The streets of the Dragna Capital were bustling with people. In the crowd, Chika and Verde were walking while observing those around them.

(The ones with the Phoenix Pendents must be from that church….There’s sure a lot of them.)

Her conversation with Miko flashed in her head.

“The Church Of Augustus? Wasn’t it denounced by Augustus already? Why is something like that popping up 10,000 years later?”

“Because the people of this empire are fed up with how Tiamat and her descendants have been running things. They’ve denounced their goddess and decided to worship Augustus.”

“I don’t get it. What good will come from worshipping a dead man?”

“Good question. Why choose a ghost as your god when real living gods exist in this world?”

“…They’re probably worshipping the concept of Augustus rather than the man itself.”

Verde spoke up.

“Augustus was a man who lived his life doing the impossible. He’s an inspiration to all. So maybe the church is worshipping his way of life rather than him. They wish to borrow his strength to push through life. They wish to become him, so they believe if they worship him his spirit, determination, and strength will embody them.”

“…….”

Miko looked at Verde in silence.

“Surprising, right?”

Chika grinned at him.

“Despite how he looks and the vibe around him, Verde is pretty intelligent. He’s capable of turning into a beast or strategist whenever he wants.”

“Really? I have a successor who I want to be like him.”

Miko nodded.

“Well, whatever reason they have, the church is becoming a threat to the stability of the empire.”

“You want to destroy it?”

“That depends….I would like you guys to enter the church and observe its operations. No one should know your faces, so you should be able to do it.”

Miko paused for a bit.

“Have you ever heard of Gaius?”

“You mentioned it being Augustus’s Inheritance earlier?”

Miko nodded.

“My people tell me the leader of the church has the same name.”

“Chances it’s a coincidence?”

“At this timing, zero. Krow had Gaius, and the church gained power after his rebellion.”

“Then he left Gaius to cause trouble?”

Miko shook his head.

“I think he left more than Gaius. I believe he left someone to use Gaius. We’re talking about his father’s inheritance here. If he indeed left someone with it then it must be someone he trusts or has high expectations for.”

“Anyone comes to mind?”

“No. Krow hates Tiamat and her descendants, however, Gaius can only be used by Augustus’s descendants. So it must be someone from one of the servant families like Krow himself.”

“Didn’t you say Gaius could only be used by someone who had the same power as Augustus?”

Verde asked.

“Yeah, Ruler’s Contract.”

“Then, that person is extremely dangerous.”

“That’s why I can’t just attack the church. It has too many risks. If we could crush them in one swoop then it would be fine, but factors like Ruler’s Contract and Gaius make it hard to judge. If it turns into a drawn-out fight we’ll only weaken ourselves further.”

“That’s why you want us to scout it first. We’ll act after we have a better picture of the situation.”

Miko nodded.

“Also, I need to know who else is working with the person controlling Gaius and if they received any power from Gaius herself. Depending on what they got, we might be in trouble.”

“….Then, do you want us to assassinate anyone we find dangerous?”

“The risk is too high. Just report their existence to me. We’ll devise a plan after.”

“Alright.”

Miko looked at them both.

“You two need to be careful. If Krow really left someone behind with Gaius and Ruler’s Contract in their possession, it’ll be like fighting a young Augustus.”

Present time.

“A young Augustus, huh?”

Chika smirked.

“I don’t who is pulling the strings, but they better live up to my expectations. Or we’ll have to show what kind of era we came from. Right, Verde?”

“…The Dragna Empire has no need for weaklings.”

“You’re god damn right about that.”

The two made their way to the church.

“……..”

Someone was watching from the distance. It was Rihan.

“….Who the hell are they? They feel like family. Closely related too.”

He thought about it for a bit.

“I see. Falkon’s children. It’s the first I’m seeing them. They look around Miko’s age group but their presence rivals Alec’s generation.”

He whistled.

“The previous era really wasn’t a joke.”

He watched the siblings enter the church.

“I see, so they’re working with Miko. He’s making his move faster than I expected. But I guess that’s a good thing. I can just leave Rogan to him and focus elsewhere.”

He smirked.

“For example, the impending doom marching towards the empire as we speak.”

Somewhere in the Dragna Capital. Aeon Dragna was sitting in a chair observing the person in front of it. It was Nina Dragna whose time was frozen.

(This girl’s abilities are something else.)

The scene of Nina killing his clone flashed in his head.

(She killed me without moving a finger. After examining the corpse, it seems my organs all simultaneously failed. There was no trace of outside interference like poison. It is as if they naturally stopped working.)

He remembered what said Nina before he captured her.

“You gave me time to activate Bloody Oath, huh?”

He mumbled.

“According to reports, the guys who were guarding the empire’s Teleportation Arrays died with similar conditions as my clone. So it's Nina’s handiwork….Bloody Oath…Oath, could it be a contractual-type technique?”

(You gave me time to activate Bloody Oath.)

Nina’s words played in his head again.

“If it’s a technique based around oaths and contracts then it could be something where you lose your life like Soul Pledge. If you break the terms of the agreement, you die…She said I gave her time to activate it…Did she mean she needed to form a contract beforehand? However, my clone didn’t make any agreement…So it’s a forced contract.”

Aeon remained silent for a bit before nodding.

“So basically, Bloody Oath is a technique that forcibly forms a contract between two parties. If one party breaks the contract, they die. However, the terms of the contract are only known to the user. From the fact she doesn’t seem to be able to use it remotely and needs time to draft up the contract, Nina needs to converse with the target in person.”

He looked at his feet. There laid his clone.

“She was able to use to kill my clone but not my main body… So it is not really a soul-based attack but a physical one. Also, sight might have a part to play since she only killed the clone in front of her…Maybe she needs to visualize the target in real-time?”

He smiled.

“This is really a terrifying technique Gaius gave her. Augustus was storing techniques like that? It must be a demonic technique of the highest level…Maybe a Satanic Technique even. Can’t put it past him.”

He looked at Nina again. The scene of her escaping his time magic flashed in his mind.

“There’s at least another technique. She canceled me restricting her body.”

He stood up.

“Yet, she hasn’t escaped this time. Could it be because I stopped her biological time? If so, it’s not an automated defense mechanism. She needs to focus. Since I stopped her before she could think, she couldn’t defend herself.”

He took up a magic rifle off a table.

“I would like to study that other technique but there’s too much I don’t know about it. Also, she might have other techniques. So it’s best she dies here.”

He lifted the gun to her heart. A clock appeared in his eyes but disappeared a second later.

“Goodbye, Nina.”

He pulled the trigger. An explosive noise echoed in the room.

“…..?”

The gun fell out of Aeon’s hand with a thud. He slowly looked down at his chest. There was a hole where his heart was supposed to be.

“Yo, Aeon.”

A new voice came from behind him. Aeon turned around. His eyes slowly widened as his jaw dropped.

“I came to fulfill our promise.”

The voice spoke again. Aeon’s trembling lips slowly formed a smile as his eyes softened.

“Fucking hell.”

Another explosive noise rang out. It was followed by a thud.

The clock under Nina disappeared.

“?!”

She could move again. She looked around frantically.

“Where am—”

She swallowed her words as her eyes fell on the body in front of her.

“……..”

She stared at the body in silence for a long time.

“…….”

She started looking around again.

(I don’t sense anyone….Did Rogan do this?)

She stepped away as the pool of blood stretched towards her feet.

“Either way, I need to leave before anyone comes to check what happened.”

She turned away from the body and left as quickly as she could.

“……..”

The room went silent and empty. Only a lifeless Aeon remained in a pool of blood.