Book 11: Part 10 – A Sovereign’s Offer

Aside from the creation of the three divine planes, most of Ace's group had never really got to experience the true might of a Sovereign; as such, the mood of Killian and the others could be imagined as they were wrapped in Shinji's Sovereign energy and flown to their destination.

The distance between the Starmist Sea and the Bloodridge Continent – where both Beirut's Indigo Prefecture and the Four Divine Beast Clan's Skyrite Mountain were located – was easily over a few million miles, and that was after taking into consideration all the distance Ace and his group had already covered.

Flying by Metallic Lifeform would've taken Ace and the others another few weeks, but with Shinji taking them there personally, they found that they had come to a halt after only a few seconds.

It was at that time that everyone aside from Ace, who had already personally experienced the travelling speed of Chief Sovereigns like Phueus and Augusta, really began to understand the difference between Sovereigns and deities.

Still, Phueus had no interest in the reaction of Killian and the others as he appeared in Beirut's private estate.

Although Beirut was also a Sovereign, that was only his Wind Divine Clone and, by extension, his original body, which could utilise his Wind clone's Sovereign power; unfortunately, because of his enmity with Augusta, both of those bodies were trapped in the Yulan Plane; as such, Beirut hadn't noticed the appearance of Shinji until the Starmist Sovereign cleared his throat to announce his arrival.

Beirut's shock was understandable, especially when he saw the figures of Ace and the others; still, with all of his experience, it took the original Godeater Rat but a fraction of a second to get over his shock, but upon hearing that Wukong and Shinji were actually father and son, his shock returned ten-fold, and this time he wasn't able to suppress it so easily.

As a fellow Sovereign, Beirut, of course, knew that Shinji was a Violet-Eyed Battle Ape. Likewise, he also knew of the man's Divine Ability. He also knew that Wukong was an ape-human hybrid with a fairly impressive ability that strengthened his physical abilities and battle IQ. Still, he never once even thought the two were related.

With how many types of beasts there were in existence, he would be foolish to compare one whose natural abilities, whilst impressive compared to most magical beasts and even almost comparable to the average Divine Beast, to the most powerful Ape-type beast in all of existence.

But most importantly, he truly hadn't noticed Brianna enter his Yulan Plane. If he had, he definitely would've informed Shinji. After all, in his current situation, the closer he became to other Sovereigns, especially those more powerful than himself, the better.

Deep down, Shinji knew Beirut was unlikely to lie to him, especially not over something like this. Still, he had a belly full of rage and no one else to vent on.

Thankfully, before Shinji could escalate the situation and take his anger out on the innocent Lesser Sovereign, Wukong bravely stepped forward, placing himself between Beirut and his father.

Not only did he vouch for Beirut, but he also explained how Beirut had personally helped him and all of their friends a lot over the years. Without Beirut, it was no exaggeration to say that they wouldn't be anywhere near as powerful as they are today, at least not so early.

Hearing that, Shinji calmed down. He didn't personally care about Beirut's life and death, and even though he knew he was treating Beirut unjustly, he was far from a saint. Still, in his eyes, he owed this son of his too much.

In his eyes, it was his fault that his wife was dead, and, by extension, his only son was forced to grow up on his own.

Having said everything he needed to to Beirut, Shinji was just about to take his son and leave when he remembered his initial reason for coming here in the first place. He then looked back at Ace with a hint of displeasure as he knew that Ace really had been lying to him.

As a native of the Yulan Plane and one with a close connection to Beirut, in his eyes, there was absolutely no way he even knew Augusta. If anything, the only reason Ace even knew his name was from Beirut.

The only thing stopping him from killing Ace was how close he was to his son. From his son's story of his past, he could see that although he was close to the whole group, the connection he shared with Ace was no less than that of a real brother.

Understanding what was likely going through Shinji's mind and after hearing about Shinji's enmity with Phueus, he decided to tell him the truth. How, although he wasn't actually from the Divine Light Plane, nor was he the beloved disciple of Augusta, he really did have a connection with him.

When Shinji heard Ace's tale of what happened in the Celestial Realm, he was left speechless, especially when he heard how Ace and Amira, who was actually the grandchild of his wife's sworn brother, was in the middle of training with Augusta.

He couldn't help but take a deep breath, having understood just how close he had been to courting death.

He didn't know everything about Augusta's connection to the Viz Clan, but what he did know was that Augusta was close enough to them to attempt to kill Phueus to avenge them.

Had he really killed Ace and, by extension, Amira, thanks to their bond as soulmates, a madman like Augusta wouldn't have hesitated in killing him.

He turned to Beirut, half expecting the man to be even more shocked than him. After all, Beirut and Augusta were sworn enemies, and this was the first time Ace and Beirut had seen each other since Ace's group left for the Celestial Realm, but opposite to what he had expected, Beirut was completely calm.

Killian had returned to the Yulan Plane and had told Beirut what had happened in the Celestial Realm long ago.

Whilst he was able to maintain his calm now, back when he first learned the truth, Beirut had been beyond shocked.

Still, he was able to see a faint glimmer of hope. The truth was, Beirut didn't actually hate Augusta; after all, he was the one who had acted as the thief. Despite the difference in power, Augusta was the true victim in the scenario.

Truth be told, Beirut actually felt sorry for Augusta. He did all that work killing the ancestors of the Four Divine Beast Clan, only for his hard work to be for nought. But if it was for the chance of becoming a Sovereign, not only him but just about every deity in existence would've done exactly the same thing.

He had tried several times in the past to bargain with Augusta, saying he would return him the other three Sovereign Sparks in exchange for forgiving him. But Augusta was nothing if not spiteful and petty. The phrase, "Cutting off your nose to spite your face", was made precisely for Augusta.

Unless Beirut killed his Divine Wind Clone and returned all four Sovereign Sparks, Augusta wouldn't even think about forgiving him.

But now, with how close Ace and Amira were to him, there was a chance that Augusta's mind could be changed.

Ace agreed to ask Amira to ask Augusta for forgiveness on Beirut's behalf. Unfortunately, they'd have to wait.

Ace and Amira, via their bond as soulmates, had been able to stay in contact with ease. Even whilst watching Augusta's creation of the Divine Light Plane, they spoke very regularly, but a few years ago, Ace could sense from her soul's fluctuations that Amira seemed to have entered a state of enlightenment.

As much as Ace missed her, unless it was absolutely necessary, Ace refused to communicate with her and wake her from her state of enlightenment prematurely.

As much as he wanted his freedom, he agreed with Ace's decision. Plus, he had been locked in the Yulan Plane for millions of years already. A few more didn't mean much to him. He was just happy he could finally see a faint flicker of light at the end of the tunnel.

But back to Shinji, with Ace's connection to not only Beirut, the newly ascended Lesser Sovereign of Fire, and most importantly, Augusta, Shinji's tone became a lot more polite. He understood that Ace wasn't a deity that he could afford to treat lightly.

Still, there was one more thing he had to ask before he left, and surprisingly, it had nothing to do with the use of Concepts. With Wukong being his son, he could ask him privately at a later time and date.

No, the final pressing matter he needed to deal with was the matter of taking, hopefully, both, but at the very least, either Killian or Leona as his disciple, especially after having learned that both had an affinity to the Edict of Destruction.

------------------------------------------

Please check out and support my new novel - A Tale of Pride!

-------------------------------------------

Story Complete!

Currently 97 chapters ahead!

Head over to the P atreon if you wish to read to the end uninterrupted!

P.atreon.com/AceInCoilingDragon