Unknown Ruins, Western Area of Northern Forests

A woman, whose beauty could only be described as the Moon's reflection in a sea of diamonds. Her waist-long white hair kept in a single thick braid flowing in the air as her Jade green Iris stared at the ruins from a distance.

"So.. These are the western ruins I've heard so much about. The so-called 'Tomb of the Scarlet Eyes." Her divinely melodious voice was sweet enough to melt a person's heart, captivating them effortlessly. But that's not what she was here for.

There were signs of Techonia's forces coming here. But there were no signs of them leaving.

"This could be.. interesting." The refined and elegant woman, who could only be described as the epitome of beauty. Her delicate and alluring body adorned by a White dress and a Fedora added to her charm.

Then at the flick of her fingers, the Fedora disappeared, followed by her jump off the cliff. Her main motive is to investigate the ruins and find any clues about Techonia's forces, which clearly arrived but never departed.

"Corpses of Machines, Humans.. and Uncouths. Huh, pretty weird combination." The woman spoke, with a condescending look towards the corpses. It is obvious that she hates weaklings and she hates the Uncouths even more.

As she entered the core of the ruins, her look changed. From disgust to something more pristine.

Her gaze fell on the man, who was sitting on top of the mountain of corpses with a blade stabbed into the ground next to him.

He wiped the mixture of blood and machine oil from his face, a smile on his face and his scarlet eyes piercing the air like an arrow from a god.

The man's charm was out of this world. No, not just out of this world, he was so breathtakingly handsome that the woman froze in her spot. Her heart, which was beating faster than it ever had in her entire life, begged for that man's attention.

Just then, the man's gaze fell on the woman.

"Are you here for the 'Sword of Faith' as well?" He asked with a low, husky voice that held a subtle authority, yet softened with gentleness.

"You are Rei Magna, aren't you?" The woman spoke, infatuated by the man.

"Yes.. Have we met before, Miss?" He asked as his guards were down after seeing the woman not having any interest in the sword.

"No, not really. I'm the Fourth Progenitor. I'm generally addressed as Lady 4th but you can call me Alice." She spoke with a hint of sweetness in her voice, completely different from the disgust she had felt toward the corpses not too long ago.

"Fourth Progenitor.. Oh, one of the Original Vampires. It's nice to meet you, Lady Alice. I'm afraid that this place isn't anywhere comfortable enough to host you." Rei spoke as he jumped down from the mountain of corpses. At that moment, the three blades that pierced his back became visible, a symbol of betrayal.

"Oh, Lord Rei, your legend isn't anything to scoff at either. Child of an Elder God, Leader of the Six Heroes, The Almighty 'Hero of Scarlet Eyes'.." Alice spoke, not hiding her infatuation for Rei.

"You are greatly exaggerating my actions of the past, Lady Alice. It's my honour to meet you." Rei spoke, blushing lightly because of the tender gaze from the beautiful lady in front of him.

It would be a lie if he spoke that he wasn't affected by her beauty.

The vice versa was also true. Lady 4th, who's known for her ruthless teaching among the Vampire race. It is she, who taught Abel and made the Numbered Vampires a group. But now, she was acting like a young woman experiencing her first love.

"So.. Lord Rei, may I see the wound on your back? I can heal the wounds and dispel the curse if you wish." Alice stepped closer until Rei was barely an arms length away from her.

Rei was surprised that the curse on him could be dispelled. The curse placed by the other Five Heroes.

Rei was the leader of the Six Heroes. A legendary group of heroes during the 0th Century, formed to fight against the 14 Demon Lords.

The time period of the Great War, the end of which signified the beginning of the Great Era. It has been 2027 years since the War against the Demonkind ended.

Back then there were 14 Demon Lords, but seven of them did not fight against humans, choosing the neutral stance. But for the other seven, The Six Heroes were a weapon against them.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

But even within the Six Heroes, there was a disparity of power. Rei, who single-handedly killed six of the Demon Lords with the 'Sword of Faith' while his five teammates barely subdued one.

In the end, the King of that Era and the five heroes were so afraid of Rei that after the end of the war, they betrayed Rei.

The five heroes stabbed Rei in the heart and placed a curse on him that he will not be able to leave the Western Ruins. They could only do so much because a weapon to kill Rei was never made.

But Rei was kind, he did not hold a grudge against the Empire or the other heroes. He sympathized with them and understood their fear thus he didn't resist being cursed to never leave the ruins.

Since then, Many people have come to the ruins to claim the 'Sword of Faith'. Rei gave them a fair chance for that as well. Defeat him and the sword is yours. But no one ever did.

Rei relayed this story to Alice while she dispelled the curse placed on him and took out the blade lodged in his heart.

"What pitiful people. I knew about the curse but I never heard the true story about you, Lord Rei." Alice admitted to never knowing the full story.

The story she heard was that Rei was corrupted by the Blood of Demon Lords. But this man was far from corrupted. No, not just corruption, his soul was so pure that it made Alice fall even harder.

Once the curse was dispelled and the blades were taken out, she pressed her face on his back.

"How can anyone be this pure?" She murmured loud enough for Rei to hear, who chuckled.

"Lord Rei.. I have a proposition." Alice whispered in his ear as her body pressed against his back in a hug.

"Yes, Lady Alice. I'm... Listening." Rei spoke, with an obvious blush on his face as he didn't expect a hug from her.

"I've been.. looking for a suitable person to become.. my... Spouse." Alice spoke, her words came out broken and flustered.

Rei was taken aback by the sudden proposal. His life's biggest regret was not being able to love. He could get rid of this regret today but he didn't know if he was worthy enough for someone whose existence was grander than his legacy and his life.

And almost as if Alice could read his mind, she spoke. "And don't think you aren't enough, okay? I think you are enough.. no, not just enough. You are a walking hero, who saved this world from destruction."

Rei was surprised, but the surprise quickly vanished, taken over by a chuckle. "Well, I have no reason to turn down the proposal."

"Though, I can't say that I love you yet, there is a feeling that I might be able to." Rei said with a smile.

"Oh don't worry, we have enough time on our hands to nurture this relationship." Alice spoke with a smile before she bore her fangs into his neck. She drank a gulp of his blood before licking the wound until it healed due to Rei's innate regeneration.

"That's a pact sealed." Alice spoke with a smile while Rei chuckled.

"Your bite tickled." Rei spoke, followed by a laugh as Alice started to actually tickle him.

........

Void Village 'Ark', Southern area of the Empire

"What the fuck are we fighting.. God?" Alpha complained and rightfully so, since he couldn't even get up and was coughing up blood.

Even the strongest member of the Corps of Seven, Omega, was on her knees. All because they were fighting one masked man.

"Stay down, I don't wish to hurt you." The masked man spoke calmly, his mercy was only towards Omega in an uncanny manner.

"Who are you to show me mercy?!" Omega shouted as she gritted her teeth. She, who fought the 2nd Proxy of Obrax to standstill, was on her knees against just one person.

'This guy is a monster. That detective could've won if he was here.' Gamma thought to himself as he tried to stand up but ended up falling on the ground.

"Oh, you don't recognise me? Sorry for the mask, Ole." The masked man spoke with a look of amusement as he removed his mask.

Omega's face turned grim, as a storm of grief, horror and disbelief filled her heart. The masked man was the very man she was trying to find, Arshawain.

"Arsh.." Omega spoke his name in a low tone. Her conflicting feelings wanted to hug him and strangle him to death at the same time. "Why are you doing this?" She asked as she tried standing up but her body didn't listen to her command.

Arshawain, who was Olecumbra's husband, was a survivor of the Battle of North and the very reason why Olecumbra sought strength and became a disciple of Abel.

But something was different about the Arshawain that was standing in front of Omega. Instead of his usual Dark Brown eyes, his iris was Scarlet.

"Ole, my love. Leave behind those insects of a group behind you and come with me. We will rule the world together." Arshawain spoke as he held his hand out for Omega, expecting her to take his hand.

But everything that Arshawain was suggesting, was against the very principle that Omega followed since she became the disciple of Abel. She was a follower of Justifia and could never think of her team members as insects and ruling the world.

In fact, she knew that ruling the world was impossible when Abel and people much stronger than him existed.

She chuckled before shaking her head. "I'm afraid I can't do that, my love. You aren't the Arshwain I married."

"This is exactly why I hate clever women like you." Arshawain, or the thing that was in Arshawain's body, chuckled before kicking Omega on the chest, making her fly into a wall.

"Whatever, I promised this man that I wouldn't kill his wife. We'll meet in the future anyways.. After I kill the 4th Progenitor. GLORY TO THE MECHANICAL GOD!" The strange being laughed manically before he disappeared into thin air, leaving behind a strange black air.

"Is everyone alright?" Omega asked as she could finally walk up.

Everyone, except Gamma, looked at Omega with a strange look, but they understood that the man wasn't Omega's husband. He was being controlled like a puppet.

"We won't ask for details for now. But we do need more details as we discover more." Beta spoke calmly, as she helped Alpha, Delta and Epsilon stand up on their feet.

"I won't hide information from any of you, but for now, I can't tell you anything of value." Omega said, as she stared at the sky. Could this strange being in Arshawain's body kill the Fourth Progenitor, someone who even her Master Abel considered to be his superior.

But the answer was obvious.

The being wouldn't make such big claims without a trick up their sleeves.

All Omega could do was wait and watch.