* * *

Bringing leaders of nations together took a lot of time and effort. Even if they recognized the seriousness of the situation and felt the need to meet. It was difficult for the leader of a country to be away for any length of time.

That was why the summit was able to finalize the date only a few days after Emperor Derek Osma sent out the invitation, and after a week of discussions, they compromised on a venue.

Then, a month later. The leaders of the nations and their minimal escorts gathered on ‘Tyrone Island’, off the Empire’s west coast.

‘Does the summit start in an hour?’

Checking his watch, Cadel stood in front of the full-length mirror in his room. He was dressed in full regalia, as he was present in his position as the commander of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order. His face in the mirror was rigid with tension.

‘It’s a little awkward to have to walk around alone with no subordinates.’

The only Imperial knights currently on Tyrone Island were Cadel, the commander of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order, Sorin Salamo, the battalion captain of the Guardian Knight Order, with twenty men, and Maychelle Hembrook, the battalion captain of the Heaven Time Knight Order, with fifteen men.

The summit itself was secretive, and it was important to minimize the movement of personnel so that there would be fewer chances for nasty clashes. Instead, the knights in attendance were all men of renown. Most of them had left their ranks behind in their countries for defense, so with the exception of Cadel, this was a gathering of the real deal.

“……I feel sick.”

Cadel was never one to shy away from an occasion, but it was hard to do so today, when he was in the center of attention in the presence of the most powerful individuals in the world.

As he rubbed his stomach to soothe the rumbling in his gut, he heard a deep voice behind him.

“I can’t believe you don’t tremble in front of this one, yet you’re nervous in front of a roomful of humans.”

Moving his gaze to the mirror, he saw Kunra sprawled out on the bed, looking deeply uncomfortable. His dark red hair was hanging down, and he was clicking his tongue in annoyance.

“You’re one person, and I’ve got a dozen people in front of me where I need to go.”

“The dozens of them combined hundreds of times over are nothing compared to the power of this one. It’s not you, halfling who should be shaking, it’s them. This generation is lucky, very few get to see the humanoid form of this one.”

Kunra’s brow creased as Cadel smiled sheepishly and smoothed his clothes. He rose from the bed and strode over to stand behind Cadel.

“You don’t realize the greatness of this one.”

“What do I know, I’m a halfling from another world.”

Kunra laughed softly at the sarcasm and slung an arm around Cadel’s shoulders. Bending down so that he was at eye level with Cadel, he stared at their reflection in the mirror and said.

“You’re only worried about this one’s inability to explain the magic circle. You should really be worried about something else.”

“……What is that?”

“You are none other than a human under the protection of the Scarlet Dragon, and if this one were to appear at a meeting of humans to reveal that fact, it would draw attention of a weight that has never been matched.”

“It doesn’t matter. As long as it doesn’t interfere with the fight. If they had any sense, they wouldn’t mess with this while the demons are running rampant.”

Kunra looked at Cadel in the mirror and let out a raucous laugh. Moving his hand to cupped Cadel’s cheek, he whispered, his eyes glowing.

“Don’t underestimate human greed, halfling. This one is here to protect the world, not the humans, for a reason, and soon the greedy will push a hero who could save the world into the inferno for a single necklace.”

It was a whispered curse, but it didn’t change Cadel’s expression as he stared at Kunra. Cadel glared at him, then shook off the arm on his shoulder and unraveled the crumpled hem of his robe.

“You’re going to protect me anyway.”

“Hmm?”

“A man of such greatness was hand-picked by a being of such greatness, there’s no way you would allow me to be killed so easily by a mere mortal.”

Isn’t it? The look in Cadel’s eyes was not one of faith or trust in Kunra, but of resignation. Kunra’s eyes narrowed at the sight of that vague emotion.

Cadel straightened his clothes and stepped away from the mirror. Kunra followed his busy back, the corners of his mouth twitching upward in interest as he spoke in a low voice.

“Of course, I’m not going to let you die. ……Not until you’ve fulfilled your mission.”

The center of Tyrone Island.

The leaders of the nations gathered at the top of an ancient tower. All of their escorts were outside, with only their aides at their sides.

The kings of the 7 Great Nations each had an aide behind them, ready to record any new information, but not Derek Osma, who, despite being the Emperor of the Empire that hosted the summit, sat alone at the head of the table, his aides at a distance, scanning them over.

‘Elijah Mainue’ of the Mainue Kingdom, ‘Danila White’ of the White Kingdom, ‘Trey Hembleton’ of the Mystic Principality, ‘Dren Seize’ of the Dunkelhai Kingdom, ‘Jayto Devon’ of the Devon Kingdom, and ‘Ren Somulz’ of the Principality of Snivec.

Their eyes flashed with the keen foresight of the leaders of great nations. Today, they were gathered for the sake of world peace, but they were also motivated to do so with the least amount of damage. Maximum results with minimum risk. That much resourcefulness was expected of a king leading a nation.

Of course, it was no different for Derek.

The air in the room settled naturally over time as they exchanged polite pleasantries and greetings. It was Derek who correctly caught the flow and opened the summit.

“Let’s start the first round of the Demon War Summit.”

* * *

Just down the hall from the conference hall. Cadel sat alone in the old, dingy room, waiting for his turn. An hour earlier, he’d been nervous enough to drink water, but now that it was almost upon him, he was strangely calm.

‘There’s not much I need to do anyway, I just need to prove to the Emperor that what I said was true.’

He rubbed his dry palms together and took a few sips of his already-cooled tea. He waited for about 30 minutes.

“Come with me, Sir Cadel.”

The Emperor’s aide summoned him. Instead of answering, Cadel rose from his seat and followed the aide up the tower’s stairs. A quick glance showed that the aide’s complexion was strangely tired. The meeting had only been going on for half an hour. Cadel suspected that the aide’s fatigue had something to do with why he was being summoned so soon.

His suspicions were confirmed as he entered the room.

“…….”

A chilling silence. When the door opened, revealing Cadel’s form, a dozen stares flew at once. Cadel flinched for a moment at the cold attention, but he didn’t shrink back, taking his place beside the Emperor, Derek.

Derek looked at Cadel and spoke openly in the chill air.

“This is Sir Cadel, commander of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order, and the man responsible for revealing the existence of the Demon Realm’s great magic circle during the last three Outer Seal inspections.”

Cadel dipped his head politely at Derek’s introduction, but there was no response in return. He glanced over at Danila, who was seated in front of him. He stared at Cadel for a moment before breaking the silence.

“Sir Cadel is also a hero of the White Kingdom, a man of great ability, talent, and humility, so I have no doubt that the information he brings to the table will be of great value.”

He said with a faint smile, looking around at the other leaders.

“What do you think? Still don’t believe in the existence of the great magic circle?”

The answer came from Jayto, the king of the Devon Kingdom, who sat across from him.

“No, it’s not that I don’t believe in the existence of the great magic circle, it’s that I doubt it’s powerful enough to summon all the demons of the Demon Realm. It’s an incomplete circle, and the location of the fragments is uncertain. But you’re making a wild guess as to the danger of that magic circle, and insisting that we should immediately disperse our combined forces outside the country to stop an unclear threat……. I’m at a loss.”

His gaze shifted from Danila to Cadel. Jayto nudged Cadel with a meaningful glint in his eye.

“I want to hear your story. How did you discover the purpose of the great magic circle?”

Hostile glares flew at him from all sides, and in the midst of it all, Cadel realized something.

‘Are these people now suspecting that the Empire is deliberately trying to disperse the power of other nations so that it can seize power in the meantime?’

It was an absurd misunderstanding for Cadel, who knew the truth, but it was not completely incomprehensible. They didn’t know that a second Demon War was on the horizon. They simply recognized that the demons were acting strangely, and that the old seal was stirring up trouble.

Some people worried about the Demon War, but they were still not sure. If you’re preparing for a war between other nations, you don’t have to worry about these doubts. You only need to worry about your own national defense.

But the Demon War was not a fight between humans. It was a war that required humans to work together against demons. They couldn’t win by looking out for their own interests. Everyone must work together as one, and for that to be possible, solid proof is needed that the only alternative to victory is death.

Cadel took a small breath and caught a glimpse of Derek next to him. He’d hoped to save the revelation of Kunra’s presence until last, but there was nothing he could do if the talks were already stalled this way.

“With all due respect, I’m not the one who discovered the purpose of the great magic circle.”

“What do you mean it’s not you……?”

“I only discovered a part of the great magic circle of the Demon Realm that I had never seen before, and that was only a few fragments. You can’t determine anything based on that alone. Even with the greatest engineers and magicians, this would be impossible.”

It was a bold statement, out of context. His unapologetic demeanor and shameless demeanor stirred the room for a moment.

 Apparently, Derek has summoned someone to prove the great magic circle’s power. Until Cadel opened his mouth, they thought he was the key to answering their questions, but it turned out he was not the one who had been summoned. 

In front of the panicked leaders, Cadel spoke calmly.

“But if it’s a being superior to humans, it would be able to decipher it with just a part of it, for example…… the Scarlet Dragon. The Scarlet Dragon recorded in the ancient texts is said to be fluent in all things and possesses near-omnipotence, so wouldn’t the Scarlet Dragon like that be able to see the whole from just a few pieces of a puzzle?”

The Scarlet Dragon, an unknown entity that no one expected to be mentioned in such a setting. The uproar grew louder, and an incredulous Grand Duke Trey Hembleton of the Mystic Principality spoke up.

“So you’re telling me that you’ve met the Scarlet Dragon, and if this is a revelation from a dream you had in the mountains somewhere, it’s not too late for you to shut up and go home.”

“A revelation from a dream in the mountains……. That’s right. That’s definitely how it started.”

“Huh.”

“I encountered the Scarlet Dragon in the Mountains of Silence, and he informed me of the existence of the great magic circle. Don’t worry. I don’t tell these stories in words.”

With that, Cadel grabbed the pendant he was wearing and channeled his mana into it. With a low resonant sound, the red light from the pendant flooded the hall. Their vision was momentarily blurred by the glare, then restored.

“These leaders have no spirit whatsoever. Well, it’s only natural since the war swept away all the talented people. I understand. I will treat you with great generosity, so bow your head and express your gratitude.”

A humanoid Kunra appeared before them.

“What, what on earth…….”

“Where did he come from?”

Their expressions turned to horror as they saw the unexpected appearance, the rude remarks, and the shocking behavior of pushing the Emperor aside and taking the throne himself.

Of course, Cadel wasn’t about to let the Emperor be pushed out of the way, so he quickly grabbed Kunra to defuse the situation.

“The Scarlet Dragon still resides in the Mountains of Silence, but it has shared some of its power with me. The being before you is the humanoid form of the Scarlet Dragon, a sort of thought entity.”

“Scarlet Dragon……? That guy is the Scarlet Dragon?”

“Don’t, don’t be ridiculous.”

The Scarlet Dragon they had heard and read about was a wise authority figure who reigned over humans. He mercilessly punished anyone who stepped into his territory, and sometimes distributed his wisdom on a whim, turning the gears of the human world in motion. A being like that gave its power to a mere human?

The suspicions that had been raised earlier soon turned into denials about Kunra.

“How can we trust that guy to be the Scarlet Dragon? Anyone can make up a summoning trick like this.”

“What an embarrassment. If you cannot prove that that man is the Scarlet Dragon, it will not only be a problem for you alone, but it will spread into a problem for the entire Empire.”

It was a valid point. Since it was not even his actual body but rather a humanoid form, it was natural that they could not easily recognize Kunra as the Scarlet Dragon.

It was a natural suspicion, but not for Kunra. His relaxed expression cracked, and his green eyes took on a menacing glint.

“That guy……? Is that what you call this one?”

A low, uneven voice echoed through the hall, causing a reddish energy to surge through Kunra’s entire body, and the faces of the leaders who had spoken words of doubt at the sudden change hardened.

“This one has appeared before you, mortals, to grant you a small mercy. So let me say it one more time. Show your gratitude by bowing your heads, you dumb creatures.”