“...Who?”

“He said he’s the Emperor of Blood and Iron.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Kuk, kuk kuk kuk...” Kang Chul-In laughed.

“W-What’s wrong...”

“Kuk kuk...”

“Hey... y-you’re scaring me...”

“Kuk... so that’s what happened... alright...!”

However, Kang Chul-In didn’t answer Dorian and just muttered to himself.

Shiver!

Dorian trembled at the ominous feeling running down his back.

“The Emperor of Blood and Iron... explain what happened in detail.”

“Hm?”

“Tell me what happened.”

“T-That’s...”

Dorian felt wronged at Kang Chul-In’s sharp attitude but he didn’t point it out. It was because he thought that there was a reason why Kang Chul-In was being like that.

“So...”

Dorian began to spill everything.

***

Heh.

Dorian was shocked when he saw Kang Chul-In’s smile.

“W-What? Did you follow me here?”

Why was the person who ordered him to find the grave of the Emperor of Blood and Iron already here? Dorian thought he was tricked.

“Of course...” Kang Chul-In replied. “Not.”

“What is it then? Kang Chul-In, you really...”

“No.” Kang Chul-In shook his head.

“Huh...?”

“I’m not Kang Chul-In.”

“What? Are you kidding me right now? I might be a pushover, but even I don’t like these kinds of bad jokes.”

Dorian seemed to be acknowledging that he was a pushover now.

“Huh? Since when has your hair been that long...”

There were a few things different about the Kang Chul-In in front of him. Something’s strange. Something was definitely strange. The Kang Chul-In he knew didn’t have long black hair like a rock star and didn’t have the same red eyes that Arshelly did.

It was strange. The person in front of him looked extremely similar to the Kang Chul-In he knew, but the overall atmosphere around him was darker and foreign.

And his clothes... The man who looked similar to Kang Chul-In was obviously someone of a high position. They must’ve been made out of precious material. The iridescent red crown looked like it was made of material out of this world, and his clothes also showed that he was an important person.

“W-Who are you...?”

Click.

Dorian gripped the God Hand gauntlet in his fists after realizing that it wasn’t Kang Chul-In.

“I...” However, the person ignored Dorian’s powerful gesture and spoke. “Am Julius Berlineta Pon Aurangzeb.”

“W-What?”

“The 27th emperor of the great Ancient empire and my nickname is the Emperor of Blood and Iron.”

“Emperor of Blood and I-Iron...?”

Dorian had an astonished expression. The Emperor of Blood and Iron? This person was saying that he was the owner of the grave he had been raiding.

“W-What... you’re really the Emperor of Blood and Iron?”

“I don’t answer questions I’ve answered already.”

“Hm?”

“You pushover.”

“...!”

“Kang Chul-In, bring that guy here.”

“P-Pushover?”

Tremble tremble...!

Dorian’s body shook.

“Are... you... done... taking...? Huh?”

His anger was understandable. He was annoyed that everyone called him a pushover, and even this person calling himself the Emperor of Blood and Iron was calling him a pushover. Not to mention, this was the first time they were meeting.

“I’m just calling it as I see it.”

“What?”

“Stop with the chit chat and bring Kang Chul-In to me.”

“This bastard really...!”

The angry Dorian swung his fust.

Smack!

It was a loud sound.

“Ack!”

But the one who hunched over wasn’t the man who called himself the Emperor of Blood and Iron.

“Aack...” Dorian groaned. “H-How...?”

“This won’t do.”

Smirk!

He wore a cold smile.

That meant...

“I guess you need some mental training?”

It was a merciless response.

“N-No!”

“Yes.”

At the same time,

Pababababac!

The man who looked like Kang Chul-In began to punch Dorian’s head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes...

Yep, his entire body.

“Aaaack!”

A scream exploded from Dorian’s mouth.

***

“...So.”

Kang Chul-In opened his mouth with a flabbergasted face.

“You were beaten up a bunch?”

“Yeah...”

“Without being able to get a single punch in?”

“He was stronger than you.”

“...”

“I’m being serious... I couldn’t hit him at all...”

A vein popped out of Kang Chul-In’s forehead. A man’s pride! Of course he would be upset that his best friend (?) Dorian said the Emperor of Blood and Iron was stronger than him.

“That’s because you’re weak.” Kang Chul-In mocked Dorian. “How useless. You should’ve trained harder.”

“W-What?”

“What if you met an illusion or a superior doppelganger that wasn’t the Emperor of Blood and Iron? You’re not actually believing that someone from a thousand years ago is still alive, right?”

“T-That’s true, but he wasn’t an illusion or a doppelganger!”

“What do you mean he wasn’t?”

“Ugh... ugh...!”

“Tsk... what a pushover to come back after getting beat up...”

“That’s not it!”

“Whatever, let’s go.” Kang Chul-In ignored Dorian’s argument and began to move.

“W-Where?”

“He’ll have to pay the price.”

“...!”

“He dares to tell me to come and go?”

Crunch! Kang Chul-In grounded his teeth.

Seeing how he uses force... he won’t be an illusion like last time... then that means I can hit him, right? Hehe... I’ll show you this time, ghost of the Emperor of Blood and Iron.

It was a good chance to let him know his place.

***

In a secret lab 10 floors underground in the Pentagon...

Boil boil...!

In a large glass casket, blood-red liquid was boiling like crazy inside.

“Are you finally awake?” The one watching it, a member of the Agnaga, the Time Lord, Milenius, had a satisfied smile. “It’s about time you did... I’ve been waiting a long time... a thousand years as a human is too long...”

A thousand years. Milenius was muttering that the man standing inside the glass casket was someone from a thousand years ago.

Flash!

“...!”

The man inside the glass casket opened his closed eyes and a bright light started to be emitted from then.

“Oho.” Milenius smiled. “Finally?”

“...”

“Come out, emperor of the past. If you’re up, you must escape that uncomfortable glass casket and walk your path of revenge, right?”

As soon as he finished.

Kwang!

The large man inside punched his head-sized fist at the glass.

Crack! Kwang!

Continued punches! Small fractures appeared on the surface of the glass like spiderwebs,

Kwang!

And on the third punch,

Clang!

The glass pattered down in pieces. The red liquid inside came spewing outside like a water fountain.

Thump!

A large man stepped out of the glass casket.

Ssss...!

Mist steamed from all over his body.

He had a large body of 2 meters, long black hair, and red eyes. The appearance of the man who woke up was as scary as a demon king.

“Whew.”

The man sighed. It wasn’t because he was exhausted, but because it was his first breath in a while.

“Not a bad function.” Milenius had a satisfied smile and nodded. “Breaking the casket made of Divine Pieces with just three punches... definitely fitting of the man who was once called Demon Body.”

Divine Pieces were extremely rare minerals in Pangaea. They were even better than dragon bones. His strength couldn’t be described in words.

“How is the air of Pangaea after breathing it in for the first time in a while?”

“...”

“Isn’t it new?”

“...”

“You’ve been resurrected after a thousand years, so it should be great.”

The man didn’t reply. He just observed Milenius silently. And after a while...

“Hmmm...”

The large man looked down at his hands and body with amusement.

“Resurrection... how fun.”

That was it.

“Hell was fine, but I’ve been bored, so things turned out well.”

He was speaking calmly about hell, something that all humans were afraid of... where was this man from?

“But... who are you?”

The large man spoke to Milenius. He acted as he had just seen him, so Milenius’s pride was hurt.

“You dare?”

“...?”

“A mere creation doesn’t recognize his owner? Heh... how amusing... your ego must be strong because you yourself are strong in the first place...”

“...”

“Well, I’ll let you go this time.”

“...”

“Kneel, creation.”

Milenius ordered.

“You should be saluting me, but...”

It was then.

A cold smile spread on the man’s face.

“Creator...”

“Of course...”

“What a funny thing that you, a parasite, are saying.”

“...!”

“Why, did you think I wouldn’t be able to see what you are because you have a mask on?”

At the same time, the large man grabbed Milenius’s body.

“Kuk...!”

“Parasite.”

“Kuk... kuk...!”

“Know your place.”

“W-Wait... l-let me go...!”

“I...”

The large man spoke.

“Am the 26th emperor of the Ancient Empire. I am the great being ruling over all of this land and have the right to decide on whether one lives or dies.”

“Kuk...!”

“But... a lower-level being like you dares to say he’s my creator?”

“...!

“I’ll show you who should be saluting who.”

The man who called himself the Emperor of Blood and Iron’s father tightened his hand. It was unbelievable strength.

W-What...!

Milenius was shocked.

I-I can’t...

He couldn’t resist. Milenius, who had once destroyed the titan of a Lord with one blow was powerless in front of Saturnus’ strength.

Not to mention, his skill of controlling time wasn’t activating.

“Die.”

Dammit...!

Milenius shut his eyes. The 26th emperor of the Ancient Empire, Saturnus Berlineta Pon Aurangzeb, the tyrant of the century who pushed the empire into a hole of despair and caused an awful amount of carnage had resurrected.

The horrendous Emperor of Lunacy and Darkness.