Sighing with relief after finally defeating his opponent, Rudeus removed his Armor, activating the internal mechanism with his mana.
He completely ignored the devastated terrain around him — craters, blast marks, fragments of melted rock and vitrified soil — and turned his attention to the middle-aged man who was approaching him casually.
The man wore simple yet elegant noble clothes. His hair was unusually long and black.
It was Sándor Von Grandeur, the Second North God.
"Well then, Lord Rudeus…" he said, in a serious tone. "How was it fighting the rookie?"
Rudeus looked at him, utterly incredulous.
"You… still want to tell me that that guy was a rookie?!" he asked, exasperated and indignant.
Before the fight, Sándor had introduced the boy as a rookie who had recently joined the Dragon God's banner.
Although Sándor himself did not consider himself subordinate to Orsted, he at least saw him as an ally — especially because of his relationship with Queen Ariel.
After all, even he had to admit that, without Orsted, Ariel probably would not have reached the throne.
Still, Rudeus knew practically nothing about this new member. All Sándor had told him was that his name was Alek… and that, to fight him, he should use the same strategy he had used to beat him.
Rudeus had thought it was nothing more than a simple test for a rookie.
He was completely wrong.
Alek was strong. Too strong.
Perhaps even more difficult to face than Sándor himself, precisely because of his recklessness in combat.
Rudeus almost lost several times. If the fight had started at close range, he was sure he would have been defeated — exactly as had happened when he faced Sándor for the first time.
Luckily, the fight began with a reasonable distance between the two, and Rudeus had his Magic Armor equipped from the start.
Even though it was a much more complicated battle than usual, he managed to win using his standard strategy: an unrelenting barrage of lightning, explosions and stone gatling guns, keeping the enemy under constant pressure until he had no way to advance.
After repeatedly training with the Second North God and with Orsted, and after fighting Ghislaine Adoldia, Rudeus was no longer a rookie in this kind of battle.
Sándor finally dropped his serious facade and laughed loudly.
"Hahaha! Well, that was funny to me!"
He turned his gaze to the young man struggling to stand in the distance.
Just as Sándor himself had in his fight against Rudeus, Alek accepted defeat the moment he realized he couldn't break through that wall of magic.
Sándor said cheerfully:
"Actually… that's my son!"
Rudeus froze for a moment.
"Your… son?"
"He was very impulsive and arrogant the last time I saw him," Sándor continued, thoughtful.
"Honestly, I don't know what changed in the time we didn't see each other. I'm really curious to know how the Dragon God managed to force him to submit!"
A chill ran down Rudeus's spine.
"I see… wait a minute…" his eyes widened. "Your son… Aleksander Ryback. Isn't he the Third North God?!"
Euphoria mixed with apprehension as he stared again at the defeated opponent.
Sándor smiled.
"That's right. I didn't tell you because I thought the psychological pressure would bother you." He crossed his arms, satisfied. "Now you must be the Seventh World Power. Congratulations, Rudeus! Hahaha!"
While Sándor laughed openly, Rudeus was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
At that moment, Alek approached again. His body still bled in a few places, but he didn't seem bothered.
"Don't worry too much about that, Lord Rudeus," he said, dismissive. "I don't consider myself worthy of that position anyway… it's better that someone else holds it."
Rudeus and Sándor were surprised once more.
Sándor was inwardly wondering where they had taken his arrogant and impulsive son for him to change like that.
Paying them no heed, Alek pointed to the edge of the battlefield. There stood a large man wearing a huge suit of silver armor.
He held the haft of a gigantic axe, which was resting on the ground.
"And who is that?" Alek asked, curious.
Sándor answered:
"That is the other rookie! Don't worry, Rudeus, he's not some other hidden God!"
Rudeus was about to complain when he heard the end of the sentence and breathed a sigh of relief.
"But I named him North Emperor the day before yesterday," Sándor added casually.
Rudeus's relief died instantly.
Alek looked at the man at a distance, excited.
"So he's the Doga you mentioned…? He seems pretty strong. I want to fight him too!"
Completely ignoring Rudeus's spirit leaving his body, Sándor gave his son a few pats on the shoulder, laughing loudly.
"That's the spirit! Hahaha!"
Rudeus looked up at the sky.
Despite acting that way, his gaze was more determined than ever.
He needed to become stronger — and faster.
These training battles, along with the continuous improvements to the Magic Armor, would be the quickest means for that. The threat was at the door, and if he wanted to protect his family, he had to be ready.
The enemy did not stand still for a single second.
He clenched his fist and returned inside his Armor.
In the training that followed, the North Emperor Doga lost to both Rudeus and Alek, but demonstrated great resilience and colossal strength — a remarkable talent for the Dragon God's faction.
In five days, Rudeus and his family would return to Ranoa. With the teleportation circles, travel would be simple.
Still, the future remained uncertain.
Even with powerful allies, they had suffered a great defeat at the hands of the Beast God, and Timothy's death had served as a warning to Rudeus: he was not immortal.
A powerful Destiny was not a card to be played recklessly.
And that was without even considering Hitogami's schemes, which seemed to be preparing the ground to launch a war on a worldwide scale.
Rudeus sighed, thinking of his children, who grew up whenever he looked away for an instant.
An optimistic smile appeared on his face.
It was time to get stronger.
---
In the Great Forest, in an open clearing, an elf with golden hair was solemnly reciting a spell.
"The earth exists before names and after the end.
It is she who sustains all and remains without will.
Whoever calls her does not command her, only submits to what already is.
By touching the soil, I accept its limits and its permanence.
By the pact of the immutable ground, I invoke — Gaia."
At the final instant of the invocation, the ground in front of Verdia vibrated slightly. The earth rose, slowly shaping itself until it assumed a humanoid form.
A woman appeared before her.
She had brown, curly, voluminous hair, dark skin and strange markings spread across her face and body, resembling runic tattoos.
Over her body she wore a faded cloak.
She opened her yellow eyes and spoke:
"So… my name will be Gaia? Sounds like a good name, thank you for granting it to me, Miss Verdia."
Verdia, unlike her summoned spirit, was jumping for joy.
"I did it! I did it! Hello, Gaia!"
Nina, sitting right beside her, smiled and clapped lightly.
"Congratulations, Verdia! You will definitely surpass the Armored Dragon in the future!"
Verdia blushed at the compliment and looked away, turning to her children.
They were not as thrilled as she or Nina.
In fact, Iris watched Gaia with admiration in her eyes, but soon got distracted by her siblings.
Aurora was sitting on top of Ornthorn's head, pulling his green hair from one side to the other as if controlling a mech robot.
Both had green hair, which made Aurora find him a particularly interesting figure to torment.
"Ai, ai! Let go, brat!" complained Ornthorn. "Do you want to rip out my scalp?!"
He tried to grab her, raising his arms to remove her from his head, but before he could, a giggle echoed.
Plop.
Aurora disappeared, teleporting instantly.
"Aaaaah, bleeddd!"
She reappeared above Perseu.
The little beast-boy rode Leo, the Sacred Beast, holding a twig as if he were a knight wielding a lance. Leo ran in circles, too fast for an ordinary child.
Perseu, however, had been born with the Laplace Factor. His body was much tougher than a normal child's.
Who could barely hold on was Molik, Taes's second son. He was almost thrown off several times, but Leo was skillful, always slowing at the last moment before Molik fell.
When Aurora appeared above them, Perseu tried to grab her, and the two immediately began a new fight for dominance — something that had already become routine in their lives.
Watching that little chaos in the form of children, Verdia sighed.
She turned to her newest — and first — summoned spirit.
"I don't need anything right now, Gaia," she said, with barely contained enthusiasm. "But I'll want to run some tests later!"
Gaia nodded calmly and began to walk around the clearing, observing everything with curiosity.
At one point she crouched and began to manipulate the earth, slowly shaping it into something that looked like a small statue.
Verdia went to sit beside Nina.
In front of them, Nel and Iris played with clay, building an improvised castle, as two children their age would do.
Nel had blue hair like his mother's and was clearly stubborn. Iris, with her red hair and fluffy ears, created a striking contrast.
Verdia sighed.
"And to think Rygar wants to have more children…" she murmured. "I guess I'll have to negotiate with him when he returns. One more is already enough for me."
Nina laughed.
"Well, I wouldn't mind having about two more if Jino wants…" she paused, thoughtful. "But that would delay my skill a lot…"
Verdia laughed, teasing:
"Oh, if you don't want that, Jino may want to find another wife, like that Lusarina Mermaid! Better be careful!"
Nina snorted.
"Ha! Only in his dreams! If he tries to bring someone, she'll have to survive my sword before thinking about anything else!"
Verdia laughed loudly, watching Nel and Iris throw mud in each other's faces.
She enjoyed those moments.
Overall, she had never really been a fan of children.
Rygar was an exception — precisely because he was very intelligent even as a baby. She had the impression she would like her children more when they grew up.
But it was true that, now, they were much cuter. So she needed to enjoy it.
Nina sighed.
"The Seven Powers have changed a lot in recent days… I feel like my dream of becoming the Sword God is getting farther away."
Verdia agreed without hesitation.
"Honestly, I don't trust your chances at all."
Nina put her hand to her chest as if struck by an invisible blade.
"Did it have to be so blunt…?"
Verdia laughed.
"Hehe. I mean, in a normal time, you'd be among the strongest, maybe you would even have a chance. But now there are geniuses and ancient monsters walking around. It's hard to squeeze in between them."
She looked at Gaia molding the earth.
"I think I can trust the Spiritual Eye to be unique. I hope to keep a position among the Twelve Kings… and maybe explore some amazing labyrinths with Rygar... at least that. I'm not aiming for anything too big."
Nina watched the children playing and fighting.
"I think I can keep my position… but it's hard to surpass maniacs like Eris, or geniuses like Jino and Aisha."
She hesitated.
"Sometimes I feel like I don't have as much motivation as they do, even having dedicated my life to the sword… does that make sense?"
Verdia smiled softly.
"I think so, it's a normal thought... hey! Aurora! Get down from there!"
Aurora had teleported to the top of a tree, sitting on a high branch, looking curiously toward the horizon.
She tilted her head… and babbled her first words:
"Dada?"
Verdia, Nina and Ornthorn heard clearly.
Verdia got excited at her daughter's first words, and felt a little betrayed for being called 'Dada', but Ornthorn, instead, looked in the direction Aurora was watching.
"It can't be... can it?"
At that instant, a roar echoed through the forest.
A familiar roar.
The roar of the Red Dragon that served as the Beast God's mount — Ezkalor.
Verdia was stunned for a moment… and then assumed a contemplative expression similar to Ornthorn's.
He murmured:
"What a monstrous brat…"
Verdia smiled widely.
"Hey, kids! Daddy's here! Let's welcome him!"
The children cheered immediately. Leo approached and picked them up on his back, one by one.
The Beast God and his retinue had returned to the Kingdom of Gaia victorious.
But that had been only the first of the battles awaiting them.
Unexpectedly, the Kingdom would live, in the following years, a period of relative calm. Like the rest of the world, each Player arranged their pieces, strengthened themselves, and prepared trap upon trap for their enemies.
Everything was moving toward the end of a war that had begun more than ten thousand years ago.
Without them noticing…
Five years passed.
-----
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