THE THIRTEENTH

Back at the meeting room of the monarchs, Luce's temporary body sat on the chair of the Monarch of Death that his wife previously seated.

He's mood was bad at the time he entered the room and even became worse as he asked the contents of the meeting.

'This is so frustrating... I mean, really? That's the best thing they can come up with?', Luce thought as he heard Modu explain the details of their plans.

"... and that's all there is to it.", Modu ended the mess he were saying. He's face was a mix of fear and distaste, distaste at himself as he was the only one who volunteered to vocalize their plans.

"What's your name again?", Luce made a disgusted face as he pointed his finger towards Modu.

"I'm the Monarch of Fro-"

"I didn't asked what you're title is... I said, 'your name', sir."

Luce sighed loudly, making the other monarchs uncomfortable. They didn't expect that King Asmodeus, one of the most respected demon kings will be humiliated and roasted like this.

"I'm Lark Pardinel Asmodeus. Forgive my idiocy."

Asmodeus bowed apologetically. He's never been looked downed like this ever since he had been a king of his people.

'So this is the person that Vlad trusted everything to. I would have also given up my crown if my son in-law is him.'

Modu thought about his old friend that was also the only one that can roast him like this. The old kings might have died or went in seclusion, but not Modu.

There's no one that can replace him, at least for now. His grandson, Rendell was the only one who showed promise. Modu plans to pass the crown to him.

"Well, first of all, your plan sucks. But it will not suck anymore because, I am the one who will make plans for us."

Luce's tone and behavior never matched his small body as he spoke. This body can be used by him using the ability of the black dagger.

"There's so many holes in OUR plans. Don't even mention the strategy you will implement. Attacking on all fronts? Who came up with that shit-ass strategy?!"

Luce blurted out as he looked at everyone in the room. He never spared the women that are in there too. Luce just accepted that they must had a reason why their king is a woman.

As Luce glared at all of them one by one, he saw one man with a blonde long hair raising his hands while looking down.

"You're the one who up with that strategy?"

Luce asked him, his glare never left him.

"Yes, because I thought it would be a great idea."

The hopeless man answered.

"What's your name, sir?"

Luce stood up at his chair and put his left hand behind his left ear to emphasize his gesture.

"A-apolonius...", the blonde man stuttered at nervousness.

"Apolonius, you suck! I would like it if you were to get out but, that will be rude of me. So, I'll give you a chance.", Luce shook his head as he sighed.

'Arent you the one acting rude right now?', Apolonius thought, crying in his mind.

"Hey, stop that face. I can hear what you're saying... But don't be discouraged, it's not like I'm gonna beat you up like those two sand bags over there."

Luce sat down again and picked his nose as he pointed the other to the two kings he beat up just a few minutes ago.

Their faces are swollen and looked like it will never heal back to their previous forms. Luce beated them using his little fists and it never felt better because he's emotions of slaughtering someone brought him joy.

They disrespected and hurt his family, he must get revenge for them.

"Anyway, now that I am here, we will make a better plan to destroy the Regulus Empire and it's allied countries. Now, can someone tell me what we need to win a war."

Luce leaned on his seat as he questioned them. Even though they were kings, they must have knowledge about other things too. Like, being a commander.

"Soldiers"

"Food"

"Money"

"Metal"

Four spoke one by one. Luce nodded with his eyes closed as he heard them say the right things.

And when no one answered anymore, Luce then opened his eyes. He looked at them and saw expectation in their eyes.

"That answers are all correct but, you forgot one more important thing.", Luce pointed out.

The monarchs thought about the one thing that Luce said but, they never thought of anything anymore.

"What is it?", Delkira asked Luce. Delkira thought that they really mentioned all they need.

If they just knew that Luce is an expert in riddles,. they would never have asked him about clues. But, that's the part of Luce that makes him 'him'. Even if Luce's two souls didn't fuse, he will still have an interest in riddles.

"The last important thing we need is... Information. We cannot win a war without information about the enemies movements, their armies, and most importantly, their leaders."

Luce stood up from seat and walked on the big table in front of him. He did this just so he can clearly see the faces of his 'fellow monarchs' and show who has the authority in all of them.

When it comes to strength alone, Luce is above all of them. And if you add up all the characteristics that makes you a king, Luce will overwhelm them all.

"But, how will we do that? We don't even have spies in there and even if we do, they will be easily tracked.", Apolonius complained.

It really is not easy to send spies to your enemies if they have demon tracking devices with them. Apolonius tried to do it many times now but, transforming to a human was a hard task for his army.

"Then, we will send those that can't be tracked easily. High demons can pretty much infiltrate the Empire without them knowing. And I, the king of Desolate Zone have many of them.", Luce boasted.

The other monarchs in the room became speechless to what he said. They never expected that the territory of the Monarch of Death had a monstrous army guarding it.

Basically, a demon's bloodline is decided by birth and if someone with a royal descent gives a drop of their blood from a lower demon.

A demon can raise their bloodline purity when they reach the [Saint Rank], but other demons can't do that because of harsh environments they are living in and limited resources for them to circulate gracia.

"By sending my people in every part of the human alliance, you guys can reserve your power and also train my people at the same time."

Walking back in his seat, Luce explained his plans on everyone in there.

"But, isn't that a risky move? A high demon can't be easily thrown away like that.", the Monarch of Disasters, the woman with olive air said, full of disappointment in herself.

"I agree with Selenea, Monarch of Death. We can't just stand by, waiting for orders, while you're army is infiltrating the human alliance."

Modu bowed to Luce, pleading to make a much better decision.

'His level are probably at the late stages of [Demi-god Rank]. I must politely ask for a request of mine. We also have the pride of a demon king.", Modu thought.

"Then, go order your heirs to infiltrate the human alliance, too. With that, we can get satisfactory results when they go back home stronger and smarter, while also carrying informations for us.", Luce shrugged his shoulders while he suggested what's the real purpose of his plan.

'Not that I don't want them to help me, I just wanted to make this as an opportunity for the kids to grow. I'm sure the children's parents will be against though.'

Luce let them ponder at themselves for a minute and watched their faces turn sour to convinced.

"What benefits will they get if we were to send our heirs there? I think there's more risk than benefits here though."

Norm questioned Luce's suggestion with a serious tone. He's a father to his precious daughter and Norm won't let anything happen to her.

"The kids should adapt to the situation they are put in. We cannot spoil them anytime... We, as their parents must let them run free and create their own paths."

Coming from a little kid's body, Luce's argument sounded like a joke. The monarchs' faces turned sour again as they heard Luce point out his idea more.

They all turned silent again, thinking more harder now. If they were to send their children in an enemy territory, of course, someone must guard them and only the worthy ones will.

"Oh... Also, the limited number of guards must not exceed two. They will have to take care of themselves so, what's the point if you'll gonna send guards to make comfortable.", Luce added.

'With this, they will really think harder. Haha! I'm enjoying this now; seeing them suffer, that is.', Luce thought with delight.

The seven people there had no choice but to follow Luce's command. They knew that if they try to force him out, he will retaliate, leading to a pointless slaughter.

[Demi-god] ranked masters have their own special abilities that only them can make, because their star paths have been formed in completion, being nine star cores. Some have battle armaments, even creating a domain of their own.

A star path is a master's realization of his own star soul. They can form their path if they realize how to properly use their star souls in battle or whenever they need to use it.

Commonly, masters that have a weapon soul form their star paths faster than the beast soul masters. That's because beast soul masters use their own body to fight or externally use their beast soul's abilities unlike weapon souls that can be wielded.

The real purpose of this infiltration plan is to have the children understand their star souls more in an actual battle where their lives are on the line.

Experiencing real killing intent, unlike what their trainers let out when they train at home, will surely make them more experienced in battle.

"I'd like for them to work in groups, rather than letting them work individually. The chances of them being caught will be less if they are helping each other." , Miseria, the Monarch of Sorrow suggested.

Luce took a nice glace at Miseria who was now also staring at him. Her nice body somehow caught Luce's eyes. He stared at her from head to toe to see her whole body, her black eyes never left him.

'She can be a nice maid for Luke. Her body is not on par with my love but, if she were to beg me to take her in as a maid, that would be quite lovely thought.', Luce thought while grinning on his seat.

"I wonder what's on your mind right now, Monarch of Death... Maybe something naughty, hmm?", Miseria teased him.

Luce let out a chuckle at what she said to him. He imagined what face is she gonna make if he maid Miseria a maid for his son.

"It's best to not know what I'm thinking... And your idea was a little interesting, almost making me feel angry at myself why I didn't think of that."

"I thank the Monarch of Death for the praise. I'm just suggesting some ideas that will ease the other monarchs' minds when they send their children away.", Miseria lightly bowed from her seat, her white hair fell down to her cheeks, covering the cleavage of her breasts.

The atmosphere in the room seemed to be more calm than it was before. That's why Modu, the host of the 'Sabbath', stood up and suggested that they should vote if they're agreeing or disagreeing in the final idea.

Unanimously, the eight agreed to proceed with that plans. And discussed how and where to send the children to infiltrate the human alliance. They then turned quiet for some time, even Luce stayed still, thinking for more plans.

But one more thing was stuck in Apolonius' mind. So, he let out his voice for the others to hear.

"So, when are we attacking them for real?"

All the kings and queens turned their attention to Apolonius as he broke the silence.

The question was definitely for Luce, their leader, although self-proclaimed, to answer. Apolonius stared at him with eager eyes, waiting for answers.

"We will attack them after we weakened their pillars of power. Their cities, merchants, temples, and mines... we will monopolize all of it little by little."

Making his voice louder, Luce announced a part of his plan to the demon monarchs that was in that room.

"And how long is that?", Apolonius asked again.

'This guy... He is so excited about the war itself. Why wouldn't he think about what we need to do and things we can gather first.', Luce thought in irritation.

"We can't just attack them just like that. All the countries of human alliance under the Regulus Empire are being guarded by at least two Zodiacs. We don't know about their current strength but, I'll tell you this... they're not pushovers."

Luce knew that all the monarchs in this room are at least in the peak of [Saint Rank] but, achieving that rank meant that almost half of their resources must have been used just for them.

Beating an entire army of soldiers in [Heroic Rank] might be easy for them but, in the eyes of their soldiers, it's like fighting thousands of themselves or even more powerful ones will join in.

Being a commander, you will only fight when somebody on the other side that was equal to you fights too. That's an unspoken rule for wars that happened in the past.

And the Zodiacs' levels must be, on Luce's calculations, in [Legend Rank] now and they are still growing. Not to mention the leaders and nobles of the countries also spend their resources on levelling up and gaining battle experience from star beasts and gaining star cores for themselves.

'Even though it looks like we're on the advantageous side, I will play it safe for the sake of my people. I can't have them suffer anymore and go to hiding again. That bastard Lumiere seems to be hiding something from the Emperor back then.'

Luce pondered to himself while the others are thinking of other strategies that could be used in case there's a hole on Luce's plans. Not that they're showing their intentions but, it looks like the monarchs will add more guards for their heirs.

Luce watched them discuss their own plans after he finished guessing what's the weird thing about Lumiere that made him interested to know.

'Lumiere used light affinity gracia against me that's why it made me weaker. But, he also had fire and darkness affinity. It's my first time seeing someone use three elements simultaneously except for the Zodiacs.'

The monarchs organized where countries would they send their heirs based in their locations.

Delkira and Selenea are going for the Elfenheim, a country of elves that the Empire conquered a few hundred years ago. The elves there works as servants for the nobles, some are used for slavery and prostitution.

It is also the country of Iris Lente, one of the twelve Zodiacs and a half human and dark elf daughter of the Marquis Lente of Elfenheim.

Norm and Belial is appointed in the western part of the continent. Norm has five children, and he is sending three of hiss boys in the borders of the Empire as trainee soldiers.

Belial on the other hand only has two children, one boy and one girl. His first born daughter's attitude towards him has been a little harsh in the past few years and he accepted it, because his wife said that it's natural for her to be like that.

So, Belial is sending his only son together with Norm's three sons. The person that guards the borders is the commander-in-chief of the imperial soldiers, Mu - 'The Martial King'.

And in the northern side, Modu, Apolonius and Miseria will send their children to the last three allies of the Regulus Empire and most likely the most guarded of all of their allies.

Modu will send his grandson, Ren, and will also add a few guards to keep him safe all throughout the mission, especially if the former Leviathan Dukedom, the Bermuda Country that they will infiltrate is guarded by Beatrice - 'The Naga Queen' and Yelena - 'The Arctic Queen'.

Miseria decided to send her twin daughters to the country of dwarves, Grandolun. Infiltrating the country will be difficult due to the nation's advancement in weaponry and scouting equipments. Plus, Janus Midlock - 'The Blacksmith King' made Grandolun his territory ever since he took an interest in the weapons of the dwarves.

The country that Apolonius will send his heir will be the most dangerous of all due to it being the capital of the religion in the whole continent, the holy country, Vider.

Apolonius will send his son to be a common knight in one of the temple of the Holy See and gather information about their cardinals and their Pope.

Vider does not need a hero guarding them because, they believe that the only one who can protect them is their god who sees all living beings in this world. They have 'The Paladins', a group of [Saint Rank] knights that vowed to protect Vider in place of their lives, as a replacement for the heroes.

Luce approved of their decisions seeing that their selected countries are also their enemies that were fighting with them for the last thousand years.

The location of the other heroes are not clear as the scouting ability of each armies can only gather information from the drunk soldiers and citizens gossiping about their guardians.

'We can probably gather more information and experience through this method. The children will grow smarter, stronger, and prepare themselves for the upcoming war that will happen.', Luce thought while clenching his fist.

This small body of Luce was created due to Luke's black weapon, Ophiuchus. It can create illusions that can physically interact with the outside world.

Luce, as the soul of Ophiuchus, can use this ability to create an illusion of a boy, a little bigger than his son. Ophiuchus can make it's wielder immune to illusions and reshape it's body to match the user's choice.

Basically, Luce became a living weapon of his son and it's probably the same case with the heroes.

Their former souls are trapped in their weapon artifacts and were forced to do the bidding of their wielder. It became worse because their wielder is their own body but, the ones that controls it is their hidden personas.

It feels like watching yourself do something you never dreamed of doing and you can't do anything to stop it. Their minds are tormented by this punishment every single day. That's why Luce sympathize with them.

In his case though, he wanted this to happen. When he combined his souls, he felt like his body can't contain the powerful fused souls.

He went deep to the inner ring and searched for a star beast that can seal your soul into an object. And after a year of searching, he finally found the star beast but, it was a [Red Rank] star beast at it's dying moment. It's best choice was to reincarnate as a human and ascend to the heavens.

Luce took it as an opportunity to strike a deal with it. He never fought it and just talked with the beast. It's intellect matched that of an teenage kid.

Making their conversation exciting, Luce talked with an exciting tone all the time to not make it bored. He suggested that the only way to ascend the heavens was to turn yourself fully into a human.

Eventually, the star beast agreed with Luce's idea. The star beast will seal his blood and soul inside Ophiuchus and wait for Luce to reach [Level 100] and take it to the heavens.

But, Luce never knew that the process was brutal and painful. The sealing process needed the weapon to be stabbed in the victim's chest for it to initiate and little by little, make the weapon deep the blood of the victim together with his soul.

The painful process continued for two years and Luce was reaching his limit, he needed someone to say his farewell to before he becomes a living weapon.

But, the star beast that had become his friend by that time was in the process of evolution into a human inside a big red cocoon. Luce never felt alone at that time, he was afraid as he was in agony.

But then, a glimpse of hope tingled at Luce's thin arms, it felt like someone reached out to him using time and space gracia. Luce quickly activated his eighth and sixth star cores to get into that dimension that the person made with his time and space gracia.

When Luce got there, he saw a kid with a nervous face. Luce didn't know where he was, maybe in a prison or a cave, he guessed but, that was all he can do.

His eyes were lit as he looked through the kid's level and finally saw one thing that he will never forget. The kid's beast soul was on another level than other beast souls and it was a snake!

The beast soul that his wife uniquely had and it has the same aura around the snake like Lilith's.

'There's no way an ordinary demon kid will have this kind of star soul! He must be a royal!', Luce thought, his breathing heavily now as the process of sealing his blood and soul will be completed.

Luce then took the courage to say something for the last time but, he didn't know if his guess was correct.

He called his son's name even though his voice was barely leaving his mouth. He didn't expected an answer because he just took a guess.

Unexpectedly, the kid said yes and asked where he is and how did Luce knew his name. Luce's emotions broke his concentration and the dagger on his chest began to rapidly suck his remaining blood.

'Not now! I finally met him! I finally met my son!', Luce thought.

Luce positioned his chest just so Luce can easily take it. Then Luce ordered him to take it.

Luke then took out the dagger that stabbed Luce's chest. Then Luce felt that his soul was being reaped apart as he forcefully let out a groan in agony.

'This kid! He just 'okay' then completely took it out! He is brave, just like his mother', Luce thought while he let out a little smile.

He felt more relaxed now that the dagger was not in his chest anymore. The pain will subside but, the sealing process won't and Luce will be completely asleep for an unknown time.

Luce then held his son's hand and told him to go back.

Luce let go and when he awoke again, Lilith and other familiar faces was there. That moment was sweet but, Luce knew that it's dangerous to possess an unconcious person so he said to them that he had to rest.

After that, Luce fell asleep to recover his gracia then stabilize his soul.

When he woke up again, he punished some guys and then that's it. He didn't let himself remember the time when he wept in his son's legs like a kid with a stolen candy.

'A great father, am I? I hope so.', Luce thought, thinking of his pathetic self. That was his weakest self that he forcefully hid before the ritual happened to him and the Zodiacs.

"Then, to where will you send your people to, Monarch of Death?", Modu asked Luce.

That broke Luce's moment thinking about his weak self and him being a pathetic father.

"To all of them.", Luce said, never leaving his gaze at his clenched fist.

"Wha-, What? Can you please repeat that."

Modu frowned his brows from Luce's ridiculous idea.

"We're going to all of them, though, we will do it one at a time for the children to have more time to improve themselves. So, hold your ground and keep your children safe."

Luce stood up on his seat and then waved his right arm to remove the barrier he made. He walked to the door and stopped when he is close enough to open it with his little arms.

"Oh, and I won't tell you about our sequence, I'm a person that loves excitement so, just do what you were meant to do and we will just tell you if we will come, okay?"

Luce looked back with an amiable smile with his eyes closed then snapped his right fingers. The other monarchs gulped as they saw Luce vanish in the air and teleported somewhere.

They were speechless about the powers and demeanor that Luce had shown them. The seven of them looked at each other, the round table has footsteps of a little kid on it as they looked at it and then looked at each other again.

"Are we really monarchs at his eyes?", Apolonius asked them.

The others just stared at Apolonius with contempt.