ã€ŠWorldbreakingã€‹


 Prologue - Crusades End

    The Grandiel continent, home to many races that had once shared the land equally. However, there were a group of powerful humans that were not satisfied with their share of the continent, and sought to expand their territory and power. Their ambition sparked many wars in the pretense of a ¡°Holy Crusade,¡± that elevated the views of human supremacy, and consisted of purging and enslaving the other races. As such, the demon race, whom they considered to be the biggest threat, had been pushed to the harsh Northern end of the continent where only the strong survive, and death was commonplace out of city walls due to the unknown high-tiered beasts that resided there.

    The Grandiel continent is now often referred to as the Warring Continent. It had been twenty years since the start of the crusade. Twenty years since Zieg¡¯s hometown had been burnt to the ground due to the invasion of humans. He had been five years old at the time. The time when he witnessed both his parents¡¯ death, his father tortured, mother raped. Hiding and completely helpless, holding their corpses and weeping as the attack passed. He was forced to flee along with the rest of the survivors of his race to the North.

    At the unfairness of life, at the cruelty of humans, Zieg vowed revenge. In pursuit of strength, he foolishly became a vagabond at the age of five, roaming the North alone, facing countless situations of life and death, encountering some of the most dangerous beasts in the continent, and raiding ancient dungeons. During his travels he found insights in the comprehension of mana, and quickly broke through the tiers of power to become an immortal at the age of twenty, a being that no longer aged due to their understanding of the laws of mana and life, something that only several have ever achieved.

    A few years later, he developed his own Worldbreaking technique, skills that only those at the level of immortals are capable of developing that bend the laws of the world. Before long, Zieg was acknowledged as the strongest of the demon race, and was given the title of Demon King.

    Atop the balcony of a castle stood an imposing figure. Below, tens of thousands of demons as far as the eye can see looked up in awe and admiration. The instant the figure entered and was in view of the balcony, the despair on their faces changed to a look of ardor and pride. Standing on the balcony was a demon that had pitch-black long hair that seemed to absorb light, standing between six and seven feet tall, two horns growing perpendicularly upwards out the side of his head, skin the color of ash, piercing eyes, and held an aura that seemed to command respect.

    Now, the largest army ever seen within the crusade, consisting of several races were gathered on the center of the continent, planning to march towards the North to eradicate and enslave the rest of the demons within the Grandiel continent. The powerful group of humans that had initiated the crusade had used underhanded means to form a temporary alliance with some of the other races, in fear of their strength, and the rumors of a sudden appearance of an unknown demon named Zieg that was reportedly an immortal.

    Zieg stood atop the balcony of his castle, preparing to give a speech. (It¡¯s finally time... I have waited two decades for this moment. For my vengeance¡­ I will put an end to this ¡°holy¡± crusade) he mused.

    ¡°My fellow brethren, the time has come. For years, the humans have persecuted us, enslaved us, killed us! And for what? For being different? For their greed? We only wanted to live, but now we must survive. From this day forth, it is the humans that will be persecuted, enslaved, and killed! Fight knowing that our bonds are strong. Fight knowing my strength. Fight knowing that with their deaths, we will be free. I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL EVERY SINGLE HUMAN ON THIS WORLD IS DEAD, AND IF I FALL, OTHER DEMONS SHALL CARRY ON MY WILL! DEATH TO ALL HUMANS!¡± Zieg roared.

    ¡°DEATH TO ALL HUMANS! DEATH TO ALL HUMANS! DEATH TO ALL HUMANS!¡± the surrounding demons followed in a resounding chant.

    With that, Zieg began to levitate and flew at a blinding speed toward the center of the continent, leaving behind a crowd of stunned demons. Gathering their bearings, they too, made for the center of the continent, albeit at a much slower pace.

    In a matter of minutes, Zieg was found floating above the human¡¯s allied army of millions. He unsheathed a blood-red longsword named ¡°Bloodwhistler,¡± an artifact that he acquired several years ago from an ancient dungeon, and shouted loudly ¡°VOLHEILM, FIGHT ME AND DIE!¡±

    Zieg¡¯s presence and killing intent was so powerful that most of the millions that were unable to withstand his aura dropped to their knees, others fainting, and the weaker ones immediately dying or becoming insane due to the fear, and attacking their own comrades. A figure began floating up from the army amidst the chaos.

    A muscular middle-aged man that was covered in silver armor and still appeared youthful, nearly the same size as Zieg, and had cropped hair the color of silver. An immortal. Volheilm Kaiser, a member of a certain powerful group of humans, and the one who heads the crusade. He was grinning. He was confident. It was as if he was looking at Zieg like he was no more than a child. The source of that confidence came from the fact that he had been an immortal much longer than Zieg. He was already an immortal before Zieg was even born.

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    ¡°If you fight me, it is you who will die, child,¡± Volheilm mocked.

    They were floating in the air across from one another, at a distance of a few kilometers apart. To those at the level of immortals, that distance could be crossed in seconds.

    Having created several Worldbreaking techniques, Volheilm had already begun using a Worldbreaking technique before the fight had even started. He called this particular one ¡°Adrenaline.¡± Through his understand of mana and life, he was capable of utilizing mana to accelerate his perception by bending laws and sending mana directly into his brain, increasing his reaction speed to at least five times, seemingly making everything else move five times slower.

    In comparison, Zieg had only developed a single Worldbreaking technique. Even though he developed it in theory, he had never used the technique before in his life. The reason would soon become readily apparent. The technique became stronger the more mana and life energy was put into it. This technique was why Zieg had chosen to go on ahead before his army.

    ¡°COLLAPSING DRAGON!¡± Zieg yelled as he made a powerful downward slash in the air, still kilometers away from Volheilm, with Bloodwhistler.

    The slash gave off a normal white blade of air, in the shape of a single dragon¡¯s claw, that headed towards Volheilm. It seemed normal because even those below the skill levels of immortals are capable of creating blades of air through their attacks. However, something about that blade of air was odd. It was moving excessively slow. In addition to Volheilm¡¯s Adrenaline that made him perceive it to be five times slower, it looked like it was moving at a snail¡¯s pace.

    (To start off with such a weak and normal opening attack?) Volheilm thought and scoffed, or at least, he tried to scoff. Volheilm began to panic, why was he unable to make a facial expression? He tried moving, but was unable to. (What the hell¡¯s happening?) he thought. He floated helplessly, unmoving, as the blade of air continued to slowly approach him.

    In actuality, Volheilm had already died, he had already been split in half by the attack. He was only alive in his point of view because of his special technique that increased his perception- Adrenaline. The slow moving blade of air had been countless afterimages of the afterimages of the afterimages of the afterimages... of the original Worldbreaking attack. Blood leaked out of the mouth, nose, eyes, and ears of the army. Collapsing Dragon was so fast and powerful that it broke the sound barrier several times over, combining to cause a singular deafening roar, killing the rest of the allied human army, and those remotely anywhere near Zieg by sound alone.

    The seemingly slow afterimage of the blade of air continued on after cutting through Volheilm, moving diagonally downward towards the ground of the Grandiel continent from the initial trajectory of the slash. Cutting into the ground, the blade of air made the entire continent shake. Collapsing Dragon didn¡¯t stop at merely the ground, it kept cutting through, splitting the entire radius of the Grandiel continent in half.

    Zieg had used the entirety of his life force and mana in the Worldbreaking attack. From the start to the finish of the attack, two seconds had not even passed. Millions of people within the vicinity of Zieg died in less than two seconds. With the sheer amount of damage done to the humans, the Holy Crusade would inevitably end.

    Zieg¡¯s view slowly began to darken, he knew that he would soon die for putting everything he had into that attack, but for some reason he had a serene expression on his face. He was smiling a genuine smile that was never seen on him for twenty years. His vision continued to blacken. (Mom¡­ Dad¡­) were his last thoughts before everything became completely black.

    How much time had passed? Everything was completely dark, there was no light whatsoever. Suddenly, Zieg regained his consciousness, but everything was still black. He tried opening his eyes, but couldn¡¯t. He could vaguely make out some distorted noises. The darkness changed hue to a less blacker shade. He could slowly make out the noises better.

    ¡°It...a...oy¡­..co...ations!¡± a voice spoke.

    ¡°My baby. I¡¯ll name you Hope. It¡¯s something that we need most in the world right now. Hope Kaiser. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll become a strong and powerful immortal when you grow older, just like your father was,¡± a voice that sounded motherly said.

 Chapter 1 - Reincarnation

    (What is this? I¡¯m¡­ still alive?) Zieg wondered, confused.

    He was quickly wrapped in a small blanket and held tightly by what he presumed to be his mother from her tone.

    (So I¡¯ve reincarnated, huh? What a strange twist of fate. Whatever¡­ I¡¯ll play along with this game for now. I¡¯m too vulnerable to do anything rash as it is.) He thought after spreading out his senses. He judged that he was currently F-tier in terms of power, the weakest on the end of the spectrum. That was only natural as he was a newborn, it would be more strange if he were anything else. He also judged that the woman holding him, his mother, was at the A level, a single rank away from becoming an immortal.

    In common knowledge, tiers of power ranged from the lowest to highest: F, E, D, C, B, A, and S. Everything in the world possessed mana, usually a blue magical force, but those at the F-tier were the weakest beings in existence, possessing the least amount of mana. You could easily breakthrough up until the D-tier simply by increasing your mana capacity, often by meditating or using the mana you currently possess. Starting at the rank of C, the requirements to breakthrough increase and continue to become more difficult, requiring you to reach a certain level of understanding in mana to breakthrough any further.

    Understanding of mana cannot be taught by others, and must be learned with your own power. Those who reach a considerably deep understanding of mana are able to become A-tier. There are two known ways to gain understanding, one of them being simply to meditate, while the other being to gain sudden sparks of insight from anything in the world you¡¯ve experienced. These sparks of insight can be earned from anything, and enlightens you in an aspect of the laws. At the S-tier, more commonly known as immortal, these sparks of insight usually lead to the development of unique ¡°Worldbreaking¡± abilities, extremely powerful skills that are capable of bending the laws of the world itself.

    Potentially, any being in the world is capable of becoming an A-rank in the tiers of power given enough time. However, becoming an immortal of the S-tier is much more difficult, and may not be achieved by some in several life times. The difference in terms of power between those at the A-rank and Immortal level is like the difference between Heaven and Earth. To reach the S-rank, and thus becoming an immortal, requires you to have a sufficient amount of mana capacity and possess enough understanding in both mana and life. At that level of understanding, S-tiers are able to stop the process of aging on a whim, and thus earning them the title of ¡°Immortal.¡± Immortals are existences that can fell kingdoms, and even royalty must act respectfully and cautiously around them.

    Zieg is a genius in that he was able to gain consecutive sparks of insight while roaming the North of the Grandiel continent alone. He quickly broke through from a mere F-tier to S-tier in fifteen years without any guidance, which would be considered an amazing feat.

    While going over this knowledge, Zieg reminisced about his past days roaming the North.

    (I¡¯m thankful for that dragon.) He secretly thought to himself.

    In the deepest depths of an Ancient Dungeon in the North, at the age of twenty-three, Zieg encountered an S-tiered creature, an immortal black dragon. Immortal beasts are incredibly fierce, intelligent creatures. Beasts that reach the S-tier become capable of speech, and usually possess intelligence that is on par or greater to other humanoid races. They¡¯re also capable of using Worldbreaking skills.

    Fighting this immortal dragon was one of the many life-threatening situations that Zieg had faced in the past. Zieg and the gigantic black dragon both fought relentlessly, until the immortal dragon was finally on the verge of death. In the dragon¡¯s dying blow, it mightily clawed with all of its remaining power, completely consuming both its mana and life force.

    The attack gave off white blades of air that shook and collapsed the entire Ancient Dungeon. Zieg was barely able to make it out alive. Through experiencing the immortal black dragon¡¯s dying blow, Zieg gained a spark of insight and was able to develop his own Worldbreaking skill through it, naming it ¡°Collapsing Dragon.¡±

    Zieg shook off his thoughts of the past.

    (I¡¯ll play along with this farce for now¡­) He thought.

    Like that, Zieg played the role of an obedient infant and child, while secretly collecting information, training himself, and cultivating his mana. As to not arouse suspicion, he did not increase his mana capacity and breakthrough the tiers at an unbelievable pace, but fast enough that he would still be considered a genius. Since he held the memories and understanding of his past life, it was easy for Zieg to breakthrough, all he had to do was become accustomed to his new body and increase his mana capacity to breakthrough and reach his previous level of strength.

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    He gradually collected information over time. He lived in a mansion, and through listening to the talks of the servants, was able to grasp some of the current state of affairs on the continent.

    (It looks like six months have passed since my death.) Zieg was surprised that so little time had passed.

    He heard that his original body was not found by the demon army that subsequently arrived after the aftermath, and that only his sword Bloodwhistler was retrieved by the demons. Apparently, Zieg is now known to most demons across the Grandiel continent as a legendary heroic figure, and Bloodwhistler is enshrined in a temple by a cult of demons that seem to worship and deify Zieg as a god, making claims that Zieg will return to destroy the rest of humanity.

    (Well, they aren¡¯t that far off, hahah¡­) Zieg wryly laughed internally.

    He had heard that humans are now on the defensive, with the morale of demons at an all-time high after the eradication of the allied human army. Demons are slowly making their way out of the North end of the continent, and are now making raids on human settlements, like a reversed situation of the ¡°Holy Crusade,¡± albeit on a smaller scale.

    He learned that he was the son to the now deceased Volheilm Kaiser and his wife Aisha Kaiser. Speaking of Aisha, she appeared to be in her early twenties with wavy black hair and deep brown eyes. She undoubtedly gave off a gentle, calming, and motherly aura.

    (Still going to kill her, though.) On this, Zieg was¡­ almost resolute. At times, he had trivial internal conflicts between his hatred for humans, and the small fondness he had for his mother, but quickly brushed them off and ultimately decided to kill her every time he had them.

    As for Zieg himself, he had the same deep brown eyes as his mother, while inheriting his father¡¯s silver hair.

    Lastly, he had learned that his father, Volheilm, had been a member of a guild of six, now five human immortals that call themselves ¡°Paragon,¡± that idealize human supremacy over other races. He¡¯d heard that the other five members are spread across other continents, with one of the members doing something similar to the prior Holy Crusade on another continent.

    For now, Zieg planned on eventually killing the five members of Paragon.

    Five years passed peacefully in this way¡­ It was now the morning of his fifth birthday.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Hope!¡± his mother Aisha called out to him, preparing to open the door to leave their mansion.

    ¡°Go? Go where?¡± Zieg asked, puzzled. This was the first time since he was born that he would be allowed to step outside of his home.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t heard from the servants? Almost everyone is talking about it. You¡¯re old enough now. I asked a favor from a friend of your father to train you to breakthrough,¡± Aisha explained.

    Hearing that, Zieg¡¯s eyes narrowed and he ran to stand beside his mom.

    ¡°A friend of dad¡¯s? What¡¯s their name?¡± he asked, oddly serious.

    ¡°The Elemental Master Julius. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of him, Hope.¡± Aisha replied while opening the door.

    When the door was fully opened, a handsome young male that looked to be in his twenties appeared out of nowhere, standing in front of the mansion. He was clothed like a butler, wearing a long black overcoat, and had long black hair that was tied into a ponytail. Performing an elegant bow, he introduced himself.

    ¡°Greetings, Hope. I was a good friend of your father¡¯s. I am Julius Eletrix, pleased to make your acquaintance,¡± he said, and gave a genuine smile, seeing his deceased friend¡¯s son.

    Aisha was right. Zieg had heard of him. Julius Eletrix, an immortal, and also¡­ a member of Paragon.

    Zieg clenched his fists tightly, forcing a smile, he willed himself to sound as cute and innocent as possible, saying, ¡°Please take care of me¡­ Uncle Julius¡­¡± while he thought (I will rip your fucking throat out.)

    Author¡¯s note: I was so tempted to make him think ¡°DEATH TO ALL HUMANS!¡± at the end, hahah. Anyway, I hope I can fit in a fight with Zieg and Julius soon after a timeskip.

 Chapter 2 - Affinity

    On the Southern end of the Grandiel continent, in a clearing in Hailhollow Forest on the Eastern outskirts of the rural town of Sharrow, were a group of twenty-odd children and a single immortal. The children were kids from Sharrow that yearned for adventure, excitement, and power. Naturally, with the advent of an immortal, news travelled quickly, and many sought and begged the tutelage of Julius within moments of his arrival. However, Julius would only agree to teaching children, with his stern mindset of ¡°If your level of power is that low at such an age, you¡¯re already hopeless.¡±

    Julius was, in fact, a prodigy of an immortal that broke through to S-rank at the age of 19, and had allowed himself to age until his appearance reached his twenties, and before him was a group of children that looked upon him with awe and admiration.

    ¡°First, everyone should sit, close their eyes, and try to enter a meditative state,¡± Julius said with a gentle and caring smile.

    Following Julius¡¯ words, the children, Zieg included, sat where they stood, closed their eyes, and began meditating.

    ¡°Try to feel for the elements, and focus on the ones that you feel has the strongest connection towards you,¡± Julius spoke to the meditating children, and began gathering the elements enmass. He changed the constitution of the ground beneath the children, intensified the water vapor in the air, heated other parts in the air, and varied the air pressure. As the children meditated, Julius¡¯ expression instantly became cold as his gaze swept the group for a moment, before immediately reassuming his gentle expression.

    The children began glowing different colors, from green, red, brown, and blue. Some children even flickered between several colors.

    (More than I suspected¡­) Julius thought to himself.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough, you may stop,¡± Julius commanded, and released the elements. He pointed to several of the twenty-odd children.

    ¡°You four and Hope,  I¡¯m willing to teach you, as for the others, I apologize, but I am unable to provide you guidance,¡± Julius said, with a feigned sorrowful expression.

    ¡°But why?!¡± a child that looked to be under ten cried out.

    ¡°I became an immortal through the understanding of elements, as such, I am only willing to teach those that possess a high affinity to at least three or more of the four basic elements. The rest of you only possess affinity for one or two. You may come back to request for my guidance after you reach an understanding in the other elements, and reach a minimum of being able to attune to three,¡± Julius said with a kind expression, knowing that the odds of that ever happening were extremely low.

    The children that were unable to be taught by Julius were sullenly escorted back to the village before all that remained was an immortal, and the five children that stood before him.

    Julius eyed each child carefully, analyzing minute details, and stared a particularly long time at Zieg before breaking his gaze. At the same time, Zieg was analyzing Julius just as much for their inevitable clash in the future. Julius was inwardly surprised that Zieg had reached the peak of D-rank at five years old, and possessed affinity for all four of the basic elements. He was excited at the prospect of another potential genius just like himself, and for that potential genius to be the son of his late friend. He smiled sincerely at that thought, unlike his previous mask-like feigned smiles.

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    Aside from Zieg, the other kids were two boys and two girls. One of the boys had messy short hair, a bulky frame and tan skin, possessing the elements of Earth, Fire, and Wind. The other boy was the polar opposite of the previous, a thin, pale child with glasses and neat hair that possessed the elements of Water, Fire, and Wind. As for the girls, one of them had a tall figure with short hair styled into a bob cut, with tanned skin and possessing the elements of Wind, Water and Earth. And lastly, the final girl had pale skin much like the boy with glasses and Zieg, with long, black and straight hair, possessing an affinity for all elements.

    Truthfully, Julius had not expected to see these many potentials in such a modest and rural town.

    ¡°For now, I¡¯ll explain a bit about the four basic elements¡­¡± Julius began speaking to the five before him.

    ¡°Those that possess the element of Fire are usually suited for more naturally aggressive abilities and styles, defensive for Earth, speed and technique for Wind, and support and tactical styles for Water. Of course this is not an ironclad guideline, and those truly proficient with the elements use them any way they see fit. Practically any immortal that uses elements entirely ignores this. For all of you whom possess at least three elements, your potential should be rather high, and you should be able to create your own paths in the future, but I must warn you...¡± Julius paused, looking into the eyes of each of the five. His eyes finally rested onto Zieg, and Zieg received the gaze unflinchingly.

    ¡°My guidance is not easy, nor simple. If you do not have the resolve, leave now. You may even die, or worse, continue to live in a state wishing you were dead. I will guide those who wish to undertake my training for several years, and during this time, you will be stripped of your freedom, unable to meet with your family or friends. I¡¯m sure each of you have your reasons for seeking me. Ask yourself this: What are you willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals?¡± at the question, Julius reminisced about his own past, and wryly smiled at the nostalgia, while the five looked to be deep in thought.

    ¡°The answer to that question, is it everything?¡± Julius finally asked with an expressionless face after several moments of silence had passed.

    Each of the five nodded their heads, and before him no longer stood five children, but five resolute people.

 Chapter 3 - Reason for Power

    ¡°Hey everyone, I¡¯m Mors, what are your names?¡± the bulky, tanned boy asked.

    As of now, the group were making their way back to Sharrow from the forest after being told by Julius to prepare for departure, right before he vanished.

    ¡°...¡±

    To that question, Mors was answered with silence from everyone.

    ¡°C¡¯mon guys, don¡¯t be like that, I have a feeling we¡¯re going to be together for a loooong time, who knows, we might all become immortals in the future. Why don¡¯t we start with why we all want to become stronger?¡± Mors asked enthusiastically.

    ¡°Shut up, you¡¯re annoying¡­¡± the girl with the long black hair replied, while everyone else continued to quietly walk.

    ¡°Well, uh, everyone knows about the Silver Saint Volheilm, right?¡± Mors asked, looking at Zieg. Immediately, everyone¡¯s interests were piqued, and they started paying attention. Zieg¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly.

    ¡°Yup, yup, your father is my inspiration, Hope. Y¡¯know, I¡¯m actually from Central.¡±

    From Mors¡¯ statement, everyone aside from Zieg¡¯s eyes widened. Looking at the others¡¯ reactions, Zieg became confused. What was so special about the center area of the continent?

    ¡°No way, the frontier¡­ But that¡¯s...¡± the boy wearing glasses muttered to himself.

    The center area of the continent was the place where the most warfare took place, and it was the place where the demons had been fighting the fiercest, trying to reclaim their land for nearly two decades, and now that the Holy Crusade had ended, the onslaught of the demons had only intensified.

    ¡°I¡¯d even heard they made a magic school in Central earlier this year, pretty cool, right?¡± Mors grinned, continuing ¡°Actually, my entire village in Central was wiped out by demons a few years back. Back then we were all praying for anyone to save us, god, immortals, heroes, but no one came. I was the only survivor,¡± Mors continued grinning. The other four only had serious or blank expressions.

    (Death begets death, and yet we still crave it) Zieg thought to himself.

    ¡°That time, I thought I was a goner,¡± Mors said while waving his arms around exaggeratedly ¡°But y¡¯know, right before a demon was about to bite into me, I saw a silver flash of light,¡± his smile widened. The others were now listening intently, waiting for Mors to continue.

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    ¡°It was the Silver Saint Volheilm. He moved so fast that all I could see were silver flashes, and all the demons were cut down before I knew it. When I saw him coming my way, I was no longer terrified of the demons, or sad that everyone in my village vanished just like that. To me, he was a Hero, almost like a ray of light, like¡­ hope for humanity itself. Y¡¯know, like the ones in the fairy tales, or the immortals that we always hear about and never get to see in our lifetimes¡­ He saved my life and brought me to Sharrow, him, an immortal, for a mere peasant like me...¡± Mors¡¯ cheerful face suddenly took on a serious expression, ¡°So that¡¯s why I want to become stronger, no matter what. I¡¯ll become an immortal and a hero like Volheilm, one that humanity can actually look up to. Even in his final moments, I hear that Volheilm sacrificed himself to take down the Demon King Zieg.¡± Mors¡¯ smiled.

    A hint of respect could be seen from some of the others. It seemed like their opinions of Mors had improved, if only a little.

    (Hah, if only you knew¡­) Zieg scoffed inwardly.

    Once again, Mors asked, ¡°So, why are all of you trying to get stronger?¡±

    ¡°For revenge,¡± Zieg replied.

    ¡°Ah, I thought so, for your father?¡± Mors asked curiously.

    ¡°Something like that,¡± Zieg smiled innocently.

    Mors brushed off the sudden chill he felt for some reason, and continued asking, ¡°What about the rest of you?¡±

    ¡°Just because you told us your reason, does it mean that we have to tell you ours?¡± the long-haired girl quickened her pace, ignoring him.

    The boy with glasses and the girl with the bobcut seemed to agree, and remained silent.

    ¡°Hmph, killjoys,¡± Mors pouted, ¡°Well, it looks like it¡¯s just you and me, Hope,¡± Mors smiled while wrapping an arm familiarly around Zieg¡¯s neck.

    (Greaaaaat¡­) Zieg thought.

    The trip back to Sharrow felt that much longer.

 Chapter 4 - Farewell Sharrow

    After arriving in Sharrow, the group of five split up for their respective preparations. Julius had said they would all be departing early tomorrow morning, and that this may be the last time they ever got to see their town.

    Having spent the majority of his life in the mansion, Zieg had no particular attachments, and immediately headed home. When he opened the door, he saw his mother, Aisha standing in front of the doorway with a blank expression.

    ¡°Did you know I¡¯d be leaving for years?¡± Zieg accused in a surprisingly sharp tone.

    At those words, Aisha dropped to her knees and hugged Zieg tightly, sobbing.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± she repeated, crying into Zieg¡¯s shoulder.

    Zieg was puzzled, but chose to remain still. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, until Aisha finally spoke, ¡°Hope, you must understand, the world is a cruel place... You need to become an immortal. One even stronger than your father was, so that you¡¯ll never leave me like he did.¡±

    The realization dawned upon him.

    (So that¡¯s why she never let me leave the house) he thought.

    The wetness on his shoulder breaking his reverie, Zieg hesitated, and finally said, ¡°I understand¡­ Mom,¡± and for the first time in five years since killing Volheilm, he felt a sense of warmness and satisfaction in his heart. Like that, the two spent their last day together for what would be years.

    Meanwhile in the Northern edge of Central in the frontier of the Grandiel continent, a figure stood atop a hill, overlooking a small army of around two hundred demons and tamed demonic beasts crossing the brown, barren and desolate wasteland of the North, and heading South into the Center of the continent.

    An immortal. The Elemental Master Julius Eletrix was here at the behest of Chase, the headmaster of the recently established magic academy for elites, Galvane, that lay in Central. He was asked to assist in stopping the demons¡¯ momentum, and decrease the intensity of their assaults in order to reclaim land by, ¡°Utterly destroying their morale.¡±

    ¡°That old fool Chase¡­ At least with this, he will owe me a favor in the future,¡± Julius muttered derisively. He quickly scanned the area and the force of the two hundred, and discovered that there were no immortals present or in hiding.

    ¡°Although long-ranged combat isn¡¯t my forte, this should be enough for rabble like them,¡± Julius said while stretching both of his arms outwards to his sides, and said with palms facing upwards, ¡°Worldbreaking technique: Grand Aqua Flame.¡± In an instant, two pillars of clear liquid that radiated heat erupted from the palms of his hands.

    The pillars of clear liquid stretched and coiled around one another, almost like they were two parts of a single entity, and fused into a singular body. The result was a large body of clear liquid in the shape of a long serpentine dragon.

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    The serpent moved at an astonishing speed and crashed into the middle of the army.

    ¡°Ambush!¡± the demons cried as the serpent moved through their ranks.

    Luger was the commander of an army of two hundred demons. He was a highly respected demon at the peak of A rank. Those that knew him said that he was destined for greatness, but actually, he was just incredibly bored. He repeated the same routine over and over again countless times. He would lead his army into the frontier, raid a few human settlements, and come back every time to receive high praise from others. He had lost count how many times he had done so.

    Growing weary of this routine, Luger wanted something new and exciting to happen, and the scene developing before him was exactly that.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t want this¡­¡± he murmured to no one but himself. The wailing and pained cries of demons filled his ears.

    The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. A serpent made of liquid moved unpredictably. Everything, anything the serpent touched melted. Those that the serpent didn¡¯t touch and were unlucky enough to simply be nearby were set on flames.

    Luger saw the body of the serpent brush against a demon¡¯s arm. The arm melted, and within moments, the arm no longer existed. A similar scene repeated itself throughout his army, and the screams of agony only grew louder as more and more demons were set on fire and melted.

    Steeling himself, Luger pushed aside his fears and began thinking of methods to stop the liquid serpent.

    (It¡¯s almost like magma? No, acid? Either way, water should work in altering temperature or diluting the acid. It should be weak to water.) Luger judged. He yelled, ¡°Those still capable, use water magic!¡±

    He himself conjured a wave of water, and shot it towards the serpent. The serpent was hit with a barrage of water magic from all directions. With that much water magic, he expected the serpent to be completely destroyed, or at least severely weakened in the worst case scenario. However, he couldn¡¯t escape his feeling of unease.

    The serpent received all the attacks of water magic head-on, and instead of weakening, it grew bigger. The serpent had absorbed all the water, and added it to its own power.

    (It can¡¯t be¡­ the only thing that could be this powerful is¡­ a Worldbreaking skill¡­) Luger shuddered at the thought, ¡°Retreat! Retreat!¡± he yelled. There was less than half of his army remaining.

    (There¡¯s an immortal! An immortal¡¯s here!) he panicked to himself, trying his best to remain calm. Those would be his last thoughts.

    The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.

    A figure stood atop a hill. An immortal. The Elemental Master Julius Eletrix. He smiled. Now, the only thing in his sights was a brown, barren, and desolate wasteland.

 Chapter 5 - Unexpected Enrollment

    In the middle of the night before the day of their departure, two figures stood on the outskirts of Sharrow.

    A boy with silver hair that stood out amidst the darkness, who had just recently broken through to the C tier asked, ¡°What is it, Uncle Julius?¡±

    ¡°Hope, do you know how one becomes an immortal?¡± Julius questioned him, almost rhetorically.

    ¡°Through increasing their mana capacity, understanding, and experiences, right?¡± Zieg replied, deciding to entertain him.

    ¡°Indeed. Specifically experiences. When one is often exposed to battle and life-threatening situations, revelations that lead to breakthroughs and sparks of insight frequently occur,¡± after saying this, there was a brief moment of silence as Julius appeared to be thoughtful.

    ¡°Hope, how would you like to join Paragon? I¡¯m sure your father would have wanted that for you as well.¡±

    Not expecting the sudden invitation, and at the mention of Paragon, Zieg¡¯s eyes widened.

    Seeing Zieg¡¯s reaction, Julius chuckled, and promptly added, ¡°Not now of course, but in the future. There will also be some conditions...¡±

    Zieg looked on at Julius in interest.

    ¡°There will be a guild meeting ten years from now. Enroll in the magic academy Galvane, and we¡¯ll meet again in ten years time. If you are able to become an immortal by the time we meet again, I¡¯ll take you to the meeting, and formally invite you into the guild,¡± Julius said while staring absent-mindedly into the sky as if he were envisioning the future.

    ¡°But what about your training?¡± Zieg asked dubiously.

    ¡°My training? My training has a ritual of starting off with throwing people into the depths of ancient dungeons and seeing if they make it out alive. In the end, the best teacher is experience.¡±

    Zieg was secretly surprised at the hidden meaning behind those words. This implied that Galvane was equivalent to an ancient dungeon.

    ¡°Uncle, what¡¯s so special about Galvane?¡±

    ¡°On the surface, Galvane is a magic academy for elites that was established about five months ago, rather, it¡¯s a place that exemplifies survival of the fittest,¡± Julius smiled and continued to explain.

    Through Julius¡¯ explanation, Zieg was able to grasp the rough concept of the school.

    All of the several thousand students are given a special badge with a ranking number, and every day the student that holds the badge with the largest number by midnight is expelled. New students are given a blank badge that also acts as the largest number upon acceptance into the academy. To change to a higher rank, you must win a duel against a student with a badge that has a lower number than yours. The winner switches ranking numbers with the loser.

    You are only allowed to request duels against people who have a lower number than you, are only allowed to request a single duel a day, and must accept the first three duel requests you receive within a day. The challenger selects the location of the duel. Each duel has a preparatory period of up to 30 minutes before they must begin.

    Furthermore, in a duel, anything aside from preemptive attacks prior to beginning and outside interference by others is allowed, including prepared traps, crippling, maiming, and killing your opponent before they surrender or admit defeat.

    There were also optional missions within the school that rewarded you with money or temporary duel immunity.

    Anyone aside from demons is allowed to enroll into the academy, but the minimum requirement of enrollment is to at least be at C tier.

    Despite the extreme conditions, or perhaps because of them, Galvane is said to be the greatest magic school in the Grandiel continent, generating the most talents in the shortest period of time since its establishment.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    (Whoever made this academy is an extreme sadist. So he wants me to stay in that sort of environment for ten years...) Zieg thought.

    ¡°I¡¯ll enroll into Galvane, and in ten years I¡¯ll definitely become an immortal and join Paragon,¡± Zieg said resolutely to Julius.

    Hearing his decision, Julius smiled happily, and said, ¡°You have great potential with the elements, Hope. The best piece of advice I can give you is to use each element to their fullest potential. Do not ignore any of them and favor one over the other. Only when utilizing each element is their full power brought out. I truly hope to see you again in ten years.¡±

    (The day we meet again in ten years¡­ That will be the day you die.) Zieg thought as he nodded.

    Several hours ago on the same day, two people were having a conversation inside an office.

    ¡°Can you do that for me, old man?¡± a young male immortal wearing a long black overcoat, with long black hair tied into a ponytail asked the other.

    ¡°Volheilm¡¯s son, huh? Well, I dooooo owe you one¡­¡± a wizened old man with the picture-perfect appearance of a wizard wearing a tattered, grey robe that seemed to be at the peak of the A tier said while stroking his long, white beard.

    ¡°Will you do it, or not?¡± the young male immortal asked once more, this time in a tone laced with hostility.

    ¡°Hahah, no need to get hostile now, Julius. We¡¯re both friends, aren¡¯t we? It¡¯s like you¡¯re always walking around with a stick up your ass. Have you been stressed out recently? The whole human supremacy thing not working out well for you these days? Want a lollipop?¡± the old man asked as he pulled out several candies from god-knows-where.

    ¡°In the name of Paragon, I will purge the world of a¡ª¡± Julius started saying as the mana density in the air increased, but was quickly cut off before he could finish.

    ¡°Okay, okay, sheesh. Let¡¯s not do this, I only made the school several months ago, I don¡¯t want it to be destroyed yet, so I¡¯ll do you the favor,¡± the old man cried.

    ¡°Should¡¯ve just taken care of that army myself¡­¡± the old man mumbled in regret.

    ¡°Well, what the hell are you still doing here? Stop looking at me, I get embarrassed easily, especially when people stare at me so intently while I use my abilities. Leave unless you want to see me start going ¡®kyaa, kyaa.¡¯ Is that your new hobby? Embarrassing old men?¡±

    ¡°Old fool¡­¡± Julius said under his breath as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

    ¡°YOU SURE YOU DON¡¯T WANT A LOLLIPOP?¡± the old man shouted after him, but was met with no response.

    The old man sighed disappointedly, and said, ¡°Well, let¡¯s get this started. Worldbreaking technique: Astral Invasion.¡±

    The old man¡¯s voice entered directly into everyone in the grounds of the academy¡¯s mind.

    ¡°Ahem, ahem, how¡¯s everyone doing? Your headmaster Chase here. I wanted to make an announcement that tomorrow, a kid with silver hair will be entering Galvane, I think his name was Hope. Anyway, there¡¯s a reward for defeating him! The first one to defeat him will be granted a year of immunity from duel challenges, but wait, there¡¯s more! After defeating him, you can meet me for a personal, special grand prize of¡­¡± Chase paused for suspense, and surely, many students in the academy were expectantly waiting for their headmaster to continue with a glint of greed in their eyes.

    ¡°A lollipop!¡± Chase announced feverishly.

    After that announcement, silence encompassed the school grounds for quite some time.

 Chapter 6 - Galvanes Reception

    The following morning of the next day, together with Julius, Zieg was quickly flown over to the gates of the magic academy. After bidding Julius farewell, Zieg observed his surroundings. There were already several people standing idly by the gates, waiting to be accepted into the academy. It looked like there were several races gathered that was from a large age range, from those with beards and short statures, beautiful appearances and pointed ears, beastial features and qualities, and many more.

    The academy itself was excessively ornate and enormous, it was white and glossy, with mana slightly radiating from the buildings and ground. Zieg could tell that they offered some resistance against magical attacks at a glance.

    The entrance to the academy was particularly prominent, with two large stone gargoyles sitting atop the two pillars situated at the gate. The eyes of the gargoyles¡¯ seemed to ominously follow and observe those standing at the entrance.

    Suddenly, a voice rang out into the minds of all those waiting at the gate, ¡°Welcome to Galvane, the happiest place on Grandiel! Your new headmaster Chase here. You all are hereby accepted into Galvane. You may now enter freely as long as you continue to be a student here. First, go to the armory located in the west wing of the academy and receive your badges, your room numbers are written behind them.¡±

    As soon as Chase finished, one of the gargoyles broke off from its state of stillness, and spread its wings to fly. It made gestures like it wanted the new students to follow it.

    Following the hovering gargoyle to the west wing, Zieg felt like there were several eyes on him.

    The gargoyle led them into the armory, and behind a counter was a golem made of metal¡­ wearing a maid outfit.

    The golem made an out-of-place bow, and said in a robotic voice, ¡°Please come forth and receive your badges and interspacial ring. After taking them, you may enter the door that leads to the first warehouse and take three sets of uniforms, and up to one piece of equipment, taking more than one at any given time will result in immediate punishment and expulsion.¡±

    Behind the counter, there were five doors. Each door had a sign with different numbers that said, ¡°1,000+,¡± ¡°1,000-,¡± ¡°500-,¡± ¡°100-,¡± ¡°10-,¡± only those with the respective ranks were allowed into each warehouse, and the equipment of each warehouse only became increasingly impressive at lower numbers. Even your living conditions were separated into ranks, and those at the top 10 were given their own mansions to stay in.

    It seemed that classes at Galvane were optional, and most students enrolled for the hands-on battle experience in order to make breakthroughs and gain insights.

    After each of the new students picked up their badges and interspacial rings at the counter, they all made their way into one of the doors with the sign labelled ¡°1,000+.¡±

    Zieg experimented with the plain, silver interspacial ring in interest, and discovered that they were enchanted with a space magic that allowed you to store some inanimate items within them.

    The badges looked like a miniature silver kiteshield with a blank circular mirror in the center, three faintly glowing green spheres of light on top of the badge indicating the required daily number of duel acceptances, and one faintly glowing green sphere of light on the bottom indicating the daily number of duel challenges available.

    Zieg had already arrived at the end of the warehouse by the time he had finished inspecting the two new items.

    Within the armory, a plethora of armor and weapons ranging from variations of pole weapons, swords, daggers, bows, staves, bludgeons, flails, whips, knuckles, and many others were displayed before them. There were many that even Zieg was unable to recognize, but the equipment all had one thing in common: they all looked very ordinary. To him, they were comparable to garbage.

    The school uniform appeared very sleek and black, with streaks of white symbols and designs.

    It looked like the best metal available here was iron, meaning that there would be a large gap in equipment in each of the five rank groups. Zieg was very quick to understand this fact, and thought that headmaster Chase, the one who came up with this idea, was actually a very shrewd person.

    (So the only way to win a duel against someone who ranks in a higher group than you is by relying on your own abilities) he thought, and nodded approvingly. He unintentionally let a smile creep across his face in anticipation to the coming battles that reminded him of his days courting death while roaming the North.

    He quickly stored three sets of uniforms into his interspacial ring, and grabbed a random iron shortsword without even looking back twice, which to him, seemed like a longsword given his age of five years old. While the other new students were still browsing through the trash gear, he was the first to make his way out of the warehouse, then out of the armory.

    The second Zieg left the armory, he was met with an onslaught of stares, all of them holding either curiosity or killing intent.

    There were multiple groups and lone veteran students in the hundreds that have been at Galvane since its founding observing both him and the armory in general from a distance.

    They were all there with the intention of either scouting out the new arrivals, or were after their blank badges. If a ranking student wins a duel against another with a blank badge, they¡¯re allowed to take the blank badge and trade it in exchange for three days of immunity against duel challenges. In short, some of them were here in hopes that easy prey will challenge them in order to have a break from duel challenges for a few days. They were especially looking for, ¡°a kid with silver hair that headmaster Chase thinks is named Hope.¡±

    The veterans were all looking at Zieg in interest or hostility, but most of them seemed to be looking at him in complete disdain. It was like they did not have him in their eyes. In response to those gazes, Zieg held his head up high and locked eyes with each of the students there, even those that tried to conceal their presences.

    Zieg momentarily paused when his gaze came across a group that had a young human male with short, white windswept hair standing at the front. The boy looked at Zieg arrogantly, smirked, and walked away, the group around him following closely behind. Before the boy turned around, Zieg was able to catch a glimpse of a badge on his chest with the number ¡°1¡± in place of where the blank mirror was. He was able to tell that the boy with white hair was at the peak of A rank, and some of the others that stood around him were as well.

    As if the boy with white hair leaving was the trigger, people began talking, and things like:

    ¡°Is that the one?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s him, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°A year of immunity, too easy, hahah.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Hope?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d just watch for now, I heard he¡¯s the son of an immortal. You¡¯ll die if you get careless.¡±

    ¡°Oi, want to provoke him?¡±

    ¡°The Silver Saint¡¯s kid¡­¡±

    ¡°Is there a reason why the headmaster placed a bounty on only him?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s in Galvane at such a young age, scary~¡±

    And many other similar lines could be heard from the surrounding veteran students.

    ¡°If you plan on dying, duel with me,¡± Zieg said in a quiet, but firm and clear voice that instantly stopped the surrounding commotion.

    ¡°Did you hear that? He¡¯s going to kill us! Hahaha!¡± one of them said, resulting in a wave of laughter from some of the students. However, there were some that held impassive expressions, and others¡¯ whose eyes had narrowed, and there were even those that were provoked by Zieg¡¯s statement.

    ¡°This brat¡­¡± a slim figure wrapped entirely in white bandages, similarly to a mummy, said in a barely audible whisper. Strangely, when that whisper was heard by the others, they became quiet.

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    ¡°It¡¯s the Ripper,¡± one of the students whispered to her colleague.

    Zieg looked at the bandaged figure with interest, and saw that they possessed a badge with the number ¡°597,¡± and only one of the three green spheres glowing on the top of it, and that they were at the top of B rank, while he himself had entered C rank only yesterday.

    The figure began to slowly walk towards Zieg.

    Alcantis the Ripper. Alcantis was infamous within Galvane for torturing and killing the challenger, always leaving behind a shredded, mutilated corpse after a duel. This earned them the nickname ¡°The Ripper.¡± It was rumored that Alcantis was on par with the best among the 500- group, but chose to stay within the 1,000- group for the sheer amusement.

    When Alcantis arrived just a few meters directly in front of him, Zieg loudly said, ¡°I challenge you to a duel.¡±

    There was a shift in the bandages in the area covering Alcantis¡¯ mouth, and the spectators could obviously tell that it was a smile.

    ¡°I accept,¡± Alcantis replied in a quiet and ghastly voice. After Alcantis¡¯ acceptance, the remaining green light on the top of their badge flickered, before it lost its light, on the other hand, Zieg¡¯s single green light on the bottom of his badge flickered, before similarly losing its light.

    ¡°The new kid just challenged the Ripper to a duel!¡±

    ¡°Dying that young is a shame.¡±

    ¡°Is he insane?¡±

    ¡°Little bro, at least get laid before you die.¡±

    ¡°Maybe he doesn¡¯t understand the concept of death yet, haha.¡±

    ¡°PLACE YOUR BETS HERE!¡±

    ¡°Damn it! I wanted that year of immunity!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what he gets for not knowing his place.¡±

    Words along those lines were heard everywhere.

    ¡°Where and when should we begin?¡± Alcantis silently asked.

    ¡°Here and now,¡± Zieg responded confidently while getting into a stance with his iron shortsword.

    ¡°Then die. Inferno Wall!¡± Alcantis called out, and flames erupted from their surroundings.

    They were now surrounded by ten meter high walls of flame in each direction, blocking out the surrounding audience and cutting off their view.

    ¡°Now, no one will be able to save you even when you surrender,¡± Alcantis said while lunging towards Zieg, covering their distance in a blink of an eye.

    Alcantis¡¯ right arm wrapped in bandages swiped towards Zieg in a grabbing motion. Reacting quickly, Zieg backstepped to avoid the grapple, at that moment, he heard an almost inaudible voice say, ¡°Release.¡±

    A large blade burst out of the bandages on each of Alcantis¡¯ forearms arms. Alcantis had actually been wearing gauntlets with retractable blades underneath the bandages.

    Taken by surprise by the blade heading towards him from the attempted grab, Zieg was barely able to parry against the blade in time with his iron shortsword.

    His body could not keep up with his reactions, and in his state even Alcantis was faster than him because of the difference in tiers of power. Although the parry had been successful, a strange metallic sound was heard. Zieg¡¯s iron shortsword had been snapped in half. He was now holding onto a hilt with a broken blade.

    (Shit! I knew those weapons were garbage! This wouldn¡¯t have happened if I still had Bloodwhistler! Whatever, no time for inner monologues) Zieg thought, annoyed.

    ¡°Wind Blade!¡± Zieg shouted, and the blade of his shortsword became a blade of wind. He quickly retreated while sending blades of air flying towards Alcantis.

    The blades of air were all easily blocked, and once again their distance was closing when Zieg abruptly stopped and stood his ground.

    ¡°Finally accepted your death?¡± Alcantis mocked, and leapt towards Zieg while swinging a bladed arm.

    Still standing his ground, Zieg shouted, ¡°Despair Aura!¡±

    The faint blue mana around Zieg slowly started turning dark purple in color. This was one of his abilities that was able to bring peak A ranks to their knees in oppression and fear while he was in his prime as an immortal. It was an aura that made all those weaker than him tremble and wallow in absolute despair. He knew that the effect would be greatly reduced because Alcantis was actually currently more powerful than him in terms of pure power, but had thought that it would be effective the first time it was used as a surprise.

    When Despair Aura was used, Alcantis experienced a faint sense of fear, and froze in mid-air for a moment. That moment was all it took. Taking advantage of Alcantis¡¯ pause, Zieg smoothly slid straight through Alcantis with a swing of his blade of wind.

    When Alcantis landed on their feet, there was the sound of two objects having been dropped. One was Alcantis themself, the other was the left arm Alcantis had swung with.

    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Alcantis shouted in pain, before stumbling over and falling.

    The amputation had been so fast and clean from the shoulder that no blood had landed onto Zieg, and only now was blood pouring out of where the left arm had previously been attached.

    Using fire magic, Alcantis quickly cauterized the wound to prevent bloodloss.

    ¡°Kill¡­ I¡¯ll kill you¡­¡± Alcantis mumbled incoherently while trying to get up, only to stumble and fall over again.

    The loss of a limb had created a distortion in Alcantis¡¯ sense of balance, and thus Alcantis was unable to even stand upright. As far as Zieg was concerned, the duel had already ended in his victory.

    ¡°Admit defeat, or I¡¯ll kill you,¡± he stated coldly.

    ¡°I¡¯m not done yet¡­¡± Alcantis snapped back, while struggling to stand and falling back down repeatedly.

    Zieg sighed, ¡°Just give up. I¡¯m not fond of killing pitiful women who are unable to even defend themselves.¡±

    That had been the truth. Stemming from his real mother, Zieg wanted to avoid it as much as he could.

    Falling down flat on her back one last time, Alcantis tilted her head slightly to look directly at the sky, and said, ¡°I¡­ surrender¡­¡±

    When those words were uttered, the number ¡°597¡± on her badge was replaced by a blank mirror, and the number reappeared onto Zieg¡¯s badge.

    The walls of flame began to slowly dissipate.

    The audience of students had been waiting in anticipation. The betting odds were 30:1 against Zieg. They were waiting impatiently to see the mutilated corpse of a kid with silver hair. Finally, there was no more fire.

    No one made a sound. It was eerily quiet. Most of them couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing. It was so shocking to them that they needed some time to comprehend the scene before their eyes.

    In the center of where the walls of flame had previously been, the Ripper was on its back on the ground, panting heavily and looking up at the sky. On closer inspection, there was something missing from the Ripper. The Ripper¡¯s left arm was no longer there. That alone was enough to make some of the students¡¯ mouths hang open.

    Standing a few meters away from the Ripper, looking up at the same sky was, ¡°a kid with silver hair that headmaster Chase thinks is named Hope.¡± The odd part of it all was that he was completely unharmed. The audience was baffled. The duel had ended so quickly that they had thought Zieg had been butchered to death, just like that. They had all scanned his power before and after the fight, and he was undoubtedly barely a C rank, just passing by the minimum requirements to enter Galvane.

    It was unprecedented in Galvane for someone to win a duel against another from a higher tier of power.

    Some of the audience recalled Zieg¡¯s words, ¡°If you plan on dying, duel with me.¡±

    When they remembered those words, they felt a sense of foreboding.

    While some students were now wary of Zieg, there were some who grinned. They were the ones who wanted to take advantage of the fact that he had to accept his next three duels.

 Chapter 6.5 - The White-haired Boy

    On the roof of a large building in the west wing of Galvane that taught magic theory quite a distance away from the armory, two peak A rank students stood. They were near the edge of the roof, looking in the direction of the armory and watching a five-year old boy.

    One of them was a tall female with long blonde hair and pointed ears, an elf. She was wearing a badge with the number ¡°8,¡± on the sleeve of her uniform, the badge had no green lights on top of it. This meant that she had accepted and defended her position from the required three duels for the day.

    The other was a young human male with white hair. On the chest area of his uniform, a badge with the number ¡°1,¡± could be seen. The badge still had three green lights glowing on the top of it. This meant that no one had yet dared to challenge him for the day.

    ¡°He defeated the Ripper, I can¡¯t believe it¡­ The Ripper can hold their ground against people ranked in the one-hundreds...¡± the elf murmured in disbelief.

    They watched as the boy was swarmed by students, presumably challengers that wanted to take his daily duel quota. The boy retreated into the armory, and quickly returned holding a new sword. Holding the newly acquired sword in one hand, he pointed it in the direction of three students that were among the previous swarm. Even at this distance, the elf and white-haired boy could tell that the three students he pointed the sword at became visibly angry. The boy they were watching was now engaged in battle with all three of those students.

    ¡°Those idiots, they¡¯re throwing away their lives. The Ripper was the only B rank above the five-hundreds, and even they were beaten. There¡¯s no way C ranks, even if there are three of them at the same time have a chance of defeating him,¡± the elf critiqued.

    ¡°Well, what do you think of Hope so far, Cain?¡± she questioned the white-haired boy next to her.

    ¡°Nothing special. Another weakling, like I thought. Looks like he¡¯s just riding on his dead father¡¯s coattails,¡± Cain answered.

    ¡°Only you could say that! His potential is terrifying, and he''s clearly a threat to everyone else. He¡¯s obviously a genius like you, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat someone from a higher tier of power! We need to deal with him before he gets any stronger! How about we ambush him tonight?¡± the elf suggested.

    ¡°Calm down, Daria. Don¡¯t be stupid. Do you know why students only fight one another when they¡¯re dueling in Galvane?¡± Cain asked the elf.

    Seeing as she was silent, he continued, ¡°The headmaster is hiding his power, he¡¯s an immortal. The old man is obviously holding up the rules and dealing with things behind the scenes. I guess only weaklings like you would be afraid of Hope,¡± Cain smirked.

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    Daria cast her head down in shame.

    ¡°Even if he proves me wrong and isn¡¯t actually a weakling, I¡¯ll still benefit from it. Without a doubt, he will challenge me to a duel. When that time comes, perhaps I¡¯ll gain some insights from defeating him. Whether I¡¯m right or wrong, in the end, I¡¯ll be victorious in both scenarios,¡± he added.

    ¡°SO THIS IS WHERE YOU¡¯VE BEEN HIDING!¡± a voice boomed from behind the two.

    Even though she was a peak A rank, just like Cain, she was unable to sense when the presence had entered the roof.

    Cain and Daria turned around, and saw a large man covered in scars that had wolf-like features standing at the door to the roof. The beastman wielded a ridiculously large serrated two-handed claymore that was larger than both Cain and Daria, and wore a badge that had the number ¡°6,¡± on it. He was also at the peak of A rank.

    ¡°Cain! I challenge you to a duel!¡± the beastman shouted. After the shout, one of the three green lights on top of Cain¡¯s badge darkened.

    ¡°We can begin now. Have you chosen a location?¡± Cain asked, unfazed.

    Daria looked at the beastman, then back at Cain repeatedly.

    ¡°Here!¡± the beastman replied as he swung his giant claymore that was wrapped in flames in the air.

    During the swing, he shouted, ¡°BLAZE B¡ª¡±

    The beastman wasn¡¯t able to finish his phrase. The flames covering his claymore vanished. He just stood there, standing, holding his claymore in mid-swing.

    The ground beneath him was dyed red with his blood. His body was impaled with several icicles sprouting from the floor, and his blood dripped from the tips of the numerous icicles, drenching the floor. He had died a standing death.

    Cain hadn¡¯t moved from his initial position. As soon as the beastman announced that the duel would take place here, Cain¡¯s magic was cast faster than the beastman could perceive, even with the heightened senses his race possessed.

    Cain looked at the corpse of the beastman in disgust, and thought, (As I thought, I wasn¡¯t able to gain anything. I¡¯m so close that I could feel it¡­ Immortality is almost within my grasp.)

    Daria, who stood next to him, had her eyes widened in surprise.

    Without turning to face her, he said, ¡°It looks like you¡¯re ranked 7th now, Daria,¡± with that, Cain turned back to face the direction of the armory. As soon as he faced the armory, something flew past him. An object had narrowly missed his head.

    Blood was dripping from a cut on Cain¡¯s cheek. A dagger was thrown at him from the direction of the armory.

 Chapter 7 - Arms Dont Grow on Trees

    ¡°Fwooo¡­ Pffff¡­ Fwooooo¡­¡± were the strange noises that were produced in Chase¡¯s poor attempt at whistling.

    The elderly headmaster was trying his best to whistle successfully for the first time while spinning around a rolling chair in the privacy of his office.

    He abruptly planted one of his foot firmly onto the ground to stop the spinning.

    ¡°Whoa, looks like that¡¯s his first victim,¡± Chase said frivolously.

    Using his worldbreaking technique ¡°Astral Invasion,¡± he was able to see through the eyes of one of the many gargoyles that were placed outside of each building throughout the school. The gargoyles would routinely patrol the school and send a signal to Chase every time a duel was taking place.

    He had just witnessed the left arm of one of his students being severed.

    ¡°Holy shit! Even I felt that!¡± Chase said while grabbing onto his left shoulder. He rubbed it preciously as if he were afraid of it being severed, too.

    ¡°Students these days... It¡¯s like they think arms grow on trees. Arms do not, in fact, grow on trees,¡± he said while shaking his head disappointedly.

    He sent a signal through his mind to a gargoyle to carry the student and the student¡¯s arm to one of the many infirmaries around the school.

    Next, Chase saw a horde of students challenging his new student that he thought was named Hope.

    ¡°Wow! They must really want one of my lollipops!¡± he exclaimed in surprise and delight.

    Zieg was being swarmed by students and bombarded by duel requests.

    ¡°I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!¡±

    ¡°I would like to request a duel with you.¡±

    ¡°Hey kid, duel me!¡±

    ¡°Fuck off, I asked him first.¡±

    ¡°Hope, please have a duel with me.¡±

    ¡°Is that your real hair color?¡±

    ¡°Fight me, unless you¡¯re scared!¡±

    ¡°HOPE! IT¡¯S TIME TO D-D-D-D-DUEL!¡±

    ¡°How about the ones with a lower number fight him first?¡±

    ¡°A whole year of immunity from challenges¡­ Ahnnn! Haah¡­ haah¡­¡±

    And many other lines reached Zieg¡¯s ears. He tried his best to ignore some of them.

    ¡°Let me get a new sword first,¡± he said while memorizing the first three that asked him for a duel, then went into the armory without looking back.

    He left the broken sword on top of the counter, and this time headed into the door that had the sign ¡°1,000-¡± on top of it.

    He briefly surveyed the selection of equipment within the warehouse, and took notice of several things. The equipment available within this ranking group was all made from higher quality materials and metals, such as steel. There was even a wider variety of weapons to choose from here than in the previous ranking group. Some of the equipment here also seemed to have special functions and hidden mechanisms, similar to Alcantis¡¯ retractable blade gauntlets.

    Zieg headed towards the section that housed swords. There were swords that split open into whips, swords that had blades that sprung, swords with uniquely shaped blades, and many other unique types.

    After appraising the different types of swords, he grabbed a steel shortsword that was almost exactly like the sword he had earlier, then headed out of the warehouse and armory.

    A crowd was surrounding the entrance of the armory, and were waiting impatiently for him to arrive.

    Holding his newly acquired sword in one hand, he pointed it towards the first three that had challenged him to a duel earlier, and said, ¡°Since you were the first three to challenge me to a duel, I¡¯ll accept the request from each of you. I¡¯m ready now. You can come at me all at once to save time, but I¡¯ll warn you. You won¡¯t get off easy with just a severed limb, you¡¯ll all definitely die. I¡¯m in a bad mood. An annoying human has been watching and looking down at me for a while now.¡± The three green lights above his badge numbered ¡°597,¡± disappeared.

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    ¡°What was that?! You punk!¡±

    ¡°I was thinking of making it painless, but¡­¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Was the reaction of the three that Zieg pointed his sword at. They were wearing badges that numbered 672, 606, and 598 respectively and were all at C rank.

    Zieg cast wind magic on himself to increase his speed. Although he held an affinity for all of the basic elements, and Julius had told him not to favor any single element, wind was the one he liked using the most. Even his only Worldbreaking skill when he had been an immortal ¡°Collapsing Dragon¡± utilized the wind element.

    The three challengers exited the crowd and slowly made their way forward. The one wearing the badge with the number 672 broke off into a sprint from the other two and pulled a spear out of thin air from his interspacial ring. He thrust wildly at Zieg to no avail. Zieg was avoiding every single one of the thrusts he made.

    Growing tired of dodging, this time Zieg deflected a thrust by holding his sword horizontally and sliding it down the pole of the spear. Getting within range, he fluidly decapitated the head of the spear wielder and appeared several steps away from the falling body.

    Thinking that this was his chance, the one wearing badge 606 snuck behind Zieg with his dagger, and prepared to slit his throat.

    Without even turning around, Zieg thrust his sword behind him between the gap in his left arm. The sword pierced through the chest of the person planning the sneak attack behind him. He was gurgling blood, and the life in his eyes was fading away.

    Zieg pulled out his sword from the dagger wielder¡¯s chest, and turned to look at the person who was wearing the badge numbered 598. Oddly, the person hadn¡¯t moved an inch after he had broken off from the crowd.

    ¡°I surrender,¡± 598 said while scratching the back of his head.

    Zieg tilted his eyebrows in confusion.

    ¡°Live to fight another day, right? Haha,¡± 598 laughed awkwardly while shrugging his shoulders before disappearing back into the crowd.

    ¡°Damn. That was fast.¡±

    ¡°Too bad we couldn¡¯t watch his fight with the Ripper.¡±

    ¡°I blinked and it was over.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m glad I wasn¡¯t one of the first three to challenge him.¡±

    ¡°Should we give up on that year of immunity?¡±

    ¡°No wonder the headmaster¡¯s giving special rewards for defeating him.¡±

    The crowd said amongst themselves.

    Zieg shook his head in disappointment, and waved his sword in the air while using wind magic to get the blood off of it. After cleaning the shortsword, he placed it into his interspacial ring and headed towards 606¡¯s dead body, kneeling and picking up the dagger that he was using, then he started to look around.

    To the crowd, it looked like he was randomly looking at the academy¡¯s buildings in the distance.

    (So this is where you are) Zieg thought and grinned.

    After confirming the location of his target, he got into a throwing stance and covered his entire right arm in a layer of mana to strengthen it. He used wind magic to accelerate the dagger, and launched it at the roof of a faraway building in the west wing.

    The dagger ripped through the air at an absurd speed.

 Chapter 8 - Fear

    In one of the many infirmaries within Galvane, a person was having a dream. A nightmare. In that nightmare, their limbs were being cut off repeatedly by a sword that was covered in a dark violet aura. Their left arm was being repeatedly cut off, regenerated, cut off, and regenerated.

    The person had lost count after the thousandth amputation. The nightmare, including the pain, felt so real. The person couldn¡¯t tell how much time had passed within the nightmare, but it felt like an eternity had gone by. Any lesser person would have been driven insane by the pain, isolation, and repetition.

    In one of the rooms of an infirmary in Galvane, a person lying on a bed who was wrapped in white bandages awoke. The bandages were not there because of that person¡¯s injuries. The person¡¯s eyes slowly opened to reveal eyes that were a deep, dark blood-red. Those eyes were not the eyes of those that had seen true despair, or the eyes of those that had given up, they were clear and determined eyes without a trace of haze and dullness within them.

    After waking up from the nightmare, the first thing she did was to look at the left side of her body. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw a pure white arm, the only place on her body not wrapped in bandages, lying there. It seemed like all of her limbs were intact, contrary to the recent nightmare. Her body felt incredibly weak.

    She recalled the battle with the boy. She was certain that victory would be hers, and replayed the scene inside of her head countless times. She had envisioned her gauntlet¡¯s blade easily slicing into the boy¡¯s neck during their fight and decapitating him, but then something went horribly wrong.

    ¡°That feeling¡­¡± she faintly said. She was mesmerized by that feeling seeping into her very core.

    The boy was suddenly shrouded in a sinister and baleful aura. His mana seemed like it was being taken over and corrupted, replaced by a mana that was dark purple. When his mana changed colors, she experienced a feeling that she had never felt before. Although it was not cold, a shiver ran down her spine when she recalled it. She tried to stop the attack, but her body wouldn¡¯t respond, and before she realized it, her left arm had been severed in a flash.

    The girl had never felt this strange and foreign feeling before ever in her life: Fear.

    Others were the ones that feared her, calling her ¡°The Ripper.¡± They were the ones that were supposed to be afraid. She was undaunted even when she saw Cain¡¯s power in his duels, but that boy produced a brief feeling of fear that paralyzed her. The vestiges of the lingering fear even resulted in a terrifying nightmare.

    Only now did she realize how weak she was.

    ¡°That boy¡­ Hope¡­¡± she muttered.

    That new feeling became an obsession.

    ¡°He¡¯s the one¡­ The only one¡­¡± Alcantis continually rambled, entering into a trance.

    The only thing on her mind was him and fear. She began to slowly understand the emotion known as fear. A sliver of information, and a revelation. A spark of insight appeared in her mind. She saw the same sword covered in a dark purple aura that she saw in her nightmare.

    Without realizing it, she had entered into a meditative state. Her body was radiating a faint blue. The mana in the vicinity was being absorbed into her body. Power was steadily flowing into her. She heard a cracking noise only audible to her. An internal barrier within her was breaking, and soon after she felt another enormous blockade that was limiting her potential, an otherworldly white and divine closed door that seemed to maintain the laws of the universe.

    On the same day of Zieg¡¯s enrollment into Galvane, Alcantis had made a breakthrough to the A tier. Unbeknownst to her, she was already near the apex of it and was reaching out towards the understanding of a Worldbreaking technique. Alcantis stood near the entrance to immortality. She had gained something out of her duel with Zieg.

    An entire week had passed since Zieg entered into the academy, he had just broken through to the B tier at the end of it. He fought and killed all 28 people in his duels throughout the week. He felt that the students in the academy were way too prideful. Every person he challenged never yielded. With his 7 duel challenges, he killed 7 people at the peak of B tier, and was now ranked at 105th place within the ¡°magic school for elites.¡±

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    Until now, he still hadn¡¯t yet gained anything from any of the battles. It felt like all those challenging him were pests that were tired of living, and he just wanted to quickly break into the A tier without being bothered by other students every day. They were beginning to get in the way of his growth. He wanted to grow stronger and get back to his original strength, maybe even surpass it, and he wanted to do it soon.

    There was a group of five immortals that he wanted to get rid of at all costs, and one of them would be delivered straight to him ten years from now. Zieg was no fool when it came to fighting. His years roaming the North of the Grandiel Continent had honed and sharpened his battle sense. In a battle with odds that were stacked against him, he relied on both his experience and instincts.

    The moment Zieg had met The Elemental Master Julius, he could tell. His instincts told him Julius was much more powerful than his ¡°father¡± Volheilm had been, and this time he couldn¡¯t rely on the only Worldbreaking skill that he knew. Collapsing Dragon was meant to be a dying blow that consumed your life force upon use. He couldn¡¯t gamble with his life again. The only chance he had to fight evenly with the remaining five members of Paragon who had all been immortals longer than he had been was to gain insights into new abilities.

    The solution he came up with to deal with the annoying duel challenges was to gain immunity from them. He recalled that there were missions that could be undertaken that granted you money or temporary duel immunity upon completion. Having decided his course of action, he headed to the mission center in the west wing.

    Making his way into the mission center, he noticed the largest amount of stone gargoyles placed both inside and outside the building in the entire academy since his arrival here. Seeing all the stone gargoyles made him think that the mission center was a place of significance.

    Like the armory, there was a counter manned by several golems directly in front of the entrance, but unlike the armory, there were five large notice boards spread through the first room. There was a huge amount of students in the building, and three of the large notice boards were completely surrounded by them.

    Upon his entry, some of the students stopped what they were doing to observe what the student with the bounty on him was doing here. Zieg eyed the other two notice boards. The one with more paper pinned onto it was being surrounded by five students, and the other remaining notice board had only a few sheets of paper pinned onto it, with no students around it.

    A commotion was raised by the students in the mission center when Zieg approached the notice board that no one was looking at. He ignored them in his irritation. If he had been paying attention, he would have heard that this notice board held the most difficult tasks and missions within the school. Only the students in the top ten within Galvane had ever dared to accept a mission from that notice board, and only Cain had ever returned back alive after completing a mission from there. Looking at the slips of paper that numbered less than ten, he found one that caught his interest.

    ¡®Ancient Dungeon Exploration¡¯

    Explore and scout the newly discovered underground Ancient Dungeon located within the Frontier. Rewards will differ based on achievements and information reported. You are allowed to keep all items found within the Ancient Dungeon.

    Rewards: ???

    Estimated Danger Level: A/S rank

    Ripping the slip of paper off the board, he handed it to one of the golems at the counter.

    ¡°This mission¡¯s estimated danger level is one to two ranks above your current level of power. It is recommended for you to be at least one rank higher than the tasks you choose to undertake. Do you still want to accept this request? Failure will result in expulsion,¡± the golem asked in a mechanical voice.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Zieg replied while smiling ferociously.

    Out of the many people that were watching him hand in the mission form, there was one whose gaze contained more than curiosity.

 Chapter 9 - Awakening Immortals

    Zieg traveled to the North in the frontier in search of the recently discovered Ancient Dungeon using the directions he received in the mission center. Since Galvane was relatively close to the frontier, it didn¡¯t take long. Seeing the brown and barren wasteland, he was hit with a wave of nostalgia by the memories of his past life.

    Along the way, he noticed that someone was tailing him, but choose to ignore it because he didn¡¯t sense any killing intent from them.

    He saw a burrow in the ground, the entrance to the ancient dungeon, and headed inside.

    What entered his sights when he walked into the dungeon was a gruesome scene. Inside the entrance of the dungeon, the floor was drenched in blood and the scattered body parts of many races, most of them being demons.

    (So the demons also discovered the dungeon and sent people in to explore it) Zieg surmised.

    There were glowing green stones embedded in the walls that slightly illuminated the dungeon.

    Zieg examined the remains of the bodies. The bodies were mangled, and had claw and bite marks all over them. He was put on alert when he sensed the presence of someone else heading his way.

    A battered man wearing ragged and ripped clothing, bleeding with wounds and bite marks all over his body slowly limped over to the exit where Zieg stood. He was so heavily injured that even some chunks of his flesh were missing. Zieg almost didn¡¯t recognize the person from his memory.

    ¡°Hope?! Pal! What are you doing here?! You need to leave, now! This place is dangerous! I barely made it back here!¡± the injured man warned in his panic.

    ¡°Mors? I¡¯m here on a mission, why are you here?¡± Zieg answered and asked in surprise. Although he asked the question, he already had an inkling as to the reason why.

    ¡°Julius took each of us into a different Ancient Dungeon and left us there. He said he¡¯d only teach us if we made it back out alive. Fuckin¡¯ crazy!¡± Mors managed in-between his panting.

    ¡°I¡¯m out of here, I can¡¯t stand another minute in this hell hole. Whatever your mission is bro, just give it up,¡± Mors said, and dragged himself out of the dungeon.

    ¡°Wait! What kind of monsters did you see in here?¡± Zieg questioned the departing figure.

    ¡°Wolves,¡± Mors said solemnly without looking back. He had already exited the dungeon.

    Zieg prepared his weapon and delved further into the dungeon. He saw less and less corpses the farther he got into the dungeon. Advancing, he began seeing the corpses of white wolves mixed among the deceased when he sensed a presence rapidly approaching him and got into a stance. A white wolf that was his size lunged at him with open jaws. Just before the wolf was able to bite into him, he dodged by hopping and piercing his sword directly downwards. The wolf was pinned by the sword to the ground at his snout. Zieg quickly killed the wolf and headed deeper.

    Along the way he dispatched a legion of wolves until he finally saw another hole leading deeper. Beyond the hole he felt an enormous pressure, and thought that this was the end of the dungeon. He knew that there was a high chance of dying if he went, but there was no other way for him to gain new abilities and insights unless he took risks. He steeled himself and went inside.

    What greeted him upon his entry was a wide space, and a resting wolf.

    ¡°WHY HATH THOU COME HERE, HUMAN? WHY HATH THOU INVADED MINE DEN?¡± asked the largest wolf that Zieg had ever seen. It leisurely picked itself up.

    (It can speak¡­ An immortal beast¡­) Zieg thought with worry.

    The size of the wolf was comparable to the size of a full-grown dragon. The wolf¡¯s eyes were a bluish silver, and its radiant silver fur stood out amidst the darkness of the dungeon.

    ¡°I am The Demon King Zieg,¡± Zieg stated.

    A drop of sweat trailed down his face and dripped off his chin. He knew that the chances of surviving an encounter with any immortal were very slim and almost non-existent in his current state, even an encounter with the weakest of ones. It would be a struggle for his life, and he may not even have the power to fight back.

    ¡°A HUMAN WHOM FANCIES THYSELF DEMON? AMUSING. THOU MAY REFER TO ME AS YASHAO, THE KING OF WOLVES. THOU SHALT BECOME FOOD FOR MINE FAMILY,¡± Yashao declared.

    The King of Wolves Yashao. He had just recently become an immortal, and in the search of a new lair and territory for his pack, had taken over an Ancient Dungeon with his newly obtained power. Yashao¡¯s flurry of activity was then noticed by others and led to the discovery of the Ancient Dungeon. These were the circumstances that prompted a variety of races to explore and scout the dungeon.

    Zieg¡¯s instincts were screaming at him to flee. He was preparing his escape when Yashao brought his head up.

    ¡°UWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡± he howled in all his fury and anguish. The roar shook the entire dungeon. Blood dripped from Zieg¡¯s ears due to the piercing howl. He was unsure if it was the floor or his vision that was vibrating.

    Faster than Zieg could react, Yashao approached him and made a side swipe with one of his paws, creating large gashes on Zieg¡¯s chest. Zieg¡¯s sword was blown to the side, and his entire body was flung backwards, his back crashing heavily into the wall of the dungeon. The impact knocked the air out of his lungs and he coughed up blood. Zieg fell to the floor and struggled to stand back up. In his blurred vision, he saw Yashao slowly lifting up one of his paws.

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    (I can¡¯t die like this¡­ Not until I kill all of them...) Zieg thought. His past life flashed before his eyes. Yashao¡¯s paw was brought down, and Zieg closed his eyes.

    Time seemed to slow down.

    He prepared himself for death.

    Instead of the sound of flesh being torn apart, there was a sharp sound of clashing metal.

    The presence that had tracked him here all the way from Galvane.

    ¡°A DEMON?¡± Yashao asked in his surprise.

    Opening his eyes, Zieg saw that a figure stood in front of him. The figure wore a badge with the number ¡°5.¡± They were wrapped in bandages and was blocking Yashao¡¯s downward swipe by holding their forearms equipped with bladed gauntlets above them. Both of her arms were being crushed under the force. The blow was so heavy that her feet was slowly being dug into the ground, creating two holes.

    ¡°Again¡­ See it again¡­¡± Alcantis mumbled, ¡°I need to experience that feeling one more time!¡± she shouted.

    Zieg was confused.

    ¡°Fear!¡± she shouted.

    Zieg shakily stood from behind her and began to activate his ability, ¡°Despair Aura!¡± he shouted.

    Yashao brushed it off. He didn¡¯t feel anything. He didn¡¯t fear something of that level. The only thing it did was anger him.

    ¡°WHAT DOST THOU KNOW OF DESPAIR?!¡± he shouted and pushed down harder with his paw. The force was unbearable, and Alcantis was expending nearly all her mana by reinforcing her arms just to withstand it.

    ¡°I know,¡± she smiled.

    Although the aura didn¡¯t mean anything to Yashao, Alcantis was being flooded with information when she felt the aura behind her. In her mind, she saw an otherworldly white and divine closed door slowly beginning to open.

    As her arms broke under the weight, she narrowly avoided the paw by dodging to the side. The paw shattered the earth beneath it and generated a quake when it hit the ground.

    Alcantis stood next to Yashao¡¯s extended leg with both her arms hanging broken to her sides, and whispered, ¡°Worldbreaking technique: Terror Realm.¡±

    The blades of her gauntlets was covered with a dark violet aura. Unlike Zieg¡¯s Despair Aura, that aura felt serene and calmed those that bore witness to it. She flailed her broken arm at Yashao¡¯s extended leg. The blade enveloped in the purple aura cut into Yashao¡¯s leg. It was a light cut. The attack had no force behind it. It was barely a scratch, and it wouldn¡¯t physically bother Yashao in the least given his size.

    After cutting him, Alcantis fainted from her overuse of mana.

    Time froze.

    The surroundings around Yashao became completely pitch-black. Then, he saw his pack. His family. Father, mother, sisters, brothers. They were being slain before his eyes. Repeatedly. Hunted and skinned by both humans and demons. Repeatedly. Over and over again. He saw the scene thousands of times. Scenes of the past, some that he never even knew happened. No matter how a vision started, it all ended the same: with their deaths. He tried to close his eyes, to look away, but he was unable to.

    Yashao couldn¡¯t tell how much time had passed. His will had long been broken by the visions and the abyss. The solitude.

    Yashao was in that dimension for a thousand years, experiencing an endless nightmare.

    He had grown strong in order to protect his pack. He had become an immortal for the sake of his family.

    Time started again.

    Alcantis¡¯ Worldbreaking technique ¡°Terror Realm,¡± drags the consciousness of all those cut and injured into a special plane of existence. A void where their greatest fears are made manifest. Wishing to die, but being unable to. They experience it repeatedly for a thousand years in that plane of existence before being released. A thousand years in that dimension is a single second in reality. All the emotions the victim experienced within the one-thousand years are condensed into a single second and felt all at once.

    Tears fell from Yashao¡¯s eyes. His previously clear blue-silver eyes became hazy. He was still living, but was no longer alive. He was just a husk of his former self. A living corpse.

    (All I hath wished for was to¡­ protect mine family¡­) a voice entered into Zieg¡¯s head.

    Yashao stopped breathing. He had chosen to die. In his millennial nightmare, he saw all those he had wished to protect being slain. They were repeated scenes of the past and present. This meant that he was the only one left in reality as well. His reason for living, reason for having grown strong was gone. Yashao¡¯s body became particles of white lights.

    (He was the same as me) Zieg thought while he brought his hands together in prayer.

    The white lights swirled around Zieg¡¯s body and enveloped him in it. Yashao¡¯s will had been passed onto Zieg. His desire to protect the ones he had cared for. Zieg began to understand. He didn¡¯t need to sacrifice himself to achieve his goals. He had an insight, different from his first. The contour of a wolf appeared in his mind. He heard a cracking, and an internal barrier breaking. He had entered the A tier.

    Elsewhere, a lone immortal had just exited an Ancient Dungeon. The immortal with white hair wore a badge with the number ¡°1,¡± on his chest.

 Chapter 9.5 - False God

    A group of demons wearing red cloaks were being mysteriously cut down by an immortal within a church in the North of the Grandiel continent.

    ¡°What are you doing?! Aren¡¯t we on the same side?!¡± the last demon wearing a red robe asked.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t! While the rest of us have been fighting, all you¡¯ve been doing is praying!¡± the immortal said.

    ¡°Have patience. Wait a little longer, it¡¯s only a matter of time before he comes back to us!¡± the demon wearing the red robe tried to reason.

    ¡°I¡¯VE BEEN WAITING FOR FIVE YEARS! HE ISN¡¯T COME BACK! WAS HE THERE WHEN MY BROTHER LUGER DIED?!¡± the immortal shouted, and continued, ¡°Zieg is a false god.¡±

    ¡°How dare you!¡± the remaining demon wearing the red robe tried to attack the immortal in anger. The demon reached out both hands in an attempt to choke the immortal.

    The immortal hadn¡¯t moved, but the fingers of the hands that the demon tried to reach out with were sliced off.

    ¡°Too bad,¡± the immortal smirked, ¡°This temple was under my territory the second I entered it. If you don¡¯t move, I might decide to spare your pitiful existence.¡±

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    The demon wearing the red robe froze in fear of being cut.

    The immortal walked up to the temple¡¯s altar, and pulled out the bloodred artifact sword enshrined there. After taking the sword, the immortal slowly walked until he was behind the demon wearing the red robe, and said, ¡°You forget his words. ¡®If I should fall, other demons shall carry on my will.¡¯ I will be that other demon. It¡¯s high time for the Grandiel continent to have a new Demon King, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Are you going against our savior?¡± the red-robed demon asked.

    ¡°Our savior? YOUR savior is dead. I¡¯m taking back Central. Maybe I¡¯ll start with that new magic school. I heard the headmaster there is pretty dangerous,¡± the immortal chuckled, ¡°Oh, and by the way,¡± he impaled Bloodwhistler into the demon¡¯s back, ¡°I lied about sparing you.¡±

    After killing all the members of the cult, the immortal exited the shrine.

    ¡°I need to get rid of the ones still loyal to Zieg,¡± he said to himself.

 Chapter 10 - Dying Loyalty

    A stone gargoyle was flying over the skies of the North. The gargoyle was hovering in the sky and watching a temple. It had just seen a demonic immortal holding a bloodred sword exit the temple. The demon had dark grey skin with red lines, like veins, running all over his body.

    He tilted his head and saw a gargoyle flying in the sky. His red eyes met the gargoyle¡¯s. Without moving, the bloodred sword in his hand started floating in the air, and shot towards the gargoyle. The sword penetrated the gargoyle, shattering it. The gargoyle crumbled into pieces of gravel.

    His Worldbreaking skill ¡°Astral Invasion¡± was brought to a halt, and his vision was cut off.

    ¡°Well, shit. This isn¡¯t good,¡± an elderly man said while spinning around in a rolling chair within the confines of his office.

    He abruptly planted one of his feet firmly onto the ground to stop the spinning.

    Chase had seen a small demon army heading towards Central about two weeks ago that he had called Julius to take care of, and now another problem had shown itself. Even though he couldn¡¯t care less about what happens to the Grandiel continent, his school was located in Central within the frontier, which meant that it¡¯d be one of the first places that the demons would invade.

    A new candidate for Demon King had appeared. It¡¯s not like there weren¡¯t any Demon King candidates since Zieg¡¯s death five years ago, but there were many influential and powerful demons that still possessed a ridiculous amount of loyalty towards Zieg. Thanks to the efforts and influence of those demons, no candidate had been able to become the new Demon King all this time. That was where the problem lied. Those demons were dying, rather, they were slowly being hunted and killed off one-by-one.

    This new Demon King candidate was so ruthless that he had been targeting and killing all of Zieg¡¯s loyalists. Chase wouldn¡¯t normally be worried, but this immortal demon was very pro-war and anti-human. It would only be a matter of time before there¡¯d be a full-scale invasion happening on the Grandiel continent if the demon was allowed to continue killing the loyalists and managed to rally the support of others.

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    This bothered Chase to no end. ¡°But my schooooooooooool,¡± he whined. He didn¡¯t have many hobbies after living for hundreds of years. One of them being seeing the annoyed reactions of people, and another being his new magic school. He sighed.

    ¡°Maybe I should call in another favor from Julius,¡± he pondered, ¡°No, no. He should be on another continent right now, and I can¡¯t be in his debt. This time he¡¯ll probably ask for all of my lollipops,¡± he quickly rejected and shuddered at the thought.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t want to deal with this!¡± he pounded his desk. He really didn¡¯t enjoy fighting.

    Chase prepared to flip a coin. ¡°Okay. Heads I¡¯ll deal with it, tails I¡¯ll relocate on another continent,¡± the coin was tossed.

    The coin revolved in the air, and¡­ It landed on heads.

    ¡°...¡± Chase made a face filled with utter disbelief and regret.

    ¡°Argh¡ªasdfdasfadsgfdghf,¡± he made the strangest of noises while banging his head against his desk, when he suddenly remembered something and paused for a moment.

    (Wait a damn minute¡­) Chase thought, (Doesn¡¯t my school have two new immortals now?)

    ¡°Huhuhu¡­ AHUKHUKHUK!¡± he laughed madly, (That¡¯s right¡­ If they take care of the problem, then by association, that means I¡¯ll have dealt with it!)

    Once again, he used Astral Invasion. His vision was replaced with one of his gargoyles.

    He saw a bandaged figure wearing a badge with the number ¡°5,¡± lying on one of the beds of his infirmaries. He swapped visions with another of his gargoyles.

    In Galvane¡¯s cafeteria, he saw an elf wearing a badge with the number ¡°7,¡± on it, and standing next to her, he saw a white-haired boy wearing a badge with the number ¡°1,¡± on his chest.

    Chase stopped using his ability and made a grin that didn¡¯t reach his eyes.

    (Send number 5 and number 1 to my office as soon as possible) he sent through a signal to all of his gargoyles.

 Chapter 11 - The New Demon King Candidate

    Two students, immortals, were in his office, standing in front of his desk. They wore badges numbered 1 and 5.

    (I shouldn¡¯t have left my guild¡­ They might¡¯ve bailed me out of this) Chase thought and sighed.

    ¡°What have you called me here for, old man?¡± Cain asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m assigning the both of you a mandatory secret mission. Refusal isn¡¯t an option, and your success or failure will determine the fate of the Grandiel continent. I¡¯m giving the mission an estimated danger level of S+,¡± Chase explained.

    ¡°A S+ mission? I¡¯ll go alone. A weakling would only get in my way,¡± Cain said while he sent a glance filled with scorn towards Alcantis.

    Alcantis didn¡¯t bother wasting words.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get overconfident. It won¡¯t be as easy as you make it sound,¡± Chase said in a rare, serious expression.

    Cain¡¯s interest was piqued seeing the headmaster act this way. In the entire five months since the founding of the academy, Cain hadn¡¯t seen the headmaster act seriously even once.

    ¡°The mission is to assassinate a Demon King candidate. The immortal Ryzel,¡± Chase said.

    Alcantis was secretly surprised at the mention of a Demon King candidate. She had heard Hope state his name as the Demon King Zieg back in the Ancient Dungeon, and had her suspicions. The room was filled with complete silence.

    Only immortals could fight evenly with other immortals, even peak A ranks don¡¯t stand a chance against the weakest of immortals that don¡¯t possess any Worldbreaking abilities. When immortals battle one another, victory and defeat could be decided under a second. Although everyone that makes it into the S rank is classified as an ¡°immortal,¡± there are huge differences between each immortal. The outcome of a battle between immortals depends on each immortal¡¯s overall time being an immortal, experience, strengths and weaknesses, habits, personality, magic affinities and abilities, mana capacity, equipment, preferred styles of fighting, known Worldbreaking techniques, and many other factors.

    In actuality, Zieg and Alcantis were extremely lucky to have survived their encounter with Yashao, The King of Wolves. Yashao had just recently become an immortal and hadn¡¯t known any Worldbreaking techniques, and Alcantis¡¯ new ability ¡°Terror Realm¡± was exceedingly effective against Yashao¡¯s chivalrous and selfless nature. If Yashao hadn¡¯t realized that the reason for his existence was gone through the effect of the ability, and that all the members of his pack had already died, he would have definitely easily killed the two of them. Instead, he had chosen suicide to meet with the rest of the members of his pack in the afterlife. It was simply a bad matchup between Yashao¡¯s sense of values and Terror Realm¡¯s effect.

    Only now did Cain understand the seriousness of the situation. He was made aware that the headmaster thought the Demon King candidate Ryzel posed enough of a threat that it required the two of them to fight him. Two new immortals against an experienced one.

    They set off immediately with a gargoyle leading the way. The gargoyle led them to an isolated manor in the North, outside of a city, before flying off. They broke down the door to the manor, and entered it.

    At the end of the large room they entered was a demon, an immortal with dark grey skin covered in intimidating glowing red lines with his back turned. The immortal stood near the decapitated head and body of a demon lying on the floor, and was holding a red sword that dripped with the demon¡¯s blood. He had killed another of Zieg¡¯s loyalists just moments before their arrival.

    Ryzel turned around to face them and brandished Bloodwhistler. He saw two immortals wearing badges with the numbers ¡°5,¡± and ¡°1.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the emblem of that academy, isn¡¯t it?¡± he asked them.

    They tensed.

    (Zieg¡¯s sword!) she noticed.

    Alcantis was just about to dash forward and attack him when, ¡°Wait! He¡¯s not a weakling like you. He¡¯s strong. The strongest I¡¯ve ever met, maybe even stronger than the old man,¡± Cain stopped her. He could tell just by the difference between their mana capacities.

    ¡°Our chances of winning, four, maybe five percent¡­¡± Cain mumbled.

    All three of them stood at a stalemate in the position of a triangle.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t move, you¡¯ll die, you know?¡± Ryzel said in an attempt to bait them towards him.

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    Cain held one of his palms out towards Ryzel, and said, ¡°First phase: Morning Mist.¡±

    The temperature of the room dropped. A cool, icy mist pervaded the room, and soon the whole room was encompassed by the mist. The mist revealed thin, invisible lines all over the room and inbetween the each of them. Wires. They were nearly invisible to the naked eye. A single strand of that wire was enough to cut through limbs.

    Those wires was what Ryzel used to cut down the entire cult that protected Zieg¡¯s sword, Bloodwhistler, without having moved an inch.

    ¡°I should¡¯ve known that wouldn¡¯t have worked on immortals,¡± Ryzel said with a click of his tongue. The wires were retracted back one-by-one, and soon there were none left. As soon as all the wires were pulled back, she made her move.

    Alcantis leapt towards Ryzel, ¡°Release,¡± she muttered. The bandages on her arms ripped open to reveal gauntlets with single blades running down the entirety of her forearms. ¡°Worldbreaking technique: Terror Realm,¡± her gauntlet¡¯s blades were covered in a veil of dark purple.

    (That purple aura feels dangerous, I can¡¯t be hit by that) Ryzel thought. He prepared to dodge the attack and pivoted his torso when, ¡°Second phase: Frostfield,¡± Cain said.

    The ground beneath Ryzel¡¯s feet was covered in a layer of ice, and the ice was slowly crawling up and devouring his feet, restricting his movement.

    Ryzel¡¯s shoulder was slightly cut. Time froze for a moment. He was brought to a world of darkness. After a thousand years went by, time resumed.

    A second passed.

    The ice restraining his feet was forcefully broken. Alcantis was kneed in the stomach and kicked back. She was sent flying and rolling backwards.

    Terror Realm hadn¡¯t broken his will.

    Ryzel had bloodshot eyes, and yelled in rage, ¡°ZIEG!¡±

    The mana in the room gathered to coat around Ryzel¡¯s body. He was absorbing so much mana that it exploded outwards, making Cain lower his head, shielding it with both of his arms and sliding him backwards.

    ¡°I¡¯M NOT LIKE YOU! I¡¯LL SUCCEED WHERE YOU HAVE FAILED, AND THE GRANDIEL CONTINENT WILL BECOME A PARADISE FOR DEMONS! THIS IS THE ERA OF RYZEL!¡± he shouted.

    What he had experienced for a thousand years were scenes of Zieg as the Demon King standing atop a balcony, looking down on him as if he were an insect. That was his greatest fear, but his greatest fear was also a source of anger for him.

    Alcantis¡¯ only Worldbreaking skill had absolutely no effect on him, and only served to infuriate him. She picked herself up, and all three immortals were in a position of a triangle again.

    ¡°Ripper, we¡¯re withdrawing back to Galvane. He¡¯s too strong for the both of us, we need the old man¡¯s power to stand a chance of winning,¡± Cain said without taking his eyes off of Ryzel.

    Alcantis nodded, and they slowly backed out of the room without turning their backs to Ryzel.

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll spare the two of you. I needed some messengers. Tell your headmaster that I, Ryzel, will soon become the Demon King, lead an army to destroy his school, and make this a continent for demons!¡± he laughed wildly.

    As soon as Alcantis and Cain left the manor, they took off into the air and flew at their fastest speeds back to Galvane.

    Ryzel made an ominous smile as he made a realization, ¡°It only takes one person to bring back a message, right?¡±

    Bloodwhistler began levitating in the air and shot towards one of the departing figure¡¯s back faster than they were fleeing. The sword was approaching the student¡¯s back, and would soon skewer them in a matter of moments.

    He sensed an object drawing close behind him. It was mere inches away from him.

    ¡°Fool,¡± Cain smirked without dodging or turning back, and said, ¡°Third phase, Worldbreaking technique: World of Ice.¡±

    At that moment, everything behind Cain froze. The sword froze. The entire manor they were just in froze. The world froze. Everything behind him within a 500 meter diameter was covered in a layer of ice. With Cain as the epicenter, even the air behind him was frozen in ice.

    ¡°That¡¯ll buy us some time,¡± he said as the two retreated back to Galvane at their highest speeds.

    Their mission had ended in failure.

 Chapter 11.5 - His Resolve

    He was recalling fragments of his past. Memories that he had wanted to forget, the ones that he had shoved back into the recesses of his mind long ago. Memories from when he was five years old, not in this life, but his past life¡¯s. Twenty-five years ago.

    He heard a shout.

    ¡°In the name of¡­ will purge¡­ world of¡­ vermin!¡±

    And then there were screams. Cries of death. Villagers dying. Their token resistance only delayed the inevitable. He was weak. Scared. A coward. He had snuck and hid beneath a dead body as he watched all of it happen. The smell of blood and death.

    (That¡¯s right! Humans are the ones! They all need to die! Every single one of them, until none are left!) his mind screamed at him when he remembered the scene.

    He saw two closed doors. They were both otherworldy divine doors. One of the doors was calling out to him. Its thoughts were directly transmitted into his head.

    (You¡¯re weak. So, so weak. But there¡¯s one thing that¡¯s strong about you¡­ Your hatred, the resentment. I will grant you the power you desire) the door called out enticingly.

    He couldn¡¯t look away from the door. He didn¡¯t want to. He slowly approached the door, and felt like his body was sinking into a deep abyss, an abyss that he would never be able to return from. The abyss was amplifying his hate, fanning his desire for revenge.

    He placed his hands on the door that called out to him and prepared to push, but...

    He recalled a certain wolf. The wolf¡¯s memories were transferred to him. His will. The wolf had chosen not to take revenge for his loved ones. The wolf had chosen to move past it.

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    He made a realization. He understood, and took his hands off the door. The door no longer held any control over him.

    (In the end, is that all your hatred amounts to? Without it, you are nothing. You need my power to fulfill your goals, don¡¯t you? Open me!) the door screamed.

    He ignored it, and moved towards the other door. He had been wrong all along.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your power. You lead to the wrong path,¡± he said.

    A chain of hatred, a vicious cycle. One that perpetuates revenge, hate, and ultimately: death. Repeatedly. Over and over and over. Deaths that only spawned more death. Unknowingly, everyone had all been a part of this chain. He now understood. The wolf had broken free from it. He would break free from it as well. No, he had now resolved himself to do more than that. He would be the one to stop this cycle.

    Humans weren¡¯t the only ones. He understood. Whether human or demon, he would be the one to put a stop to those that allowed this chain of hatred to continue. He would get rid of the sources that spawned this hate.

    A spark of insight briefly flashed through his mind.

    He placed his hands on the new door, the one that didn¡¯t call out to him, and... He pushed.

    The otherworldy door that held laws in place opened. Power rushed into him. It felt like the power was cleansing him, breaking away the chains of hate that restrained him.

    Suddenly, a voice entered his mind. It was the headmaster¡¯s Worldbreaking skill, Astral Invasion.

    He opened his eyes.

 Chapter 12 - Preparations

    Cain had just exited an Ancient Dungeon. On the lowest floor of that Ancient Dungeon he had been made to fight against a doppelganger, another version of himself. He needed to improve and understand himself more than anyone else during the fight in order to defeat it. While he fought it, he understood. He had an insight. Cain had already locked off his heart long ago. It was cold. He was alone, and he didn¡¯t need anything else. All he needed was himself and that coldness as his companion. He opened a divine door that led to a World of Ice. He had become an immortal.

    After Yashao¡¯s death, Zieg had carried the fainted Alcantis back to an infirmary in Galvane before reporting the information back to the mission center. She needed to recover from her overuse of mana. He had been rewarded with two weeks of challenge immunity for the information he turned in, and immediately after went into closed-door mediation. He knew he could understand more if he dwelled on it.

    Ryzel had been killing Zieg¡¯s loyalists who had stalled the rise of a new Demon King for a week ever since the students¡¯ return from the Ancient Dungeons before Chase took notice and decided to take action. When the headmaster noticed, he had called students ranked number 5 and number 1 within his school, Alcantis and Cain respectively, to handle the Demon King candidate. By then Alcantis already had her broken arms healed and mana stabilized.

    Two defeated figures had recently returned back to Galvane and were now standing in the headmaster¡¯s room. They explained the events that had just transpired from their encounter with Ryzel.

    ¡°So the mission ended in failure, and Ryzel said he¡¯s going to lead an army here to destroy my school? Did I hear that right?¡± the headmaster asked the two.

    The two students kept quiet.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re fucked. It¡¯s been nice being your headmaster. You were both wonderful students. I¡¯m relocating to another continent,¡± Chase said. He lied. In reality he didn¡¯t even know their names, and called them by their badge numbers and ranks within the school instead.

    The two students still remained quiet.

    (God damn, these two are the most depressing people to hold a conversation with) Chase thought.

    ¡°Okay, okay, stop looking at me like that,¡± he said in defeat. He could no longer bear their stoic expressions and silent staring. For someone like him who lived off the enjoyment of seeing the annoyed expressions of people, those that gave him no reactions were his worst enemy.

    ¡°The most I can do is to make an announcement and prepare the students of Galvane to their best of my abilities before the invasion takes place. I don¡¯t like personally getting involved with worldly affairs. Since my school is a gathering of some of the strongest people on the continent, it¡¯ll work itself out somehow, right?¡± Chase reasoned. Like that, Galvane began its preparations for the inevitable demon invasion.

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    Ryzel smiled. It had been a few days since he successfully repelled two assassins that came after him. He sat on Zieg¡¯s former throne. There was little opposition after he forcefully disposed of the majority of Zieg¡¯s loyalists. Now there were only demons that silently remained neutral or supported Ryzel¡¯s ideals. This time, the demons were set on taking back the center of the continent. The only thing standing in his path was Galvane.

    Somewhere on another continent, there were five silhouettes sitting around a round table in a dark room. All of them were immortals. They were having a guild meeting that occurred once every decade.

    ¡°How is your progress, Alistair?¡± the silhouette that seemed to be the leader asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve already gotten rid of all the demons on the Vale continent,¡± Alistair promptly replied.

    ¡°Is that so? Good, good,¡± the leader said in a pleased tone.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s going to be a new Demon King on the Grandiel continent. There¡¯s going to be a large movement there soon, should we do something about it?¡± a feminine voice added.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± the leader pondered.

    ¡°No, let¡¯s leave it alone, Haku. Volheilm¡¯s son, Hope is there. He needs the experience,¡± Julius said, and added, ¡°Regarding Hope, I want to invite him into the guild when we have our next meeting. Only if he¡¯s an immortal by then, of course.¡±

    ¡°What are your thoughts on that, Schwarz?¡± the leader asked his companion for his opinion.

    ¡°It should be fine as long as he¡¯s stronger than Volheilm was. The Heaven Arena opens up ten years from now, after all. We need to pull as many strong immortals to our side as we can before it starts to have an advantage over the other guilds,¡± the man called Schwarz answered.

    The other three silhouettes nodded their heads at Schwarz¡¯ input.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Then, that should be all for the meeting this time. Let¡¯s all meet again ten years from now,¡± the leader said.

    ¡°¡±¡±¡±¡±In the name of Paragon, I will purge the world of all vermin!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± they all stated in unison.

    Author¡¯s note: Future story plans

    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>-Galvane¡¯s invasion / Zieg¡¯s fight with Ryzel

    -Zieg¡¯s fight with Cain / Time skip

    -Zieg¡¯s fight with Julius and the other members of Paragon / Search for guild members

    -Heaven Arena (immortal contest)

 Chapter 12.5 - Something Else

    A silhouette breathed a sigh of relief. They had always gotten nervous whenever there was a meeting between all of the members. They were now the only person remaining in a small, dark room that only had a round table and five chairs within. The person recalled a memory, from when they had asked the leader a question.

    ¡°My reason for hating demons?¡± the leader asked back.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see¡­ I think it was about a century ago?¡± the leader mused.

    ¡°At the time, I had only been a mere adventurer roaming the land. I had saved a young girl back then, a demon. We fell in love, married, and settled down in her small village,¡± he spoke reminiscently.

    ¡°Naturally, there was no small amount of discrimination towards us for me being a human, but nevertheless, it was bearable with our love for one another,¡± the leader made a strange, almost crazed, smile.

    ¡°Eventually, the village experienced a famine, and when I had gone out hunting, the village had blamed us as the cause. She was accused of having brought bad luck unto the village by marrying me. She was publicly stoned and tortured to set an example,¡± he continued.

    ¡°When I had returned from my hunt, I was barely able to make it in time to hear her last words. She was screaming my name. She was screaming my name not in an effort for help. She was cursing my name, and cursing me for the misfortune I had brought onto her,¡± the leader laughed as he remembered.

    ¡°I slaughtered the entire village in my rage after that. Demons are simply vile beings that pollute the world. What are demons but vermin?¡± he asked rhetorically.

    ¡°Now, I ask the same to you. What are your reasons for hating demons?¡± this time, the leader asked me seriously.

    The silhouette visibly shivered. They had seen the mad glint in the leader¡¯s eyes when he had narrated the tale. The level of hatred and insanity in his words was beyond comprehension.

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    In the recent meeting, the person had felt something off about the leader. The leader was no longer within the realm of humans and immortals, he had entered a realm that had transcended them entirely. He was no longer restricted to the known tiers of power. A being that had reached out of the scope of the S rank. He had become something else.

    The person had now been a part of Paragon as a spy for a few decades and felt that they now had sufficient information on each of the members. The person was determined. They decided that it was soon time to make their move. Someone had to put a stop to the psychotic ideals of Paragon, and that person felt like they were the only one who could do it.

    Author''s note: I hope everyone pays close attention to the dialogue from the previous chapter before voting

    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Alistair: Has gotten "rid of" all the demons on one of the continents (seemingly showing that he is willing to exterminate? all the demons on a continent)

    Haku: Has warned the leader of the "movements of demons on one of the continents" (seemingly warning the guild of the threat of a new Demon King on a continent)

    Julius: Has suggested to invite Hope as a "new member" to replace Volheilm (seemingly showing that he wants to strengthen Paragon)

    Schwarz: Has been asked "his opinion," by the leader (seemingly showing that the leader trusts him or values his opinion)

 Chapter 13 - The Demonbane

    A lone immortal was soaring through the skies. At a glance, he had an appearance that made one think that he was extremely vile and evil, having sharp fox-like eyes. He looked thin and lethe, with slick-backed dark hair. His appearance was reminiscent to that of a cunning snake¡¯s. He was an immortal infamous for his moniker ¡°The Demonbane.¡± It was said the wherever he went, all demons would mysteriously vanish within moments.

    Alistair the Demonbane.

    Alistair was among the last to leave his guild¡¯s meeting, and was currently tailing a figure, another immortal. The person he was pursuing had a long ponytail, wore gentlemanly attire and appeared elegant, like a butler. The person being pursued abruptly paused in mid-air.

    They both stood at a distance from one another, floating in the air.

    ¡°Why have you followed me, Alistair?¡± Julius questioned while turning around to face him.

    ¡°I¡¯ve decided that you¡¯ll be my first target,¡± Alistair replied. He flicked his wrist, making an ordinary-looking sword appear, and said, ¡°Everyone in Paragon are monsters in human skin, slaughtering innocents.¡±

    ¡°A traitor?¡± Julius smiled, seemingly amused by the prospect.

    Silence. The air was filled with an extremely fragile tension that could be distinctly felt, and broken at any moment.

    The two gave off visible colorful auras that clashed with one another¡¯s, Julius¡¯ being blue, and Alistair¡¯s being a bright white. The clashing auras made the air tremble, and created ripples of water that turned into waves in the sea below the two immortals. The violent tremors in the air caused all the nearby birds and animals to flee in terror.

    Both auras suddenly retracted, and condensed back into the both of them.

    ¡°In the name of Paragon, I will purge the world of all vermin! Worldbreaking technique: Grand Aqua Flame!¡±

    ¡°In the name of Alistair, I will purge the world of all Paragon! Worldbreaking technique: Illusion Sword!¡±

    Julius and Alistair spoke and acted simultaneously.

    Julius brought both of his hands together in front of him, forming a clear stream of liquid that slowly began to reveal the figure of a serpent. Its very existence was a contradiction, being a liquid that surpassed heat to the point that it should have evaporated itself. Melded magic of opposing elements, signifying the pinnacle of elemental mastery.

    Alistair¡¯s sword left his hand to float in the air, splitting apart and replicating itself several times. Soon, there were twenty of the very same swords in the air, forming a sphere that revolved and pointed toward Julius.

    The attacks were both launched at the same time.

    A large serpent made of liquid headed towards Alistair, and ten swords headed towards Julius, while the other ten were launched at the serpent.

    The ten swords infused with mana slowly melted as they approached the serpent, but still managed to each pierce themselves into the serpent¡¯s body in their melted states, causing the liquid serpent to disperse.

    The other ten swords that were aimed at Julius each stopped a few feet away from him, as if they were being held back by an invisible force.

    Julius chuckled, and all ten swords were blown away by a huge gust of wind, each of them losing power and falling down into the sea below. He didn¡¯t even have to do anything. This was due to a passive ability he possessed. The Worldbreaking technique: Eternal Gale Barrier Sylphia. As long as he still possessed mana, all projectiles below a certain threshold of power would be unconsciously blocked by a force of wind.

    Neither immortals had yet moved from their initial positions. Seeing the failed attack and barrier of wind, Alistair furrowed his brows, and flicked his wrist again to take out another weapon.

    The weapon possessed a brilliant white lustre, the light it gave off was so bright, yet still didn¡¯t bother the eyes in the slightest. Even Julius was taken aback after looking at the weapon.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Excalibur,¡± seeing the sword, Julius didn¡¯t dare be careless and raised his alertness level to the max.

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    The legendary holy artifact sword, Excalibur. It was made entirely of blessed mithril, giving it a pure white appearance that reflected all light. Artifacts were special existences that possessed wills. Every artifact had special abilities that could only be utilized depending on their level of approval of their wielders. Excalibur in particular was a widely-known legendary artifact with a deep history, the sword was dubbed, ¡°The Unbreakable Holy Sword,¡± in legends.

    Excalibur left Alistair¡¯s hands and shot towards Julius. The sword flew so fast that it¡¯d have looked like a white flash of light to the eyes¡¯ of those below the level of immortals.

    Julius frowned, even someone dense could see that he didn¡¯t take Excalibur lightly. He flew loops in the air while constantly swaying and dodging the sword. Excalibur tailed Julius in the air and flashed several times at blinding speeds, shredding his clothes and cutting through his skin, riddling his body with shallow cuts. The sword completely ignored and clearly had enough power to break through his Eternal Gale Barrier.

    While Julius was hastily avoiding the sword, Alistair was moving his hand like he was a conductor to an orchestra. Wherever his hand moved, Excalibur would follow. Suddenly, Alistair¡¯s hand movements stopped. He only motioned upwards with a single hand. The sword stopped pursuing Julius and flew higher into the clear-blue sky, immediately pointing downwards.

    The sword stood above all, appearing incredibly magnanimous. It looked like it was about to give judgment to all the livings beings beneath it.

    ¡°Worldbreaking technique: Illusion Sword!¡± Alistair shouted.

    The single legendary holy sword split apart and soon became ten, then a hundred, a thousand, ten-thousand, one-hundred thousand, a million, and yet it still kept increasing faster than even an immortal could react.

    There was a strange phenomenon happening in the area where they fought. The once clear-blue sky was completely white. No trace of blueness in the sky could be seen within miles. The sky was covered in a layer of radiant white. If you looked closely, you¡¯d be able to see that the entire sky was being covered with millions of Excaliburs, a legendary sword. It was supposed to be a one-of-a-kind sword that had one in existence. Currently, there were millions of them.

    ¡°Worldbreaking technique: Apocalypse Edge,¡± Alistair said. At that moment, the millions of Excaliburs rained down. They came crashing down and headed towards Julius. Waves upon waves of swords. The millions of swords produced countless flashes of light, dyeing the world in their whiteness.

    Even if Julius wanted to dodge this time, there would be no space for him to dodge to. His figure was soon covered by the onslaught of Excaliburs. The millions of swords in the sky spanned for miles, and there was simply no room. Waves of swords seemed to keep raining down, and yet there was still a layer of white that covered the sky.

    ¡°Farewell, Julius¡­¡± Alistair said to his former comrade.

    ¡°Shatter, Worldbreaking technique: Heavenly Bladestorm,¡± he muttered. Cracks began appearing on each of the millions of Excaliburs, shattering each of them into sharp blade fragments. The fragments rotated and twisted wildly in the air, forming a violent maelstrom, a hurricane of blades from a legendary sword. A vortex of blades made of blessed mithril.

    One of the abilities of the legendary holy sword Excalibur was that it was an unbreakable sword. It could only be broken apart at will, and could always reform itself back into a sword.

    Alistair floated in the air within a small pocket of space, blade shards rapidly orbiting and surrounding him. This was the only pocket of space that was free of blade fragments in the vicinity for miles. Across from him, Julius was being utterly ripped apart, buffeted and directly hit with fragments of Excalibur.

    ¡°Three more members of Paragon to go,¡± Alistair said underneath his breath, when the sound of laughter rang out.

    The laughter came from within the tornado of blades.

 Chapter 14 - The Demonbane Versus The Elemental Master

    The sound of laughter caused a small sense of unease to appear in Alistair¡¯s heart. He knew. Julius was still alive.

    ¡°Illusion Sword!¡± an Excalibur appeared in Alistair¡¯s right hand. ¡°Worldbreaking technique: Prismatic Light Shield!¡± his left arm was covered in an iridescent shield of light, creating an armguard, and he prepared himself for what was to come. The contrast between his evil appearance and his shining equipment would surprise anyone who saw it.

    If any other immortal saw how Alistair pulled out Excaliburs, a legendary artifact, out of thin air, they would cry tears of unfairness and demand justice.

    From the intel that Alistair gathered throughout the years in Paragon, Julius was an Elemental Mage, and thus excelled in long-ranged attacks and was physically weak. Alistair himself was a warrior that excelled in close combat. This was how he devised his plan. He had planned to seal off Julius¡¯ movements and opportunity to cast spells, then move in for the kill at close-range. Alistair had already prepared ways to deal with each four of the remaining members of Paragon based on their abilities long ago. However, Julius¡¯ unexpected laughter threw him off.

    Across from Alistair inside a cyclone made from fragmentations of mithril floated Julius¡¯ mangled body. He floated weakly, barely able to keep himself from falling. Several Excaliburs were pierced through him, and his body was riddled with shards of blessed mithril. Chunks of flesh was hanging off his body, and hints of his bones could occasionally be seen, like a zombie. At this very moment, pieces of mithril were still spinning around and shredding his body. He was dying. Despite all of this, he was wildly, and loudly laughing. Julius¡¯ unusual actions put Alistair on guard.

    Then, the laughter abruptly stopped. Julius¡¯ presence disappeared. Alistair was unsure whether he should stay or move in to check whether Julius had indeed died. These few seconds of nothing but a tempest of mithril moving about felt like an eternity. A barely audible voice that broke the silence was heard. If Alistair hadn¡¯t heightened his senses to their limits, he wouldn¡¯t have picked up the voice.

    The voice said, ¡°Worldbreaking technique: Elemental Drive.¡±

    The space around Julius seemed to expand and contract, and all the mana in the area began gathering toward him. The swords and pieces of metal stuck in his body slowly pushed themselves out, and Julius¡¯ body began to disintegrate. There was a huge, disturbing fluctuation of mana within the twister of mithril. Around the world, some of the strongest immortals noticed the fluctuation of mana, suddenly stopping what they were doing and looking in the direction of where Alistair and Julius¡¯ battle was taking place. Julius¡¯ body was like a vacuum, endlessly absorbing mana.

    When the fluctuation of mana stopped, there was a large resounding explosion of mana that shook the world. A blue pillar of mana appeared with Julius at the center, instantly vaporizing the mithril surrounding him, and ripping a hole in the white layer of mithril above him to reveal the originally blue sky. The blue hole was almost immediately engulfed by the whiteness of the other millions of white mithril shards.

    A beam of highly pressurized, clear water ripped through the air in a horizontal line. The beam of water seemed to create a rip in space itself. Wherever the beam of water cut through, shards of mithril instantly disappeared. Alistair raised his shielded left arm to defend against the pressurized water, but the force behind it still pushed him back.

    The fragments of metal between the two cleared away to form a large ring surrounding the both of them. The being in front of Alistair caused him to sweat, it wasn¡¯t human. An inch of flesh could no longer be seen. Its left arm was made of white flames, right arm made of a clear water that constantly flowed, legs and body sculpted from earth. Each of its limbs was connected to its body by visibly dense blue streams of mana. Even its entire head was made out of the blue mana. The sheer mana it emitted made the air many times heavier, making the air resistance similar to what it¡¯d be like swimming in water.

    Although they were floating in the air at the same level, it felt like the being was looking down on Alistair.

    The being slowly opened its mouth, and asked, ¡°Are you scared?¡±

    The voice no longer sounded like Julius¡¯ smooth voice. It was deep and mysterious, and came from all directions, yet Alistair knew that it came from the entity across from him in the air. Alistair brandished Excalibur in a stance with no hesitation.

    Hearing no response, the entity laughed, ¡°It was a mistake to make me your first target. Had you gone after Haku or Schwarz first, you might have had a chance.¡±

    Through words alone, Alistair felt pressure bearing down on him, weighing his body down. Actually, Julius also specialized in close-ranged combat. An unprecedented close combat mage. His Worldbreaking technique ¡°Eternal Gale Barrier Sylphia,¡± was designed to nullify long-ranged attacks and force enemies into close quarters. A unique prodigy of a mage that had never once lost a fight.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    The being continued, ¡°To me, others on the level of immortals are nothing. I could easily destroy a group of ordinary immortals in this form. I have become the world¡¯s first Omni-Elemental.¡±

    An entity that shouldn¡¯t exist in nature. An elemental composed of all four elements. This is what he would call, ¡°Using all elements to their fullest potential.¡± Through Julius¡¯ understanding of the elements, he had been able to use an ability to temporarily discard his mortal body and become an Elemental. The strongest Elemental in existence.

    ¡°The only thing I fear is coming up with an excuse to explain your death to the other members before I kill them!¡± Alistair roared in defiance. Waves of shining white mithril fragments shot towards Julius.

    Julius moved through the air with a boom, his speed was so fast that it broke the sound barrier. His movements seemed to be blessed and favored by the wind, and the metal shards surrounding him spread apart to form a path towards Alistair due to the force of his momentum. Julius appeared right in front of Alistair in the blink of an eye.

    The pure heat radiating from Julius¡¯ left arm of white fire set Alistair ablaze without touching him. Alistair was engulfed in white flames and was burning alive. Even while on fire, Alistair made a savage grin filled with bloodlust.

    Unphased by being set on fire, Alistair shouted, ¡°Worldbreaking technique: Infinity Starlight Slash!¡± He swung Excalibur once at Julius body sculpted from earth in a blur of light. A single slash, but eight deep and destructive gashes appeared on Julius¡¯ earthern body. Alistair kept chaining the same slash until he reached his limit for a total of ten times. Julius¡¯ earth sculpted body was cracked and covered in eighty deep cuts. The mana holding Julius¡¯ limbs together visibly trembled from the damage.

    ¡°Is that all?¡± Julius questioned while slowly pulling his right arm back in preparation for a punch. His right arm of water was set like an arrow drawn on a bowstring. Alistair knew that the punch would hold a devastating amount of power behind it.

    Alistair prepared to block the blow with his Prismatic Light Shield, when he realized something was off. He couldn¡¯t move his left arm. It was actually being suppressed by Julius¡¯ Worldbreaking technique: Gravitas, an advanced form of wind magic that controlled gravity. In a battle where small movements were crucial, and even the slightest deviation led to death, that ability proved to be especially terrifying and effective. Since his left arm was useless, he chose to dodge the blow instead.

    Alistair moved to the side, but his right leg was slightly heavier than normal. That was when he realized it. He had been played with and trapped from the very beginning. Julius had let him execute his ten Infinity Starlight Slashes to let him lower his guard before using Gravitas. He had made a fatal mistake. It was too late.

    Alistair slightly moved his body, but Julius¡¯ arm made of water struck towards him, cleanly piercing through his chest. Thanks to his quick reactions, Alistair had managed to avoid having his vitals hit. Alistair¡¯s Prismatic Light Shield disappeared, and he dropped Excalibur. The holy sword quickly fell into the storm of blade fragments surrounding them. Both of his arms weakly limped down to his sides.

    Alistair coughed out a mouth full of blood with a pained face, and still with an arm pierced into his chest, struggled to say, ¡°I¡¯ve hidden the demons on the Vale continent. Ten years from now they¡¯ll form a guild of immortals and head to the Heaven Arena. They hold a deep grudge against Paragon. Even if I die, Paragon is done for.¡±

    Alistair disregarded the predicament he was in, and smiled and laughed serenely with a trail of blood dripping down his mouth.

    ¡°The last words of dying vermin,¡± Julius scoffed in disdain with his head made of mana.

    Strangely, Alistair¡¯s grin grew vicious at those words.

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you know? A CORNERED RAT WILL BITE THE CAT!¡± Alistair shouted. He secretly motioned with one of his burning hands that weakly hung to his sides.

    Within the storm of blade fragments that surrounded them, the contour of a fully-formed sword could be seen directly behind Julius. Excalibur. It was the sword he had dropped earlier. In the split second his chest was stabbed through with Julius¡¯ arm, he had formulated this plan. It was time to reap the fruits of it.

    Excalibur revealed itself within the spinning tempest, and flew at Julius from behind. It was the fastest Alistair had ever controlled the legendary sword in his life. In a flash of light, it impaled Julius¡¯ body from behind, and Alistair who floated directly in front of him. Both were skewered by the mythical sword Excalibur.

 Chapter 15 - Fragments

    Within an office, an elderly man was hurriedly packing his bags. Needless to say, this elderly man was Chase.

    ¡°I think that¡¯s everything. Ryzel¡¯s army is on its way here, time to haul ass and get the fuck out of here. Those three kids should be able to handle it,¡± he said to himself, grabbing his luggage while making his way to the door.

    After opening the door, what greeted him was a blonde elf with her arms crossed wearing a badge with the number seven on it, repeatedly tapping one of her feet.

    ¡°Cain told me to watch the office in case you decided to run away,¡± the elf said while looking at him coldly.

    ¡°Uh, will you turn a blind eye if I gave you one of my lollipops?¡± he tried bribing his way out.

    The elf only proceeded to look at him as if he were the most disgusting sight she had ever laid her eyes upon.

    The pitiful headmaster cursed internally while thinking (this is what I get for enrolling precocious students.)

    Chase slammed his office door shut. He felt like he died a little on the inside and made the most miserable, prolonged wail he had ever made in his life. The wail continued for an indeterminate amount of time until he finally ran out of breath.

    That¡¯s when it happened. He felt a ridiculously large eruption of mana somewhere on the planet. At that instant, his facial expression contorted into something incredibly ugly. That expression vanished in the next moment, as if it had never existed. His face became completely expressionless and cold, no longer revealing a trace of his usual senile demeanor. This was his true self. Every single outward expression he had made up until this point had been a feigned act.

    The aura Chase gave off was like if he felt like it, he could have annihilated Ryzel and his army without any effort.

    (That amount of mana, an apostle from the Heaven Arena? Let¡¯s find out.) he mused with a deadly glint in his eyes.

    (Worldbreaking technique: Cross Gazer,) he said within his heart.

    Chase¡¯s vision shifted to an overview of the world. It was like he was viewing the world from a satellite. The amount of information his brain was processing would have instantly killed any other person at worst, or would have made them brain dead or placed them into a coma at best.

    His view constantly shifted around the world, until finally stopping at the area where he felt the surge of mana. What he saw was a maelstrom of mithril fragments, with two figures fighting within. It seemed like the mana came from the one that looked like an elemental.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s just children fighting, hohoho!¡± he adopted his former atmosphere, laughing heartily while running his fingers through his long, white beard.

    Even between immortals, there were power differences that separated them into other tiers. There were +/- modifiers, and up to a total of one to three S¡¯s. Normally, it would be hard to differentiate the ranks between immortals at a glance because there were simply too many variables. The remaining five members of Paragon were elite among immortals, each at least being SSS, yet Chase still acted as if they were insignificant in his eyes.

    ¡°But it sure is surprising. That brat Julius was hiding such an ability!¡± for a moment, he had almost mistook the large fluctuation of mana from Julius¡¯ transformation into his elemental form as a descent of one of the four apostles from the Heaven Arena.

    ¡°Well, the victor of the battle is already decided,¡± he said while continuing to observe the battle disinterestedly. He saw Julius¡¯ right arm turn into a beam of pressurized water, and Alistair deflecting it with his Prismatic Light Shield. At the battle¡¯s climax, both fell into the sea.

    The final thing he saw from the remnants of the battle was a lone figure rising up from the sea. The figure was grasping a shining white sword.

    ¡°As I thought, he was the winner after all,¡± he said smugly.

    ¡°Ohhh? Looks like something interesting is happening over here too,¡± Chase¡¯s view once again shifted to another part of the planet.

    ---

    In an isolated corner of the world, a man dressed entirely in black clothing stood facing off against another young blonde male wearing tattered clothes, like a vagabond. They were both deemed immortals by the standards of the world. The man in black had short white hair, and wore a black mask that completely covered his face, only revealing a pair of glowing heterochromatic purple and green eyes. With his black clothing, he looked like he was a ninja. This man was the immortal Schwarz.

    Schwarz was searching for potential immortals to invite to Paragon. In truth, he had no interest whatsoever in Paragon¡¯s ideals. He simply wanted to enter the next Heaven Arena ten years from now with the guild that had the strongest members, and so far he deemed the leader of Paragon to have the highest qualifications. He couldn¡¯t depend on Julius¡¯ referral of Volheilm¡¯s son, Hope. Volheilm was a useless immortal, and his son would be one as well. This was his thoughts, and so he set off in search of strong immortals immediately after the guild meeting.

    ¡°I was mistaken, I thought there would be a strong immortal here,¡± Schwarz said in disappointment.

    The blonde vagabond¡¯s eyebrows twitched in irritation, and he said, ¡°Are you implying I¡¯m weaker than you?¡±

    Those words were laced with hostility.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Schwarz replied bluntly.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s find out,¡± the vagabond said while grinning as if he expected the answer, and immediately took action. He materialized a large javelin out of thin air, and threw it towards Schwarz. The speed it flew at created a sonic boom before completely disappearing towards the unmoving Schwarz. The javelin vanished out of existence.

    ¡°Bingo,¡± the vagabond said and smiled. Experienced immortals would usually fight using their brains, and therefore take into account every possible variable they could think of and movement in a battle. The vagabond had assumed that Schwarz would dodge the javelin at the last possible moment to maximize his combat efficiency, using this assumption he was able to predict that Schwarz had already determined the speed at which the javelin was thrown at and the precise moment he needed to dodge it at. This was a trick he often used in combat. He applied spatial magic on the javelin before throwing it. The javelin would arrive sooner, and this would completely throw off Schwarz¡¯s predictions.

    The javelin reappeared in front of Schwarz, and precisely pierced through his heart and lodged into his body. The force flung his body backwards and sent him rolling along with the momentum of the javelin. A pool of blood formed under Schwarz¡¯s unmoving body lying on the ground.

    The vagabond was shocked when he saw the blood. The blood wasn¡¯t red. It was a repulsive pitch-black, and it looked like tar. That wasn¡¯t all, the ground that the blood came into contact with was dissolving. The blood was corrosive.

    Schwarz slowly picked himself back up until he was standing upright, and grabbed onto the javelin.

    ¡°An Astral Mage?¡± Schwarz said with surprise filling his voice. Another person immediately came to his mind.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you dodge?¡± the vagabond questioned him. The realization had finally dawned on him when he noticed it. Schwarz hadn¡¯t taken into account the speed of the javelin at all. It was like¡­ he didn¡¯t plan on dodging it from the start.

    ¡°There was simply no need to,¡± Schwarz said, and pulled the javelin out from his body. The sight was surreal. The javelin had definitely impaled him and destroyed his heart. The vagabond felt like he was the main character in a horror movie.

    ¡°What the hell are you?¡± the vagabond asked him, terrified.

    ¡°A human, but I¡¯ve experimented on my body to better suit my abilities. A wound like this won¡¯t have any affect on me. I¡¯ve turned off my sense of pain for now,¡± Schwarz said while throwing the javelin to the floor. As he spoke, the hole created by the javelin began healing itself until it was entirely closed.

    They both silently observed one another, when both felt a large fluctuation of mana created by Julius and turned to face the direction it came from.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t planning on killing you, but a stronger immortal takes precedence,¡± Schwarz said while looking into the direction of Julius¡¯ battle.

    The vagabond regained his composure. A smug smile once again covered his panic-stricken face. He still had his trump card. He was confident that no immortal could endure it.

    ¡°You should have never provoked me. Regret it in the afterlife!¡± the vagabond shouted. He stretched both hands out towards Schwarz.

    The space around Schwarz began to distort, creating a translucent dome that sealed everything within. Nothing could escape from it. It was a container created in fear of something escaping from it. The vagabond wasn¡¯t afraid of the possibility of Schwarz escaping, but rather he was afraid of the damage he would cause from his own technique.

    He was using his trump card. The strongest ability he possessed, and he was channeling all of his mana into it.

    The air began to condense and compress itself into a tiny sphere in the center of the translucent dome that contained Schwarz. The tiny ball of air contained the foreboding feeling of a calamity. It continually absorbed the surrounding air in the vicinity and condensed it, like an endless vacuum. It possessed a terrifying amount of mana, and even the air outside of the dome was drawn towards it.

    Schwarz stood unmoving, and simply stared at the ball of air in interest. Finally, the vagabond nearly used up his mana reserves, and could no longer funnel air towards the sphere. He was panting heavily and could barely maintain the dome that locked the area of space within.

    ¡°DIE! HAHAHAHAHA! Worldbreaking technique: Supernova!¡± the vagabond laughed madly, and ignited the compressed ball of air.

    There was an explosion. An explosion on the scale of a miniature star exploding. It was as if a sun had exploded. Within the translucent dome, the only thing that could be seen was a raging blue explosion. The flames had been so hot that they took on a shade of blue, the hottest color of fire.

    Having exhausted all his mana, the vagabond dropped to his knee. He looked defeated, but he was smiling. He had won. No immortal could have survived that. He kneeled on a single knee while enjoying the sight of his creation. To him, it was beautiful. The only thing that could be seen was a shade of blue. The explosion still continued, trapped within the sealed area of space.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.The explosion had created a crater within the sealed area of space. If the ground hadn¡¯t been sealed off as well, the explosion would have entirely disintegrated that area of the continent.

    The explosion had eventually subsided, leaving behind a vestige of scorched Earth within the crater and a still raging sea of blue flames. The vagabond could no longer maintain the barrier, and finally released it. The smell of smoke instantly filled the air, and blue flames engulfed the surroundings as soon as it was released.

    The vagabond kneeled, observing the spreading flames in adoration. He was completely satisfied having spent all his mana to cause that scale of destruction. He looked towards the center of the crater.

    In the midst of the blue flames and smoke, he could vaguely make out a figure. Despair filled him. The figure was completely covered in burns, and the only thing he wore was a mask, the rest of his clothing had been disintegrated. He was engulfed in flames, and stood completely still within the blaze as if it had nothing to do with him. That figure gazed at him with glowing purple and green eyes.

    The vagabond no longer had any more energy nor mana. He dropped to the ground, and began crawling. He was crawling away from that monster. He dragged his body across the ground in an attempt to escape.

    ¡°It¡¯s useless,¡± Schwarz said, as if to crush all his hopes.

    ¡°I told you I¡¯ve experimented with my body. It¡¯s immune to all thermal changes. Something on that level can¡¯t harm me, unless it¡¯s on the scale of Chase¡¯s Supernova. Yours is just a cheap imitation compared to his,¡± Schwarz continued. He moved at an extreme speed that put out the remaining blue flames before arriving next to the crawling vagabond.

    ¡°Goodbye.¡± That was the last thing the vagabond heard before he could no longer see, move, or hear. Something entered his body. The only thing he felt was pain, an extraordinary amount of pain that made him wish Schwarz would have just simply killed him. The torturous pain was a fate worse than death.

    If any other immortal enhanced their vision with mana, they would have seen a green powder originating from Schwarz that was entering the vagabond. That green mist was a poison that cut off all senses aside from pain. It ate away at the victim¡¯s body from the inside. If the poison successfully entered the body, the only thing waiting would be an extremely excruciating and painful death. This was Schwarz¡¯s Worldbreaking technique: Rafflesia Essence, it made his body excrete a deadly, invisible poison.

    Years ago, back when those who knew him were still alive, they had called him The Lord of Poison, Schwarz.

    The vagabond wanted to scream, but he was unable to. He felt like his throat was on fire, and kept thinking repeatedly, (KILL ME! PLEASE! JUST KILL ME!) Black patches began appearing on his skin, and the last moments of his life were filled with thoughts of wanting to die.

    Schwarz stood next to the corpse of the former immortal, and said, ¡°Time to find out where that mana came from,¡± while looking in the direction of Julius¡¯ battle. He was about to leave when a voice stopped him from behind.

    ¡°You¡¯re as cruel as always,¡± the voice sounded like it came from an elderly man.

    Without turning back around, Schwarz retorted, ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear that from someone who abandoned his own guild in the last Heaven Arena ninety years ago.¡±

    That was his sin.

    ¡°You saw the source of that mana fluctuation didn¡¯t you? What caused it?¡± Schwarz asked.

    ¡°Give it up. It was from Julius,¡± the voice answered.

    The two immortals here were the only survivors on their planet from the previous Heaven Arena from ninety years ago.

    Schwarz slowly turned around to face the source of the voice, and said, ¡°Speaking of the Heaven Arena, why don¡¯t you join Paragon, Chase? It¡¯ll increase our chances of winning if we have you, the leader, and I in the same guild.¡±

    The person Schwarz was speaking to was The Legendary Astral Mage Chase.

    ¡°I woooooould, but human supremacy isn¡¯t my thing,¡± Chase declined while shrugging.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just kill you to increase my chances, then,¡± Schwarz stated plainly.

    ¡°Are you sure? I haven¡¯t fought seriously in decades. You¡¯ll definitely regret it,¡± Chase said while laughing away.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take my chances,¡± Schwarz said before flashing and appearing in front of Chase, or rather where Chase once stood. Something brown materialized above him and fell. It completely covered him.

    Chase¡¯s figure could no longer be seen, only leaving behind an echo, ¡°I told you you would regret it.¡±

    Chase knew that Schwarz would immediately come after him, so he teleported away and left a parting gift at where he stood moments before. It was shit. Chase had actually accumulated and collected years worth of his own feces in his own dimensional pocket. He had released that dimensional pocket above himself before he teleported back to his office at Galvane.

    Schwarz was left naked, and completely buried within a pile of feces. He did in fact regret it.

    ---

    Excalibur skewered both immortals in mid-air, causing cracks to appear on Julius Earthern-formed body, and another heavy wound to appear on Alistair. The only thing that kept both of them in the air was the momentum from the holy sword.

    ¡°IF I¡¯M DYING, I¡¯LL DEFINITELY TAKE YOU DOWN WITH ME, JULIUS!¡± Alistair shouted with his remaining strength.

    The tempest of mithril fragments immediately stopped. They reassembled to form back into their original state, and millions of Excaliburs levitated, pointing at both of the airborne immortals that were pinned together.

    ¡°I¡¯LL SEE YOU IN HELL!¡± Alistair yelled, and the Excaliburs were attracted to them like magnets.

    They were continually pierced by the millions of the surrounding Excaliburs. They were thrown around in the air like ragdolls, only managing to keep afloat due to the Excaliburs¡¯ force and trajectory.

    Julius¡¯ body was covered in cracks, and his limbs that were held together with mana were phasing in and out of existence. Under the continuous onslaught of Excaliburs, Julius¡¯ body completely crumbled into pieces and fell into the sea beneath them.

    Alistair¡¯s body was shredded beyond recognition, with several holy swords stuck in his body. The remaining Excaliburs vanished, leaving only the original still impaled in his body, and he too fell into the sea.

    The surroundings went abruptly silent. It was as if the grand battle moments before never took place.

    Moments passed before something slowly rose from the quiet sea.

    What rose from the sea was a pebble.

    The levitating pebble seemed to possess mana, and expanded until it formed a body. Mana extended from the body¡¯s joints. Limbs began to form themselves. A right arm made from water, a left arm made from white flames, legs crafted from Earth, and a head of mana.

    ¡°Foolish to the very end. As long as I have a connection with mana in this form, I¡¯m invincible,¡± Julius said. He had transformed into an elemental, a being composed entirely of mana. He siphoned mana from his surroundings to recreate his body.

    Having judged that Alistair perished, Julius canceled his technique and reverted back into his human form.

    ¡°Although being in that form does place a heavy strain on my body,¡± he muttered ruefully. His entire body was sore.

    Julius stretched out an arm toward the sea, and a brilliant white sword was attracted to him. He thoroughly examined the sword in his grasp with his mana sense.

    ¡°A fake,¡± he said and clicked his tongue. He judged that the artifact wasn¡¯t The Legendary Holy Sword Excalibur. It was an imitation made in Excalibur¡¯s image. The False Holy Sword Caliburn. Caliburn was an artifact created with the intention of mimicking Excalibur, but it fell short of Excalibur¡¯s power. It was an inferior copy of Excalibur possessing a lesser version of all of its abilities, yet it still had its own sentience as an artifact.

    The sword he was holding was actually much, much more powerful than Excalibur. It was one of the strongest swords in the galaxy, but how could Julius have known? The sword didn¡¯t approve of Alistair, nor did it approve of him. It didn¡¯t like either of them and didn¡¯t allow them to use its full power.

    ¡°I¡¯ll just give this to one of my surviving apprentices,¡± Julius said, while still holding what he deemed to be a worthless artifact, The False Holy Sword Caliburn. Little did he know it no longer called itself Caliburn.

    The sword possessed sentience. It was jealous. It was created as a clone of Excalibur, but it was still always inferior to it. That feeling of inferiority overwhelmed it. Why wasn¡¯t it as powerful as Excalibur, or other legendary artifacts? Years of its existence passed, and its jealously only grew. It was always, always overshadowed by Excalibur. Its jealousy was so intense that it managed to stumble upon a divine door within its consciousness. This divine door was frighteningly similar to the one that appeared within Zieg¡¯s consciousness.

    It opened the door. The door contained a soul fragment of the previous sovereign of their world. A fragment of the Demon God¡¯s soul. After the Demon God lost in a battle against the current ruler of their world hundreds of years ago, the god presiding over their world¡¯s Heaven Arena. The Demon God split his own soul and consciousness into seven fragments as a last resort. Years later, the fragments searched and lay dormant in their own suitable hosts. The fragments could only select one host. This was why Zieg had reincarnated, because a fragment of the Demon God¡¯s soul had chosen him and used its power to forcefully resurrect him as the son as the person he most recently killed, but Zieg refused to unseal the door containing the fragment.

    Once a gate containing one of the Demon God¡¯s soul fragment was opened, it could ultimately only end with one of three possibilities. Either the Demon God¡¯s fragment¡¯s consciousness would consume its host¡¯s consciousness, fuse and merge with its host¡¯s consciousness, or the host consumed the Demon God¡¯s fragment¡¯s consciousness. Co-existence was also possible, but as soon as the door containing it was opened, it would constantly try to consume its host.

    Caliburn successfully merged its consciousness with a fragment of the Demon God many years ago. The moment it succeeded in its fusion, it no longer called itself Caliburn. It called itself Caljeal, The Demonic Holy Sword of Envy. An artifact that possessed a terrifying ability.

 Chapter 15.5 - His Sin

    Chase was lazing around in his office as usual, recalling a memory. He recalled it so vividly, as if it were yesterday. A sin, but strangely, he had never felt any guilt from it, not in the past nor present.

    It was a memory from the past Heaven Arena from ninety years ago. A tournament held once every century. The Heaven Arena was a congregation of the strongest teams of immortals throughout the planets under a god¡¯s control, a battle royale, hosted by their planets¡¯ respective god. Although it was euphemized as a ¡°tournament,¡± to the gods, it was nothing more than a game of stakes to see which planet under their rule had the guild best performance. There was little say in the matter, the worlds that chose not to participate would be visited by an apostle serving under the god that ruled over their world.

    If a god¡¯s apostle descended, what usually awaited was something that could only be called a disaster. The apostle would shape the world in accordance to what they believe would please their god the most.

    The four apostles of the god Raphael once had a discussion of what they would do if they had the chance of descending, and their conversation went something like this:

    The vermillion phoenix said, ¡°Beings that don¡¯t respect our god¡¯s wishes are less than garbage, I¡¯d turn them all into ash.¡±

    The azure dragon said, ¡°No, no, no. You don¡¯t understand! That¡¯s too wasteful. They just need to learn how to appreciate our god. The problem would be fixed if we made their entire planet follow a religion we create, and kill the rest who resist, right?¡±

    The black turtle said, ¡°Does it matter? I¡¯d just grab a few random immortals, call them a guild, and send them in to represent their planet.¡±

    The white tiger said, ¡°Hahaha! It¡¯d be interesting if there were any strong people there.¡±

    Raphael, the current sovereign of their world of Eldeon, defeated the previous sovereign, the Demon God, centuries ago in a battle and stole his rule. Upon his defeat and body¡¯s destruction, the Demon God split his soul containing his powers into seven individual fragments that possessed their own will and scattered them throughout Eldeon. They sought and lay dormant in vessels with sentience that they judged were the most compatible to them.

    In Raphael¡¯s latest Heaven Arena, the guild Sirius and their leader Chase relied on their excellent teamwork, utterly tearing through the immortals from other guilds. The other guilds judged them to be a threat, and worked together to surround them. They were in a life-and-death situation, but they¡¯d be able to easily make it out with their teamwork. The trust they had in each other was unbreakable.

    Among the immortals that surrounded them, one of them was a woman with dark bags under her eyes. She looked like she hadn¡¯t slept in years. How she even made it into the Heaven Arena, no one could say, but something was causing her drowsiness. It was something that laid dormant inside of her.

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    Chase rushed in front of her, his hands coated in something blue. What covered his hands was like mana, but not mana. It seemed much more terrifying. Chase was using his Worldbreaking technique: Plasma Hand. It had the power to rip space itself open, severing the molecules of everything it touched and entirely disintegrating them upon contact. Anything touched by it below the power of a god would never be able to heal itself. A detached limb would no longer recognize itself as being a part of their body, the molecules would be completely broken apart and closed off.

    Chase¡¯s palm moved, and disintegrated the part of her head that it passed through. At that moment, he felt something enter his consciousness. His ability, "Plasma Hand," severed the link of whatever laid dormant inside of that woman, and whatever laid dormant inside of her awoken inside of him.

    Chase felt something overpowering him and invading his mind. He willed himself to resist, but whatever it was contained way too much power. He fought against the thing invading his consciousness until the bitter end, until he could no longer endure. He finally resigned himself, compromising with fusing with the invader. The entire ordeal was quicker than a split second from the moment his hand passed through the woman¡¯s head. He gained an unbelievable amount of power and a special ability from the amalgamation.

    After fusing with it, Chase felt extremely lethargic. He felt like he didn¡¯t want to do anything, like nothing else mattered. He felt an overwhelming sense of laziness. Leagues of hostile immortals from other guilds surrounded him and his guild, but so what? He didn¡¯t want anything to do with it. Guildmates? Companions? What were those? It was too much of a hassle for him. He felt tired even thinking about it. He discarded any naive thoughts of responsibility that he as a guild leader had previously possessed.

    The only thing Chase felt like doing was lazing around and enjoying himself. Aside from that, there was something compelling him to take part in the next Heaven Arena. He didn¡¯t know who Raphael was, but for some reason, he felt an uncontrollable urge to fight with him, Eldeon¡¯s current god.

    He felt like a¡­ Sloth.

    He had the power to make it out of the encirclement alive with his guild if they worked together before the fusion, and could easily do it alone after the fusion. But why? He suddenly felt like he didn¡¯t want to expend any effort on it.

    And so, he simply did what was on his mind. He left alone. He teleported and abandoned his guild. He left them surrounded by immortals, to be left waiting for their deaths.

    That was his sin.

 Chapter 16 - The Second Holy Crusade

    After cutting across the continent with his army, several flawless white structures in the middle of a wasteland entered Ryzel¡¯s sights. He had finally made it to Galvane. He knew the importance of it, that Galvane was where the strongest in the continent gathered, and victory in this battle would be the turning point for his ambitions. If he took over Galvane, the rest of the continent would inevitably follow.

    (That was a pain in the ass,) he thought. To get to this point and amass an army of ten thousand demons he had had to kill several heads of the demon clans that still remained loyal to Zieg. This is where everything would begin. He planned to start The Second Holy Crusade, only this time the ones on the receiving end would be everyone else but the demons.

    He could no longer hold back his excitement. He had been patient for long enough. Ryzel turned, and faced the army of demons behind him. He could see it on their faces, and feel it in the air. They have waited long enough as well. They were seething with a plethora of emotions, but they all had one thing in common. Each of them were filled with complete and absolute bloodthirst.

    ¡°HOW MANY OF YOU?! HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE HAD FRIENDS AND FAMILY TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU? THE BLOOD SPILLED OVER FIFTEEN YEARS CANNOT BE FORGOTTEN! THIS BLOOD CAN ONLY BE PAID BACK IN BLOOD. I WILL SUCCEED WHERE ZIEG HAD FAILED. I WILL TAKE ON HIS LEGACY, AND RECLAIM THE CONTINENT FOR OUR PEOPLE. LET THE BLOOD OF OUR BRETHREN BE WASHED AWAY WITH THE BLOOD OF THEIRS! KILL! KILL THEM ALL! LEAVE NOT A SINGLE ONE ALIVE!¡± he shouted to his army, raising their morale to their peaks. They had waited for a new Demon King to reclaim their place on the continent, a beacon of hope. They found one in Ryzel. As long as he remained fighting, each and every single one of them would fight until their last breath.

    ¡°UOOOOOOH!¡±

    ¡°FOR DEMON KING RYZEL!¡±

    ¡°ALL HAIL RYZEL!¡±

    ¡°DEATH TO ALL HUMANS!¡±

    His army roared in response and charged forth.

    ¡°Let the Second Holy Crusade begin, and let there be blood,¡± Ryzel muttered under his breath while turning back around to face Galvane. He had a bloodred sword sheathed on his back, the artifact Bloodwhistler, and wrapped around his fingers were invisible strands, an artifact known as ¡°The Endless Wire,¡± the artifact Ginkumo.

    ¡°There will be no escape. Only death,¡± he said, and joined the assault, ¡°Worldbreaking technique: Hell¡¯s Net.¡±

    Invisible wires completely surrounded the academy. Thousands of strands of wires enclosed and attached themselves to the buildings of the academy. They were virtually unnoticeable unless one focused mana into their eyes. It seemed like a cage, a spider¡¯s web, and the prey were those within it.

    Within moments of Ryzel¡¯s invasion of the academy, Chase¡¯s skill, Astral Invasion, sounded out into the minds of every student.

    ¡°The academy is under attack! You kids do your best, I¡¯ll be cheering for you!¡± his voice resounded, waking a certain reincarnated student from his extended meditation.

    ¡­

    Galvane was a scene of carnage. The once majestic white buildings completely sliced in halves by moving wires, students and demons alike flying across the skies, the remnants of corpses, gargoyles, and golems littering the marble floors. Unsuspecting deserters had their bodies dissected by the invisible wires looming around the radius of the academy. Countless colors and magic flashed about, almost making the assault seem festive if not for the smell of death and pensive moods of everyone present lingering in the air.

    A bloodred sword found itself lodged into the body of a resisting student, before being quickly retracted. The body of the dying student was quickly separated and kicked to the side.

    ¡°Tch,¡± Ryzel clicked his tongue while wielding the artifact, ¡°This useless sword won¡¯t resonate with me.¡± The artifact wasn¡¯t approving Ryzel, no matter how many he killed.

    He had seen the artifact in action before. He recalled a scene of the past. At that time an unknown imposing demon seemingly radiating with confidence, Zieg, had waltzed into the competition to coronate a Demon King. The Demon King was decided by an elimination tournament to determine the strongest demon in the continent. In the midst of the competition, Zieg had ignored all the other competitors and stood in the middle of the arena, boldly declaring himself to be the strongest, and that they should all come at him at once.

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    The Ryzel at that time could only see red flashes of lights when the competitors swarmed him, and the moments of pause where the menacing artifact, Bloodwhistler was bathing in the blood of its enemies. The sword appeared to gain strength by soaking in blood. For the first time in his life he had felt a sliver of fear from the artifact and its wielder, and had withdrawn from the competition.

    The brief recollection of fear sparked a hint of anger within him. He tightly clenched both of his fists, tightening his grasp around Bloodwhistler, causing his dark fingers to whiten.

    (I¡¯m the strongest demon now. Zieg is gone) he consoled himself with these thoughts to ease his anger. Taking his mind off of the past, Ryzel sensed a considerably strong presence at a distance behind him, an immortal of the academy, and he smirked.

    ¡°Why is a coward like you confronting me now? Aren¡¯t you going to flee again, just like last time?¡± he mocked while turning around to face the insolent student.

    He saw a single white-haired boy, Cain. Cain was standing with a calm look on his face while standing across from Ryzel despite the chaos going on around them. It was like he was unaffected by the threat of death. The corner of Cain¡¯s lips slowly and slightly curved upwards into an arrogant smirk. His expression was mirroring Ryzel¡¯s. He almost seemed to be looking down on Ryzel. Ryzel was briefly stunned by his arrogant and carefree attitude.

    ¡°You thought I ran because I was afraid?¡± Cain coldly chuckled. ¡°I only chose to leave because someone was in my way of going all-out, but now it¡¯s war. I doubt anyone would care enough if I made any unintentional casualties of my surroundings. You¡¯ll be the perfect opponent to test myself with.¡±

    (Test himself with? The student thought himself an equal to be the opponent of me? I¡¯ll show you how wide the world is, and how insignificant you are) Ryzel had already contemplated numerous painful methods of killing Cain to pay for his arrogance. He flexed his knuckles, making the threads twined around them gleam with a deadly aura. The only one who could stand on equal footing with him was Zieg. Those were his true thoughts.

    ¡°You¡¯ll be the first immortal I deem worthy enough to use my artifact on, be grateful. Bear witness: Aegis,¡± Cain¡¯s calm voice resounded.

    A large, white artifact materialized and wrapped itself around Cain¡¯s arm. A shield. Three separated pairs of white wings adorned themselves on the surface of the large kiteshield. Small whirlwinds were depicted coiling itself around each wing. It¡¯s pure whiteness perfectly matched Cain¡¯s hair, although the pureness it gave off was contrary to Cain¡¯s personality.

    It was an artifact that Cain found in the remnants of an Ancient Dungeon. Up until now, he hadn¡¯t found an opponent that threatened him enough to use it on, and had always stored it away.

    The legendary artifact shield, Aegis. Famous in legends as the ¡°Absolute Defense.¡± Aegis moved with a will of its own in order to protect its wielder, disregarding whether the wielder was aware of being attacked or not, it would predict any and all attacks, and with a will of its own, move its owner¡¯s arm in order to block every attack as if it were in control of the arm. The speed and precognition Aegis had in blocking attacks was at a frightening level, so frightening that it would have been able to block and fend off every single one of the millions of Alistair¡¯s ¡°Excalibur¡¯s¡± blade fragments as long as the wielder still had enough energy left to move their arm.

    Countless arrows of ice appeared in the air, levitating above Cain. The arrows hovered about like sentinels, ready to be launched at a moment¡¯s notice.

    ¡°Worldbreaking technique: Zero Stream,¡± A steam of frozen water flowed and coiled around Cain. The stream possessed attributes of liquid nitrogen, but the temperature it emanated was unnaturally low.

    ¡°I¡¯m expecting to gain some insights from you, don¡¯t let me down,¡± Cain¡¯s voice sounded out, with a poorly restrained tinge of excitement.

 Chapter 16.5 - Cycle of Wrath

    A commotion was erupting in the Kallad kingdom located in the south regions of the Grandiel continent.

    ¡°M-milord! We¡¯ve received news that the demons are planning to takeover Galvane, and use it as a foothold to invade the rest of the continent!¡± A messenger said, kneeling in front of the king seated upon his throne.

    ¡°That damned Volheilm! He promised me the continent!¡± King Kallad Hien Balor the 7th¡¯s fist fiercely smashed against the armrest of his throne. His anger numbed the throbbing pain he felt in his hand.

    ¡°It¡¯s been five years since his supposed decisive victory! Look where we are now! If the demons succeed, the target of their hatred will be aimed at us!¡± King Kallad¡¯s anger was evident, spittle flew from his mouth in his tensed rage.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t immortals supposed to be the most powerful beings on the planet? They aren¡¯t deserving of their reputation!¡± The stalwart King¡¯s tirad continued unceasingly.

    The knight¡¯s stationed across the throne room twitched nervously about their King¡¯s comments about immortals.

    Before anyone within the room noticed, a figure appeared standing next to the kneeling messenger, directly facing King Kallad.

    The figure appeared incredibly feminine, despite being a male, garbed in completely white robes. Skin as white as snow, long white hair flowed down his back. He gave off the air of an intellectual scholar with his gentle appearance and closed eyes. Perhaps some would mistake him as a priest or a saint if not for the sword hung at his waist.

    King Kallad momentarily stilled at the uninvited guest, before mouthing off, ¡°W-Who the hell are you?! How¡¯d you get in MY throne room?! Guards, seize him!¡±

    The two knights standing beside King Kallad¡¯s throne moved at the order, instantly appearing in front of the priestly man. They unsheathed their swords and raised them high into the air, and-

    They paused.

    A thin red line appeared on both of the knights¡¯ necks. They were both beheaded, and nobody in the room was able to follow how it happened.

    ¡°A-an immortal!¡± someone in the room yelled.

    Everyone froze. The knights lined across the room began shivering. They no longer dared to act. Whether the priestly man was an immortal or not, they didn¡¯t care. They saw both of their King¡¯s elite honor guards killed without even being able to react in a mere moment. They weren¡¯t even able to see how it was done, and they knew. They knew the futility of it all. If that priestly man wanted them to die, they would without a doubt, die. They wouldn¡¯t even be able to buy time for their King if they tried to obstruct him. Honor? Valor? Worthless. It was all worthless in front of the overwhelming strength before them.

    The messenger standing next to the saint was so terrified that he pissed himself.

    The priestly man¡¯s eyes were still closed. They were eternally closed, never to be opened again. He was blind. He himself had gouged his own eyes out of his own free will decades ago, when he had, ¡°Witnessed the ugliness of the world.¡± He had seen enough. He no longer wanted to see this vermin-infested world.

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    ¡°In the name of Paragon, I will purge the world of all vermin,¡± the priestly man chanted softly.

    Though his voice was quiet, almost whispered. It sounded clearly within the silent confines of the throne room. Everyone present was able to hear him.

    King Kallad was shocked as the realization dawned upon him, ¡°L-Lord immortal! P-Please forgive my prior rudeness! My uncultured self was unable to realize one as great as you!¡± King Kallad hastily and nervously said. The King¡¯s fierce demeanor was instantly replaced with a servile countenance. The change happened so quickly and perfectly, that others would be unable to tell unless they were present to witness his prior behavior.

    He had heard those very words countless times from Volheilm, and was easily able to make the connection between the two. They were both immortals affiliated with one another. His reasoning told them they were both members of the same rumored guild- Paragon.

    ¡°I am the leader of the immortal guild, Paragon. You¡¯ve no need to fear the demons to the North, as they will not be a threat to you,¡± the leader quietly said.

    ¡°F-Forgive my insolence in asking, but how is lord immortal sure of this?¡± King Kallad managed to squeak out in his nervousness.

    ¡°Tis¡¯ because this continent still exists because I allow it to,¡± the leader of Paragon responded, before vanishing from the throne room, leaving everyone present dumbfounded.

    ¡°H-Hahahaha Ha¡­¡± King Kallad nervously laughed, as if he had gone insane.

    ¡°Who said immortals aren¡¯t deserving of their reputation?! I will have that fool beheaded!¡± King Kallad shouted loudly. The remaining knights in the room looked at one another, unsure of how to respond to or how to appease their King.

    A Holy Crusade? How could a war last that long with the backing of an immortal guild like Paragon? The answer was that it couldn¡¯t. It had only been allowed to go on that long by the will of Paragon¡¯s leader. The emotions of those grieving the loss of their loved ones gave him power, and the easiest way to do this was, of course, war. Unending wars, a chain of hatred that perpetuates wrath. As long as there were wars, and survivors of a war, this chain would never be completely broken.

    The leader of Paragon was no longer an immortal, but a demigod. He had overpowered and devoured a fragment decades ago at the moment of his betrayal, gaining the memories of the previous demon god, and his soul had only recently consolidated to become approximately 14% that of a god¡¯s.

    ¡°Raphael¡­ I will absorb you before long,¡± he whispered to himself.

    To reach his goals, he had to enter the Heaven Arena to meet with Raphael.

    Becoming a full god. Gaining control over the world. Creating a ¡°Cycle of Wrath.¡±

 Chapter 17 - Third Element

    ¡°I¡¯m expecting to gain some insights from you, don¡¯t let me down,¡± Cain¡¯s voice sounded out.

    Floating arrows of ice threateningly rotated in the air around Ryzel, watching his every movement.

    Ryzel began a mad dash towards Cain with Bloodwhistler in hand, prompting the ice arrows to launch towards him all at once. The second Ryzel began his approach, multiple things simultaneously happened.

    Cain quickly knelt down, tapping his fingers against the floor and called out, ¡°Frost field!¡± covering the marble floors in a layer of ice, and making Ryzel¡¯s movements and approach more sloppy. The ice arrows that were launched towards Ryzel were sliced apart in midair by invisible moving wires as soon as they came within a certain distance to him until there were none left. The icy liquid revolving around Cain left his body and shot towards the approaching Ryzel, meanwhile he was being bombarded by Ryzel¡¯s invisible moving artifact threads that could easily slice apart flesh and bone.

    Cain didn¡¯t even need to notice or pay any attention to the invisible threads, whenever they came close to touching his body, Aegis would sense the threat, and automatically move his left arm at blinding speeds to shove and push aside the wires.

    Ryzel clicked his tongue when he saw the stream of icy liquid come his way, it seemed to track and follow his every movement, slowing down his approach in his efforts to avoid it. His invisible wires would cut apart the stream of water, only to see it coming back together to pursue him once more. He had to be in constant movement to avoid the water, and took a roundabout approach to eventually reach Cain.

    Ryzel made brutal swings with Bloodwhistler, and sounds of metal colliding filled the atmosphere. The area around them was devoid of any other student or demon, as if the others were fearful of getting caught up within their crossfire.

    Ryzel constantly flashed around Cain, and blurs of white and red could be seen as Aegis clashed against Bloodwhistler, also defending Cain from the roving wires coming from every direction.

    Ryzel in his experience with the harsh environments of the North quickly adapted to the slippery icy floors, and moved around Cain trying to get a hit in, all the while paying attention to and evading the stream of ice water that haunted him.

    ¡°Is defending the only thing you¡¯re capable of?!¡± Ryzel screamed in frustration. He hadn¡¯t been able to get a blow in since the start of the confrontation, every time he swung Bloodwhistler, Aegis would always flash in front of the sword moments before the attack connected.

    ¡°Of course not, watch closely,¡± Cain smirked arrogantly. The stream of water finally came into contact with Ryzel¡¯s right leg, completely freezing it and sealing his movements. Cain took advantage of the situation and voluntarily swung Aegis, intending to do a shield bash.

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    This time it was Ryzel¡¯s turn to mirror Cain¡¯s smirk, as his artifact Ginkumo¡¯s wires wrapped itself around his frozen right leg, balancing him. Whether Ryzel had control of his limbs or not didn¡¯t matter, he could move his body like a puppet with the help of Ginkumo. Ryzel sent mana into and lifted his left leg, violently spinning it towards Cain.

    The kick and Aegis collided, pushing Cain back several meters.

    The two narrowed their eyes facing each other. A stalemate.

    Ryzel was no fool. He was a cunning and cruel demon, and had already noticed the weaknesses of Cain and Aegis within that brief exchange. He had come up with two solutions to deal with Aegis. The first solution he came up with was a battle of endurance. Who could last longer? Him or Cain¡¯s arm? The constant movements Aegis¡¯ made in order to block every single attack must put a large strain on the wielder¡¯s arm, Ryzel was able to infer this much. He could pull the pace of the fight into a battle of attrition and outlast the energy Cain had to be able to wield Aegis. The second solution was that he could make an unavoidable, simultaneous attack towards Cain to injure him in which Aegis would be unable to block, but how likely was that? Ryzel was weak in making simultaneous attacks, and if Aegis had the ability and speed to contend with blocking every single one of Alistair¡¯s millions of simultaneous fragmented bladestorm attack, how could he possibly have success with that method?

    Ryzel was forced into making this a battle of endurance. In other words, as it stood, a stalemate.

    ¡°Tch,¡± Ryzel clicked his tongue at the troublesome thought of it.

    It was unknown whether he could even outlast Aegis.

    Cain had the same thoughts as Ryzel. This was to be a battle of endurance, the one who could outlast the other would come out on top.

    They were both thinking the exact same thing. At this moment they both thought that a battle of endurance between them was unavoidable, unless¡­

    A third element. An unpredictable factor joined the battle and broke the equilibrium.

    When the two thought of this, both sensed an aura of an immortal approaching them.

    Ryzel and Cain turned their heads to the approaching figure.

    The sinister aura the figure emanated bore a striking resemblance to someone that was unforgettable to Ryzel. Although his form was different, that was the aura of the former Demon King.

    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Ryzel shouted in disbelief as his pupils shrunk.

    ¡°Hope!¡±

    ¡°Zieg!¡±

    Cain and Ryzel shouted simultaneously. Both of their voices were filled with hostility and excitement.

    Evidently, both immortals also wanted to fight him.

    They had found their third element.

 Chapter 18 - Unspoken Words

    Zieg approached the two wearing a frivolous and amused expression. He had been away in secluded meditation for a week or so and Galvane had turned into hell in a hand basket. He went to where most of the destructive mana fluctuations came from, only to see the arrogant white-haired boy who he had already nicknamed Frosty in his mind, and what looked like the leader of the ones leading the assault.

    Upon seeing what could only be Zieg again, Ryzel was filled with a variety of emotions. He thought Zieg to be dead. He had so many mixed feelings, and so many things he wanted to say that he couldn¡¯t put it into words. Ryzel thought that it could only be fate. He was trembling with so many emotions, the most prevalent of all being anger. He opened his mouth several times, only to find himself closing it repeatedly. His eyes reddened, and in the end, the only thing he could give voice to was a question in a barely audible voice, ¡°Why...?¡±

    Cain, on the other hand, looked like it was the happiest moment of his life. He couldn¡¯t even bother with Ryzel¡¯s strange reaction upon seeing Hope. His ecstatic expression was plainly written all over his face, and he couldn¡¯t help himself from laughing wildly, ¡°Hahahaha! Perfect! I¡¯ll be able to push myself to my limits fighting the both of you!¡±

    ¡°I was planning on dealing with you eventually anyway, Frosty. And who¡¯s this?¡± Zieg spoke while pulling out a silver short sword, a mithril sword he received from his completed mission, and turned his head to look at Ryzel, or more accurately, to look at the wielder of his former artifact sword. He didn¡¯t care who Ryzel was, he had already decided to take back Bloodwhistler the instant his sights landed on it.

    ¡°The Demon King Ryzel Vondark! Remember the name of the one who will defeat you, Zieg!¡± Ryzel growled out a response.

    Ryzel looked somewhat familiar to Zieg, he could vaguely recall a demon with that name and appearance, but wasn¡¯t able to put his finger on it. This feeling irked him, being able to almost remember a person. He wasn¡¯t able to tell that he saw Ryzel at the competition to elect a Demon King in the past, being one of the few surviving top contenders remaining.

    Zieg was preparing himself to fight the first serious battle he had since reincarnating. He still wasn¡¯t able to completely get used to his new miniature body compared to the one he had back when he was still a demon. Nevertheless, he was able to sense that both the capabilities of the Cain and Ryzel at this moment were almost on par with the him of the past. The new Demon King wielding two artifacts, including his former artifact, and Cain who possessed a legendary artifact.

    In his immortal awakening, he was able to realize a new ability that suited him perfectly. A passive Worldbreaking technique, ¡°Wolf¡¯s Instinct,¡± which heightened his sixth sense.

    There were no more words needed between the three of them. After the initial introduction all three exploded into action.

    Ryzel¡¯s body overflowed with mana as he stepped off the floor, leaving cracks in the icy floor and speeded directly towards Zieg. It was like he had nothing else in his eyes. Zieg likewise headed towards Ryzel in hopes of reclaiming his sword.

    Zieg¡¯s small body swiftly moved, quickly hopping and slashing at Ryzel. Ryzel easily parried the blow, pressuring and pushing Zieg back. It looked like Zieg was at a disadvantage. It was simply a difference in weapons, the ordinary mithril sword couldn¡¯t compare to the artifact Bloodwhistler.

    (I may have been an insignificant existence to you at that time, not even worthy to be remembered, but I¡¯ve changed and become stronger than you, I¡¯ll prove it by defeating you here and now!) Ryzel¡¯s thoughts continued unrestrainedly.

    While they were locked in close combat, Cain rained arrows of ice upon the two of them. Ryzel was distracted in his fight with Zieg and was unable to manipulate his wires to intercept them. His back was littered with arrows of ice, leaving him with several flesh wounds. Zieg was in a much better position with his smaller body and instinct. He was able to easily dodge and deflect each arrow that rained down upon him.

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    Zieg¡¯s instinct was even able to help him avoid getting trapped within Ryzel¡¯s invisible wires.

    Even though the arrows of ice did miniscule damage to Ryzel, the damage would accumulate overtime, slowly exhausting him. Ryzel quickly became aware of this and swung a heavy horizontal cut towards Zieg who was prone in midair while dodging the arrows. Zieg turned his sword diagonally to block, placing the back of his hand behind his mithril short sword to disperse the force of the blow, but was still sent flying back.

    Coincidentally the direction Zieg was sent flying towards was Cain. Zieg rotated his body in midair along with his sword, delivering a spinning slash to Cain. Aegis automatically reacted to the attack, easily deflecting the slash.

    Zieg landed by Cain, agilely moving and hopping around him while sending out attacks. Each swing of Zieg¡¯s sword was well-timed and positioned, each being either crippling or fatal blows, constantly and efficiently attacking at several of Cain¡¯s blind spots. Despite Zieg¡¯s attacks that came from every direction, Cain didn¡¯t even need to see any of his attacks. His left arm wielding Aegis would automatically move, effectively blocking each and every one of Zieg¡¯s attacks. Cain smirked arrogantly at the futility of Zieg¡¯s actions.

    Shock flitted across Zieg¡¯s eyes before quickly disappearing. In that instant he was able to deduce what ability the artifact Aegis possessed. Zieg dodged Cain¡¯s swing of Aegis, gaining some distance from Cain.

    Cain was now caught in-between both Ryzel and Zieg.

    Ryzel and Zieg briefly made eye-contact with one another, instantly reaching a semblance of unspoken understanding with the other. These unspoken words were, ¡°Take down Cain/Frosty, then deal with each other.¡±

    Both attacked Cain simultaneously. Their immediate synchronized teamwork was amazing. No one would believe that it was Ryzel and Zieg¡¯s first time fighting alongside one another.

    Ryzel charged mana into his arm and threw Bloodwhistler with all his might, sending it flying towards Cain at unbelievable speeds. Zieg intentionally slightly lagged behind, and repeated the same action as Ryzel, sending his mithril sword flying towards Cain as well while charging at him after the throw.

    Cain was prepared to fend the both of them off. Aegis moved at even a faster speed than the swords themselves, Cain¡¯s left arm instantly moved to the side to block Bloodwhistler that came at him from the right, then just as quickly moved again to block the mithril sword that came at him from the left.

    Cain¡¯s left arm still hung in the air to his left, the same position it was at when it had automatically blocked the mithril sword. He tried to bring his left arm equipped with Aegis down, only to discover that he was unable to. He focused mana into his eyes and what he saw was¡­

    Thin strands of invisible wires wound around his left arm, preventing him from moving it. Ginkumo. Ryzel¡¯s artifact.

    It was in an instant. In that small timeframe, within the small gap of time when Aegis was used to block Bloodwhistler from the opposite direction, then came back to block the mithril sword, invisible threads were tied around Cain¡¯s left arm. Zieg and Ryzel¡¯s teamwork had effectively disabled the legendary artifact, Aegis. In the brief moment the two made eye-contact, they both came up with a course of action that took into account Cain¡¯s reliance on Aegis and his inattention to the surroundings to seal the legendary artifact¡¯s strongest ability.

    Zieg dashed towards Cain, hopping onto Aegis held stuck in the air, using it as leverage and jumping to deliver a spin kick filled with mana towards Cain¡¯s head.

    ¡°Shit!¡± Cain yelled in panic, before the full-force of the kick connected with the side of his head, giving him a concussion and directly sending him unconscious.

    Zieg walked past the unconscious Cain and picked up his nearby fallen sword. Not his mithril sword, but his artifact sword. Bloodwhistler.

    Watching Zieg slowly pick up Bloodwhistler, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way,¡± Ryzel said and grinned in anticipation.

 Chapter 19 - True Demon King

    This situation is exactly what Ryzel wanted. To fight Zieg at his full strength, artifact and all. It was an indescribable feeling, whether he truly felt like he had to prove to himself that he had indeed surpassed Zieg or not to rid himself of his past regrets, he thought that this fight was something he had to see through.

    ¡°Zieeeeeeeeg!¡± Ryzel shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice containing all of his mixed emotions and conviction. All the mana in their surroundings was being gathered to settle upon him. His body constantly absorbed the mana of the world. He had never felt so powerful in his life. At this very moment, Ryzel was a Demon King. A true Demon King. It was like he was imposing his will onto the world, making an unspoken statement that could be heard across the lands, ¡®I am the strongest. Not Zieg, nor any other being. With the hopes of my people behind me, I will never lose, never fall.¡¯ He had the weight of his race bear down upon his shoulders, giving him strength. To end the oppression and exact vengeance. Nothing could stop him in his way of doing so, not even the former Demon King. This was the one thing he could never compromise on.

    Cain¡¯s ice covering the floors began disintegrating as a testament to his power. The two immortals gazed at one another at the distance, and both vanished in an instant. The force of their speed created to sonic booms as they collided with one another, sending out a shockwave of turbulent winds with them as the center that sent all those fighting far from them flying. The trail they traveled across the marble floors left two deep gashes in the ground.

    The two traded blows at high speeds, generating gusts of winds that broke apart Galvane¡¯s surrounding buildings.

    ¡°Stop this war, Ryzel!¡± Zieg shouted as he swung Bloodwhistler.

    Stop? The mere suggestion caused a wave of emotion to flood over Ryzel.

    ¡°Stop?! You don¡¯t have the right to tell me to stop! There¡¯s no turning back for me! Did you know?! For the good of our race, I killed my own people! All of us needed a leader! Everyone admired you! I admired you! But where were you when we needed you the most?! Where were you when our brethren were being killed off?! Where were you when my brother died?!¡± All of Ryzel¡¯s emotions erupted at once. Water slowly fell from his reddened eyes. He was crying. They were tears of unwillingness.

    Ryzel had admired Zieg. He truly thought at that time, (Finally, finally. With him leading, we can return to the center of the continent. Our people no longer need to suffer in the North. We can finally live our lives happily.) He had placed his hopes and expectations on Zieg. But what was the result? Zieg disappeared. They were abandoned. That admiration twisted and distorted, causing his feelings to turn into hate, resentment, and wrath. That¡¯s when he realized: he couldn¡¯t rely on Zieg, or anyone else. If he wanted to reclaim their place in the continent, he had to take it back by force with his own power. The breaking point was the death of his brother, all the while people still believed in Zieg¡¯s return. ¡°He¡¯ll return to save us,¡± they said. Those words were the catalyst to his actions.

    Ryzel decided. Here and now, he would finally surpass Zieg.

    Hearing those words, a strange expression entered Zieg¡¯s face, and yet he understood. He understood Ryzel¡¯s determination, his resolve. This was because he was exactly the same. The desire to exact vengeance for spilled blood. Perhaps he would still try to get revenge if it weren¡¯t for a certain belief that he had. Zieg had the feeling that all of this, the holy crusade, the wars, and everything were part of a grander scheme. He felt like he was being manipulated into action by the machinations of someone else. The mastermind, Paragon. This bothered him to no end, making him change his goals into eliminating the root of the problem itself. He broke free from the cycle of wrath generated by the leader of Paragon, and was trying to save everyone else from being consumed by it as well.

    Zieg and Ryzel exchanged attacks with one another at extreme speeds, pushing their bodies to the limit. Ryzel¡¯s kicks and punches created waves upon waves of damage. Zieg was barely able to dodge his blows thanks to the intuition of his Wolf¡¯s Instinct, but even the shockwave caused by them left his body feeling numb. Ryzel avoided every fatal blow, but his body was being slowly whittled away by the small cuts that managed to nick him. His body was beginning to be covered in numerous cuts.

    Although Ryzel was the only one being hit, it looked like he was the one pressuring Zieg. His resolute figure appeared unbreakable. Ryzel¡¯s unwavering conviction and willpower caused his movements to be more daring, and was actually pushing Zieg back. His thoughts sounded out clearly inside his head, (There¡¯s too much at stake. I will not lose, not to you!)

    The small, shallow cuts Ryzel was receiving made blood splash about. The blood coating Bloodwhistler caused the artifact to glow a bright red. Bloodwhistler was an artifact sword that had the ability to absorb the blood of its victims, draining their vitality and energizing the wielder of the sword. As the battle progressed, Zieg would only get faster while Ryzel would only get slower. So why? Although Bloodwhistler was making Zieg faster, Ryzel was still keeping up with him even though he was supposed to be losing energy.

    Ryzel was exceeding his limits. He wasn¡¯t fighting only for himself, but for his race. This was the very essence of a true Demon King. Right now, he was probably on par with a member of Paragon.

    ¡°War isn¡¯t the only way, Ryzel! The real enemies are the masterminds behind the war, Paragon! We could coexist with others and establish peace! Isn¡¯t that what we strived for from the very beginning?!¡± Zieg asked while his attacks made countless afterimages of red.

    ¡°Peace? We had peace! It was forcefully taken away from us! I¡¯m only doing what¡¯s right and forcefully taking it back, away from them!¡± Ryzel trembled with emotion. His arm flashed and he swung a heavy blow, a fist with all his convictions contained within it. The fist smashed onto the side of Zieg¡¯s face, blowing him back and sending him crashing into a crumbling building.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Zieg crawled out of the rubble of the building, and spat out a mouthful of blood. A trail of blood came leaking out of his mouth.

    The former and current Demon Kings stood, firmly looking at one another, both possessing the resolution to win.

    (I need to end this quickly) Zieg thought. Ryzel seemed to be growing stronger as more time passed. It was like his convictions were fueling him with boundless energy, energy that surpassed even that of the artifact Bloodwhistler¡¯s ability.

    Zieg began running towards Ryzel and picked up his pace. The two charged and collided at each other once more. Zieg seemed to be moving faster than before in an attempt to cope with Ryzel¡¯s increasing energy. He made a feint with Bloodwhistler and attacked in another direction, blindsiding Ryzel and dealing him a debilitating blow. Ryzel¡¯s right arm was cleanly lopped off and flew into the air.

    ¡°I won¡¯t fall, I won¡¯t let down our people like you have!¡± Ryzel screamed in rage. Invisible wires wrapped around Ryzel¡¯s dismembered right arm the instant it was cut off. The wires moved quickly, stitching and reattaching his arm back together in the blink of an eye. At the same time, Ryzel lifted a leg, kneeing and launching Zieg up into the air. He proceeded to send a screw punch to Zieg¡¯s gut in midair, sending him flying back into the previous collapsed building.

    Zieg lay prone in the rubble, breathing heavily. A small smile formed on his lips before quickly disappearing. That was his plan. He just needed to get enough of his opponent¡¯s blood to access Bloodwhistler¡¯s fastest speeds. The next attack would decide the victor. He slowly picked his battered body back up and looked at the figure standing across from him.

    Ryzel was overflowing with mana. He looked absolutely unbeatable. His power and mana was still rising just standing.

    Zieg was gathering the remainder of his mana into his body, preparing to make one last, fatal attack.

    The two managed to have a silent understanding. Neither could afford to lose. They¡¯d go all-out.

    Their bodies flashed as they reached one another. Zieg, with Bloodwhistler¡¯s ability, was slightly faster than Ryzel. He jumped and made a final swing with Bloodwhistler towards Ryzel¡¯s exposed throat. Zieg planned to quickly decapitate Ryzel to decide the battle.

    Ryzel¡¯s expression became incredibly ugly as time seemed to slow down for just the two of them.

    During that moment of slowed time, the two looked into the other¡¯s eyes.

    Zieg¡¯s intuition and instincts were screaming at him that he was in danger. Why? The phenomenon confused him, but he could no longer react in time and change the course of his swing.

    Ryzel¡¯s ugly expression slowly changed, and what appeared on the corner of his lips was¡­ a smirk.

    The change in expression caused Zieg to widen his eyes.

    All of this happened in an instant.

    Bloodwhistler continued to slash at Ryzel¡¯s throat, until it finally reached his neck. Bloodwhistler touched Ryzel¡¯s neck, and¡­

    It stopped.

    It couldn¡¯t cut into Ryzel¡¯s skin.

    Zieg understood without needing to think.

    Ryzel¡¯s artifact. Ginkumo.

    Invisible threads were wrapped around Ryzel¡¯s neck, using it as a makeshift armor, completely blocking Bloodwhistler¡¯s fatal blow. Zieg wasn¡¯t even able to tell when Ryzel covered his neck with Ginkumo.

    Ryzel slowly reached out with his left arm, opening up his palm into the shape of a grip. Zieg was able to see an illusion of a terrifying claw over Ryzel¡¯s arm. It was too late, Zieg¡¯s body couldn¡¯t keep up with his reaction speed. He wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid it.

    Ryzel¡¯s open palm reached Zieg, completely gripping his head in midair. Zieg¡¯s vision was engulfed in utter darkness.

    ¡°It¡¯s my win, Zieg,¡± Ryzel solemnly said, as he abruptly forced his hand holding Zieg¡¯s head downwards.

    ¡°Worldbreaking technique: Impact Break!¡±

    Zieg was dragged down head-first onto the marble floors. The muscles in Ryzel¡¯s left arm tore and ripped. There was an explosion.

    The ground beneath them was decimated in an instant. Cracking sounds came from Zieg¡¯s skull as he was continuously pushed and crushed through the ground. The entire school sunk into the ground by several inches.

    There was a large crater formed with the two as the center. Ryzel¡¯s left arm broke, and Zieg¡¯s vision dimmed as he directly lost consciousness.

    ¡­

    Zieg awoke to find himself standing in an empty, dark space. There was a large divine door directly in front of him. He quickly became aware that this was his realm of consciousness.

    Zieg grit his teeth together and tightly clenched his fists. His nails dug deeply into his palms. He lost. Even though he sought power for over a decade, he still lost.

    The door called out to him, as if mocking him.

    (I knew you¡¯d be back, ahahah! I knew it, because we¡¯re exactly the same! We both seek it, desire it! Power! Strength! Everything! Now, this time, open me!) the door tempted.

    Zieg moved wordlessly to arrive directly in front of the door, placing his fingers on it and with all his strength, pushed¡­

    ¡­

    Somewhere in the world, a saintly figure in white robes was gazing in the direction of the Grandiel continent. This figure was the leader of Paragon.

    ¡°Another god fragment has awakened,¡± he mused.

 Chapter 19.5 - Acknowledged by Envy

    ¡°GAAAAAAAAAH!¡± Julius writhed in pain on the top of a bed within a small, isolated room. This was the backlash from reconstructing his human body after his transformation into an elemental.

    ¡°Even in death you have the audacity to haunt me, Alistair!¡± he wailed in agony while thrashing his body about.

    The space within the room distorted, and another figure appeared within the room, standing next to the bed while looking down at the pitiable Julius.

    ¡°What do you want, Schwarz?!¡± Julius snapped at him. He clearly wasn¡¯t in the mood for a get-together.

    ¡°I have a proposition for you, Julius,¡± Schwarz¡¯s voice eerily sounded out.

    ¡°Proposition? What could you offer that could possibly interest me?¡± Julius arched his eyebrow in interest.

    ¡°Allow me to experiment on your most promising disciple, and I will rid you of your backlash,¡± Schwarz said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

    Anger filled Julius, and just as he was about to ardently refuse the impudent suggestion, Schwarz placed a hand on the black mask covering his face, slowly removing it.

    Julius¡¯ face changed into one of utter disbelief.

    ¡°You are¡­! I see¡­ So Schwarz was only an alias, hahaha! Who would have thought that the Sovereign of Poison was actually Sieghart the Black Blood!¡± Julius laughed madly at the revelation despite the pain running through his body.

    Julius had seen the face beneath the mask many times in the past. Only, it was a face that could only be seen within records and history books. Sieghart the Black Blood, the founder of the Jaegers, groups of notorious criminal mercenaries that would take on any task for the right price. Their sphere of influence rooted itself deeply within the immortal community, with the ¡°right price¡± for immortals being more than just money. Often known as the natural enemies of the Adventurer¡¯s Association, Jaegers would kill their parents and betray their comrades without batting an eyelid if it benefitted them. It was said that the founder of the notorious Jaegers, Sieghart the Black Blood, had vanished without a trace centuries ago. Why would he appear again in Paragon now of all times?

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    (Why would he reveal his identity to me? Does this have any deeper meaning? Am I overthinking things? There¡¯s more to Paragon than just ¡°exterminating demons.¡± Unity¡­? Ha! A guild member tried to take my life just moments before! It appears that everyone, including the leader and Sieghart, have their own hidden agendas) countless thoughts raced through Julius¡¯ mind in an instant. A guild where its members held the bare minimum of trust for one another.

    Julius¡¯ initial inclination to decline the proposition changed at the revelation of Schwarz¡¯s true identity.

    ¡°Fine. I accept your proposal, Schwarz! You may take them!¡± Julius held no care whatsoever for his disciples, aside from Zieg who was the son of his good friend, they were all little more than disposable pawns to him.

    Neither Schwarz nor Julius knew that their exchange at this time would lead to the creation of an absolute monster, the person to be acknowledged by Caljeal in the future that would threaten to bring Zieg and the world to its knees.

 Chapter 20 - Transcendence

    The shockwave created by Ryzel¡¯s Impact Break sent an unconscious boy rolling across the ground, awakening him.

    ¡°I¡­ was defeated?¡± the boy barely managed to murmur in disbelief.

    The word and mere thought of ¡°defeat¡± never once crossed his mind upon coming to this continent. Others from the school revered him as a genius, and as such, he had grown arrogant, cocky, and complacent. It was only now that he remembered what his clan referred to him as. Trash.

    He was the black sheep within the clan, always overlooked by his genius elder sister. He recalled what others whispered behind his back within the clan, nearly a year ago prior to arriving at Galvane, ¡°He¡¯s already fifteen, but still isn¡¯t an immortal? Haha, how¡¯s trash like him possibly related to his mother and sister?¡±

    Then he was exiled to some nameless mortal continent, recalling the very words his father said, ¡°You are no son of mine. Come back as an immortal, or don¡¯t bother coming back at all!¡±

    ¡°Shit!¡± he pounded his fist on the marble floor.

    He had acquired a legendary artifact through sheer luck. Legendary artifacts would cause uproars wherever they appeared, and with it he thought he could gain the acknowledgement of his clan.

    Perhaps he even had misconceptions of being a main character. He planned on returning to his clan in the upcoming clan gathering held next year with Aegis. With Aegis¡¯ help and prestige, he planned on defeating all the members of his clan that previously scorned him, including his sister. Never would he had thought that before he could even return, he would be defeated so easily with the combined efforts of Hope and Ryzel.

    With lifeless eyes, Cain slammed his forehead directly into the marble, and asked in a muffled voice, ¡°Shit, shit, shit! Tell me¡­ what do I do now, mother?¡± fully aware that he would never receive a reply from the renowned figure that their insignificant planet couldn¡¯t contain.

    ¡­

    A wave of exhaustion washed over Ryzel¡¯s body. He threw up a mouthful of blood, but even then still had a victorious smile plastered across his face. An incredible sense of weakness enveloped him. He had overdrawn his body, and was suffering from the backlash.

    Mana is a form of energy that was constantly cycling across the world, and the body could be considered a conductor, or container of this energy. Naturally, all bodies had limitations to how much mana they could absorb, which could slowly be increased by breakthroughs and meditation, before automatically being released into the atmosphere via aura when people reach their mana capacity. When people forcefully absorb mana into their bodies despite reaching their capacity, they overdraw on mana and suffer backlash corresponding to the degree of it.

    Ryzel, with his broken left arm, could barely remain standing while enduring the backlash when he noticed the completely maimed body of Zieg twitch ever so slightly.

    ¡°Impossible¡­¡± he said in disbelief.

    Gathering his remaining mana into his right arm, Ryzel used what little strength he had left to punch downwards towards the prone Zieg.

    ¡°Impact¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Immediately after opening the divine door, Zieg felt a domineering aura take hold of him. He was suffocating from its mere presence. It felt like the aura was invading his consciousness, trying to erase his very existence.

    He instantly regretted opening the door.

    The pressure the god fragment gave off was unbearable. Zieg felt like his head was splitting open while trying to fend the fragment off from erasing his consciousness with his willpower.

    ¡°I won¡¯t let you absorb my soul!¡± Zieg screamed in defiance to the invader.

    (You won¡¯t let me? You do not have a choice! Without my power you wouldn¡¯t have been given a second life. Everything I desire, be it power, this world, your soul, belongs to me!)

    Zieg¡¯s consciousness was being overwhelmed by the god fragment, slowly being crushed by its pressure. Just as he was about to be completely consumed by the soul fragment, he felt the burden of the pressure lessen by half.

    The god fragment split its consciousness in half. One half was used to contend with Zieg¡¯s consciousness in deciding the dominant soul, while the other was used to control Zieg¡¯s body to deal with the immediate threat happening outside the realm of consciousness.

    ¡­

    ¡°Break!¡±

    Ryzel¡¯s right fist came crashing down towards the already defeated Zieg. Moments before his fist made contact, Zieg¡¯s wounds healed instantaneously while his body rolled across the ground to avoid it.

    Ryzel¡¯s blow formed another miniature crater within the crater, creating a cloud of dust that concealed their visions. His right arm directly broke from the recoil.

    ¡°How¡­ are you still alive?!¡± Ryzel yelled in his astonishment. He couldn¡¯t fathom how Zieg would still be able to move after all the damage he inflicted onto him. Ryzel barely managed to stay standing, with two broken arms hanging uselessly to his sides.

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    When the dust cloud cleared, what entered Ryzel¡¯s view was a Zieg that was no longer himself. Zieg¡¯s eyes shined a bright-red, his body continuously increasing in mana, causing a red aura to form around him.

    Ryzel felt like what he was facing wasn¡¯t a demon, nor a human, but a beast. A beast that acted on instinct, just craving destruction.

    Ryzel was panting heavily, he was still suffering from his backlash while glaring at the beast across from him. His vision was growing blurry, and he felt his consciousness slowly slipping away from him.

    (I gave it everything I had¡­ And in the end I still couldn¡¯t beat him. I couldn¡¯t beat Zieg. Am I going to fall like Zieg did five years ago? Letting our people down like he did? How ironic. In a place like this¡­ Was that all my resolve was worth?) Ryzel thought while having lapses in his consciousness. He was repeatedly fading in and out of consciousness.

    The beast-like Zieg seemed to capitalize on Ryzel¡¯s thoughts. Indentations were made beneath Zieg¡¯s feet as he launched himself towards Ryzel, the speed instantly creating a sonic boom.

    Zieg¡¯s right arm reached out in a grasping motion towards Ryzel¡¯s heart.

    Zieg felt like he was a passenger within his own body. He could see everything that was happening while fighting against the half of the god fragment, but was helpless to control anything.

    Zieg¡¯s right arm directly pierced through Ryzel¡¯s body, revealing Ryzel¡¯s heart through the otherside. His fist clenched, completely crushing the heart within the palm of his hand.

    ¡°NO!¡± Ryzel forcefully yelled out.

    Zieg was blown backward by an unknown force. He was sent crashing into the outskirts of the enormous crater.

    A large, blue pillar of mana completely enveloped Ryzel, much like the time with Julius¡¯ transformation into an elemental.

    ¡°MY RESOLVE ISN¡¯T THAT WEAK! NEVER! NOT TO THE LIKES OF YOU!¡± it seemed like Ryzel was screaming his defiance against Zieg and the very heavens itself.

    Blood was leaking out of Ryzel¡¯s seven orifices, his arms and the hole in his chest were healing and repairing themselves. All of his wounds were gone within an instant.

    Much like Zieg¡¯s resolve to launch Collapsing Dragon at the cost of his life force in his previous life, Ryzel was using his life force, treating it as fuel and burning it away to temporarily and forcefully break into the next realm moments before his death. The realm above immortality. Transcendence. Whatever the outcome of the battle, whether he lived or died, Ryzel would suffer consequences and never be the same again.

    Mana revolved around Ryzel¡¯s body, coalescing and resting on his back and forming four pairs of decrepit wings. Wings formed from mana. At a closer look the wings were like the legs of a spider.

    If Raphael¡¯s four apostles saw this scene they¡¯d all be left speechless. Even if it were only the early stages of it, an immortal from some random backwater planet actually reached the same tier of power as them. The Transcendent Realm. The first step into divinity. Those who reached this realm of power possessed bodies that automatically regenerated themselves, and could survive as long as their souls were intact. All those within the transcendent realm were able to use the ability of soul empowerment, using the power of their souls to reinforce the strength of their physical body.

    Those who reached the transcendent realm from their planet were talked of as legends among immortals. Their power could no longer be measured, and were simply labeled as Rank X for unknown. They were rumored to be among the previous victors of the Heaven Arena, entered the dimension of the Celestial Realm, or those who had long left the planet for others in search of greater heights.

    Snow Witch Himea, Zura the Conqueror, Thousand-eyes Moriarty, Gideon the Paragon, and many more. Legendary figures of the transcendent realm who originated from their planet that were said to possess enough power to influence the fate of the world.

    The area around Ryzel seemed to be drowned in mana, making the gravity several times heavier within his vicinity.

    ¡°I WILL DIE BEFORE LOSING TO YOU, ZIEG!¡± at this moment, every living being on the planet heard Ryzel¡¯s thunderous roar.

    Next arc spoilers:

    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>To the immortal continent, Aegis reclamation arc

    The main characters of this arc will be Cain, Daria, Zieg, and Alcantis and their trip to Cain''s clan in the immortal continent

 Chapter 20.5 - Protector

    Zieg was feeling an overwhelming sense of helplessness. The demon god¡¯s fragment was continuously cornering his meager resistance, until only a speck of his willpower remained.

    (How easy would it be if I just gave up) he thought. When the thought crossed his mind, he felt an indescribable urge to possess everything. To take what he wanted, to erase what he didn¡¯t, a feeling of pure greed. He was on the border of despair, almost unable to no longer resist the temptation. The promise of power, and everything it entitled. It was what he sought for his entire life, but was still unable to achieve after losing to Ryzel, and now it was sitting right in front of him. It would be so easy to take it, but he knew that if he did he would no longer be himself. He could barely endure the agonizing corruption of his soul, with no means to fight back against it.

    Zieg¡¯s mind began growing numb, and he recalled a memory from nearly a decade ago, back when he was still wandering the North in his past life.

    ...

    Seated around a small fire in the night of the wastelands of the North were two people, an immortal and a young boy. Both wore tattered clothing, one appearing to be a veteran of many battles, covered in the scars of war, the other a young boy with a cold look in his eyes. They were both vagabonds, wanderers with no homes after being pushed out of the center of the continent.

    The boy may have never admitted it, but the man covered in scars was almost like the father-figure that was deprived from him, a man that the boy would consider to be his mentor.

    ¡°Tell me, Zieg, what is it that you hope to achieve?¡± the veteran asked.

    ¡°Revenge,¡± the boy coldly responded with a single word. That single word contained all of his desires, hatred, and feelings within it.

    The veteran felt incredibly despondent upon hearing his reply. He shook his head, feeling grief and pity for the boy. He had seen many of his type before. The only thing that awaited them at the end of their goals was a feeling of emptiness.

    ¡°I¡¯ll kill them all, every single one. Until none are left,¡± the boy continued.

    ¡°I see. I won¡¯t try to change your thoughts, but you¡¯ll need sufficient strength and will for whatever your goals are. Words are empty, in these times of chaos the only thing people will listen to is power,¡± the veteran sighed.

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    ¡°But you must remember: never, ever let your desire for power consume you. You must stand firm and stay true to your beliefs lest you lose yourself in the process,¡± the veteran advised.

    Though the two had different goals, what they both had in common was their desire for power. Only with power would they ever hope to achieve what they strived for.

    ¡°And as for me, I hope to be a protector of our race. No matter what sacrifices need to be made, our people need someone to look up to. Someone to protect them from harm and pave a way for the future. A figure that makes them feel safe and give them hope to prevent further suffering,¡± the veteran spoke proudly, clearly conveying his convictions to the young boy. The smile on the face of the veteran at this moment was so brilliant, so blinding that it was deeply implanted into Zieg¡¯s memories.

    The atmosphere continued in silence as both figures gazed into the flames of the fire.

    The words the veteran spoke greatly stirred Zieg¡¯s emotions, sending him into a deep reverie of contemplative thoughts.

    Somewhere along the way, a few years into the future, this very conversation would lead him to slightly alter his goals, inspiring Zieg to become who he had become. The Demon King.

    ¡­

    Within his realm of consciousness, a slight smile emerged on the face of the Zieg drowning in darkness, and he asked to no one in particular in his reminiscence, ¡°Where are you now, Gyro?¡±

    The fond memory invigorated Zieg, and he felt a burst of willpower coming back to him.

    (You were right. I won¡¯t let it consume me) he thought, and willed himself to push the half of the demon god¡¯s fragment back.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be the one to consume you,¡± a villainous grin spread across Zieg¡¯s face.

    Huge spoiler for the next arc:

    <b>Spoiler</b> : <input type=''button'' value=''Show'' class=''spoilerButton''>Zieg''s mentor Gyro, now the leader of a Jaeger group and infamous as Artifact Hunter Gyro will be the primary antagonist for the Aegis reclamation arc

 Chapter 21 - Path to Peace

    Zieg was blown away by Ryzel¡¯s breakthrough, sent crashing into the edges of the crater resulting in another pit forming.

    The damage the crash caused created a moment of opportunity for Zieg, there was a slight lapse with the fragment of the demon god¡¯s soul¡¯s connection with his body and he fought back for control over his body. His renewed resolve amplified his willpower by many times and this time he was the one that was absorbing the soul of the god fragment. It was slight, almost miniscule, but Zieg could sense fear coming from the god fragment. Its existence was slowly being erased and assimilated into Zieg¡¯s soul.

    (You WILL regret this!) the fragment shouted into his mind, conceding control over his body and retreating back into his realm of consciousness.

    Zieg successfully regained back control over his body, albeit somewhat tainted by absorbing a portion of the god fragment¡¯s power. He was overflowing with a red-colored mana, much more destructive and uncontrolled than what his body was capable of handling. His skin turned red and his veins bulged, as if his body would burst due to its sheer power at a moment¡¯s notice. He intuitively knew that this power was extremely dangerous and unstable, and that he couldn¡¯t yet utilize it to its fullest potential.

    Across from him near the center of the crater Ryzel wasn¡¯t faring much better. Ryzel was bleeding from his seven orifices, looking up into the sky and screaming in agony with veins bulging as well. It also looked like the limits of his body couldn¡¯t handle the power of his breakthrough into the transcendent realm.

    Although the power of a demigod was much higher than that of a being in the transcendent realm, it was unknown whether a small absorbed fraction of a demigod¡¯s power was enough to contend with them.

    The two took off into the air at the same time, and collided with each other in an instant. Red mana mixed with blue, forming a purple aurora over the horizon.

    The force behind the pair¡¯s blows were so destructive that the resultant air force blew apart buildings, reducing them to rubble. All the other participants in the war felt like they were ants, feeling like they were caught within a hurricane and were helplessly propelled back miles away. Even ordinary immortals would be helpless to change the outcome in a battle of this scale.

    Their exchange of blows in midair shattered and broke one another¡¯s bones, destroyed one another¡¯s organs, only to be regenerated and repaired and broken repeatedly in a vicious cycle.

    Their bodies were on the precipice of bursting open completely, causing an explosion of mana that would decimate the entire continent.

    Zieg and Ryzel were utterly relentless, neither yielding an advantage to the other.

    At this point Galvane was nearly entirely destroyed, save for the one building that held the headmaster¡¯s office.

    To go so far as to burn away his own life force, Ryzel¡¯s resolve was clearly conveyed to Zieg. This was because he thought he was strangely relatable to Ryzel. It was like he was looking back at his past self, only now his goals had changed. Zieg had also done the same and unhesitantly burnt away his life force in his previous life in his efforts to completely massacre humans, but this is also where Ryzel held the disadvantage. Ryzel was continuously using up his life force to maintain his temporary breakthrough into the transcendent realm whereas Zieg wasn¡¯t using up his life force whatsoever, and was instead drawing upon the power of the demon god¡¯s fragment he had absorbed.

    Although Ryzel held a disadvantage in constantly trying to maintain his form, his movements weren¡¯t affected in the slightest and he held his ground against Zieg, always inflicting back the damage he took.

    A kick dislocated a neck, only to be found back in its original position. A punch shattered a jaw, only to be healed within an instant. Their trade of blows ravaged Galvane in its entirety.

    Corpses and rubble littered the ground and surrounded the two within a ring.

    After an indeterminate amount of time passed by, the two separated from one another and slowly floated back onto the demolished ground while panting heavily.

    Zieg and Ryzel¡¯s bodies looked undamaged, completely pristine from the constant healing, but the actual toll on their bodies were tremendous.

    Zieg¡¯s body staggered, he could no longer remain standing and collapsed directly onto the ground, barely conscious. Despite that, his body was still continuously absorbing the mana from the atmosphere and was on the verge of exploding from being unable to contain it all.

    Ryzel was still bleeding from his seven orifices. He vomited mouthfuls of blood, staining the ground around him in it. Yet he still stood tall.

    Ryzel¡¯s lips curved upwards into a smile while staring at the collapsed Zieg. Zieg strained his neck to stare him back in the eye while lying motionless on the ground.

    Somehow, this smile of Ryzel¡¯s differed from his previous devious and arrogant smirks. It held no hatred or disdain within it. This smile contained a hint of respect and various other emotions.

    Inexplicable emotions.

    Among which were respect, defeat, resignation, acceptance, and many other emotions.

    Ryzel could no longer maintain his stay in the transcendent realm. He had nearly exhausted all of his life force. The four pairs of wings formed of mana on his back began to slowly fade away.

    As his wings were fading away, Ryzel spoke loudly in a stern and haunting voice,

    ¡°Zieg, I¡¯ll hold you to the path you chose for peace¡­ If you let us down again, I will never forgive you¡­¡±

    Ryzel¡¯s eyes slowly closed while staring directly into Zieg¡¯s eyes, and¡­

    He collapsed.

    Strange emotions welled up within Zieg as he gazed upon Ryzel¡¯s downed body. His gaze too contained respect, and regret. Regret for having lost such a determined man that held onto his beliefs unwaveringly until the end.

    Zieg felt like the demon god¡¯s power within him was growing out of control. Soon he would no longer able to keep it restrained from engulfing the continent.

    ¡­

    Inside the headmaster¡¯s office in Galvane¡¯s only remaining building, and elderly man was sipping tea from a teacup with his pinky-finger raised. He sighed exaggeratedly, ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to overexert myself for the first time in ninety years,¡± and teleported out.

    ¡­

    Chase appeared in front of the collapsed Zieg.

    ¡°Look at the mess you made, who do you think has to clean this shit up?¡± Chase chastised the barely conscious Zieg.

    Zieg strained his neck to look up at Chase, and his face contorted into a weird expression. It was as if the expression said, ¡®What the fuck is this imbecile saying?¡¯

    ¡°Oh well, I can¡¯t have you exploding. Although I usually wouldn¡¯t get involved, consider it a favor to another possessor of a demon god¡¯s fragment. I don¡¯t want this continent destroyed yet,¡± Chase sighed once more. Then, he activated Sloth¡¯s ability.

    What happens when one reaches their maximum mana capacity? They could either overdraw and suffer from backlash later, or the mana that their body automatically absorbs from their surroundings gets cycled back and diffused into the atmosphere. So what of Chase who had never overdrawn or released mana back into the atmosphere for ninety years?

    This was the special ability he had gained after being consumed by Sloth. Chase had no limitations. His soul contained an endless space, and he was constantly accumulating mana like a generator. The more he did nothing and lazed about, the more powerful he became. For ninety years he had never gotten into a serious battle or seriously utilized his mana.

    So how powerful was the Legendary Astral Mage Chase who was partially a demigod?

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Five thousand times. The current him had five thousand times the aggregate mana available at his disposal than an ordinary immortal.

    ¡°I¡¯ll put this favor on your tab,¡± Chase said, while bringing both his hands up into the air, channeling absurd amounts of mana into them, and ripping apart space itself.

    He had created a rift in dimensions with his bare hands.

    He walked over to the prone Zieg, picked him up, and threw him directly into the rift in space.

    ¡°I¡¯ll come pick you up when you¡¯ve stabilized~¡± Chase shouted after him while skipping away merrily.

    ¡­

    A year passed by within the blink of an eye.

    Galvane was easily rebuilt, this time even more grandly by Chase.

    After spending some time stabilizing his body within the dimensional rift, Zieg discussed the affairs of the continent with Chase.

    Through various talks and the backing of Chase, Zieg had managed to draw the nations and powers of the continent into an armistice agreement and peace treaty. Hostilities were ceased between various races, and demons were allowed to return to other parts of the continent.

    Some demons have even ended up enrolling into Galvane.

    Although discrimination between races was still prominent and could occasionally be seen, the overall situation was much better than the years before it. Tensions eased, and the situation only grew better with time. Demons were successfully assimilating back into other parts of the continent.

    People were exhausted. They had grown tired of all the years of constant warring. There were times when other races questioned why they were even fighting in the first place. This made the process proceed much more smoothly.

    Over the span of the year, Zieg was slowly absorbing and consolidating a part of the demon god¡¯s soul. The larger portion of which remained hiding within his realm of consciousness. He was able to faintly perceive the other possessors of the awakened fragments, and learned information from the bits of the fragment¡¯s memories, including information about Raphael and the Heaven Arena.

    Through these pieces of information, Zieg was beginning to suspect a few things.

    (Nine years from now the next Heaven Arena governed by the god Raphael will open, nine years from now is also the appointed time Julius made to invite me into Paragon, this connection¡­ Is Paragon participating in the Heaven Arena?) he thought while walking aimlessly across the school. He had almost gotten used to the girl who was stalking and peering at him from afar.

    Zieg¡¯s thoughts were disrupted by loud voices and laughter in front of him.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you used to be number 1, you won¡¯t even fight back! Hahaha!¡± a large male laughed while kicking a figure lying on the ground. A crowd surrounded the scene in a ring.

    ¡°It¡¯s no fun when he won¡¯t even react, whatever, let¡¯s go,¡± the large man said while leaving, bringing the crowd of students along with him.

    The surviving students from the invasion from a year ago were much more powerful compared to before, a few even managing to reach immortality during the year. The assault on Galvane was akin to a trial by fire.

    After the crowd dispersed, Zieg saw the figure that was being kicked.

    The boy was lying flat on his back, staring at the sky with lifeless eyes. He had white windswept hair with cold features, and Zieg recognized this person as someone who used to possess an exceedingly arrogant disposition. This was the boy Zieg called Frosty.

    A girl with blonde hair and pointed ears came running towards the unmoving on the ground boy.

    ¡°Cain, are you okay?!¡± Daria kneeled on the floor next to him and asked worriedly.

    Cain barely acknowledged the girl, only briefly moving his line of sight to meet her before bringing it back towards the sky. This was how he behaved ever since the demon invasion.

    Looking at the pitiful scene, Zieg shook his head in disappointment. It was clear to him that Cain had lost his motivation and drive after suffering a shocking defeat from him and Ryzel.

    The more people view themselves a genius, the more of an impact they suffer when proven they aren¡¯t, or when experiencing their first defeat.

    (This is something that he needs to come to terms with himself. He needs to understand that most of the times, in a battle, victory or defeat holds little meaning. What¡¯s most important is that you survive, having another opportunity to return to take back your losses and have the last laugh in the end) Zieg thought to himself.

    In his past life wandering the wilderness, there were many times when he had been forced to flee and suffered defeats in battle, but he had always survived them to return stronger than before until his encounter with Volheilm.

    Zieg brushed his thoughts aside, thinking it was too much of a pity, and approached Cain.

    ¡°What happened to you, Frosty?¡± Zieg asked while looking down on him, casting a shadow over his face.

    Cain just lifelessly directed his eyes towards Zieg, not speaking at all.

    Zieg shook his head and said, ¡°You used to be someone who was capable of giving me a challenge, but now look at you. You¡¯re pathetic. The you right now isn¡¯t even worthy of being my opponent. Is that all you¡¯re worth? You¡¯re wasting away.¡±

    Cain smiled bitterly. He knew that this was Zieg¡¯s way of trying to change his attitude. He was being consoled by someone he had considered an enemy. Cain thought to himself, (Hope¡¯s right. I¡¯m pathetic. What am I doing? I¡¯m strong. I even managed to acquire a legendary artifact that my clan was incapable of acquiring with their resources. My clan! The clan gathering!)

    Cain was shocked back into awareness when he recalled his clan gathering. It was arriving soon. Too soon. And what was he doing? Gazing at the sky lifelessly. He picked himself up off the ground and stood tall, dusting off his clothes and stretching his muscles.

    ¡°Shut up, I don¡¯t need pity from you,¡± Cain replied coldly while staring straight at Zieg.

    Daria was shocked, this was the first time he reacted that much to anything ever since his battle with Zieg and Ryzel, (He¡¯s back) she thought happily.

    ¡°That¡¯s the Frosty I knew,¡± Zieg nodded.

    Cain felt a spontaneous urge, and chose to act on it.

    ¡°My name is Cain Weiss, not Frosty, Hope. My Weiss clan gathering is coming up soon in the Weiss Highlands of the immortal continent. Do you three want to come along?¡± Cain said with a frown. He looked at the shadow of a building, which hid Alcantis, turned his head to coldly stare at Zieg, then finally turned to look at Daria. Daria was one of the few that managed to become an immortal after the invasion.

    When Cain¡¯s sight landed on her, his face filled with warmth, and he made a gentle smile. Perhaps the first genuine smile he had ever made in his life. After his defeat and despair, the ones who followed and praised him as a genius all left him, some even among the ones from before mocking him. She was the only one who stuck with him up until now, and only now had he realized this.

    Looking at Cain¡¯s smile, Daria felt her face heat up, and she fidgeted on the spot.

    (This is an opportunity for me) Zieg thought. Ever since his battle with Ryzel, he felt like he hadn¡¯t made any progress in his cultivation. He was¡­ stagnating. He knew that although he may be one of the strongest few on the Grandiel continent, he was an insignificant existence compared to some of the peak experts in other parts of the world, especially in a place dubbed an, ¡®immortal continent.¡¯

    ¡°Then, shall we go?¡± Zieg asked.

 Chapter 22 - Weiss Clan Disaster

    ¡°You want a leave of absence to visit the immortal continent Tiandiyu? Do you really need to bother me for every little thing?! What the hell do I look like? Your grand daddy?! At least bring me presents when you come to my office! Do whatever the hell you want, come back before curfew, yada yada. Now piss off, and don¡¯t come back unless you have lollipops on you!¡±

    The four students looked at their headmaster, stunned. Miraculously, all four were thinking along the same lines of, ¡®Why did we even bother coming to tell him?¡¯

    Cain took a stealthy glance at Zieg. Why he asked them to come along, even he didn¡¯t know. Maybe it was a matter of pride. To take back his pride from the clan, then from Zieg. After handling his affairs with his clan, he planned on asking Zieg for a proper duel this time.

    The quartet quickly left Galvane in the morning, taking to the skies and leaving the mortal continent Grandiel. They followed after Cain¡¯s lead to Tiandiyu, the immortal continent.

    ¡°It¡¯s my first time out of Grandiel, this is pretty exciting, like we¡¯re going on an adventure!¡± Daria chattered on endlessly.

    Cain made a wry smile while the other two nodded in agreement. Other than Cain, none of them had ever been outside of the mortal continent Grandiel.

    Along their journey they encountered several other immortals flying to and fro, sometimes seeing individuals and other times groups flying at a distance away from them. These encounters became increasingly common the closer they got to the Tiandiyu continent. The sheer number of immortals caused Zieg to be speechless. They must have encountered immortals that numbered in the tens by the time the Tiandiyu continent entered their sights.

    ¡°On the Southern border of the Tiandiyu continent are the Weiss Highlands, the territory that my clan controls,¡± Cain informed the others as they flew along the edges of the gigantic immortal continent.

    By the time it was noon the group finally arrived at the Weiss Highlands, a mountainous region entirely blanketed by snow. Regardless of the season, the Weiss Highlands was in perpetual snow. Some believe the phenomenon is due to some unknown aspect of nature, others believe that it was due to an ability cast by a transcendent realm expert spoken about in legends. No matter the reason, it was a territory that was highly suited to the distinguished Weiss Clan of immortals, and the Weiss Highlands were tacitly acknowledged to be the clan¡¯s territory all across the Tiandiyu continent.

    In the center of the Weiss Highlands was a large mountain chain with a large gate surrounding it at the foot of the mountains. This was where the clan resided.

    ¡°Even immortals would find it difficult to endure this cold,¡± Zieg murmured.

    Cain and his other clan members had long gotten used to the environment. In fact, due to the high altitude and harsh conditions of the Weiss Highlands, all members of their clans possessed bodies with tough constitutions with high adaptability to their surroundings.

    They followed Cain¡¯s lead, landing on the grounds of the highlands and began walking towards the gate situated at the foot of the large mountain chain. The gate was considered a formality, and anyone who violated them were considered enemies to the clan, even its own members.

    They quickly walked up the trail leading to the gate, seeing two gate guards, one female and male, standing on each side of it holding spears. They wore white mantles from beasts¡¯ fur.

    Zieg spread out his senses, and determined that both guards were around the power of rank A, considerably high for the standards of the mortal continent, but merely considered average in the Tiandiyu continent.

    ¡°I¡¯ve returned for the clan gathering,¡± Cain announced loudly to the guards.

    The two guards looked at the group, Cain in particular, with clear disdain on their faces.

    ¡°Cain? The trash? Weren¡¯t you exiled? Garbage like you aren¡¯t welcome here,¡± the male guard scoffed at him.

    Cain slowly walked up to the male guard, raised his hand, and slapped him across the face with the back of his hand.

    How could the power of a rank A be compared to that of an immortals? The male guard was instantly sent flying, crashing into the gate. His neck twisted, dislocating his head from his spine. He was disabled and paralyzed within an instant.

    ¡°Know your place. I may be considered trash within the clan, but I still hold a higher position than a mere guard,¡± Cain said coolly while looking at the crippled body of the guard.

    ¡°DEAR!¡± the female guard shouted at the sudden turn of events.

    Her eyes glowered, and she charged at Cain with her spear, ¡°I¡¯LL KILL YOU!¡± she screamed at the top of her lungs.

    Countless arrows of ice appeared behind Cain in an instant.

    Zieg was about to shake his head at Cain¡¯s impulsiveness, when a loud shout made everyone pause on the spot.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± there was a swirl of snow between the guard and Cain, stopping them both in their tracks.

    Within the swirl of snow appeared a burly-looking man, faintly resembling Cain with his snow white hair and blue eyes.

    ¡°Jugo,¡± Cain muttered with clear disregard to him. Jugo was his father and head of the Weiss Clan. To Cain, his clan was almost like strangers to him. The only thing they took into account was the good of the clan, if you had a good aptitude they would treat you like a lord, but if you had a bad one they would treat you worse than trash. It was clear which end of the spectrum Cain was received as. He didn¡¯t take any of his family into consideration aside from his mother, opting to call them directly by their names instead.

    ¡°Cain, what are you doing back here?¡± Jugo asked his own son in a tone of voice that was laced in disgust.

    ¡°I¡¯ve become an immortal, and I¡¯m back for the clan gathering,¡± Cain wasted no pleasantries with his father and went straight to the point.

    ¡°I see, then hurry up, the competition to decide the positions of the younger generation is about to start,¡± Jugo said with a sigh of relief.

    His relief didn¡¯t come from the fact that his son had successfully become an immortal to safely return back to the clan, it stemmed from the fact that his son had successfully become an immortal so he would no longer be humiliated by his association with Cain whom was considered trash.

    The group followed Jugo up the trail leading to the mountain chain.

    As they walked up the mountain trail, the entire time, a pair of venomous eyes followed Cain up the path, never leaving him from a second. These eyes came from the female guard that stood silently at the gate.

    Unbeknownst to the Weiss Clan at the time, the actions of Cain at the gate would provoke a disaster that would put them in the crosshairs of countless immortals of the Tiandiyu continent.

    ¡­

    Almost the entire Weiss Clan was crammed together in a large cave within one of the mountains, at the center of which was a lowered platform used as an arena. The cave was filled with the clan members and guards of the Weiss Clan, together with Cain¡¯s three tag-alongs. Their presence clearly stood out and provoked interest within the clan.

    All members of the Weiss Clan possessed almost sickly, pale skin, as if they had never seen the light of day, together with white hair and blue eyes. The cave was full of commotions of conversations and banter, the clan members were clearly impatient to start the competition to decide the positions of the younger generation within the clan.

    The number of both the elderly, older, and younger generations hovered within the tens each, giving the clan a total fighting force of a little around one-hundred immortals altogether.

    Zieg was somewhat astonished to see some teenagers that were already immortals. Although Zieg managed to reach immortality at five, that was only because he had prior experience from his past life, otherwise it¡¯d be difficult for him to contend with their talent.

    Amidst all the commotion, Cain raised his voice, ¡°Let¡¯s begin already, I¡¯m tired of waiting.¡±

    The instant his voice echoed out within the cave, the entire cave fell silent. Countless gazes were attracted by the source of the voice and landed upon Cain, and the trio nearby him.

    The silence only lasted a moment before laughter, ridicule, jeers, and talks flooded the cave.

    ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that the trash?¡±

    ¡°It is, it¡¯s actually Cain, I can¡¯t believe he actually had the balls to show up.¡±

    ¡°Remember how he fared the last tournament two years ago? Hahaha!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s quickly begin the tournament, we can¡¯t keep his majesty Cain waiting.¡±

    Countless similar comments from the younger generation clansmen rang out.

    Standing on an elevated platform were a group of clan elders and Jugo, with a beautiful young girl standing by his side. The girl had her long, white hair tied into a ponytail, and her features were strikingly similar to Cain¡¯s. Even their cold expressions looked alike. This was Cain¡¯s older sister, who was considered a genius within the clan, Seria. Even though she was of the younger generation, she was standing among the people with high status within the clan, as if it were natural.

    The elder generation didn¡¯t even mind her presence there, and not one of the younger generation members raised a word of complaint, it was as if they had already decided that the victor of the competition would be her in their minds.

    Seria coldly looked at Cain who was barraged with slurs below.

    Despite all the mocking, Cain wordlessly flicked his wrist, an elegant shield appearing on his left arm. He had reached into his interspatial ring and retrieved Aegis from within.

    Once more, the cave was stunned into silence.

    The shield was clearly an artifact, one whose grade was substantially high. Even an idiot would be able to tell how precious the shield was.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°That shield...!¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen that shield in a book before¡­¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a legendary artifact¡­?¡±

    ¡°AEGIS!¡±

    ¡°Is it Aegis?!¡±

    ¡°How did that trash get his hands on the legendary shield Aegis?!¡±

    The cave immediately erupted into pandemonium. Legendary artifacts were objects that nearly all immortals sought to have, but would never have an opportunity to possess in their lifetimes. Some immortals even considered it a stroke of luck to see a legendary artifact in person.

    Looks of disbelief were directed towards Cain, and the shield equipped to his left arm. Even the elderly generation situated on the elevated platform were gawking at Aegis with their mouths wide-open. With the Tiandiyu continent filled with countless immortals, and a notable scarcity of legendary artifacts, how could they not be conflicted with a myriad of emotions upon seeing one in the hands of someone they considered to be trash?

    Never would the immortals of the Tiandiyu continent have thought that the legendary artifact shield Aegis was found in a nameless mortal continent. They wouldn¡¯t even have considered the possibility to search for legendary artifacts there, even if they did, it would be the equivalent of trying to find a needle in a haystack.

    Jugo as well as his daughter Seria were noticeably shocked at the sight of Aegis.

    Jugo¡¯s mind was sent racing, he almost thought that he was within a dream. His useless son had actually brought back a legendary artifact?! He coughed to clear his throat and compose himself. His cough had somewhat brought the clansmen back to reality.

    ¡°My son, you have done a meritorious deed for our clan by acquiring Aegis for us,¡± Jugo announced loudly, with no hint of shame.

    ¡°What do you mean OUR clan? Have you forgotten that I was exiled? I am not a member of this clan, nor did I acquire Aegis for the sake of it,¡± Cain scoffed at his father Jugo.

    ¡°Exile? I have exiled you for the betterment of your growth! My thoughts were filled with concern for you all this while, my son. Of course, you¡¯re free to rejoin the clan at any time you wish!¡± Jugo said with a smile plastered across his face.

    ¡°I will not rejoin the clan, nor will I hand over Aegis. I have returned for the clan gathering for one reason and one reason only, and that is to wash away my disgrace in the clan competition,¡± Cain said obstinately.

    As soon as Cain finished speaking, the looks of shock directed at him turned into hostile glares. The eyes of the elder generation on the elevated platform were filled with malicious intent and greed. Jugo¡¯s smiling expression contorted, and an incredibly ugly expression adorned his face. Seria impassively looked at her younger brother as coolly as usual, as if the situation had nothing to do with her.

    ¡°Will you really not hand over Aegis, Cain?¡± Jugo¡¯s voice was several timbres lower, laced in clear hostility coupled together with his ugly expression making him seem like a devil.

    The group of four were entrapped in a cave, surrounded by all sides by a clan of immortals numbering in the hundreds, clearly hostile to them. It seemed like they would all pounce on them for Aegis at a moment¡¯s notice. The cave was overflowing with tension.

    Daria began trembling in fear, and Alcantis was dazedly watching Zieg.

    Zieg whispered to Cain in a lowered voice, ¡°What have you dragged us into?¡±

    Cain made a wry smile at the remark, but this stand of pride was something he had to do for himself.

    Zieg shook his head and shrugged in resignation, whispering, ¡°I¡¯ll take the younger generation together with the girls, you can take the elders since you started this mess. If we¡¯re lucky, we can escape alive.¡±

    Hearing those words, Cain wore a serious expression.

    ¡°Do you really want to fight for Aegis, Jugo? I promise you, we¡¯ll be able to take at least half of the clan down with us,¡± Cain said coldly. He was confident of his own prowess, even moreso that of Zieg¡¯s since he had personally witnessed him defeat the Demon King Ryzel.

    Despite having gotten used to and having lived in the cold all his life, Jugo felt a shiver run down his spine at Cain¡¯s threat. He was unaware of Cain¡¯s power after their two year separation, could it be that his trash of a son had gotten stronger than he could cope with? To be able to have acquired a legendary artifact, surely his son must have some cards up his sleeve. Jugo began second-guessing himself. He was also unaware of the three immortals¡¯ power that his son brought along with him. Taking all of those things into account, Cain¡¯s threat possessed some deterring power to it.

    The clan elders looked to the clan head, Jugo, for his final judgment. Jugo was clearly hesitating, unsure of what decision to take.

    Right when the tension reached its peak, a laughter like that of the sound of bells sounded out within the cave. The laughter came from the beautiful young girl standing next to Jugo. Cain¡¯s older sister, Seria. She had stood there, unphased all along despite the growing tensions, and had broken it with the sound of her laughter.

    In truth, she had found the entire situation amusing. It looked like her younger brother had grown since his time away from the clan.

    ¡°I have a proposal,¡± Seria said, bringing the attention of the entire cave towards her.

    ¡°Cain, put Aegis up for ante. The winner of the clan tournament will receive Aegis as the prize,¡± she said.

    The clan leader, Jugo, quickly agreed with the suggestion, clearly showing favoritism and confidence towards his genius of a daughter.

    ¡°Aegis is mine to begin with, what¡¯s in it for me?¡± Cain asked.

    ¡°Your reason for coming back here. Your dignity,¡± Seria confidently replied.

    That was all the answer Cain needed.

    ¡°Then I accept,¡± Cain answered coolly.

    A devious grin appeared on Seria¡¯s face at the answer. Jugo and the clan elders next to her nodded approvingly. As far as they were concerned, because of this arrangement, Aegis already belonged to them.

    ¡°My son, hand me Aegis for safekeeping. The tournament will be delayed until tomorrow for the younger generation to prepare themselves due to the changes,¡± Jugo demanded.

    Cain looked at his father in disgust, unequipped his shield, and violently threw Aegis towards his father on the raised platform.

    The legendary artifact Aegis spun and rotated at a frightening velocity towards Jugo.

    Jugo raised a hand up and caught the spinning Aegis in midair. The force behind the throw snapped his wrist, spraining it.

    Jugo shot one final glare at his son Cain before turning around and walking away, saying to the clan elders beside them, ¡°Arrange a place for them to stay for the night,¡± without looking back.

    ¡­

    Jugo placed a gag-order on the legendary artifact Aegis appearing within the clan, quickly containing the potential spread of information leaks. If the news of a legendary artifact appearing within their clan spread, it would definitely invite a disaster to their clan.

    A lone female guard stood at the gate of the clan, looking up at the mountain chain in absolute hatred.

    The female guard thought to herself as she took one last look at it, (How many years have I faithfully served this clan?! And how do they repay me? By having trash cripple my husband! I will return this debt tenfold!)

    The guard stealthily snuck away from the Weiss Highlands.

    That same night, the news of the Weiss Clan possessing the legendary artifact shield Aegis spread across the immortal continent of Tiandiyu like wildfire.

    Countless immortals in the Tiandiyu continent eyed the Weiss Highlands like a predator stalking prey.

    ¡­

    Within one of their many hideouts on the Tiandiyu continent, an infamous Jaeger group of four immortals were idly lounging about. Jaegers, criminal mercenaries that would betray and kill their comrades, massacre, steal, and do anything if they benefitted from it.

    Of the four immortals, one was doing maintenance on their weapons, one was playing darts, another was looking at their nails, and the last was seated at a table, looking at a map of the Tiandiyu continent pinned on the wall across the room.

    On closer inspection, the female immortal wasn¡¯t looking at her nails, but at the clawed gauntlets equipped to her hands. She initiated conversation with the seated immortal, ¡°I¡¯ve confirmed from several reliable sources that the Weiss Clan are in possession of the legendary artifact shield, Aegis. Aren¡¯t high-grade artifacts what you¡¯re after?¡±

    The seated male immortal was a demon. His skin was an abnormal pale-lilac color, but his body was covered in countless scars, proof of his experience in battle. Two horns protruded perpendicularly from the sides of his head, with one of them cracked in half.

    The female immortal continued to ask the seated demon, ¡°Should we go and take it, Gyro?¡±

    Gyro. Zieg¡¯s former mentor and father-figure in his past life. The leader of the infamous Jaeger group Sphinx. Others from the Tiandiyu continent call him the Artifact Hunter Gyro, and some immortals flee at the first mention of his name. The seated demon no longer resembled the radiant, kind-hearted vagabond in Zieg¡¯s memories. The aura he now emanated was that of tempered ruthlessness. An experienced Jaeger that wouldn¡¯t spare a thought at killing.

    Still looking at the map of the Tiandiyu continent from across the room, Gyro¡¯s hand flashed, and a knife quickly landed on the Southern border of the continent. The place the knife landed on was at the Weiss Highlands.

    The sound of the knife burrowing into the wall attracted the attention of the other two immortals within the room. Now, all three immortals were gazing at Gyro.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Gyro replied while standing up.

 Chapter 23 - Sphinx

    At night, Cain was unable to sleep in the room he was given. Although this was supposed to be his family and home, he felt uncomfortable with their presence.

    Lost in thought, he pondered the actions of his mother. A renowned figure, the Snow Witch Himea Weiss. She was one of the peak existences of their world, a being in the transcendent realm, but had suddenly decided to leave. After casting a spell of eternal snow on the Southern mountainous regions of the Tiandiyu continent for their clan, she had left their planet nearly a decade ago and had ascended to the Celestial realm, a dimension for divine beings. The unceasing falling snow had caused a disturbance on the immortal continent and the region was soon named the Weiss Highlands after the famed Snow Witch.

    (Why did you leave?) Cain pondered over this question tirelessly, unable to come up with the answer.

    ¡­

    Floating in the night sky of the Weiss Highlands were immortals that numbered in the fifties. Among them were individual, rogue immortals and groups of immortals that came from other powers in the continent.

    They hovered in the air silently, peering at the mountain chain while secretly spreading out their immortal senses to cautiously check other¡¯s movements. The immortals all had the same line of thought, none of them were willing to make the first move. The first ones to attack would undoubtedly receive the brunt of the Weiss Clan¡¯s retaliation, and they all wanted to be the fisherman in the scramble for Aegis. They wanted others to fight and exhaust themselves over the legendary artifact first before swooping in and claiming it for themselves in the end. As such, it became a strange situation where they all eyed the mountain chain of the Weiss Clan while waiting for someone to be the first one to attack.

    This situation continued for an indeterminate amount of time until a new immortal arrived at the scene to join those hovering in the air. The newcomer was an adorable little girl with wavy long blue hair, wearing a yellow sundress. She disrupted the silence with a loud voice, shouting, ¡°Nyahaha! Sphinx has arrived!¡±

    Confusion showed on the faces of the surrounding immortals with only a few understanding the meaning behind her words. The more knowledgeable of them instantly made the connection with the infamous Jaeger group and what it represented. The Artifact Hunter Gyro would be coming.

    A few rogue immortals instantly made a decision on the spot. This was out of their league. Their lives were more important than vying for a legendary artifact that Gyro set his sights on. The few immortals quickly made to flee, but something unexpected happened before they could get very far.

    The little girl who shouted transformed into a large blue serpent. She turned out to be an immortal beast. The serpent launched itself towards the mountain chain to be the first one to initiate the assault, prompting the immortals that decided to stay to go along with her momentum... and all hell broke loose.

    The long serpent coiled itself around a large mountain of the mountain chain where the Weiss Clan resided, wringing and crushing it to pieces. She let out an ear-piercing roar, repeatedly going from mountain to mountain to wring apart.

    ¡°The clan is under attack!¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re here for Aegis!¡±

    ¡°Wake the clan elders!¡±

    The noise from the night assault quickly woke the members of the Weiss Clan, and they rushed to the defense of their home.

    ...

    A few miles in the air at a distance were three other immortals. One of them sighed, ¡°Haaah¡­ Levia went ahead. Guess it can¡¯t be helped, she has way too much energy for her own good.¡±

    Another issued commands, ¡°I¡¯ll go retrieve Aegis. Roy will stay back as usual, Mary will go in and help keep the pests off my back.¡±

    ¡°Got it, boss,¡± the skinny, lazy-looking immortal named Roy replied.

    At that, two of the three immortals disappeared, heading towards the mountain chain.

    ¡­

    Using the ensuing chaos to his advantage, a figure covered in scars snuck into a small cave of the mountain chain. In the middle of the cave was a pedestal, on top of which was a crystal case holding a shield artifact, Aegis within.

    Outside of the cave, a female immortal with clawed gauntlets was holding up an immortal by their neck in the air. The immortal being held seemed to have his blood drain from him, turning him into a mummified corpse. Appearing content, the female tossed the corpse aside to wait for Gyro.

    Slowly walking up to the crystal case, Gyro raised his left hand and placed the tips of his fingers onto it, emitting a shockwave of mana. The crystal case instantly shattered and he quickly swiped Aegis, storing it into his interspatial ring. He prepared to stealthily depart when a voice boomed out from behind him.

    ¡°Do you truly believe that you can come and go to our territory as you wish?!¡± Jugo loudly shouted, his voice causing the small cave to collapse onto itself.

    The two immortals flew and landed out of the cave, leaving a trail of snow that flew into the air, and stood across from one another.

    ¡°Elders! We reclaim Aegis!¡± Jugo shouted. Beams of light shot across the sky and five figures landed to stand behind Jugo.

    Jugo¡¯s shout attracted the attention of all the other immortals. They ceased fighting all at once, following Jugo¡¯s line of sight to land on Gyro. Looks of greed filled their eyes as they flew towards him. The clawed-immortal and serpent were prepared to rush to his defense, but, ¡°Those who step foot into our territory, none will leave alive! Worldbreaking technique: Snowfall!¡± Jugo¡¯s shout shook the air.

    A wild blizzard began to form, engulfing and surrounding the mountain chain. Immortals caught within it were flung about like ragdolls in every direction.

    Gyro stood calmly within despite the raging snowstorm. A large silver halberd appeared in the grip of his right arm, and said emotionlessly, ¡°You¡¯re making this harder than it needs to be.¡±

    Jugo could vaguely make out his figure inside the blizzard. He waved his arm, and the five elders standing behind him entered the blizzard and zoomed towards Gyro.

    Three elders approached Gyro from the front, while the other two circled around him to attack him from the back.

    The three elders coming from the front all launched themselves towards him at once. To Gyro, it was like they were lining themselves up to make it easier for him to kill them. He swung his halberd horizontally with one hand, slicing all three elders apart at the middle into two pieces each, instantly ending their lives.

    One of the elders from his rear kept his distance and fired off icicles at him from behind. The icicles hit Gyro¡¯s back, bouncing off of his body harmlessly. The other elder approached his back, wielding a blade of ice and prepared to make a thrust.

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    Gyro turned around and swung his halberd once more. Learning from the fates of his companions, the elder quickly erected a wall of ice to block against the swing. The halberd ripped through the wall of ice along with the body behind it, slicing both in half.

    ¡°That¡¯s four,¡± Gyro said while he looked around for the remaining elder within the snowstorm. He sensed a figure coming from above him and quickly made a small hop backwards.

    Just as he hopped, the remaining elder came plummeting downwards, piercing into the ground where he stood moments before with a blade of ice.

    Gyro used the small opening created when the elder landed to make two quick swings of his halberd. For the first swing, he decapitated the elder. For the second swing, he twisted his wrist to turn the head of his halberd to its flat side, and swung the halberd a half circle around his body. The second swing of his halberd launched the decapitated head of the elder out of the blizzard.

    The bloodied head flew out of the snowstorm and towards Jugo, landing at his feet. The expression on the decapitated head of the elder was filled with fear and despair.

    Seeing the decapitated head, anger rose up within Jugo, and he entered the blizzard to deal with Gyro himself.

    The speed of Jugo couldn¡¯t be compared to the previous elders, he arrived in front of Gyro within an instant, and sent an uppercut towards Gyro¡¯s jaw with his left hand. Jugo¡¯s fist connected with Gyro¡¯s lower jaw, and the sounds of breaking bones could be heard.

    Jugo quickly pulled backwards to open up distance between him and Gyro. He looked at his left hand. Surprisingly, it was broken. He felt like he had punched an unbreakable metal.

    ¡°I¡¯m done playing with you,¡± Gyro said with a mysterious smile.

    ¡­

    Miles away, a lazy-looking figure was whistling a tune. A bright, white glow coming from his eyes left trails in the sky.

    ¡°Looks like the boss is in trouble,¡± he gave a carefree smile, and lifted up both of his arms. Within his left hand was a green crossbow.

    Roy adjusted his aim, as if the snowstorm didn¡¯t hinder his vision at all. Mana gathered in his right hand, forming a blinding white bolt. He meticulously placed the bolt into the crossbow.

    ¡°Worldbreaking technique: True Storm Piercer,¡± he said, and fired.

    The bolt was like it was fired from a railgun, creating several sonic booms and spiraling across the sky.

    ¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m done playing with you,¡¯ Gyro said while slightly tilting his head.

    A crossbow bolt whizzed past where Gyro¡¯s head was moments before, shooting towards Jugo who stood across from him.

    Before Jugo even realized what happened, he felt a foreign object enter his chest before quickly exiting it within moments. He looked down to see a large, gaping hole in his chest. It happened so fast that he was still unable to feel any pain from it yet. Without him noticing, Gyro suddenly appeared in front of him, and kicked him in the chest.

    Jugo was flung out of the blizzard, and crashed into a mountain while bleeding profusely from his chest.

    The snowstorm slowly began to fade, while Jugo struggled to get up while coughing mouthfuls of blood. He placed a hand in front of where the hole in his chest was and emitted mana. The hole was quickly sealed up with ice, blocking the wound.

    ¡°Clan head!¡±

    ¡°Father!¡±

    Clansmen, elders, and his daughter Seria gathered around him worriedly.

    The blizzard cleared, revealing the countless immortals who were caught up within it. The immortals quickly scanned the area, all of them searching for Gyro.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± Jugo said while unsteadily getting up.

    Gyro briefly smirked, floated up into the air, and said, ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± before flying off.

    The large serpent turned back into a little girl, and flew after him along with the clawed-immortal.

    ¡°After him!¡± a rogue immortal shouted, and waves of immortals chased after the three immortals at the lead.

    For some reason, Gyro felt compelled to look back at the mountain chain. He turned to face it one last time while flying away.

    ¡­

    Zieg wasn¡¯t sleeping. The reason wasn¡¯t because he wasn¡¯t tired, but because his instincts honed from his past life was warning him not to sleep.

    The logical side of him told him that this was because of either one of two reasons. The first being that the Weiss Clan couldn¡¯t be trusted, they could be planning to ambush them in the middle of the night while they were most vulnerable and defenseless. The second was that their reaction to the legendary artifact Aegis was too exaggerated. Although Zieg wasn¡¯t aware of the value of legendary artifacts since he had lived in a mortal continent all his life up until this point, he clearly noticed the Weiss Clan¡¯s reaction upon seeing Aegis. If other immortals valued legendary artifacts as much as they did, and if for some reason the information of it was leaked out, then it was very possible for them to be raided at a moment¡¯s notice.

    Like this, Zieg stayed up while spreading out his immortal senses to its limits. He quickly understood that the second reason he came up with was right when he sensed several immortals gather around in the sky.

    Since this was none of his business, and the risk of acting for now was too big, he chose to wait it out until the whole thing settled down.

    ¡°After him!¡± he heard someone shout.

    (Looks like it¡¯s about over) he thought to himself as he exited the cave he was assigned to.

    Directing his sight to the horde of immortals rapidly flying away, his sights gradually settled upon the one leading in the front.

    It was at this moment that Gyro glanced back at the mountain chain.

    Zieg looked into the fleeing figure¡¯s eyes. For a brief moment, it almost seemed like the two of them crossed sights with each other.

    (It can¡¯t be!) waves of disbelief came crashing down on Zieg.

    The figure of the one flying at the front overlapped with a figure of an immortal within Zieg¡¯s memories. Their appearances were nearly identical and matched perfectly. The only differences the figure had with the person in Zieg¡¯s memories were that the one now had a cold and cruel expression on his face, and that his left arm was now metallic. Zieg was able to easily determine that the metallic arm was some sort of high-grade artifact, possibly even a legendary artifact.

    ¡°Gyro!¡± Zieg uncontrollably exclaimed.

 Chapter 23.5 - Gyro

    He desired to protect. Eight years ago, in his attempt to put a stop to the Holy Crusade, Gyro fought a one-on-one battle with the immortal Volheilm. They battled ceaselessly for three days and three nights, and the result¡­

    He was defeated. He fled and barely managed to escape with his life, losing a limb in the process: his left arm.

    In his defeat, he wandered around aimlessly in search of greater power. During his travels, Gyro managed to stumble across a legendary artifact on the immortal continent Tiandiyu. It resonated greatly with him, as if he and the artifact were destined for one another. The legendary artifact was a metallic arm, Gawain. The legendary artifact was titled, ¡®The Guardian.¡¯

    Legends spoke of a peerless knight named Gawain that once existed on their planet. In order to protect his comrades, the knight Gawain single-handedly fought against an army of enemies. He fended them off and defeated them against all odds, however, he lost his left arm and died in the process. He died proudly, standing.

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    A passing goddess who witnessed these events admired Gawain¡¯s values and desire to protect greatly. It was said that the goddess was so moved that she exerted her efforts in creating an artifact in his honor. The metallic arm, Gawain, and sent it down to their planet.

    The power Gyro sought for was easily obtained with the legendary artifact Gawain in his possession. Immortals could no longer contend with him. A single legendary artifact made such a difference? It was so easy? If he fought Volheilm again, this time he would easily be able to defeat him.

    Gyro slowly became a different person. He changed, forgetting his original goals and what he wanted power for in the first place: to protect. He became a Jaeger and established the Jaeger group Sphinx. All he desired was artifacts to further increase his power. From that moment onward, he was no longer a kindly vagabond. He was now spoken of in fear as the Artifact Hunter Gyro.

    A fallen guardian.

 Chapter 24 - Aegis Retrieval Squad

    A rain of glowing crossbow bolts shot inbetween the three immortals fleeing in the sky and their pursuers, creating a gap that only grew larger overtime.

    Zieg watched all of this unfold by sending mana into his eyes. They were too far apart now. He and the Weiss Clan still standing at the mountain chain would never be able to catch up to Gyro at this point. He was still stunned into inaction after seeing the scarred demon at the front. Zieg had already set his mind on pursuing them, this was the first time he had seen Gyro in more than a decade after they had parted ways in his past life. Shaking his head free of thoughts, he went to gather the others.

    ¡°URAAAAAAGH!¡± Jugo shouted in frustration. He seethed in complete anger. They had only just gotten their hands on the legendary artifact Aegis today. Aegis would have led their clan to greater heights in the future. They were so, so close, only to have the artifact taken away from them the same day they¡¯ve gotten it. To Jugo, it was like he had come across a gold ingot on the roadside and picked it up, only to find out that it was actually dog turd that was painted yellow when he tried to cash in on it at the last moment.

    Jugo¡¯s shout of anger made the clansmen gathered around him tremble in fear.

    ¡°We must take Aegis back at all costs! The future of our clan depends on it! Seria, you take several elders and a great elder to form an Aegis retrieval squad and go after Sphinx!¡± Jugo hastily issued commands. The more time they spent standing around, the less successful their chances would be at retrieving Aegis.

    If not for the heavy injuries he sustained, Jugo would have disregarded everything else and go on alone to chase after them himself.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.¡°Yes, father!¡± Seria aptly replied while going off and selecting a few of the surrounding clansmen. She knew the importance of the legendary artifact to their clan.

    Zieg watched all of this happen while inwardly disagreeing with their plan of action. A valuable treasure was only a treasure if you had the capability to hold on to it. The Weiss Clan had Aegis stolen from them within one day of possessing it. They were clearly in over their heads. Holding on to a legendary artifact with their strength would be no different than holding on to a ticking time bomb that attracted the attention of various other powers.

    Zieg hurriedly gathered their group together and announced, ¡°I¡¯m going after them.¡± He felt like Gyro had become an entirely different person and wanted to meet with him no matter the cost.

    The three were initially surprised, but seriously nodded their heads in agreement in the end.

    ¡°Aegis belonged to me in the first place, I¡¯ll come along to take back what¡¯s mine,¡± Cain added.

    Just as the group of four had come to an agreement, Seria finished forming the Weiss Clan¡¯s Aegis retrieval team. The team was composed of Seria herself, three other elders, and a great elder.

    Coincidentally, the two groups began floating in the air at roughly the same time.

    Watching Zieg¡¯s group from across the sky, Seria harshly said while sending a look of disgust towards Cain, ¡°I don¡¯t care whether you come or not, but don¡¯t get in my way!¡±

    Cain merely scoffed at his sister, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t look to me to save you when the clan gets annihilated.¡±

    The two groups shot across the sky in pursuit of Sphinx.

    (Gyro¡­) Zieg pensively pondered.

 Chapter 25 - The Fallen Guardian

    On the snowy outskirts of the Weiss Highlands, the four immortals of the Jaeger group Sphinx stood amidst a sea of corpses. All three immortals aside from their leader Gyro weren¡¯t lightly wounded, heaving and panting from exhaustion. Gyro, on the other hand, was only lightly covered in cuts and scratches which only added to his growing repertoire of scars. Immediately after they regrouped with one another, they stood their ground and fought against their pursuers numbering in the forties. A group of four immortals fighting against an immortal group numbering forty plus.

    A normal person would have thought that the members of Sphinx handled an average of ten immortals each, but in actuality Gyro himself had dealt with twenty-five immortals single-handedly and yet came out with the least amount of wounds, while the other members of Sphinx each fought against an average of five immortals.

    The lazy immortal Roy gave off an incomprehensible noise that was like a mixture between an extended yawn and a sigh of exhaustion while holding his hands behind his head. His eyes abruptly shined with a streak of white light, and he said with a dissatisfied frown while looking off into the distance, ¡°There¡¯s more coming our way.¡±

    The little girl pouted, puffing up her face, ¡°I¡¯m too tired to fight anymore! I¡¯ll come back after everything¡¯s over! Gyro will take care of everything like he always does,¡± she said with a mischievous smile, before flying off into the opposite direction where the lazy immortal was looking.

    Both the clawed immortal and lazy immortal watched her leave with helpless expressions.

    The lazy immortal Roy sighed once more and said in a joking tone, ¡°The things I put up with.¡± He lifted his right hand holding onto his crossbow, pointing it in the direction of their new arrivals. Generating a white bolt in his left hand, cocking it into his crossbow, and firing.

    ¡­

    Zieg was flying in pursuit of Sphinx, all the while eavesdropping on the other group¡¯s discussion across the sky. A great elder of the Weiss Clan, Asher was debriefing Seria¡¯s group on information about the Jaeger group Sphinx. Zieg couldn¡¯t afford to miss any information related to Gyro at this point in time.

    Through their conversation Zieg was able to learn that Gyro had become a leader of a four member Jaeger group, and that he was widely feared in Tiandiyu as the Artifact Hunter. It was said that any artifact that managed to attract his interest would never be able to escape his grasp. If Zieg hadn¡¯t seen Gyro for himself, he would have taken these words as utter nonsense meant to defame the kindly vagabond. How such a radiant, pure individual like Gyro had turned into a merciless criminal was something Zieg struggled to accept.

    He thought back to his past life, to the times when Gyro had taught him how to fend for himself in the wilderness, and how he had always talked about his desire to protect their race. The disparity between that kindly figure to the present him was something that could hardly be fathomed. Even now Zieg thought of him as a father to him.

    Immersed in his thoughts, he was barely able to perceive a white streak of light come hurtling across the sky towards their direction. Zieg hurriedly yelled, ¡°Spread out!¡±

    Just as Zieg yelled out, that white beam of light burrowed into the forehead of an elder of the Weiss Clan, and the elder powerlessly fell from the sky, dead.

    The two groups scattered across the sky in every direction, looking towards the direction the white bolt came from. What they saw were three Jaegers of Sphinx, standing on the snow relaxedly while being surrounded by the bodies of dead immortals. One of them an unseemly lazy immortal holding a green crossbow with a mocking expression on his face.

    The two groups descended onto the ground to face the three immortals, and Zieg was the first to act by releasing a suffocating purple aura.

    Everyone seemed to brush the aura off, but the expression on Gyro¡¯s stoic face noticeably changed.

    ¡°I have business with that boy, you two, dispose of the other seven,¡± Gyro said to his companions, and motioned for Zieg to follow him.

    ¡°Seven?! Isn¡¯t it usually the other way around where you handle the seven and we get the one?¡± Roy said almost pleadingly to Gyro.

    Gyro shot him a glare.

    ¡°Okay, okay¡­ I¡¯ll take the three weak-looking kids. You can have the scary-looking old men, Mary.¡± Even when he was forced into work, Roy still wanted to do the least amount of work possible.

    ¡°Can you be anymore shameless?¡± the clawed immortal shook her head, but still grudgingly accepted.

    The three members of Sphinx separated, each going their own direction and drawing away their selected opponents. Zieg to Gyro, his group to Roy, and the Weiss Clan to Mary.

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    After distancing himself from the others, Gyro spoke coldly, ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re here, or why you¡¯re in that form, but you should leave, Zieg,¡± these words contained all the compassion and consideration Gyro held for Zieg.

    ¡°What happened to you, Gyro?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean what happened to me?¡± Gyro asked back with a frown.

    There were too many things Zieg wanted to ask, and his face was full of uncertainty.

    ¡°Why did you change so much? Why did you become a Jaeger? What happened to your ideals?¡± The final question was what Zieg wanted to know the answer to the most. How could such a charismatic vagabond with admirable ideals sink so lowly and become¡­ this? Zieg recalled their conversation around the fire, Gyro¡¯s firm beliefs and brilliant smile. That smile was so pure, so blinding that the Zieg at that time could barely look at it. Back then Zieg had feared that if he continued to look at that brilliant expression, his resolve for revenge would waver. That was how bright Gyro was.

    ¡°My ideals? Tell me, Zieg. What are ambitions worth, what are dreams worth, what are ideals worth when you don¡¯t even have the power to see them through?!¡± Gyro roared back. He violently slammed the base of his halberd in his right hand down onto the ground, causing a slight tremor and snow to fly up. Those words encompassed all of his thoughts, and answered every one of Zieg¡¯s questions. He wanted to protect, but so what? He had fought Volheilm and lost miserably. He couldn¡¯t protect a thing with his power. So the solution he found to this was to gather more, more, and more in the form of artifacts until he couldn¡¯t possibly raise his power any further. If the legendary artifact Gawain raised his power so much, what if he added Aegis onto that and had two? What if he gathered three? Four? Repeating this process unceasingly, he had completely lost himself in it. He didn¡¯t care if the one who got in his way of doing so was someone he once thought of as a son and student, he would still kill them mercilessly.

    ¡°I see,¡± Zieg shook his head in visible disappointment. He couldn¡¯t bear it. Seeing the person he admired and viewed as his father like this.

    A person so consumed by the concept of power, becoming the very being they had once feared the most. If the Gyro from back then saw the person he had become, how would he have reacted? What would he have done? Zieg briefly pondered, and directly said the answer.

    He looked into Gyro¡¯s eyes, and said resolutely, ¡°You lost yourself in the process, Gyro. Out of my respect for you, I will stop you, even if it means I have to kill you!¡±

    Zieg swiftly pulled out Bloodwhistler, and transforming into a red blur, leapt into the air and swung downward at Gyro¡¯s left shoulder. He planned on cutting Gyro¡¯s entire metallic arm off, neutralizing whatever ability the legendary artifact possessed. The downward slash made contact with his shoulder, slowly sinking into his flesh and stopping.

    A swing with enough power behind it to cleave an entire body in half had only left a shallow wound a few centimeters deep into Gyro¡¯s shoulder.

    It was at this moment that Zieg roughly understood the legendary artifact¡¯s ability. The legendary artifact Gawain, The Guardian. Gawain immensely boosted the physical capabilities of its wielder,  giving its user the strength and defense comparable to that of an artifact¡¯s. Being the wielder of the legendary artifact Gawain, Gyro¡¯s entire body was an artifact.

    Gyro extended his metallic left arm out, lightly pressing onto Zieg¡¯s chest, and pushed. That light push propelled Zieg backwards an unimaginable distance. The force behind it parted the snow, leaving a gash of open ground.

    Zieg spun his body in midair, thrusting Bloodwhistler down into the ground in an attempt to stop his momentum. Bloodwhistler was continuously being dragged across the floor, leaving a scar on the Earth for several meters until Zieg finally slowed into a stop.

    ¡°And out of mine for you, I had spared your life once,¡± Gyro said coldly while staring at Zieg.

    When Bloodwhistler was sinking into a stop in Gyro¡¯s shoulder, Gyro had the perfect opportunity to cleave Zieg directly in half with his halberd. He had spared Zieg¡¯s life and had only pushed him out of the way. This was his final act of mercy.

    ¡°If you choose to still get in my way, I will kill you,¡± Gyro said, his voice containing not an ounce of emotion.

    Blood from the shallow shoulder wound opened up by Bloodwhistler slowly slid down Gyro¡¯s metallic left arm. It dyed the white snow beneath him in droplets of red. The blood dripping down the legendary artifact gave off an illusion.

    It was as if Gawain, The Guardian, was crying for Gyro¡¯s sake, weeping tears of blood.

 Chapter 26 - The Halberd

    Seria motioned for the two remaining elders to attack the clawed immortal.

    The two elders appeared in front of their target with blades in their hands within an instant. As they were about to attack, they found themselves held by the their throats, and hung in midair.

    The elders¡¯ blood and life force were directly drained from their bodies, quickly turning them into mummified corpses.

    Seeing this, Seria coldly humphed, turned towards the great elder Asher, and said, ¡°You know what to do.¡±

    Asher nodded, and the two of them fearlessly ran towards the clawed immortal, disregarding the fates of the elders just moments ago.

    The clawed immortal quickly released the mummified corpses, reaching out and grabbing onto the necks of Seria and Asher. The clawed immortal smirked, and prepared to drain the the blood of the two in her grasp.

    Shock showed on the clawed immortal¡¯s face when the two immortals in her grip morphed, transforming into two piles of snow. She hurriedly looked around for the two when she suddenly felt her ankles being grabbed.

    Hands were coming out of the snow beneath her, restricting her movements. She sensed something coming from above her, and she looked up.

    She was captivated by the sight of a beautiful girl wielding a blade of ice slashing downwards, and that was the last thing the clawed immortal saw. Her body was split into two halves down the middle.

    Truthfully, if the members of Sphinx hadn¡¯t had such hard battles with other immortals before their arrival, they wouldn¡¯t have fallen so miserably.

    An old man with an indifferent smiling expression on his face came up from the ground beneath her. That old man turned out to be a great elder of the Weiss Clan, Asher.

    Asher clasped his hands behind his back and stood subserviently behind Seria while watching the others fight the lazy immortal and Gyro off into the distance, asking, ¡°What should we do now, young mistress? Should we help the others?¡±

    A similar smile appeared on Seria¡¯s face as she said with disdain towards Asher, ¡°We obviously wait for the others to exhaust themselves first. When all of them are moderately weakened, we¡¯ll take away Aegis at the end and be the final winners.¡±

    ¡°Young mistress is truly intelligent,¡± the great elder Asher smiled thoughtfully. A glint of killing intent flashed across his eyes momentarily when he looked ahead, before quickly vanishing as soon as it appeared. Who this killing intent was directed towards went unnoticed by anyone.

    Simultaneously, Roy was pressured and also on the verge of being defeated by the combined efforts of the trio pushing him back.

    ¡­

    Zieg¡¯s sword glowed a bright red, absorbing the blood from the previous wound inflicted on Gyro¡¯s shoulder.

    How many times have they sparred in the past? Zieg had already lost count. All he knew was that of the hundreds of battles he had with Gyro, he had always lost decisively lost. Back then, Gyro appeared to be an enormous mountain in front of him, someone he could never defeat in a millions years. Everytime he felt like he was close to victory, Gyro would increase his battle ability and utterly defeat him. Zieg now understood that Gyro had always held back his true combat ability when sparring with him, and yet he was still unarguably defeated every single time. An enormous gulf, there was a huge gap in ability between them back then.

    The figure that appeared gigantic in the past now appeared substantially smaller. Zieg knew that he had long caught up to Gyro, no, he had already surpassed him. No matter how strong Gyro might have been in the past, Zieg knew that like Cain with Aegis, someone who solely relied on the abilities of an external existence like an artifact could never truly match up to him.

    (Even if his body has the defense and constitution of an artifact, bodies still hold many weaknesses. Everything has a weakness, even things that appear undefeatable at first glance. This was something I learned from you...) Zieg considered. His eyes flitted and scanned Gyro¡¯s body. He noticed that the metallic left arm Gawain was unnaturally dim, and he could faintly hear it droning in agony. The sound went unnoticed to all, even Gyro, but Zieg. The legendary artifact might have resonated and approved of the Gyro in the past, but it clearly didn¡¯t approve of the current him. The artifact seemed like it was suffering, being forced against its will to adhere to the will of its wielder. Zieg sighed.

    (I will free the both of you) he vowed in his heart.

    Several ideas sprang into Zieg¡¯s mind, the joints, the fingers, the organs, the eyes. Some of these things were weaknesses that couldn¡¯t be enhanced normally via training. He had also considered the weakness of Gyro¡¯s choice of weapon, a halberd. Polearms had the weakness of being slow, a fact which was negated by Gyro¡¯s absurd strength given by Gawain, but also had the flaw of being weak in close-ranged combat. Zieg had made a decision on the spot, although Gyro¡¯s body possessed the hardness of an artifact, his eyes did not. Targeting his eyes would also take away one of his senses, a thing that people fatally relied on in battles. Deciding what to do, Zieg slowly stood up.

    Witnessing Zieg¡¯s resolute figure, Gyro knew what he ultimately decided to do.

    ¡°It¡¯s a pity¡­ A damn pity¡­¡± Gyro sighed with a cold gaze. He thought that the result of a clash between the two of them was already a foregone conclusion. He had always won during the spars with Zieg in the past, how would now be any different? He had always held back his true strength, not to mention he was even stronger than he was in the past with Gawain by his side. With ¡°The Guardian,¡± he didn¡¯t have to focus as much on defense, and could channel all his energy into an overwhelmingly destructive offense, an offense that could split apart bodies like nothing. Nevertheless, as an hardened veteran, Gyro didn¡¯t let his guard down in the least.

    Gyro lowered his body, bringing his halberd behind him and spreading his metallic left palm open in front of him into a stance. The stance had no openings whatsoever, it gave off the impression that all those who entered its range of attack would be easily cleaved apart into lifeless lumps of meat.

    The only advantage Zieg had in this fight was that Gyro was still unaware of his artifact, Bloodwhistler¡¯s ability, and would miscalculate his attack speed at the last moment, giving Zieg a single opportunity. He had probably assumed that his earlier speed from when he had injured his shoulder was his fastest.

    Zieg decided to wager on this opportunity to see if it could overcome Gyro¡¯s stance and reaction speed. If he failed, he envisioned his body being split into two halves. This vision was eerily similar to the four elders that Gyro cleaved directly into two by the stomach at the Weiss Clan¡¯s mountain chain.

    They both reacted at nearly the same time. Zieg dashed at a blinding speed towards Gyro, and Gyro¡¯s left hand turned into a silver blur as something was thrown out of it. Gyro continuously took out and threw three throwing knives towards the approaching Zieg.

    Zieg continued to undauntingly run towards Gyro, not stopping in the slightest. Clangs rang out as all three knives were successfully deflected by Zieg. When the third knife rebounded off of Bloodwhistler, its handle faced Zieg, and his hand flashed as he accurately threw it back towards Gyro¡¯s chest.

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    Gyro made no effort whatsoever to dodge or defend. There was a sound of metal hitting metal, and the knife harmlessly bounced off his body. It was at this point that the two reached one another.

    Gyro¡¯s halberd had a much longer attack range and reach, so he calculated the distance between the two of them and prematurely made a horizontal swing. At this rate, his attack would reach Zieg first.

    (So slow) Zieg thought to himself. Was this really the same Gyro from back then? The impossibly strong figure from back then was actually this slow, this weak? The halberd¡¯s horizontal swing seemed to move in slow motion in Zieg¡¯s eyes.

    Zieg jumped onto the halberd¡¯s axehead mid-swing, and used it as footing to propel himself towards Gyro¡¯s head. He then made a clean horizontal slash aiming at Gyro¡¯s unprotected eyes.

    Zieg thought he was already safe at this point. He was thinking to himself, did he really grow so much stronger after a decade? Or was it that he overestimated Gyro, and the Artifact Hunter was actually incredibly weak?

    Gyro abruptly brought his head backwards, but his action speed still couldn¡¯t be compared to Zieg¡¯s. Bloodwhistler slashed and was dragged directly across his face, digging deeply into both of his eyes. A long cut appeared on Gyro¡¯s face, effectively blinding him.

    Despite Zieg¡¯s successful attack, he suddenly felt incredibly uneasy. His intuition told him to escape.

    Zieg was still airborne in front of Gyro and his option of maneuvers was severely limited. A silver arm appeared under him and struck at his stomach, launching him into the air. Zieg vomited a mouthful of blood as his body shot vertically upwards at an absurd height.

    Chains appeared around Gawain from Gyro¡¯s interspatial ring with a flick of his wrist, and he sent them towards the airborne Zieg. The chains wrapped around Zieg¡¯s small body and dragged him downwards, directly towards Gyro.

    Gyro swung his halberd above his head in an arc towards the incoming Zieg.

    Zieg panicked and cut the chains that coiled around him with Bloodwhistler just as the halberd made contact with his body. He used the momentum of the chains to slightly push his body backwards. This last minute action saved him from being completely butchered into two separate body parts.

    Zieg hastily made a large jump backwards to widen the distance between the two of them. Just as he thought he dodged the attack, Zieg¡¯s clothes was shredded, and a deep cut appeared on his stomach. The wound bled profusely, and blood was unceasingly pouring out of his mouth.

    No wonder he felt so uneasy. He realized that he had severely underestimated Gyro, and it had almost cost him his life.

    Gazing at the blinded Jaeger across from him, Zieg felt a burst of oppression, much like the many spars he had with him in the past. Whenever he felt that pressure, he had always undoubtedly lost shortly after.

    Gyro was completely blind, but he was still smiling a vicious smile. A smile that foretold victory. Zieg felt pressure weighing down on him.

    Even without the use of his eyes, Gyro could still see. Together with his immortal sense and naturally heightened senses honed from many battles, nothing could escape his notice. That was how he was easily able to tell Zieg¡¯s every movement. Gyro was actually utilizing a rare ability that Paragon¡¯s blind guildmaster frequently used, ¡°Divine Vision.¡± He could sense everything that happened around him.

    In terms of absolute abilities, compared to the average immortal, Gyro was a weakling. Without Gawain¡¯s abilities he was nothing more than the weakest of immortals that didn¡¯t possess a single Worldbreaking technique. He wasn¡¯t a genius. He didn¡¯t possess an ounce of talent. It took decades for him to become an immortal. He had even lost to Volheilm, who Zieg had defeated. As far as immortals went, Gyro¡¯s base strength was among the weakest. His speed was among the slowest. He wasn¡¯t the smartest and couldn¡¯t come up with detailed plans. Despite all of these things, he had held his own against Volheilm who possessed several Worldbreaking techniques for three consecutive days. Gyro was a complete and utter weakling, but survived for decades in hundreds of battles with other immortals. Why was this?

    Gyro possessed only a single strong point compared to other immortals. This one strong point of his was overwhelmingly high. It vastly exceeded those of his peers and could equal or even exceed those that the peak existences in the transcendent realm possessed.

    This one advantage he held over others was simply: experience. Gyro had survived countless battles with those that had abilities that were on an entirely different level than his. Those many life-and-death battles he experienced had honed his battle sense into a tier of its own. His experience and battle sense was so high that he could adapt effortlessly in battle. To the extent that he instantly used Divine Vision for the first time when Zieg took away his sight.

    In order to survive on the battlefield, he willingly discarded his own worn weapon that he was familiar with and accustomed to, an act that would be considered suicide by others, and picked up the unfamiliar weaponry of his fallen enemies. As a result, Gyro knew hundreds of strange and unique weapons like the back of his hand. A weapon master.

    Gyro¡¯s absolute abilities were the weakest among immortals, but¡­ He was a monster that could surpass geniuses in flexibility. Solely due to his experience, his battle sense, adaptability, and mastery of weapons was the strongest.

    He was familiar with and skilled in hundreds of different weapons, but in the end, he, an experienced weapon master¡¯s weapon of choice was a halberd. A weapon that excelled ¡°only,¡± in mid-ranged combat. A weapon other geniuses and Zieg deemed to possess the flaw of being, ¡°Weak in close-ranged combat.¡± If Gyro had heard someone say those words, he would consider those so-called ¡°geniuses,¡± to be nothing more than inexperienced amateurs, and laugh at their ignorance.

    A long polearm that was a cross between a spear and an axe. A weapon that had the capability to both pierce and slash. It had a longer range than the popular sword, but was often judged to be weaker at close-range than a sword by geniuses and other weapon masters, but Gyro knew¡­ The halberd possessed only a single flaw compared to other weapons like the sword that possessed many more, and that was that it could not be used effectively in enclosed spaces, something that didn¡¯t apply in his current situation. In an open space, the halberd was indisputably the greatest weapon.

    Gyro was confident that Zieg had misinterpreted his weapon¡¯s non-existent weakness. It didn¡¯t matter if he was slower than Zieg. He planned on abusing this misconception, a fatal flaw, to end the battle in his next exchange with Zieg when he tried to take advantage at close-range. He could already envision the scene of Zieg being dismembered.

    The halberd. Range that exceeded a sword¡¯s. Slashing ability that exceeded a sword¡¯s. Piercing ability that exceeded a sword¡¯s. Even the infamous flaw of ¡°close-range,¡± ability that exceeded a sword¡¯s.

    The halberd was the ultimate weapon.

 Chapter 27 - Strongest Attack

    In truth, Zieg found it strange. He had never seen Gyro wield a halberd before, and had always seen him using a sword back then. This only further proved to increase his unease and wariness, since he had never doubted Gyro¡¯s skill with weapons. By now, Zieg had already realized that he would be unable to defeat Gyro unless he abandoned all notions of defense, and focus all of his efforts into bringing forth his strongest offense in order to break through Gawain¡¯s protection. A collision of their strongest offense against offense, just the thought of it made Zieg nervous, because he believed. He believed that Gyro would somehow find a way to bring a stop to his momentum like he always had in their previous spars. The only thing he could do was resolve himself to exceed his own beliefs in Gyro¡¯s ability, and that was to risk his life, sacrificing his body in the next attack. An attack which, aside from the technique he used to defeat Volheilm, was the strongest attack he knew.

    Zieg revolved the mana within his body to stop the cut on his stomach from bleeding, and stood with a grim expression. A purple aura spread out of his body, and he channeled nearly the entirety of his mana into Bloodwhistler, in preparation for a final clash.

    Gyro once again spread out his metallic left palm in front of him, lowering his body into a stance. Even though Gyro could be considered the ¡°weakest¡± immortal, the pressure he gave off at this moment surpassed anything Zieg had ever faced before, even that of Ryzel¡¯s in his transcendent realm state.

    It was at this moment that Zieg seemed to have disappear, turning into a purple blur and arriving directly in front of Gyro. He pointed Bloodwhistler directly at Gyro¡¯s chest, and pulled back both of his arms into a preparatory attack.

    ¡­

    Nearly a decade ago, within the Northern wastelands of the Grandiel continent, two demons, vagabonds stood in front of an immortal beast.

    The immortal beast appeared indestructible, it looked like a large rhinoceros with crystalline scales covering every portion of its body.

    The younger vagabond couldn¡¯t stop his body from trembling, he knew the difference in strength between the immortal beast and him, it looked like it had no weaknesses whatsoever. He looked at the older male standing in front of him, and noticed that his countenance was calm, almost tranquil. Thoughts of confusion flooded him, as he was confident that even the immortal that stood before him, the man he considered his father and mentor, was absolutely no match for the beast.

    The older vagabond had a worn sword sheathed on his back. The sword looked rusted and pitiful, like it would break upon its next use.

    ¡°It looks strong, doesn¡¯t it? Its scales, its defense. Like it has no weaknesses. Even you think I won¡¯t be able to do any damage to it, right?¡± Gyro asked the young boy behind him.

    ¡°...¡± Zieg remained silent, he felt like he would be giving up all hope if he really did answer Gyro¡¯s questions.

    Gyro shook his head, unsheathed his decrepit sword, saying, ¡°Everything has a weakness. If something looks like it doesn¡¯t, make one. Create and seize opportunities. If you¡¯re able to master that, you will always survive in battles against those stronger than you.¡±

    Gyro rushed up to the immortal beast with sword and hand, saying, ¡°Today, I¡¯ll show you the strongest attack I¡¯ve created with all my experience. My proudest creation. A Pseudo-Worldbreaking technique with a destructive power that can surpass a real one. I call it¡­¡±

    ¡­

    ¡°Gyro thrust!¡± Zieg yelled out, thrusting Bloodwhistler forth with both hands. His arms and wrists spun abnormally, creating a piercing cyclone that looked like it could break through all defenses. Rotation added to a penetrating strike only further increases its power. The thrust rent and tore through Gyro¡¯s armor like paper, and slowly started to sink into his chest.

    Gyro¡¯s eyes momentarily widened in shock at those words, but the shock only lasted for a moment before vanishing.

    Bloodwhistler bore an inch into Gyro¡¯s chest, and¡­

    It stopped.

    (It¡¯s not enough!) Zieg thought, his eyes were bloodshot with adrenaline. He tried retracting both arms in a hurry.

    It was at this moment that Gyro made his move. At the same time Zieg had attacked, he had already loosened his grip on his halberd, sliding his hand down closer to the base of its axehead. The transition was extremely smooth, something that could only be done by the work of a master experienced with polearms. The axehead was facing up, and the pole of the halberd was directly resting beneath his right arm. Like this, it was like Gyro was wielding a large hand axe, a weapon extremely suited for close-range combat. This was the method to which a polearm could be used in close-ranged combat. Bringing the grip of your hands closer to the head of a polearm, it could become a weapon that excelled in both mid and close range.

    When Bloodwhistler dug into his chest, he struck. Gyro forcefully pushed his right elbow downward with all his strength, underneath which was of course, the pole of the halberd. The sudden movement acted like a spring, catapulting the axehead upwards into an upward slash. This attack exceeded that of a sword¡¯s in both speed and power. The speed the halberd moved at was even faster than Zieg¡¯s thrust, and the strength it contained was absolutely monstrous, enough to dissect Zieg in half many times over. The axehead was aimed directly at the middle of Zieg¡¯s body. Gyro intended to split Zieg into two parts vertically down the middle.

    The rush of adrenaline caused the halberd to move in slow motion to Zieg, and he fully realized that he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid it in time. Time seemed to freeze for a moment, just like the moments right before death.

    Even so, Zieg acted on instinct. He already prepared himself for this because he had never doubted Gyro. He believed Gyro would somehow be able to overcome his first strike, so he was already resolved to make a sacrifice, and that sacrifice was¡­

    The sound of a halberd cleaving cleanly through flesh and bone sounded out in the quiet highlands.

    Zieg¡¯s blood splashed all over the snow covered ground, dyeing it in red. Something could be seen separating from Zieg, and flying into the air while splattering blood.

    That sacrifice was one of his arms.

    The second Zieg retracted Bloodwhistler, he released the grip on one of his hands, and abruptly moved his body to the left, sacrificing his right arm at the shoulder in exchange for his life.

    Zieg¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change at all from the loss of his limb, and he instead continued to move. He kept attacking, continuing his onslaught with his one remaining left arm that held onto Bloodwhistler.

    ¡°Gyro thrust!¡± Zieg cried out once more, his left arm turning into a piercing cyclone.

    The area Zieg aimed at was precisely the same chest area he attacked with his previous strike, focusing on the same region to maximize his penetrative damage.

    Bloodwhistler struck the previous chest wound, slightly digging into Gyro¡¯s chest a few more centimeters.

    Gyro didn¡¯t let this opening between Zieg¡¯s attack pass by. His handling and movements of the halberd flowed like water. He quickly reversed the grip of his right hand, spinning the axehead of the halberd one hundred and eighty degrees so that it faced downwards, and made a consecutive downward slash, once again slashing vertically at the middle of Zieg¡¯s body.

    The speed and power of this strike was even higher than the last. A downward slash was always easier to perform and even contained more power than an upward slash. Together with the weight of the halberd itself working in concert with gravity, Gyro put all his strength into slashing downwards.

    The mere aftershock of Gyro¡¯s downward slash ripped through Zieg¡¯s body easily, creating a huge fissure in the ground in the process, the snow parted as if in reverence to its power.

    More of Zieg¡¯s blood splashed unceasingly through the air.

    Zieg¡¯s face paled like it was drained of blood, but¡­

    He still lived. He was still alive.

    Like before, Zieg had sidestepped to the right, this time sacrificing his left arm at the shoulder, and turned his body sideways in front of Gyro.

    Zieg was now armless, and both of his arms were still airborne, the two¡¯s movements were so fast that Zieg¡¯s dismembered arms have yet to touch the floor.

    Zieg¡¯s bloodshot gaze connected with Gyro¡¯s cold eyes, both unyielding and full of desire for victory.

    For some reason, there was three blood-soaked objects flying through the air. Those three objects all flew independently of one another.

    The first object was Zieg¡¯s right arm. The second object was Zieg¡¯s left arm. The third object was¡­

    Zieg¡¯s artifact sword, Bloodwhistler.

    The moment Zieg performed his second thrust, he had determined that Gyro¡¯s downward slash was even faster than his first upward slash, and had abandoned the thought of even retracting his arm that time. Instead, he used what little time he had before the downward slash connected with him to slightly toss Bloodwhistler up into the air.

    Zieg had resolved himself to sacrifice his limbs, both of his arms, for this one moment. For the gamble of making the one, final, third strike.

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    The two acted simultaneously. Gyro lifted the halberd up sideways, this time intending on dissecting Zieg¡¯s body horizontally. Zieg had stretched his head out, and caught Bloodwhistler that was spinning in midair.

    Zieg bit onto the hilt of Bloodwhistler with his mouth. He bit so hard that his gums bled, adjusting and angling his head directly at Gyro¡¯s chest wound.

    Then, the two struck.

    Zieg rammed his head holding onto Bloodwhistler into Gyro¡¯s chest wound, and Gyro made a horizontal swing at Zieg¡¯s torso.

    ¡­

    The young vagabond stood dazed, mesmerized at the sight before him.

    The older vagabond slowly walked back towards the younger vagabond. Behind him lay the immortal beast.

    The immortal beast was apparently upon its death¡¯s throes. It wailed in agony, a rusty sword still embedded into the side of its body.

    Zieg couldn¡¯t take his eyes off the sight, and the scenes before it. Suddenly, the immortal beast¡¯s body seemed to have expanded for a brief moment, its body bloated, and returned back to its previous size, this time, clearly dead.

    Gyro spoke, ¡°The spinning thrust is only the first step of my strongest attack. The true reason why its power is greater than a Worldbreaking technique¡¯s is¡­¡±

    ¡­

    Bloodwhistler penetrated through Gyro¡¯s chest wound, finally piercing through his artifact-level body and shattering Gawain¡¯s power, its blade showing from his back. Like that, the artifact lay there, embedded into Gyro¡¯s chest.

    Gyro¡¯s halberd cut several inches into Zieg¡¯s torso, and it stopped there.

    Gyro¡¯s body seemed to shudder, and an exploding sound could be heard coming from within him. He vomited mouthfuls of blood, and vast amounts of blood poured out of all seven of his orifices. He lost all strength in his body, and dropped his halberd. The halberd caused a miniature quake when it hit the floor, sinking the ground around them by several inches, and causing snow to fly up into the air.

    Two more dull thuds could be heard. It was now that Zieg¡¯s two arms finally reached the floor.

    Gyro had no energy left, not even enough to stand, and he collapsed forward. The only thing that kept his body from reaching the floor was Zieg¡¯s small, armless body that supported him up.

    The reason why Gyro¡¯s Pseudo-Worldbreaking technique, the Gyro thrust, has such destructive powers wasn¡¯t only because of the external damage it causes, but also the internal damage. Every time the attack pierced into the body, it would send streams of mana that would revolve violently inside. When the sword was fully embedded into the body, it would cause the mana to explode, causing innards to be crushed and internal organs to implode on themselves. This was the strongest attack Gyro had ever created in his lifetime, and something that Zieg had repeatedly practiced to master.

    Zieg stood upright, armless, as he faced downwards and allowed Gyro to lean on him.

    The emotions Zieg were experiencing couldn¡¯t be put into words. He didn¡¯t feel any pain from his arms, but his chest hurt. The feeling was like he lost something important, something inside of him dying.

    Gyro used what little strength he had left to slowly raise up his right arm, now free of the halberd, and wrapped it around Zieg into an embrace. The embrace was so weak and fragile, so ephemeral, seeming like it would disappear at any moment. He knew that he would die. He knew that his death was now inevitable.

    Gyro¡¯s lips slightly curved upwards, into an almost imperceptible, gratified smile.

    With the last of his energy, Gyro said in a hoarse whisper, ¡°Stop¡­ Paragon¡­¡±

    Then, Gyro¡¯s right arm fell lifelessly off of Zieg.

    Like this, he breathed no more, and the leader of a Jaeger group Sphinx, the one given the moniker of the Artifact Hunter, Gyro¡¯s life ended.

    Silence enveloped the area. Zieg didn¡¯t know how much time had passed. A few seconds seemed to be an eternity.

    Zieg raised his head and made a wail. It was an inhuman wail. A wail containing agony, rage, sorrow, and WRATH.

    Zieg¡¯s eyes were glazed over, cold and lifeless, and he channeled a portion of the power of the god¡¯s fragment he had control over to heal his wounds, planning to reconnect his arms.

    He looked over at Gyro¡¯s weapon, his halberd, and stared.

    ¡­

    Seria and the Grand Elder Asher watched the battles unfold calmly. The lazy immortal, Ray, had just been defeated, and Gyro had just passed away leaning on Zieg.

    Watching the fights end, Seria seemed to be satisfied. It looked like the others were utterly exhausted, a perfect opportunity to get rid of the others and seize the legendary artifact, Aegis, from Gyro¡¯s interspatial ring.

    She spoke, ¡°The battles have just about ended. Let¡¯s-¡±

    Before she could finish the sentence, her words were interrupted by a sensation of pain. She felt a sharp pain pierce into her body from her back, and travel through to the middle of her chest. A trickle of blood ran down the side of her mouth, and she looked down.

    What she saw was a blade of ice that ran through her body, and the right hand of the one who wielded it.

    ¡°W-why?¡± Seria turned her head to look at the one behind her, and asked.

    ¡°Why?¡± The Grand Elder Asher smiled. His smile twisted evilly, partnered with his wrinkled face, made him look like the devil itself.

    ¡°You don¡¯t realize it yet? The young mistress has unfortunately been killed in action by the Artifact Hunter Gyro during the retrieval of Aegis,¡± Asher snickered.

    ¡°If you weren¡¯t here, who do you think would be the next head of the Weiss clan?¡± Asher laughed, crazed.

    A flash of realization struck Seria.

    ¡°Treachery¡­¡± Seria whispered.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. My grandson is obviously more fit to be the next head. He¡¯s the strongest of the clan, but your foolish father, Jugo, is blinded by his nepotism for you,¡± Asher¡¯s face abruptly changed, from a smile into a frown.

    The Grand Elder raised and opened his left hand, gathering mana. Another blade of ice was formed, and he planned on using it to finish the job he set out to do.

    Asher aimed, and thrust his second blade of ice towards Seria.

    A red blur flashed, and passed through the space between Asher and Seria. After the blur passed through, two red lines were seen on both of Asher¡¯s wrists.

    Asher¡¯s wrists separated from his body, and they fell at the same time he jumped backwards. The sounds of his wrists hitting the ground made two dull thuds.

    ¡°Who?!¡± He yelled.

    ¡°I hate your types the most. The cowardly, scheming ones,¡± Zieg said, waving his sword. It was like he was afraid of having the vermin¡¯s blood on it.

    ¡°You! I won¡¯t forget you!¡± Asher screamed at Zieg, turned towards Seria, and said, ¡°If my grandson can¡¯t be the one to lead the Weiss clan, I¡¯ll make it so that no one can!¡±

    Asher, bleeding at his wrists, slowly sunk into the snowy ground. Ice began wrapping around both sections of his wrists, and hands made from ice formed.

    His voice echoing out as he disappeared, ¡°I¡¯ll destroy it!¡±

    Seria spat out the blood filling her mouth, and sealed her wound with ice. She looked at Zieg with a strange gaze.

    Zieg flicked his wrist, and Aegis appeared within his hand from Gyro¡¯s interspatial ring he had taken. With the same cold, lifeless look from before, he threw the shield over to Cain who was on the floor, exhausted and collapsed with the other two girls.

    Cain looked over to Zieg, only to be greeted with his back. Zieg was already walking away, over to Gyro¡¯s corpse.

    Zieg picked up Gyro¡¯s corpse, placing it onto his back, and began to walk North. He was walking aimlessly. Where he was going, even he himself didn¡¯t know.

    The four survivors gazed at Zieg¡¯s rescinding back in silence. They didn¡¯t understand what was going, but they all knew that Zieg was feeling immense sorrow for some reason.

    How could they have known, or even come to understand the feeling of killing one¡¯s own father figure with their own two hands? This feeling, this sadness, could only be comprehended by those who have done it themselves.

    Zieg¡¯s figure continued walking North of the Tiandiyu continent. The four all had the same thoughts. Zieg¡¯s departing figure, somehow, looked incredibly lonely.

    They all had the feeling that after he left, they would never see him again.

    Alcantis wanted to follow him, but Cain held out a hand to stop her. He understood the most that certain things could only be resolved by yourself. Only by being left alone would you manage to sort out your own feelings and come to a realization on your own.

    It was then that Seria called out to him, ¡°You! Your name is Hope?! I¡¯ve decided to make you my fiance!¡±

    Her voice was particularly loud, echoing within the quiet highlands.

    ¡°So make sure to stay alive until then! We¡¯ll meet again in the future!¡± She yelled.

    At those words, Zieg briefly paused for a moment.

    Without turning back, he continued slowly walking aimlessly Northward, carrying the dead body of the one he considered his father and teacher, Gyro, on his back.

 Chapter 28 - Hidden Monster

    Underneath a cemetery in a remote area of the Tiandiyu continent was the headquarters of a certain clan, the Blackblood clan. They were notoriously known throughout the immortal community as a group of poison masters and users of hidden weapons, other than that, much about them were unknown.

    In the headquarters, several high ranking members of the clan were currently having a meeting, discussing the recent events in the immortal continent.

    ¡°...The group that was sent after to take Aegis hasn¡¯t returned,¡± one of the members, hidden in black clothing said.

    ¡°There are witnesses and survivors that say the Artifact Hunter Gyro had taken an interest in it,¡± another chimed in.

    ¡°Then it can only be assumed that the group we sent out have already been killed,¡± the one with the most oppressive aura finally spoke.

    The one with the domineering aura wasn¡¯t foolish enough to believe that a mere group of their ordinary clan members would stand a chance against Gyro, the infamous leader of the Jaeger group Sphinx.

    In fact, Gyro was an absolute monster when it came to the art of battle, his sense for battle surpassing Zieg and those in the transcendent realm. It could only be said that the heavens were cruel, granting him poor aptitude and talent. Gyro was limited to the constraints of his body, destined to forever be an ordinary person that could only manage to match up with geniuses by sheer effort and experience.

    What truly made Gyro terrifying was the legendary artifact Gawain, which gave him an artifact-level body, increasing his defense, and made up for his deficient strength. Sadly, Gawain did not affect his naturally slow speed, otherwise together with his mastery of the halberd, Zieg would have long been killed.

    The person with the domineering aura shook their head. They could only consider it a pity, an unfortunate circumstance, that the Artifact Hunter had taken an interest in the legendary artifact Aegis, and that the group of young clan members they sent after it were practically sent straight to their deaths.

    (So weak¡­ The next generation of our clan is so weak¡­ Compared to him...) that person thought.

    They remembered a certain individual from their clan from more than a century ago. The individual they remembered from back then was still a youthful boy that was considered by all to be a true genius. Unfortunately, he was a heretic. He was so fascinated with poison that he broke clan traditions, unceasingly experimenting with them. Forbidden body modifications, injecting himself with the natural poisons of dangerous immortal beasts. Eventually, the youth renounced his clan, leaving to be never seen again.

    ¡°Sieghart¡­¡± the person whispered.

    That person had heard of news known only to the strongest immortals and transcendent realm experts. It was said that the boy that left their Blackblood clan from back then, Sieghart, had founded the Jaegers, ruthless criminal groups that roamed the planet. Years later, the person had caught the traces of whispers from other experts that say Sieghart had used the original, strongest Jaeger group as living sacrifices to ambush a newly broken through transcendent realm being. What happened afterwards was a mystery to everyone, including the Blackblood clan and the person with the domineering aura.

    Sieghart had actually defeated the strongest immortals, using poison to threaten and force them into doing his bidding. The acts, massacres they committed were so ruthless, they were given the label of the original and strongest Jaeger group. He had bided his time, tracking a peak-stage immortal with his Jaeger group, and ambushed the expert in the midst of their breakthrough into the transcendent realm. The result of the ambush was that all of the original Jaegers lost their lives, all but Sieghart. He approached the dying body and soul of the newly broken through transcendent realm being, and did what he always did. Experiment.

    ¡­

    On a remote island, a figure in white robes was sitting peacefully with their legs crossed.

    ¡°?!¡± he abruptly stood up. Power coursed through his veins, and he knew that without a doubt, he was one of the strongest on the planet.

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    This man was the leader of Paragon, Gideon.

    He had sown the seeds of discord and wrath all throughout the planet many years ago, and it seemed that one of them had finally borne fruit.

    ¡°Was it a peak-stage immortal, or someone in the transcendent realm?¡± Gideon mused. Whoever it was, it didn¡¯t matter to him. All that mattered was that whoever it was, was feeling an extreme amount of wrath. Incomparable wrath, a wrath that he set into motion and caused. That feeling of wrath rejuvenated him, causing power to course through his body.

    Gideon never knew that the source of this wrath was Zieg, caused by the killing of his father, Gyro. The sequence of events that led up to Gyro¡¯s killing could all be traced back to one guild, Paragon, and the entity that was the leader of the guild, Gideon.

    Gideon never knew that because of the seeds of wrath he had sown back then, not only had it given him power through the ability of his wrath¡¯s god fragment, but it had also made him a terrifying enemy that was hellbent on his death.

    That enemy was Zieg.

    ¡­

    The group of four flew back to the Weiss clan mountain chain, at the gates of which stood the Weiss clan leader, Jugo. The four and Jugo stood facing each other at the entrance, when one of the four took the initiative to speak.

    ¡°I finally understand,¡± someone said.

    Cain threw the legendary artifact shield Aegis over to his father.

    ¡°I finally understand why mother left. You, I, our clan was nothing more than a burden to her. We were holding her back, like how Aegis was holding me back. You can have it. I don¡¯t have to prove anything to people like you. I don¡¯t need a legendary artifact to be strong. I¡¯ll become strong on my own,¡± Cain said.

    The three flew up, flying back to the Grandiel continent, back to Galvane.

    Jugo clicked his tongue. Those words were nothing more than the ramblings of his trashy son.

    Seria approached her father, telling him of the events that transpired.

    ¡°Asher has betrayed us?!¡± Jugo shouted, hurrying up to gather the clan together and searching the headquarters.

    No traces of Asher or his grandson could be found. They mysteriously disappeared.

    Jugo contemplated on the words of the events that Seria told him, ¡®He¡¯s the strongest of the clan, but your foolish father, Jugo, is blinded by his nepotism for you.¡¯

    Confusion arose in his mind. Asher¡¯s grandson was the strongest? As far as he remembered, Asher¡¯s grandson was a quiet, timid boy. He had never even participated in mocking his trash of a son, Cain.

    Jugo considered the impossible. If that ordinary, unseeming boy was actually the strongest of their clan¡­ then, had he been hiding his true strength all these years?

    If he had, what kind of strength, intelligence, and patience could that sort of monster possess? Worst of all was that type of monster was now an enemy of his clan.

    A chill ran down Jugo¡¯s spine. He shook his head free of the thoughts. He was overthinking this. He had to be.

    ¡°Ridiculous, ridiculous¡­¡± Jugo repeated unconvincingly to himself. Those words were echoed inside his mind like a prayer, praying that his thoughts didn¡¯t turn out to be true.

    ¡­

    After burying Gyro¡¯s body together with the legendary artifact Gawain and his interspatial ring, Zieg kept walking directionlessly onward. The only memento Zieg kept from Gyro was his halberd. Zieg placed the halberd into his interspatial ring. It was a weapon artifact, and maybe one day he would be able to use it after mastering the halberd.

    Zieg was like a living corpse, unceasingly trekking onward towards nowhere. How many days passed? He didn¡¯t know. He just wanted to escape from reality.

    Walking, walking, walking, walking, and even more walking. He kept walking until he no longer had the energy left to do so.

    Finally, Zieg collapsed and fainted under fatigue.

    Floating down next to his body was a small, blue-haired girl.

 Chapter 28.5 - Gu and Kodoku

    Schwarz paced back and forth in a dim, large underground chamber. Before him stood a row of kids, lined up orderly. It was like they were part of a military, refusing to even breathe without being given the order. They all had one thing in common, and that was their firm expressions of determination. Each and every one of them gave off an aura of deterrence and were talented in their own right.

    Cracking sounds rang out as Schwarz stretched his neck. Of his two eyes, only his single purple eye flashed momentarily beneath the black mask that covered his entire face.

    Seeing the man before them, the children didn¡¯t know how to react. They were all of Julius¡¯ disciples, the ones with the most talent, luck, power, and will from several mortal continents put together. At least Julius put up an effort to appear civil, but the man pacing in front of them seemed so unique that they didn¡¯t know how to treat him.

    Finally, Schwarz spoke, ¡°...There¡¯s too many of you. I only need one. The one that shows the most promise.¡±

    He glanced past each and every one of them. Examining them like they were nothing more than livestock.

    Schwarz shook his head in disappointment, and asked, ¡°Do you children know what Gu and Kodoku is?¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    The room was covered in silence. Some of them started to sweat. They didn¡¯t know what it was, but even if they did, they most likely wouldn¡¯t have answered out of fear. The person standing before them was too intimidating. They were just gathered together and told by Julius that he was a friend, and to ¡®follow his instructions.¡¯ That was all. They felt like they were prey being stared at by an apex predator. The eyes beneath his mask seemed to swallow them whole, dissecting their very beings.

    However, there were a few deviants among the children. These deviants seem to be unaffected by the pressure Schwarz unconsciously emitted. Some of them were even smiling, like they were excited to feel the pressure of death bearing down upon them. Others never reacted to his words and pressure whatsoever, like they were machines that existed solely to listen and receive orders, or maybe because they just didn¡¯t care what Schwarz had to say to them.

    ¡°It¡¯s when the most venomous and poisonous creatures are gathered together, and all sealed together into a single, inescapable place, much like this room...¡± Schwarz informed them absentmindedly, his mind seemed to be elsewhere, like he was recalling a nostalgic memory.

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    ¡°The creatures slaughter and devour one another, and the sole survivor eventually comes out to be the most poisonous¡­¡± Schwarz voice trailed off, and he spread his arms out wide, making a single statement¡­

    ¡°Kill each other.¡±

    Three words. A single statement. A simple intention, and yet they carried such a significant meaning behind them.

    The children felt their bodies stiffen in shock. They weren¡¯t able to process the words that they had just heard, and thought that they had heard wrongly. Some had even felt that it was a mistake to come here.

    The children were filled with confusion and questions.

    One of the children began to open their mouths to ask if they had just heard correctly.

    That child wasn¡¯t able to speak before they felt a pair of hands wrap around their neck and violently twist. The words the child had intended to ask had come out instead as an unintelligible, jumbled scream of pain, and they felt their consciousness slipping away from them. Someone standing beside them had grabbed and broken their neck.

    That child had died just like that.

    The chamber erupted into an uproar, and the sounds of fighting resounded within.

    A shadow nimbly weaved its way within the crowd of children fighting for their lives. Everything the shadow came into contact with met a swift death. That shadow was the one to make the first kill and had broken the neck of the one standing beside them.

    Watching the scene unfold, an unseen smile surfaced beneath Schwarz¡¯s mask. He was filled with indescribable expectation. The Schwarz at this moment was nothing more than a child that had found his new favorite toy. A feeling of euphoria and happiness radiated out from him.

    ¡°Kuku, hahaha! Good! Kill one another! Do what the leader, Gideon always says, and: In the name of Paragon, purge the world of all vermin!¡± The sound of Schwarz¡¯s ecstatic laughter resounded within the chamber amidst the cacophony of screams and death.

 Chapter 29 - The Hidden Monsters Intelligence

    Directly North of the Weiss Highlands was the Saha desert, which held the capital city of the Kingdom of Arad. In fact, the Kingdom of Arad was one of the seven spheres of power split into seven different cardinal directions of the Tiandiyu immortal continent. Each of the seven spheres of powers held a great immortal clan. The Arad Kingdom ruled the South of Tiandiyu, including the territory Weiss clan, which was relatively known to be one of the weakest great immortal clans. Although the Weiss Highlands could be considered as a part of the Kingdom of Arad, like the other great immortal clans, they did not subordinate themselves to their respective governments, and merely tolerated one another in a sort of mutual co-existence to deter the other spheres of power. And so, Tiandiyu had been in a precariously peaceful situation for years with the seven powers checking and balancing one another.

    There had been a tacit agreement and covenant since time immemorial that those of the immortal continent will not intervene with the affairs of mortals and mortal continents, otherwise they¡¯d put themselves at risk of being attacked by all immortals. However, those with sufficient power like the guild Paragon can entirely ignore this. No one would be mad enough to attack a guild with the backing of a transcendent realm being like Gideon. It had to be said that, putting it nicely, the average transcendent realm being¡¯s battle capabilities were equivalent to that of ten peak stage immortals. A single transcendent realm expert alone was more than a match for one of the seven spheres of power. As such, others usually turned a blind-eye or humbled themselves to avoid the risk of offending such experts.

    With that being said, the most influential and strongest figures of Tiandiyu can be divided as such: The seven spheres of powers¡¯ governments, the seven great immortal clans, the seven immortal figureheads of the adventurer¡¯s association in each capital of the seven powers, adventurer groups, Jaeger groups, immortal guilds, and some rogue or vagabond immortals. The absolute strongest of which are the hidden experts and hermits, peak stage immortals or those in the transcendent realm that usually aren¡¯t interested in Tiandiyu¡¯s affairs and aren¡¯t bound to any power.

    Right now, one such expert that had hidden themselves well up until this point was walking leisurely in the desert capital city of Arad. Two figures that had waited and rested leisurely for several days in the city were finally walking towards their destination. One was a skinny youth with dark rings underneath his eyes. He looked very refined and calm. The other was a wrinkled old man with both of his hands within the sleeves of his robes.

    Their complexion was at a complete contrast to the usual bronze-skinned Aradian citizen, causing them to stand out conspicuously and gazes to come their way. The eerie aura they gave off made passerbys instantly part way. Many would unconsciously find their gaze attracted to their slowly moving figures. Some bystanders had noticed an odd phenomenon. Although the two were walking in the sand, only the elderly man left footprints behind. The lanky youth left no traces within the sand, it was almost as if he was a weightless spectre. This had only added to their ominousness.

    ¡°You want to exterminate that clan, grandpa?¡± The skinny youth asked the elder walking beside him.

    ¡°Yes, Aquila! After all¡­¡± the elderly man shifted the hands within his robes to reveal them, ¡°It¡¯s because of them and that boy that I lost these¡­!¡± Anger was evident in his tone. Shockingly, the elder¡¯s hands weren¡¯t the flesh of a human¡¯s, but was made entirely of ice.

    ¡°Although I could easily annihilate the Weiss clan alone, it carries too many risks¡­¡± the skinny youth, Aquila muttered quietly.

    ¡°But-¡± Asher¡¯s complaint was cut short.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, grandpa. I¡¯ve already thought of at least ten ways of getting rid of them without lifting a finger. That¡¯s why we¡¯ve been staying in this horrid place for the past few days,¡± Aquila reassured.

    He had already envisioned several scenarios, and hatched countless backup plans in the case that his grandfather¡¯s assassination attempt on Seria had failed.

    Such was his, Aquila¡¯s nature. He thought that the clans and powers that coveted prestige, dignity, face, and fame were nothing more than fools. To him, cautiousness, shrewdness, cunning, and shamelessness were worthy of respect.

    (Strength can get you far, but intelligence can get you further¡­) Aquila thought, an imperceptible smirk forming on his lips.

    He firmly believed in the philosophy that with peerless strength, you can conquer an area. While with peerless intelligence, you can conquer the world.

    Even though he believed himself to be an unparalleled schemer, he was still cautious by nature. He did not particularly underestimate others, and also took into account the existence of the monsters that were centuries old. Even if he was a genius, could he contend in a battle of strength or wits with those with much more experience than him, those that have lived multiples of times of his entire lifespan? He considered the risks of personally annihilating the Weiss clan, and quickly discarded the idea before it even formed within his mind. Thoughts like ¡®What if Seria and Cain¡¯s mother somehow came back, would she come looking for vengeance?¡¯ or ¡®What if a survivor or witness manages to escape, and makes my existence and true strength public?¡¯ passed through his mind. There were too many disadvantages to acting personally.

    Aquila did not consider fame something to be actively sought for, and if possible, would rather avoid becoming famous or infamous at all costs. In fact, he had grown up hearing a legend. This legend involved how Sieghart Blackblood, the founder of the Jaegers, used the fame of a peak stage immortal that was rumored to soon breakthrough into the transcendent realm against them. Such a cunning individual like Sieghart was worthy of Aquila¡¯s admiration and respect.

    (The minute you become widely known, is the minute that you lose) Aquila sneered.

    This was the reason why the true experts like those in the transcendent realm were hermits. They did not want to leak information about themselves or their powers, thoughts that coincided with Aquila¡¯s. If information about you becomes known, countermeasures could easily be made against you and your abilities.

    ¡°You said that it was only you six there, and the sole surviving member of Sphinx wasn¡¯t present, right?¡± Aquila asked his grandfather Asher.

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    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Asher replied, albeit confused as to the meaning behind his question.

    ¡°Excluding you, that makes five. Seria, Cain, and three of Cain¡¯s friends. It can be inferred from that, that Aegis is in possession of the Weiss clan,¡± Aquila made a smirk.That smirk seemed second nature to him.

    Asher was puzzled. Wasn¡¯t he just stating the obvious?

    ¡°Grandpa, think about it. Excluding the six of you, and now me, who else knows that Aegis still belongs to the Weiss clan?¡± Aquila questioned.

    It was now that a realization seemed to have dawned upon Asher.

    It had to be said that legendary artifacts such as Aegis possessed an immense attractive force to the factions on the immortal continent Tiandiyu.

    ¡°You understand? Let¡¯s assume that the other five belong on the side of the Weiss clan, that means they¡¯d clearly withhold information of their possession of Aegis to the rest of the continent. As far as the rest of the world knows, the last anyone has ever seen Aegis was within the hands of Sphinx and the Artifact Hunter Gyro¡­ and where is Gyro now?¡± Aquila quietly chuckled.

    A genius. His grandson was a genius. How could his grandson have noticed something that even he, with decades of more experience than him, had missed? Aquila was not like the other so-called geniuses that relied purely on martial might, but a genius with uncontested intelligence that had the potential to rule the world. At the thought of this, Asher brimmed with pride.

    Aquila had a unique way of thinking, in which he would place himself in the perspectives of countless others that had experienced the events themselves, including putting himself and viewing things in the perspective of an observer, like this, it was almost impossible for him to not notice a simple oversight that others could have easily missed.

    ¡°He¡¯s dead. The only people who know of this are us seven. In other words¡­ the rest of the continent is chasing a dead man whom they believe to still have Aegis, and in the worst case scenario, the sole surviving member of the Jaeger group Sphinx,¡± Aquila explained.

    At a first glance, that small piece of information may not seem like much, but it held many implications¡­

    ¡°We can use this knowledge to our advantage. Let¡¯s say¡­ attach ourselves to the ruling government of another sphere of power, and reveal this piece of information to them, manipulating them into a conflict with the Weiss clan for Aegis,¡± Aquila smiled.

    Aquila had long predicted what this revelation would lead to. Another sphere of power would search for Aegis, and annihilate the Weiss clan in the process, but would the Kingdom of Arad simply sit still and let an invading force destroy one of their sources of power? Although the clans and their respective governing powers were not allies, they mutually benefitted one another to form a deterring relationship from other powers on Tiandiyu, so would the Kingdom of Arad just let an invading force weaken their overall power and destroy one of their metaphoric ¡®limbs,¡¯ namely, the Weiss clan?

    The answer was: no. They would obviously act to stop them, aiding the Weiss clan and inevitably fight back.

    This would lead to a war between two spheres of powers, two nations. This war would destroy the delicate balance between the nations of Tiandiyu, eventually erupting in an all-out war that would involve the entire continent and affect all seven powers.

    And after the war¡¯s conclusion, when all the powers are severely weakened, what then?

    Who would be there to conveniently manipulate events to go their way, and ultimately unify the entire immortal continent behind the scenes? Aquila.

    Aquila would go on to become the unspoken ruler of all of Tiandiyu.

    (I¡¯ve bided my time¡­ waited patiently and acted like a weakling for years, all for an opportunity to present itself, but who would have thought that things would proceed so smoothly?!) Aquila thought.

    A war would soon breakout that would be written down on history, and the events of which would be sung by bards all across the lands for times to come. All of this would result from the actions of a single person. An individual possessing strength, intelligence, and patience.

    This individual was the ¡®hidden monster¡¯ of the Weiss clan. Aquila.

    (But it¡¯s too early to celebrate¡­ In order to ensure that things proceed smoothly¡­) Aquila thought, as they had finally made their way over to their intended destination.

    The adventurer¡¯s association of the capital city of Arad.

    Opening the doors to the adventurer¡¯s association, the two immediately noticed something odd.

    The room was in absolute chaos, with adventurers bustling with activity and creating a commotion. Some parts of the room were smashed, and the roof had a large hole that revealed the scorching sun above it.

    ¡°Grandpa, help me find out what¡¯s all the noise about,¡± Aquila frowned. He ignored all the noise and made his way near a large bulletin board.

    The top of the bulletin board had large emboldened words that stated, ¡®WANTED JAEGER GROUPS,¡¯ underneath of which, he saw some notorious Jaeger groups, and the photos of all the members of the Jaeger group Sphinx still listed.

    Confirming his suspicions, he nodded, satisfied. So his speculations were correct, and the information that Gyro was dead still hadn¡¯t been leaked to the rest of the world. He was able to slightly relax with this assurance.

    Asher walked up next to his grandson, and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing, they¡¯re only so noisy because of a brazen Jaeger was sighted within the building a few moments ago. Most of the adventurers present had left the area to chase them.¡±

    ¡°Ah. There¡¯s no need to get involved in such trivial matters, then. Let¡¯s go make our way to another nation. Tell me, grandpa, which nation do you want to pick to be the one to destroy the Weiss clan?¡± Aquila leisurely asked as he walked out of the building with Asher.

    The pair never knew that just a few moments before, the ¡®worst case scenario,¡¯ that Aquila had envisioned had already arrived, and the sole surviving member of the Jaeger group Sphinx, a small, blue-haired girl had made a grand appearance and caused a commotion within the building together with Zieg.

 Chapter 30 - Wanted

    ¡°...EEEEY!¡±

    In the searing heat with his awakening consciousness, Zieg felt hands on his back, rocking him back and forth.

    ¡°HEEEEY! WAKE UUUUUUUUP!¡±

    He heard a voice constantly calling out to him, the owner of the one shaking his body.

    Although he wanted to rise, his body felt extremely heavy. He hadn¡¯t rested at all after expending nearly all of his energy in his fight with Gyro, then unconsciously walking forward aimlessly with sheer will power for days until he finally collapsed.

    Opening his eyes, he saw a small pair of feet next to his body, and sand as far as his eyes could see. He had unknowingly left the boundaries of the Weiss highlands, and had walked into the Arad Kingdom¡¯s Saha desert.

    Vibrations suddenly reverberated from the ground, and sand was splashed about as something rose from the ground next to his fallen body.

    It was a strange worm-like creature. It¡¯s beige-skin blended together well with the sand, and its circular rows of teeth made it look more like a leech than a worm. A Sand Worm, a beast indigenous to the Saha desert that preyed on exhausted and unsuspecting prey.

    Zieg heard a sound of someone clicking their tongue, and the grown continuously shake.

    There was an inhuman screech of agony, and the ground shook once more as the body of the worm hit the ground, dead. The impact of the worm falling sent sand flying over to cover Zieg¡¯s body that was sprawled out on the ground.

    Zieg groaned. He forced himself to stay awake and used his hands as support to get up.

    What he saw when he stood was a dead worm with a hole punctured in the middle of its body, its green-colored blood was sprayed all over the yellow sand. Standing next to its dead body was a small girl whose hands were covered in its green blood.

    ¡°You¡¯re finally up!¡± said the girl, grinning from ear-to-ear.

    Zieg vaguely recognized the girl. He had seen her fleeing together with Gyro¡¯s group a few days before at the Weiss mountain chain.

    ¡°Who?¡± Zieg groaned. He sounded utterly exhausted. At this point, all he wanted was some well-deserved sleep and rest.

    ¡°I¡¯m Levia! Let¡¯s go on an adventure together!¡± the small girl, Levia said.

    ¡°Haaah?¡± an incredibly stupid sound came out of Zieg¡¯s mouth due to his muddle-headedness and confusion.

    ¡°Gyro promised! He said he¡¯d take me on an adventure to see things I¡¯ve never seen before, and show me the entire continent! Since you killed him, you have to take responsibility and do it for him!¡± Levia explained.

    Zieg felt a headache coming on. The ringing in his head due to the fatigue and lack of sleep was overwhelming. He shook his head to clear his mind.

    What now? He couldn¡¯t go around sulking over Gyro¡¯s death forever. He reaffirmed his goals. His first priority was to grow stronger, then eliminate the remaining members of Paragon. As far as he knew there were still five members of Paragon still roaming around the world and wreaking havoc. If he still couldn¡¯t find him in the process of his journey, then the most likely chance he had of encountering the remaining members was during the Heaven Arena, information of which he obtained from some of the memories of his god fragment, and to enter that he needed¡­

    A guild. At least five people to enter the Heaven Arena with. He still had approximately eight years before the dimensional rift to the Heaven Arena opened. During the time he had left, he needed to begin looking for at least four more people to join him in the creation of a guild. So why not start now? Tiandiyu was the prime place to begin searching and recruiting for guild members. If he went on an ¡®adventure¡¯ in Tiandiyu, he could recruit some members along the way. There were no disadvantages to the idea.

    With his objective decided, Zieg nodded, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go on an adventure, but only if you join my guild.¡±

    ¡°Guild? Like Sphinx? Okay!¡± Levia replied cheerfully. It didn¡¯t matter much to her. It was simply swapping the Jaeger group Sphinx with another guild.

    Zieg didn¡¯t think recruiting her would go that smoothly, at this rate all he needed was three more members.

    ¡°The first place to start when going on an adventure is the adventurer¡¯s association, follow me!¡± Levia dashed off happily.

    Zieg found himself caught in her pace, but he didn¡¯t dislike her bubbly, typhoon-like personality. He followed her, trekking across the sand while feeling something gnaw at the back of his mind. He had a feeling that he had forgotten something important, something that had to do with Levia¡¯s last words, but was unable to recall it due to his drowsiness.

    Feeling helpless, he ran after her. He was practically lost within Tiandiyu anyway. He needed a guide to bring him to the closest settlement where he could get a map of the continent.

    The desert¡¯s heat was truly unbearable, but Zieg was much more suited to this environment than the cold of the Weiss highlands. He had come across a few deserts in his past life in the Grandiel continent.

    He talked with Levia along the way, and learned about the seven spheres of power within Tiandiyu, along with the fact that she had come from the Marsh of Oblivion, where she had been picked up by Gyro. The Marsh of Oblivion was the South-Western portion of Tiandiyu, and was the only region that wasn¡¯t under the rule of a sphere of influence. It was an extremely harsh environment where immortal beasts roamed freely, and most aside from a few supreme experts feared to enter.

    After walking across the desert for some time, they had finally arrived at the capital city of the Arad Kingdom.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± Levia said with all-smiles. Although the little girl puffed out her chest proudly when explaining things to Zieg, she had only ever been to the Marsh of Oblivion and Kingdom of Arad, the South-Western and South regions of Tiandiyu respectively, and this was only because Gyro¡¯s Jaeger group, Sphinx, was based in the capital city of Arad. It was because of these reasons that she knew the desert like the back of her hand.

    ¡°To the adventurer¡¯s association!¡± she shouted, and shuffled off. Her loud remarks caught the attention of several citizens that sent her strange looks.

    Zieg followed after her while feeling that the strange gnawing that he felt before continuously grow stronger. It was a premonition of danger. Although he didn¡¯t know what it was, he trusted his sharpened instincts and chased her.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Zieg called after her, to no avail.

    He sighed and chased her into the large building within the city that was the adventurer¡¯s association.

    Levia blasted through the doors of the association, causing them to swing open in a violent and conspicuous manner as she made an extravagant entrance into the building.

    She shouted out loudly to everyone within the building, ¡°I want to be an adventurer!¡±

    The adventurers, staff, and those putting up commissions all paused. They stopped what they were doing, all conversations stopped as their line of sight ended up on the little girl standing at the center of the building.

    It was at this point that Zieg caught up to her. He finally arrived to stand next to her while huffing and puffing. He barely had any energy to spare after his fight with Gyro, and now he walked for days before going on a goose chase after what could be considered a former enemy. He was practically defenseless due to his exhaustion and could only put up a token resistance if anything unexpected happened.

    All sights were glued to the duo, making Zieg feel extremely uncomfortable. He realized instantaneously that something was wrong when he felt the gnawing feeling he felt before grow louder and louder.

    A shiver ran up his spine, and he hastily looked around the various bulletin boards of the guild. At the same time he did this, many other adventurers in the building had the same thoughts as him and did the same. Their eyes landed decisively on a single, conspicuous bulletin board.

    The top of the bulletin board had the large, bolded words, ¡°WANTED JAEGER GROUPS,¡± followed by pictures of notorious Jaegers within the area. Near the top of the bulletin board were the pictures of four individuals under the bolded name ¡°SPHINX.¡±

    The adventurers were shocked, they looked back and forth between one of the pictures on the bulletin board and the duo, almost as if they were making a visual comparison.

    There was only silence within the building for a moment.

    It was at this moment that Zieg finally knew what the gnawing feeling from before was, and it was at this moment that Zieg knew that he had fucked up.

    Despite this, Levia stood next to him with her chest puffed out, almost as if she were proud of herself and her adventurer debut.

    ¡°Run!¡± Zieg shouted and grabbed onto Levia¡¯s hand.

    His shout seemed to be the trigger for action, and all the adventurers pounced at them with red eyes filled with greed.

    The sudden action filled Levia with confusion, but she reacted quickly and transformed into a giant serpent, her true form.

    The sudden transformation broke a large hole through the roof where the two escaped.

    ¡°YOU CAN¡¯T BE A FUCKING JAEGER AND ADVENTURER AT THE SAME TIME!¡± Zieg shouted while holding onto her fin with his life.

    ¡°GYRO NEVER TOLD ME THAT!¡± Levia shouted back.

    They were arguing, holding a conversation in shouts in an attempt to be heard over the sound of the wind.

    ¡°CHANGE BACK! WE STAND OUT TOO MUCH LIKE THIS! WE CAN LOSE THEM IN THE CITY!¡± Zieg shouted. He looked behind them to see dozens of adventurers wildly chasing them over the space of the city.

    Levia abruptly transformed back into a little girl, and the two fell downward.

    It was a few minutes after this that Aquila and his grandfather had entered the adventurer¡¯s association.

    ¡­

    Two immortals leisurely walked North-West towards their selected destination. The region ruled by the Selien Empire.

    ¡°Aquila, you said the worst-case scenario was the survivor of Sphinx reappearing, right? It isn¡¯t like you to leave something like that go unchecked,¡± Asher said.

    If the last remaining member of Sphinx appeared, there was a possibility that she could disclose to the public that the other members, and most importantly Gyro had died and wasn¡¯t in possession of Aegis. If that was made known, their plans could be ruined completely.

    Aquila only chuckled.

    ¡°Do you know the best way to kill a Jaeger, grandpa?¡± Aquila asked.

    ¡°,,,¡± Asher stayed quiet. He had noticed his grandson¡¯s confidence. He should have never brought the topic up, when he had already known: Aquila did not leave loose ends.

    ¡°With another Jaeger,¡± Aquila smirked sinisterly.

    Aquila had already made plans to silence Levia.

    Jaegers had many enemies. Not only were they wanted by adventurers, they naturally had competition, rivalry, and enmity with other Jaegers through their line of work. Using this knowledge, Aquila had enlisted the help of a Jaeger group that were enemies of Sphinx to hunt down Levia.

    As far as Aquila was concerned, Levia, and everyone around her was already as good as dead.