of the pope!

“H-how dare you all…!”

Marquis Reas, who couldn’t hold back his rage and anger, grabbed his staff to chant a spell.

Luke yelled at the man before he could do anything.

“Did these men did anything wrong?!”

Whether Luke released mana along with his scream or it was his force, Marquis Reas could feel the mana circle in his heart shaking.

Soon, he calmed his heart and spoke, “But aren’t these men warlocks?! And in order to learn dark magic, the blood and flesh of a living person need to be sacrificed…”

Once Marquis Reas began to speak about the general theory of warlocks, Luke shook his head.

“I will speak with a hand on my heart. They have never sacrificed any humans being in the process of mastering dark magic.”

“Even if they didn’t, they surely must have made a contract with the demons. Maybe the reason why the undead are rising is because of…”

“They never signed a contract with the demons, and they have nothing to do with this mess.”

At the sharp snap from Luke, not just Marquis Reas, but also Arch Duke Gregory went stiff.

“How can one even become a warlock without doing any of that?”

As Reas asked, Luke sighed.

“How much do you know about dark magic and its principles?”

“Well, t-that…”

Marquis Reas was indeed an 8th magic circle wizard, but frankly, he wasn’t familiar with any other forms of magic.

If he knew about the others, he surely would have been able to solve the problem.

“I think you know only what is known in the world and the truth. Then, if you look at the conduct of the priests, and if the people insist that El Kassel’s Order is rotten from within and the Holy Empire must be punished, would you be able to agree to it?”

At Luke’s words, Reas’s expression turned grim.

He hated the time when Constantine was working as the regent for the pope. He hated how the poor were being treated at that time.

“Surely, I wouldn’t be able to refute to it. But don’t the warlocks do more evil than good deeds?”

“It is true that people have prejudice and misunderstandings. Dark magic is the study of exploring the dark and chaotic nature of Mother Nature.”

“Dark and chaotic nature?”

“If there is day, there is night, and if there is a sunny day, there will be a stormy one too. Just because there is an opposite study, it doesn’t mean that it is unconditionally evil or unclean. Darkness too is a providence of Mother Nature.”

“Hmm…”

“Rather, they sprout from the dirt and reach for the sky once the storm settles.”

Dark magic too was a study as a providence of Mother Nature to create a richer world.

The problem was that the warlocks had fallen for the contracts with the demons in order to gain more strength and power for themselves.

There weren’t so many who had fallen for their own desires, yet it began to spoil one’s imagination and how people perceived the warlocks.

Because of that, people considered them to be warlocks who performed witchcrafts, and even the good ones were condemned.

Nature, which had to be balanced, was dwelling in tragedy and a new form of hatred took birth.

“During that time, there was a group of people that tried to explore nature and seek the truth in the dark and followed their own beliefs. They are Saymon and his descendants.”

“So, Saymon too is an uncorrupted warlock?”

“Exactly.”

When Marquis Reas didn’t seem to agree to it, Luke continued to speak, “It is true that Saymon showed his sword toward the continent, but did you know what caused the war?”

“Well that was because…”

Reas wanted to answer it.

For some reason, it felt like whatever he knew was going to be the wrong answer.

However, he had to answer it, so he spoke what he knew, “Saymon tried to taint the entire continent with blood.”

“Considering the history of this continent for the past years, there have been many cruel conquerors. What about the first pope, Julian? Raising a nation, Arthenia, as the Holy Empire, he killed countless atheists during his time.”

“It was wrong to kill men indiscriminately just because they didn’t believe in El Kassel. But that Saymon tried to turn over the world.”

“Sure. But, was that wrong? It was to create a world where everyone was treated equal.”

“Huh? A world where everyone is equal?”

As Reas was shocked by what he heard, Luke took a deep breath and continued, “A world where the strong don’t deprive the weak. A world that doesn’t discriminate and persecute based on race. A world where everyone had the right to live happily.”

Saymon’s legion had to discriminate between race or status.

The key positions were all entrusted to those people in whom Saymon had faith in, and those who had the ability to fulfill the task given to them.

“One of the crimes that Saymon was known to have committed was killing the nobles, shutting down sanctuaries, and holding people captive. But, actually, the land that was owned by the lords and priests had been evenly distributed to the people in a fair manner.”

“B-but…”

“It was a policy which isn’t much different from what Volga Republic follows.”

Reas opened his mouth.

Without Luke’s elaborate explanation, he was able to see how dangerous Saymon’s policy was.

The identity system and the feudalism was much stronger and crueler than the current time.

Naturally, the nobles and the rulers had no choice but to clash for more power to rule the world.

“And Saymon had touched dark magic because he ended up losing his beloved. He never killed recklessly, nor did he create any undead.”

“But he… Saymon used golems.” Arch Duke Gregory, who was listening to Luke, spoke.

According to the reports he read, it said that people were caught and fed to the golems.

It was also specified that the ones taken in as slaves and prisoners for feeding the golems were the nobles.

Saymon had never killed a noble or knight whom he fought in person.

Although they were all things written in the books that held the history of the continent, it was the intention of the writers to blame Saymon by saying, ‘It was his intention to insult and shame the nobles.’

In any case, Marquis Reas was confused as the story turned out to be entirely different from what was known commonly.

It didn’t seem like Luke was trying to make up lies to deceive him.

“His Majesty’s words are true. I will swear on the name of our Heavenly Father El Kassel and Mother of Earth Belize.”

As Reina, the angel, the miracle powered pope vouched for them, Reas could only sigh.

“But, how does His Majesty know that?”

Everything that Luke just said were secrets which were unknown to the world.

How did Luke even know about it?

“That is because I learned the legacy of the Devil King Saymon and read his diary.”

Ba-bang!

Luke’s revelation wasn’t just surprising for Reas, but the wizards, the priests, and the paladins that were just outside the lab were shocked as well.

There were always rumors that King Luke was learning dark magic.

But for that to turn out to be true and that he also held the legacy of Saymon…!

Luke, who was well aware of those who were eavesdropping, shouted proudly, “Dark Magic is not all bad! Depending on the person who uses it, it can be either beneficial to the world or conversely, harmful. Marquis Reas, if you are someone who truly serves God and seeks for the truth, shouldn’t you start from throwing away your preconceptions?”

“You’re right… But, I want you to show me evidence of what you claim.”

“Evidence of what sort?”

At Luke’s question, Reas spoke in a serious tone.

“Those warlocks who had a contract with demons have a mark on the nape of their necks. If you truly are the descendant of Saymon and only seek the truth in the darkness, then you shouldn’t have that mark.”

“Yes, what you ask is the truth. Check me. Those people outside that overheard our conversation, come inside and take a look.”

Luke shook his neck to relieve his stress and showed them.

Reas meticulously looked at Luke’s nape.

He examined it to see if the mark was hidden with magic.

However, no mark could be found on Luke or the other warlocks.

“There really is nothing on them.”

“Was it pure research?”

Some priests and paladins, who weren’t able to believe their eyes, used divine power.

With the magi in the body of the warlocks, when the divine power touched their necks, it burned, yet they couldn’t see any mark.

Realizing that what their common knowledge on dark magic had completely turned out to be false, Reas shook his head.

“It is true.”

“Surely, His Majesty, Luke, whom I know, is the one who marks the demons.”

At Reina’s words, excluding Arch Duke Gregory, everyone in the room was shocked once again.

To overpower the demons, such things weren’t possible with the holders of dark magic.

Seeing them all shocked, Luke and the warlocks couldn’t help but put up proud faces.

Though it was still far away, they thought that the world full of prejudice might change a little.