As they watched Ikari's body disappear with the wind, Akame mumbled, "It's finally over, isn't it? This has been one heck of a mission that even S class guilds might have problems with, not to mention our group of untested kids. We're lucky that everyone made it out alive. Congratulations, captain, on our mission success."

Kai could only nod grimly as he replied, "Yeah, even though we've accomplished our mission successfully, as with all the missions I've done thus far, I've always remained alive and physically well, but I always leave with a heavy heart rather than ecstasy. Perhaps the adventurer business is not for me after all."

Adeline placed a gentle hand over Kai's shoulders as tears slowly filled her eyes, "It's not your fault, dear. If anyone's to blame, it's the Chaos Legion. Even though I don't know the details behind Ikari's past and your exchange with him, I could tell that at the very end, he was a genuinely kind soul who didn't deserve such a fate. I can never forgive the Chaos Legion for what they've done, turning such good people into monsters."

Kai turned to face Adeline before replying calmly, "That's where you are wrong, my dear. Someone told me that the Chaos Generals are embodiments of the deadliest sins mortals could commit. You can't destroy a sin with hatred.

In fact, it's hatred and other similar negative emotions that fuel the Chaos Legion and keep their leaders alive. The only true way, in my humble opinion, to fully eradicate the influence of the Chaos Legion is to learn to forgive.

Up till now, the Chaos Legion has left no stone unturned in their zeal to make the world a bitter place, a place where we find it hard to trust and embrace others due to our constant need to come out on top for the sake of survival.

In such a dog-eat-dog world, it's no surprise that concepts like forgiveness, empathy etc are alien to us all. However, such things are precisely what are needed to break the vicious cycle of resentment that trap us all within endless destruction.

To truly defeat the Chaos Legion, I think we first have to ask ourselves, "Do we have what it takes to forgive others, no matter what atrocities they have committed against us?"

When I first faced off against Ikari and later Amon, I was filled with anger, wanting to exact vengeance for the late Keane. However, towards the end, my rage was gone, and I felt a relieving, calm sensation instead.

Perhaps it was due to my knowledge of the aims of the Chaos Legion that allowed me to emerge as the better man and dispel the negativity shrouding the situation.

Nonetheless, it remains true that my empathy and forgiveness towards Ikari for what he had done on top of my willingness to let go of my desire for vengeance had allowed us to turn the tables against Amon. Without Ikari's help, there's no way we could have defeated Amon."

Adeline and Akame remained star struck at Kai's speech before Akame asked incredulously, "Wow, did that electric shock reconfigure your brain too? I'd never expected you to give such sagely advice."

Embarrassed by his sudden oration, Kai stammered, "Ahem, n-never mind me, we've got the kids to attend to, don't we? Let's make haste, I don't want to leave them out alone and vulnerable for too long."

Kai's companions nodded with cheeky smiles on their faces before they left the mountain peak, relieved that their ordeal was finally over...

In the middle of a dark cave that was poorly lit stood a single man. It was Lucius, and his pale face displayed no emotion as he simply looked forward into the unending darkness.

Suddenly, 5 holographic figures flickered into life before him, making the interior slightly brighter. Upon the arrival of his siblings, Lucius gave a slight polite grin as he spoke softly, "Welcome, my brothers and sisters. I'm so sorry to have summoned you all at such short notice."

Among the 5, the oldest looking individual took a cursory glance at Lucius before he mused, "Save us the pleasantries, Lucius. I can tell that you're hopping mad from what had happened. Your hands have given you away."

True enough, even though Lucius' face was expressionless, his clenched fists were quivering slightly, his fingernails biting deep into the flesh of his palm.

Upon being pointed out by his brother, Lucius' hands stopped shaking as silent anger became clearly written on his face. Lucius spoke calmly, "You're as observant as always, Sartorius. Now, where was I? Ah, we're here to discuss our next step, given that we've met with some...unforeseen circumstances."

The youngest looking individual of the group, a boy with red hair who went by the name of Jiro, quickly added nervously, "Hey, Lucius, I hope y-you're not blaming me for what had happened to Amon. He selected his host and I merely played second fiddle, that's all."

Lucius turned to stare at Jiro before grinning, which alarmed Jiro rather than assure him. Lucius spoke lightly, "Of course, I don't blame you for Amon's demise in such a short span of time. We're here today to discuss far graver matters.

I actually couldn't care less for Amon's demise, for his influence had waned greatly ever since his failure at the Green King abode. During his absence, his division was relentlessly hunted down by executives of the respective kingdoms on the Central Continent, showing how ill trained they were.

Fortunately, those who were holding more sensitive information about our organisation were a tad smarter and evaded capture far longer, otherwise we would have already been attacked by the Kingdoms of the Central Continent.

However, Amon's demise this time carries a peculiar twist; I can no longer sense the presence of his spirit, unlike before. What about you all? Can any of you sense his spirit?"

The 5 Chaos Generals before him shook their heads, with Sartorius first to speak, "Hence the urgency of this meeting. The permanent destruction of a Chaos General is previously unheard of after all. If our enemy has really found a way to banish us from the mortal realm, immediate action has to be taken..."

Lucius said calmly, "Yes, well pointed out, Sartorius. In the past, we could rest on our laurels due to our ability to reincarnate repeatedly with all our memories and abilities intact. However, now that our supposed invincibility is taken away from us, we never know who'll be next on the hit list, increasing the urgency of our mission to revive Lord Astaroth as soon as possible."

A woman, who was scantily clad to display her endowments in full view, added nonchalantly as she placed a hand in between her bosom, "Well, if you ask me, I don't see this as a very huge hassle. Let's not forget that Brother Amon is one of the strongest among us in terms of raw power, to make up for his lack of intelligence.

There are but a handful of people in this world who can defeat him in battle, not to mention kill him. Whoever committed the deed would probably be heavily injured by Brother Amon as well. I suggest seizing the opportunity to get rid of this scourge as soon as possible, by uniting the powers of us Chaos Generals.

If you guys are unwilling, I don't mind having such a wild man all to myself, hehehe. I can't wait to see what he will do to a frail woman like me..."

Lucius sighed, "Keep your lewd fantasies to yourself, Liara. We're not even sure if the one who did Amon in is a man. Anyway, on a serious note, if we were to combine our might to get rid of this adversary, it'll be akin to putting all our eggs in one basket, especially since the Kingdoms won't sit still upon hearing this news.

If the Kingdoms find out that the Chaos Generals can be defeated, they will do everything in their power to protect the one who banished Amon as well as his knowledge. No matter how powerful we are, a full blown confrontation with the Kingdoms will not end well for our mission.

Instead, we shall stick to our original plan and launch guerrilla assaults all over the Central Continent, to show the people that their governments are powerless to protect them against the might of an unseen foe. This is the final phase of our plan to breed sufficient negativity to revive our Master.

An added advantage of this approach is that we force our enemies to spread their forces thin, keeping their protection over the one who has killed Amon minimal. When it comes down to it, I'll deal with that person personally, vanquishing any form of hope they might have."

The 5 figures before him nodded slowly in agreement before Lucius suddenly raised his voice, "Generals, hear your orders! On behalf of our Master, the God of Chaos and Destruction, Lord Astaroth, I hereby declare the beacon of war against peace and order lit."

"Sartorius of Sloth." The old man named Sartorius raised an eyebrow in acknowledgement.

"Jiro of Greed." The young red-haired boy Jiro smiled menacingly when his name was called.

"Liara of Lust." The well-endowed woman smacked her lips in delight before licking them in pure ecstasy.

"Delilah of Envy." The reserved and plain looking young woman merely bowed in respect.

"Garron of Gluttony." The extremely skinny man didn't twitch even a single muscle.

"Finally, myself, Lucius of Pride. Let the Advent of Chaos begin!" Upon the conclusion of Lucius' orders, the 5 figures vanished instantly as the cave regained its former pitch black darkness, which looked set to spread to every corner of the world...

A hooded man looked out towards the sea and far into the horizon. He was Grimm Haven, the God of Life and Death, and he was not merely staring into deep space. His eyes were seeing things that mortals couldn't; the soul energies of every living thing within his field of vision, which extended far beyond the confines of the Dark Continent, all the way till the Central Continent.

Throughout his centuries spent in the mortal realm, Grimm had never felt anything like he had just a few moments ago. On the Central Continent, somewhere in the North, someone had exuded a power very similar to his own, being able to wield the powers of creation and destruction as one.

Even though it was still relatively weak, however, the very same wielder was successful in banishing a Chaos General, whom Grimm had recognised from their unique soul energy frequencies, something that even he, a deity, had failed to achieve all these years for fear of disrupting the balance.

Or so it would appear, as Grimm knew deep down that even if he had intervened actively, he remained clueless regarding the method of banishing the Chaos Generals from the mortal realm permanently. This made Grimm even more excited to meet the mortal that had achieved the so-called impossible.

Grimm's thoughts were broken by the sounds of wings beating as a demon with jet black scaly wings settled onto the ground slowly behind him. The demon swiftly folded its wings before kneeling on one knee. It was Balthazar, his long-serving Right Hand of Death.

Balthazar spoke with a raspy but nonetheless submissive tone, "Lord Grimm, I trust that you've felt that sensation too right? The disappearance of a Chaos General from the face of this world? I couldn't believe it at first but after receiving several confirmations from my multiple attempts to sense the unique signatures of the Chaos Generals using the weapon you've bestowed upon me, I can't deny that the impossible has happened, my Lord."

Grimm nodded before replying softly, "Yes, after so many years, someone with the power to resist Astaroth's influence has emerged in this world, without the intervention of us deities. However, he's still a sapling that needs to be nurtured, so…"

Balthazar answered swiftly, "Not to worry, my Lord. The annoying Celestial is currently on the Central Continent and she's probably sensed it too. Knowing her, she would probably make it her first priority to secure the person in question. As much as I hate her guts, I trust her ability to bring him back safely to meet us, even if it means fighting the Chaos Generals head on."

Grimm nodded once again before looking out into the horizon as Balthazar recovered from his kneeling position. With the ignition of a tiny spark of hope signalled the arrival of turbulent times ahead, but Grimm was now fully prepared to intervene, to end the chaos once and for all.

It has been 2 days since Amon was defeated. In the short span of 2 days, Kai's team was mainly focused on recuperation, especially the 3 students who were hurt most grievously in the mission. Fortunately, their recovery process was hastened by Adeline's Eclipse Luminos, on top of her top notch nursing skills, facilitating the treatment of their wounds.

The only student who escaped relatively unhurt, Eunice, assisted Akame and Kai in their post-mission ops, which included handling payment from the village chief and other errands that Kai volunteered to help with such as reparations.

During this period of time, Kai had not forgotten his promise to Ikari, as he had quickly tasked an undertaker to construct 3 tombstones for the Casimir Trio. Unfortunately, as only 1 out of the 3 corpses could be recovered, Kai decided to cremate the sole body before scattering its ashes with the wind.

Finally, the time to depart had finally arrived, with the incapacitated members of Kai's team finally able to at least walk on their own 2 feet.

Before they left the village, the village chief came to bade them farewell, as he wished earnestly, "Thank you so much for restoring the peace of this region, I can tell that the cause of unrest within the forest has been dealt with at last. It must have been a tough battle, but you all were blessed by the Goddess' grace. May she continue to shower you all in her favour."

Kai nodded in appreciation, before a hilarious thought entered his mind. Assuming that his encounter with Amaterasu was not merely an illusion, Kai simply can't imagine the little girl goddess going round delivering her blessing to all her beloved subjects.

After all, Amaterasu looked like she could barely look after herself, not to mention others. However, Kai knew that ultimately, it was her guidance that enabled him to acquire his newest power, the triple fusion element [Vermillion Spark].

For that, Kai was immensely grateful, and that convinced him that she was indeed a being that could not be defined by the mortal plane. Apart from her teachings, Kai had not forgotten the task Amaterasu had given to him.

In light of Astaroth's imminent awakening, Kai would probably have to make another trip to find the so-called God of Life and Death, Grimm Haven. Speaking of Death, Kai recalled that his biological father often chatted excitedly about this "Right Hand of Death", the demon Balthazar whom Redmond was acquainted to.

There was a slight possibility that Balthazar was connected to Grimm Haven in some way or another, so perhaps Kai could enrol the help of Redmond in his search for the God of Life and Death. However, that was an issue for another time, right now, he needed to focus on simply 2 things; fulfilling his promise to the late Ikari and investigating the place Ikari had directed him to.

The trip to Casimir, which wasn't too far away, was relatively uneventful, as everybody kept rather silent with the exception of the occasional exchange. Kai noticed that the mood was pretty sombre, which was to be expected, given that all of them had met with relatively traumatic experiences just a few days ago.

The only positive news was that Jibril, Chen and Viper were recovering well, allowing them to travel at maximum speed soon enough. When they finally arrived at what remained of Casimir, a barren plot of land, Kai swiftly got to work, as he set the tombstones of the Casimir Trio with the help of Chen and Jibril.

When their work was complete, Kai's team observed a minute of silence, as they could hear the gentle breeze whistling past their ears. Kai was first to break the silence, saying, "Um, thank you all for following me to accomplish this seemingly foolish task of mine, especially given that these people were the very same foes who nearly cost you your lives."

Kai had expected that his charges express their deep-seated resentment for these fallen enemies who had desired their lives, but to his surprise, there was no hatred written on their faces. Instead, it was sympathy and genuine sorrow, as Jibril muttered, "Even though he was my enemy, Aran was a true warrior who fought with great honour and taught me many things. Were it not for my fight with him, I would never have grown as an individual and learnt the ways of Zen."

Chen added, "Kazehito, though cold and ruthless, demonstrated true grit especially at his final moments. Furthermore, I've heard from Jibril that the Casimir Trio were renowned heroes of their village, for them to go in such a manner is truly a tragedy, as it spells the end of Casimir's legacy following its destruction."

Kai smiled gently. It seemed that the kids he'd brought to this mission had not only grown in terms of combat ability, but also emotional maturity. Even Eunice, the spoiled princess of the bunch, had not spoken a single word of complaint regarding their detour to Casimir.

Adeline placed a comforting hand on Kai's shoulder as she gave a light smile. Kai closed his eyes momentarily before declaring, "Casimir and its heroes may be gone, but their will lives on in each and every one of our hearts. Let us not forget their sacrifices, as we hold on tightly to our convictions in the challenging times to come."

Kai's team nodded unanimously before they all left slowly, the burden in their hearts slowly released by the knowledge that the Casimir Trio had finally obtained a sanctuary where they could rest without any worries.

Now that Kai's promise to Ikari had been fulfilled, it was time to investigate the mysterious location as instructed by Ikari before they returned home to Nirvana. Following Ikari's barely legible map, Kai's team navigated through the forests of Northern Nirvania near to where they had engaged with the guerrillas a few days ago.

Fortunately for Kai's team, they were able to find the secret hideout pretty easily, which entrance was essentially well-concealed on the wall of a hill. If it wasn't for the map, the thick vegetation covering the entrance would have kept it inconspicuous from the eyes of passers-by.

Upon entering the hideout which was extremely dark, Kai swiftly conjured a fireball in his left hand as the other magicians in his team did as well before they ventured deeper into the cavern. Following the stone steps, Kai's team travelled for a considerable distance before they finally made it into a large open area.

Kai realised that in this space, light was entering from the cracks on the ceiling, so he immediately dispelled his fireball as there was sufficient lighting in the room. Kai warned, "Be careful, there might be traps in this room. Spread out, and search for any information pertaining to the Chaos Legion."

Kai's subordinates nodded as they swiftly fanned out, each taking a specific corner of the room to search. Even though this place was supposedly a secret hideout, Kai noted that it wasn't really extraordinary in any way, for it was actually pretty empty, with only a few furniture and crates messily arranged.

Kai wondered as he moved towards a wall in the cave which was covered unnaturally by thick straw, "I wonder why Ikari wanted me to come here, there must be something important he wants me to see…"

As Kai neared the wall, he unconsciously brushed aside the straw only to discover that there were engravings beneath it. Curious, Kai began to clear the straw on the wall slowly, as more engravings surfaced, which included some scribbles and large circles. Moreover, Kai began to see the outline of what seemed to be a large plot of land, together with some contour lines denoting the topography enclosed within.

When Kai was finished, he gasped as he finally grasped the big picture, "This is…"