224-235

Two faint shadows leaving behind afterimages crashed against each other.

Alex's reddish glowing sword collided with the icy layered sword of Albert creating a crackling sound forming a loud ripple in the air.

The heat of the sword clashes against the frosty sword creating a faint explosion with a sizzling sound.

A faint haze erupted outward due to the clash.

Albert exhaled fumes of icy air while Alex channelled his mana inside him.

'This guy seemed to have a stronger ice affinity to the point he can control it with his free will. I didn't think I would come across an elemental ability user.'

'Maybe had consumed some natural treasure or had swallowed the heart of an ice dragon?'

'This guy can be considered as the son of heaven in a way.'

Albert stared at Alex as they both assumed high guard and threw slashes at each other.

Albert retracted his sword and threw an overhand cut but Alex parried quickly as if the motion had been ingrained in his body.

Albert tried to throw Alex off balance and tried to cut through from another side but Alex parried it again quite easily.

They moved, back and forth creating a strong burst of ripples that blew away the layer of soil and dirt on the ground.

TANG!TANG!TANG!TANG!

CLANG!CLANG!CLANG!CLANG

Soft shockwaves spread one after another which eroded the upper layer of the soil while the trees that were at the side started to vibrate as they suffered the brunt and their barks started to crack bit by bit.

Bouncing on the back of his feet, Alex readjusted the grip on his sword. Holding it over his right shoulder, he waited for his opponent to make his move.

Alex deflected Albert's attack and changed the projectile of his sword by attracting the last minute, making him quite frustrated.

It looked as if Alex was going to be hit by his sword but at the last moment, it didn't.

Albert with the next cut thrust his sword aiming at Alex's torso but Alex's sword cut at the lower angel deflecting his attack and raising the tip of the sword to go up.

Albert missed the opportunity to attack much to his surprise and leapt backwards chopping Alex's blade aside.

Alex didn't fight for the blow or try to parry the attack; rather he used the momentum of the clash and used deflection to spin his body around and swing his sword at Albert's head.

Albert lowered his back while raising his sword to parry the blow and slashed against Alex.

Alex dodged to the side, throwing a slash at Albert's hand quickly.

Alex's counterattack shocked Albert greatly.

Albert retreated quickly but a faint cut appeared over his knuckles but he didn't let go of the grip of his sword.

Albert gnashed his teeth and gawked at Alex while pressing forward.

The two men closed, and Albert swung his sword while Alex just simply deflected the direction of the sword but Albert mutated the cut into a thrust.

He threw slashes, cut and thrust at Alex relentlessly driving him around the place.

Alex started to see the desperation in Albert's eyes who tried to push him.

Albert, being frustrated, roared in anger pouring his mana into his sword. His speed increased by several margins.

Propelling his strength into the leg, he hurled forward leaving behind a large footprint on the ground.

He swept his sword in an attempt to hit Alex but as soon as his sword passed through Alex and cut into two halves, he was surprised to see that it was just an afterimage.

Swish!

A small blizzard erupted due to the cut freezing everything within a radius of 40 metres.

Albert's eyes narrowed as he felt a small mana distortion behind his back and without any thought, he turned his body stabbing the space in front of him.

Alex who appeared behind him to attack was surprised to see his fast reaction and jumped back quickly still Albert's sword brushed past his cheek following which a small gust of wind passed by him.

A small cut appeared and the blood that trickled froze forming a layer of ice over his cheek.

Alex wiped off the ice but at that time Albert was already upon him swinging his sword at him, however, Alex swiftly slid to the ground passing through the arc of the swing and getting up on his feet, bashed his elbow at Albert's back.

BANG!

Albert was pushed forward as he was struck by a heavy impact but he used the momentum while spinning his body to slash at Alex.

A huge snowstorm emerged from the slash that struck Alex, blinding his vision.

A strong gust of frosty winds attacked him dragging him back while the strong slash that appeared before him suddenly burst before him exploding into a frosty layer of ice raining on him trying to freeze him.

BAAAM!

Alex shivered a little as he was suddenly hit by frost and the frosty mana tried to invade his body while everything around him froze and started to crumble into pieces of ice.

Alex's upper body was frozen by the layer of ice.

"Huff!"

"Huff!"

With rough and heavy breathing, Albert stared at the cloud of snow before him. He thought that his attack might have frozen Alex into a statue resulting in his victory.

But his hopes were crushed as he saw a red glowing blade was swung following which a sound akin to tearing off paper reached his ears.

SHIIIIIING!

The layer of haze and cloud of snow was cut apart and blown away.

A strong gust of wind blew and everything dissipated around the place and Alex's figure emerged covered in snow like a snowball.

As Alex circulated his mana, the snow melted emitting small vapours.

Alex's body erupted with a strong aura and with each step he took, the ground beneath him cracked.

Alex with a large grin on his face,raised his sword at Albert with a mocking smile.

"Madman! Your time is up!"

225 CHAPTER 225

Albert's senses screamed of danger urging him to flee.

As he stared at the figure, he started to hallucinate about standing on an ocean of blood, filled with bones and corpses.

His eyes of discernment saw a strong bloody aura emerging from Alex that was impaling him down.

"It's time for round two," Alex spoke with a mocking expression.

Albert snapped out of his senses and the illusion disappeared quickly.

Both of them circled around keeping their guard up.

Albert made the first move but Alex just slapped the blade aside and thrust forward.

Albert parried and tried to counter the thrust, two of them met face to face with swords struggling against each other but at the last moment, Alex pulled out the sword off the line and raised his right arm to give a slap.

SlAP!

Albert was startled by the sudden move and stepped back quickly with his red cheek while glaring at Alex.

"You shameless…"

"What You…" Alex grinned.

"Did you think of that when you threatened my lady?" Alex muttered while slashing forward.

"The playtime is over." Alex grinned and snorted at him.

"You have great potential and have been blessed by the heavens. Instead of looking for guidance from a good teacher, you run around looking for death."

"I need to teach you a lesson," Alex murmured after all he cannot leave a person having the such talent to behave like an idiotic ruffian.

"It's time to go Overdrive."

Alex knew he had become serious otherwise things were going bad.

Alex pushed every ounce of his strength to the limit.

Emitting a large amount of energy that even gave Albert a sense of dilapidation, his entire senses were focused on the target.

Whoosh!.

Alex's body moved like lightning, coated in a bluish hue emitting faint trails of lightning, he strolled forward.

"Bring it on. Do you think I fear you?" Albert shouted.

He moved like a blur while sharpening his body in an instant.

Condensing a great deal of mana onto his sword, Alex created a blade of light which brimmed with great brilliance that could render one blind instantly.

It was even enough to tear the space around him.

There was no hesitation in Alex's eyes nor any remorse if he killed Albert in this process, he just had to give his best and satisfy this idiot.

The blade descended with a Godlike speed, slashing Albert in front of him.

CLANG!

Sparks flew as Albert easily parried his full strike but his legs stumbled into the ground forming a small pit which startled him.

He quickly pulled out his leg, thrashing the ground and coating his blade with mana and sliced at Alex.

BOOOM!

The echoes of the devastating impact sped across the air and the ground started to break apart but Alex didn't look shaken even though the surroundings suffered a great deal.

SHINNNG!

Alex knocked his next strike and twisted his blade and Alex I'm an| blurred appeared behind Albert and brandishing his sword at him.

Albert as if he had an eye on his back slashed backwards spinning his body without even turning his head.

Swish!

Alex's body was ripped apart but much to Albert's surprise, thr ripped body started to disperse into mana.

"Clone!" Albert squealed and before he could react, Alex twisted his legs and slammed his feet on Albert's torso sending him flying.

Albert rotated his body in the mid-air and landed on his feet but leaving behind a streak of lightning Alex appeared before him while slashing at him.

Albert shouted and a dense chilling aura burst forth from his body attacking Alex with Halestorm.

Alex exhaled leaving fumes of mist and Albert's attack wasn't enough to stop him.

Bringing both of his arms down with a strong vertical stroke, Alex slashed.

[Iron Heavy Swordsmanship]

Alex's sword became heavy and all the strength was concentrated at a single point.

The point of the sword that was going to collide against the enemy was condensed with all his strength.

Albert raised his sword on which a mini tornado of snow swirled

BOOOOOM!

Light filled the whole area with a blinding flash that was expanding in radius.

The eruption blasted debris and scattered it all around.

Alex generated a shield to defend himself from freezing coldness. The destructive ability of the attack tore down the defence of Albert who was plunged downward due to the heavy blow and even the ground failed to support him.

As the thick smoke disappeared Albert squatted down supporting himself with his broken tip sword.

"I can't lose. I can't lose now." He muttered.

Getting up, he raised his hand.

Mana swirled around him and ice started to materialise taking shape and rendering forms.

"Try this!"

A cackle escapes Albert's lips as he launches a spear in Alex's direction.

Whoosh!

Space tore as the long and sharp pointy spear was projected at me.

The insane velocity of the attack was enough to tear everyone into shred that stood before it.

Albert had poured almost everything into it and enhanced it as much as possible.

The spear rotating in itself hurled its way toward Alex with a massive burst of energy.

Alex raised his sword to his right arm while staring at the incoming attack.

[Piercing Thrust]

Alex grinned and stabbed his sword and his hand shot like a whip, shooting a mass of concentrated pressure that sliced everything before him.

BOOOM!

Everything before Alex was cut apart from the ground to air while the spear burst and explode into shards of ice vaporising everything in front of him.

The remaining strength of the pressure hit Albert and sent him flying back like a doll spurting blood.

With a look of disbelief on his face, he stared aimlessly at the skies with an ugly expression.

All of his body ached as he had pushed himself greatly and he had suffered the repercussions of using too much of his ice ability and his blood was clotted inside him.

In a way, his situation was quite bad and if not treated properly, the clot may render some functions of his body useless and he may turn crippled or die.

'I can't die here, otherwise, all my hard work and my journey in search of strength would be in vain.'

Albert gritted his teeth trying to keep himself conscious while enduring the pain.

He heard the sound of footsteps and looked around to hear a voice.

"If I were in your shoes. I would have killed myself rather than lose a person who is of a lower rank than me."

"What that means is you are Epic rank. You didn't conceal your rank."Albert spoke with an expression of shock and disbelief.

"Bastard, how many times do I need to say that I am Epic rank."

"It's your fault for thinking that I am concealing my strength," Alex shouted.

As if the last straw had been broken, Albert's eyes became lifeless and he coughed black blood with a pained expression.

He still thought that this guy had held back a little and he might have lost outright if the guy had used all his strength.

At first, he saw him as a hurdle and by defeating the guy, he could step further but the more he fought, the more he felt that this guy wasn't serious and still had some tricks up his sleeves.

If only Albert knew that what Alex held back were magic spells and Goddess blessings to boost his physical prowess instead of rank, he might die of shock.

Alex stared at Albert whose body twitched and convulsed like a wriggling worm.

Alex just gave him a gentle kick and cast a minor healing spell and waited for the response.

Alex used his spell while channelling his mana to treat him internally.

Alex's warm mana flowed inside him clearing the cut while his healing spell healed him partially.

But even after waiting for quite some time, Albert's body only shivered.

"Are you alright?"

"Or are you going to die?"

Alex twitched seeing him not responding.

'Did I go too hard on him that he had developed a trauma?'Alex muttered.

"You were a good warrior and one of the lucky ones to die by my hand."

"I should dig a grave and bury you," Alex muttered and nudged back to walk but he felt a tight grab on his foot and looked back to see Albert glaring at him while raising his head.

Alex squatted down and what followed after was.

SLAP!

"Do you think this is a play, you bastard? You dare to act before me after I cast a healing spell."

SLAP!

"Did you take me as a fool?"

"Stop!"

"Stop!"

Albert's miserable shriek echoed and he was beaten till blue back and his handsome face had swollen like big.

"Tell me, why did you act to be unconscious?"

"I thought if I wake up, you will toy with me and torture me," Albert sobbed.

"Why didn't you think of that when you challenged me?"

"I didn't imagine that you would defeat me."

Alex tried to calm down his anger and extended his hand.

"Give me."

"What!" Albert asked with a surprised expression.

"Give the treasure you were talking about? Didn't you say that you will give me a treasure after I defeat you?"

"I don't have any treasure. I didn't think that I would lose."

"You…." Alex's face became red with anger.

"Asshole." Alex roared and punched the man.

BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!

After beating him mercilessly, Albert who thought that it was finally over shrieked again as Alex healed him and went on to beat him to his heart's content.

"Huff!"

Alex took deep and heavy breaths while staring at the man lying down.

"I have to knock some sense into him otherwise the heaven gift will be wasted on this shithead," Alex muttered and pulled the man over his shoulder, flying towards the city.

He could feel various auras approaching this place but they were just weaker ones so Alex didn't find any difficulty to enter the city while hiding from them.

…

In the Inn.

The atmosphere was quite solemn and many were biting their lips due to nervousness.

Their day was ruined due to a previous incident to the point that there was a risk of being exposed and all of Alex's plans may be wasted.

"Can Alex defeat him?" Catherine asked while staring at Riya.

"I am sure that Lord can defeat him," Riya assured everyone.

"But that guy is on a different level. He is a bit special and a monster. I don't know what a talented guy like him was doing here." Riya spoke with a depressing expression.

She was feeling quite guilty. If she had talked with Alex, the situation might not have escalated to this point.

At that time Mordek, Aeon and Max returned.

"Is there anyone suspicious around us?" Christina asked.

They shook their heads.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone on our trails. Harry and Max are still on patrol. His Majesty had taken that guy away and there seems to be movement on that side so they might be focusing to reach there." Mordek answered.

At that time, the door was slightly open and Alex appeared with a man over his shoulder.

Alex's hair had been dishevelled and his clothes had been torn in some places.

Everyone gasped in shock and horror seeing him but more than that they were surprised to see the man Alex was carrying.

From a glance, one can see that the man was beaten like a dog without any mercy to the point that he looked to be one step away from the door to death.

Alex dropped him down and ordered the men to take him.

"Majesty, did you just kidnap him," Aeon asked with a surprised look.

Alex's lips twitched uncontrollably.

He wondered why the hell he was seen as a kidnapper by his men.

"Just take him."

Alex rotated his gaze towards Riya who shuddered a little.

"My Lord, please forgive me for my imprudence," Riya spoke with a slight quivering tone.

Alex walked toward Riya and looked straight into her eyes who lowered her sight.

Alice, who was witnessing the scene, was struck with thunder.

'Where is the coldness, where is that overbearingness? Sis, why did you become a meek and shy lady before Big Brother? It's not if My brother will eat you?'

Alex raised Riya's chin and seeing her expression burst into laughter and pulled her head into his chest and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Hey, Riya, you don't need to be sorry. It's okay. I think we profited a lot." Alex spoke with a smirk.

All those who heard his words knew about the profit he was talking about.

A new slave, and a superior quality breed on top of that.

Riya melted into Alex's warmth and cuddled like an innocent child.

"My fierce tigress, you have the strength to even give me a hell of a run so why are you always frightened before me?" Alex joked.

"I don't know My Lord. I just lost my confidence before you."

"Hmm! In that case, we should have special training." Alex grinned.

Cough…Cough…

Alex's ears perked up.

Both he and Riya realised the situation, and both of them separated quickly.

"Can you save this later?" Catherine glared at Alex.

"You don't need to be jealous Cath, we can also undergo a special training session."

"Cut the crap!" Catherine shouted.

Although she can't say that she was a bit flustered seeing Alex's lovey-dovey.

"Riya had brought some important information."

Alex's playful expression suddenly turned serious on hearing Catherine words.

Riya explained her encounter along with Alice leaving everyone stupefied.

They stared at her with a gawking gaze and for a moment, the status of their innocent-looking Riya clinging to Alex seemed to have gotten figured to the point they couldn't see it.

Her status seemed to be a bit overpowered which shocked them greatly.

Gulp!

Catherine and Christina swallowed their saliva after hearing the full story

"You are a diamond token holder," Catherine asked with disbelief written all over their faces.

Catherine wasn't ignorant of the status. She had completed her scholar degree in Zenith and knew much about the black market.

Meanwhile, Christina who though hadn't been to any academy or stayed in Zenith much knew about it from the military.

Sometimes, they need to seek information about the offenders and criminals from the black market.

And this naive-looking girl was the holder of authority which was enough for the boss of the Market to bow down their head.

Alex was a bit ignorant about it but still didn't find it hard to believe after explanation after knowing about things.

"Riya, there is one thing I am curious about."

"Anyone who had been in Zenith knew the terror and legend of Shadow Queen who had an excellent record of 390 kills of the assigned," Catherine muttered.

"You were clearly at Epic rank earlier so how could you achieve such a feat? If you killed only Epic ranks and Transcendent ranks, you couldn't achieve such fame with this, so how?"

"I am also curious about it," Alice asked with sparkling eyes.

Although Christina didn't say anything, her eyes also brimmed with curiosity.

Riya stared at Alex with an inexplicable expression.

Alex pondered for a moment while rubbing his chin.

"Riya, you can reveal that."

"I will seal this entire place with the sound barrier," Alex muttered and snapped his fingers.

Riya nodded and muttered, "That's because I have a hidden power which can increase my strength to a greater degree."

Riya muttered and stood up from her seat dropping the veil and the cloak.

The mana around her swirled frighteningly and veins bulged all over her body.

Her hair broke free from the bun and started to flutter.

Her black hair turned purple and her pupil became purple and her body started to emit a purple layer of mist.

Her strength started to increase from early Transcendent rank to peak and then broke past to legendary rank and reached mythic rank but as it was about to climb higher…..

Alex shouted "Stop it! That's enough."

Riya nodded and soon let go of her transformation returning back to normal.

Heavy grasps could be heard across the room as Riya returned to her seat.

Alex took a deep breath and stared at Christina muttering softly for only her to hear"Christina did you remember something."

Christina shuddered on meeting Alex's gaze and wondered how he knew.

Just like Riya, Christina had this kind of power which was known as Valkyrie mode.

She wanted to say something but was stopped by Alex.

"We will talk about that later."

Alex led Riya to continue.

Riya explained her story to others.

Riya couldn't control that power previously. It was like that until Alex helped her.

Previously, whenever she was in danger, her powers activate on her own and after that, she doesn't remember anything except everything before she had been destroyed and her target was dead.

With her ability, she tried to get into a higher authority and consolidate some power. Her goal was to save Alex from the assassin if any.

Even the Emperor helped her indirectly which proves that he wanted to help Alex.

There may be other reasons or he might want to keep a tab of things going in the organisation.

Whatever may be, with his help she was able to achieve her purpose.

And to her surprise, there have been five people who wanted to kill Alex but Riya assassinated them instead.

As she rose in authority, she made sure not to kill the innocent and went after the ones who had done something bad and were evil.

For example, a man whose family had been killed by a knight from a noble household and the man used all his savings to kill that guy.

But that didn't mean that her hands weren't stained with blood. Even though she knew it was bad as long as he can keep his lord safe, she was ready to do it.

Fortunately, no one aimed for him as he grew up after all Alex was already crossed from the list of threats due to being an idiot.

Sob…Sob…Sob…..

"Big Sis, I didn't know that you have done so much for Big Brother, "Alice spoke while shedding tears.

"Brother, I am warning you if you dare to betray Sis Riya, I will not forgive you."

Let alone others, even Alex was a bit overwhelmed by Riya.

Alex never asked Riya and waited for her to reveal her story. Who knew Riya was holding back because she didn't want Alex to know what she had done for him?

If not for her present situation, she might have not revealed everything.

"Thanks, Riya for taking care of me," Alex spoke with a worried look.

Riya seeing his gaze just gave him a pleasant smile.

After everything had been sorted, Alex interlocked his hands as he fell into deep thoughts.

His plans had been messed up and he was sure that since Riya wasn't able to find the seller that guy had already left this place.

His option to stay and search for him was no longer possible. Previously he didn't want their intervention that's why he decided to keep it secret but since it is exposed, he needn't stop it. Rather it would be good if the matter blows out greatly and turns into a grave situation.

'What would happen when the person behind this mess is found when the whole Magic association is behind it? Wouldn't it be fun?'Alex grinned inwardly.

"We will leave before dawn tomorrow."

"But what about the scroll," Catherine asked.

"I wanted to find that person laying low. But now since the magic association has been informed about it, the movement is gonna be big and all eyes will be upon them."

"We will be in trouble if they could trace the scroll to us."

"And the perpetrators may already be aware of this. So, we need to get out of here."

"My Lord, you don't need to worry about it. I have made sure that Ken didn't reveal anything about us." Riya spoke.

"Good!"

"Tell him to inform a lone wolf, if he gets anything," Alex spoke with a sigh.

He needs to find a way to get into the Magic association so that he could work out with them to sort out the mess.

While Alex was preparing to depart and reach Zenith unknown to him and all the people of the world something big was happening in the shadows.

An event that could change the scenarios of the present.

The place where only darkness exists where there is no sun or moon.

A place where darkness swallowed the light.

The Realm of Darkness, a place that had been forgotten from the pages of history.

Every world has its own stories of Myths and Legends that are passed down from times of old.

Sagas of mysteries that have yet to be discovered, yet to be heard. Legends of people that defy imagination which exist beyond the common sense of people, which may not be known but have always existed.

Some of the stories were circulated all over the world whereas some had been ceased and stored as forbidden knowledge which when spread across could create chaos all around.

The biggest tale of legend that had been circulated in the world of Everton was none other than the fight between First Emperor Kinley and the man chosen by God to represent them.

But in truth, there was a myth more fearsome and more heaven-defying than that.

A war which transformed the whole world into what it was now.

The Era of Cosmic War.

In a world filled with magic and countless fantasy, supernatural beings were bound to exist whom people revered as God and their antithesis known as Demons.

Where there is light, there is bound to be darkness lurking around and under the existence of the good, there are bound to be some nurtured by darkness who are considered the creatures of evil.

Gods were believed to be creatures of light whereas Demon was said to be creatures of darkness and descendants of the Devil.

But only people who have dived deep into the history of the World, searching for links and giving their all to unearth the truth know about the existence of an unknown whom the entire had forgotten about until they made their appearance.

A heaven-defying truth came out from the depths of history that had stayed hidden for countless aeons which had been overshadowed by the war of Kinley thousand years.

A theory which made the world know that Demons weren't the only creature born from darkness but rather a separate entity had been present in the world. which was the embodiment of darkness in itself.

The Goddess and God were born with the attribute of light while the Devil was born from darkness but in this process, another entity came into existence whose presence was in threat itself.

The entity was known as the God of Darkness

The God Of Darkness wanted to plunge the world into darkness engulfing the whole world and unifying it into his power until nothing but the reign of darkness remains.

It was said that During the period of The Comic War.

The Goddess and Gods were on the losing side and the darkness was so overpowered that they were able to engulf and corrupt the army of Heaven turning them into entities of shadows.

Losing battles one after another, The Goddess fell into deep thoughts and wanted to overturn the situation and decided to create puppets.

The living puppets were created for their sustainment and to follow their orders which later became living creatures walking over the world.

The Goddess created humans while Goddess Nature nature created the species of Elves and created Dwarfs.

The Devil gave birth to demons with darkness who can be corrupted as they have the same origin as creatures of Darkness.

Along with them, many other creatures were born and transformed in the process.

The four major races along with others were united under one banner to lead the conjoined army under the leadership of Gods to fight against the army of Darkness.

After years of war, they finally defeated them.

But the God of Darkness wasn't easy to get rid of and before his death, he created a realm independent of the three realms where the creatures of darkness resided while he promised to return once again to overturn the world.

After the war, Goddess along with others created a place for all creatures and the world which was named Everton was created.

Every species took their place in the world residing in their territory.

But as the God and Goddess retreated, they also started to fight against each other for their greed which had shaped the world to today what we see after millions of years.

And now Inside The Realm Of Darkness.

The place where the world's vilest creature with the most depraved nature stayed.

A huge stage was set, the spectators were present and high seats were erected.

There was only one thing the denizens wanted.

A Bout!

It was very important to fight, which holds great importance for their future and prosperity.

Two creatures lunged forward at each other. Like shadows piercings through the darkness of night, their obscure bodies exchanged blows, moving fluidly in the battle clashing against each other.

The frenzied dance lasted for a long time along with the rhythmic song of the fist colliding against each other yet none of them was able to overcome the other.

BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG

They kept on attacking and going over each other's throats using all the manoeuvres to the best of their abilities.

But the fight was still in a stalemate.

Swish!

The hands of one of the fighters moulded into a sword while charging onto the other in a desperate attempt to win.

However, the other man stood as if he was dazed by the opponent but before the opponent could deal deadly damage, his hands moved like lightning turning into a scythe whose speed was quite faster than the obscure figure that lunged forward.

The obscure figure tried to dodge the fatal strike but he wasn't able to as the scythe passed through him splitting him into two halves the figure vanished into thin air leaving dark fumes covering the vision.

The obscure figure who held the scythe was suddenly alerted while trying to figure out the location of the target but he realised it too late.

A large sword big enough to tear anything into pieces, with a sharp tip to pierce even the toughest material appeared from behind.

Swish!

It pierced the other figure from the back coming out of the chest and he raised the figure in the air with the sword while the wounded figure struggled and squirmed.

But before he could scream, the sword moved and soon his whole body was torn into pieces.

Blackish liquid split all around and fell on the stage.

The audience cheered seeing the figure's victory.

It was a do-or-die match which held utmost importance for them. There would be no loser in the match and only one winner.

The audience clapped and fell onto their knees to offer their salute.

"You lose. I win. If only you would have yielded you would be still alive. "

"I have been serving you for 600 hundred years. I finally defeated you and took over your position worthy of my status."

"Don't worry, I will take over your people."

"Hahahahah!" The figure laughed and looked at the judge with expectations.

The judge stared at the high seats erected over there and noticed their signal.

He declared the winner and waited for the response of the other side.

A deep voice echoes throughout the place which fills everyone with fear and reverence.

"The result of the battle had been decided. The owner of the 12th position of Council has been decided."

A hushed silence spread across the wh2ole place.

None of the people present out there uttered a single word as if they were afraid of the speaker.

They even bowed their heads to show their respect for the voice.

The voice which interrupted the fight belongs to none other than the person with the highest authority in the realm.

The person who sat in the 1St position of the 12 who controlled the whole Darkness realm.

His words were the law and anyone defying him wouldn't be alive to see the next day.

"Rockerz, you have defeated Nex. From now henceforth, the title of 12th Position has been placed on you. You are now the new ruler of the 12th Position."

"I hope you don't let down the Darkness Realm and the will of God of Darkness."

"May we achieve our dream and destroy the cowardly Gods and Goddess."

"The ceremony and the rite of succession shall begin now."

Rockerz nodded with a playful smile. He couldn't believe that the day for him to ascend had finally arrived.

After thousand years of bitter struggle, he could finally prove himself worthy and a seat on the throne.

He was a mere servant of the previous 12th Position and strives hard to climb up. All of this had been possible by his contribution to the mortal plane.

He used all his merits to challenge the previous position holder and ask him for a match.

He was about to laugh when his eyeball contorted as he felt a slight distortion around the stage.

He along with everyone was quickly alerted.

BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!

A chain of explosions occurred and the entire stage crashed and plunged while waves of flames spread all around burning the audience and the guards.

CRING!

A sharpened sound rang and the space before them was torn and from it, a human walked out.

He had brown hair along with a beard of blue eyes which were filled with hatred.

He pulled out his sword which brimmed with brilliance clearing away the darkness of the space as if a sun had been born.

"You have wreaked havoc, killed my family, and slaughtered many. It is finally time for you to accept the punishment." He roared with tearful eyes.

"You dare to enter the Darkness realm in my presence?" A loud voice erupted which crashed onto him like a tsunami shaking the whole place.

Even the space seems to tremble, as the voice crackles carrying enough strength to destroy the place with the voice alone.

Smokes of darkness erupted which shot toward the man who emerged.

A huge spike appeared, rendering its form and shooting toward the unwanted man.

CLANG!

The spike as if it met an invisible wall was unable to move forward and soon dispersed into nothingness.

The man who sat on the seat of 1st Position stood up with widened eyes.

"Martial Saint!"

A figure appeared wearing white robes. His face glistened and with each breathes he took, the space seemed to tremble before him

"Heron! Long time no see!"

"This junior of mine has come here to seek justice for all the crimes you people have committed in recent years."

"Nick! Finish the job quickly." He shouted.

Nick heard his voice and dashed forward towards Rockerz who was too shocked at the moment.

He hadn't imagined in his wildest dream that this many would directly enter here just to take revenge.

Sensing his thoughts, Nick roared furiously"Did you think that only scums like you go to the mortal world and do what you want while we just cooped up in our place."

"Today, I will kill you," Nick shouted and burnt his life force and the sword in his hand glowed brightly as he slashed at Rockerz who screamed in horror feeling the intense threat.

The entire place seemed to light up and its attack on Nick seemed to carry a light attribute which was their nemesis.

Heron along with other seats stood up to stop the blow but strong waves of energy erupted behind the Martial Saint and a series of figures emerged.

"Let's do what we can to delay them and cause as much damage as possible."

"Kill as much as you can. An opportunity like this will never appear in your lifetime."

Following the call, a heaven-defying battle erupted shaking the balance of the realm.

A battle between the strongest individuals of their respective world.

Swish!

BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!

….

After an unknown amount of time.

Somewhere in Everton, a portal appeared and a group of figures walked out of it riddled with scars and injury.

On a harsh rocky terrain, a group of people supported their bruised bodies.

They were a squad of fifty but they had been reduced in number and now only a few countable ones were alive.

"We somehow achieved a part of our goal." One of them murmured with a shocked expression filled with disbelief.

His hollow eyes glanced around the vast rocky and barren place devoid of any lives.

Sighing in remorse, he stared at the dark skies.

"Soon, the reign of darkness will be upon us but at least we were able to delay their march and I have finally taken my revenge. Now, I can at least die peacefully" He muttered, closing his eyes.

"Sir!"

"Nick!"

"Nick!"

Everyone yelled when they saw the man-dried figure who lay on the ground while closing his eyes and taking his last breath.

A Supreme rank powerhouse died before their eyes who had the talent to achieve Overlord rank but the unquenchable hatred made him unable to step into that rank until he untied the knot in his heart.

Silence prevailed in the atmosphere as the man finally closed his eyes.

"Don't cry. He had killed Rockerz and delayed their plans."

"The Darkness realm known cannot use the grand net to cover the world in Darkness for a few years until they can gather the sacrifices and offerings."

Everyone stared at the man with a solemn expression.

All of them were the elites of the world who stood at the apex of power.

The seal of the mortal realm was wearing allowing the people of the Darkness realm to enter the plane and lay out the plans.

Nick, a saint of the current generation, was unable to overcome his hatred for the guy who took away everything from it.

Since he decided to make the trip, all of them decided to take part in it, giving devastating blows and the one leading them was a Martial saint.

Martial Saint is one of the strongest elite in the world from the human side.

"Sir, will it make a difference?"

The Martial saint looked at the 29 people who were able to come out alive and sighed.

"If the other races would have accepted the proposal and lent us strength. Not only would we have suffered fewer casualties but we might have caused irreversible damage that couldn't be recovered for centuries."

"We just pushed back their plans for a few years. At least, there shouldn't be any mass scale invasion during these 3-5 years." He muttered with a solemn expression.

"We were able to get rid of the 12th and 9th positions of the council. But I don't think it would affect them a lot as they can be filled easily. Unlike the people of our world, everyone can fight from their side contributing to the war." A man spoke with a solemn expression.

If we could take out one of those top five seats, we might have had an upper hand."Martial spoke.

The top five held the real authority whereas the other seats were nothing but cannon fodder.

The Martial Saint stared at the sky and muttered"I did what I could do now everything lay in the hands of the future generation.

"If your plans didn't bloom and the hope you have for others is shattered. We humans might be doomed along with other races."He muttered.

In truth, he was a bit reluctant about this but he only carried on because of his persuasion.

'I hope, I don't regret agreeing with your suggestion, otherwise, the loss we suffered is not something that can be filled up easily.'

He raised his hand and waved it.

A strong storm blew and the entire scenery changed.

All the people disappeared into thin air as if they never existed and everything returned to silence.

Albert Haskell was the only son and since he was chosen as the heir of the Haskel household which had already fallen from grace, he had a huge burden over his shoulder.

Being fallen noble, they were always seen with contempt and thorn in other eyes while their vassal states tried to take over them and throw them.

Their ancestors had a hierarchy of Viscount. But their glorious past was soon eroded due to the weakening of the successors who weren't able to hold the responsibility and stop their decline.

Albert was the hope of their house who was born with superior talent and from his childhood, he was able to showcase extraordinary talents.

He saw good improvement and was able to rank up quickly when compared to other geniuses.

Believing in him, all the members of their house decided to bestow upon him their heirloom which had been stored in their vault for countless generations.

The Heart of legendary beast, Arctic Phoenix.

The Arctic Phoenix was hunted down by their ancestor and the heart had been preserved.

It was a very precious treasure that could change the life of the people.

Albert consumed it to gain ice ability and ice resistance.

After being beaten by Alex, with no way to compensate him, he was forced to sell himself to Alex and work under him.

Albert surrendered himself and became his lackey.

Albert's only hope was to get stronger and best Alex to free himself.

In this way, Alex was able to snatch another slave.

If only Albert was a bit level-headed, he might not have fallen into the demon's grasp.

As the groups marched ahead, everyone gathered around Albert trying to scare the dimwit.

"And once you have fallen into the trap, there is no way the big devil gonna let you," Ben explained to Albert.

"First, he will beat you to make you feel pathetic and then he will whisper to your promises to shake your mentality and make you look at him with respect. Slowly and steadily, he will cloud your mind."

"Our King had an unquenchable thirst to kidnap people and use them as slaves."

"Sometimes, you can see him drink blood on a night when there is a full moon."

"Just look at us. We were all prideful warriors but we have fallen into the devil's trap."

"What a pity for a strong and vigorous warrior like you to fall into the devil's lair and waste your life."

"Look at the man. He is the future king of Bright but now look at what he is doing. Bowing his head and barking like a dog before Alex." Ben muttered.

Albert's whole body trembled with fear on hearing Ben's words and he bit his lips in fear.

Meanwhile, others tried to contain themselves from laughing and spoiling the fun.

Gulp!

Swallowing his saliva, Albert asked cautiously, "How can he be so strong?"

"Just from which shit hole did you crawl. Don't you know about recent affairs?" Max asked.

Albert just shook his head while waiting for them to answer.

"King Alex is the fifth Prince of Kinley and the world knows him as an idiotic prince but after being struck by lightning, he had become normal."

"What?" Albert grasped in shock.

"He is that black sheep who had been disowned. How did he become like this?"

"But, that's not the real truth," Ben spoke

"Do you want to know the truth? Then come closer."

Albert nodded obediently and walked towards Ben sitting on his horse.

"The truth is…."Ben paused a little before speaking.

"King Alex is dead. The one who is occupying the body is the servant of the devil."

"The real King Alex, unable to suffer such a miserable life, sold his life to the devil and who is occupying his body is a terrible being."

"Whattttttt!" Albert screamed in horror and jumped in shrek falling off his horse.

Beads of sweat formed on his head as he remembered the scene of Alex beating him non-stop.

Not only that after beating to his heart's content, but he also healed him and started to beat again with a sadistic smile.

'He is a devil who enjoys seeing others in pain. Oh my god, just whom did I provoke? Albert cried and almost shed tears of blood.

"Father…Mother…I am doomed."

Ben wanted to speak more but he heard a loud voice.

"Enough!"

Albert turned his head to see Alex walking out of the carriage and his eyes enlarged with fear.

"Kuak!'

"Please don't drink my blood. Please don't torture me to fulfil your sadistic desires. I beg you."

Alex's face distorted and he stared at his men who averted their gaze and started to talk about the pleasant weather.

"What is going on? Can someone explain to me or do I need to take matters into my own hands?"

Albert saw the reddish hue on Alex's lips and a small trickle of blood and was shocked out of his mind.

Seeing no one speaking, Alex treated Albert to speak otherwise he may be tortured.

Alex calmed him down after hearing Albert's words and muttered.

"That's my special protein shake, you bastard. I don't drink blood nor am I a servant of the devil."

"How can one believe such bullshit? Are you a small kid? Even kids have better IQs than you."

"By the way do you have a hole in your brain? Did you even go to the academy?"Alex yelled

Albert shook his head and said, "I ran away from the academy."

Alex facepalmed and controlled his urge to kill this bastard.

Albert shuddered to see Alex's annoyed face but fortunately, he was saved by God's mercy.

"Your Majesty, we have some people ahead."

Alex heard the soldier's words and walked towards the front along with others and a small smile bloomed on his face.

Alex and his forces had already arrived around the capital and were now meeting with his forces whom he had dispersed and sent them separately to train along the way.

Alex stared at the troops who were led by the Transcendent rank. All of them have worked hard in the past few days.

Alex gazed at his men's fierce eyes and indomitable spirit. Although their realm hadn't been changed they had undergone a drastic change and were now countless times stronger than previously.

Most of them were ordinary soldiers who hadn't been awakened when he took the reins but now each of them has become a foe to contend with.

"You all have made me proud," Alex muttered and raised both of his arms.

Bright light erupted from him and enveloped all of them.

A warm and cosy feeling flowed in them washing away all their exhaustion and healing their minor wounds.

Alex smiled seeing their expression 'Don't thank me rather than Goddess for blessing me."

Their journey should have taken 8-10 days but due to all kinds of things, it was delayed to 20 days but he didn't care about it even though he was late for almost half a month.

They were just a few minutes walk from Zenith but still, he didn't find anything odd or saw any messenger for him.

In a way, it was also a test of his old man's attitude towards him. If he had sent envoys or a messenger asking about the delay, then that means he would have been pissed at him but since there was none, Alex can try out the old man's goodness and his tolerance level.

Alex mingled with his men and asked them about his adventure before moving ahead.

At that time, his wives and Alice walked down the carriage and called him.

"Huhh!"

"What happened? Why did you all exit from the carriage at once?"

Everyone stared at Catherine who started to say"Alex, I wanted to visit a place separately in Zenith."

"Where do you want to go?"

"I have friends in Zenith from my academy days."

"I see. Okay!"

"I also want to visit my household," Christina spoke surprisingly to Alex.

"Your Household!" Alex asked with a deep question mark on his face.

Christina nodded and started to explain"After our fall and my departure, Yvonne brought the whole household, our land and my people. Under her protection, we were able to prevent the worst-case scenario."

"Since, I am here.I want to visit my people and see how are they doing"

Alex nodded and muttered, "I see then I guess only Riya and Alice left to accompany me."

"Actually!" Both Riya and Alice spoke at the same time with guilty stricken faces.

Alex frowned seeing them and wondered whether they would also dump him.

"Brother, I am thinking of returning early to the palace," Alice said. spoke

"I have delayed too long."

"My Lord, I also have some friends I want to meet. Please allow me to meet them."

Alex's eyes twitched and he glanced around to look at all of them.

'Great, once we reached your home fronts, you ditched this loving husband and planned to leave me here.'

'Damn!'

Alex squinted his eyes and suddenly a thought flashed before his eyes.

"In that case, I should visit Lock city. It's just 200 miles from here."

"You stay in the capital and take the army while I bring Athena and Yvonne back."

"Hmm! That's a good idea." Catherine muttered while Alice gave thumbs up to his brother's thought fullness.

"Split the army into three and lead them," Alex muttered.

"My Lord, I have to go alone," Riya spoke.

Alex gave an understanding look.

Alex after some talks decided to meet at Alice's palace after he brings Yvonne and Athena.

'Soon, we all are going to be united.'Alex muttered, clenching his fist.

Flying over the place, Alex reached Lock's City within two hours.

Alex hovered before the city, almost closing his eyes after seeing it. The City seemed to be sparkling with riches.

Alex was sure that if he could see through one's fortune and luck like Yvonne, he would be blinded looking down from here.

Everyone seemed to be quite rich. Even a random passerby may turn out to be the owner of a thousand gold coins.

"Now, whom shall I choose first?" Alex wondered.

"Let's look for Athena," Alex muttered.

Between Lock City and Holy City lies the City of Chesla.

Along with Zenith, all four cities were the pillar supporting Kinley.

Chesla is the place where many military academies were present and with Holy City closed by, the Priest could provide immediate support to the wounded.

From the information he has Athena seems to be in charge of a small broken down church which she also used as an orphanage to keep the orphans while teaching them how to study and write.

Sob…Sob…Sob…

"My poor Athena…" Alex's heart almost teared up thinking about it.

Each empire had its saintess and when they grew older, they would fight for the Head Saintess position who would be claimed as the direct spokesperson of Goddess Rebecca throughout the whole world.

But his dear wife, let go of the position to stay in a slum behind the city.

When he whacked his brain found that there had been faint memories of Athena.

Alex knew Athena from way back. Alex used to visit the church along with Riya which was a compulsory routine for a prince.

Athena helped him to pray and used to play with him after the prayer.

Alex who descended in front of the gate subconsciously touched his cheek feeling a bad omen.

"Whatever!" Alex muttered and walked through the city gates.

Each guard of the city was at Epic rank and they were led by a Transcendent rank captain.

Alex after a small verification, Alex passed through the place easily and headed inside.

Alex didn't mess around in Lock City and directly headed over to Chesla City.

After meeting Athena, he planned to visit the Holy City and make an appearance before Goddess Rebecca so that he can use a healing spell in public.

He needed the Church's approval to use all his power and needed Rebecca to proclaim his merit to others by giving him blessings otherwise no one would believe that this guy had such strong power without visiting the Church.

'Who knows, they also may give me an important position.'Alex thought inwardly and after travelling for some time, he finally arrived at Chesla.

He asked for direction and moved towards the slum. He wore a small cloak to hide his sparkling hair.

Most of the Royal family had sparkling golden hair which was quite different from de hair and easily stood out in public.

It may not be a big thing elsewhere but here he could be identified with his hair itself so until he met Athena, he decided to lay low.

Alex entered the alleyway and was surprised to see the cleanliness and sanity of the slum.

Although the people's conditions weren't that good still people seemed to have been taken care of properly.

It didn't look like a slum but rather a place of commoner people who in no way looked poor.

'Maybe this place had undergone a significant transformation recently.'Alex rubbed his chin.

His brows furrowed as he saw a large crowd gathering in front of him.

Alex could see a Church behind it from afar along with the orphanage at the side.

"Isn't that the Church Athena is staying in? "Alex muttered with a sense of palpitations.

"Did something happen here?" Alex hurried his way while wondering whether this would be turned into one of the cases of Damsel in distress.

As he got closer, he saw a young man wearing wealthy clothes shouting angrily followed by a group of men.

"Lady Athena, I am warning you again. You are testing my patience."

"We don't mean any harm nor do we have any enmity. We just need that boy whom you have taken under your wing." He shouted.

"As long as I am here, I will see what you can do Mr Eler." A loud crisp voice echoed throughout the place.

"Ezekiel is one of the god's children. A human-like you doing vicious deeds to a small child is unacceptable. The Goddess will not forgive you. Even hell cannot wash away your atrocities."

"My wife is quite daring," Alex muttered after hearing Athena's loud voice from afar.

As both sides engaged in a verbal fight, Alex asked the people to gather some information.

Elmer was the only son of the Flick household and should have been the heir but recently it came news that his father had another illegitimate son whom he had taken under the house.

Elmer, fearing that his position was in danger, wanted to get rid of the thorn in the path and tried to abuse Ezekiel and even went as far as to kill him.

Elmer used a poison that would kill him slowly and steadily.

Ezekiel didn't know about it and he ran away from the house after being abused, fearing that he might be killed if stayed anymore.

It was good for Elmer but he later came to know that the boy had found Athena who had healed him and taken him in.

He blocked the news from reaching his father with the help of his mother and now he is here to persuade Athena to give up on Ezekiel and hand him over.

"I pity Saintess Athena. God is surely cruel for casting aside such a precious daughter."

"First, she was forced to marry the black sheep of the Royal family after which she had faced misfortunes one after another."

Alex heard people's words and wanted to say something but the people slandered him nonstop.

"Poor child, the Goddess even took her eyesight. Such a noble kind soul, I wish Goddess would take my eyesight and give it to her."

"What did you say?" Alex screamed as he heard their words.

His heartbeat hastened and his vision became blurry.

"Ohh! Young Man, you must be new here so you might not know about Saintess Athena's recent news."

"She had gone to Nevan for some reason but when she returned she had become blind. We tried to find out the reason but she didn't say anything."

Alex stared at them with a mortified look while clenching his fist tightly to the point blood started to drip from it.

'How…'

'Why didn't I know about it? Did others know about it and didn't tell me?'

Alex was frozen like a statue and felt his brain had been overloaded.

At the same time Elmer after arguing and being unable to win turned back to leave.

He cursed Athena to his heart's content while walking away.

The people dispersed and left the way hurriedly but he frowned to see a man standing in front of him.

Seeing him standing in front of him and blocking his way, he shouted"How dare you block my way?"

"Bitch, you dare to stand in my way. Do you think that you are still a Saintess? Just wait, I will kill you along with all the children here hiring an assassin." Elmer muttered with an annoyed tone.

Although he muttered slowly, it didn't go unnoticed by Alex's ears.

Alex stared at the man with hollow and lifeless eyes.

He was feeling quite suffocated after hearing about Athena's condition and needed to take out his anger on someone.

And now the suitable target was coming before him on his own.

Elmer walked towards Alex and stared at him as if Alex was just a disgusting insect.

"Scum, get out of my way," Elmer shouted.

But as if the man was deaf, he didn't even move an inch nor did he give him any response.

"You….."

"My Lord, let me deal with him. I will break his limbs and throw him in the trash can." A guard beside him muttered.

"No, need. I will deal with him. I found a suitable target to take out my frustration." He muttered and unsheathed his sword with a large grin.

Killing in public is a crime. But that applies only to commoners. A noble like him can do as he pleases.

Meanwhile, the children who were being soothed by Athena heard the commotion.

A small girl who is six years old pulled out Athena's dress and muttered"Sister Athena, that bad man pulled out his sword to kill someone."

"What!" Athena shouted in panic and started to run forward.

As he went toward the place where the whole crowd was just staring at the scene.

Her heart started to beat faster and she felt a familiar aura.

An aura that she could feel and identify from miles apart.

"No, this cannot be." Athena strode forward but due to carelessness, she tripped over.

Even though she can still move around, she still found it difficult to run.

Athena was shocked after sensing the aura, the fear of the person being harmed by Elmer quickly disappeared.

"Sis Athena!" The children screamed while trying to help her, meanwhile, the people's breathing halted for a moment witnessing the scene.

Elmer pulled out his sword and slashed at Alex giving a curved slash.

Swish!

With a soft tearing sound, a cut appeared over Alex's white shirt extending from the right shoulder to the left waist following which blood splattered.

"Hahaha!"

"Why are you frozen now? Didn't you show your bravery a few moments ago?"

"Why don't you show it now," Elmer spoke and stabbed at him

At that moment, Alex lifted his head and his dark met with Elmer giving him a shiver down his spine but he shook his head and thrust his sword.

Before the tip of the blade could reach Alex's chest, Alex's arms moved like lightning.

Coating his fists in mana, he punched at the sword.

CLINNNG!

As the tip of the blade clashed with Alex's knuckles, the tip of the blade started to recede back and soon cracks started to appear on it.

CRACK!

The blade of the sword cracked and the fist broke the sword surprised everyone and Alex's fist slammed at his face.

BOOM!

Elmer's whole body was slammed down on the ground and a small crater was formed on it and his body was banged on the ground knocking him out.

"Hmph!" Alex snorted and stared at the guards.

"My Lord!"

"Lord!"

The guards yelled and almost drew thier swords but just a simple gaze from Alex terrorized them to the point that they couldn't even move thier bodies.

Their senses warned them that if they dared to take a step forward, they would die.

"Do you want to take him away or want to end up like that?" Alex asked.

"We will take him away."

"Good choice!" Alex nodded and dusted his hands.

"If you think of yourselves as some kind of bigshot, you should fight your equal instead of scaring children," Alex spoke with disdain.

"Now roll," Alex roared.

The guards moved fast and carried their Master who passed out with a large imprint on his face and disappeared from their eyesight.

Alex stared at their backs and turned his head when he heard a pleasant sweet voice which seemed to solace his soul similar to the voice of the Goddess itself.

"Alex is that you?"

"Athena!" Alex's words choked in his throat as he stared at the breathtaking beauty in front of him.

Athens's beauty and body were comparable to Riya but what added more points to her was that she is ripened fruit, unlike Riya who still had time to mature as she is a bit younger than Athena.

At that moment Alex remembered the words of one of his mischievous friends.

Young men were more attracted to older women while the old man lusted after young swine.

But more than that, the blindfold on Athena's eyes pained him.

As Alex gazed at Athena, she also stared at Alex probing him.

Athena knew that Alex had undergone some changes but seeing Alex's aura astonished him.

Unlike the pure gentle aura, Alex had previously, Alex's aura carried a strong presence of blood.

It was quite strong and dominating in contrast to before when he played with her.

But still, Athena didn't find that suffocating aura that people have when they kill and slaughter countless people which was quite odd.

When one kills or starts to do like deeds, their soul also starts to transform a bit which corrupts their existence.

For example, a person always finds it hard to kill at first but once he gets used to it, one couldn't find an ounce of change of emotions when he kills again. In a way, it was the soul that started to change along with the person.

'He must have killed a hundred thousand if not millions. But when did he do it and even after that there was no change in that warmness and gentleness that his soul had? It's as if he had two sides intertwined within him.'Athena inferred and shook her head to clear away the distracting thoughts.

Alex walked toward Athena and muttered, "I know that you can feel my aura even if you can't see me."

"Big Sis Athena, I came back to take you," Alex spoke with moistened eyes.

The crowd that had gathered there suddenly turned silent.

No one was able to guess what was going on nor did they want to interrupt the precious moment.

The Saintess had done so much for them and helped to alleviate their lifestyle and taught their children while blessing them by getting rid of minor diseases and pain.

They could see her genuine smile and happiness on her face.

Athena smiled a little and raised her chin.

She wished that she could see Alex's current appearance and discern how much Alex had changed.

Athena raised her hand while Alex lowered his face so that he could perfectly fit in her palms.

"I miss those chubby cheeks of yours." She spoke with regret.

"A year ago, you were just a shorty and quite a chubby boy but now you have grown tall and become a handsome boy."

"I have watched you since the age of ten."

"I regret not being able to witness your spectacular growth," Athena spoke with a sorrowful voice.

"Sister, who is this Big Brother?"

The children around her surrounded both of them while staring at Alex with curiosity.

Alex wondered how Athena would address him.

There are quite a few people and he wouldn't feel bad even if she introduced him as an acquaintance.

Athena giggled and spoke, "Kid, this Big Brother is none other than my husband."

" Athena!" Alex almost cried seeing her accepting him.

"Ohhhh!" The children just stared at Alex with expectant eyes but the people watching the scene almost stumbled on their backs.

Many even choked while taking breath and some thought this was a joke.

"Saintess Athena, you mean this gentleman is…."

Athena nodded and raised her hand and Alex took it and clenched it tightly as if Athena will run away if he loses his grip.

"Let me introduce myself."

"I am Alex Von Leonhart!The King of the newly established Leonhart Kingdom.Nice to know you all."

"And thank you all for taking care of my precious wife," Alex said, giving a small bow.

The people were stunned for a moment and wondered whether the rumours were false or fabricated but Alex himself assured them that everything was true and his life just changed due to the Goddess mercy and blessings.

After chatting with them for some time, Alex followed Athena to her room while the children went to the orphanage to the side giving them some privacy.

"These children are quite clever considering their age, "Alex said on their way.

"Why won't they be? After all, who was the one that taught them?" Athena muttered.

Athena sat beside Alex who stared at her with a guilty look as she took out her blindfold.

Alex saw her opening her eyebrows and her red eyes glowed for a moment similar to him.

"Athena, I am ashamed of myself. You lose your eyesight because of me."

"It's just temporary," Athena assured.

"Why do you use a blindfold? Isn't it a bit uncomfortable?"

"I can see only blurry images that mess up my senses. You know I can feel and see people's aura. If I use my sight, it gives me a headache and messes up my senses. So until I can see clearly, I decide to use it."

"By the way, you seem to already know about my abilities. How did you know?" Athena cast a mischievous smile.

Beads of sweat formed on his head as he wondered who was going to be the scapegoat this time.

"Is it Goddess Rebecca? Have you already met her?" Athena raised her brows with a questioning gaze.

Alex swallowed his saliva seeing Athena's frightening senses.

'Sure enough, she is the most dangerous one among my wives.'

When he was in Sanctum, he had already been warned that Athena was quite formidable even if she doesn't look like it.

According to common sense, it should be Catherine but in truth, she isn't.

Being wise and knowledgeable doesn't mean one is unfathomable. A scientist and scholar who has dedicated all of their lives to studies may lack common sense in other matters making them dull and they find it hard to mingle around but does it mean they are an idiot?

Wisdom and intelligence always refer to a particular field and depend on how many fields one has mastered.

Athena was kind of a mix of the four. Unlike, the novels which describe Saintess as naive and stupid, Athena's character description doesn't follow the general trend.

If you think of her as stupid, you may not even know when you die.

'She is fierce, don't mess with her.'

That was Goddess Rebecca's request, not advice.

Alex sighed and simply nodded his head.

"I see, I can already see the Goddess's presence in you."

"You also carry a strong peach smell which is proof that she had blessed you."

"Really!" Alex asked with a surprised expression and sniffed himself. This was the first time he had heard something like this.

"What is your next plan Alex?"

"I wanted to visit Church with you and then make a meeting with Yvonne."

"After that, I wanted to take you to Zenith for the coronation," Alex replied.

"Alex, I think you should prepare yourself from now. Your stay in Zenith may be prolonged."

Alex glanced at Catherine and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Athena didn't reply and just smiled.

"By the way, Alex I have requested" Athena spoke in a coquettish tone.

Alex suddenly became alerted seeing her sudden change of behaviour.

"Alex, I haven't seen you for so long. So, I think I should examine you carefully." Athena spoke with a cheeky simile and raised her hand.

"Wait!" Alex shrieked and tried 233to stop her but Athena has already pounced on him.

"Let me check your muscles and see whether they've developed well, "Athena spoke and started to molest Alex.

"Stop!"

"Stop!"

'Oh my god! Is she a saint or a pervert?'Alex screamed but all his pleas fell to dead ears while Athena checked Alex's well-toned body and muscles.

A carriage pulled by three horses galloped its way to the centre of Holy City.

The carriage was neither extravagant nor did it look ordinary.

The Holy City was a place where all sorts of people from different walks of life were found.

Whether it was a high-standing aristocrat or a poor man everyone had to maintain a certain decorum.

No matter the situation, fights weren't allowed in this City.

At the centre of the City stood a huge church which had been standing for countless generations but even after so many years, time hadn't left a mark on it.

People didn't know whether it was due to maintenance or being a place resided by Goddess but this place looked as if it had been built recently.

Alex could feel the tranquillity in his heart as soon as he entered the periphery.

For a person with an unstable heart who wants a moment of peace, this place was the best.

As the carriage stopped, Athena and Alex walked down.

The people nearby halted their steps as soon as they saw Athena and the man beside her also piqued their curiosity.

Athena walked up followed by Alex like an obedient child afraid of being lost.

Alex wanted to see the expression of the priests and nuns toward Athena but surprisingly they bowed their heads to Athena as if she still held a respectable place for her but when it came to Alex they stared at him with a curious expression as if he was a lab rat.

"Sister Athena, you are here."Athena turned her head to see a blonde-haired girl and greeted her.

"Hello, Ophelia!"

"Sister, are you here to take back the Saintess position?"

"I can finally relax a bit," Ophelia muttered with a brightened expression but Athena's refusal woke up from her thoughts.

She pouted with a cute expression. After Athena left, she was made temporarily Saintess for the time being.

Ophelia turned her head to see the golden-haired man and flinched a little.

Alex gritted his teeth and wondered why everyone was seeing him as if he was a lab rat.

'Should I use my holy power?'

"Don't," Athena spoke with a stern expression.

"They are behaving like this because they are intimidated by your presence. Anyone close to Goddess can feel her presence in you." Athena answered.

"They are not looking down on you."

"Hey, how did you know what I was thinking?" Alex muttered curiously.

"I and Riya knew you very well. You couldn't even speak properly before and if we didn't learn what you wanted to express by seeing your face, your childhood would be a lot worse than you can imagine."

"You could just babble useless things and couldn't even speak properly before."

Alex frowned on hearing her words.

"Ophelia, take Alex to the Goddess prayer room."

"Meanwhile, I wanted to meet Archbishop Mick," Athena ordered.

Ophelia nodded and asked Alex to follow her.

Alex on the way stared at the exquisite materials the church was made up of. This place reeked of riches.

The window panes have gems embedded in them that reflect the rays of the sun in different colours and the ceiling was made of glass while the pillar seemed to be made of Jade.

"You can enter," Ophelia said standing before the door.

"This is the private prayer room."

Alex opened the door and entered the room.

The room was empty, made of white walls and white floors.

The only eye-catching thing was the Goddess Rebecca statue in the middle.

Alex's eyes glistened seeing it.

"Holy moly!"

"Just what kind of material is this statute made of?"

"Alex walked towards the statute and his eyes shone brilliantly as he muttered," I should scrap some material from it and sell it at a good price."

"Hehehee!"

BAM!

Lightning struck Alex out of nowhere followed by an annoyed voice.

"Imprudent brat! Did you burn down all the manners we teach you?"

"Bullshit!"

"In what way does getting beaten all day and tortured with all kinds of weapons interpreted as learning manners."

"Moreover, I will just grind your statue a bit and sell the holy powder. What's wrong with it?"Alex muttered.

"If you dare to touch my statue, I will declare you as a heretic." Goddess Rebecca threatened.

"Let me see how you do that. I will also drag your precious daughter into the mud."

"You wolf. You dare to bite the hands that feed you."

"Not only do I dare to bite but I will also chew and swallow it. So, let's just stop the nonsense."

Rebecca was startled seeing Alex shameless.

"You knew I was coming to meet so shouldn't you at least make a chair for me," Alex smirked.

"Stop pissing me, Alex," Rebecca shouted.

"Okay!" Alex laughed and spoke, "You already know why I came here."

"Hmmm!"

"So, let me ask you why are they staring at me like that," Alex asked.

"That's because the amount of blessing you have isn't something one could adapt at your level."

"The blessing your body contains is enough to kill a mythic rank warrior."

Alex blinked and asked with surprise."Since when did blessing kill people?"

"Too much everything is bad. If you eat too much you ought to feel sick. Strong blessings may damage and burn the body if one body cannot bear the burden."Goddess Rebecca muttered.

"I see!"

"Alex, recently humans formed a team to attack the realm of darkness."

Alex's eyes enlarged and he stared at the statute with a surprised expression.

Alex knew that the realm of Darkness and God of Darkness possess a certain threat to Goddess and the world.

He even inferred that he was trained so that he could fight them and safeguard this realm. In a way, he was their weapon.

"What was the result?"

"Three overlord warriors died along with 6 supremes."

"Fortunately, the human strongest warrior was present, otherwise everyone would have died. They didn't even seek our opinion before setting off. We can't peek inside the realm of darkness so we don't know how the battle went but it can be considered a victory for humans seeing their reaction." Goddess Rebecca informed.

" I don't know if it can be called victory Goddess, "Alex spoke with a solemn expression.

" The balance of power on the human side must have suffered a bit."

"Humans side still has a lot of strong opponents though it was quite suicidal on their part to enter the place." Goddess Rebecca muttered.

"It's just due to a person who was hellbent on taking revenge and things finally went off like this."

"Poor men sacrificed their lives for the world and no one knew about it. That's why I don't want to be a hero."Alex spoke with a self-deprecating smile.

A hero bears the burden of the whole world, protects them, and works hard for them but they never get the glory they deserve rather they just die anonymously.

It was a pity.

Most people don't even know that another realm exists and they were targeted.

One day the whole world may be shattered due to the invasion of the people of the Darkness realm. Alex was sure about it and he needed to prepare himself for that to bear the mantle if the need arises.

"I just pray that no conflict arises within the different species during this period that may lead to war," Alex spoke.

"I don't think the Elf's side will engage in war as Hira had asked them to lay low and prepare for the future."

"And yeah, Hira had asked me to tell you to visit the Elves when you grow stronger."

"Huuh!What did the Goddess of Nature want from me?"

"She wants you to revive World Tree. It had been wilting due to the people of the Darkness realm trying to corrupt it."

"How can I revive it?" Alex asked.

"You have a huge amount of blessing. The system had stored it and you would share it a bit with the tree. You are the only person in the world that has been blessed by almost all of God and Goddesses including major and minor."

'Bless my ass. You are pulling the trigger placing the gun on my shoulder. Do you think I am a fool or a naive kid? My knowledge has been honed by reading countless novels and manga. You can't fool me.'

"I got it. The system is a power bank, I am a charger and World tree is a phone."

"What!"

"Nothing," Alex shook his head.

"By the way, I wanted to talk about Riya," Alex said.

"Goddess, do you know about Riya's birth or his parents? I feel Riya is a bit different. She should have the power of Goddess of lust only but her concealment skills are quite superior."

"At first, I thought this was due to the kind of art she practised but the more I saw it, the more I noticed something odd."

"She seemed to have the power of darkness and could manipulate the shadow as if she was shadowing herself. I wanted to confirm if this is correct or if I am wrong."

Goddess Rebecca kept silent for a moment.

"I am not doubting her nor am I weary of her powers. I just wanted to know if there is a link between them and her."

"Both you and Riya need to figure that out. That's part of her life."

"Hmm! That means she has the power of darkness." Alex muttered with a smile.

Who could be happier than him after knowing that his wife had strong power?

"Okay, let's finish things off."Goddess Rebecca.

"From now on you hold a special identity in the Church. Don't sully my reputation." She muttered and her statute glowed.

The entire place illuminates and a pillar of light rises from the Church, shocking everyone.

Holy hymns started to ring throughout the church along with the loud sound of the ringing of bells.

Goddess Rebecca muttered something and Alex wasn't able to hear it even if he tried.

'Is she playing a trick with me?'Alex started to feel an ominous feeling as if something bad was going to happen to him.

"Your work is done? Now don't give me more headaches" Goddess Rebecca grumbled.

Alex nodded and started to walk away.

"Take Care of yourselves."

Alex heard Goddess Rebecca's words and smiled a little before departing.

Alex opened the door and surprisingly he found Ophelia standing outside.

"Sister Ophelia, what are you doing here?"

"I am guarding the place." She answered.

Alex didn't ponder and walked away.

Ophelia who was about to leave suddenly started to see a beautiful smile on Goddess Rebecca's statue.

She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes and watched again to see nothing unusual.

'I might be hallucinating.'Ophelia calmed herself.

She had only heard Goddess Rebecca's voice only once and knew that there was no way a statue could smile as this was only a means of communication and one needed to have the merit to talk to her.

Alex after having a pleasant talk with Goddess Rebecca walked out of the room with a hint of satisfaction.

With this, he gained another card that can protect him. With church protection, one had to think a hundred times before making a move on him.

Moreover, he was curious and wondered what role would be given to him.

But that didn't mean, he was out of trouble as the world was filled with a lot of shitheads.

As Alex walked into the hall, he saw many priests and nuns appearing before him and bowing their heads before him.

"This…"

"King Alex"

A man with a white beard walked toward him followed by Athena behind.

Alex remembered this man, he was sort of Athena's guardian.

Alex leaned his head forward and greeted him.

Archbishop Mick smiled and said"Congratulations on getting the title of Holy Son."

Alex's brows furrowed and his expression turned ugly for a moment but his expression returned to normal quickly.

Athena tried to hold back her laughter as she guessed Alex thought.

While the Saintess and Pope deal with the religious works, the Holy son is the one who commands the paladins and in a way represents the military power of the Church.

He along with the inquisitor deals with the heretics and other troubles.

While the members of the Church spend their time teaching and praying, the Holy son deals with all sorts of problems and fights in the name of the Church.

In layman's terms, they were nothing but Church slaves or lap dogs.

Alex was sure that Goddess Rebecca was taking revenge on him.

'So, this is why I wasn't able to hear the declaration. She knew that if I had listened to it, I would have broken her statute.'

"Thanks, Archbishop!" Alex greeted him with a smile.

"But I think this is too much for me and I am not suitable for this kind of job."

"You should take your time to think about this. Even if you don't become the Holy Son, you are treated as one after all this was decided by Goddess. We don't have anything in our hands." Archbishop Mick spoke.

Alex sighed and resigned it to fate.

"I wish you a happy journey, King Alex."

"May you rise and soar the sky while bringing prosperity to others."The Archbishop raised his hand to reach out for Alex.

Holding his hands tightly, he stared at Alex with a solemn expression.

"Athena is a bit stubborn and headstrong. She may be a bit difficult to handle but she is kind and good at heart."

"Just because she is an orphan don't think that she had no one to rely on. She left the Church and threatened us not to look for her otherwise we wouldn't have left her in this condition when she can't even see."

"She is like my own daughter whom I along with others raised with our hand so, please take good care of her."Archbishop Mick gave an amicable smile but Alex felt the smile was quite threatening.

Instead of boasting about his capabilities, Alex just simply nodded his head.

After meeting with others, Alex and Athena departed from the Church.

Alex was still thinking about Bishop's words. Men had a hard time. First, it was the five Goddesses and now the Archbishop. The Cardinal of the Church is also his brother and he also treats Athena like his daughter.

Even his sister was not on his side and was threatening him to treat his wives kindly.

When would the day come, when the wives would be asked to take care of their husband?

Why do we all husbands have to be threatened like this? It's not like all men are scum.

Sniff…Sniff…

'No one is on my side?'

"You still have me. I am always on your side and will take good care of you."

Alex's expression stiffened and he stared at Athena with a dazed expression.

"Athena, do you have mind reading power or telepathy? Don't lie that you can read my expression."

Athena burst into laughter on hearing Alex's words.

"It's just that your emotions are not complicated and you are not masking your inner thoughts properly." Athena smiled which looked quite charming.

"Alex, you have a bad habit of putting down your guard when you are with your wives," Athena spoke.

"You are completely relaxed in the company of your wives. Your status is quite different Alex, you need to be alert all the time. Don't lose your focus in the Capital. It is a place filled with rottenness and filth."

Athena's words pulled Alex into deep thoughts.

It wasn't entirely wrong. He tends to lower his guard down in the presence of his wives.

It might be a habit developed by staying with Goddess.

The Goddess of Wealth and Wisdom were a strict teacher whereas the Goddess of Lust was more of an elder sister.

Goddess Rebecca was a good mother who loved his son and became a demoness when angry while the Queen Goddess was a mother who is blind to his child's actions and loved her son unconditionally and about the Goddess of War, it's better not to talk about her.

Alex had developed a sense of serenity and security by staying with them and their company calms him and as their daughter had inherited their personality, Alex felt as if he was in the Goddess's company in itself.

"Hmm! I got it. I will be careful."

"How do you plan to meet Yvonne?" Athena asked.

"She is going to be a headache." Alex massages his forehead.

"Yvonne is a prideful woman. Though she pretends not to care, she worries about us. Don't be harsh on her." Athena advised.

"I have thought of a special way to meet her."

"What special way?" Athena raised her brows.

"As a business partner." Alex smiled.

"Hehehee!So you are showing your true colours now." Athena giggled.

Alex's lips twitched and she stared at her with a questioning gaze.

"You can't fool me, Alex. You may look like an innocent kind boy, but underneath the mask lies a vicious beast."

"This is slander. You are defaming me. I will punish you."

"I look forward to Little Alex."

"I am not little in any sense. You can check." Alex grinned.

"When the time comes, I will personally test your worth and see whether you are little or have grown up finely," Athena whispered into Alex's ears with a seductive smile.

…

On the top floor of the library.

It was a place which was filled with books and articles but that was just a part of it.

Although it was a place filled with knowledge and one of the big libraries of Zenith, on the top floor of the library, many figures wearing black dresses sat across a huge round table.

"Are you sure it's her?"

"Yes, I am 100 percent sure. The ring glowed and sent the signal."

"She had already disappeared for years. We don't even know whether she is alive or dead. If she doesn't appear, we are just wasting our time. You will take the responsibility for wasting my precious time Han"

"Hmmph!" The man cast a disdainful look at Han.

All the other people started to chat about it but at that time a shadow flashed and the chair that had remained empty for a year was suddenly equipped.

Everyone looked at the person who appeared.

A person in black assassin cloth and a mask covers the upper half of the face.

"It's the Queen mask."

"My Queen!"

"Queen of Shadows!"

"My Goddess, you are back."

Everyone got up from their seats quickly with an elated expression and bowed their heads.

"It's been a long time, isn't it, member of League Of Shadows."

=================

[Note]

I have changed the rank of Mick from Bishop to Archbishop and the rank of Church authority goes on like this….

Deacon

Priest

Bishop

Archbishop

Cardinal

Pope