After a couple of seconds, the only thing that could be seen were falling bodies with holes through them.

The needles slowly floated back surrounding the group once more, Azane and Laura swiftly went back to their positions too.

“Kali, for how long can you support at this rate?”

Aria asked while glancing around with narrowed eyes.

“Heh…”

Azane chuckled as she was staring at Kali.

Kali glanced down at the ground before raising her head towards the sky slowly.

“Four days should be my limit if we only meet these fodders.”

Kali spoke slowly before sighing in her heart.

“Would we be able to reach our destination?”

Aria asked once more.

“We should be able to reach it.”

A faint smile appeared on Kali's face.

“Just make sure to support me whenever it’s needed. I’ll deal with the weaklings.”

Kali said before she tapped the ground lightly and started flying through the sky once more.

Aria nodded, then followed behind Kali. In her arms, she held Shin while lifting Eline with her aura.

Eline did her best to stay silent, not wanting to disrupt their focus in escaping and fighting.

While they were in a tight formation, they moved swiftly. Passing by several dozens of meters a second.

As the sun was rising high in the sky, bodies were left behind in a right direction.

Half a day has passed and their speed hasn't decreased at all.

Only Eline was slightly tired because of the rapid speed for a longer period of time.

“Kali, find a place where we can rest.”

Aria said softly as she glanced at Eline barely managing to keep her eyes open.

Kali raised her eyebrows slightly before nodding. She spread her aura and searched. She closed her eyes and sensed over a hundred kilometres. Even when Kali was doing so, she kept on flying through the air.

“Got it.”

She said in a low voice as she turned to her left.

The ones behind her followed Kali's swift movements.

Around two minutes, Kali's speed slowed down slowly.

There was a wooden hut which has aged for quite a while.

Kali descended from the air and walked in front of the door and knocked lightly.

Even with her light knocks, Kali felt like that the door would split open.

Aria tilted her head slightly as she was curious to why Kali would choose a place where there lived people.

Azane only raised her eyebrows and didn’t keep her guard down.

“Don’t worry, they are oblivious to human matters and would probably never care either.”

Kali said softly with a faint smile.

While being slightly confused by what Kali said, the wooden door slowly opened.

An old man stood in front and an elderly woman stood behind the man.

The old man had white hair and a cleanly shaved beard.

His blue eyes were shining as he watched the ones in front of him, his eyes were like the sea, deep and beautiful.

The elderly woman also had white hair and it reached down to her legs. But, she stood firmly, even her green eyes were clear.

“Youngling, you're here with your friends?”

The old man spoke warmly as he was speaking to Kali.

“Yup, Sir Anthon and Madame Nadine.”

Kali said respectfully.

“You could say that most of them are my friends, that one is just following us for now.”

She said while pointing at Anaj.

“Humph!”

Anaj coldly gazed at Kali before turning around and stared at the horizon.

“Heh…”

Nadine chuckled lightly as she glanced at them.

“Oldy, let them in, it’s cold out.”

She turned around and walked.

Anthon rolled his eyes around, leaned towards the wall and gestured Kali and the rest to enter.

Kali had a faint smile and entered, Eline walked behind her.

Aria went in behind Eline and Laura, Peutoa, Azane and lastly, Anaj entered.

When they went in, the sensation was different. It had a warning and calming atmosphere.

“Sit down, please.”

Nadine spoke softly, letting them sit on the sofas.

“Oldy, warm the pot of tea!”

Her voice was loud but also at the same time, soft.

Nadine then glanced at them seriously.

“Why have you decided to visit our humble home?”

Before Kali answered, Aria said.

“We need a place to rest for the night, I hope we haven’t interrupted you.”

A faint smile appeared on Nadine's face. She then stared at Shin in Aria's embrace.

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Why are you keeping him unconscious?”

Nadine clearly saw through that Shin was being artificially kept unconscious.

Her voice was slightly cold, but she didn’t jump into any kind of conclusions.

“I don’t know who you are, or how strong you are.”

Aria said softly before continuing.

“But, look clearly at his body before asking me once more.”

Nadine didn’t know why Aria would suggest something like that, but she nodded and closed her eyes. Her aura spread and engulfed Shin.

“Hmm...?”

Nadine retracted her aura and frowned slightly.

“Power of Death, a dozen of different souls residing in his body and even his aura is jet-black…”

Nadine mumbled while her frown didn’t disappear.

A faint smile appeared on Aria's face as she was staring at Shin.

“He's my son.”

“He is being hunted down by someone.”

Aria's words were gentle as she continued speaking.

“Hehe, do you think I want to keep him like this?”

Her faint smile turned into a bitter one.

“I will not do anything if it’s not to his best.”

Nadine was slightly shocked, but she calmly nodded and said.

“That’s the role of a mother.”

Her eyes turned hazy.

“Anyone wants tea?”

At that moment, Anthon came in with a pot of tea.

Everyone besides Anaj nodded.

Several cups floated behind Anthon and landed in front of each person.

Anthon smiled as he was pouring tea slowly to everyone.

“Youngling, it seems that you have finally found friends. I’m glad for your sake.”

Anthon said softly as he was glancing at Kali.

Kali nodded seriously and spoke to Anthon while pointing towards Shin.

“He is the reason for it.”

“He accepted me for whom I am. Since I saw his bright smile, I decided to follow him.”

“After that, I met with others one by one.”

“Oh?”

Anthon gazed at Shin for a moment.

“How interesting, his body is very fragile.”

He mumbled before he continued to pour tea to them.

“Kali, who are they?”

Aria asked in a low voice.

But even so, Anthon answered Aria.

“I and my wife found a little kid over a thousand years ago deep in the forest. So, we fed her and took care of her for a year.”

“She said something about wanting to become stronger, she left a note saying that she would return once in a while.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Anthon was smiling faintly as he spoke.

“But once in a while was once a few hundred years, heh heh.”

“Hihi.”

Kali laughed for a second before saying.

“You two haven’t aged at all since that time.”

Aria raised her eyebrows when she heard what Kali said.

“Well well, let’s talk about something else.”

Nadine interrupted and lifted her hand.

“But before that, I would like everyone to be conscious.”

A white strand flew from her finger and swept over Shin in under a second.

Shin's eyes twitched gently as his breathing had a change.

Shin opened his eyes, finding himself in a warm embrace, a bright smile appeared on his face.

He snuggled himself closer towards Aria.

“Mother.”

“Hehe.”

Aria laughed gently as she caressed Shin's cheeks.

After a few seconds, Shin turned around and glanced at him. Finding it weird to be somewhere else from his and Aria's bedroom.

“Where are we?”

Shin tilted his head and curiously asked.

“You are in our house, feel welcome at any time.”

Nadine answered softly and smiled towards Shin.

Shin then understood and quickly bowed his head slightly towards Nadine and Anthon.

“Thank you for allowing us to stay here.”

Shin spoke seriously, he had no idea why they were here, but it should be because of a good reason.

If it’s someone mother or Kali knows and if we need their help, then I can’t be disrespectful.

A gentle smile appeared on Anthon's and Nadine’s faces.

“Heh heh.”

“You don’t seem to be like the rest.”

Anthon said softly.

Shin raised his head and then tilted it once again. Not knowing why he would say something like that.

Anthon saw that Shin was curious about what he meant.

He then softly explained.

“The ones who are with you, they all have a presence.”

Anthon pointed at Kali.

“She has a presence of not being beneath anyone.”

“Her whole being is shining of the presence where there’s nobody above her.”

His finger moved towards Eline.

“Even if it’s not strong, she has an arrogance which could look down on most people.”

Then over to Laura.

“Even if she’s wearing a maid-outfit, she has a presence for only those who are confident in themselves. This person will not back down after knowing what is needed to do.”

His finger moved to Azane, Anthon narrowed his eyes slightly, but he was speaking calmly.

“Her presence is bloodthirsty, clearly wanting to battle against anyone.”

“She must have been fighting for her whole life, not knowing anything besides that.”

Anthon then breathed in and continued speaking while moving his finger towards Peutoa.

“She has a presence of someone who will never back down, she must have an important mission to do.”

Anthon narrowed his eyes as he was pointing at Anaj.

“This one is a little special, he has a certain strength and arrogance. But his presence is filled with compassion.”

And then Anthon pointed towards Aria, while he was pointing at Aria, Anthon let out a faint smile.

“She has a strong presence which only rulers can have.”

“She must be a Queen or something like that.”

Anthon smiled faintly.

Shin widened his eyes, staring at Anthon.

But, Anthon was not finished, he pointed towards Shin in the end.

“But, you are different.”

“Your whole being is clearly presenting a dark and depressed presence, but there’s also a faint light which won’t stop shining.”

“It's like a sun, never dieing.”

Shin didn’t fully understand what Anthon was trying to say, so Shin could only tilt his head while showing a confused expression.

On the other hand, Aria’s body was trembling, her eyes squinted and narrowed while staring at Anthon. She released her aura, making sure not to affect Shin in the slightest, but everywhere else was pressured by it.

As Shin was oblivious to what was happening, he couldn’t feel any change. But, the others were breathing slightly heavier and had to protect their own bodies from being injured by Aria’s oppression.

Anthon and Nadine had a small frown appearing on their wrinkled faces.

Aria then opened her mouth and a voice which everyone besides Shin could hear.

“Say it clearly, will you two be on the sidelines or will you go against him?”

Her voice was ice-cold.

Nadine was the first one to shake her head while pinching Anthon’s waist.

“We have already decided not to bother with anything any longer.”

“Even if your son is a devil or a saint, it has nothing to do with us.”

Sadness and grief could be seen in Anthon’s expression, but he also shook his head.

“As my wife; Nadine said, we will not do anything.”

“This is just our haven, nothing more, nothing less.”

Kali raised her eyebrows slightly, with also a frown on her face.

She was of course, respectful towards Nadine and Anthon.

But, what should I do if they go against Shin?

Can I really fight against them?

While Kali was in a dilemma, she saw something twitch. She hurriedly turned her head towards Shin and stared at his twitching fingers.

No…

Why does it hurt so much?

Shin felt a pain throughout his whole body not long ago, he couldn’t stop his fingers from twitching and cold-sweat was running down his face.

I have to hold it in.

“Ugh…”

Shin groaned in a very low voice.

Aria which held Shin in her embrace could barely hear his groan.

Kali also knew something was wrong the moment she saw Shin’s twitching fingers.

She stood up from her chair and took long strides towards Shin and Aria.

The others were confused over what was going on, why would Kali just suddenly stand up and rush over to Aria and Shin?

Aria widened her eyes when she saw Kali rushing towards her and Shin while Kali’s eyes were stuck on Shin.

She subconsciously knew that something was off when she heard Shin’s groan.

Aria turned Shin around towards her and Kali.

The moment Shin was turned around, he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

Tears of blood ran down Shin’s bloodshot eyes and he spat a mouthful of blood towards Aria.

Aria’s chest was drenched in Shin’s blood, she could see Shin’s skin was pale as ash.

She didn’t know why, but she hurriedly sent her aura inside of Shin, checking through every pores, organs and vein.

Why is everything fine!?

Kali’s purple eyes turned golden the moment she saw blood emerging from Shin’s eyes.

She was bewildered, she could see through his body, but there was no change from when she last checked.

“Why are you alive?”

Shin heard an old man’s voice calmly asking him while he was in pain.

He didn’t know why, but Shin thought it was a familiar voice.

“It seems like that you didn’t die after the battle, that was your luck…”

The voice was calmly stating so after sighing deeply.

“But, it’s not always a good thing to be alive…”

Shin didn’t know why, but he clearly knew that he was the only one which could hear the voice.

What does he mean with being alive is not always a good thing?

Is it because of the pain I’m feeling?

“No…”

The voice stopped for a second before continued once more.

“You are something which shouldn’t have been born.”

“Your Power of Death is something which the world has cursed, it can grant you strength and will also shorten your life.”

“Your life-force should have been empty after the battle, but inside of you right now, there are two life-forces.”

“A dark and empty shell with nothing left and a silver one which is filled to the brim.”

The voice waited for a little before finishing.

“But it is also quickly using itself up.”

After that, Shin couldn’t hear the voice any longer.

The pain he was feeling was becoming less and less.

Through his bloodshot eyes, he could hazily see Kali, Aria and Azane bringing out pills and other things.

While everyone was focusing on Shin, Anthon raised his head towards the ceiling but wanting to see further towards the heaven.

Did you reveal yourself because you want me to intervene?

This time, the voice spoke out which only Anthon could hear.

“I am not saying one thing or the other…”

“Your decision is based on everything you want to do, I will not force anyone to do anything…”

Sigh…

Right, who would ever trust you?

Anthon let out a bitter smile.

He could clearly see that Shin’s body was barely recovering, but it was barely working.

“All I can say that it would be waste if he died this early.”

The voice said once more, this time with a little more emotion in his voice.

“That kid is someone who we have high hopes for.”

Even with his Power of Death?

Anthon grumbled to himself.

“Precisely because of his Power of Death.”

“He is not someone who should have the Power of Death, but he has it. That makes him an entity who clearly is out of anyone’s control, you know what that means, right?”

The voice slowly faded away once more.

Out of everyone’s control!?

No way!

Anthon widened his eyes, shockingly glaring at Shin.

“Get away!”

He dashed forward towards Shin, pushing away everyone away from Shin.

Nadine raised her eyebrows when she saw that Anthon rushed to save Shin.

Why would he care if that kid lives or dies?

Nadine tilted her head as she thought of what’s special with Shin.

Anthon flipped his hand a vial of silver liquid appeared above of Shin’s body.

Anthon slapped the vial and the liquid spread over Shin’s whole body.

Why would he even use that!?

For once, Nadine widened her eyes when she saw Anthon breaking the vial of silver liquid on Shin.

“What was that!?”

Aria hollered towards Anthon as she reached for her scabbard.

She clearly knew that Anthon and Nadine wouldn’t care about Shin when she heard them stating so.

But, why would he rush over towards Shin when Shin was breaking down?

Anthon raised his left hand towards her, swiftly speaking.

“If you don’t want him to die, don’t bother me!”

Kali grabbed Aria’s wrist, motioning her to stop.

But she also glanced at Anthon, clearly showcasing that she would protect Shin if Anthon tried something.

As the silver liquid entered Shin’s body, Shin could only feel refreshed.

A cooling sensation could be felt through his whole body. Shin could feel himself stronger and lighter.

But there was something else too, he wasn’t sure, but he sensed a bond deepening.

While being confused, Shin heard a voice in his head.

“Master!?”

“Little Shin, can you hear me?”

“Kiddo, are you there?”

“Shin, how did you manage to finish bonding our souls together!?”

“My Liege!”

Shin heard several different voices and comments, but he also felt a headache.