“Regis?”
Miko asked.
He looked at the “girl” in front of him, who looked identical to him.
“Regis, huh? If I remember correctly it's Latin for ‘Possession of the king’ or ‘Kingly’.”
Miko nodded with approval.
“Did you choice it?”
“No. It’s a name engraved in my very being. It represents my purpose and existence.”
“Is that so?”
He then look a Tiamat.
“I remember that Luka's Regalia is a snake, does it have another form as well?”
Miko remembered that Luka's father’s Regalia was called Zakiel, and it was a giant winged serpent that was also a sword. Seeing Regis in front of him with two forms, he thought that Luka's Regalia should be the same.
“I don't know, but it is possible. If she intended to hide some of her abilities just like you did, then it's possible.”
Tiamat answered.
Miko suddenly felt curious as to what kind of weapon was Luka's Regalia.
“I'll think about that some other time.”
He looked at Regis naked appearance again.
“We should get you dressed.”
“Oh, let me handle that.”
Tiamat waved her hand and a beautiful azure one piece dress appeared in her hands.
“Oh!”
Regis eyes lit up and she hurriedly grabbed the dress and put it on.
“Thanks, Mama!”
She said with a cute smile.
“Mama?”
Said Miko.
“Yeah, I'm born from her will and blood so she's the equivalent of my mother.”
Regis explained.
When Miko heard her explanation he thought to himself.
‘She's surprisingly intelligent. Are all living type Regalia intelligent like this? Also, how many actually can take a human form?’
Miko suddenly became interested in the weapons called Regalia. He suddenly felt like stealing a Regalia and studying it.
“Hm?”
He looked at Tiamat.
“Can you steal a Regalia?”
“Yes. But if you let someone steal or capture your Regalia, it's like letting them steal your proxy identity. Also if your Regalia gets destroyed, it will cause a severe backlash to me, unless you take all the backlash upon yourself which could destroy you. Otherwise it wouldn't be strange if I fall into a coma. So be careful. I'm literally handing you my life here.”
Tiamat said solemnly.
When Luka's father, Zanis got his Regalia destroyed during his final battle, he took all of the damage upon himself because he needed ouroboros to protect his daughter. That's why Ouroboros didn't suffer from a backlash when Zach destroyed Zakiel, who was protecting Zanis.
“I'll be careful, don't worry. But how do you destroy or steal a Regalia?”
“Only a proxy can steal a Regalia, but anyone can destroy a Regalia if they're strong enough.”
“Big brother Miko, please don't break me.”
Regis suddenly pulled his sleeve and said.
“…..You're definitely my Regalia alright, you actually tried to manipulate me just now.”
“I don't what you're talking about. I just don't want to be destroyed.”
She said with an innocent smile, but her eyes were mischievous.
Miko sighed and said nothing to her.
“Well, at least you possess overwhelming power. Only thing is left is to go pick up that demon sword.”
“Demon sword? We just got together and you're already cheating?!”
Said Regis.
“Shut it.”
Miko ‘gently’ chopped her on the head.
“Enough of your foolishness, lets go.”
Saying so, he spurted his wings.
“Can you fly?”
“I can, but I don't need to.”
Regis suddenly turned into light and wrapped around his neck.
The light faded and a black necklace with an azure sword pendant appeared around his neck.
“You can also change into an accessory?”
Miko said with some surprise.
(Pretty convenient right?)
Regis spoke with an arrogant tone.
Mika said nothing and left the Primus World. Tiamat turned into light and followed him.
Miko appeared outside of the door in the palace. Tiamat appeared a second after.
Miko looked at the door.
“Bašmu, can you tell what you know about the demon sword inside the treasure vault.”
A light flashed and an azure and gold haired man appeared. He was Bašmu.
“Reporting. The sword inside the treasure vault is called Ishmavael. Even though I don't know it's origin, it was brought here by Ajax Diabolus and stored there.”
“Ajax? Augustus’ righthand huh?”
He looked at Tiamat.
“Do you know anything, Tia?”
“Yeah. It's one annoying little pest.”
She said with a frown.
“Like I thought, it’s a talking sword.”
“Not exactly. Well, its best you find out for yourself. If you manage to tame it, you'll understand what I mean.”
“……?”
Tiamat's words confused Miko.
Either way, he made Bašmu lead them to the treasure vault.
The treasure vault was located at the lowest level of the palace and was under strict guard not only from members of the Secundus Branch, but the entire Dragna clan.
Meaning that those who guard this place was from the Primus, Secundus, Tertius, Quartus, and Quintus branches.
This was because inside the treasure vault there were items that were important to the existence of the Dragna clan.
There weren't only gold, there were legendary weapons, priceless training manuals, magic books that held the secret techniques of the clan made by Augustus and his five generals, archives that recorded what happened during the war, and most importantly, the bodies of Augustus and his five children are immortalized into gold statues here.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Each and every item in here could send waves across the world.
Vastator was supposed to be in this vault, but it was given to Claudius, Nero’s father before Augustus and his death. So it became the possession of the Primus branch.
Normally, not even the king can enter without the consent of the leaders of the five branches.
But Miko was an exception.
He was Tiamat's proxy and her representative. There's nowhere in the Dragna clan he's restricted from entering.
His words were Tiamat's words, which means he outranks everyone in the clan.
When they finally reached the lowest level, Miko could feel an oppressive aura enveloping the entire place.
“This is the combination of all of the guards here auras. They're checking the identities of who came here.”
Said Tiamat.
Miko felt like the auras were trying to squash him like a bug. He could barely stand much less walk.
This caused anger to bloom in his heart.
The thing that Miko hated the most was to be suppressed and denied of what he believes to be rightfully his. This was the reason he wanted to kill Krow so much.
Bašmu sensed Miko's displeasure and immediately signaled for the guards to withdraw their auras.
They did as they asked and Miko was freed from the burden.
It was then Miko finally showed signs of calming down.
“This way.”
Bašmu led them to a gigantic door made out of black metal. There was a red eye insignia on it.
“So this the treasure vault. How do you open it?”
Miko asked.
“It can only be opened by a guardian.”
Saying so, Bašmu walked up and placed his palm on the door.
*Bam!*
With a loud sound the door suddenly swung open.
The moment it opened a gold light rushed out an illuminated the dark corridors.
“You may enter.”
Bašmu said with a bow.
Miko nodded and stepped in.
“Woah.”
What he saw inside was a world of riches.
Inside the treasure vault was huge. There were mountains of gold and jewels.
There were all kinds of weaponry hang up in glass cases. Some beautiful and attractive. Some crude and terrifying.
There countless suits of armor on display, all in a glass case with labels.
To the sides there were hundreds of bookshelves with books that gave off an ancient aura.
There were also scroll racks with thousands of scrolls.
There were also a lot of art like sculptures and statues.
Miko spotted 6 statues in the center. He immediately recognized one of them as Augustus. He figured the others were his children.
Realizing that, Miko turned his face from them.
After experiencing the soul wrenching pain he did just from learning what Augustus looked like, he learned his lesson.
Whether it be Augustus or his children, even his cat, Miko doesn't want to see them.
Tiamat laughed when she saw that. She then looked at the statues with longing.
The bodies of our love ones were inside these statues. Even though they were so close they were out of reach.
Miko sensed her loneliness, and frowned.
It seemed like Regis sensed it as well, because he felt the necklace shiver.
“Ishmavael is over there.”
Bašmu pointed at a mountain of gold coins in a corner.
On that of the mountain was a black case similar to the one Vastator was in.
Miko quickly approached the mountain and looked down at the case.
On it was the symbol of a green crow surrounded by flames.
“So this is Ishmavael.”
Miko stooped down to touch the case.
*Boom!*
However he was suddenly hit with a powerful shock that blew him back.
“Guah?!”
His body was instantly covered with his blood and he was heavily wounded.
Tiamat moved behind him and caught him before he crashed into something.
“See? It doesn't want anyone to come in contact with it. It's rebellious beyond belief.”
“…..Damn, piece of metal!”
Miko shook Tiamat off and charged towards the case.
He grabbed.
*Boom!*
He was blown back by the shock again.
However he held on to the case.
They both flew off the gold mountain and crashed into the ground.
*Boom!*
Green static was sent into his body again which almost cut off his consciousness.
“Nah, you shitty sword. I'm not letting you go.”
*Boom!*
As if it got pissed off, Miko was hit with twice as much green static than before.
“MOTHERFUCKER?!”
Miko cursed in pain. But he still stubbornly held on.
“W-W-What? Did I pissed you off, you hunk of scrap metal!”
*Boom!*
He was shocked again.
“SHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTT?!”
He screamed.
His blood was flowing from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, but he still held on.
“Y-Y-Y-You still ain't shit!”
Miko braced himself for another shock.
“Hm?”
But it never came.
He instead felt his mind being pulled somewhere.
The next moment he opened his eyes, he was in a dark place.
“What the fuck is your problem?! God, you're so annoying!”
He heard a voice shout out.
The voice was deep and inhumane, so a gender was hard to figure out.
“Are you Ishmavael?”
“Yeah. And you're pissing me off!”
Miko smiled when he heard that.
“Good. Ishmavael, I heard that you're untamable. What does it takes for me to wield you?”
“Wield me? Are you a pervert or something? Do I look like a sword to you?”
“Well, yeah.”
“I'm not! So I refused to be treated as one!”
“What do you mean you're not a sword? Everyone calls you a demon sword.”
“I'm not a sword! I'm a demon crow trapped inside a sword! That stupid brother of mine turned me into a sword just to punish me!”
“Brother?”
Miko then remembered what Bašmu said about how the sword fell into the hands of the clan.
“Ajax is your brother?”
“Humph! That bastard’s dead to me. He no brother of mine!”
‘But you just called him your brother though.’
Miko thought to himself.
“I doubt he'd just turned you into a sword to tease you. You must've done something.”
“I did nothing wrong! Just because I accidentally killed the son of a powerful god, and caused a war that nearly destroyed the world, he turned me in sword. It was an accident, it wasn't my fault my foot slip and kicked off the guy's head. And I also didn't mean to slip on a peel and massacre his whole family. It could've happened to anyone!”
“………”
Miko didn't know what to say after hearing that. He honestly thought Ajax did the right thing sealing away such a person.
However he still need its power.
“Hey, Ishmavael.”
“What?”
“What if I help free you from this sword?”
“That's impossible. Only my brother knows the method to unseal me.”
“What if I find my own way to free you?”
“Don't screw with me, brat. You want to find a find to destroy a seal created by a Demon God who can rival Lucifer himself? Keep dreaming!”
“There's no need to give up that easily.”
Miko smiled.
“Whether it be Ajax or Augustus, I'm someone who will surpass them and sit on the throne of the Supreme Being!”
“Pfff! Hahahahahahaha!”
Wild laughter echoed through the dark world.
“I know that you were stupidly stubborn, but I didn't expect you to be arrogant to the point of retardation!”
“This coming a forgotten relic.”
The laughter immediately stopped.
“What was that, brat?”
“You heard me. You're a forgotten relic. I'm sure that you were a famous person during the war, probably someone whose name struck fear in their enemies hearts. But that was over 10,000 years ago. Now you're spending your life in a dusty and gloomily place like this. And in a box too.”
Miko smirked.
“You're just a piece of junk in everyone's eyes.”
“YOU LITTLE SHIT!”
Ishmavael loudly roared.
“How dare you?! How dare you, you waste of sperm!”
It was clear that they were pissed off big time.
“Did I speak any lie? You're just laying in a box waiting to rust away. Is that the life a great person lives?”
“Shut up! What do you know?!”
“I know that you want to be freed from your pathetic life. And I also know that your pride has pushed away any possibilities of that coming true.”
“……..”
“I hit the mark didn't I?”
Miko said with a playful smile.
“Shut up. It's true that I want to be free, but I doubt a brat like you can do this.”
“Oh? Didn't I endure unbelievable torture just to talk with you?”
“That's just your greed and stubbornness.”
“So what? You need greed and stubbornness to conquer this world. Greed represents your ambition. The stronger the greed the greater the ambition. And stubbornness shows a strong will. The stubborner the person, the strong the will.”
He spread his arms open.
“I have the greed to devour the world, and the will to see it through no matter the cost. There is no better person to bet on to surpass your brother than me!”
“….You speak a good argument kid. Very good with words.”
A green light envelope Miko.
“However, words aren't enough to convince me. I need to check your ambitions and talent. If I don't find them satisfactory, don't even think of leaving here with your mind intact.”
The green instantly entered the deepest depths of Miko's soul.
A pair of grew eyes appeared in a white room.
“What the?”
It looked around and saw a single chair.
“Hello, Ishma.”
Suddenly an extremely handsome purple haired man appeared on the chair.
“Augustus?!”
“It's good to see you after so long.”
Augustus said with a smile.
“What's going on?! I'm sure I heard people saying you're dead a long time ago!”
Ishmavael sounded anxious and scared.
“Don't sweat the small stuff, Ishma. Take my advice. If you want to be freed the quickest way is to become Miko's partner.”
“…..What's your relation to that boy?”
“You don't need to know. Just listen to me and I assure you that you'll be free again.”
“I refuse to become the partner of someone inferior to me!”
“Inferior, huh.”
A cruel smile appeared on Augustus’ face.
“I'll decide if he's inferior not you. Or do you want to rot as a sword for all eternity?”
“…….”
Ishmavael remained silent.
They were clearly afraid of Augustus to speak up.
“You're still not convinced?”
Augustus snapped his fingers and a crimson beast appeared in the corner of the white room.
“Beleth?!”
Ishmavael was once again shocked.
Seeing that, Augustus started smirking.
“That's right. Miko possesses half of Beleth’s soul and is considered his successor. Do you still think he's inferior?”
“…….”
Augustus started smiling.
“Let me say this again. Become Miko's partner, Ishma. I'm certain you won't regret it.”
When Miko opened his eyes he was back in the treasure vault with his hand on the sword case.
“Miko, are you okay?”
Tiamat asked worriedly.
“….Yeah.”
(Be grateful, brat. I've decided to let you be my partner.)
Ishmavael voice suddenly echoed in the room.
Miko heard a click sound and the case opened by itself.
He then saw a crude black sword inside.
“Damn. The years haven't been kind to you.”
He said.
(Shut it. Just grip the handle.)
He did as they said and gripped the handle.
“Hm?”
The moment he did, the crude sword transformed into a beautiful black sword with a green shine.
“It copied me!”
Regis turned into a light and appeared in her human form.
“I'm suing you for copyright, you fraud!”
The sword in Miko's hand looked identical to Regis’ sword form expect for the color of shine off the blade.
(It can't be helped. I just took the form he's most comfortable with.)
At that moment, spikes came from the handle and stabbed into Miko's hand.
He didn't throw away the sword, and watched as his blood flowed down the sword’s blade.
The moment the blood reached the tip, strange runes started appearing on the blade.
The blood then moved on its own and traced the runes before assimilating into the sword.
(The contract is set. We're official bound together until I'm freed from this sword.)
The sword suddenly light up and turned into light particles.
“With the help of your blood I’m finally able to take my human form again.”
The light took a humanoid shape before disappearing leaving behind a naked person behind.
They had a beautiful androgynous face, black hair with green endings, and a pair of green demonic eyes.
They were shorter than Miko and looked a bit younger.
This was Ishmavael Diabolus. Child of Lucifer and an unknown demon.
The first thing Miko did when saw her was-
“Another god damn loli!”
He shouted to heavens.
This was the meeting between two partners that later plunged the world in constant hell.