Within the throne room, King Feleon was sitting alone. His gaze went up, as if he was seeing back in time to the day where his memories lied. He felt like the reminiscing memories was happened just like yesterday.

He was traveling around Heallance with a female white bipedal lion who was holding hand with small white bipedal lion. They were his wife and his son.

And that very day, they were at some village in Alkronia. Suddenly, there was an explosion and they could see that the northern wall was destroyed.

Screams and terror came like a wave. All humans ran south, terrified of something at north. Then they saw several fires in the sky. They rained down upon the buildings.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ones that got hit immediately destroyed. And the crumbled debris were falling down onto the street and blocked some paths. Some were thrown far and hit some humans, or even burying them alive.

Feleon and his family were so confused. They were panicking, and afraid about the unexpected dire situation. His son cried and his wife lifted him up. She grabbed Feleon and told him to run. However, he looked around with eyes wide open. He saw the humans who trapped under the debris. Some cried, and some screamed for help. His heart told him that he could not ignore them.

He turned his head toward his wife. Their eyes met, and his wife knew just by looking at his eyes. She looked at him for a moment, and then she sighed. She nodded and told him to go. And so he ran. He ran as fast as he could to help them.

The humans thanked him and immediately went south. Sadly, some of them couldn't be saved anymore. However, it didn't let him down and kept saving every one of them.

As he was saving the last person he could find, he heard his wife was screaming his name. So he immediately ran back once he freed the human. And he saw several human soldiers cornered his wife.

"Damned beast! Are you with them!?"

His son cried louder as one of them pointed at someone nearby who half of his body was buried in the debris.

"Why didn't you help him!?" Another soldier asked as he pointed his sword toward Feleon's wife.

"W-we were-" She stuttered.

"He is dead!" The human soldier cut her words. "You killed our people, didn't you!?"

"No, I tried to help him! But it was too late!" Feleon intervened.

All of them turned their head toward him.

"Shut your fucking mouth, you lying bastard!"

"It is true! You can ask him!" Feleon looked at the one who he just saved.

However, the man looked terrified and ran away. Feleon eyes widened and his jaw slightly dropped as he saw him gone.

"Is that the face of someone who you just saved?"

"Please believe me!" Feleon begged.

"I can't stand it anymore! Let's just kill these fuckers and help north!"

One of them raised their sword and aimed toward his wife. Feleon eyes widened even more and he shouted.

"NO! MILEA!"

He started to run, but then he stopped as he saw a magic circle appeared under the human soldiers.

Suddenly, they were all being ruptured at the same time. Their blood splattered all over the place, even on Feleon's wife and son.

Feleon tried to find anyone around who could've killed them. However, the caster was nowhere to be found. He was confused, but he also relieved at the same time.

As he took a step forward to his family, he saw the massacred humans were raised from death. Strangely, their skin turned dark, and they were grinning creepily.

His wife tried to run. Alas, the raised humans crawled and grabbed her feet, so both of them fell. Then they relentlessly pulled her.

Seeing that, Feleon rushed to help, but then he saw his son escaped. So he knelt down and stretched both of his hands to embrace him. He was really glad.

However, when he was hugging him, his son was strangely growling and struggling. As he released his hug to see what happened to his son, he felt unbearable pain.

Slash!

He dropped his son and fell backward. It seemed his son just scratched him and left a scar on his face. As he put his hand on his right eye, he saw his son was grinning and his fur blackened.

Feleon couldn't fathom what just happened to him. It shocked him to see his son to behave that way.

Then, his son suddenly leapt toward him. He immediately stopped him, and then he grabbed him once he had the chance. Unexpectedly, his weak son was stronger than before, way stronger. Thus, he tried to get on top of him and holding him with all his might.

When he was restraining him, he turned his head toward where his wife was. And he witnessed something he shouldn't have. An experience that broke his heart and mentality.

He saw his wife was being raped by the human soldiers.

His heart sank and wrath began to surface. He released his son and rushed toward his wife. However, his son pursued and pounced him down. He struggled to get rid of his son, but he couldn't.

Somehow, his body weakened. Even if he used all his strength, his son didn't budge at all. He shook his head while he was looking at his son who was holding him down with a grin on his face.

Feleon could not find his cute son within him anymore. He just lied there, and turned his head toward his wife.

His mind emptied and his heart sank even deeper. He fell down into a hollow reality which time was slowing down. Each second was a torture, a never-ending agony. Slowly, his fur was getting darker, especially his mane.

He closed his eyes and gave up. He could feel his tears rolling on his cheeks, dropped down onto the ground.

BAM!

"Aaaarrrghhhh!!!"

BAM! BAM! BAM! WHAM!

Feleon heard a scream and something was being hit. He slowly opened his eyes, and he saw a man punched the human soldiers into several parts with scattered inside.

The man had a laid back blond hair, and he wearing black clothes. Feleon didn't understand what happened, but he was glad it ended.

Once the man was done killing the soldiers, he leapt toward Feleon, grabbed his son and tossed him away.

As soon as Feleon was freed from his son, he rushed toward his wife.

"Milea! Milea!"

He lifted his wife and put her on his lap. Her eyes were opened, but she was unconscious.

"Milea..." He cried as he put his hand on her cheek.

Feleon heard footsteps approaching him. It was the blond man. He stopped near him and opened his mouth.

"I'm sorry. But both of them cannot be saved. We have to kill them. If you don't want to, we need to leave as soon as possible. More will come and I won't be able to hold them all."

Hearing those ridiculous words, he was speechless. He wished the whole situation was actually a joke, but it wasn't.

His mental breakdown made him indecisive. He still wanted to hold a string of hope which his family could be saved. However, he saw his wife's fur slowly turned black, just like his son, and the other human soldiers.

"You have to decide quickly. If you can't, then I apologize to you that I have to kill them and bring you forcefully to safety."

Feleon's heart sank and his tears was flowing even harder. He forced himself to stay strong. He was holding up by taking a deep breath. And then he answered, "I will kill them myself."

He raised his hand and readied his claws. He closed his eyes, and then he plunged his hand deep through his wife's chest.

"Heughhhh!"

Milea's eyes widened, and she looked at Feleon. As her hand reached his cheek, she smiled softly before she closed her eyes again forever.

Feleon gently put her down and stood. He walked toward his son who was knocked down by the blond man. Then he did the same rhing to his son.

His mind was empty, and his heart became limp. He expressionlessly put his son beside his wife and knelt down.

He wanted to bury them and grieve, but the blond man spotted several people already showed up at north. So they had to immediately retreat from the city through the south gate.

"I owe you my life." Feleon said as they were already safe, far away from the city. So he strolled leisurely without worrying about the danger they just faced. Still, deep down, his heart was aching, and his mentality almost completely broken.

The blond man sighed and shook his head. Then he responded, "You don't have to worry, you owe me nothing."

"Thank you..." Feleon faintly smiled. "Tell me. What's your name?"

"Vallas. And you?"

"Feleon. Feleon Blanche."

"Nice to meet you, Feleon. From now on, let's fight those evil beings together."

・・・

During my way to Wildcliff. I read some news about a livestream which showed the Dark Army beyond Kovelack Mountain Range. And they said several parties of New Titans and Skythrone were wiped out.

I wasn't sure if it was true or not. However, if a party of Dark army could sweep several parties of high leveled players that easily, then...Human might fall if they didn't get any help from other races.

Rescuing the beastkin from slavery made me thinking if they were also enslaving other races as well. I didn't see a lot of non-human at the villages or towns I already visited, and mostly they were players. Well, except Eldan, which was pretty much a neutral town. Thus, if that was the case, they would create bad relationship with other races.

That was why I tried to ask Feleon to help. It would be a problem if the Dark Army made the game over. And if the game was over, I would definitely be forced to log out, back to the real world. Unfortunately, he declined my request.

Still, he said he would give me his reason. And soon, I would get the answer directly from him.

Hagwim, Mirage and I were entering the throne room. Now that the room was empty, I could see that there were roots and vines all over the wall. Even on the stone throne Feleon was sitting.

We stopped and stood in front of him. It was a scheduled private talk, and only the four of us were there.

Feleon eyes were wide open when he saw us, no... It seemed he was more likely to be surprised by Hagwim's presence. He stood and took some steps forward.

"Hagwim Proudsteel?"

"Feleon Blanche..."

"You look...different." Feleon wondered. "An undead?"

"It's a long story." Hagwim deeply sighed. "To put it short, this laddie over here raised me from death."

Feleon eyes widened. His gaze moved toward me for a moment, then they went back to Hagwim again. His eyes sharpened and I could see his killing aura leaked from his body.

"Don't tell me... You have become one of them."

"What?" Hagwim asked as he was confused.

"Is this a trap!?" His voice raised.

Suddenly, Feleon was already in front of me, his claws were ready to be aimed toward me. It was then I could see that he was actually big and tall, probably around 2,5 meters. His golden eyes with split pupils were gazing straight at me, and I could feel his killing intent pierced my mind.

I was about to draw my sword, but it was too late. His claws were swung right at my face.

Clank!

I could feel a shockwave was blasted and shook the wall and ceiling, forcing the leaves to dance.

Hagwim blocked Feleon's attack with his shield. Then Feleon's left hand was swung. Hagwim quickly blocked it with his axe. They looked at each other while competing their strength.

"What the fuck are you doing!?"

"Shut your mouth, Drunelf (short elf)!"

"You bastard!"

Hagwim gritted his teeth and pushed him with his shield, so Feleon was thrown back and landed in front of his throne.

"Why are you doing this!?" Hagwim shouted.

"You!" Feleon was glaring straight at me. "You don't look like them. What are you?"

"What the fuck do you mean by them!?" Hagwim responded instead.

"You stupid dwarf! How could he raise you from death? He is clearly one of them! He is with the Dark Army!"

Hearing that, we were speechless. We didn't know how to clear the misunderstanding.

"Burhahahahahaha!!! you fool bastard!" Hagwim laughed. "Calling me stupid when you are still a no brainer!"

"What are you implying?"

"Look at him!" Hagwim pointed at me. "Does he look like the Dark Army?"

Feleon kept silent and looked at me intently.

"You are doubting someone who just saved your kin from human slavery."

His killing aura slowly faded, and his gaze was softened.

"If he was with the Dark Army... Your land, your kingdom would have been fallen already. Flattened to the ground. And I would piss on your corpse and spit on your kin's graves!!"

'I know dwarves are rude but this is over the line.' I thought as my jaw was dropped.

"Sir Hagwim... That's rude. Please, watch your manner."

"Laddie... This fucking cat almost killed you!"

"I'm fine. I'm a hero, remember? I can't die."

"That's right! A hero cannot die and cannot be corrupted. Ain't that right, Feleon?"

Feleon eyes then sharpened and shining. His killing aura that was faded before changed into strong intimidating aura.

"Then... Prove it."

I was speechless. He seemed doubting me that I was a summoned hero just because I raised Hagwim from death. So I only had one choice.

'Do I have to die and respawn?'

As I thought about that, in an instant, Feleon was right in front of Mirage. Thankfully, she didn't stand far from me and my reflex was faster. I pushed her and casted Earth Blessing on myself.

WHAM!

Feleon rammed toward me. As if I was being hit by a truck, my body got thrown back and hit the throne room's double door.

BANG!

You have received a critical hit!

You have received 4592 damage from Feleon

I used Earth Blessing to strengthen my defense, but I still took that much damage. If I didn't buff myself, I might be dead in one hit.

I writhed in pain and immediately took a vial of potion from my bag. I shoved it forcefully in my mouth while struggling to breathe.

As the pain faded away, I could finally took a deep breath.

'Strange... I experienced this before, right? It seems I always almost got one-shotted.' I thought.

Then I could feel a warm sensation within me.

Mirage used Healing Serenade

1542 HP has been healed by Mirage

"Zeroth! Are you okay?"

I could hear Mirage's voice calling me. As I got my strength back, I tried to stand up and look at the situation.

It seemed Hagwim was holding Feleon while Mirage supported him. I could see her occasionally looking at me, so I nodded at her and shouted.

"I'm fine!"

The fight between Hagwim and Feleon was intense. I didn't know if I should help or watch. Regardless, we needed to calm Feleon down.

I began to buff everyone with my Blessing skills. Then, I rushed forward to help them.

Unfortunately, I kept getting thrown away by Feleon's strong attack. His dexterity and agility were truly terrifying. Thankfully, Hagwim could handle his continuous attack by himself. It frustrated me that I couldn't do much, so I kept my distance and observed them.

I focused my eyes on them. I couldn't follow them at first, but, slowly, I saw a glimpse of their movement. Then, I could read Feleon's attack.

It felt like my stats increased just by watching them fight.

"Stop it Feleon! We don't have time for this shit!" Hagwim shouted in anger. "Come to your sense!"

Feleon ignored him and kept attacking. And he was getting faster. It made Hagwim exposed his opening more often. As Feleon was about to penetrate his defense, Mirage screamed. Her high pitched voice made Feleon staggered. It was then I rushed forward.

I swung my sword and stopped halfway, then I quickly ducked. I got goosebumps when his claws were passing right above me. I rolled and stopped behind him, then I thrust my sword toward his back. However, he turned around.

Clank!

Feleon tried to parry my sword with his gauntlet, but it slipped through and changed direction. With his inhumane reflex, he quickly grabbed my sword right in front of his neck

We both were frozen in place. His eyes were staring right on mine, but I didn't waver and kept my gaze straight at him as well.

And then he smiled.

"You passed. I believe you." He said as he released my sword.

Hearing that, I pulled my sword back and took a deep breath of relief.

"Are you insane!?" Hagwim shouted. "I thought you went berserk, you fricking furball!"

"My wholeheartedly apologize." He bowed.

I was very thankful that his wrath wasn't real and had a reason behind it. Then I could feel someone grabbed my arm, so I turned my head over my shoulder and I saw Mirage.

She looked concerned and her grip on my arm got slightly tighter. I gave her a little smile and she let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright then." Hagwim hit the floor with the knob of his axe and let his hands rested on its head. "Now, just tell us about your reason. What did you do that for?"

Feleon took a deep sigh, and then he told us about his past. Sorrow and agony filled the atmosphere within the throne room. Hearing his story, no wonder he despised human so much. He even forced himself to join human in the past. It was all for his family.

It would be hard to convince him to join force with human again. If he decided to fight alone, the only hope for Heallance would be the players. But I doubted since they were even still doing guild war between themselves. It would definitely be an unfair competition which they would kill each other to be number one. Heallance would be a game over soon.

I saw grimace on Mirage and Hagwim's face. They looked like they were just drinking a bottle of bitter medicine, and so was I.

Hagwim opened his mouth as soon as Feleon done.

"Do you know where Vallas is right now?"

"I don't know. The last information I know about him is that...he escaped from Arena's Underground Prison with three of my kin, two sea-kin, and one sleethar. They parted ways once they got out, and to this date, I still cannot find him."

"I see..." Hagwim was thinking for a moment before he continued. "Then... How about Nel'Thas?"

Feleon shook his head. "I don't have any clue. Only Vallas is close to him."

Hagwim got silent and folded his arms, thinking about something again.

"Fighting the Dark Army right now is only a dim hope. It's better to prepare ourselves to build our defense. Just leave the offensive line to the new summoned heroes."

"No, we have to strike them together as well. You and I will settle this and end it for good. We shall join human defending Heallance."

"You are as stubborn as ever, dwarf. We are no longer a hero. And Human shall meet their downfall."

"You're the one who is stubborn. It's not Human fault! It's the Dark Army you should hate! And who cares if we are not a hero anymore. We need to protect Heallance from its doom!"

"You're right. However, I still don't want to join force with them."

"Fine! I understand... Hah..." Hagwim sighed. "You don't have to help human. Just fight for our sake and get revenge to the one who truly killed your family."

Feleon squinted his eyes.

"You know who it is, right... The one who created the Dark Army."

Feleon closed his eyes and sighed. "You'll keep bothering me to help, won't you?"

"You're goddamn right." Hagwim stared at him.

"Fine. But I have one condition." Feleon opened his eyes and continued, "We need to bother Neptos to join us as well."

As he answered that, I could see Hagwim formed a smile on his face. The tip of Feleon's lip also went up, and then his gaze looked somewhere else.

"WUKAKA!!!" Feleon roared.

Wukaka, who appeared to be watching us from afar while hiding, instantly leapt toward his King. He kneeled down and trembled in fear.

"Y-yes, My King."

"You heard everything, right?" Feleon asked as he was gazing down toward him.

"P-please have m-mercy. I wholeheartedly apologize, Your Majesty." He bowed down.

"No need to apologize." Feleon said.

He didn't lie. He didn't seem to be angry, he was calm actually.

"Please prepare a carriage for us. And while I'm gone, inform the leaders that we will hold Wild Gathering soon." Feleon commanded. "Make haste. For every fallen leaf counts."

"I-it shall be done, My King!"

Once he said that, Wukaka stood and leapt away from the throne room.

Then, we immediately departed to the western sea. The place wasn't far from Wildcliff, but it still took us two days to get there.

We were riding along the river and trees. It was kind of awkward being in one carriage with Feleon. Thankfully, Hagwim had a conversation with him about stuff in the past and they were catching up with their life. I only joined them when they asked about Beleth and Uruzak. Mostly, I looked at the scenery until we arrived at the beach.

We met a creature which I believed called Naga. Lizard headed, humanoid torso and arms with dark blue scales and fins, and lower body of snakes.

The naga was chilling by a fire in front of a shelter which seemed to be made of nearby stones and corals.

Once he noticed our footsteps, he turned around with fish skewer in his mouth.

"Long time no see..." Feleon said.

"Ahhh... Lord Feleon." The naga said as he put down the grilled fish and bowed. "And... Lord Hagwim?"

"You're right." Hagwim nodded.

"You look different than I remember. You look older."

"You want some beatings?" Hagwim angered by his words.

"Hahaha..." Feleon and the naga laughed.

It seemed the naga was an ocean guide. He showed invited visitors the way to Atalancia. But in our case, we didn't need to be invited. Hagwim and Feleon were enough reason to make him guide us to the underwater city.

The naga entered his shelter and came out with a black staff. It had a round transparent crystal on its head, and it shined when he casted a spell on me.

Underwater Breathing's effect can be felt

I felt strange. It felt like I yearned to be drown into the water, like a fish that wanted to stay within the water.

Meanwhile, Hagwim didn't need it since he was an undead. Feleon, however, asked the naga to give him another spell after he got buffed with Underwater Breathing. As the naga casted the spell, a big bubble appeared, and Feleon was inside it. Then it slowly got tighter to fit his body.

Seeing that, I lightly scoffed. And Mirage also chuckled silently. He was still a big cat who was afraid of water after all.

With the preparation completed, we finally walked into the sea.

I closed my eyes as we entered the water. At first I was afraid to breathe. As I tried it once, I smiled widely. A new sensation came to me and it was really exciting.

Then I opened my eyes and I could clearly see the view without pain in my eyes. It seemed the spell completely changed me to become water creature. Despite that, to be honest, I couldn't swim. So I just walked slowly, and carefully stepped forward, while the Naga, Feleon and Hagwim moved forward with a rather fast pace.

Then I saw Mirage struggled to move as well, so I gave my hand to help her by gently pulling her as I was good with my footing.

Several steps forward, I remembered that I had Water Blessing skill, so I immediately used it to buff our body.

Slowly, I could felt I got familiar with underwater movement. Step by step, I began to leap and pull Mirage to quickly follow the others.

A few meters down, a huge turtle with a wide saddle on his shell welcomed us. Then he told us to sit on his back. As the Naga, Feleon and Hagwim hopped onto the saddle, Mirage and I followed.

I could finally took a deep breath. Even though I could breathe underwater, I was still afraid of being drowned. And being on the turtle's back relieved that stress.

'At last, I can enjoy the scenery...'

It was the first time I went diving. Though I watched multiple videos on internet and did it in several games I played, I never had a chance to experience it firsthand. Therefore, I was really excited.

The underwater view was really pretty. There were strange shaped corals and plants with underwater creatures and schools of fish swimming around. Just like what I saw in videos and games, but the difference was they were monsters which could be really dangerous if we got closer to them.

As we got deeper, there were several of them glowed in the dark. And of course, there were aggressive monsters as well.

Henceforth, the Naga chanted something as he raised his staff. And the crystal on its head was shining brightly, illuminating our surrounding. The light also kept the monsters at bay.

We traveled down with a quite fast speed, almost like we were riding a bus. We went through several sunken wreckages and underwater caves which led into the abyss.

After two hours of riding the big turtle, I saw several lights within the darkness ahead. The more we got closer, a view of underwater city was becoming clear.

Underwater City of Atalancia

The city was huge. Even the wall looked like to be made of gigantic spiky seashells, which seemed to be more than ten meters tall. There were also two Naga statues as tall as half of the wall. And between them, the city gate was placed.

The ginormous gate was opened inward, and we entered the city. The more we swam in, more people were filling each sides of the main road.

Just like Beastkin, there was a wide range of species in this city.

Firstly, I saw Fishmen. They were fish-headed humanoid beings. They had fins and scales with different colors on each individuals. They were just what fish looked like if they were human. It seemed they were holding the majority in population.

And then I saw Mermans or Mermaids. Most people would know what they looked like even if I didn't tell. Humanoid upper body with fish lower body. Not everyone had clams to cover their body, some of them were wearing scaly clothes and armor.

The rest were Nagas, Turtles, Octopians(Cecaelia relatives), and other sea creatures I couldn't remember and didn't know of.

Slowly, the main road was packed and the crowd was getting big, as if they were watching a parade. I could assume that it seemed they never seen the upper world. Otherwise, our party combination was enough to draw people around us. One would curious about how a white lion, a dwarf undead, and two aphi ended up together.

Becoming the focus of the crowd made me uncomfortable. I tried to calm myself by sightseeing the scenery of their structures.

Reefs with unique shaped corals, caves, and seashell buildings such as clams, conchs, etc. At some parts, there were even several shipwrecks as well.

And then, there was a huge building towered through the sky, I mean...underwater sky? Anyway, it was even taller than the wall. It was the Castle of Atalancia.

The structure was totally different from the other buildings around or any other places I've visited. I don't know how to explain it, but it was like a sunken ancient civilization building which looked...futuristic.

As we entered the castle, the atmosphere was like we were inside of a tomb or ruins with beam of lights illuminating from several openings on the ceiling and walls.

The only difference was there were Fishmen and Naga soldiers, guarding some hallways and patrolling some areas.

And then, we finally entered the throne room. It was really massive. I looked around in amazement as we were walking in.

The ceiling was high, and there were openings where beams of light escaped through and brightened the room. Several pillars were stood on each sides before two thrones, and a beam of light was illuminating two giant humanoid beings who were sitting on them.

One was a giant man with long red hair and beard. He had deep navy blue colored scales and fins all over his body and limbs. They were shining in purple hues as the light touched them. His eyes were similar to snake's. And on his right hand, he was holding a golden trident.

Beside him, a giant woman was sitting on another throne. She had long blue hair, and the color lightened as they reached the tip. Dark green scales and fins all over her body, shining in rainbow hues. Her eyes were also the same eyes we found on snakes.

We walked a long way before we actually arrived and stood in front of them. I looked up and I used Astral Eyes to open their status window.

Neptos

King of the Sea

Race Giant Job (Class) Sea King Hobby Duelist Stats HP 30345/30345 MP 17885/17885 STR 630 VIT 594 DEX 518 AGI 498 INT 369 WIS 392 Syrenia

Queen of the Sea

Race Giant Job (Class) Sea Queen Hobby Abyssal Siren Stats HP 25425/25425 MP 38565/38565 STR 372 VIT 315 DEX 436 AGI 500 INT 718 WIS 665

My jaw dropped low.

'They're even stronger than Hagwim and Feleon!'

"Feleon Blanche, Wild King of the Beast." Neptos spoke as he looked toward Feleon.

However, he didn't respond and kept silent. Then, Neptos continued as he looked at Hagwim.

"Hagwim Proudsteel, The Indomitable Commander of Dalgor." His face suddenly turned confused. "Hmmm... You look...different. You are an undead now..."

"Hmph..." Hagwim scoffed. "Yeah, I heard that a lot recently."

"Gwahahaha... I see..." Neptos laughed. "So, what brings you here in Atalancia?"

Feleon looked at me and Hagwim, then he nodded.

"Let's just get straight to the point." Hagwim answered. "We want you to join us fighting the Dark Army."

I could hear everyone within the room gasped. However, Neptos and Syrenia did not look surprised at all. They stared at each other for a moment. Then, they began to respond.

"I am truly sorry but I have to refuse your request." Neptos declined. "What happen above the sea is not our concern."

"We are sea creatures. Therefore, we bear no responsibility toward the upper land." Syrenia added. "It is you who shall fight for your own land, not us."

No matter how I thought about it, they were actually right. They had no obligation to help us in the first place. We lived in different worlds. It would be different if the Dark Army could reach Atalancia. However, it seemed they weren't going to dive into the abyss just to conquer a single city.

"You fought with us before. Why?" Hagwim asked.

"I was living on land before... And the reason I was fighting for is already long gone. Now I belong here under the sea. The land is no longer my duty to protect."

"It is not about the land or the sea." Feleon finally spoke. "We are here to ask you to finish our mission a long time ago. To Kill that demon."

"If you have no other matter to discuss. Then let's just end this conversation here." Syrenia responded instead. "I hope all of you can enjoy your stay here before you leave."

Hagwim and Feleon went silent. Because of Syrenia, they couldn't say anything else to convince them.

'This is bad.' I thought. 'I have to think something.'

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I squeezed my brain to dig some information that I could use. Then, images were running within my mind.

'Belgram, New Zoria's Laboratory, inhumane experiment, Mirage, Uruzak and his Black Tome, Beleth, confidential documents, Dimensional Envoy Fairy Lumi...'

Suddenly, a light was flashing brightly on my eyes. As I opened them, there was a ball of light in front of me, and a small portal was created. Then, something was coming out from the portal.

"Pwaaahhh!!!" It squeaked.

A palm-tall winged humanoid figure with green clothes. Golden long hair and azure-colored big alien eyes.

"Lumi?" I asked.

"Ah at last! You connect my portal! Thank you!" She exclaimed as she flew toward me and hugged my chest.

I was speechless, so was everyone. They looked at us confused.

"Umm Lumi. Can we talk later?"

"Yes! Talk! We need to talk right now! We are now in danger!"

"What?" I asked confused, and I wondered how she could talk underwater without problem.

"There's a dimensonal rip in my realm and it is really bad! I can see now that you are capable to help me. So please! Help me!"

I couldn't understand what she was trying to say, so I tried to calm her down.

"Lumi please, can we talk about it later? We're having an audience with King of the Sea right now." I whispered.

"No we can't! It is reeeeeaaaallly important!" Her voice raised. "Who cares about the King of Sea! You have to listen to me and help me!"

I let out a troubled sigh. But suddenly, Neptos was speaking.

"It is fine, young Aphu. Let the fairy talk."

"See! Even that old man agreed!" She said as she pointed at Neptos.

I put my hand in my face and deeply sighed.

"Alright. Alright. Tell us what you are trying to say."

Lumi let go of my chest and flew in front of me. Once she took a deep breath, she began to explain everything.

To put it short, there was a dimensional rip in the fairy realm. And what was coming from the rip was negative aura which could wither the area around the portal. And the fairies who happened to be near the portal could be sucked in. They could also hear a scary whisper from the rip. What they were hearing was "Belgram. Melleth."

Hearing that, I could see Mirage's eyes widened.

"What does that mean?" Neptos asked.

"Belgram. Isn't that the name of the Astral Artisan?" Hagwim asked.

"Yes. It's the name of my father." Mirage answered with a sad face. "And Melleth is my mother."

Then, Lumi looked at me straight in the eye and asked, "You can open a Dimensional Gate, right?"

Excluding Hagwim and Mirage, everyone looked surprised.

"You just did it. You connected the portal which I sent to you. I was so afraid, you know. I kept chanting my dimensional spell to you, but since I forgot your name, it didn't reach you. But then I sensed you calling my name. I'm so thankful!"

"So that's what the unusual aura I keep sensing from him." Syrenia said.

"You hear the fairy, right?" Hagwim turned his head up toward Neptos. "If the fairy realm which is in another dimension is involved, then we cannot stay still. HIS power is slowly recovered..."

"Indeed. The situation seems to become more dire than I expected." Feleon added.

Neptos was silent for a moment. Then his gaze moved toward me.

"Just... Who exactly are you?" He asked.

I bowed my head and answered, "I'm Zeroth, a new summoned hero from Eldan."

"A hero, huh?" He looked at Syrenia for a moment. As she nodded, he moved his gaze toward me again. "Then, if you want us to help, you shall prove your strength."

'Dammit! Do I have to fight this overpowered Sea King?'

I couldn't even beat Feleon. It was better if I proved myself by dying and respawned again.

"What do you mean old man?" Lumi unexpectedly intervened. "He's already strong enough to become my husband!"

Hearing that, everyone was flabbergasted, including me.

'What nonsense she's spouting about!?'

"I can't believe it..." Neptos said.

'Me too, Neptos. Me too.' I replied within my mind as I assumed we had the same thought.

However, he then continued.

"For a fairy to be fond of someone. You must be really an exceptional Aphu."

'What? Wait. No, I'm definitely not. Compared to you, I'm just a little ant!' I screamed within my mind.

"That's right! He saved me from the ugly ball I found in dimensional rip! You shall help him to help my problem too, old man!"

At this point, I already gave up. The whole plan to get Neptos to join us immediately became a far away dream. The unexpected situation made it hard for us to change his mind.

Then Lumi looked at me again.

"I'm curious. Let's open a portal to Belgram and Melleth. You know their face, right?" She turned her gaze toward Mirage. "He know them, right?"

I looked around, and everyone seemed already expecting me to do it. They saw me with curiosity in their eyes. Especially Mirage, as if there was hope within her eyes. Of course, I couldn't decline after seeing her face.

"Alright. What should I do?"

"First, just focus on their name and face. And then open the portal by chanting my spell. Understand?"

I nodded. Then Lumi looked around to find a good place to do it. She flew a few meters toward the double door, so I followed.

"Alright." She stopped between the pillars and turned toward me. "Repeat after me."

"Mimuva ninil ulilumpia diminil!"

Just as she said, I immediately repeated those words.

"Mimuva ninil ulilumpia diminil!"

A ball of light was created in front of me. However, it soon vanished within a few seconds.

"Ooohh... That's good! Try it again!" Lumi said. "You need more focus! Teehee..."

And so I focused myself. I pictured Belgram and Melleth I saw within the painting. Then I opened my mouth.

"Mimuva ninil ulilumpia diminil!"

However, the image I pictured changed into Uruzak and Beleth when I chanted the spell.

Just like before, a ball of light appeared. But this time, it got bigger and widened. A big portal finally created. And slowly, the image of the other side was viewed on the portal. It was not like this before when I sent the freed slaves to Dalgor. Perhaps, it was the influence of Lumi's spell.

As the view of the other side became clear, everyone's eyes widened.

What was on the other side was the image of Beleth who was sitting on a throne, and Uruzak was stood right beside him.

Surprised, I took several steps back toward the others.

"Well, well, well. Look at this unexpected reunion. It seems we have been invited to the party of heroes, Master."

"Feleon, Hagwim, and Neptos. Long time no see..." Beleth said with his deep demonic voice.

Everyone was silent. As if their presence made everyone within the throne room frozen in place. I could feel Lumi was trembling while hiding behind my back.

"This is our chance!" Hagwim suddenly shouted. "Let's end this right here before he gains his power back!"

"I'm right behind you!" Feleon answered.

Then I could see Hagwim leapt into the portal, followed by Feleon.

Wham! Wham!

However, they immediately got thrown back through the portal again. I couldn't see it, but I was sure both of them got punched by Beleth. But strangely, he was still sitting on his throne.

Like two bullets being shot into the water, Hagwim and Feleon hit underwater floor and writhed in pain.

"Do not be so hasty." Uruzak said. "We will eventually demolish your kingdom. But, we still need to conquer Human Kingdoms first."

Then suddenly, Beleth stood and walked toward the portal.

"Ah...it seems you want to destroy Atalancia right now, huh, Master?"

Krakaboom!

Krakaboom!

Krakaboom!

Suddenly, thunder kept striking the portal. And the water around it formed a massive stream of whirlpool.

"Close the portal!" Neptos shouted. "We cannot hold him for long."

Krakaboom!

I immediately turned toward Lumi.

"Lumi! How to close the portal? What's the spell?"

However, Lumi didn't respond. She was holding her ears while curling up and trembling in fear.

Krakaboom!

"Lumi!" I gently poked her with my finger but she still wouldn't budge. But I didn't give up and kept calling her. "Lumi, it's okay! I'm here. You're safe! So please... Look at me. And tell me how to close the portal."

Lumi finally raised her head up, slowly gazing toward me. But then she shook her head.

"I-I'm sorry... I don't know..." She stuttered. Then she flew toward me and hugged my chest.

Krakaboom!

"Quickly!" Neptos shouted at me again.

I saw the water around the portal that kept being hit by Neptos' thunder was slowly boiling up. And I could see Beleth slowly penetrated his hands into the portal.

Krakaboom!

"Zeroth!" Mirage called me with concerned face.

Panicked, I called the dimensional cubic and tried to close the portal on my own instead.

Krakaboom!

'Please have an option to do it!' I prayed.

And there it was, a window of the portal popped out in front of me. The description was all in question marks, so I quickly pressed the button to close the portal.

Krakaboom!

The dimensional cubic shined. Beyond the striking thunder and spinning whirlpool, I could see the portal was slowly getting smaller.

Before the portal got completely closed, I used Astral Eyes to look at their status window.

??? Beleth HP 51358/51358 MP 35012/46154 ??? Uruzak HP 32472/32472 MP 41554/63957

・・・

Tagran Ruins

Hundreds of soldiers died, and soon they instantly raised from death. Their skin turned dark and they immediately attacked the other soldiers who were still alive.

Unfortunately, it was no longer a fight, but a one-sided slaughter. Some of them were still fighting. But some of them were also terrified and running away. Alas, they couldn't escape their fate. They were soon got stabbed in the back and raised again as one of them.

Among the chaos, King Randolph was fighting with eyes wide open. He was still shocked about the unexpected situation he was in.

'Dear Father... Is this a punishment you have brought unto me?' He thought. 'Please forgive my sin for betraying you. Please forgive me for sacrificing our people. My selfishness led me to become a tool of my own doom. I promise... I will redeem myself. I will be the King you'd aspired me to be. Please give me strength to escape from these demons!'

He ran toward east while relentlessly killing the Dark Army without rest, passing through soldiers who were also fighting them. He helped some of them as best as he could.

"RETREAT!" He shouted. "FOLLOW ME!"

The soldiers around him suddenly moved just as he commanded. He led the soldiers to stand together. He gave them hope to survive.

During his escape, he saw someone he knew. Someone he despised.

It was the Alkronia Empress.

King Randolph turned his gaze away and gritted his teeth. He kept moving while ignoring her presence.

Meanwhile, the Empress was surrounded. Her hair was a mess, and her armor had several dents which could be seen clearly from afar.

She was panting heavily as she readied herself to defend. And the Dark Army began to attack her. As she tried to dodge and parry their attack, she couldn't move an inch. It was then she realized it was the end of her. Her eyes widened. She was trembling in fear as they were right in front of her.

"Heaaaaarrrgghhh!!!"

King Randolph leapt in and circled the Empress while swinging his sword with all his might.

SLASH!

In one swing, all of them instantly got cut in half.

After he swung his sword once to clean the blood, he then turned toward her.

The Empress got startled, seeing that her savior was the new ruler of the kingdom she was fighting against.

"Empress Irelia..."

"Prince Randolph." She glared at him sharply. "How does it feel to be the new King of Ghaldaran and waging war against us?"

"There's no time to argue. We have to retreat as soon as possible, and I will try my best to protect you."

The Empress was confused as she might hearing him wrong. She looked at him with doubts.

"Please trust me."

She had no choice but to believe him. As she had calmed her mind down, she nodded and answered him.

"Lead the way."

Thus, they ran toward east, toward Ghaldaran.