Resurrecting Zara, the Angel of Death, might be the best choice for him as she was the strongest spirit. He would do so if this was an emergency situation, but that was the case. He prioritized his promise, and the demon swordsman was his second spirit too.
"I am ready, Master," Zaneos tried to suppress his excitement. However, Tang Shaoyang could notice the tinge of excitement the demon tried to suppress. It was a rare occasion for the demon swordsman to lose composure, so it was funny in a way.
[Spirit Resurrection]
Tang Shaoyang activated the skill. He did not hear the System's notice that usually informed him that he would not be able to use the skill, but there was no sign of him reviving his spirit either. It was ten seconds silent before he heard the system's voice.
[Please choose the spirit you want to revive!]
His eyes widened, pleasantly surprised by the information. It meant he could use the skill; that meant he could revive one of his spirits.
"I want to revive Zaneos, The Void Sword!" He said it aloud as he also could not suppress the excitement.
The black gas gushed from the ceiling, pouring down to the ground. It spread out to the whole throne hall before the black gas gathered into one spot, forming a cocoon three meters away from the throne. The dense black gas turned into a black cocoon.
Tang Shaoyang waited, waiting for Zaneos to come out from the cocoon. Ten seconds passed, but there was no sign of Zaneos coming out of the cocoon. He waited patiently…. Thirty seconds passed, and still, no sign of the cocoon would break right away. A minute passed…. Two minutes….
Eight minutes passed, and Tang Shaoyang lost his patience. He got up from the throne and approached the black cocoon. The gas did not solidify; it was still in the form of gas. Tang Shaoyang moved his right hand to touch the cocoon, and his hand passed through. He did not dare to go deeper, immediately pulling his hand out of the cocoon in case the resurrection might fail if he did something to it.
"Zaneos! Are you there?" Tang Shaoyang tried to call the demon swordsman, hoping the demon would respond to him. However, he heard nothing back, whether from the cocoon or from his head. That meant Zaneos was no longer inside the Spiritual Dimension.
'Zaneos is not here,' Zowen confirmed his thoughts.
This was the first resurrection attempt; none of them, including the spirits, knew anything about the resurrection. Tang Shaoyang was a little bit anxious, "If Zaneos is not there, then he must be inside." He had an urge to dip his hand into the black cocoon, but he managed to hold back.
The waiting continued, and he noticed the change on the cocoon right at the ten minutes mark. The cocoon shook as it let out a buzzing noise. Tang Shaoyang took three steps back and observed the cocoon. He was ready to make a move if the cocoon had the potential to damage the building.
The cocoon sliced into two as the black energy gushed out of it. Tang Shaoyang manipulated his mana, creating a barrier around the cocoon containing the black energy. The black energy could not harm him as he was one-third demon, but it could hurt the others. The mana barrier ensured no leak of dark energy while his eyes were glued on the cocoon.
The dark energy split to the side, revealing a figure coming out from the cocoon. A familiar figure stepped out, wearing a straw hat, two meters tall, and had dark skin. It was the same figure he saw when he summoned Zaneos after the battle against the Fogged Ape Tribe. The only difference was that there was no sword on his waist.
"It seems I can't carry my sword with me," Zaneos' composed voice rang as the demon looked down on his waist. Then he looked up, and his red eyes gleamed. Tang Shaoyang could see two red dots beyond the dark energy, "Ah, I apologize, Master. I was so excited that I forgot my dark energy can harm people."
The Void Sword sucked all the leaking energy from the cocoon. In the blink of an eye, the dark energy disappeared, revealing the look of the demon swordsman. This was the first time he looked at Zaneos' face as the demon swordsman usually would cover his face, "A handsome demon, huh? But most of the demons are handsome." He was talking about Orlean, The Demon Prince.
"Thank you for your compliment, Mas— Your Majesty," Zaneos put his right hand on his left chest and bowed, then he took two steps forward and knelt in front of Tang Shaoyang, "I, Zaneos, The Void Sword swear allegiance to The Emperor. I, Zaneos, The Void Sword, swear that I will faithfully serve The Tang Empire with my life."
The oath was the last thing he would expect from the demon swordsman. He thought Zaneos would leave him after the resurrection. The demon was supposed to have unfinished business with his former master, the Demon King. He thought Zaneos would leave, finding a way back to his world instead of swearing allegiance to him. It caught him off guard for sure.
"You…." Tang Shaoyang wanted to say something, but he could not think of any words. He was stunned by how things turned out.
Zaneos raised his head and looked up at Tang Shaoyang, "You can't stutter like that in front of the others, Your Majesty. You need to speak with confidence, or else how could people trust you, Your Majesty?"
Tang Shaoyang rolled his eyes and pulled the mana barrier. He approached the demon swordsman and pulled him up, "The first thing you do after the oath is nagging me? For real, Zaneos?"
The Void Sword responded with a slight smile.
"What about your unfinished business with the Demon King? Don't you want to come back to your original world? Why are you…." Tang Shaoyang did not finish his words, but the demon swordsman knew what The Emperor talked about.