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Chapter 741: For Asgard!

Morgan stood on a platform holding a ceremonial sword in his hand.

His father, James, had tasked him to embed the sword in the pedestal in order to activate the Bifrost Bridge, which would connect the Floor of Asgard to the Passage of the Worlds.

James didn't ask Morgan to accompany him because he had a more important task for his son. Morgan's role was to transfer the power of Faith from the Tower of Babylon towards James, and maintain the connection of the Bifrost Bridge.

Morgan trusted his father very much, so he didn't ask any questions and simply did as he was told. Although he was curious about what was happening, he was certain that once his father came back from who-knows-where, all the questions he had at the moment would be answered.

The Power of Faith that had gathered at the highest peak of the Tower of Babylon had transformed into a golden orb of light, similar to a small sun.

Three beings stood around it and slowly channeled the power towards the 51st Floor. This battle was very important to them, so they didn't hold back in supporting the Heroes that were facing the vanguards of Destruction that had arrived on their doorstep.

The platform where Morgan stood glowed a golden color as the power of Faith was absorbed by the sword in his hand. A few moments later, hundreds of beams of light shot out from the Tower of Babylon, and traveled to all corners of the world of Hestia.

For a brief moment, the entire world was bathed in a golden light, before returning to its normal state.

—–

Back in the Void…

"Impossible! You're already dead!" Tremohr shouted. He refused to believe that the adversary they had feared in the past was once again standing in front of them. Although the face wasn't familiar to them, the spiritual power that he could feel from the old man couldn't be wrong.

James didn't answer right away and merely urged his mighty steed to move forward.

"You're right. I've died once already," James answered, "but I am back, and I am back with a vengeance. This time around, there will be no prophecies to save you from me."

"So what if you're back?" Sirion sneered. "Asgard had already been burned to the ground and your world destroyed for eternity. Right now, you're just a homeless dog with no owner. Oh, how the mighty All Father has fallen!"

James brushed away the strands of hairs that were covering his face. After that, he raised his head ever so slightly, before answering the Giant's taunting.

"Asgard is not a place. Never was," James answered firmly. "It's a people. For as long as the fires of Asgard burn in their hearts, it will continue to exist."

James raised the silver spear Gungnir in the air and it glowed like a beacon warding off darkness. "Asgard is where our people stand… and now, allow me to introduce you to my people."

Hundreds of beams of light landed on top of the Bifrost Bridge, behind James.

"Hah… you're such a slave driver, commander," Owen said with an exaggerated sigh as he walked towards James. "I was just about to make love to my beautiful wife and you chose this time to summon us? If you summoned me a minute later, I might have appeared in my birthday suit."

"It must be hard being a henpecked husband," Dwayne chuckled as he stood beside Owen. He eyed the Giant Army and cracked his knuckles. Obviously, he was preparing himself to punch them to

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oblivion.

Ezio, Helen, Barbatos, Mr. Bond, Gordon, John, Shawn, and the other warriors of Lont stood proudly around their commander.

Throughout his early days, James had traveled the world of Hestia, searching for the Asgardians who had also reincarnated in this world. Some of them lived in the remote corners of Hestia, and although they chose not to follow James back to Lont, their loyalty remained true to him.

This was why, when James had called for them, they answered the call and were brought to the void by the power of Faith.

The Giants glanced at the newcomers and snorted. Although their opponents had increased by a few hundreds, their strength didn't pose a threat to them. Only James, Malacai, Ella, and Chloee were strong enough to threaten the Demigods and the Pseudo Demigods in the Army of Destruction.

When James saw the contemptuous expressions of the Giants, he laughed at them in his heart.

"I'm called Father of Men, The Ancient Gautr, and All Father. I am Blaze-Eyed. I am also called Eagle Head, and Shield-Shaker," James declared with arrogance. "I am The Wanderer, and I am the Chooser of the Slain. I am Gray-Beard, Masked One, and The Evil Doer. I have as many names as there are winds, as many titles as there are ways to die.

"By my power and authority, I hereby grant you the right to unseal all of your powers! Brave Heroes of Valhalla, I once again call upon you to make your stand! Break away from the shackles that bind you and unleash your true power! Show them the power of the Einherjars!"

Gungnir shone once again and the rays of light landed on the hundreds of men that answered their Master's call.

Owen, who was standing next to James, started to glow.

When the light receded, a handsome man who seemed to be in his mid-twenties appeared in front of everyone. He had platinum blonde hair, and eyes that were as blue as the clear sky. He emanated the strength of a magician that had broken through the limit of the 10th Circle.

He was other than Owen, the Grand Archon of Life, and his face would make all the ladies in the world swoon due to how good looking he was. The handsome man had an impatient look on his face as he faced the Giant's Army.

Clearly, he was more interested in fighting thirty rounds with his wife, than dealing with the stinking giants, who had come uninvited in their new domain.

If William was there, he would definitely refuse to believe that the old perverted man, who had taught him all the techniques he knew about how to pleasure a woman, was the same person who was now oozing with a very strong life force and charisma.

Dwayne, the bald monk, who had taught William unarmed combat, now stood wearing the armor that he once wore when he was still an Einherjar that fought under Odin's direct command.

Helen, whom William had always called Aunt Helen, had transformed into a beautiful young lady who seemed to be in her early twenties. White wings sprouted behind her back and in her hand, she carried a flag where two ravens had their wings spread wide, as if they were just about to fly towards the sky.

This was the flag of Odin's personal army that followed him into battles. Helen was the Valkyrie who was under his direct command. She was also their legion's flag bearer. Her role was to ensure that Odin's flag would be seen on the battlefield, giving strength to the warriors who were fighting for the sake of the Nine Realms.

The hundreds of warriors also transformed into their forms when they were at their peak. A powerful force swept across the battlefield at that moment, and the Giants finally realized that they had underestimated how strong the warriors of the world they were planning to destroy were.

Each member of Odin's Legion had the Rank of a Saint at its peak. They were just as strong as William when he entered his Heroic Avatar form, and all of them were veterans in battle. If this kind of force appeared in any place in the Central Continent, it would certainly be a force that no one would openly dare to oppose.

James body was bathed in light, and when it receded, the old man, who always wore a robe, was covered in a golden armor. He also wore a golden horned helmet, which high-lighted the black eyepatch on his face.

The All Father then pointed Gungnir at his enemies, and Sleipneir raised its front legs while neighing out loud. The time of talking was over, it was now the time to fight.

"For Asgard!" James roared with all his might. It was the same warcry that he had shouted when the end of the world stared at him in the face.

It was the same warcry he shouted as he stared at the prophesied adversary that was meant to claim his life.

The All Father of Asgard and the God of all Aesirs once again donned his armor and weapon of war, like he did thousands of years ago. James led the charge at the frontlines of the battlefield, for honor, and for the the things he had lost!

""For Asgard!""

The hundreds of warriors shouted in unison. Their blood boiled inside their bodies as they stared hatefully at the invaders that had trampled over their dignity and honor in the past.

"Kill!" James shouted as Sleipnir charged forward. The magnificent steed neighed as its legs carried it forward.

Helen waved Odin's Flag as she hovered above the battlefield. A sneer appeared on her face as she held the banner in her hands tightly. This time, they would not falter. This time they would win!

""Kill!""

Hundreds of warriors charged alongside James without fear. Their rampage was long overdue.

It was now time for them to unleash the fury that they had kept in their hearts for thousands of years, on the same Giants who thought that they could once again destroy their world, like they had with Asgard thousands of years ago.

Chapter 742: I Will Laugh At Your Pitiful Death From Hell [Part 1]

"Gramps sure is feisty," Elliot muttered as he gave James a side-long glance. "That's my gramps."

William's angelic familiar couldn't stop the silly grin that appeared on his face as he marveled at James' prowess.

"Focus," Meredith reminded him. "We still haven't seen our target."

Meredith's reminder calmed Elliots excitement down as he once again narrowed his eyes to scan his surroundings. In this battle, he was forced to use 70% of his power, just like Chloee, and had taken the form of a young boy.

Lightning snaked around his body as he continued to gather his powers in his right hand. Ever since he and Chloee had appeared on the battlefield, the angelic familiar had been channeling his powers for one full powered strike.

He could only unleash this powerful attack once, and he would be greatly weakened afterward. Even so, it was necessary for this was the only attack that could pierce through their target's defenses.

Malacai backed off because he could tell that James had set his eyes on Tremohr. Since that was the case, he swapped places with his subordinates, and fought Sirion.

The Arcane Spectral Lich, Diabolical Hell Knight, and Grim Nightmare Revenant, joined the Angorian War Sovereigns in fighting off against the Pseudo-Demigods who had once again started to attack Avalon.

"Owen, take Dwayne, Barbatos, Shawn, Gordon, John, Marcus and half of our forces to reinforce Avalon," James ordered. "Helen…"

"I will stay with you, Commander," Helen interjected before James could give her any orders.

The beautiful Valkyrie had the "I'm staying with you and there's nothing you can do about it" expression on her face that forced James to hold back the order he was about to give.

"Fine, Just make sure that you don't get in my way," James replied. "You know how I fight, right?"

"Of course, Commander."

"Good."

Sleipnir rose to the sky as James charged straight towards Tremohr with a fearless grin.

The Strongest Demigod among the Giants didn't step back and faced him head on as well. He swung his Giant Axe and it descended with the weight of several mountains. Tremohr knew that he couldn't afford holding back against such a powerful opponent, so he decided to go all out from the very start.

Odin didn't dodge the attack, instead, he used his hand to grab the blade of the Axe that was only a meter away from his body.

Tremohr stared in disbelief at the scene that was in front of his eyes. He had only seen Odin fight briefly during Ragnarok, but he wasn't among the giants that faced the All Father in that great battle.

He heard that Odin was strong, but he didn't know how strong he was.

"Is this all you've got?" James sneered as he pushed the Giant Axe back. The blunt edge of the War Axe hit Tremohr's head, sending him staggering back a few steps.

James jumped off Sleipnir's back, and punched the Giant's nose, breaking it completely.

Although he wasn't as powerful as he was when he still held the title as the Strongest God of Asgard, his unsealed form was still strong enough to make Tremohr lose all of his confidence in a fight against him.

Right now, James' strength was akin to the strength of a Demigod at its peak. He couldn't always use this power because there was a restriction that bound him from using it. The old bandit of Lont could only unseal his power when he was facing the Army of Destruction.

Outclassed by his opponent, Tremohr knew that it was only a matter of time before their army would be wiped out. The moment he was defeated, James could easily start a massacre and annihilate all the Giants that were under the realm of Demigods.

"Activate the Beacon now!" Tremohr roared.

This was a special means of calling for reinforcements from the main army that all Raiding Teams possessed. There were several worlds that had powerful warriors on them that could resist the Vanguards of Destruction.

When this happened, the leader of the Raiding Team would then send a signal to their Main Army, which in turn would mobilize a stronger force to head to the world where the beacon was lit.

Once the beacon was lit, it would only take a week or two before a massive army, that numbered in the millions, would arrive. This was the main force of the Harbingers of Destruction.

This Army was headed by a God, and under him were thousands of Demigods and Pseudo-Demigods. The main bulk of the army was composed of Millennial and Myriad Ranked Trolls and Giants that had grown in great numbers over the passage of time.

When Tremohr shouted his order, a giant, who was located at the rear of the army, grabbed something from the satchel on his waist.

It was a golden crystal, the size of a bus, and it was the beacon that would call their reinforcements from the far reaches of the void.

The Giant Raised his hand and was about to activate the golden crystal when it was momentarily blinded by a brief flash of light. What followed next was a loud cracking sound of a crystal shattering into pieces.

When the Giant recovered his vision, he saw a blonde-haired boy, with his fist embedded in the golden crystal in his hand.

The Giant roared in anger because he could tell that the beacon had been destroyed in that brief span of time that he got distracted.

The remains of the golden crystal turned into glittering crystal powder, as Elliot felt his entire body became heavy as lead.

Out of anger, the Giant grabbed Elliot and crushed his body in a firm grip.

Elliot bit his lips as he prevented himself from crying out in pain. He had used all of his strength in that single attack, and he no longer had the strength to escape.

"I'll kill you!" The Giant increased his strength and crushed Elliot's body.

Enduring the crushing pain that was threatening to end his life, Elliot sneered at the Giant who had failed to carry out his mission.

"Jokes on you," Elliot said through pained breaths. "I'm too awesome to die."

The Giant roared in anger as he tightened his grip, crushing Elliot's body completely. The Angelic Familiar muttered a few words before his body shattered into a shower of light.

His killer didn't manage to hear his words, nor did anyone for that matter.

Only the wind, that blew softly across the battlefield, carried his words to the one that was meant to hear them. Those words were.

"I will leave the rest to you, Chloee."

Chloee was busy fighting off against Araznir, but she still sensed Elliot's death from afar.

There had been no changes in her emotions as she cornered the Giant Demigod with her cheat-like abilities.

Elliot had already told her that there was a high-chance of dying in this battle, so they had all come prepared to die when things got out of hand. As familiars, their Masters would be able to summon them again after 24 hours had passed.

As long as they didn't use 100% of their powers in battle, they could be summoned again once the duration of their death had expired.

"Duel-Ex!" Chloee shouted when Araznir tried to regroup with Tremohr. She was aware that the three Demigods were the main force of the Giant Army. As long as they were killed, the remnants of their forces would be easy prey.

Araznir cried out in fear as he once again faced the little girl whose fist was glowing in a bright, golden light.

"Noooo!" Araznir could only scream in fear as Chloee moved in for the kill.

This was her third and final chance to use her strongest attack, and she planned to end Araznir's life with it.

The battle against the Demigod wasn't easy. If not for the fact that she could break the laws that the Giants had used against her, the one who would be dying would be her.

Also, Araznir wasn't much of a fighter. His role was support, and he specialized in healing.

After the giant cone shell was destroyed, the Giant had lost his edge in his battle against Chloee.

If the one who fought against her was Tremohr or Sirion, the little fairy would have definitely died long before Elliot unleashed his suicidal attack to destroy the Beacon of the Giants.

Chloee flew like an arrow and gave Araznir an uppercut. Her small body pierced through his jaw, and went straight to destroy the giant's brain, ending his life.

One of the three Demigods had fallen, and their Beacon had been destroyed. The Morale of the Giants plummeted and some of them even started to retreat.

James' subordinates, Malacai's undead, and the Angorian War Sovereigns, didn't stop their relentless assault and hunted the giants who had decided to run for their lives.

The tides of the battle had shifted, and their roles had completely reversed.

—–

Standing on top of the Giant Sword Embedded in the middle of Hestia Academy, the beautiful lady wearing celestial clothes observed the battle from afar.

Her hands were clenched into fists, and a smile could be seen on her face. Clearly, she was happy with the outcome of the battle.

Unfortunately, she knew that this was only the beginning. Even so, the defenders had bought them precious time.

Time they could use to raise a few more heroes, who would take up arms to defend their world, from the inevitable battle that would decide the Fate of her World.

Chapter 743: I Will Laugh At Your Pitiful Death From Hell [Part 2]

Several chains wrapped around the foot of a giant preventing it from running away. The giant did its best to pull out of the chain that bound it. Some of the chains broke, but more took their place. Soon, the entire body of the giant was rendered immobile.

A black mist flew from the ground and reformed itself on the back of the giant's neck.

"Requiescat in Pace," Ezio said as he swiftly slashed on the nape of the Giant's neck with a sword that was surrounded in black mist.

Black flames erupted from the wound. Soon, the flames spread across the entire giant's body.

Not long after, a blood curdling scream of suffering erupted from the giant's lips as fear, pain, and unwillingness consumed everything, even its bones.

Hundreds of meters away from him, a giant was doing its best to escape, while blood soaked its wound riddled its body.

John, who was mounted on top of a Giant Hawk, unleashed a deadly shower of arrows that turned the giant into a pincushion.

After receiving several injuries, the Giant's speed had slowed down. It was also at that moment when a loud squeal spread across the battlefield.

A five-meter tall wild boar rammed the Giant's calf, breaking its bones, and sending it collapsing onto the ground.

Mounted on top of the Wild Boar was other than Theo's father, Marcus. Together with his Boar Companion, Thunder, they smashed the giant's head before running after their next kill.

(A/N: Theo was William's best friend in Lont.)

Owen, on the other hand, was smoking a pipe as he observed the battlefield. As a Life Grand Archon, his role was to ensure that they would not have any casualties on their side during the battle.

He would casually point his staff at varying points in the distance and cast barriers around, and healing spells and other support spells on the Asgardians who were consumed by blood lust. These frenzied attacks were quite powerful, but due to the overflowing emotions of revenge, some of the Asgardians disregarded their safety and attacked like there was no tomorrow.

Owen didn't prevent them from doing what they wanted because he knew that they were just venting out the suppressed feelings that they had held inside their hearts for a very long time.

Also, Owen was confident enough that of them would die under his watch. Even if they did, as a Life Grand Archon, he would be able to bring them back to life, as long as their time of death didn't surpass five minutes.

"Knock yourself out, fools," Owen muttered as he once again pointed his staff in a direction, enclosing one of his comrades in a powerful protective shield to prevent one of the giants from crushing them with its foot.

"The people of Lont are stealing our kills," Jed complained as he summoned an ethereal Sparrowhawk, with a wingspan of five-meters, to attack one of the Giants they had immobilized.

The Sparrowhawk screeched and clawed the giant's eyes, blinding it completely. It then circled the sky once, before swooping down to scratch the giant's face.

"Stop complaining," Keith, who had summoned a giant vine to immobilize the giant, commented. "If you don't pay attention to the enemy in front of you, you might get your cheeks clapped hard."

Io, who had accompanied the two to subdue the giants, summoned several Earth Spears and hurled them at the giant's chest. She was someone that didn't like to talk too much, and was the steadiest among the Angorian War Sovereigns that were under Chronos' leadership.

After delivering the final blow that ended the Giant's life, Io looked in the distance where

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her companions were battling two more giant's together.

"Let's go," Keith said. "Big Sister said that of the giants must survive."

Jed raised his hand and increased the size of the ethereal Sparrowhawk, so that the three of them could mount its back.

Half a minute later, the group of three flew in the air and sought out the Giant's that had run the furthest ahead.

They had no intention of letting any of the Giant's go because this was part of the mission that Ella had given to all of them.

—-

Avalon soared across the void and unleashed a barrage of magical attacks on the fleeing giants. Since they were only of the Millennial Rank, and no longer under the protection of Sirion's and Araznir's powerful artifacts, these giants were blasted to bits by the magical attacks that fell on their bodies like rain.

Chloee panted as she climbed out of Araznir's bloody head. Her whole body had been drenched with blood and brain fluids, but she didn't pay it too much attention.

Just as she was about to fully extract herself, a fireball descended upon her and turned her body into particles of light.

One of the Captains of the Giant Army had come to support Araznir, but it was already too late when he arrived. Even so, he still decided to end the life of the little girl who had killed his superior.

The Captain knew that they had already lost, and he had made it his mission to eliminate as many warriors on the enemy's side as possible.

However, before he could realize his goal, the Giant Slaying Draugr, who had finally managed to reattach its body parts, sliced the Giant's Head off from its body.

It was filled with anger and annoyance because the Giants had not only torn its body apart, they had also thrown it in different directions. This had made the Giant Slaying Draugr very angry, so it hacked and slashed at any Giant that was near its vicinity.

The Monstrous Skeleton Sovereign was of the same opinion as his comrade, and was currently on a killing spree amongst the weaker Millennial Giants that had started to run from the battlefield.

"You are only delaying the inevitable," Tremohr said as he knelt on the ground, while blocking the gaping hole on his chest with his hand. "You might have won today, but you cannot stop us. You and the Aesir Gods failed back then. Do you really think your pitiful resistance is enough to stop the mainforce from setting this world ablaze? Naive!"

Tremohr knew that his life was nearing its end, so it decided to use its remaining life force to ridicule James' and his pitiful effort at resistance.

James didn't affirm nor reject Tremohr's words because it held some truth in it. He was not as strong as he used to be in the past, and he was well aware of how powerful the Army of Destruction was.

Indeed, in the face of the Main Army, headed by the God of Destruction himself, their resistance was indeed pitiful. However, James wasn't pessimistic about their chances.

"Don't worry," James said as he stared at the dying Giant in front of him. "If, and when, your main army arrives, I will personally send your comrades to hell to accompany you."

"Delusional mortal. I will laugh at your pitiful death from hell."

"Laugh as much as you want, but I'm not going to hell."

James sneered at the Giant whose eyes were glaring at him with hate.

"I'm too awesome to share that filthy place with you, and your stinking companions," James said as he threw Gungnir at the Giant's forehead, finally ending the Demigods' life.

Sleipnir neighed as it nudged James using the side of its face.

"I know," James replied as he patted the horse's head. "We won't allow any of them to escape."

Sleipnir neighed as James mounted its back. The two then galloped across the void to hunt down the Giants that were running for their lives.

Malacai had also ended Sirion's life, and his undead army was currently clearing the battlefield alongside James' forces.

On top of Avalon's ramparts, Ella's long, light-blue, hair fluttered in the breeze.

'We bought ourselves a bit of time,' Ella thought as she hurled a giant icycle at a fleeing giant.

The Icycle pierced through the giant's back, instantly turning it into a giant block of ice.

Ella then snapped her fingers and the ice shattered into pieces.

The numbers of the Giants were dwindling by the minute. It was only a matter of time before all of them had been completely rooted out, but Ella was not taking any chances and was paying close attention to the surroundings.

The incident with the Giant's Beacon had taught them a very important lesson. They might win the battle, but they would definitely lose the war if the Beacon had been activated successfully.

Fortunately, Elliot had smashed it at the cost of his life, preventing the Giant's from calling for reinforcements from their main force.

James wasn't being idle either. Gungnir reaped the lives of every giant that the All Father had set his sights on.

With its supernatural precision, and James incredible strength, it was similar to a Railgun that pierced the giant's heads like a bullet going through a watermelon with ease.

Some of the giants died not knowing how they died. That was how deadly Gungnir was in the hands of James, whose strength had reached the peak of a Demigod.

When the last Giant died at Malacai's hand, James, along with the warriors of Asgard, went to Avalon to have a discussion with the Dracolich.

Ella, on the other hand, returned to the Kyrintor Mountains along with her wards. Her existence was a sensitive issue, and she didn't want others to find out who she was.

James was probably the only one who had an inkling of who she was, but even he was not a hundred percent certain about it.

In order to prevent the old coot from confirming his guess, Ella decided that it was better to leave as soon as possible.

She had already done her part to give William, and his herd, a bit more time to grow.

The Half-Elf's adoptive mother was confident that James would be able to handle things even if she wasn't around.

'I think it's about time I go to the Central Continent,' Ella mused.. 'I miss Will terribly.'

Chapter 744: To Be Played With By Destiny… You Will Laugh At It In Scorn

In a clearing inside a forest near the Capital City of Orion…

Rebecca's clothes were soaked with sweat as she knelt in the center of a magic circle.

She had been maintaining that flow of energy so that the portal that connected to the void wouldn't close. This required an extensive amount of concentration and magical power, which Rebecca possessed.

Suddenly, a blue bird materialized in front of her.

It was other than Meredith, that had returned from the battlefield. After the Giants had been defeated, it had slipped out of the battle undetected, and returned to where Rebecca was.

"Where are Elliot and Chloee?" Rebecca asked as she looked at the Guardian of the Savadeen Mountains with exhaustion.

"Dead," Meredith replied. "You can close the portal now."

As if she was given a royal pardon, Rebecca sighed in relief as she stopped channeling her magical energy into the formation that was etched around the clearing.

As soon as she stopped feeding the magical array with her mana, Rebecca felt light-headed and almost collapsed on the ground. Fortunately, Meredith was there to support her and prevented her from losing consciousness.

After giving her a few minutes to catch her breath, Meredith explained everything that happened in the Void, which made Rebecca gasp in disbelief.

She couldn't believe that the Angelic Familiar had dragged her and Meredith along to participate in a war that had the Fate of the world at stake.

"What should we do next?" Rebecca asked. Since the battle had ended, and Elliot had died, she was unsure about how to proceed.

Meredith glanced in the direction of Hestia Academy before shifting her gaze back to Rebecca.

"Let's go back to the Misty Sect," Meredith replied. "I will inform them of what happened here, so they can also make the necessary preparations."

Rebecca frowned, "Preparations for what? Isn't it already over?"

Meredith chuckled before shaking its head.

"Over?" Meredith sighed. After seeing the battle in the Void, it knew that the future would be filled with hardships."No Rebecca. It's not over yet. Come, let us go back. Is it time for the Misty Sect to prepare for war."

—–

William clutched his chest with his right hand as he sensed Elliot's demise. This was not the first time he had felt this sensation, because his Angelic Familiar had died several times when he had taken them to the Dungeon of Atlantis to train.

Even so, it was a very painful feeling.

Elliot was not an ordinary familiar. He was part of William's soul. Everytime Elliot and Conan died, William felt that his soul was being torn apart.

Fortunately, this painful feeling would go away after an hour or two.

Seeing his pained expression, Princess Sidonie and Chiffon hurriedly supported his body. They didn't know what happened to William because the latter had his eyes closed, and beads of sweat had started to form on his forehead.

"Will, are you alright?" Chiffon asked.

Princess Sidonie eyed William's expression and rubbed his back with her hand. "What happened?"

William took in a few deep breaths before he answered his wives' questions.

"Elliot died," William answered. "I don't know how he died. I just know that he did."

Before Elliot left the academy, he had told William that he might be gone for a few days to accompany Chloee on her excursion. William didn't think much of it back then and allowed his Angelic Familiar to have his way.

Chloee was strong, so he wasn't worried about Elliot's safety. He was more worried that his skirt-chasing familiar would offend his Sixth Master and get punched to oblivion.

Suddenly, a green blur appeared in front of William.

A beautiful Elf, with fairy-like wings spread wide behind her back, looked at William with a serious expression on her face.

"Did Elliot die?" Celeste asked. There was a hint of anxiousness in her voice as she waited for William to answer her question.

William nodded. "Yes. He went with Chloee on an excursion…"

Celeste didn't give William a chance to finish his sentence, and told him about Chloee's death.

"Both Chloee and Elliot

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are dead, but looking at our expressions, it seems that Elliot died before Chloee did," Celeste said after making a rational statement. "Chloee did mention that she would go sight-seeing for a few days, but she didn't tell me where she was going."

WIlliam frowned. "There are very few beings that can kill Chloee. Whoever killed both of them must be someone very strong."

Celeste nodded in agreement. Since Chloee was born, she had only died once. This was why the beautiful Elf knew that her familiar had died because it was the same sensation she had felt back then.

However, just like William had said, there were very few beings that could threaten the life of her familiar. The only time that Chloee had died was when she challenged Tarasque in a duel a few years ago.

"We'll know the answer we want after twenty four hours," William commented. "I just hope that they didn't offend someone who bears grudges."

Chloee's twin, Claire, had canceled her fusion with Celeste and landed on the beautiful Elf's shoulder.

"Whoever killed my sister will pay with their life," Claire said in a voice laced with killing intent. The moody familiar only cared for two people in the world, and they were Celeste and her twin sister, Chloee.

"Don't worry," Celeste coaxed the little fairy whose body was shivering from anger. "We will get to the bottom of this tomorrow. For now, all we can do is wait."

William's and Celeste's gaze met and a sudden realization appeared on their faces.

Both of them looked up at the sky at the same time, and extended their senses.

The rumbling sounds, and the flashes of light in the heavens were not as pronounced as they once had been. Just like a rain that was about to end, only a faint drizzle remained.

Clearly, the battle that was being waged through the Heavens was nearing a conclusion, and yet, no one knew which side had won.

William's reason for leaving his room was to visit Shannon in the Shrine. But now, he was no longer in the mood to do so.

He focused his gaze on the heavens as if trying to peer through the fabric of time and space. Unfortunately, he didn't have that ability to do that, so he could only sigh in his heart as he watched the flickering lights in the sky, whose brightness was getting dimmer with each minute that passed.

—–

Inside the Shrine located at the East of Hestia Academy…

Shannon's brush danced across the canvas.

Although her gaze was locked on the canvass in front of her, she wasn't looking at her creation, but at something else entirely.

Her eyes glowed with power as she watched the event that was happening in the Passage of the Worlds.

She watched Malacai's selflessness, Ella's elegance, James' act of vengeance, as well as Elliot's and Chloee's participation in the war.

Shannon had caught all of these events on the three canvases that surrounded her. The first canvas was the beginning of the war, the second was the climax, and the third was the ending.

Right now, she was painting the end of the war. Her brush was moving automatically like it had a life of its own.

Shannon sighed, as she made the final stroke on her masterpiece.

She panted for breath as the excitement and rush of adrenaline dissipated in her body. Her face was flushed as she bathed in the afterglow of the battle that had just ended.

"Beautiful," Shannon said as she caught her breath. "Simply beautiful."

Her finger lightly caressed Malacai's, Ella's, James', Elliot's, and Chloee's images in the canvas as if she was trying to touch her favorite idols.

"It is quite unfortunate that the world will not end today," Shannon muttered. "I wish it had. That way, all of my suffering would also come to an end."

The young lady who was wearing the clothes of a shrine maiden glanced at her three paintings one last time. After embedding their images in her memory, she waved her hand and all three paintings were bathed in purple flames.

The stench of burning paint spread inside the room, but Shannon was indifferent to it. Clearly, this wasn't the first time that this had happened and she was already used to it.

Suddenly, the window of her room opened, and a refreshing breeze passed through her body. Half a minute later, the smell of burning was gone, and was replaced by a fragrance that could calm the mind of those who smell it.

The lady wearing a celestial robe appeared behind Shannon and patted her head. Shannon sighed in pleasure, and she even leaned her back against the lady behind her, like a spoiled child wanting to be pampered.

"Will my visitors still come today?" Shannon asked sleepily. "I don't want to meet anyone today. I'm tired and want to sleep."

"Okay, I will tell the guards to not let anyone in today," the lady replied as she helped Shannon to stand.

Shannon didn't reply because she was already fast asleep. It was very taxing for her to use her powers, but she still did it because she wanted to see the outcome of the battle.

She was like one of those people who scrimped and saved so they could barely afford to buy a movie ticket for a movie that they knew they would only ever get the opportunity to see once in their lifetime.

The beautiful lady who was holding the young shrine maiden in her arms sighed. She then carried the sleeping Shannon back to her room, and laid her in bed so she could get a proper rest.

"Today is a day that will be remembered by many as the day where a battle was fought in the Heavens," the beautiful lady said softly. "The outside threat has been dealt with for now, but the internal struggles are just about to begin."

The lady sighed as she walked out of Shannon's bedroom with a sad expression on her face. She gave the sleeping lady one last look before she erased all traces of what had transpired inside her room.

After that was done, she gazed somewhere in the distance. After finding her target, she stared at that person for a minute, or two, before shaking her head in helplessness.

"Pitiful Prince who did nothing wrong, your Fate has been set since the day you were born," the beautiful lady muttered as her body slowly turned into particles of light. "Through the whims of the universe, you were once again reborn, to be played with by Destiny… you will laugh at it in scorn."

A playful chuckle was carried by the wind, as if to agree to the lady's muttering.

"It might take a year. It might take a day," a voice filled with certainty said from a place that was shrouded in darkness, "but what's meant to be… will always find its way."

—-

End of Volume 5: Battle Through The Heavens

Chapter 745: You Were Amazing Last Night

A day had passed since the Heavenly Phenomenon had shocked the entire world.

When the cooldown of the Familiar summoning ended, William immediately summoned Elliot to ask him how he died. Celeste was also there because there was still half an hour before Chloee could be summoned as well.

Just like William, she also wanted to get to the bottom of things, and find out the reason behind why the two familiars died during their excursion.

Elliot scratched the back of his head as William and Celeste stared at him with serious expressions.

"This might be a bit embarrassing to say, but Chloee and I died when we ate a strange mushroom during our journey," Elliot replied in an awkward tone. "When we found out that it was poisonous, it was already too late. Since I am weaker than Chloee, I died first. She probably died some time later."

William and Celeste looked at Elliot with doubtful expressions on their faces. They couldn't believe that the two Familiars died just because they ate a mushroom.

"What does the mushroom look like?" William asked.

"A pure white mushroom," Elliot replied in a heartbeat. "It is as big as a man's head and looks very delicious. Chloee and I grilled a few and ate them. At first, we didn't feel anything. However, once we resumed our journey, we experienced extreme chest, and abdominal pains."

Celeste, who was listening in Elliot's description, frowned.

"You said it was pure white mushrooms, right?" Celeste inquired. "Do they have other noticeable features?"

Elliot shook his head. "They are just pure white mushrooms. They're just like those mushrooms being sold at the marketplace in the City of Orion. The only difference is that this one is bigger. Just as big as an adult human's head."

Celeste nodded her head.

"I guess they must have accidentally eaten the White Death Cap Mushroom," Celeste said as she glanced at William. "They share a lot of similarities with edible mushrooms. The only difference is that they are bigger. Although I know that Chloee would often pick up random things to eat during her travels, I didn't expect her to die eating a mushroom."

William crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at the embarrassed looking familiar in front of him. Elliot had always had that confident look on his face, but now, the Familiar was blushing in shame and embarrassment.

"Kekeke! To think that you would die because of a mushroom. How funny!" Conan laughed out loud as he patted Elliot's shoulder.

Elliot scratched his head, "Yes. It was a very embarrassing way to die. It will not happen again."

After asking Elliot a few more questions, Celeste left and returned to her quarters. She wanted to interrogate Chloee and see if her statement would match Elliot's. That was the only way to confirm whether the Angelic Familiar was saying the truth or not.

Half an hour later, Chloee was summoned, and she said similar things to what Elliot had said. After this, William and Celeste warned both Familiars to not eat random things again when they go out on an excursion.

—–

A few hours later…

Elliot, and Chloee secretly met up in the City of Orion.

The Angelic Familiar asked about everything that happened after he died. Unfortunately, Chloee had been too busy fighting with Araznir that she didn't pay attention to the other battles around her.

"I guess since nothing has happened, they successfully eliminated all of the Giants," Elliot said while rubbing his chin.

"Will they be back?" Chloee asked. Although she liked fighting, this was one of the rare occasions when she hoped that she wouldn't have to fight a Giant Demigod again.

Elliot nodded his head with certainty, but he also told her that he didn't know when they would be back. All he could tell Chloee was that they would at least have a year or two of peace.

"I think we should tell Celeste about this," Chloee commented after a while. "She can warn the Headmaster about it, and that old Byron can make preparations for the giants' return."

Elliot smiled, "There's no need for you to do that. I'm sure that the Headmaster is also aware of the threat of invaders coming to our world. If he has the means to travel to the void, I'm sure that he might have also been there during the battle."

"Ah! That reminds me. How did you know about this? Also, why were we able to go to the void?"

"I have the power of clairvoyance. Also, not everyone can travel to

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the void. It requires a very powerful artifact or magical power to enter the Passage of the Worlds. The reason why You, I, and Meredith, were able to go there is because our bodies are made up of Magical Energies.

"With the right frequency, we can appear in the Void as long as we have an anchor supporting us in this world."

Elliot knew that Chloee needed an explanation, so he answered her to the best of his abilities.

"So, that girl, Rebecca, became our anchor point, correct?" Chloee inquired.

Elliot nodded his head. "She needed to keep the connection open so that, even if we died, our essences would return back here to Hestia. If there was no connection between this world and the void, our magical energies might have been stuck there and our Masters wouldn't be able to summon us again."

"I see! So, that's why. Now I understand!"

"Do you really understand?"

"No! But, it's fine!" Chloee replied with a smile. "Didn't we win? As long as we won, nothing else matters! Ah! I almost forgot! What was Will's grandfather doing there as well? I saw him back at the Misty Sect…"

Elliot scratched his head as he started to explain how James appeared in the Passage of the Worlds.

"Do you remember that rainbow-glowing bridge that you smashed in Asgard?" Elliot inquired.

Chloee tilted her head in confusion. "Um? Are you talking about that low-budgeted bridge that crumbled from a single punch?"

Elliot's face twitched because Chloee was the only one that would say that the Bifrost Bridge was a low-budgeted bridge. However, in order to not complicate things, he decided to ride along and nodded his head.

"The Bifrost Bridge can allow someone to travel anywhere, as long as Grandpa James wills it," Elliot explained. "Just think of it as a teleportation Gate that he can use to travel the world, anytime, anywhere."

"What? That bridge is that good? I should have brought it back to the academy with me!"

"Remind me later to tell William to ban you from the Floor of Asgard. You should really curb that hobby of yours to smash things that catch your fancy."

While the two Familiars were having a casual talk, an Elven Ship docked at the port of the City of Orion.

"So, that is Hestia Academy," Princess Eowyn said as she gazed at the massive floating academy in the distance.

Pearl was already at the dock and had been waiting for an hour for the Princess to arrive. Her task was to become the Elven Princess' bodyguard while she studied in the academy to learn more about Human nature.

The last surviving Blademaster and several of the Princess' attendants, who protected her in the Southern Continent, had reported everything that had happened to their King.

After hearing their stories, the Elven King decided to let his daughter study at the prestigious Hestia Academy, in order to cure her naivety about how the Human world works. He hoped that after spending more time in the Human world, the Princess would be able to better understand the complex world of Humans.

—–

In an inn inside the City of Orion…

"Dear, you were amazing last night," a beautiful lady, with blonde hair and green eyes, said before she kissed Owen's cheek.

"I know," Owen replied as he returned his wife's kiss. "Aila must be in the academy by now. Should we return to Lont, or should we go to the Tower of Babylon?"

"Yes, Aila successfully enrolled at the academy yesterday. She has also moved into the girls' dormitory," the blonde beauty said as she looked at her husband with an affectionate gaze. "As for whether we should go back in Lont or go to the Tower of Babylon, any place is good, as long as you are there."

She had been captivated by Owen many years ago when he had saved her from bandits.

Her family had a special bloodline that was able to see past the appearances of people, so even though Owen looked old on the outside, she was able to see the handsome young man for who he truly was.

She had fallen in love at first sight with him, and decided to become his wife, which surprised all the old people of Lont, including James who was Owen's liege at that time.

The handsome young man with platinum blonde hair held his wife, Sarah, and pulled her close to him. Right after the battle ended, he returned to the Bifrost Bridge alone, in order to spend some time with his wife.

Every year, they would go on a honeymoon by traveling away from Lont for a month or two. This time, Owen decided to take his Disciple, Princess Aila—the Third Princess of the Zelan Dynasty—to the Central Continent with them to gain some experience.

Their first stop was the Tower of Babylon where William and James had journeyed earlier.

When Princess Aila's brother, Crown Prince Alaric, heard that his sister was going to the Central Continent, he immediately gave her a mission and that was to become one of William's lovers!

The angelic looking Princess almost died from embarrassment after reading her Big Brother's letter. However, Alaric had pointed out that William was their Dynasty's Savior and Benefactor, so it was only natural for one of the members of the Royal Family to form stronger ties through marriage.

Just like the Kraetor Empire, the Zelan Dynasty also had its own culture and traditions. The Princesses had been taught at an early age that their existence was to protect the interest of the Royal Family, so they were all prepared to be used as tools for marriage in order to expand the Zelan Dynasty's influence.

This was why Princess Aila had no choice when she was taken to the Kyrintor Mountains to be married off to the Tribe Chieftain's second son, Connal.

Although Princess Aila felt embarrassed by the mission given to her, she had a very good impression of William.

William had saved her once in the Kyrintor Mountains, and had also been there to help fight against the Elves during the war in the Southern Continent.

In Princess Aila's life, William was a hero. The red-headed teenager might not be a Prince, but he was the most sought after candidate by all the Princesses in the world of Hestia.

She would be lying if she said that she didn't have any feelings for the Half-Elf who had been a regular visitor to her sweetest dreams.

Princess Aila didn't hide anything from Owen and told him about the plans of the Zelan Royal Family.

Owen wasn't too surprised about the Royal Family's move because he was once a citizen of the Zelan Dynasty.

Although he didn't know if his shy disciple had a chance to worm her way to William's heart, as her Master, Owen decided to support her decision.

'I don't know if you are lucky or unlucky, Will,' Owen thought as he hugged his beloved wife. 'Being loved by many women is good, but I don't think your stamina will last. Fortunately, my Disciple is a powerful healer. Marrying her will certainly help you, and Little Will, reach your peak performance every night.'

Owen sighed as he held his wife in a protective embrace. 'I guess I should write a letter to Will and tell him to take good care of Aila. As for their matchmaking… I'll just go to the Tower of Babylon and let James handle the rest. Knowing him, I'm sure that he will be more than happy to accept another beautiful lady as his grandson's future wife in order to expand his lineage.'

He had no qualms about William's character. In fact, Owen would be hard pressed to find someone more worthy of his Disciple than William.. His only gripe was that the old coot, James, would certainly be roaring with laughter after he found out that Owen's precious Disciple had fallen into the Half-Elf's hands.

Chapter 746: Master Isn't A Pervert

William stared in disbelief at the three beauties that were standing at the front of their classroom.

He knew all three of them and, with the exception of Pearl, William was surprised by the two other ladies that were present inside his classroom.

'What a small world,' William thought as his eyes wandered to the three beauties in front of him.

He was acquainted with all three, but only Princess Aila and him were on good terms.

The Half-Elf had also admired how the Princess had fought alongside her Big Brother, Crown Prince Alaric, during the battle in the Southern Continent.

There were very few healers on the battlefield, and the Princess' face was a common sight at the places where the injured people were gathered.

Because of this, William had a very good impression of her.

As for Princess Eowyn and Pearl, the Half-Elf wasn't too interested in the two of them. For him, the Elves were trouble. The only good Elves in his opinion were his mother, Arwen, and his ex-roommate, Kenneth.

Everyone else was a stranger, and William didn't give a hoot about what they did with their lives.

"Today is your lucky day everyone, especially the boys," Professor Garen said with a smile.

His comment was greeted with cheers and applause by the boys who were looking at the three beauties with infatuated gazes.

"Two Elven beauties! It's very rare to see them here in the academy."

"I think I'm in love!"

"Me, too!"

"Me, three!"

"Bruh, you fall in love with every beautiful girl you see. Have you forgotten that you still have the face of sardine?"

The class became very excited, but Professor Garen managed to calm them down before they got out of hand.

"Okay, can you girls introduce yourselves to the class," Professor Garen smiled as he made a gesture. "I'm sure that all of them are dying to know your names."

Princess Eowyn stepped forward and made a curtsy, "Eowyn Elbereth Nienna. Please, just call me Eowyn. It is my pleasure to meet all of you."

The beautiful Elf didn't want the others to know that she was an Elven Princess. Although she didn't mind introducing herself as such, she deemed that it would be best if the others didn't treat her as royalty.

That way, she would be able to get to know them better and talk to them as equals.

After introducing herself, she took a step back and allowed Pearl to introduce herself as well.

"Pearl McLean," Pearl said. "Call me, Pearl."

She took a step back without another word and stood beside the Princess that she was tasked to guard with her life.

Princess Aila took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"My name is Aila Sol Zelan," Princess Aila said. "I would be very happy if all of you called me Aila."

The boys clapped their hands, and some of them even whistled after the three girls had introduced themselves.

People liked to look at good

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looking girls, even the ladies of the class weren't an exception. Elves were an excotic race and known for their beauty. However, Princess Aila's angelic face looked so pure and innocent that the boys couldn't stop themselves from looking at her like she was someone they needed to protect no matter what.

When William arrived in the classroom, he was surprised to see that a few more desks and chairs had been placed behind their own desk and chairs.

Now, he understood their purpose.

The three new students sat behind William's group, which didn't come as a surprise to the Half-Elf. He even thought that this arrangement was pretty uncanny and believed that the Academy's Headmaster, Byron, had a role to play in this.

Still, there was nothing he could do about it.

He could only sigh in his heart because he felt that the Headmaster was targeting him specifically, after they had their confrontation on Antilia Island.

He turned his head, just in time to catch Princess Aila staring at him. Their two gazes met and the angelic princess immediately averted her eyes in embarrassment.

A second later, a reddish hue crawled up from the base of her neck, up to the tip of her ears. The boys that saw this immediately glared at William and made him their public enemy number one.

Bruh, you already have two beautiful wives, give us a chance dammit!

William didn't hide the fact that he was already married to his classmates in order to deter the ladies who were giving him bashful gazes on his first day of class. After seeing Princess Sidonie and Chiffon, most of the ladies backed out because they felt that they couldn't compare to William's wives.

The boys also felt at ease because they had one less rival when it came to wooing the beautiful ladies in their class.

The Elves were indeed beautiful, but the students knew that they preferred to have a relationship with their own race. In their eyes, Princess Eoywn and Pearl were just eye candies that they could look at, but never touch.

Princess Aila, on the other hand, was a different matter. Although she didn't introduce herself as a Princess, her angelic features were more than enough to win the boys' hearts.

"How is that old pervert, Owen?" William asked in a teasing tone. For some reason, he felt like bullying the blushing girl who was doing her best to pretend that the staring incident didn't happen.

"Master isn't a pervert," Princess Aila raised her head to defend her Master. Although her face was still beet-red from embarrassment, she would not allow anyone to slander the kind old man that had taught her how to become a Life Magician.

William chuckled and nodded. "Sorry, It has been so long since I've seen you and I suddenly got the urge to tease you."

"Sir William, you're such a bully."

"Sorry. I'll do my best so that it won't happen again."

Princess Eowyn kept her gaze in front of the class, but her ears were focusing on William's conversation with the girl seated beside her.

She was already aware that William and Princess Aila knew of each other. She even hoped that Princess Aila could help her get close to William, so that she could apologize for what happened back in the Southern Continent.

Although she was a Princess, her authority in the expedition was not enough to overturn the general situation. She was merely a supervisor, and the Elves only gave her face because of her lineage.

Princess Eowyn had already expected that William wouldn't treat her kindly, but she still felt bitter at the cold treatment that the Half-Elf was giving her. Even so, she endured it.

She knew that the two of them couldn't instantly become friends, after what had transpired in the Southern Continent.

The best she could do was close the gap little by little, and try to win the forgiveness of her Master's son.

Lady Arwen had assured her Second Disciple that, although William was the type to hold grudges, he was also capable of forgiving others.

Princess Eowyn didn't expect to see William at the academy, but she deemed that this was the workings of Fate in order for her to atone for the sins that she had done in the past.

Pearl, on the other hand, was giving side-glances to the Half-Elf who had abducted her little sister.

She still hadn't forgotten that William had summoned his subordinates to attack her. Since then, Pearl knew that there was no way that she could beat William in a head-on confrontation.

For now, she was willing to wait.

Waiting for the perfect opportunity to arise when she could negotiate with the Half-Elf, and set her sister free from his control, once and for all.

Chapter 747: I Am Not A Toy, You Know?

Two days passed since Princess Eowyn, Pearl, and Princess Aila joined William's Class in Hestia Academy.

The three girls had easily become good friends with their new classmates, especially the boys who were simping so hard for them.

As William was about to leave the classroom, he made sure to look at these boys in disdain, while the boys looked back at him in contempt.

The Half-Elf gave his classmates the "Please, I'm already married. I'm not like you single boys who are desperate for women" gaze, while the boys in his class gave him the "You're already married and you're still fighting us for the beautiful girls' affection? Go home and hug your wives and leave us singles alone dammit!" glare.

William could only shake his head at these desperate creatures, and left the class in order to handle important business.

Kenneth wanted to follow William, but he had also been given the duty of looking after Princess Eowyn during her stay in the academy. For the time being, the silver-haired Elf decided to accompany the Princess until she got used to the academy life.

William wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, so Kenneth decided to ensure that no incidents happened to the Elven Princess, who was studying in the Human lands for the first time in her life.

"Sir William!" a voice called out from behind the Half-Elf and the latter turned his head to look at who it was.

"Aila." William smiled when he saw the familiar figure running after him. The latter had told him to keep her identity a secret. Since this was the case, the red-headed teenager decided to call her by her first name. She was Owen's disciple, and the perverted old man had treated him well in Lont.

Even if the latter didn't send him the letter telling him to take care of Aila, the Half-Elf was more than happy to look after a comrade that had fought with him during the war in the Southern Continent.

"What's wrong? Did any of the boys in class bully you? Tell me their names, and I'll make sure to hang them upside down in front of the girl's dormitory without their clothes on."

Princess Aila's face reddened when she heard William's words. She immediately shook her head, to tell the Half-Elf that he was mistaken.

"Our classmates treat me very well," Princess Aila said. "It's just that, I still don't know much about the Academy. Can you give me a tour?"

Princess Aila had asked Owen's wife, Sarah, about how she could form a close relationship with William in the academy.

Sarah was also a very talented young lady, and even though she wasn't considered a genius, she was still one of the best in her class when she

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was still studying in the Zelan Royal Academy. Because of this, she was aware of how the noble ladies of the kingdom tried to bridge the gap between the boys whom they were attracted to.

Sarah had given Princess Aila several tips, and the princess decided to use one of them to break the ice between her and William.

"I'd love to give you a tour," William replied, "but, I have business to handle today. How about I refer you to someone trustworthy?"

William raised his hand and a magic circle formed in the air.

"Conan, I choose you!"

The Devil Familiar materialized and hastily looked around him. Clearly, he was in the lookout of a certain little fairy who was hell bent to perform physical examinations on him.

"Did Claire already leave the academy to do a mission?" Conan asked.

William shook his head. "Don't worry. She's with Professor Celeste right now. I am just about to meet with her in order to unlock the last stage of the Familiamancer Job Class."

Conan hit the palm of his hand with his fist as if coming to a realization.

"Kekeke. It's about time," Conan commented. He looked very happy at the prospect of becoming more powerful. "Hurry up, Will. I want to be stronger. I don't want to get bullied by Claire anymore."

William sighed as he lightly flicked Conan's head. The latter immediately cried out in pain as he held his forehead.

"You're a man so you mustn't let yourself get bullied by girls," William stated.

Conan rubbed his forehead and stared at William with an expression suffering from injustice.

"That's easy for you to say," Conan replied. "If you're so confident about yourself, why don't you have another sparring match with Chloee?"

William lightly coughed as he averted his gaze.

Spar with Chloee? Why would I have a spar with that cheater?

Not happening!

The Half-Elf didn't even want to provoke his Sixth Master because he was truly afraid that the little violent girl would ask him to fight him for a round.

Chloee was someone who didn't understand moderation. William knew for certainty that he might die if his Sixth Master got carried away during their sparring match.

Seeing that William didn't have the guts to prove his strength, Conan snorted at him in contempt.

"Well, why did you summon me then?" Conan asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's about this…," William explained the situation, and Conan nodded his head in understanding.

Since he was born from William's soul, he also shared his memories. He knew who Aila was, and just like William, the Devil Familiar had a good impression of her.

"Okay, I'll give her a tour of the academy," Conan replied as he patted his chest with confidence. "You can count on me, but you have to keep Claire away from me, okay? I swear she's more violent than Chloee when it comes to me."

William agreed. "Okay."

The Half-Elf then turned to Aila and introduced Conan to her. The princess of the Zelan Dynasty looked at the little familiar with great curiosity.

"So cute," Aila said as her hand unconsciously reached out to hold Conan.

Conan didn't feel any threat coming from Aila, so he allowed himself to be grabbed by her. The Princess then happily patted Devil Familiar's head like some kind of a pet, which made William smirk.

"I will be going now. Conan, make sure that nothing bad happens to Aila, okay?" William looked at his Familiar with a serious expression on his face. "If any bastard tries to do something bad to her, I give you permission to beat them silly."

"Kekeke, this is only natural," Conan replied before looking at Aila with an expression of discomfort. "Um, Aila, can you not squeeze my body? I am not a toy, you know?"

"I'm sorry, Sir Conan," Aila replied as she looked at the little guy in her hands. "For some reason, holding you feels so nice."

"Really?"

"Yes. I don't know why, but holding you makes me feel at ease."

Conan tilted his head in confusion. 'Is this the reason why Claire likes to touch me all over?'

The Devil Familiar didn't know if he really did have this kind of effect on other people or not. William's interest was piqued by Aila's comment, but he really had things to do, so he left the two behind and headed towards Celeste's office located on the North Side of the Academy.

It was now time for his Familiamancer Job Class to upgrade to the Familiamancer Sovereign, which would allow him to unlock new features for his two Familiars, who would soon be able to step into the Millennial Rank.

Chapter 748: A Sad Smile That Lingered In His Memories

"So, you've finally found some time to see me," Celeste said as she glanced at William. She was reading a book when the Half-Elf came to visit her, and judging from her voice, she wasn't very pleased.

William lightly coughed as he sat on a chair. He then looked at Celeste with an innocent expression on his face. "Sorry, Professor, I completely forgot about it because of the Phenomenon in the sky and Elliot's death"

Celeste snorted as she closed the book in her hand. She gave William a contemptuous look before setting her book to the side. The beautiful elf didn't want to admit it, but she had been waiting for William to find her and ask how to advance his profession for quite some time now.

"Since you're already here, let's not waste each other's time and discuss the details of your ascension." Celeste waved her hand and a golden beam of light shot towards the center of William's forehead.

Soon, a projection appeared between the two of them.

In it was a tablet where several runes were written in an ancient language. Celeste read the information with great interest.

William, who had no idea what the words written in the tablet were, asked the System to translate it for him. Optimus had already researched all the languages in Hestia. This was why it was not a problem for William to understand the meaning behind written words, even those that came from Ancient Texts.

—–

< Ascension Requirements >

< Dungeon Core Essence >

< The Dungeon must have Sixty Floors and Above. Anything below Sixty Floors will not activate the Ascension Requirement. >

—–

'Dungeon Core Essence?' William tilted his head. 'Optimus, what is a Dungeon Core Essence?'

< The Dungeon Core Essence is a type of energy that can only be extracted from Dungeon Cores. You can think of it as the Dungeon Core's Mana. Extracting all of it will cause the dungeon to stop spawning monsters.

Although the Dungeon will not die, it will need a few years before it starts to function like a proper Dungeon again. >

William nodded his head in understanding. He then realized that this requirement must be due to Elliot and Conan being born from the two dungeon cores that he had absorbed in the past, as well as fragments of his soul.

'Since they were originally dungeon cores, they needed Dungeon Core Essence to become stronger,' William rubbed his chin.

Celeste, who had also finished reading the information, translated it for William. She didn't know that the Half-Elf was already aware of the requirements, and was merely thinking of ways to find a Dungeon that had Sixty Floors and above, in order to boost the power of his two Familiars.

William nodded his head after Celeste finished her explanation. This was his way of telling her that he was listening to what she was saying.

"Professor, I'm fairly new here in the Central Continent," William said. "Can you tell me where I can find Dungeons that have Sixty Floors or more?"

"You look very confident," Celeste commented after seeing that William didn't have any traces of worry on

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his face after hearing the requirements that were needed to raise the rank of his profession.

"As long as I'm not dealing with a Dungeon with a hundred floors, I believe I can manage. It's just sixty floors. No big deal."

"Well, I'm sure that compared to the Tower of Babylon, a Dungeon with Sixty Floors is just a walk in the park for you."

William only smiled at Celeste's comment and didn't say anything else. His thoughts then wandered to the two dungeons that he was familiar with.

'I won't be able to clear the Dungeon of Atlantis anytime soon,' William thought. 'The Mirage Caverns on the other hand is only fifty floors. This doesn't match the requirements needed to upgrade my profession.'

Before he left the Silverwind Academy, William had already cleared the Dungeon located at the City of Silverwind. The only problem was that the Mirage Caverns only had fifty floors. If the requirement was only a bit lower, he could easily travel towards the Kraetor Empire using his Prince of Thunder Job Class, and return to Hestia Academy using Soleil.

"Professor, do you know of any dungeons that meet the requirements needed to advance my profession?" William asked. "It doesn't matter if it's a bit far from the academy."

Even if William hadn't asked this question, Celeste would definitely give him the information he needed. For her, the Half-Elf was someone that had the ability to spread the Familiamancer Job Class to other people.

Although William wasn't her direct Disciple, the boy was the Disciple of her Familiar. Celeste wouldn't be petty enough to make things difficult for the red-headed teenager, especially now that the latter was serious in becoming a Familiamancer Sovereign.

"A week from now, the Academy will start giving out missions to its students," Celine replied after organizing her thoughts. "Some of these missions require rare items that can only be found in Dungeons. Since you are already a Third Year, you will be allowed to take on Class A Missions, which also include going to Dungeons that have Seventy Floors to gather materials."

Celine took out a scroll from her storage ring and passed it to William.

"This scroll consists of a list of Dungeons that are accessible using the teleportation gates of the academy," Celeste explained. "Just pick one of them and return to me once you have completed your mission."

William grinned as he browsed the list of dungeons on the scroll. The information was quite detailed and it informed him of everything he needed to know about a particular dungeon.

"Thank you, Professor," William said. "But, do I really have to wait a week before I go to one of these dungeons?"

Celeste nodded. "The academy is very strict when it comes to expeditions. I'm not entirely certain, but I feel that the Headmaster holds a grudge against you. I'm sure that if you tried to go to one of these dungeons right now, he would use that as an excuse to punish you for breaking the rules of the academy.

"It will be best for you to just wait for a week, so that we can dodge this issue. For now, you can make your preparations for your dungeon expedition. Feel free to bring some of your classmates with you, so that they can earn Merit Points as well. A maximum of six members per party is allowed. It will be best to use this opportunity to form strong connections. You never know when you'll be able to use it."

William planned to dive in the Dungeon Solo in order to hasten up his journey. However, after hearing Celeste's words, he thought that it wouldn't be a bad idea if he brought those that were familiar to him on his expedition—like his Wives, Zhu, and Sha.

As long as they cleared the mission together, they would all get merit points, which they could exchange in the academy for items.

After thanking Celeste, William went to look for his wives. He wanted to visit Shannon a few more times, before he left the academy to do his ascension quest.

It didn't take long before William saw Princess Sidonie, Chiffon, and Ian in the garden of the academy. Ian had informed him that they were having a meeting in one of the Gazebos in the garden.

William followed Ian's direction and found his three wives waiting for him. There were a few baskets, filled with cookies and cakes on the table. Clearly, the three were enjoying an afternoon snack, and the Half-Elf happily joined them.

"Will, there is something that we need to tell you," Princess Sidonie said. "Even now, we still haven't figured out the Sin that Shannon bears."

"Really?" William was quite surprised because he thought that it would be very easy for the Seven Sins to know what Shannon's Divinity was.

"I also consulted with Kenneth and Lilith, but the two of them share the same opinion," Princess Sidonie explained. "They can't identify Shannon's Divinity."

William rubbed his chin as he contemplated. For him, knowing Shannon's sin was crucial because it would allow him to find ways to counter her powers.

Their brief encounter had left a deep impression on William.. If possible, he didn't want to faint every time he laid his eyes on the young lady, whose sad smile lingered in his memories.

Chapter 749: Wielding All The Power Of The Seven Deadly Sins

Right after they finished their afternoon snack, Princess Sidonie and Chiffon accompanied William to the Eastern Shrine.

They were about to do the experiment they had delayed a few days ago. William was hoping that merging with his wives would counter Shannon's Divinity and allow him to talk to her.

He finally understood why Aamon made Shannon his last trial. The difficulty rating had spiked drastically, and one could tell that she was Final Boss Material.

The Guards allowed them to pass as if they were told of their coming beforehand. When the three arrived in front of Shannon's room, William kissed Chiffon and the little glutton transformed into particles of light, flying straight into the gem, embedded in William's chest.

Soon, a golden flame appeared on his forehead.

He glanced at Princess Sidonie and nodded his head.

"Shannon, can we enter?" Princess Sidonie asked.

A rustling sound was heard inside the room before a soul-stirring voice reached their ears.

"Come in," Shannon replied. "The door is open."

William frowned a bit because Shannon's voice had momentarily put him into a daze. Although it wasn't as bad as their first meeting, beads of sweat started to appear on the Half-Elf's forehead.

Princess Sidonie opened the door and stepped in first. William followed behind her with his head lowered.

Due to his strong senses, he was able to determine Shannon's location inside the room. He slowly raised his head, but he made sure that he only looked at her clothes, and not her face.

William decided that it would be best if he didn't rush things, and simply do his best to adapt to Shannon's presence.

They made two plans for this visit.

The first plan was for William to actively talk to Shannon, and see if he could find out more about her.

The Second plan was for Princess Sidonie to do the talking, and he would just listen from the side, while trying to increase his resistance to Shannon's Divinity.

Although he didn't dare to see her face, he could see that the young lady was dressed as a shrine maiden. She was sitting on a chair and holding a brush in her left hand, just like he had seen during his last visit.

"Oh? This is quite interesting." Shannon's voice broke William's thoughts. "You've merged with one of my sisters? How did you do it? Can you tell me how you did it?"

William felt his world spin around him as he gritted his teeth. As if sensing that he needed help, Chiffon increased the output of her power, and the flame on William's forehead grew bigger

The Half-Elf swayed where he stood, but Princess Sidonie was there to support him. His surroundings were no longer spinning, and yet, he was feeling light-headed and nauseous.

'Optimus, did you manage to record everything?'

< Yes. According to my calculations, Chiffon's Divinity has indeed increased your resistance against Shannon's Divinity. However, it is not enough to withstand the pressure from Shannon's power.

If I were to put it in simpler terms, right now, Chiffon is like an umbrella above your head that protects you from the rain. However, you're not dealing with a mere drizzle. You are dealing with a high-pressure water pump that is aimed directly at your body. >

William unconsciously wiped away

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the beads of sweat that were forming on his forehead as he listened to the System's explanation.

'Do you have any suggestions?' WIlliam inquired. It was very important for him to find a way to increase his resistance, or else, he would suffer the same fate every time he visited Shannon.

< Increase your Synchronization Rate with Chiffon, or Princess Sidonie. Right now, your Synchronization rate with Chiffon is at 40%. As for Princess Sidonie, your Synchronization rate with her is at 50%.

If I were to make a bold guess, you will need at least a 70% Synchronization Rate with either of them in order to face Shannon without feeling like you want to puke your heart out. >

'I see, thank you.' William glanced at Princess Sidonie and shook his head.

This was their signal that he wasn't in the right state to continue being around Shannon.

Princess Sidonie nodded and asked to be excused. Although they came to talk to the young lady dressed as a shrine maiden, her husband's safety was her top priority. She gave Shannon an apologetic gaze before leaving the room with William.

Shannon just smiled in understanding and nodded her head. She was still curious about how William was able to merge with one of her sisters, but looking at the Half-Elf's very pale expression, she knew that her guests would have to prematurely end their visit.

"Visit me anytime," Shannon said as she returned her attention to the canvas in front of her. "I will be looking forward to our next meeting."

—–

William leaned weakly against a tree. He had just vomited everything that he had eaten in the past few hours, and he was feeling marginally better.

Chiffon lightly rubbed his back in order to help him feel better. She felt a little sad that she wasn't able to help William resist Shannon's Divinity.

However, William assured her that it wasn't her fault.

"Don't worry, I finally figured out a way to cope with her powers," William said as he held Chiffon's hand. "After a month or two, I will be able to face her without any problems."

Chiffon looked at William with a hopeful expression. She had an unwavering trust in William. So she believed that her husband wasn't lying to her.

"How?" Princess Sidonie asked.

William made a gesture for Princess Sidonie to come closer. He then whispered, in a volume that both girls would be able to hear, how the two of them could help him increase his synchronization rate with them at a steady pace.

Chiffon's face turned beet red, while Princess Sidonie had an expression that said "why didn't I think of that?".

"Will, I will do my best to help you," Chiffon said with a serious expression on her face. "I like it when you're gentle with me. However, you can be rough as well."

William chuckled as he patted Chiffon's head. Actually, his method works well with Princess Sidonie because it was in line with her Divinity.

As for Chiffon, while the Half-Elf could also increase their synchronization rate by making love with each other, it would be more effective if William just fed her something to eat.

Chiffon's Divinity was Gluttony. In order to increase her synchronization with William, he needed to feed her something with a high concentration of Magical or Spiritual Power.

"Let's go, Darling," Morgana swapped with Princess Sidonie and held William's hand. She then half-dragged the Half-Elf towards the boy's dormitory room. "Time waits for no one. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can lift the curse from Est's, Ian's, and Isaac's bodies."

"I meant what I said, Will," Chiffon said as she held onto William's hand. "While I like it when you are being gentle to me, if it is really needed, you can be as rough as you want." Her face flushed to a red that was as red as a tomato, but her voice was very firm. "D-Don't worry. I can take it."

The corner of William's lips twitched because Morgana, and even Chiffon, seemed very enthusiastic about the prospect of increasing their synchronization rate with him.

Even though he was happy that his wives were very eager to help him to the best of their abilities, he also felt helpless because he had to resort to this method in order to accomplish his mission.

However, William had long wondered what would happen if he achieved perfect synchronization rate with any one of his wives. According to Optimus, some abilities would be unlocked. William didn't know how strong those abilities were, but if they were as powerful as Princess Sidonie's charm ability at full power…

'Wouldn't that mean that I'd become a Pseudo-Deadly Sin as well?' William didn't know the answer to this question. Even someone like him, felt that the balance of the world would be broken, if he was able to wield the power of the Seven Deadly Sins, and unleash their full power without paying any kind of price.

With that line of thought, William pondered what he would need to do if he was going to raise his synchronization with the other sins like Sloth, Greed, Wrath, Pride, and Envy.

'I'd better not get ahead of myself,' William thought as he tossed the diabolical idea to the back of his mind. 'My hands are already full.'

William smiled as he looked at the two beauties that were firmly holding each of his hands.

He wished, with all of his heart, that he and his lovers would be able to stay together for many more years to come.

Chapter 750: Zhu's And Sha's Life In Hestia Academy

Three days after his second meeting with Shannon, William went to find Zhu and Sha.

The two of them were two of his most trusted companions, and he planned to invite them to go with him to the Orc Dungeon when the Academy started their Quarterly Assessment Test for the students.

This was quite similar to what Silverwind Academy did when William was still studying under them.

As students of Hestia Academy, all of the students were required to undertake missions that would benefit the lives of the people living in the Central Continent.

Some of these missions were Bandit Subjugation, Merchant Escorting Services, Exploration Quests, Investigations, Archeological Digging, Dungeon Expeditions, Harvesting rare materials, and many more.

The Founders of Hestia Academy didn't want to raise flowers inside greenhouses. They wanted to raise individuals that could, and would, contribute to the betterment of society as a whole.

No one was exempt from this rule. Even the professors would usually take this opportunity to gain some Merit Points in the Academy in exchange for money or resources.

Also, this Quarterly Event had no restrictions when it came to forming groups.

Those in the upper years could even help the Freshmen in their missions.

It was a good way to form strong connections, and this was greatly encouraged by the Academy.

The first person that William found was Zhu. However, the Half-Elf almost did a double take because he thought that he was just seeing things. Right now, the chubby young man had an impatient expression on his face, while being surrounded by beautiful women

"Ladies, can you please let me pass," Zhu said while frowning. "I need to find Sha. There is something I need to discuss with him."

"Lord Zhu, please stay with us for a bit," a cute girl held onto Zhu's right arm and looked up at him with a bashful expression. "We baked some cookies. Why don't you join us for an afternoon snack?"

"That's right, Lord Zhu," a pretty young lady who obviously came from a noble family held Zhu's left arm and hugged it tightly. "Please, join us for an afternoon snack. I promise that you will not regret it."

Her ample bosom pressed down on the chubby young man's arm. Clearly, she was doing her best to use her natural endowments to make Zhu accompany them.

Three more girls latched onto Zhu's body, giving him no chance to escape their grasps.

The frown on Zhu's face deepend. It was quite obvious that he had no interest in the beautiful young ladies that surrounded him.

Just as he was about to push them away, he noticed William who was looking at him with a big grin on his face.

"Will, don't just stand there, help me!" Zhu said as he called out to the Half-Elf who was leaning against a pillar.

The girls turned their heads to look at William. Their gazes were saying "Don't take Lord Zhu from us or else…"

William scratched the back of his head because he didn't know what to do in this situation. He never expected that Zhu was quite popular with the ladies, and this took him completely by surprise.

"Um, do you know where Sha is?" William asked. "There's something that I need to ask him."

"Sha? He might be in the library," Zhu replied. "He likes to know more about this worl– I mean, the Central Continent and the other Continents surrounding it. There is a high chance that you will find him there."

"Thanks!"

"O-Oi! Don't leave me here!"

William ignored Zhu's calls for help and hurriedly left towards the library. He might be strong enough to fight Saints now, but

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he would never attack a group of girls, who were looking at Zhu with hearts in their eyes.

He simply offered a prayer for Zhu's well being in his heart.

Several minutes later, William arrived at the Library.

This was a very huge building where books that hailed from all over the world were gathered in order to help educate the young men and women of the next generation.

It didn't take long for William to find Sha because Optimus was able to detect all of his allies on the map.

The scholarly young man was seated on a table, surrounded by many books. There were also maps that were laid out on the table, and he glanced at them from time to time as if using them as reference.

Right next to him was a cold beauty with long black hair. She was leaning on Sha's back and saying a few things, while pointing at the map in front of them.

William couldn't help but think that his two friends were experiencing the Academy life that many single people would practically kill for.

Just as William was thinking whether he should disturb the atmosphere of the two, Sha raised his head and glanced at William's direction.

"Will, do you need me for something?" Sha asked with a smile.

The beautiful lady then glanced at William before whispering something in Sha's ear.

Not long after, she took out a pair of glasses from her pocket and wore them. She then gave Wiliam a brief nod before walking towards the desk that was reserved for the assistant librarians who managed the entire Library.

The girl's friend giggled as the black-haired beauty sat back on her chair. The beautiful librarian was still on duty, but she would almost always be with Sha whenever he appeared in the library.

Her friends didn't mind taking over her spot for a little while, because she was still doing her job to help people in the library.

"You and Zhu are good," William commented as he sat beside Sha. "Who is that lady? Is she your girlfriend?"

Sha shook his head. "Her name is Hazel and she is an assistant librarian. She often helps me find books about the Empires in the Central Continent. She's quite knowledgeable and I am grateful for her help."

"Is that all?" William asked in a teasing tone. "Don't tell me you're not one of those dense protagonists that have no idea when a girl likes them?"

Sha shook his head for the second time before giving William the "you know what my true form is like" stare, which made the Half-Elf chuckle.

"You're so outdated, Sha," William commented. "Even Demons can form relationships with humans. Just look at my wife, Chiffon. Her mother is a dwarf, and her father is a bastard that I will punch to oblivion once I visit the Demonic Continent."

Sha didn't want to talk about Hazel, so he pressed William for his reason in looking for him.

"I wanted to talk to you and Zhu about the Quarterly Event that is going to happen in a few days," William said. "Zhu was surrounded by beautiful ladies earlier, so I didn't have the opportunity to talk to him. However, do the two of you have any plans for the Quarterly Assessment?"

Sha shook his head "Actually, I was also about to look for you in order to discuss this Academy-wide event. We came here to repay you for our freedom. You only need to say the word and we will be there to help you with anything."

William felt touched because he could feel Sha's sincerity. When he paid for their freedom, he didn't even think of anything in return. This was why he was pleasantly surprised when he saw his two friends in the Misty Sect, along with Sun Wukong, for their Founding Day celebrations.

"Sha, I don't want you and Zhu to feel indebted to me," William said. "Friends don't need debts between them. I did what I did because I was the one that was indebted to the two of you. If you didn't help me back in the Heavenly Domain, I would have never been able to pass through the Gate."

Sha remained silent because he knew that William truly felt that way about them. Since that was the case, there was no need to force the issue.

"Where do you plan to go for the Quarterly Assessment?" Sha inquired. "Zhu and I have also been invited by our classmates to go with them on missions, but we politely turned them down. We said that we are planning to form a party with you, so most of them backed out. With the exception of the girls who are infatuated with Zhu.

"You better be careful with those girls. They are serious in their attempts to court Zhu, and he is also feeling helpless about it. There was a time when he had been tempted to take on his Demonic Form just to scare them, but I managed to stop him in time."

William nodded his head in agreement. He had already seen the glares that the girls had thrown in his direction when he was talking to Zhu, and he could feel a sense of jealousy from them due to the closeness with which Zhu and him could treat each other.

"Okay, so this is my plan for the Assessment Test…," William told Sha his plan, and the latter promised to relay the message to Zhu.

With this, William had secured two helpers to help him clear the Orc Dungeon. Although it would be easy for him to solo it, he still wanted to help Zhu and Sha gain some Merit Points. He also planned to bring Princess Sidonie, Chiffon, and Ian with him to maximize the limit of the party members that was allowed by the Academy.

After finalizing a date for their departure, William left Sha alone. However, just as he was about to leave the library, he noticed that the beautiful librarian had once again left her post, and headed towards the handsome scholar that had returned to reading the books on his table.

"Do your best, Sha," William said with a smirk as he left the library in good spirits.

He hoped more than anything else that his two friends, Zhu, and Sha, would find happiness in Hestia.

A happiness that would last them a lifetime.