"I am not here at Mammon’s command."

Gray said, drawing out his old friend’s Secret Sword, the surface of the blade was covered with foul venom, exuding a strange brown hue.

"Oh? Then what do you wish to obtain from me?" The Shadow King tried to laugh, "You’d best hurry, my time is running short."

Gray spoke bluntly, "I want to kill you."

Gray suddenly sheathed the blade, leaned against a broken stone pillar, and sat face to face with the Shadow King.

"You may not believe it, but not long ago, I was still fresh blood among the King’s Secret Sword, following my trusted captains to this damned city, embarking on my first mission."

"You are one of Jia Meng’s team members?" The Shadow King understood the complex web of relationships, "I guess Jia Meng betrayed you all, he slaughtered your friends... and now you have come to seek revenge on me."

It wasn’t hard to guess; from the first time he met Gray and heard him recount the origin of the two Secret Swords, the Shadow King had a premonition.

Gray nodded slightly, raising the Silence Sword, trying to wipe away the venom on it, but the moment his palm touched it, an unbearable burning sensation arose.

"I killed Jia Meng with my own hands, but after I killed him, I did not feel satisfied."

Gray said, "An inexplicable void seized me. I knew I needed a more intense fury to keep moving forward... Hence, from then on, I longed to kill you, to destroy you, the source of my tragedy."

The Shadow King said, "Then what are you waiting for?"

"I am a bit confused."

Gray shook his head, outwardly hating the Shadow King, but seemingly not very interested in killing the Shadow King, "The layers of hatred pile up, I can’t understand the so-called justice and evil, nor do I understand what I should do.

I realized that perhaps, blind revenge could not satisfy me."

"Then what do you want from me?" the Shadow King asked.

"I want to know why you did this," Gray asked, "why you betrayed the King’s Secret Sword, why you formed the King’s Shield Guard, why you did these things.

In my eyes, you King’s Shield Guards are outright betrayers, but in your own eyes, you are absolutely loyal heirs."

The Shadow King fell silent.

"Will you take that secret to the grave?" Gray’s voice rose, "Since you hate the King’s Secret Sword so much and believe yourself to be loyal, why not tell me these things?"

Gray kept cursing, "Why? Why did we split, why did we, who were supposed to be united, slaughter each other, why!"

The whys of today were already too many.

"I want to know why this all began, I want to know the truth of this tragedy!"

The accumulated emotions were vented today, and Gray felt an inexplicable ease.

Like the Shadow King, Gray also lived in prolonged pain; Jia Meng’s betrayal destroyed everything he believed in, and Milasha’s death nearly broke his heart.

Ever since that rainy night, Gray had taken the divergent path of fate, and his world was utterly destroyed.

Now, Gray no longer yearned for peace, he just wanted to know why.

Why did it become like this, why did his life become so absurd?

Gray’s voice even took on a pleading tone.

"What if you could convince me?"

This was a secret the Shadow King had guarded all his life, swearing to wash away this shame with blood to prevent others from knowing, but at this moment, he seemed truly tired, as if touched by Gray, the Shadow King realized that at this moment it didn’t matter if he spoke out, for after today, Kagader’s lineage would completely sever, and all this would become meaningless.

"It’s a long yet brief story."

The Shadow King seemed to ignite a will to survive, trying to keep himself awake.

"A long time ago, there was a soldier who, through years of battles, rose to become a non-commissioned officer, then he had his soldiers, and finally, he became a General, even conquering a kingdom, crowning himself.

From soldier to King, he bore so many honors, but beneath the honors, his desires grew daily, the King did not want death to take his life, to separate him from his kingdom.

He wanted to wear the crown forever, to rule over an eternal kingdom.

Under intense desire, one day, a Devil approached him, promising the King the power of immortality, at the cost of his offspring."

As he spoke of these, a nameless fury burst from the Shadow King’s body, he swore a curse.

"The King in the story was the first generation of the Kagader Empire, the First Enshrined King."

The blood-stained truth left Gray’s mind blank.

"The First Enshrined King received a Blessing, a Blessing that allowed his soul to be transmitted among his bloodline descendants, meaning he was not just the First Enshrined King, under each generation of the King’s shell, the original soul had long been obliterated, sacrificed to the Devil, and what sovereigns that crown is the soul of the First Enshrined King.

Every King in history is the First Enshrined King, he is the King of Kings."

Gray stared intently at the Shadow King, his breathing involuntarily became heavy, gasping painfully as if short of breath.

"Then... the current King of Slaughter."

"Yes, he is also the First Enshrined King."

There was a touch of sorrow in the Shadow King’s tone, an unhealable wound in his heart.

"Not everyone succumbed to his control, willing to surrender the fate of the Kagader family to the Devil."