Chapter 49 | Season 5

Beru was a simple soldier in Ashborn's shadow army. When it came to his liege, he was respectful, courageous, and devoted.

He may be defined as a soldier who is unafraid of fighting. Beru would charge at his opponent mindlessly at times, and even if the enemy had greater strength than him, he would smash his limitations in the dust, destroying his opponent with pure willpower.

His liege's authority permitted him to live eternally. Beru was ecstatic to have been given this opportunity by his liege.

The other shadow soldiers were similar to Beru in that they were fearless in the face of formidable foes. If their sovereign so wished, they would gladly accept death.

People would be unable to express their emotions if asked. The shadow soldiers possessed feelings, but nothing that any sentient being in this universe could comprehend.

They died and were brought back by the King of the Dead. In comparison to before their resurrections, their feelings have radically changed. It affected even monsters with no brains and only primal impulses.

They are confronted with new emotions, including hostility. Contempt towards anyone who offends or provokes their king.

But they are not dreadful of opponents; this was the Shadow Army's most unique feature. It might be the greatest weapon or just a waste, since they eat up liege's energy by suffering damage blindly.

However, for the time being. The most fearless of the soldiers was trembling with terror, and the rest were no better.

Someone was putting pressure on them?

No, in fact, it was the polar opposite.

They felt nothing.

The attachment their liege previously had towards Reynolds, Alice, Eleanor. and Arthur Leywin, faded in the deepest parts of the nothingless. Ashborn sat on his throne with his eyes closed, showing no expression.

And this terrified the soldiers.

The throne was in the great hall of Ashborn's castle, which was located in the Beast Glades. The leaders of the two countries were present in the great hall, while the third was unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances.

They were simply standing there, trying to act calm despite the pressure they felt coming from a certain ant, if even their breath itched. The surprising part is that Beru did not take it as a disrespectful act, but was concerned about their lives.

Could Beru actually blame the weak beings for being afraid of the chilly wind which mysteriously flew back and forth?

Unlike him, they didn't have an explanation for the wind being in a sealed environment?

"Hm..." Ashborn slowly opened his eyes and inspected the people present.

He then glanced at the right side of his chest and placed his hand on it.

"This seems to bring some problems." Clutching something invisible, the wind in the room seemed to calm down.

Ashborn closed his eyes, inhaled, then reopened them and spoke, once more glancing at the people in the room.

"I have three announcements to make, one of which is pleasant, but the others are not." He continued with his arms folded and his legs crossed.

"I'll start with the awful ones, the first of which being a massive fight for the entire continent. The second, even the continent's strongest, has little chance of surviving the battle." Ashborn indeed revealed the awful news for the people in the vicinity.

"D-Does that mean..." the wide-eyed Blaine stuttered, the others were no different than him.

"The deities of yours are not so angelic as in your legends." Ashborn remarked coldly.

The casualty in the Xyrus Academy wasn't anything compared to what had to come, but it did bring death to hundreds of people. The leaders of the countries were well aware of the disaster which happened there, as their own children are attending the facility.

They were lucky enough to survive.

"I haven't mentioned the third piece of information." As Ashborn stated this, hope sparked in other's eyes.

"In a year, the additional dimensional rifts will open across the continent of Dicathen. If the denizens of this continent wish to survive then they shall step through it." Ashborn clarified.

"Bra-... Mr. Ashborn, I need to know what we are signing for," the oldest elf in the room demanded. Of course, it was Virion Eralith, who was already tired of being not informed about the situation entirely.

For the leader, it's formidable to ask out of concern for his people. But in some cases, when you know that you don't stand a chance and someone offers help, you have to shut up and accept.

"The less you know, the better it shall be for you." Ashborn in response waved his hand, denying the man on the spot.

"I'm afraid then, we can't work together," the old man's words hardened Ashborn's face, he narrowed his eyes on the elf.

"Are you implying you want your people to die?" The question brought the man to halt his pace and think about the previous statement more.

"But then again, with those teleportation gates, we have no idea where we're headed..." the elf mumbled.

"Then I'll have to revise my statement. This is the only way for your people to survive: either go through the rift or end up dying." There was no need for Ashborn to tell them everything, it is better if they don't know about where those rifts would lead to.

"But..." Virion received the glare, which will remain in his memories for the rest of his life.

"Mr. Ashborn, what are you planning on doing?" Kaspian gathered his courage and asked out of concern.

'I'll be doing what I was best at... bestowing death.' inwardly answered Ashborn.

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Ashborn continued to travel through the streets of Xyrus, the floating city. Because he didn't want to lose the 'present' Black Heart, he restricted himself from using anything linked to the magic. His magic came from the darkness, and the black heart performed an excellent job of creating mana out of it.

However, by simply overusing his own power, Ashborn fractured the shell of Black Heart and greatly reduced his supply of the magical energy (mana).

Apart from storing a large number of corpses and maintaining a constant low supply of mana for them, Ashborn now had to refrain from sending his warriors into the battle. Until he completely seals the Black Hearts shell, he should monitor it cautiously.

"My liege, it shall be for better if you stop supplying the dead corpses with the mana." Beru advised him telepathically.

"No, they will be great additions." Ashborn denied his servant immediately.

The Asuras he killed were simply too valuable soldiers. With their Aether Arts, Asuras were on par with the Monarchs, he couldn't deny that. Unlike the Monarchs, though, their mana capacity and skill set were severely limited.

This doesn't mean that they could fight against the Monarchs directly.

By this time, Ashborn had already arrived in front of the Helstea Manor. With the heavy steps, he walked up on the stairs and knocked on the large doors. A few seconds later he heard someone running to the door and opening it.

"Ash, you have come right on time! Your parents were worried! Wait... where is Arthur?" Vincent, the one who opened the door, was perplexed.

While glancing at the man with glasses, the auburn-haired boy remained silent. This made it abundantly clear to Vincent that something had happened, so he didn't press on and instead freed space for Ashborn to get in the manor.

Ash walked past him not even glancing back at the man. With rapid steps, he moved towards the mana-signature of his parents.

When he entered the hall where his parents were. Ashborn saw the worried expressions on their faces, as both Alice and Reynolds were restlessly trembling on the couches. Of course, they would be worried.

His arrival was shortly noticed by Alice, who jumped up and exclaimed.

"Ash!" She ran up to him, with his husband following right after with a somewhat relaxed expression.

"My baby, I was so worried! Where is Arthur?" She hugged Ashborn tightly and buried her face in his chest.

Waiting for the response, Alice looked up to see the neutral face of Ashborn.

"Where is Arthur, Ash?" When his father questioned, the anxious expression on his face reappeared.

"He is still alive, although there is something I must tell you about his location," the boy answered instantly, easing their worries for a few seconds.

"Arthur was kidnapped," a silence followed right after his words.

Alice stumbled backward, her face flushed with disbelief, and Reynolds shared his wife's look. Then there was a commotion behind Ashborn's back, as if someone was listening in on their talk and leaving as soon as Ashborn made his declaration.

"I will bring Arthur back, I promise this. Now, I'll talk with Ellie." Ashborn abruptly exited the room without waiting for them to speak up.

Ashborn followed Ellie's steps which resounded in the manor, she was obviously running to her room. Ash walked up on the second floor and approached Ellie's room silently.

He pushed open the door to find Ellie wrapped in her blankets, with little cries emanating from her. The brother reached her bed and took a seat on the edge of it.

"Everything is fine with Arthur; he is still alive... for the time being," the brother made a huge blunder by closing his speech this way, as Ellie's cries just grew louder.

"Anyway, Ellie. I promise I will get back your brother..." Ellie was stroked on the head by Ash, who placed his hand on her head.

"... You are going anyway..." she voiced between sobs.

"Yes and I'll be back. Don't worry, I'll protect you even when I'm far away," behind Ashborn appeared dark monsters with glowing purple eyes, something Ellie had not seen.

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Ashborn exited Ellie's room after assuring himself that she fell asleep peacefully. When he left the room, he was met with Reynolds standing on the opposite side of him.

"Got a minute to talk, before the departure? I want to talk like father to son," enquired Reynolds.

"I've got a few minutes on my hands," Ash replied to his father, and the two of them walked to the manor's backyard.

Already outside of the manor, Reynolds looked at his son with serious determination.

"Ash... are you sure you told us everything?" Reynolds queried, his gaze fixed on Ashborn's.

"I haven't." Ashborn replied while gazing up at the starry night sky.

"Hah, for all those years. I still don't fully understand my own son..." hearing his son's remark, the father laughed.

"For eight years already, since you revealed your awakening, I don't know how truly powerful you are. It's frustrating not to know how your own son is growing up. You and Arthur, it feels like we haven't really played any roles in your development, how can I even be called father at this rate..." Reynolds sighed, his sadness clearly visible on his face.

"If there is something specific you require assistance with, please let us know. I'm ready; if you need anything, just ask me or Alice; we'll always be there to help and encourage you," with the determination leaking out of his eyes, the father stated.

Ashborn was taken aback, even though he knew how much his parents adored them. But, just like now, when Reynolds let out all of his thoughts, it seemed more reassuring to know what his father was thinking about them.

"Ash." Reynolds called out for his son.

The son turned to face his father, who extended his hand to give him a fist bump. For a few moments, Ash seemed lost, but then he smiled warmly and returned the fist bump, making Reynolds return the smile.

'Sorry, but I can't put you through this because of my personal issues. I'm going to do it by myself.'

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LOOK WHO IS BACK! Hell yeah!

New season, new adventures, and a whole lot of plot twists! I myself am amazed about what is to come in the upcoming new chapters. The appearance of the antagonist, who will all know greatly.

Heheeeee.

Anyway,

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Cyaaa