A Demon's Journey

King Valliadis assigned his loyal subordinates to guard the other Secret Royal Treasury to prevent Shun from stealing other Elemental Sparks. Nearly all of the reserve experts of the Royal Family were spent.

'The quality of the 6 Star Warriors working under me is degrading. I can't let that go on any longer. I guess it's time I involve David in this and have him advance to the 6 Star Rank. He has accumulated enough as a 5 Star Warrior. The strength of the Royal Family would significantly improve after he becomes a 6 Star Warrior.'

King Valliadis also understood that this would be the final nail in the coffin. He would need to concede the throne to his son in the next decade.

King Valliadis wasn't fond of this idea, but he had little choice in this matter at this point. The war against the Glerian Kingdom was taking an unfamiliar path.

He knew that David's strength and talent were much greater than his own. David was truly an extraordinary genius who managed to impress a Phoenix's Spirit and inherit its pure yet terrifying Vermillion Flames.

King Valliadis didn't tell David about the shortcut to the 6 Star Rank because he was afraid his son might conspire to overthrow him. Considering David's popularity and talent, this was very much possible if he grew to a 6 Star Rank.

However, King Valliadis had come to realize lately that the situation was slowly spiraling out of his control. It began when he found out that a Demon God had reincarnated into a Noble Heir of his Kingdom.

Ever since then, he would it difficult to sleep. He was scared that the Demon God would return and raid the entire Sinyalian Kingdom with an army of demons.

Even after he supposedly killed the Demon God, King Valliadis couldn't help but become really uneasy when he thought of the matter.

The Noble Family Alliance...The strange disease spreading in the capital…The troublesome situation on the borders…And now, he had Shun Gordon as his enemy.

King Valliadis perfectly understood Shun Gordon's abilities. Shun was on par or even superior to David in terms of pure talent and intelligence. He was the one who planned the Demon God's demise.

Moreover, he had gathered a lot of secrets and formed multiple connections as an Inquisitor.

Perhaps he was tired at this point and wanted his successor to inherit this tiresome throne. The preparations had to begin now so that David could become a legitimate ruler of the Sinyalian Kingdom.

It had been nearly a week since King Valliadis gave the order to his subordinates to guard the Elemental Sparks, and David began meditating near the Elemental Spark. The elemental spark chosen by David was none other than the Flame Attribute.

David was sure that he would become a genuine 6 Star Warrior even after using this shortcut. He already had a rather profound insight of the Flame Element, and he could use more abilities of the Phoenix after gaining a deeper understanding of the Flame Element.

However, nobody had any idea that this entire thing was merely a ruse with a completely different objective.

At this moment, Shun Gordon infiltrated the Royal Palace! Shun knew the locations of all the experts in the Royal Palace by using his sensing skill. He sensed the King's presence from his chamber and immediately headed towards it.

Shun's concealment technique was quite advanced. This was a technique he created by modifying multiple concealment techniques. The Sinyalian Kingdom's sensing techniques could not see through this concealment technique.

Shun was baffled as he opened the door to see King Valliadis reclining on his bed, sighing tiredly.

"You didn't expect me that I would be waiting for you, right? Actually, I saw through it long ago. I admit I am not as smart as you, but even I wouldn't ignore such a blatant scheme," King Valliadis spoke.

Shun regained his composure and spoke, "If you realized my motive from the start, then why did you still fall into it? You could have used this opportunity to try and trap me."

King Valliadis snorted in disdain, "I am not arrogant enough to believe you would fall into my trap. In fact, if you knew I was preparing a trap, you would make a counter plan to deal with it."

"Perhaps you would have planted someone loyal to you who would backstab me at a crucial moment or just use one of your strange abilities to deal with my trap," King Valliadis nonchalantly added.

"I see. That explains no traps here," Shun spoke as he observed the King's chamber. After a few seconds, he relaxed his guard and sat on a nearby chair, "I guess you wish to talk and find my true motive."

The King nodded and responded with a resounding, "Yes." He further spoke with an indignant expression, "How did your animosity get to this point? Everything seemed to be going so well at the time, but before I realized it, things began to slip downhill. I wanted to know why?!"

"…It's not that I have an issue with you, Your Majesty. And I have no particular reason to hate you. It's just that I have an earnest wish to defeat my enemy. No…I have a feeling that this was my calling. This was why I was born in this world," Shun spoke with a rather candid look.

"Your calling? The reason for your birth?" King Valliadis spoke with an empty look in his eyes. He suddenly regained his senses and asked, "What are you talking about?! Have you fallen under some kind of spell?"

Shun shook his head, "…It's not that, Your Majesty. I had always wondered just why I was born into this world. From the start, I knew I was a little different from others. I initially disregarded it and thought it was probably because of my arrogance and ignorance. You might not believe me, Your Majesty, but I have never met my match or someone even remotely close to it."

"…It was only after I swallowed the Elemental Spark that I have come to understand a bit about my true self. Let me give you an example. Do you know how strong I was as a 5 Star Warrior?" Shun asked King Valliadis.

King Valliadis thought for some moments before responding, "As strong as David perhaps."

Shun smiled in response and answered, "…David's full power, even in his crazed state, was barely 20% of my true abilities."

"I schemed to pull you away from your guards not because I was worried for my life but for theirs. I didn't want them to die a needless death," Shun spoke seriously.

King Valliadis was shocked to hear those arrogant words spoken by Shun with that conceited look in his eyes. The unwavering confidence in Shun's eyes prevented King Valliadis from responding.

Seeing that King Valliadis was speechless, Shun continued, "I was satisfied serving under you even though I noticed many of your faults and ignored them. However, there is something that I must absolutely do. I need to deal with that Demon God before he causes more chaos."

"…That Demon God really is not dead?" King Valliadis still found it incredibly difficult to believe.

"I wish he was. But I have seen enough hints to believe he still lives and is scheming against the Sinyalian Kingdom and the Glerian Kingdom. In this war against the Glerian Kingdom, I planned to make you realize it, but the Lamhilhan Theocracy's involvement has made the situation spiral out of my control."

"Thus, I only have this forceful method left with me. So, tell me, King Valliadis. What will it be? Will you activate that Saint Stele or die here?" Shun asked his question with an eerily calm voice.

"So, you even know about the Saint Stele, huh?" King Valliadis muttered under his breath. He had never informed Shun about this.

Shun nodded and spoke, "That's correct. I believe there must be a huge price for using the Saint Stele, but we have to activate it as soon as possible no matter the price. The longer this Demon God lives, the more time he would have to cause chaos. We need to kill him as soon as possible."

King Valliadis bit his lips and added, "The Saint Stele is a sacred object that my ancestor received from a Transcendent Saint. Only when we are under threat from a Celestial God or a Demon God are we allowed to use the Saint Stele."

Shun spoke angrily, "That's exactly the threat we are facing right now! So why haven't you activated the Saint Stele."

"…Let me finish, will you? The price for using the Saint Stele is the Ruler's sacrifice," King Valliadis spoke grimly.