NOVEL NEXT Aaron couldn’t pull himself together at all. He had broken through hordes of Imperial Knights to reach the roof where he could get a full view of Swallow. When he had launched the fireworks, he had thought that it was all over and that victory was his—but now here was the Mercenary King!
Aaron heard a whistling in the air and quickly took three steps backward, barely avoiding a man who landed right where Aaron had been standing.
“Has it been thirty years? No, it’s at least forty years.”
“Ethan…!” Aaron muttered. He had buried that name deep in his head, but he recalled it the instant he laid eyes on that man.
Ethan del Killian was the Mercenary King’s true name.
“I know how to read the room, so I’ll let you guys enjoy your reunion in private…”
Anna slowly stepped back. Aaron immediately launched an aura strike at her, but Ethan—no, Akshuller—used his fist to launch an aura strike of his own that nullified Aaron’s attack. He stood between Aaron and Anna and gave his estranged brother a dark look.
“I’m still here, you know.”
“…I heard that the girl went all the way over to Avalon to meet you, but you actually fell for your cousin’s sweet talk? Why? Do you want the duchy after all these years?” Aaron sneered.
Akshuller shook his head. “That was an eternity ago. It’s true that when I was a mercenary guild’s branch manager, Anna and Draxia came to visit me and offered to take the Killian family away from you and give it to me. But I turned them down immediately.”
“You turned down their offer? Look at yourself. Do you really think I’d believe that?”
Akshuller let out a long sigh. “On the day the family’s garden burned down, I was on the mansion’s roof like we are today.”
Aaron's eyes widened. He remembered that Akshuller had a habit of climbing up onto roofs whenever he had a chance. The family members and servants had tried everything to stop Akshuller, but he had insisted on indulging his habit because he liked the refreshing feeling of looking up at the sky from a high place. As long ago as it had been, Aaron’s memories were still vivid.
“Wait…”
Akshuller nodded. “Yes, I saw everything.”
“I knew it…!”
However, Aaron still didn’t understand, but Akshuller was ready to explain.
“I knew from the start that the culprit was Anna.”
“Yet you still took the fall?” Aaron asked, his voice laced with disbelief.
“Yes, I did. Anna was panicking and running around in the garden, so I put the golden thread in my room myself.”
Aaron turned to look at Anna, who was smiling bitterly. That was proof that Akshuller was speaking the truth.
“You didn’t have to do that. I don’t care if people think I’m even worse of a bitch than I already am…” Anna mumbled, twiddling her fingers.
“Hahaha. I was once a man of this country, so I can’t let your honor be tainted by false accusations, Your Majesty,” Akshuller answered with a mischievous guffaw.
“Why in the world would you do that…?” Aaron frowned.
“You wanted to become the duke.”
“What?”
“You wanted to be Duke Killian more than anything else, but I never wanted it at all, yet I was the heir apparent just because I’m the oldest son—and I hated it.” Akshuller shrugged.
Aaron's eyes widened.
“That’s why I needed an excuse to leave the family. Coincidentally, I saw everything on the day of the accident, so I was able to come up with a fabulous plan. That’s how I became who I am today.”
“Am I supposed to believe that? Just be honest: you two have been conspiring for this day, haven’t you.”
“Not at all.” Akshuller shook his head without a moment’s hesitation.
Aaron was perfectly aware that he was nitpicking. If Akshuller wanted to be duke, he had no reason to take the fall for Anna. Although people now said that Aaron was more gifted than his older brother, he knew Akshuller was the better of the two—certainly not Aaron’s lesser.
“When I left the family, I felt like I could seize the whole world, not just a small duchy. I had to stop using the family’s sword techniques after practicing them my whole life, but I was certain that I would be able to beat down mercenaries with my fists.” Akshuller guffawed. “It turned out that I was just a big fish in a small pond.
“The world was big, and there were so many people who were stronger than me. Right from the beginning, I had to change my plan; I couldn’t make a name for my new self by dominating the field of mercenaries.” Akshuller’s smile turned bitter. “It’s preposterous to go back to my small pond.”
Aaron sneered. “Why? Did your inferiority complex get to you? You thought you couldn’t even be a big fish in a small pond anymore? Well, if even a mercenary can beat you, there’s no way you could have led the great Killian family.”
“Don’t be sarcastic. Barbarian was a remarkable man. Once, it seemed impossible for me to reach his level.”
“He’s still just a mercenary! That’s it! I won’t put up with this pathetic loser’s monologue any longer!” During their conversation, the clashing swords continued to fill the air, indicating that the battles on the ground were only intensifying.
However, Akshuller wasn’t done.
“Just like you said, I was a loser, but a boy who was less than twenty years old at the time gave me hope.”
“…What?”
“That boy and I are the same. He left his family so that his brother could inherit. He would have been taught his family’s sword techniques for his entire life; those techniques belonged to a family which was led by one of the Nine Stars, so they could have been greater than our family’s… but he chose to use a spear—a conscript’s weapon.”
That told Aaron exactly who Akshuller was talking about.
“I lost to the Flame Emperor, and Barbarian was unchallengeable in my eyes. The boy defeated the Flame Emperor and won Reinhardt’s Master Battle, beating Barbarian, one of the Twelve Superhumans at the time. Even though the boy was young enough to be my nephew, he still won every battle.”
Anyone who knew a little bit about martial arts would know about the childhood of Joshua Sanders, the Martial God. His story was legendary.
“…Now I get it.”
“Huh?” Akshuller tilted his head.
Aaron smirked. “It sounds like you’re pretty tight with the Martial God. His help is the reason why you were able to become the Mercenary King in the first place, so you’re trying to become the duke the same way.”
It was clear from the look on Aaron’s face that he would never believe anything Akshuller said.
Akshuller let out a sigh. “I like my life more than you think. The last thing I want right now is to become duke—”
“I don’t believe you!”
“You dumbass. Do you know how old I am? Most of my peers have already retired and have grandchildren!” Akshuller snapped, despite his maturity.
Aaron stiffened, shocked by this new side of his older brother.
“I don’t know if you’ll believe it, but this is to repay the favor.”
“A favor…?”
“The boy that let me dream became the almighty Martial God. I wanted to repay him for giving me a chance to become a new man—but that was me being delusional. He’s too great to need my help,” Akshuller declared, looking genuinely happy. “Eventually, I realized I’d take that debt with me to my grave, but I now have a chance to repay the favor.”
“Vermin. You can sugarcoat it all you want, but that still sounds to me that you came back out of greed. What does the current situation have to do with the Martial God?”
“Everything. The woman who’s going to be the Martial God’s daughter-in-law is in danger.”
“...The Martial God’s daughter-in-law?” Aaron’s jaw dropped. “Are you talking about—”
Akshuller looked pointedly at Anna, who was standing behind him.
Her face went bright red. “My, my, my. That’s what Arash told you?”
After telling Aaron a series of stories that messed his head up, Akshuller pounded his fists against one another with a grin.
“Hahaha. I’m grateful to the heavens for allowing me this chance before I die. Aaron, my brother. Light a fire in my heart, like the garden that was reduced to ashes, so that I won’t have the slightest regret when I’m gone.”
“You crazy shit.” Aaron’s sword turned ice-cold. “Don’t you ever fucking call me your brother anymore. No matter what you say, it doesn’t change the past. You’re a loser who left the family after being defeated by your little brother, and now you’re just a rat trying to steal my family.”
Akshuller smiled faintly. “Even the version of my past that people remember is part of my life. I don’t regret the choices I’ve made. I love every part of my life as Ethan, Aiden, and Akshuller.”
“Cut the crap and die already!” Aaron swung his sword, unleashing an ice dragon toward Akshuller.