Somewhere in Dragna City, there was a small house that didn’t stand out until the point of being easily forgettable. Inside this house, Aeon Dragna was laying on a bed covered in bandages. He slowly opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. After a while, he began looking around.

“Oh, you’re finally awake.”

On his right, Rihan was sitting on a chair. He was holding a book called Agent Of Satan.

“You’re reading that book again?”

“It’s a good book.”

“You’ve been reading it since I was a kid.”

“That’s how good of a book it is.”

Rihan closed the book.

“It’s my mother’s keepsake as well.”

He stood up and approached the bed.

“More importantly, how do you feel?”

“…How long have I been out?”

“Almost a month.”

“…The status of the rest of Mamushi?”

“All alive, no casualties. They’re lucky to have Augustus' blood, no matter how little. Because of that, Gaius wasn’t able to kill them despite them not being direct descendants.”

Aeon sat up.

“Just what is that woman? She used techniques I’ve never seen before.”

“She probably used Augustus’ Conqueror Arts. Your defeat was unavoidable.”

“She said that she was Augustus’ Inheritance…”

“She wasn’t lying. Inside her, or rather her main body is everything Augustus left behind to ensure the clan remains rulers of the world.”

“If that’s the case, why didn’t she give the clan Augustus’ inheritance?”

“Because no one was worthy of it….Well, that’s not entirely correct. You needed to possess a certain skill to awaken her and form a contract with her.”

“Which skill?”

“Ruler’s Contract.”

Rihan took an apple out of a basket of fruits near Aeon’s bed.

“Wait, that actually exist?”

“If it didn’t I wouldn’t have it.”

He took a bite out of the apple while looking at Aeon’s dumbfounded expression.

“Hm? Didn’t I tell you?”

“…No, you didn’t.”

“Really? Well, you need Ruler’s Contract to awaken Gaius and obtained Augustus’ Inheritance. However, only a handful of people have ever awakened this power. At the moment, I’m only aware of Krow, Rogan, and myself as people who currently possess it.”

“Then, what if one of the Branch Leaders were to try and awaken her?”

“It wouldn’t work. To be honest, my father and the others don’t need Gaius. They’re already strong enough as it is. Gaius’ role is to lead the future.”

“And she’s working with Rogan…”

“Well, he’s necessary for the clan’s future.”

“What do you mean? He’s engineering a rebellion against all of us.”

“And sometimes those kinds of people are necessary.”

“…..You, don’t tell me…”

“As expected of my son.”

A grin crawled on Rihan’s face.

“You get me.”

Somewhere else in the capital. Someone was walking down the streets of the commercial district. She wore a gray hooded-cloak that didn’t stand out in any way. Long unkept purple hair, an average face with freckles, and a thin build. This person was Nina Dragna. She scanned the streets and noticed a man wearing an armband with a Phoenix on it. She scanned her surroundings. She saw a woman with the same armband. She spotted a child, a group of teens, even elderly people.

(The number has increased faster than I expected. From the looks of things, they might make up a quarter of the capital’s population….Gaius has been working hard.)

She shook her head.

“It must be Rogan. I heard that he took a strange ability from Gaius. One relating to the masses.”

She stopped and turned in the direction of the palace.

“The Dragna clan is too busy with trying to keep itself together to realize what’s happening under their noses. Rihan purposely kept them in the dark for his own agenda too.”

She sighed.

“Things are going to get busy on our end soon. As it stands, we have the advantage.”

Despite saying that, there was no sign of excitement or happiness on her face. Her lifeless eyes and deadpan expression remained the same.

(You’re a gloomy one, aren’t you?)

She recalled the day her life changed. She was kneeling before the Primus Branch Leader, Nero. She was 9 and kneeling beside her were her parents.

“Forgive her, Lord Nero. This child has always been like this. We’ll educate her when we go home.”

Her father spoke to Nero without daring to look at him.

“Ah, that’s fine. I like her the way she is.”

“…Pardon, My Lord?”

Nero crossed his legs with a smirk on his face.

“You see, I have a grandson who’s a lot like her. He’s basically given up on life. As things stand, I think that he’ll end up killing himself. So I was thinking of giving him a servant to keep him company. That’s why I’ve been gathering all the servant families to meet their children.”

He pointed at Nina.

“I think she’ll be perfect for the job.”

“My daughter is honored but are you sure having someone like her around him won’t make it worse?”

“It’s because of the way she is why she’s perfect.”

His smile widened.

“She and Miko will get along just fine.”

“……..”

At the present, Nina stood in the streets with a blank stare. After a while, she resumed walking.

“Looks like our reunion will be pretty soon, Young Master.”

A smile slowly crawled onto her face as she disappeared into the crowd as another “extra”.

Xia Palace. Miko had returned to Xia to meet up with Momo and the others.

“Are you two sure you don’t want to stay with our parents for the time being? It’s not like I need you right now.”

Kristen shook his head.

“You need us and we need you. We need each other in a time like this.”

“Hm…”

Miko smiled.

“Since when have you been this honest?”

“When we started to suffer together.”

Miko became silent.

“Suffering sucks doesn’t it?”

The two nodded. He smiled.

“Don’t worry. We can endure anything if we’re together.”

The twins nodded with huge smiles. Sora approached Miko.

“So what now?”

“Now, I go to visit my cousins again.”

Miko left the Primus Domain and returned to the Royal Palace.

“Yo, Miko.”

When he returned he met with Alec, Bella, and Kirika.

“Hello, Don.”

Bella bowed to Miko who smiled at her.

“Well, look at you. Is that new wife glow I’m seeing?”

He turned to Alec.

“Looks like you two have been lovey-dovey.”

“What can I say? I’m a Dragna, I can’t control myself when there’s such a beautiful woman around me.”

“I see.”

Miko smiled.

“I’m glad for you, Bella.”

Bella blushed and nodded.

“Thanks, Don.”

“Miko is fine. We’re family after all.”

Her eyes lit up.

“Alright, Miko.”

“Ok, that’s enough. Stop flirting with my wife.”

Alec wrapped his arm around Miko’s shoulder.

“Speaking of, I heard that Hina and Luka left the empire to train.”

Kirika said.

“Yeah. I expect great things from them in the future.”

“Me too.”

Alec released him.

“I hope they develop in a way that will make me want to dissect them.”

Miko laughing wryly.

“Oh, Kirika and Alec. I need your help with something.”

“What is it?”

Miko gestured for the two of them to come closer. He then whispered for only them to hear.

“Oh?”

Alec's eyes lit up.

“That sounds exciting.”

“It does sound interesting.”

“Then can you two do it?”

“Leave it to us. We’ll create the best stage.”

Alec turned to Bella.

“My Belladonna, I’m gonna be busy for the next 24 hours. So don’t wait up.”

“Don’t worry about me, have fun.”

Bella waved as Alec left with Kirika.

“With that settled; Bella, did Yota return to assist your father with the conquest of the South?”

“Yes. I heard that they’ve already conquered their first country.”

“They mustn’t rush. Otherwise, they’ll alarm the rest of the region. This could lead to the creation of a coalition army to destroy them.”

“My father is aware and is taking it slow. He’s focusing on strengthening the country before he moves to conquer more countries.”

Miko nodded.

“Now then…”

Miko closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He quickly opened them and sharply exhaled.

“?!”

An oppressive pressure fell on his surroundings and everything started to darken. Bella and the others could feel the air tremble around them. This all lasted for only a few seconds before disappearing completely. Ace looked at Miko.

“What was that?”

Miko lifted his hand telling him to wait.

“Hm?”

The sounds of footsteps echoed in the hallway.

“Miko!”

Ashur turned the corner with a crazed expression.

“You’re finally ready to fight huh?!”

He pounced at Miko. Sora cut between them and thrust out his palm. Ashur hit an invisible wall was unable to reach Miko.

“Who the hell are you?!”

“He’s my Apostle. He saw a wild beast charging towards us and simply tried to get rid of it.”

Miko stood in front of Sora and faced Ashur.

“You called us here.”

Rin, Renatus, and even Krul were seen approaching them.

“Yeah, I called you all here.”

“For what reason?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Renatus? He wants to fight!”

“Don’t jump the gun, Ashur.”

“No, Krul. He’s right.”

A grin appeared on Miko’s face.

“I want to fight.”