Crossing the skies of the Ringus Sea at high speed, a Red Dragon flew close to the low clouds.
Its reptilian eyes were fixed on the surface of the sea, closely tracking a large fish swimming near the surface. The fearsome reptile seemed extremely tempted to suddenly dive and snatch it with a single bite.
Its body was about eight meters long — relatively small for a Red Dragon — but it was even more threatening than many of them because of the intellect it possessed.
Then a dry blow echoed.
"No way, Helios! You can go when we get home."
The dragon snorted, releasing a hot blast from its snout, clearly annoyed. Still, it did not disobey. Instead, it beat its wings harder, accelerating further through the sky.
On its back were three figures.
Aisha, sitting calmly, an old lady, lying unconscious, and Garrison, seated in a relaxed manner, idly carving a piece of wood with a knife.
At that moment, the old lady stirred.
Her fingers trembled slightly, and then her eyes opened. She blinked a few times, trying to orient herself, observing the sky, the wind cutting her face and, finally, the dragon beneath her.
Aisha immediately turned and gave her a bright, friendly smile.
Garrison only cast a quick glance, stopping the movement of the knife for a moment, before adjusting his spear at his side.
The old woman brought her hand to her head, feeling a dull pain. Her expression was confused and dazed.
After a few seconds contemplating her current situation, she spoke slowly:
"You must be Aisha Greyrat… the brat's disciple, right? What happened after I fell? Where are we headed?"
Aisha answered promptly, with excitement and vivacity.
"That's right! I'm Aisha, Master! After you were immobilized by the Master, we went ahead with the plan. So… most of the Asuran nobility is dead, including Minister Darius!"
She said that with a terrifying ease for a girl her age.
"The Master apparently fought the Dragon God and drew, so both retreated."
The old woman's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh?"
A subtle smile appeared on her face.
"The brat managed to draw with the Dragon God? Impressive…"
She ignored the part about Darius's death, but seemed a little affected.
Her gaze then turned to Garrison.
"And who is this?"
Aisha replied proudly:
"This is Garrison! He is my bodyguard until we return to the Kingdom of Gaia. Although he looks a bit stupid, he is unmatched with a spear!"
Reida analyzed Garrison for a few seconds, observing his posture, the way he held the weapon, and his seemingly carefree bearing.
He did not look back.
After a moment, she murmured:
"Interesting choice of weapon…"
Then she turned her attention back to Aisha.
"So… I was kidnapped?"
Aisha nodded without hesitation.
"Exactly! The Master wanted you to teach me swordsmanship, since I specialize in the Water God Style. Also, he wanted to prevent you from drowning in Asura's filthy politics!"
Reida frowned.
"You are quite eloquent… but you also have a filthy mouth, don't you, girl?"
She sighed lightly.
"Anyway, I think I'm too old to accept another disciple."
Aisha felt a little awkward.
"Ah, well! Anyway, don't worry about age. The Master can rejuvenate you with a God-level Magic…"
Reida raised her eyebrows.
"So he wasn't bluffing?"
She was silent for a moment, looking at the horizon.
"Well… I won't lie and say I wouldn't want to be young again if that's true. But I still need to see what the terms will be like."
Suddenly, Garrison stood up.
His eyes fixed on something very far away. High above, a huge monstrous bird emerged from the clouds, watching Helios fly.
Garrison's gaze locked with the creature's.
The bird let out a shrill caw — and immediately turned its body, flying in another direction.
Reida watched the scene with curiosity.
"This boy has very good senses. Does he practice the Beast God Style?"
Aisha nodded.
"Something like that. You could also say he has strange talents for some things… not much pattern."
While speaking, Aisha picked up her communicator and started checking it absentmindedly.
Reida yawned slightly.
"How long does this trip take? I'm too old to travel so far…"
Suddenly, Aisha jumped in place.
"What?!"
Garrison and Reida looked at her at the same time, confused.
Aisha stared at the Magic Word with wide eyes.
"The Seven Great World Powers…" she murmured. "How did they change so much in just a few days?!"
---
In the Silver Palace of the Kingdom of Asura, a blue-haired girl wearing silver armor knelt before the throne.
The Throne Room was one of the few areas that had not been so severely damaged by the battles. Still, the scene was far from intact.
Only one tenth of the enormous Palace remained standing, either due to small structural damage scattered across walls and columns, or entire areas that had been completely destroyed.
Seated on the throne was Ariel Anemoi Asura, the current Queen of the Kingdom of Asura.
To her right was Derrick Redbat, who had been appointed Prime Minister of the kingdom.
To Ariel's left was a middle-aged man with blond hair tipped in white, observing the scene silently.
"Stand, Isolte Cruel."
Without delay, Isolte rose and began to observe the three people before the throne.
Ariel continued, looking at a report that Derrick had handed her.
"So… let me see if I'm up to date on everything. First, your grandmother, the Water God Reida Reia, turned against the crown, attempting to orchestrate the assassination of Darius's main opponents and defend a criminal. After that, she was stopped by the Dragon God, who intervened, and then she was rescued and kidnapped by the main responsible for the massacre of the Silver Palace, the Beast God."
Ariel raised her eyes from the report.
"I know this is a pithy summary, but is there anything wrong with what I said?"
Isolte looked at her, impassive.
"To my understanding, no."
Ariel nodded.
"And what are your intentions at this moment, Water King Isolte?"
She paused briefly before continuing.
"I know that both of us know that your grandmother was 'kidnapped' by the Beast God, but he probably intends to recruit her to his ranks. Whether it's for the crime of attempted regicide or for the crime of aligning with the banner of the Kingdom of Gaia, these are things we cannot ignore publicly."
Ariel held Isolte's gaze for a moment, as if evaluating his intentions, and then proceeded:
"Of course you should know that the Kingdom of Asura is very busy and weakened at the moment to engage in an armed conflict against the Kingdom of Gaia. In fact, we will probably not be fit even in ten or twenty years. We are fighting tooth and nail to maintain the fragile stability that still presents itself before us. If it weren't for the support of external allies, it is doubtful whether we would be able to maintain order."
She tapped her fingers on the golden throne calmly.
"Given these facts, I would not find it strange if you chose to desert to the Kingdom of Gaia. But I would like to ask you not to do that. Instead, I want you to offer your blade to the crown and help me prevent the Kingdom of Asura from falling into anarchy and disorder. I would like to know what your thoughts on this are."
The Throne Room remained silent for a few seconds.
Isolte then placed a hand over his chest and spoke:
"Then I will choose to offer my blade to you, Queen Ariel."
Derrick and Ariel showed surprise upon hearing this. The new minister was the first to speak.
"With all due respect for your dedication as a knight, but why did you choose to serve Queen Ariel? I heard that you have friendly relations with the Apocalypse Beast, as well as his subordinates, Jino Britz and Nina Britz. Why, now that your grandmother is also in the Kingdom of Gaia, did you choose to remain in the Kingdom of Asura, which only shows you decadent prospects?"
Ariel shot him a reproachful look. The knight at her side seemed amused, while Derrick observed Isolte with an analytical look.
Isolte answered naturally:
"It is precisely because of that 'decadent' image that I chose to stay. Like it or not, I was born and raised in the Kingdom of Asura. These are my people, what I swore to protect in my oath as a knight. I will not abandon them at the moment they need me most…"
She then looked at Ariel.
"Moreover, although I feel no remorse for the purge led by Rygar, I disapprove of the way it was carried out, and I believe Queen Ariel has shown characteristics I admire in a ruler, namely care for her people and discernment in dealing with internal politics in times of chaos."
Again, the four remained silent.
Indeed, in recent days, Ariel had handled exceptionally well the dreadful situation in which the Asuran capital found itself.
She had only thirty percent of the nobles left to lead. All she could do was deal with them as best as possible, asserting dominance and containing insurgencies before they began.
It helped that she had Rudeus and Sándor to contain the violence, but it was still her own political and interpersonal abilities that managed to reassure the nobles in the face of the enormous threat looming over their heads.
The terrible Apocalypse Beast.
The knight, Sylvester Ifrit, who had remained quiet until then, spoke with an amused smile:
"So you will still maintain friendly relations with the crown's enemies?"
Isolte turned to him, analyzing him for a brief moment before replying. Her expression remained calm.
"Pardon my frankness, sir, but I believe it is known to everyone here the nature of the nobles who were murdered. As I said, I do not disapprove of the judgement of these people, only the way it was carried out, which caused innocent deaths, injuries and instability in the Kingdom that will lead to even greater damage."
Sylvester chuckled softly.
"Hehe… well, I won't disagree with that."
Ariel then asked, in a curious tone:
"You seem to have some understanding of the Beast God's will. Could you clarify what exactly your point of view is? What will be his next step?"
Isolte thought for a moment before answering.
"Well… Rygar always showed contempt and rancor for the nobility in general, but he seemed particularly averse to the Asuran nobility, mainly because of their heinous acts related to slavery."
She spoke as if recalling old conversations.
"I believe this is because he is of the Beast Race. He fought slave traffickers even during his childhood and always seemed to abhor the idea of slavery in general."
Isolte paused briefly before continuing.
"He also seems to have rooted in his heart that strength rules supreme. For ordinary people, nobles and kings hold great power and influence, but for him this 'power' only exists in imagination. Without real strength, they are not much different from ordinary people."
She held Ariel's gaze.
"I believe he particularly rejects the idea of such 'insignificant' people retaining so much power in their hands, especially those with no talent in other areas and with distorted minds."
Derrick interrupted, his face serious:
"That is basically the mentality of a demon. He simply doesn't care to follow basic rules to live in society."
Isolte nodded.
"That is not wrong in my understanding of him. He is strongly governed by his own sense of right and wrong. My grandmother once told me it was great luck for humanity that he had not harbored too much rancor towards humanity for enslaving his race."
She observed the three before her, expressionless.
"But actually, he can be considered a rather reasonable person… or he could simply have blown up the entire Silver Palace. None of you would have left alive then."
Silence fell for a moment.
"I believe the fact that you are alive now indicates that he does not plan to enter into conflict with the Kingdom, at least for now. Instead, I believe he simply massacred all those who displeased him."
Derrick closed his features.
"That is a lot of arrogance. Who does he think he is to decide what is right or wrong? The Beast God may be different from the Demon God Laplace, but he is still a genocidal maniac."
Ariel answered calmly:
"Don't compare him to Laplace, Derrick. Rygar Adoldia is much more reasonable than the Demon God. After all, isn't he himself the protector of a Kingdom that gathers numerous races…?"
She paused briefly.
"As Isolte said, he simply believes that his strength allows him to act as he wishes… and, from a certain point of view, isn't that true?"
Ariel interlaced her fingers before her.
"Despite our forces, we do not dare to enter into conflict with the Kingdom of Gaia. That would only hasten our end. The Beast God has many powerful subordinates, even without counting his own strength, and his unrestrained mind makes him an extremely dangerous opponent."
Derrick remained silent, seeming to understand.
Part of the Redbat family was killed on that occasion, so he had some personal grudges, but he was calm enough not to let emotions cloud his thoughts.
Ariel then turned her gaze to Isolte.
"Thank you for your trust and loyalty, Isolte Cruel. Even if you are thinking of betraying the crown eventually, I hope you will convey to the Beast God and the Water God that we have no intention of entering into conflict."
She paused before concluding:
"For now, I will appoint you one of the Seven Knights of Asura. Your oath ceremony will be held at a more opportune moment. I hope to count on you from now on."
Isolte nodded.
"I appreciate the opportunity."
She knelt again.
As she was about to withdraw, Ariel spoke with a teasing smile:
"Oh, I recommend you stop by the Warrior District training ground. Two of your colleagues will be competing for a position among the Seven Great Powers…"
Isolte turned in shock, clearly questioning what she had just heard.
"Hahaha!"
Sylvester laughed heartily, while Derrick let out a tired sigh.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, a fight between a swordsman with confidence issues and a mage using a magical armor was about to begin.
A battle that would change even more the already unstable Ranking of the strongest in the world.
---
Current ranking of the Seven Great World Powers:
1º Fighter God (Armored Form – Badigadi)
2º Technique God (Laplace – Dragon Side)
3º Dragon God (Orsted)
4º Demon God (Laplace – Demon Side)
5º Nether King (Vita)
6º Beast God (Rygar Adoldia)
7º Magic King (Rudeus Greyrat)
---
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