Karnage: Uwaah! I hope you guys haven't forgotten me! Remember Remember the 5th of November!...I...I suddenly disappeared I know :(. I moved back to my home country and am now living in the Caribbean. Hehe, I hope I can salvage a few readers.

Also I changed my style a bit, and removed the colors as they sort of made it untidy.

Bold = Chat dialogue

Italics= Inward thoughts

Bold + Italics = Chat dialogue with killing intent.

" " = Chat dialogue

' ' = Inward thoughts.

It's more simplified and easier to understand. I hope this style appeals to whoever reads this novel still and I thank you for your time.

Earthenvale-

The banquet did not last too long, about 6 hours had passed and everyone returned to their dwellings. The Royal Family came to understand that Sol had become much different and he would not be able to live in a low mana density area and as such understood he could not stay in Earthernvale.

Among them all, Liore was undoubtedly one of the most reluctant ones but she was even happier that he was alive and she could live with that. After all, he not only saved her mother but also her father and the city they lived in from ruin.

He had even gotten the S-Rank beast that they were most worried about to leave their territory, this was undoubtedly the S-Rank Hydra that Sol had directed to Serpent Falls. Sol retrieved his "artifact" from the Royal Vault and stored it in the Runic Ring which Salira had gifted to him as a present to show her thanks for returning the stuff inside; as well as for giving her a bit of peace.

Maria gave Sol many hugs and made him promise to write about his endeavors in the future or to make sure and visit her. Sol agreed as he knew he would indeed return one day because this was the only way he knew how to return to Serpent Falls.

Not before she made the piece of white scaled skin that fell off from Lilith's original body into an armor for Sol. Naturally he helped her as she suddenly felt as though the white-golden scales were out of her expertise and the aura from the scales made her shiver as if it would devour her whole.

Lilith saw that and snickered inwardly, while feeling extremely proud of her scales. Sol couldn't help but laugh, he had truly enjoyed being back in Earthernvale although it was just a brief stop.

Sol had finally made his way out of the city gates, and was met with the four armies, lead by the four "Kings" and decided he would allow them to "escort" him to the Kingdom of Nar.

Seeing their pitiful appearances outside, he realized they had been waiting long and he did not care in the least. Vritra had long returned to Sol, since before the banquet and the reason they did not leave was because he secreted poison in a circle around them, then turned around and sneered at them as if to say 'Why don't you try to leave?'

At first Sol was curious as to why Vritra returned, but he didn't place much importance on the joint army outside and had only just remembered...after seeing them. The "Kings" all felt sour upon realizing this and absolutely could not utter a word.

"Okay, starting from the order of left to right, the four of you give a brief introduction about yourselves and your Kingdom" Sol calmly stated, but there was a faint threat in his eyes.

The four Kings dare didn't hesitate and the white-armored handsome prince first stepped forward.

"My name is Raizer Faringar Hades, your lordship. My kingdom is the Kingdom of Hades that resides in the Darkblood Mountains! My father is the proud lord of Darkblood Mountains and it is only a day's ride from here!" The white-armored prince spoke with a bit of fear as he bowed.

"Good and...you?" Sol pointed to the ugly blue robed mage king as he gave him a look of disdain.

"Eigar Treblood Silenus, Lord. I am from a Kingdom called Silent Hill, I am the King that inherited the throne from my late father. Our Kingdom is barely a few hundred years old and of humble origins and is three days ride from here" The fat ugly blue robed man ignored the look of disdain and tried to play down his Kingdom as much as possible in hopes that Sol would not pay attention to it.

The rest followed suit and introduced themselves.

"I am called Narcissus Black, I am a Usurper, I stole my crown and I built my own Kingdom upon it. I paid for the Kingdom with Blood, Sweat and Iron. I used any tactics available and I buried all of my enemies and suppressed all that I could not kill and made them flee. My nation is built up of mercenaries, soldiers and cold-blooded men who would fall apart and rip each other to shreds should I fall here. My Kingdom is situated in the Blackstorm Region and 2 days ride from here" The black-masked man with dual blades proudly stated.

The man did not lie, these were things anyone could find out about him all they had to do was just ask. He knew he could not lie to Sol and did not risk it. He proudly admitted who he was, the rest of Kings all threw disdainful gazes at him as they inherited their own Kingdoms.

Sol had a favorable impression of this man, and deemed him to be quite useful and intelligent. Seeing the delight in Sol's eyes, the black-masked man did not know how to feel, but his pride welled up a bit more.

"What do thrash like you understand?...Look at him like that again and I'll kill you three. I robbed you of your valuables are you going to say? I don't fit the profile of a King? Haha, how naive and foolish. Wealth only belongs to the strong, it isn't inherited" Sol said with a hint of annoyance as he noticed the gazes of the three Kings.

The black-masked man suddenly felt his heart go hot, a lot of people called him a "Usurper" and said many distasteful things behind his back. He was accustomed to meeting other Kings who would disdainfully look at him like a bug that climbed to power and he could not stand those gazes. Although on the outside he seemed unaffected, his pride was constantly challenged.

Seeing Sol threaten them, as well as his delighted gaze, the man understood Sol approved of his methods and no longer felt insecure about his title as a King. He subconsciously puffed out his chest and met Sol's gaze with reverence in his eyes. If such a person, as powerful as he was could agree with his methods, he didn't need the opinions of garbage.

"...and you? I'm quite curious about your Kingdom with the serpent designs?" Sol asked with curiosity as he looked at the silver-armored man.

"My lord, I am called Serpentus Jormungandr. My family has had a long history with Serpent beasts and our forefathers who possessed powerful Serpent Type Soul Beasts. Although we haven't had someone who contracted a Serpent Beast in hundreds of years, it still remains our family symbol. It is situated in the Blood Lands at least 4 days ride from here" The silver-armored man stated with pride.

Hearing this, Sol sunk deep into thought.

'There's something he's not mentioning...' Sol looked at him, and suddenly his eyes became increasingly cold.

"...The next time you lie..will be the last time you breathe" his cold voice which held bestial killing intent left no room for debate.

The silver-armored man flinched and his eyes revealed unprecedented shock.

'What sharp intuition!'  this thought flew through his mind as he stared at the irritated Sol.

"Speak or die...Lately, I haven't been in the mood to play games." Sol looked at him, and suddenly his pupils reflected his true nature for only a moment which made the man shiver to his bones. Sol felt as though this man had taken him for a fool, an unprecedented savagery leaked out from his body which he once more suppressed.

The ice-blooded gaze felt like a predator that would devour the King whole.

"W-We have a particular family secret that allows us to contract Serpent Beasts. It's a particular type of water we drink from a fountain...the strange this is the fountain is shaped into a serpent mouth and very few people know of it's existence" the silver-armored man shared his precious family secret in a heartbeat.

"Good" was all Sol said apathetically, before a flash of light erupted from his arms!

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

A dragon-like head appeared which devoured the silver-armored King completely, under the astonished gazes of all present. The man had absolutely no time to react, nor could he.

"I  never give second chances" Sol stated calmly as he rubbed Hydreas' head that once more returned to his body. The Kings suddenly felt the temperature in their bodies drop a few degrees, the Black-masked man however had reverence filled his heart and it showed through his eyes as he stared at Sol akin to what a man would stare at a God.

'This is power! True power! This boy is like a roaming King and the people and beasts that appear before him become the subordinates of his Kingdom! Anything in front of him is already his! The lands he walk on, are his very own! A true King can be a King anywhere! Not just in his own territory!' The black-masked man thought to himself as chest began heaving.

The Black-masked man suddenly had a stroke of epiphany, he fell to his knees and the Dantian in his chest palpitated wildly! A aura covered him which steadily rose and suppressed the soldiers and other Kings beside him. Sol could feel the change in the man and looked at him in shock with hints of delight.

He was breaking through!

His aura moved up from S-Rank to Mid S-Rank which shocked people, this was not a small increase but a rather big one. Some humans in their entire lives would never advance to this stage and the blue-robed King, Silenus, could not help but feel envy as he was stuck in the early stage of S-Rank.

Sol didn't disturb him and allowed him to continue his breakthrough, as he would use it for future reference. He had never seen someone breakthrough before, aside from his ownself and it naturally drew his curiosity, not to mention he already had a favorable impression of this King

After about 30 minutes had passed, the man finally regained his senses and stood proudly on his feet. A renewed vitality burned in his eyes, as he looked at Sol with reverence and gratefulness. He could no longer hide the feelings in his heart as looked at Sol openly with worship.

His soldier and the men beneath him were shocked, since when did this "Usurper" ever held anyone in such a regard?

"Please make me your retainer, Lord. I am willing to drop everything to follow you. I will be loyal to my last dying breathe!" He solemnly declared as he dropped on his knees once more before Sol.

Sol smiled and looked at him approvingly.

"Good! I will allow this!" Sol had already decided to make him one of his personal guards and had quite a few ideas in mind.

Just as he was about to leave with the joint army and the now three Kings-

*Clink Clink*

Sol noticed the gates of Earthernvale began to open, and a silhouette on horseback came speeding and calling out towards him! Sol noticed the aged voice, and was shocked at what the old armored man was yelling-

"Sol!! Wait!! The King is in danger!"  Nightmaster Duke keep galloping at full speed with worry evident in his eyes.

'Danger?...I personally healed him..' Sol furrowed his brows yet turned around and dashed to meet the old man.

"Narcissus, Make sure no one leaves" Sol commanded and did not even turn around to look. This was evidently Sol's way of showing trust to his new subordinate.

"Yes Lord! Not a single one shall leave!" Narcissus said solemnly as he coldly glanced at the 2 other Kings and the armies beneath them.

Sol had many different thoughts, as he rode Nightmare towards the old man.

"Nightmaster? What's wrong? The King should be fine" Sol truly did not know what caused this amount of panic from the old man but he knew the old man wasn't one to lie.

"I have no idea! He just broke out into a fever! He was fine just not too long ago! Even my wife has no idea what to do! Thank the Gods you haven't left yet" Nightmaster Duke was worried beyond comparison.

"Okay let's go" Sol urged, as Nightmare increased it's speed. Knocking it's dark heavy hooves on the ground, it sped up and left the old duke behind.

In not to long Sol had already reached the Palace Medical Ward and upon entering he noticed all the nurses there were reading through books like crazy as if trying to find something; Maria was no exception.

He ignored them and quickly made his way to Renissa's  personal ward and noticed the King once more lying down on the bed; surrounding by the Royal Family.

King Julius' face had beads of sweat and his body trembled uncontrollably, his face was also noticeably pale. Upon noticing Sol's arrival the group had a look of utter delight and rushed to greet him, but Sol waved them aside and directlystood over the King.

Sol placed his palm on the Julius' chest, he quietly noted how high the fever was an inwardly frowned. The King's chest which was heaving at times and stopped breathing at times and suddenly Sol had an expression of shock....Suddenly a look of delight entered Sol's eyes as he felt something he could not explain. The Royal family noticed this look of delight, and did not know what to think.

"Hahahaha! Amazing! Amazing!" Sol seemed as though he had gone crazy as he covered his mouth, threw his head back and laughed heartily.

"I...didn't think this was possible" Sol said as he smiled.

Sol placed his hand on the King's chest once more and smiled as he looked at the Royal family, making shivers run down their spine. They knew that Sol wouldn't hurt Julius but were still very worried about his behavior.

"He...is absolutely fine. When he wakes up...he will be much, much better. Tell him not to come looking for me and to train hard and not waste what he's gained" Sol only left these words as his silhouette disappeared from inside the Medical Ward leaving the group speechless but they once more turned their eyes worriedly to the King.

However, they all had one thought in their heads.

'Why would he come looking for you?'

"You heard my grandson! Give the King his space now and let him recover!" Renissa commanded with a cold scowl and she shooed the Royal Family out as well as her sniffling husband.

The Royal Family reluctantly left the Medical Ward giving the King his space.

***

Sol once more returned to the joint army that led the expedition to Earthernvale, and couldn't remove the smile on his face. He noticed Narcissus did a good job and no one had dared leave under his vigilant eyes.

"Good work, Narcissus!" Sol gazed at him and nodded, his face all smiles.

"Yes, Lord!" Narcissus bowed, climbed his horse and returned to Sol's side. Attracting a bit of envy from the other two Kings.

The horses of the joint armies all slowly began their journey.

***

Sol's point of view-

As I moved together with the joint army, my mind had not once left Earthernvale..or more precisely the King of Earthernvale.

'I didn't think my blood could be used in such a manner' I laughed inwardly as I couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

'The King has been sired by me, I can feel a minor connection to him, although not on par with my Soul Beasts..I know he has unswerving loyalty to me and cannot disobey my orders'

'What's more, he gained Fire Affinity. Haha, although I'm curious. I'll wait until I return to see the changes'

'Wait...perhaps I don't need to wait'

I cast a nonchalant gaze at Narcissus and suddenly had a thought which made my lips crawl upward. I could see Narcissus' back shiver as I suddenly looked at him.

***

Inside Renissa's Personal Ward-

A few days later, King Julius continued to sleep on the bed and he was no longer breathing heavily, his pale face also seemed to have regained it's color allowing the Royal Family to sleep better, as well as the old Nightmaster Duke who seemed to have aged a few more years in worry.

There was no one beside the peacefully sleeping King, to notice in the palm of his hands a ball of black fire suddenly appeared; before dispersing.

End of Volume Two.