Reaper of the Martial World

Chapter Book 4: 80: Come Out

Book 4: Chapter 80: Come Out

Ri held her hand to her chest, deeply frowning. Because of her soul bond Dyon, she could feel all of his emotions. She was clearer than anyone on the amount of agonizing pain that her husband was under right now, but she had forcefully pushed it down and ignored it so that she could focus on the task at hand.

However… Something was different now… Before, Dyon’s pain was within her scope of understanding. But now?… It felt like his very soul was screaming…

Ri grit her teeth, her blue-silver eyes glistening with tears as a fierce aura leaked from her. Dyon was fighting with everything he had to survive, but the people responsible for his struggles were right in front of her.

Before, she had thoughts of subduing them and capturing them as prisoners. Now though… She wanted nothing more than to see them all die.

An army of demon generals was truly different, especially with Dyon’s vice commanders leading the way.

Initially, the Daiyu had every thought of focusing their attacks of Ri, capturing her, and forcing the rest to surrender. However, there was a massive issue with their plans: the narrow path of the cave.

The entrance of the cave only allowed for 4 large bodies to cross shoulder to shoulder – being only about 3 or so meters across. As soon as the demon generals surrounding Ri noticed the focus of the Daiyu, they immediately retreated, anchoring themselves as the cave entrance. As a result, the Daiyu lost much of the advantage their superior numbers gave them.

At most, only two people side by side could attack comfortably. But, when those two people were facing two of the best saint demon generals Dyon had in his army, what chance did they have?

River and Ronica’s beautiful and immaculate figures stood before Ri and the 8 other demon generals, facing the onslaught of Daiyu while somehow maintaining their elegance and gracefulness.

Both used twin delicate short swords, and they seemed to work together seamlessly.

Although the demon generals behind them were prepared to step in should their stamina give way, with how used the demon generals were to fighting campaigns for months on end, it almost seemed unnecessary.

Seeing the situation, Ri had half a mind to leave the demon generals and head into the cave with Lionel as their guide, but this was much too risky.

Having confirmed that Lionel was in fact a traitor as Dyon had guessed, allowing them to lead them through territory he saw as his own turf would be too idiotic.

The truth was that with Ri’s soul bond to Dyon, she could find his general location. The problem was that the Belmont Holy Land was a maze filled with the highest forms of spatial energy.

The spatial energy itself meant nothing to Ri. No matter how high the quality of space will, how could it match her Void supreme law? Unlike most, the spatial fluctuations of the Belmont Holy Land were no more than a nuisance to Ri – one she could easily decipher if given enough time.

The real problem was the maze aspect. If Ri had to follow a straight line, finding Dyon would be easy. But, that was obviously impossible in a maze. Following Lionel into an unknown land like that was practically suicide.

And, that was not even to mention the most glaring problem with this approach…

If Lionel was capable of navigating the tunnels and finding positions of things within the Belmont Holy Land, why had the Daiyu needed Meiying or Jade at all? Couldn’t they have just saved themselves the hassle by using Lionel? Had they done that, their plan might have unfolded seamlessly because Meiying would have never outed their plans.

Initially, when the Daiyu saw that two women were obstructing their path, being an attack force made up of a predominantly male lineup, there were plenty of raised eyebrows and lewd smiles – especially considering the beauty of River and Ronica. But, when their tough bodies started to sliced apart by domineering sword intent, and the bodies began to pile at the cave entrance, they couldn’t help but shift in their assessment of these beauties.

The task of overwhelming the demon generals at the cave entrance only became more and more difficult as the bodies of the fallen began to obstruct their path. It became an added extra layer of defense of Ri and her protectors.

Even worse was the fact the Daiyu’s decision to attack Ri first had placed them in a pincer-like situation. The 3000 demon generals, under the command of the vice commanders, were calm and collected. They fully understood that Ri was safe for the foreseeable future because of the communication arrays that had long since been implanted within them by Dyon. As such, they could focus on an organized attack of the scattered Daiyu and Niveus God Sect.

Although Evelyn had made it a point to only bring along higher essence gathering experts and saints, how could they hope to match up against the demon generals? If it wasn’t for the sheer amount of Niveus God Sect members, coupled with the tens of thousands of Daiyu who attacked the Belmont Holy Land, this battle would have long since been over.

That said, underestimating the Daiyu would be foolhardy. This was a clan capable of wiping out an entire Royal God Clan. They also had access to some the bests legacies in the entire quadrants, and across quadrants in general. Couple this with their robust stamina and strong bodies – provided to them by their Black Jade Dragon bloodline – and they would be a difficult opponent to face.

Explosions and sounds of battle once again rained down on the Belmont Holy Land.

The pointed and methodical advance of the demon generals was met by an odd mixture of beauties and testosterone. However, it was clear that the Niveus and Daiyu were slowly organizing themselves.

With the absence of Elder Daiyu, the Daiyu were a bit slow. But, they had vice commanders of their own. Now that the element of surprise was slowly fading, this would be a tough battle.

In the deep reaches of space, King Acacia desperately carried his wife toward the only place he knew might save her. He hadn’t hesitated to leave Ri behind because he had a full understanding of the protection she had. The demon sage’s tower alone couldn’t be scratched by a saint level being. And, with how many energy stones Dyon had at his disposal, she would easily be able to power defenses to stop celestials. In fact, if Dyon had any transcendent stones, even defending attacks from peak dao formation experts would be child’s play.

He had no way of knowing that his daughter would dive head first into danger. Before he left, he sent message after message telling her that he would be back and not to do anything reckless… But, maybe if he took some time to see how lost he was with his wife’s fragile frame in his arms, he would understand his daughter’s feelings too…

“Mm…” Kawa groaned. Her body was bloodied beyond belief and with her control over her body, she could tell that her spine was broken in several places.

“Don’t move, don’t move.” King Acacia grit his teeth, increasing his pace. He flashed forward hundreds of miles at a time, slicing through space and appearing to teleport with each step he took.

“Edrym… No…” Kawa protested. She could hardly open her eyes, but she could tell that her husband was getting farther and farther away from the battle. How could she allow their allies to lose such a strong supporter just because of her? This was about the life and death of more than one person.

“Don’t speak, Kawa.”

“You don’t understand…” Kawa spoke through a fit of coughs. “If you leave them, there’s no chance…”

A deep frown surfaced on King Acacia’s features. He hadn’t comprehended just how his wife had been defeated so quickly…

When they had fought Patriarch Cavositas, before his untimely demise due to being pushed too far, King Acacia had determined that his fighting prowess was no less than the peak of the celestial stage. However, even then he knew fully well that his wife could last more than a few bouts against him.

And yet, King Acacia had used no more than a few seconds to cool the atmosphere and stop the chain reaction that threatened to destroy the earth, but Kawa had been beaten in that time? It made no sense.

If King Acacia knew that Patriarch Ragnor claimed to be at the peak of the celestial stage as well, he would be even more confused!

“He’s… He’s not a celestial…” Kawa struggled to speak, trying to get her words out. But, her collapsed lungs were making even breathing difficult.

“Not a celestial?” Those words were like thunder in King Acacia’s ears.

What did Kawa mean not a celestial? Could he already be a dao formation expert? That didn’t make any sense!

In addition, if that was the case, why would he lie to Dyon about what his martial prowess was? Wouldn’t it have been more impactful to say that he was a dao formation expert? Wouldn’t that have made Dyon feel more despair?

Kawa tried to shake her head but failed miserably. The eruption of pain it sent down her spine made her regret her decision instantly.

“He’s not.. a d- dao formation expert.” Kawa choked out, “He’s a –“ A fit of coughs erupted from Kawa as blood flew from her mouth. “He’s a saint!”

King Acacia nearly froze in the air.

A saint? What?

Didn’t he manipulate celestial energy? Didn’t he defeat Kawa? How could he just be a saint?

None of this made any sense. If he was a saint, why hadn’t King Acacia, someone known for his sensory abilities, been able to see through it? Even more importantly, why was this something Kawa was so afraid of? She had clearly just said that if King Acacia left, there would be no chance… What was going on?!

King Acacia couldn’t split his mind to think about it. He could only hope that Kawa found enough energy to explain, or that she became healed enough to do so.

Hours had passed since the war broke out, at least half a day, in reality. And although the pace at with a celestial could cross the universe was quick, Kawa couldn’t protect herself from the dangers, so King Acacia had no choice but to divert some of his own power. This not only slowed him, but likely put more strain on Queen Acacia’s injuries.

But soon, the hours of work paid off and King Acacia saw exactly what he needed approaching quickly: The Ice Belt.

With Kawa’s Kitsune lineage, especially the fact she was the river Kitsune, her affinity for water type wills was nearly unparalleled. If she was a normal human with this type of affinity, it would hardly matter. But, remember that beasts are meant to be the physical representations of the will they represent for the sake of the balance of the universe. This meant that there was nothing in the universe more suited to healing Kawa than a bombardment of the strongest water type abyssal cores available to the universe!

Seeing where they were, Kawa could only smile weakly and bitterly. It was clear that her husband hadn’t heeded her warning at all. Now, even if he hurried back on his own, it would take at least a few hours. They were hundreds of galaxies and countless solar systems away now much to her frustration.

Kawa wanted to use essence energy to communicate her words, but she was simply tapped out and only had enough energy to struggle to stay awake.

Within her, something sinister was spreading… A poison Dyon was all too familiar with… Except not only was this on an entirely other level… Kawa didn’t have the strength to fight it…

King Acacia touched down onto the Ice Belt.

It looked like nothing more than a sheet of endless white. Blizzards carried all sorts of frozen precipitation, from large hail stones, to soft snow-flakes.

The canvas of whites and sharp blues chilled even King Acacia to the bone. He, himself, was a highly lauded water will expert, but even this part of the Ice Belt was too much for him to handle being thousands of miles deeper than the area Patia-Neva took Delia.

And yet, he did the unthinkable. Without any hesitation, he removed all protection from his wife, laying her bloodied and fragile body on a transparent sheet of ice.

The bed she lay on was so large and so clear that one could through to space itself on the other end.

King Acacia’s eyes glistened, but threatened to ice over in an instant as he watched his wife’s beautiful figure morph into a majestic white fox.

Anger shook his heart as he blamed himself.

Kawa’s tails had been completely ripped away. Her pride as a Kitsune… spit on by the vicious and disgusting actions of Patriarch Ragnor.

She was only about three hand lengths long, and her small frame was trembling. But, King Acacia could tell that she was slowly healing as a blue gently wafted above her once flawless white fur.

The small fox coughed, causing red crystals to fly from its tiny mouth. A small smile spread across King Acacia’s lips as he watched his wife’s adorable nose twitch with her sigh of relief.

However, there was a hidden pain within King Acacia’s eyes…

Kawa had once forgone her beast path to tread along the human path so that she could birth their little Alex. But, with that decision, went her ability to use the cold to heal as she was doing now…

So, one might wonder, just how was she benefitting from an ability she had lost?

The simple answer was that she had regained those abilities…

The complicated answer was that nothing in the universe came free of charge… One couldn’t just switch between disciplines with such ease and not expect repercussions…  

No one knew this more than King Acacia, and because of that, he didn’t know if he would ever be able to see his wife’s human form again…

**

Dyon stood in the skies with his metallic wings flapping slowly, and yet, their every minute movement caused even Elder Daiyu to feel pressure to take a step back.

The reason was simple. When others burned their soul as a final result, they would pour the excess energy into their body or energy cultivation. However, Dyon was different. In fact, he only diverted the slightest bit of energy to reconstruct the largest breaks in his bones, completely ignoring the near infinite amount of fractures.

Unlike everyone else, Dyon poured all of his power into his soul! He knew fully well that if he fueled his body or energy cultivation it would do next to nothing. If he boosted his energy cultivation, he would trigger [Inner World: Sanctuary], and if he boosted his body cultivation, at most he would reach mid celestial levels. That wasn’t enough, not with the time constraints he had.

Flames of blazing white danced along his black knight’s armor as his soul strength tore through stage after stage.

9^th stage… 10^th … lower 12^th stage … peak 12^th stage!

Dyon’s soul climbed all the way to a stage only matched by dao formation experts!

His breath was ragged, and his body was already bursting at the seams. He knew very well that he couldn’t last long in this form. If his soul didn’t crumble, his body would!

’10 seconds…’

“Dragon King!” Dyon roared.

Seals burst from Dyon’s armor, causing its grade to reach untold levels. But, what truly caused Elder Daiyu and Patriarch Ragnor to tremble was the overbearing domain that covered them an instant later!

With Dyon burning his soul, the Dragon King’s weapon had a near endless amount of energy to fuel it at its peak and Dyon took full advantage.

The surroundings became filled with a pressure so domineering that Patriarch Ragnor immediately lost control of his wills. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t summon lightning to attack Dyon in the air.

As for Elder Daiyu, he was already feeling the ill effects of forcefully using portions of his cultivation he had sealed away. He knew very well that his life would be coming to end soon whether it was under Dyon’s hands or the universes. Even worse, considering the situation, Dyon had no reason to continue lying about being the Dragon King, and yet he did… Through all of this, Elder Daiyu couldn’t help but think that he had been in the wrong…

The aurora steps flashed into the air. Without a shred of hesitation, Dyon unleashed his soul pressure onto Elder Daiyu and Patriarch Ragnor.

With the increase in his soul strength, his target no longer had to be directly below the steps. In fact, Dyon felt like he could cover hundreds of kilometers if he wanted to!

9 seconds…

Dyon’s mind raced. He could feel with his added sensory abilities that Elder Daiyu was on the last legs of his life. By logic, it would make sense for Dyon to then ignore him, and attack Patriarch Ragnor because Elder Daiyu would be dying anyway.

But, Dyon couldn’t underestimate celestials. Especially one who was formally a dao formation expert. There was no telling how long he could last. And, Dyon would be completely helpless in less than ten seconds.

If Dyon went after Patriarch Ragnor and failed, then he’d have two injured celestials to deal with while being completely incapacitated. But, if he went after the sure kill, then he might be able to injure Patriarch Ragnor just enough before he ran out of time.

Thinking that far, Dyon immediately moved, no longer second guessing himself. He was dancing on the edge of a blade, and he knew it. But, the determination in his eyes had flared to all new levels.

He had too many people counting on him… Too many people he couldn’t let down…

As for what would happen after these ten seconds? Dyon didn’t know…

What he did know, though, was that no matter what, he would only have thoughts of victory.

Dyon’s speed was blinding. By relying on his black knight’s armor to protect his body, he could use his soul to freely power his speed to its peak levels.

It didn’t take Dyon too long to notice that although his soul had been boosted in power output, the pressure it placed on Patriarch Ragnor wasn’t vastly increased as he had hoped. A small portion of him clung to the idea that Patriarch Ragnor and Elder Daiyu’s souls might directly collapse under the pressure the aurora steps put on them. But, clearly the aurora steps didn’t acknowledge the hollow increase in his soul power.

But, that didn’t matter. As long as he could stop Patriarch Ragnor from moving, that was enough!

Elder Daiyu watched helplessly as Dyon’s figure blurred toward him.

A scythe filled with second intent level death qi whipped toward his robust scales.

There was no movement for Elder Daiyu. With the damage of his soul that the Celestial Deer Sect had caused, the aurora steps had an even greater effect on him than Patriarch Ragnor!

Thousand of weapon’s hell arrays filled the skies, bombarding Elder Daiyu with endless death qi filled javelins. There was no hesitation or sympathy in Dyon’s actions. He unleashed powerful attack after powerful attack. If he didn’t do so, he wouldn’t have any chance of winning.

Elder Daiyu was unable to react in the least. Countless cuts filled his robust scales, chipping them off under the endless flurry of attacks.

Soul strength was neglected because it was the most difficult discipline to apply into real power… And the truth of that was on full display…

Although Dyon’s soul strength had been boosted to dao formation levels, allowing him to use his supreme law wills without reserve and allowing the use of the Dragon King’s weapon to its fullest extent, his attack strength was still pitiful in the face of Elder Daiyu, even when he was unable to retaliate.

If it wasn’t for the fact Dyon had access to a supreme law, he might not be able to injure Elder Daiyu in his current form at all!

7 seconds…

Patriarch Ragnor struggled to lift his head up. He had been worried about what was happening, but when he saw how Dyon’s endless attacks were only causing flesh wounds, he couldn’t help but laugh uproariously.

“Struggle! Go on!” Patriarch Ragnor could tell that this would last long for Dyon. Although he was upset by the fact that Dyon was burning his soul, which would cause trouble for their plans, it was better than him dying. The entity would likely punish them severely, but Patriarch Ragnor knew that he still needed them – so, his life was safe for now.

Dyon ignored Patriarch Ragnor’s laughter. His attacks became faster and more pointed.

He tried mixing in all kinds of wills.

His black flames, his white flames. He even used his crystal will to amplify his attacks to their fullest extent.

Dyon wasn’t willing to divert his soul power from powering his armor, to powering his scythe. If he did so, one swipe from Elder Daiyu would be able to end his life. But… Dyon knew he had to risk it… There just wasn’t enough time left!

5 seconds…

The armor completely disappeared from Dyon’s body just as he diverted all of his energy to the scythe in his hand, powering the Dragon King’s weapon to total offense.

His scythe swung downward, coated with a powerful edge of 5^th level fused sword and space will, accompanied by blazing black flames and endless death qi.

“AAAGGHHHH.” Elder Daiyu roared as his arm went flying, accompanied by a chorus of blood that drained out of his 20-meter-tall figure. 

Dyon’s eyes widened.

The effectiveness of the Dragon King’s weapon was astounding. Although Dyon immediately felt a massive drain on his soul, despite his burning state, he couldn’t help but feel respect.

When properly fueled, the Dragon King’s weapon was likely the greatest in existence! How many weapons could boast having been forged by the cultivation of a transcendent?!

Dyon rushed forward, a vicious glint in his eyes. His arms were tired, his soul was crying out in despair, and he was mentally fatigued beyond belief. But, all he saw was victory.

4 seconds…

A tempest of winds followed Dyon’s swing as he poured everything he had into hacking at Elder Daiyu’s neck, continuously pinning him down with endless weapon’s hell arrays.

His weapon’s hall pagoda appeared domineeringly in the air. Much like the aurora steps, it didn’t acknowledge Dyon’s superficial increase in power, and thus didn’t produce supreme level weapons. But, it allowed Dyon to pump out near endless amount of grandmaster level weapons that were a mere breath away from becoming transcendent level weapons!

Explosions of epic proportions continuously raged across Elder Daiyu’s massive figure, keeping him pinned down as Dyon swung toward his neck without remorse.

All of his anger, hatred and loathing were backed by this single strike.

His arrogance poured out from his very being. In his mind, there was nothing in this universe capable of stopping him. Nothing in the universe worthy of stopping his strike.

Even if all of the transcendents in existence wanted Elder Daiyu to live today, he wouldn’t.

A mantra rang forth from Dyon’s mind as he roared with all his might.

If God stood before him, he would slay God. If Buddha stepped before him, he would slay Buddha.

A new will bloomed into existence at that very moment. It was a will that universe had never gifted to anyone… And a will only Dyon would ever be worthy of wielding…

It had a simple name… But this simple name would resonate through out the whole of the cosmos in just a few hundred years…

At that moment, Dyon’s sword and spear will disappeared from existence, being unworthy of coexisting with this will… A will that would become Dyon’s second comprehended supreme law… The will of a Weapon’s Master…

Dyon’s scythe connected with the vein of Elder Daiyu’s massive neck. There was a moment between the two of them that seemed to extend a split second into hours.

In that time, Dyon saw a flood of emotions spill from Elder Daiyu’s eyes… But in the end, there was only regret and resignation…

Elder Daiyu’s head flew from his shoulders, and with it went the life of a former mighty dao formation expert…

3 seconds…

Dyon’s arms trembled as flew toward Patriarch Ragnor as quickly as his body would allow.

He could feel that he was reaching his utmost limit… But, he had no choice but to carry on.

Blood spilled from wounds that constantly opened up on his body, his soul was screaming in pain, holding on by a final string that was only a breath away from being cut, and it felt like summoning any one of his wills was as difficult as lifting a 10 ton boulder…

Patriarch Ragnor’s laughter had long since been cut off. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

Few would understand just how powerful Elder Daiyu’s defenses were in that state, but how could Patriarch Ragnor not after witnessing it for himself?

The reason Dyon had previously been able to blow an arm off of Elder Daiyu and damage him severely was because in that state, Elder Daiyu was still suppressed to the realms of a celestial. In addition, his body and soul were greatly weakened, being more comparable to a saint – although a very strong peak saint.

As a result, Dyon was able to make use of the Dragon King’s disruption of Elder Daiyu’s focus, and a culmination of his most impressive wills to heavily damage him.

However… The state Elder Daiyu was in when Dyon killed him was on a completely different level.

Elder Daiyu had completely ignored the consequences and blazed his cultivation to their former levels – or, more accurately, as close to his former levels as his body would allow. This allowed his body strength to once again step into dao formation levels! A level that was capable of damaging the material Dyon’s puppet was made out of!

And yet, Dyon cut off not only his arm, but his head! The fact Dyon could have even scratched him before hand was a testament to the power boost his soul received to the peak dao formation level. But, to then take all of that power, and kill Elder Daiyu in that state?!

2 seconds…

Dyon heavily breathed over Patriarch Ragnor as he raised his scythe as quickly as his arms would allow. It had taken him much too long to fly over here, but without the black knight’s armor protecting him, and with how damaged his body already was, flying at peak speeds was no more than a joke.

Dyon didn’t waste any words. Even if he wanted to say something, he couldn’t. He simply didn’t have the energy to.

He had no idea what would happen after this swing, but he put everything he had into it. His only thoughts were of killing the 5-meter-tall man in front of him… The man that had put him into such a situation of endless despair… a man he had brought to his knees…

Patriarch Ragnor said nothing as he watched the scythe descend. His eyes seemed to be less focused on Dyon, and more trained on the Dragon King’s weapon. He knew as much as anyone that Dyon had only survived this long because of that weapon. Without its protection, Elder Daiyu would have killed him and without its strength, he would have a ghost of a chance to injure either one of them… And yet, he had killed one of them!

Dyon roared with the last of his strength, his scythe glistening.

“To think I would be pushed this far… By a child!”

Saint energy erupted around Patriarch Ragnor. Dyon had hardly any time to register the fact that what he was sensing, simply didn’t make any sense!

The truth of the matter was more obvious than anyone was willing to admit. It was common knowledge that the Ragnors had an exceedingly difficult time at transcending heavenly tribulations. If you were a Ragnor that managed to survive crossing into sainthood, you were already a miracle among miracles and a treasured genius.

If you managed to transcend two tribulations and become a celestial? You would be among the highest officials in Ragnor clan history. You would simply be of too much importance. How could such an important official be sent to this tiny universe?!

That was not even to mention the fact Patriarch Ragnor had claimed to be a peak celestial. Someone like that would have a chance to transcend their final mortal tribulation would never be sent on such a mission to wither away in this universe.

From the very beginning, Patriarch Ragnor being a celestial made no sense!

Dyon didn’t think about it. All he could focus on was swinging his scythe faster and faster. He had locked down Patriarch Ragnor’s ability to move with his aurora steps and he had locked down Patriarch Ragnor’s ability to use wills with the Dragon King’s domain. He refused to believe that he would lose!

Patriarch Ragnor roared as the blade was just inches from his neck…

But, nothing happened…

Dyon’s scythe cleanly cut Patriarch Ragnor’s head in half, slicing through his ears from one side to the other.

Blood fell to the ground heavily, pooling at the former Ragnor God Clan’s head.

Dyon’s vision swam. The white blaze that had once surrounded him faded, leaving behind a bloodied teenage boy with too many broken bones to count.

His feet dragged as he walked to the stone etchings that held the seal. He had one final thing to do before his soul strength ran out completely.

Under the strength of The Seal, Dyon had no need for the Belmont family flames and the stone seal opened with ease. But, this time, the entity didn’t come. He would be helpless in front of the weapon of the 33heavens, so he remained hidden.

The two bulbs of bobbing light were taken up by Dyon and stored within the seal. Dyon knew from his master’s memories that what was truly sealing the entity wasn’t the mortals.

The mortals were simply used as a proxy to chain the entity with the laws of this universe. This was why the energy density of the universe had plummeted, it was all being used to seal him. This was the same reason why although Dyon broke the soul seal, the seal on the entity itself never weakened.

The reason the martial world hadn’t simply given the mortal realm their talent back was because none of them had a means of breaking the seal after enough Gama energy was accumulated. By the time the seal on the mortals had fueled the gathering of sufficient Gama energy to properly seal the entity, Dyon’s master was nothing more than a soul and there weren’t any who were skilled enough array alchemists to make use of The Seal… Until Dyon.

With his task complete, Dyon sealed the stone array, feeling the last of his soul strength collapsing. If he didn’t hurry and find someone of something capable of stopping this collapse… He would die…

Gritting his teeth, he began the long journey to the Belmont Hold Land catacombs, hoping he’d manage to find his way out through the spatial fluctuations.

But, that was when a resounding laughter caused Dyon’s steps to freeze and his heart to tremble with an endless cold.

“To think… Me… Ha…” Patriarch Ragnor’s voice filled the space. He sounded half like a mad-man and half like a jokester. But either way, Dyon couldn’t help but turn his head listlessly toward the sound of the voice.

There stood a perfectly health Patriarch Ragnor. But, his hair was no longer that golden blond… Even his blue eyes had darkened to a deep brown…

“Since you’ve made me come out, I should give you a proper welcoming.” Patriarch Ragnor bowed in the air, spreading his arms out theatrically.

“Loki the trickster, at your service.”