"Here we go," Dante said, appearing inside the Palace, more precisely at the "Royal Arch," where the coronation would take place, a spacious area where all the nobles were gathered.
There were several structures, with chairs and the like for the noble guests to sit. Contrary to appearances, Aldria had restricted access, keeping civilians away, watching from the outside, as the situation... was worse.
"How are things going?" he inquired as he took a wine glass from a waiter.
"Six hundred staff infected, 8,000 infected soldiers, 400 infected nobles," he heard from Aaralyn, who was high up in a tower overlooking the area.
"The security has been greatly reinforced, but of the 10,000 soldiers, 8,000 have already been corrupted, it will be difficult to deal with them," Aaralyn said, however.
"It'll be easy, don't worry too much, what we need to be careful of is Avareza," Dante said, and she agreed. "Despite that... those two are very well armed," Aaralyn said, seeing Sara and Nagasawa moving among the guests.
"They have their reasons, and besides... that Nunchaku is mine," Dante said, as if... he was jealous of the weapon. 'Tsk, my weapon!'
"Master?" she questioned, "Nothing, just keep observing everything," Dante said, and Aaralyn nodded.
Dante began to walk around the area, surveying the surroundings and getting a better sense of the terrain. His mana was already spread throughout the area, thoroughly analyzing any misstep or different power present. If it were a GPS now, there would be plenty of red dots indicating danger.
"It's too quiet," Dante thought, before he could start doing something, he felt something watching him and quickly looked up at the sky.
"Morgana," Dante said, seeing a woman floating in the air. She was probably hiding her presence, but for Dante, who had a connection to Morgana's magic, as well as her soul, he could clearly feel that beautiful woman above him. After years, he finally found one of his greatest loves, his second wife.
He couldn't meet her yet, even though he wanted to fly instantly to embrace her and kiss her deeply, everything was being arranged for the best outcome.
"Thank you, Sylvia," he murmured. After all, thanks to the woman, he was able to see his wife again. After that, he would try to properly thank Sylvia.
On the other hand, Morgana was simply watching everything.
"Why are there so many demons here?" she questioned, and Skyla appeared by her side. "Indeed, how many years has it been since we saw demons appear so blatantly?" she asked, and Sylvia said, already back in her full form.
"The Next Emperor has a contract with a High-Level Demon," Sylvia said, and Morgana's eyes turned inward towards the venue, and she felt a very strong power. However, what really surprised her was the other one.
A man with black hair walking calmly among the guests. She was feeling a different sensation coming from him, an absolute strength, but without any trace of malice.
"Who is that?" Morgana said instinctively, and Sylvia looked. 'Damn it, Dante!' she already started to complain...
"Our ally," she said, obviously couldn't say "Arthur." After all... well, Morgana knew about Arthur Pendragon.
"I can't see his soul," she remarked. "Understandable, this ally has taken care of everything, he has a personal grudge against Ethan," she commented, laughing.
'You're terrible at lying, you should start taking some acting lessons,' Morgana thought. Although she didn't know who he was, clearly he was someone completely different from the others, someone special in some way.
"Go fetch Simon," she ordered, and Sylvia disappeared, while she continued to observe the man, who suddenly looked directly into her eyes.
"Bold," she said, and truly disappeared.
"Darn it, I can't even get a glimpse of my wife's beauty," Dante said, realizing she had disappeared upon noticing his gaze.
"You're going to end up dead, master. She doesn't know you're you," Vex said, appearing invisibly as he floated.
"Tsk, stop nagging," Dante said and downed his drink entirely. "Ah~ now it's just a waiting game," he said.
Upstairs.
"Are you sure about this?" Aldria questioned Adam, who was finishing getting ready, heading towards the venue. "Have you changed the location? And the protective magic?"
"Everything has been done," Aldria said.
"Keep up the good work, we only have twenty minutes, start preparing yourself," Adam said. "Are you going to continue to ignore me? Do you think Zayah would like that?" She touched a deep wound, and Adam turned around.
Despite being completely debilitated by the disease, he was still the Emperor.
"She wouldn't agree, and I would do the same. Or do you think I'm going to let my family die because of my mistake? I'm already old, I don't mind dying for the peace of my Kingdom," he replied so seriously that Aldria trembled slightly.
"Now do as I say, or leave, I have no patience to deal with your obsessiveness. Your safety and Velryna's are guaranteed beside Dante, and it will stay that way," Adam spoke.
"How are you sure he's Dante Scarlet?" she questioned, and he turned around again. "Look at the sky and tell me, why is Morgana Scarlet in my empire? Coincidence?
Not only Morgana, but also Skyla Vexar, Simon Cloht, as well as Nagasawa Scarlet, Sara Vortex, Aaralyn Eudora are in my kingdom, helping a man they don't know who self-proclaimed himself Dante Scarlet," Adam said, and Aldria was left speechless.
"He is the damn Demon King. From the moment he entered this place, he only wanted one thing: to kill Ethan, something that Dante wanted to do in his final moments of life. Stop being cautious about everything, and start seeing your reality. This world has changed since that man died, the world has become much stronger, and I have become weaker.
It's only a matter of time before someone stronger appears and tries to kill me, kill you, or Velryna," he vented and looked deep into her eyes and said: "This body is cursed, it's not just a simple poison that someone can cure, it's a curse," he revealed.
"Now, start walking, it's time," he said and left, appearing on the stage where his speech would begin.
Everyone quickly looked as the Emperor's aura rose to the skies, transforming everything into a huge Dome of Golden Energy. The blue sky turned completely golden.
Velryna in the distance saw that scene with slightly teary eyes, after all, her father's energy was starting to wane gradually. However, she didn't have time for that and soon appeared on the stage beside him.
"Let the show begin," Dante said and disappeared into the crowd that was beginning to form...
"Begin," he said, and they all immediately nodded.