A SMILE THAT GROWS BACK

About a week ago, King Xavier had declared that he would unilaterally start a war with the Earth Dragon territory. This statement made the political conditions of the kingdom heat up, and as a result the Rosalia Family chose to leave the Moon Kingdom faction.

This eventually resulted in the political condition of the kingdom shaking. How could it not be, 30% of positions in government seats and 10% of military power had to just disappear after they decided to leave. But the King ignored this and still planned to start a war with the Earth Dragon's territory.

The day that we attacked the Earth Dragon finally arrived, the kingdom ordered all the residents in the capital to come to the Royal Palace and pray together. The purpose of this prayer is to activate the [Erased] cannon that has been prepared to destroy the Earth Dragon.

Our Kingdom has also dispatched 5000 soldiers and 100 Holy Knights led by Gideon Bluegarden, the Star Kingdom's relief force has also been on standby on the other side of the region. They had been prepared to invade Earth Dragon's territory after the [Erased] cannon was launched.

About 2.5 million residents had gathered in the halls of the Royal Palace, and the priests who would guide the residents to prayer had also been present. Seeing this, I immediately reported it to the King who was currently still in his room.

Knock... Knock...

"Your Majesty! It's me, Rudy..."

Not long after, the door to the room immediately opened. And there was a beautiful woman who opened the door for me, that person was my older sister who was the second wife of the King.

"Sister, it's nice to see you..."

My sister just smiled when she saw me from behind the door.

"Rudy… come in, King is getting ready…"

Not long after, the King finally finished preparing and I immediately prostrated before him.

"I will always pray for you both..."

My sister said this accompanied by her very gentle smile as she watched the two of us leave.

The king immediately went up to the altar that had been prepared for him, and I was behind him faithfully, always by his side. The cheers that were so lively began to sound as soon as the residents saw the King's arrival.

With only one hand raised, the King turned the lively cheers into serene silence.

"O MY PEOPLE, THANK YOU FOR COLLECTING ON THIS OPPORTUNITY."

With a magic device that functions as a loudspeaker, the King began to give his gratitude to the residents who had been present in this Palace.

"TODAY, OUR KINGDOM WILL CARRY A NEW HISTORY BY DESTROYING ONE OF THE STRONGEST ENTITIES, THE EARTH DRAGON. BE MY PEOPLE, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR POWER!!!"

The lively cheers started again as soon as the King finished his speech, and finally the prayer ritual to activate the [Erased] cannon was about to begin.

Thousands of priests immediately led this sacred ceremony, the King and I and the entire population also started clenching their fists and started this activity.

Millions of magic circles began to be engraved above each of our heads. Not long after that, I felt the mana inside my body start to flow out. This continued for the next few minutes, until I finally received a report that [Erased] was ready to be used.

I quickly walked over, and whispered the results of the report I had just received to the King.

"Your Majesty the King, [Erased] is ready for use. We only need orders from you…"

The king smiled very happily after I told this, and he immediately activated the communication device that was nearby.

"Do! That cannon fire!!"

The main dome of the Palace immediately split open and released a very long sheath. The shroud began to move towards the Earth Dragon's territory, and mana began to slowly accumulate in the shroud.

The bright blue mana accumulated continued to grow and grew bigger every second. And finally the [Erased] cannon was fired towards the Earth Dragon's territory.

WWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The cannon let out an extremely terrifying sound, and continued to fire massive amounts of mana for a period of fifteen minutes. Finally the attack stopped after firing a huge amount of mana for so long.

Sigh... sigh... sigh...

My breath hitched as the [ Erased ] cannon fired mana. It's not just me, but everyone else in this place also looks really tired. This is very natural, because this ritual sucks all of us to use it as a magic attack.

Not long after, the magic tool that the King was holding vibrated and emitted a flashing light. That thing is a magic tool that functions as a two-way communication tool, if it is energized, then it will function as it should.

< bzt... bzt... >

The magic tool began to emit a not so clear sound, not long after blinking.

< My King! Gideon Bluegarden asked permission to report...? >

Sir Gideon's voice sounded out from within the thing.

"Yes, Give me your report!"

< The 100 Holy knights that we have dispatched were successfully annihilated with the Earth Dragon... >

I took a deep breath after hearing the report. A sad and disappointed expression also appeared on the King's face when he heard this news.

Sigh... as expected, Earth Dragons are impossible to beat.

< but the [ Erased ] cannon did its job, the Earth Dragon was taken down thanks to the cannon >

Huh?! Did I hear wrong?

"Your Majesty...?"

"HAHAHA… I knew this would work."

The king burst into laughter after hearing that the Earth Dragon had been successfully exterminated using [Erased]. I was also very surprised and happy when I found out about this, I didn't expect our kingdom to be able to do it.

< I'll continue with the second stage of the attack, here's my report.... >

The magic tool stopped flashing after Sir Gideon finished his report.

"Your Majesty, shouldn't we announce it to the residents...?"

"You are right..."

The king immediately poured mana into the magic device that served as a loudspeaker.

"O MY PEOPLE, I JUST RECEIVED A REPORT FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF GIDEON BLUEGARDEN. THE EARTH DRAGON HAS BEEN DEFEATED WITH [ ERASED ]."

The residents gave very mixed reactions upon hearing this announcement. Some cheered, some burst into tears, and some returned to pray.

Thirty minutes had passed since Sir Gideon reported the fall of the Earth Dragon. And right now, we're still waiting for the report on the subjugation of the Elves and the entire territory.

But suddenly a very loud banging sound was heard from the sky above this Palace. I don't know what it is, but this Kingdom's barrier is reacting because of that. That means it is a threat to our kingdom.

The booming sound continued to sound and made the residents in this place panic. It wasn't just the residents, The King also looked very panicked. I immediately ordered the reconnaissance team to find out about this, using a communication magic tool.

A few moments later, a soldier ran up to the two of us. He immediately explained all the confirmed situations to the King as well as myself. I was very, very surprised to find out that the former Hero of the Star Kingdom, namely Yoru Edelhard, was the one who did

Damn it! That meant the aid troops from the Star Kingdom had failed.

If he manages to get here...? Lest our troops have failed too.

I immediately grabbed my own communication device and directly poured mana into it to contact Sir Gideon.

Damn it! Why not answer... Come on!!

"Your Majesty, what should we do? the soldiers also can't fight because they're running out of mana…?"

"For now, immediately strengthen the barrier magic, and Rudy! Summon GOD."

I was very surprised when the King said this.

"Are you sure Your Majesty...?"

"Yes! I have no other choice."

Me and the one soldier who had given the report immediately rushed off to fulfill the King's request. I also ordered four knights to come with me.

I ran towards the main palace hall and immediately descended the stairs to reach the basement floor. Arriving here, I still had to go through some very complicated passages, and finally arrived at God's place.

I arrived at a dungeon that was made especially for him. This person is a criminal who has been sentenced to life imprisonment. He was a person capable of controlling four Monster Kings at once, and he was imprisoned for once destroying the Moon Kingdom for sheer pleasure.

A criminal like himself should have received the death penalty, but the King deliberately didn't do it and instead imprisoned him because he saw little potential in him. That's what King Xavier once told me.

Clang... claang...

I immediately knocked on the iron bars restricting his freedom because the person seemed to be sleeping. His body was chained upside down, and his eyes and mouth were closed. We were so wary of this person, the kingdom only gave us one meal and one time to go to the restroom per day.

The four knights who came with me immediately opened the bars and released the chains that kept him hanging upside down. With the body still in chains, we brought this person before the King.

Arriving there, we immediately put him at a considerable distance from the King, maybe about 10 meters. Around 50 knights were also prepared if this criminal suddenly did something dangerous. And I immediately returned to the King's side as soon as I finished carrying out his orders.

"Take off the blindfold..."

A knight immediately did so after the King requested it.

The criminal immediately narrowed his eyes as soon as the blindfold was removed.

"Listen, I order you to use your monster control powers and defeat the person who is currently trying to break into my Kingdom! If you manage to get rid of that person, then I will lighten your sentence…?"

The man just looked at the King with a look that was so eccentric.

"You understand?!"

"mmppph... mmph..."

The king glanced at a knight, and the knight immediately released the object that had been gagging the criminal's mouth.

"Hya Hya Hya Hya Hya Hya...."

The person even laughed after the shackles in his mouth were removed.

"Why did I do it... I'd rather rot in there... alone... hyahya..."

Ugh... this guy really is insane.

Bug!!

Suddenly a knight who was nearby immediately launched a punch at him.

"Oi! I'm talking to the fat one, so don't interrupt…"

Hearing that, the knight who had wanted to hit him back, but the King managed to stop him.

"Quickly answer my question!"

"I'll do it if you let me go..."

The king fell silent as soon as he heard this statement. From the look on his face, the King was confused. I also seem to be experiencing the same thing if I were him.

"Sigh... all right! If you manage to get rid of that person, then I will give you freedom…"

"hyahyahya… I like you very much, King!"

I honestly don't agree with this, but right now we have no choice.

The knights immediately let go of all the chains that bound him, but still left two chains at his feet which were tied to the two pillars of this Palace.

The person seemed to be stretching his body as soon as the chains on his body were removed. And finally that person immediately cast a spell to summon the four Monster Kings. Four magic circles were instantly engraved on the ground not long after he cast a spell.

Pooooh!!

A puff of smoke suddenly filled the place, and the King of monsters appeared. Bee, ladybug, chameleon, and spider, these four animals immediately looked up at the sky as if they were marking their prey.

The residents who saw this became more frightened, but fortunately this was overcome by the priests. They tried to calm the residents by explaining all the events that had happened.

Not long after that, the former Hero Yoru managed to break through this royal barrier despite being strengthened. The bee monster immediately flew into the sky, and a fight began.

The four monsters started fighting outside the Royal Palace area, and various attacks were made, both from Hero Yoru and also the Monsters. The fight really looks brutal, many buildings and houses were destroyed by their fight.

Some time had passed, but the battle of the monsters was still going on. I didn't expect the Yoru heroes to be able to keep up with those monsters, so this battle looks really fierce.

"Yrkkh..."

Suddenly the person fell and immediately vomited blood from his mouth. Seeing this, I immediately asked a healer to heal him.

"hihihi… this guy is really strong!"

"Can you continue...?"

That person just smiled happily after I asked that.

"Arrgghhh!!!!"

Suddenly, the person screamed in pain and immediately fell unconscious with his eyes still open. Me and the knights and healers who were here immediately checked his condition.

After doing some checking, we finally found out that this guy just passed out. Not long after, I heard an explosion sound from one of the buildings in the Palace area. And the barrier that protected the entire Palace area began to slowly dissipate.

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

As soon as I saw this, I immediately ran to where the King was. But it was too late, because Hero Yoru was already standing before the King while emitting such a terrifying aura of mana.

Even I felt limp after feeling his aura. Not only me, but the knights near me also experienced the same thing. But luckily there were still some knights who had extraordinary resilience.

These knights immediately stood before the King to protect him. But it turns out that the hero Yoru has strength beyond human limits, he can get rid of dozens of knights just by moving one hand.

Argh... damn it!

I was very annoyed when I saw King Xavier being the butt of Hero Yoru, until now my whole body still can't be moved. Even though I forced it, for some reason I seemed to have lost all the muscle strength in my body.

When I had given up, suddenly Gilbert's Party came and immediately saved the King. A bit of hope began to emerge when I saw him and the rest of his party coming. Gilbert and his friends are the golden generation that this kingdom belongs to.

If the Star Kingdom has Heroes from another world, then our Kingdom has Gilbert and his friends. But unfortunately my hopes were dashed again after seeing his party defeated so easily.

Damn!!!

A black shadow instantly covered the entire area, and when I looked up….

Sigh... it seems that fighting the Earth Dragon was a fatal mistake. And it seems that we have been wary of the enemy wrong, the hero Yoru is the one we should be wary of.

Only one word came into my head after seeing this… "God."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMBBBB......!!!!!!!!!!!

****

By dropping a meteor on the Moon Kingdom, I ended up getting millions of souls to wake up Hana. Even though I have to have a very severe headache, at least I can get these souls.

I immediately returned to my house as soon as I finished collecting these souls on a giant brainwashed bee. The monster flew very fast after I told him where I lived.

Ugh... this monster is really fast!

I have to grip the hair of this animal very tight. Otherwise, I might have fallen a long time ago.

Within Ten minutes, I finally arrived at my residence.

I immediately got off the monster while stroking his head a few times, and he seemed very happy about it. The elves in this place immediately prostate as soon as they see me, although I can see they are frightened by the bee.

"Mr. Yoru! I'm so glad to see you're okay…"

"Let's go to Hana's place!"

I patted Riza's shoulder, and he immediately walked next to me.

Riza led me to the place where Hana was, and it turned out that Hana was being placed in our room. The female Elves who were in this place like Elva and Mera immediately prostrated as soon as they saw my arrival.

Some Elves are also seen still using healing magic for Hana. and it seems that the female elves have also changed Hana's clothes, which at first looked shabby due to fighting.

"Hana, I'm back! Just wait a little longer…"

I immediately approached Hana and stroked her face even though she was still asleep.

Okay! Let's get all this started!

I immediately took off my jacket, and gave it to Mera.

Greed! Give the mana we have collected to Hana!

[ .... ]

Greed?! Why are you silent...?

[ WE HAVE ONE PROBLEM... ]

Problem? What do you mean...?

[ I CAN ONLY LOSE EVERYTHING, AND CAN'T GIVE MY LOOT... ]

Huh?! You can't!

Honestly I was really shocked after hearing that, and really didn't know what else to do.

Then why did you suggest that I collect the souls?

[ I JUST GIVE YOU ADVICE... ]

Fuck!

Annoyed, I punched the wooden table near my bed until it fell apart. And of course the Elves looked very surprised when I did this.

"W-what is it, Mister Yoru?"

Riza approached me and immediately asked this.

"I can't channel the mana I've got to Hana, I don't have the skills..."

Not long after I explained this to Riza, his wife, Elva, even approached me and immediately said that she could do it.

"Mr. Yoru! I can help you with my unique skill…"

"Is it true?"

"Yes! I have a unique skill called [ Connector ]. This skill has the ability to connect two objects, and I will be the intermediary between the two objects."

Hearing that, I got excited again and immediately prepared to wake Hana from [Eternal Sleep]. Elva and I immediately stood near Hana and prepared to use each other's magic.

Elva put her left hand on Hana's shoulder and her right hand on me. Not long after, purplish-blue magic circles began to be engraved on both of his hands.

[ INDIVIDUAL ELVA REQUESTS PERMISSION TO SYNC WITH INDIVIDUAL YORU ]

[ DO YOU ALLOW IT ? ]

[ YES/NO ]

The voices of the world began to speak inside my head, and this was all caused by Elva using the [Connector] skill.

Without much thought, I immediately allowed Elva to do it.

"I'm counting on you, Elva!"

"leave it to me!"

The magic circles in Elva's hands started to shine so brightly, and I started to feel the mana that had been gathered oozing out. Hana's body also started to glow as a certain amount of mana entered her body.

This activity continued for several minutes, and finally the light that came out of Hana's body and Elva's magic circle began to slowly fade. Not long after that, Elva fell with a very weak body, but fortunately Riza was always beside her.

Greed! Has everything been done?

[ YES, ABOUT 10 MILLION WHERE IN YOUR BODY HAS BEEN REMOVED SUCCESSFULLY ]

Alright, I hope this all works out...

Elva, who still looked very weak, began to receive treatment from some of the Elves who had been taking care of Hana. I immediately sat down and waited for Hana to open her eyes while holding her hands.

"Hana...?"

I called her name after seeing her slowly open his eyes.

After a while, Hana started to open her eyes and unconsciously tears started to fall. As soon as I saw her awake, I immediately hugged her so tightly.

"Y-Yoru...?"

"Stupid! Why did you do it like this…"

Hana was silent when I shouted at her.

"I'm scared! ...I would be so afraid if you disappeared..."

"Sorry... I'm sorry..."

Hana said this while looking at me with a smiling face.

Ugh…!!

I don't know why, but suddenly my body felt very weak and my vision started to blur.

"Yoru! ...Yoru...?"

I heard Hana's voice calling me faintly, but my head started to spin again and my vision was getting blurry.

**

I opened my eyes when I felt the sunlight hitting my face, but for some reason my head felt like I was leaning against something very soft. And finally I realized that I was leaning on Hana's thigh after seeing her face as soon as I opened my eyes.

"Hana...?"

"Yoru... are you awake?"

"Awake...?"

"Um... you don't remember? You passed out after successfully waking me…"

Hana said this with a bit of confusion on her face.

I got up and sat down next to him. Hana told me everything that happened when I finished waking her up, she said I was so exhausted that I had to sleep for a whole week.

Honestly I'm quite surprised to hear this, and I also wonder if humans can really sleep for an entire week? I don't know, but for sure... Now I can see Hana's smile again.

"Thank you, Yoru!"

Hana hugged me really tight after she said that.

"What are you grateful for...?"

"Thank you for going that far for me..."

"What are you talking about! I should have done that. I will do whatever it takes to protect you, so don't act stupid like that time…"

"Yes, from now on we will protect each other."

Hmm... maybe now is the right time.

I immediately activated the Ultimate Skill [ Create ] to create two items. Actually I already had the intention of giving her this thing after returning from the Sun Empire. But various kinds of problems that suddenly came made me forget about this.

"Hana, give me your left hand…"

Her face looked a little confused, but she did it anyway.

I grabbed her hand and immediately put it on her ring finger.

"Ring? Why did you give this thing to me…?"

"In my world, if a man and a woman wear the same ring on their ring finger, it means they have promised to live together until death do them part."

I say all this while showing the same ring already wrapped around my ring finger. Hana started to blush with a red face, and for some reason she looked so cute, so I immediately kissed her.

Knock.. tock..

"Miss Hana, we have prepared breakfast..."

Mera's voice came from behind the door.

"Come on..."

Hana grabbed and immediately pulled my hand to go to the dining room. I immediately got out of bed, but my legs felt very weak the first time I stood up. I think it's all because I've been asleep for a whole week, so I stretch for a few minutes before going to breakfast.

The two of us exited the room, descended the stairs and immediately entered the dining room. As soon as I entered, the four Elf maids immediately prostrated themselves in front of me while showing happy faces upon seeing me.

"Lord Yoru, it's great to see you come back to your senses..."

Mera said this very politely.

"Thank you..."

Hana and I enjoyed the breakfast that the Elf maids had prepared. I quite enjoy the dishes made by them, even though I eat this food quite a lot because I don't feel full yet.

I was also quite surprised when I managed to finish these foods, even though I rarely finished my food at breakfast. I guess it's okay to do this once in a while, just think of it as an outlet for a week of not eating.

As usual, Hana and I will relax by the lake after eating breakfast. But I was very surprised when I saw the four monsters in the Moon Kingdom now here after leaving the palace.

"You know, the four of them are always waiting for you..."

I was even more surprised when I heard Hana say that.

"Do you understand what they are saying?"

"Of course, because I'm basically a Dragon..."

Ahh.. I forgot about that. Maybe I've seen Hana in human form too many times.

I also went over to them and stroked their heads, and they looked very happy to be treated like this.

"Why are you still here? You're free, so do what you want!"

"They said they wanted to be here..."

Hana translated the words of these monsters, and it was very helpful.

"Why...?"

I saw Hana's expression change after hearing these monsters talk.

"They say... you are their King, and they will swear allegiance to you..."

Huh?!

Damn it! I think I've over-brainwashed them.

"Hana! How about you, willing to accept them…?"

"I guess it's fine, they're pretty cute after all..."

Hana said this while rubbing the bee monster's head.

Honestly they can be very useful, but size is an issue. I have to provide a very large place and a lot of food if I want to receive them in this place.

"Sigh… isn't there a way to make their bodies smaller?"

"Just give them a human soul…"

"Eh?! What do you mean...?"

I immediately glanced at him after Hana said that.

"Give them human souls, then they will have bodies and can talk like humans."

"Eeh.. are you sure? How did you know all that…?"

"That's what my mother did so I could have a human form..."

Oh! I was quite surprised and didn't expect something like that to be done by Hana to get her human form. But her suggestion sounded interesting, if they could have a human form, I wouldn't have bothered to prepare the needs of the monsters.

But I have a problem, all the souls I have stolen from the Moon Kingdom have turned into mana. So I don't have the stock of souls to change them, and I can't possibly kill humans just to give them souls.

"I don't have any soul stock anymore, so now I can't turn you guys into humans…"

After saying that, suddenly the spider monster threw several things that looked like cocoons. And after looking at it, it turns out that these cocoons are humans wrapped in their webs.

Ew... those humans look so disgusting with the webs and mucus all over their bodies. I was quite surprised when I found out that the humans were still breathing.

But it looks like I have to use this human body to give souls to them. Because the size of the four of them really bothered this place. I also told the Elf who was around me to summon Elva, because I needed her power to transfer the human soul to the monsters.

Greed! You can snatch their souls...

[ NO! I DON'T WANT TO... ]

Huh?! What are you talking about...?

[ I DON'T WANT TO BE AN INTERMEDIATE FOR GIVING SOULS TO OTHERS! ]

Uh! What is this skill, is she angry?

[ OY, I CAN READ YOUR MIND... ]

Shit! I forgot about that.

Tell you what, you can take away all the knowledge and skills of those humans, but let their souls be given to those monsters?

[ OKAY! BUT IF WE MEET ANOTHER HUMAN, LET ME ROB EVERYTHING! INCLUDING THE SOUL...! ]

Yes, yes... I'll let you rob souls later...

Not long after that, Elva and Riza came to this place. Like the other Elves, the two of them immediately prostrated themselves before me and Hana. They also told me how happy they were to see me awake as usual.

Without further ado, Elva and I immediately transferred the souls from these humans to the monsters. The souls that I had snatched were directly inserted into the bodies of the monsters using Elva's unique skill, and their gigantic bodies began to emit a very bright light.

The light was still shining brightly, but I could see that the monsters' bodies began to shrink and form the curves of a human's body. As the light faded, I could see two boys and girls with a lot of mana aura.

Riza immediately gave blankets to these four people, because they were all not wearing any clothes at this time. The four of them immediately prostrated themselves and thanked me with great joy.

The bee monster has a female body with yellow hair and two antennae on its head, the ladybug also has a female form with long red hair that is very charming.

The spider has a fairly muscular body and black hair and a beautiful face, even though he is a boy. And the chameleon monster has a masculine face with green hair and purple eyes.

"Master Yoru! Once again I express my deepest gratitude to you…"

"Enough! I'm tired of hearing your thanks..."

I also gave them earrings made of magic crystal to muffle the strong aura. And yes, they look so happy about it, even the bees are crying happily because of it.

"Master Yoru! Can you give us a name? We would be very happy if that happened…"

Name huh... looks like it's really needed.

"Then… Jaune, Rouge, Noir, and Vert."

I named them according to their hair color in French. And to be honest, it's inspired by a novel I've read, where every Devil in the novel has a name according to their hair color.

"Elva! Riza! Please give them clothes and teach the four of them how to behave properly…"

"Leave the four of them to us, Mister Yoru!"

The two of them immediately prostrated after hearing my order.

"Yes, I can ..."

What's this!?

I suddenly felt a terrifying mana aura coming from the sky. Not only me, everyone here also reflexively looked up when they sensed this aura.

Not long after, something shot very fast towards this place. And I was quite surprised when something was able to pass through Hana's barrier so easily like nothing happened.

BOOOMMMB!!!!

A puff of smoke rose very high as soon as something landed on the ground.

The four monsters that have obtained human bodies are also suddenly standing in front of me and Hana while on alert.

"Lord Yoru, be careful!"

I also immediately took out a sword from within the [Item Box] just in case. But I was quite surprised by the mana I felt from the puff of smoke. Somehow it felt very familiar.

After a while, the puff of smoke began to dissipate, and a male figure appeared in the puff of smoke. A white-haired man with two black horns on his head and a very terrifying and irregular blue mana aura.

The man smiled widely as our eyes met.