On the training field outside the treehouse, the sun had just risen. Rygar and Eris would leave the Kingdom that morning, so they were gathered with all the children for one last farewell.
Eris finished putting on her armor while talking with Aurora.
Not far from there, Perseus attacked Rygar with all the strength he had. Around the clearing, the other children were arranged in a line, all watching the training attentively.
Rygar laughed as he easily dodged and then flicked his son on the forehead.
"Ow!"
Perseus quickly stepped back, bringing a hand to his forehead, and growled low.
Rygar spoke in a teasing tone:
"You still refuse to use your sword, Perseus?"
Even though he had been taught swordsmanship since childhood, Perseus insisted on fighting using only claws and fangs.
Rygar never truly forbade it — it wasn’t a big problem — but he wanted to make sure the boy wouldn’t keep fighting like that only by instinct, as he himself did when he was small.
Perseus snorted.
"Hmph! Weapons are for the weak! A dragon doesn’t need a sword to defeat his enemy, he tears him apart with his own fangs!"
Rygar was amused by that, but kept provoking:
"Right... but you’re not a dragon!"
Perseus raised his chin, proud.
"That’s right! I am the Beast God’s son! Endowed with unmatched talent and supernatural strength! I am far more terrifying than a dragon! I was born to be the most powerful beast that has ever walked this land!"
It was very clear to Rygar and to his mothers that Perseus had developed dreams and fantasies after hearing so many stories. Like almost every boy his age, he wanted to be a great hero.
Rygar stepped forward, still smiling, but with a slightly more serious and threatening tone:
"Oh? Then what would that make ? I am, theoretically, the most powerful beast of the present day."
Perseus shuddered for an instant.
Deep in his heart, his father was an absolute and constant power. Soone above all others, soone who should not be challenged.
It wasn’t always like that, but ti had taught him this truth — nothing good ever ca from reacting violently against him.
But this ti...
He cast a sideways glance and saw his siblings sitting on the benches, all aligned, watching the training attentively. Especially Harris and Hubert, who looked at him with admiration.
Perseus turned his gaze back to Rygar, that figure that filled his mind like an insurmountable titan, and exposed his claws, preparing to charge.
"What about you, father?!" he spoke challengingly.
"You’re very strong, but it won’t be like that forever! Give five... no, ten years! In ten years I will challenge you and co out victorious! I will beco the new Beast God! The greatest the world has ever seen or will see!"
Without giving him ti to react, Perseus rushed forward even faster than normal. He was fiercer, more bestial, but undeniably faster.
But, contrary to what Perseus expected, Rygar was smiling.
With a quick and precise movent, he kicked his son in the stomach, launching him like a projectile toward a tree.
A crash echoed through the Great Forest when his body slamd into the giant tree.
Before Perseus fainted, he felt a warm sensation spread through his body and heard his father’s voice:
"Good... I’ll be looking forward to your challenge, son! I hope you don’t forget it. Now go sit down."
Ignoring the persistent tingling in his stomach and going to sit with his siblings, Perseus made a ntal note not to leave his guard open when attacking recklessly.
Rygar then turned to his children, looking at each one. Only Aurora was still talking with Eris; all the others were there.
He spoke affectionately:
"Daddy will be away for a few days."
So beca sad. Others didn’t mind much, since they already knew. Iris raised her hand timidly.
Rygar smiled at her.
"What is it, Iris?"
She shrank a little upon feeling the eyes on her.
"It’s just... uh... will it be dangerous?"
Rygar nodded.
"Maybe it will be the most dangerous thing daddy has ever done... or the second most dangerous. But yes."
Iris lowered her head a little. It was clear she expected a more confident answer.
In truth, all of them seed to feel the sa. They grew up in an environnt where Rygar had always been at the top of the hierarchy.
For them, there was nothing their father couldn’t do, nor any enemy he couldn’t defeat. Stories about the Dragon God or the Fighter God were just that: stories.
They had never seen soone stronger than their own father.
Iris spent a long ti asking why he needed to go, until another voice sounded, more monotone:
"Hm... but how dangerous will it be? More dangerous than you, dad?"
It was Diana, with the youngest sister, Lenna, in her lap.
Rygar thought for a mont and answered with a raised eyebrow:
"A tricky question... but no." he smiled.
"They definitely won’t be more dangerous than ."
Diana nodded. Iris raised her head, first confused, then excited.
Perseus snorted from the side.
Then Hamish, the little blond-haired elf, raised his arm.
"Huh... daddy, are you going to destroy the world on this journey?"
Rygar looked at his son, surprised.
"Ah... I don’t think so?"
Hamish sighed in relief.
"Aunt Aisha said you were going to destroy the world one day... and then rebuild it."
Rygar felt a slight headache upon hearing that, and soon began thinking of ways to scold Aisha later.
"It is definitely not in my plans to destroy the world... this ti." he confird.
The questions continued for quite a while. At one point, Aurora arrived together with Eris, much more well-behaved this ti. Rygar made sure to answer his children’s curiosity as much as he could.
When there was nothing left to delay, it was ti to leave.
Verdia arrived and led the children to their respective lessons — writing, magic, swordsmanship — each according to what suited them.
When everyone moved away, Eris spoke confidently:
"Aurora won’t cause trouble until we get back. I think she understood the situation well!"
Rygar nodded, that was truly a concern, since Aurora, even being only six years old, had one of the largest mana reserves in the world.
With all farewells and preparations done, there was no point in prolonging it further. Rygar and Eris ran toward where Ezkalor awaited them.
The armor Eris wore was not ordinary. It was one of Rufus’s most recent masterpieces, completed under Godbard’s guidance. He nad it Scarlet Gale.
At first glance, it was a light tallic armor, black in coloration, with red and golden details.
It did not cover the body completely and was composed of several separate pieces that, despite forming a single set, were designed not to restrict Eris’s movents in any way.
From the pauldrons, a long red cape extended, perfectly matching her hair tied in a ponytail.
Beyond all that, Eris was simply dazzling.
The two crossed the forest like lightning. That path had been familiar to them for many years, and now they almost knew by heart every obstacle, every rise in the terrain.
Even so, Rygar couldn’t help but notice that Eris was faster than normal.
Naturally, this made him rember the three main enchantnts of the Scarlet Gale Armor, all created to maximize the swordswoman’s strengths.
Beyond the obvious increase in speed, power, and reaction ti, it was those three enchantnts that truly made it stand out.
The first was Passive Regeneration. Eris’s fighting style was aggressive, explosive, little focused on prolonged defenses.
But against certain opponents, she simply could not win with a single decisive blow.
The regeneration would not only help keep her alive, but would also dictate how long she could fight at maximum power, gradually restoring stamina and mana.
The second enchantnt was the Blessing of Wind. This one was created based on the ability of one of the Spirits summoned by Verdia.
Its effect was quite direct — Eris practically stopped feeling the natural resistance of the air, also being propelled in the direction she wished rely by her own will.
Her speed, which was already absurd, beca even harder to follow.
The third was Teleportation.
Although limited to about ten ters within the user’s field of vision, in the hands of soone like Eris — bearer of the Foresight Demon Eye — that was like giving wings to a tigress.
With her level as a swordswoman, her Demon Eye, and the Scarlet Gale, there was simply no one in the entire world capable of defeating her easily.
Rygar felt satisfied as he evaluated Eris’s current capabilities.
Soon after, the two spotted Ezkalor. At his side was Helios — comparatively smaller, but still an enormous red dragon. Sitting atop Helios’s head was Aisha.
She wore the uniform of Headmistress of the Star Rise Academy, sothing more akin to a sorceress’s robe, adorned with star patterns.
She was especially charming, and Rygar could swear her hair was more neatly arranged than usual.
Eris greeted her as soon as she saw her:
"Aisha! I thought you wouldn’t co!"
Aisha smiled and replied:
"I was a bit busy... but I arrived in ti."
Rygar stayed aside while Aisha and Eris said goodbye.
When the conversation ended, Eris realized Aisha wanted to talk with Rygar and, without ceremony, jumped onto Ezkalor, waiting for him there.
Aisha approached, and Rygar comnted with a slight joking tone:
"So... already taking advantage of your number-one authority?"
With Rygar away, Aisha had assud many of the Kingdom’s duties. His absence demanded extra attention against possible attacks or traps. After all, the Kingdom would lose its greatest shield.
Aisha made a face.
"Actually, not much. Most things are a nuisance! Sotis I even wish sothing would happen just to have so movent."
Rygar perceived with his senses that she was nervous, slightly embarrassed. Sothing was out of the ordinary.
Before he could say anything, Aisha continued:
"Master... I prepared sothing for you."
She removed a scroll from inside her robe and handed it over.
"This is a King-Level Barrier Magic I used as the basis to create the Axiom Fra. It’s called Spatial Isolation. I believe it might be useful against the Labyrinth’s boss, if the theory about him is correct. Because it’s King-Level, it’s complicated... but I think master can learn it."
Rygar analyzed the scroll for a mont, once again surprised by Aisha’s genius in Barrier Magic.
That was far beyond the ordinary.
Many calculations and applications were far too specific to simply replicate — sothing only a true genius could develop, guided by intuition, trial, and error.
While observing, he noticed Aisha’s heart beat even faster.
Ignoring that, he smiled in gratitude.
"Thank you, Aisha. It will be very useful."
He chose not to comnt, but noticed she still called him master. He didn’t quite know how to deal with that.
Aisha smiled back, her cheeks slightly flushed.
"Ah... uh... when... when you return..."
She hesitated and interrupted her own speech.
"Ah, never mind!"
She turned and started walking away.
Inside, Rygar almost had a heart attack imagining what she might say. But outwardly he answered calmly:
"Hm? Right. See you later. We’ll keep in contact through the Magic Word!"
He turned and jumped onto Ezkalor, where Eris was already waiting for him.
"What did Aisha want?" Eris asked.
"Nothing much. She just gave a magic scroll to deal with the Labyrinth’s boss."
Ezkalor, probably the second fastest flyer in the Kingdom — losing only to Rygar — rose when he received the signal.
He released a powerful roar that made the ground tremble and opened his enormous wings, flying toward the nearest teleportation circle, which would take them to the Central Continent.
Rygar was a bit restless.
To dispel that uneasiness, he extended his senses to the maximum.
In the middle of the forest, he clearly heard Aisha’s voice, which was already very distant. It was only a low whisper, but even so, he heard it perfectly.
"When you co back... I won’t hesitate anymore! You will be mine, Rygar!"
She then turned and jumped onto Helios.
Rygar’s mind short-circuited as he tried to understand whether he had really heard that.
-----
Hello! If you want to support my writing, check out my subscription P@treon
By subscribing, you will get access to up to 20 advanced Chapters of the Webnovel and polls to decide various things about the story.
Your support will encourage to continue writing more Chapters! Check it out here: p@ treon/DaoistJunkYard
User Comments
0 comments from readers