Emperor of Steel

“What the hell happened?”

“Well, it was too loud to even cheer for someone.”

Not all the soldiers of the anti-revolutionary army had attended the welcome ceremony of the Pope. There were way too many soldiers to be included.

Those who had to stay away, were back in their own barracks, telling stories and drinking.

However, as each commander of the unit had to attend the emergency meeting and the knights began to wander, the soldiers began to notice that something huge had happened.

Shortly afterward, the truth began to come out from the mouths of the soldiers who returned back from the welcoming ceremony.

“What did you say?! Someone dared to assassinate the Pope?”

“Shhh! Keep your voice low! The high-class men had told me this information secretly.”

The soldiers were shocked after learning the truth.

The same was true for the Red Wolf mercenaries who were waiting in their barracks.

“No, no, why would someone do…?”

At the question from Philip, Victor who joined the welcoming ceremony with Luke frowned.

“What do you mean by that. It is the act of the rebels.”

“Is that really true? I heard that the Pope’s visit was a secret and suddenly planned. How would the enemies even know?”

“Well, there might be a spy in the palace.”

At those words of Victor, Philip just shook his head in disbelief.

He knew that the rebels were going to be in trouble since the loss of Eisenberg.

But what would they need for them to act on such impulse?

In the Holy Empire, a Pope was the absolute being.

Nevertheless, most people didn’t recognize or accept the new Pope. The reason being, the Pope didn’t go through the official process.

‘So, the men decided to get rid of the Pope who entered the wrong way with the assassination?’

It didn’t look good for the rebels.

If they chose the wrong way to overthrow the unclean, then the light which had to shine for their cause might fade.

In severe cases, people were more likely to face backlash.

“What are the rebels even thinking… Ahh, was it checked thoroughly?”

When Philip kicked his tongue and asked, Victor’s expression changed dramatically. He knew what Philip was asking about.

“Yes, I saw.”

“Was it really princess Reina?” Asked Philip.

“There is no mistake in that.”

Victor nodded with a very confident look. In his firm expression was a small smile.

Although he didn’t reach as close to Reina as Luke did, he was clearly able to see that it was her.

His years of service for Reina were never small, he knew even her smallest habits.

“Princess saw the Lord, and she seemed to be moderately shaken.”

“Is that so! By the way, where is the Lord? Is he by any chance, with the princess?”

“Lord…”

Victor just sighed deeply.

“What happened out there?”

“Say something!”

The knights other than Philip, all began to ask Victor.

Victor opened his mouth and began to speak with a heavy expression.

“Along with the explosion, our Lord disappeared. And it wasn’t just him, but princess Reina too…”

Listening to the words of Victor, the expression of all the knights hardened.

‘Since he wasn’t seen, he might have just been missing!’

Even Philip, who always kept his calm personality, went still like a stone.

Nothing could be seen.

This was the kind of darkness that Luke saw for the first time since his death in the hands of Sword Emperor Rakan and the deep purgatory that he fell into.

‘No way… did I just die again?’

The assassin had turned his mana circle into a massive mana bomb with the Suicide Spell.

Suicide magic was a spell that can be used only once in the lifetime of a wizard.

Because when the assassin exploded, it wasn’t just the magic power but also their remaining life and their body was gone with the spell.

So even if the wizards stopped the magic circle, things wouldn’t change after initiating. The assassin’s magic abilities seemed to be 7 circle, which meant he was a very well trained War mage.

A War Mage, who specializes in attack magic, the Suicide Magic was very powerful.

Luke was prepared to die.

There was insufficient time to respond, he tried to offset the power of the self-destructive magic by manifesting the shield magic one after the other.

But the destructive force of the spell just tore through every shield that Luke had deployed.

‘Isn’t this so foolish… hold up!?’

Luke was struggling to wake up to the warmth which he could feel in his right hand. And was able to see a woman wearing a white dress.

“Reina?”

Reina who was in Luke’s arms nodded at his question.

She wasn’t able to easily speak her feelings, but her eyes were already filled with tears, and soon she buried her face in him.

She wasn’t able to stand the emotions that had been suppressed all that time.

“Luke… Sir Luke, is this really you? Tell me that I am not dreaming!”

“Why? Still don’t feel like believing me?” Asked Luke.

Luke grabbed Reina and hugged her for a while.

The reunion that he had been anticipating for so long was finally made.

Reuniting with their dream lover, they were absorbed in the warmth of the others which erased all the pain they had gone through.