System vs Rebirth

After accomplishing all the objectives he had set in the Atracaeca Kingdom, Noel made haste toward the Zaecuria Kingdom, specifically to Luin City, where the auction would be held.

He had to reach this city before dark, considering tomorrow was the date for the auction. And there was a chance that the auction would cause conflicts, so the date for the meeting was the night before the auction.

Fortunately, he managed to reach Luin City when the sun was about to set. Without hesitation, he directly headed to the best inn in the city, where he was supposed to meet Anna. The latter seemed to have been waiting for him on the first floor.

For normal people, she appeared to be trying to make her presence known since she was one of the guests invited by the auction house. For Noel, she was simply waiting for him.

Once both of them sensed each other, they smiled.

"It seems that you're back." Anna hurriedly came to him.

"Yeah. Sorry for waiting."

"It's fine, it's fine. Let's go to our room." Anna hugged his arm and pulled him as if there was something important they needed to discuss.

As soon as they went inside, Anna immediately recounted everything that happened to her as well as her plan.

Noel couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows. "I see. Count Heirden became something like that? Guardian Fradania smelled him as if he were a demon."

"Yes." Anna confirmed it with a nod.

This news simply made Noel's expression even more solemn.

"Is there something wrong?" Anna was worried about that change of expression. She crossed her arms, wondering if she had done something wrong.

"Remember the record about the demon king?"

"If it's the book written by the Sword Saint, then yes."

"The demon king possesses the body of a human, right?"

"!!!" Anna suddenly widened her eyes in shock. She could see where this conversation was going. "Are they possessed by the demons?"

"Most likely. If we look at it logically, there is only one way for them to be possessed by a demon. The original form of a demon is a type of parasite, right?"

"But they are weak. Does that mean he swallowed that demon willingly?"

"I believe so." Noel nodded. "I don't know how they're able to procure the demons in their original form. I have two possibilities in mind. They know the places to get those demons, or they have a way to extract the original form from an existing demon."

"!!!" Anna gasped. "If it's the latter, it's going to be dangerous. What if they fuse with an ancient demon? If the demon army we have to face in the future is a combination of demons and humans, it'll become extremely dangerous. The demons are already smart enough to imitate human tactics. If they're also trained by humans, they'll become even more terrifying."

"Indeed. And the one responsible for all this…"

"The Supreme Devil Organization." Anna knew that even if the royal family used this method, they wouldn't be able to acquire those demons without the organization.

And the fact that they chose to do it in this manner meant that they were planning an all-out war against the Ardagan family.

In their previous lives, Noel might simply have been trying to fight back, but it ended up being declared a rebellion.

"Won't this be dangerous for Tristan? What if they attack Tristan? Their strength already surpasses that of spirit grandmasters." Anna was indirectly implying that Andreas' strength might not be enough to go against them.

Noel shook his head helplessly. "If that's the case, we can't really do anything other than believe in Tristan."

"Even though they have runes, I don't think that's enough to defeat them. I have experienced the level of their power directly, so I know that the rune is not enough."

"I don't know, but I still believe the rune is enough." Noel's expression turned serious. "The reason you say they are not enough is because of the amount of spiritual energy they can muster. However, they are unable to use their spirit abilities. If I play my cards right, I can defeat them alone. So I believe that Tristan, with the help of Sandra, Felicia, and Andreas, should be able to defeat them."

"What are you talking about? They're much stronger. Even with rune cards, they won't be able to defeat them unless they're able to create a rune card with an advanced rune on it."

"I don't place my confidence in the rune cards. I believe Tristan will play a big part in the battle because of one thing. Rune Array!" Noel raised a finger.

"What?" Anna looked shocked. Noel had told her that the Rune Array could finally be accessed easily with the help of the Rune Card. Even then, Tristan had just learned Rune Body not too long ago. She couldn't believe that Noel actually believed that Tristan was able to do it.

Noel simply smiled. He knew that she was just worried about his disciple. However, Anna forgot about one thing. While looking at the ceiling, Noel couldn't help but say in reminiscence, "Do you remember how you're able to push me beyond my limit?"

"Huh?" Anna shuddered, recalling the fact that Tristan came with Sandra this time. She couldn't help but ask inwardly, 'Did he believe that Sandra would be able to push Tristan forward?'

Looking at Noel's expression, she couldn't ask it out loud anymore.

Noel closed his eyes for a moment before standing up. "Alright. I think that's enough for our discussion. We have no choice but to trust them. If they can't solve the trouble by themselves, we won't have enough talent to actually fight the demon king. So we should just focus on our own objectives."

Anna bit her lips, unable to deny his words. No matter how much she worried about them, it wasn't like they could do anything in this situation. The only thing they could do was negotiate with the Zaecuria Kingdom's sovereign.

…

In a dimly lit room hidden from anyone's eyes, the king of the Zaecuria Kingdom was accompanied by Guardian Fradania. They were staring at the door on the opposite side, which was soon opened by Noel and Anna.

"I apologize for making you wait." Noel smiled.