A limousine arrived at the golden gates of the royal palace. The guards opened the gates after verifying momo’s identity and it drove in.

“i haven’t been here in some time, but this place is really impressive.”

ace mumbled while looking at the scenery through his window. The limousine cruised on the golden pavement and stopped near the stairs leading to the palace. Everyone got out and the limo quickly left the compound. Servants came from all directions and surrounded the group.

“our apologies, but we were ordered to search anyone who came here.”

“we understand.”

momo gave them permission and they scanned their bodies using all kinds of gadgets.

“….everything seems to be alright.”

they formed a path.

“sorry for the inconvenience. You may enter at will.”

momo nodded and she led the group up the steps.

“ugh…”

momo softly groaned as she took a few steps up the stairs.

“do you want me to carry you?”

ace teasingly approached her.

“over my dead body.”

momo struggled to take steps. Ace frowned and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“boost player: party buff.”

a green glow covered momo’s body. Her heavy body became light and she was overflowing with energy. She turned to ace with widened eyes.

“you sure upgraded your ability.”

“with this, you should be able to manage on your own.”

“thanks.”

they quickly reached the top of the stairs.

“welcome to my palace.”

they were immediately greeted by a surprising guest.

“tia?!”

with her heavenly beauty, tiamat welcomed them with a bright smile.

“it’s great to see that you’re all finally here.”

she checked out their group.

“miko told me but luka and hina really left the empire huh?”

“yeah, they did. Did miko tell you to come to greet us?”

“yeah. If you’re with me no one can cause you trouble. But on the off chance that it might still happen, i called for back up.”

a figure appeared behind momo and placed their hand on her head.

“there seems to be foreign mana temporarily support your muscle and nerves….this is ace’s mana? As i thought, boost player has a support system as well.”

“that voice…alec?”

alec nodded and looked around the group.

“i was asked to come here but where’s miko?”

“on our way here someone directed bloodlust at him. He exited the vehicle to handle it.”

sora explained.

“from the bloodlust, i believe that it was ashur.”

kristen added.

“i see. Then we’ll meet up later. For now, let’s enter the palace.”

everyone entered the palace together.

“will miko be alright on his own?”

ace asked.

“he should be fine. They might fight a lot but miko and his cousins are pretty close.”

tia explained.

“if there’s any problem it would be whether they go too far and start fighting for real.”

momo added.

“the chances of that happening?”

“pretty high.”

“then it’ll be a problem.”

“not really. Just let them fist it out for a bit and they’ll come home eventually.”

tia added.

“you people are cold.”

sora sighed.

“i sensed a few strong presences back there who can rival us. Miko will have a rough time fighting them alone.”

“well, you’re right about that.”

alec looked over at him and ace.

“have you ever heard of the catastrophic generation?”

the two shook their heads.

“every generation in the dragna clan is given a name that reflects its members' personality or achievements. My and momo’s generation is called the golden generation for obvious reasons. Miko’s generation is called catastrophic generation because every single member has high destructive tendencies. They’re like natural disasters.”

“by the way, tessa and i are members of this generation.”

kristen added. Alec opened his palm and showed his five fingers.

“of the 15 members, five stand out with miko being one of the five. He’s meeting up with the other four.”

“the more i hear the more certain i am that a war will break out back there.”

“well, a fight is unavoidable, but as long as he’s there, everything should be under control.”

“he?”

alec showed a wry smile.

“the strongest of the catastrophic generation, krul.”

at the same time, miko was face to face with his generation’s strongest.

“yo, miko. It’s been a while.”

“it sure has been, krul.”

krul looked around at everyone.

“looks like you guys are the same as always. Quick to start fights with each other.”

“spending five minutes with these idiots is enough to make a saint want to commit murder.”

rin sheathed his sword.

“i didn’t do anything though.”

“your very presence is offensive, renatus.”

“miko, do you want me to bash your head in? Because i’ll be more than happy to do it.”

krul lifted his hands and stood between them.

“now, now. Let’s not fight. We haven’t seen each other in a while. Can’t we just hang out?”

ashur’s figure flickered and he popped up in front of krul.

“………”

he silently stared into his eyes with an intense glare.

“is something the matter, ashur?”

krul kept his smiling expression.

“krul, fight me. Right here, right now.”

krul crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“the reason?”

“you’re strong and i love fighting strong people.”

“not a good enough reason. Denied.”

“then, i’ll attack you here.”

“you’re free to try but i’m not responsible for any counteractions i take or any injuries you suffer because of them.”

“counter….huh?”

“he’s saying that if you get fucked up while attacking him, it’s not his fault.”

“oh.”

ashur nodded to rin’s translation. Miko pushed ashur out of the way and approached krul.

“you’ve gotten stronger, krul. I heard you did some crazy stuff on the beast continent.”

“nothing compared to the things you’ve done, don king of renacido. I expect nothing less from the future leader of the dragna clan.”

miko’s eyes widened. It wasn’t just him, rin, renatus, and ashur were visibly surprised.

“what? Did i say wrong?”

krul had a confused look on his face.

“miko the future leader? Are you sick in the head?”

“i agree with renatus. Clan leader isn’t something anyone can get.”

“but, he’s tiamat’s proxy. If there’s anyone who can do it it’s the one she chose. Also, considering his recent accomplishments i’m sure that many would support him in the future. Or do you believe there’s a better candidate?”

“there’s no candidate at all. Only someone on augustus’ level can succeed him. There is no one like that. Augustus is a once in a million years being. His throne will forever be vacant.”

renatus and ashur nodded in agreement with rin’s words.

“like everyone else, you guys revere augustus to the point of worship. But if we are to move forward we are throw away that reverence that narrows our judgment and seek to surpass him and his era.”

krul turned to miko.

“wouldn’t you agree, miko?”

“……..”

miko didn’t reply and observed krul.

(what’s his deal here? He supports me? Him, of all people?)

his eyes sharpened.

(like hell i’ll believe that.)

a small smile appeared on his face and he turned his back on krul.

“you’re all free to believe what you believe. Praise augustus, worship him; denounce augustus, belittle him. I don’t care.”

he walked away from them.

“rather than dictate what i can or i can’t do, just shut up and watch me. After that, we’ll talk.”

the others were left behind watching him make his way to the palace.

“he’s grown.”

renatus smirked.

“that’s how it should be.”

smirks crawled on to the rest of their faces as they followed behind him.

“it wouldn’t be fun otherwise.”

meanwhile in the primus domain. In the city of xia, nova sat on the throne meant for the primus branch leader. In front of him was a kneeling servant.

“young master miko, young master kristen, lady momo, and lady tessa are being led here by her grace tiamat.”

“so miko finally took care of everything he needed. I enjoyed his show. It was worth bottling my anger and remaining quiet. I didn’t want to cause him any trouble after all.”

he stood from his throne.

“now this will be the real test for him. How will he react when he’s faced to face with his disfigured mother. It’s one thing to hear about her injuries and another to see them for himself. Will finally meeting her change his plans or will it break the calm façade around him?”

nova clenched his fists in front of him.

“whatever he decides i’ll back him up. Even if it means overthrowing those currently in power.”