Back at the capital, Aeon who was in the entertainment room had the trio and Fate lined up in front of him; while Sasha, Leon, and the twins were behind him.
“I'm going back home.”
“Hell yeah!”
“Freedom!”
The two who shouted that while jumping up in the air were Ace and Sora. They suffered the most from Aeon’s “training” so they were the happiest to see him go.
“Wait, Aeon. Why do you have to go back so suddenly?”
Asked Sasha.
“Miss Sasha, Shhh! If he wants to go home let him!”
Said Ace.
“He's been here for almost two years now, so he must be homesick!”
Said Sora.
Sasha ignored them and pressed on.
“I thought you were going to train them as long as Miko was at the branch.”
“You're actually wrong about that, Aunty. I was sent here to kill time.”
Aeon said with a smile.
“I knew it!”
Shouted Ace and Sora.
“Ah, shut up. I made you all stronger didn't I?”
Aeon didn't look apologetic at all.
“Wait, kill time? Until what?”
Asked Sasha.
“Oh? You didn't know, did you?”
“Know about what?”
Aeon smiled and said-
“A civil war is about to break out.”
“What?!”
This shocked everyone in the room.
“A civil war, with who?!”
“With Krow and some dangerous Proxies.”
Aeon answered casually.
“I'm suppose be taking part, so I should get going.”
“Wait, Aeon! What about Miko?!”
“Miko? I heard that he's taking part as well as a central figure.”
“What?!”
“Anyway, see yah.”
“I said wait, Aeon!”
Sasha grabbed Aeon’s arm before he left.
“Take me back!”
“No.”
“What?!”
Sasha glared at him, but he didn't seem to mind.
“I've received orders to prevent you from returning until the war is over.”
“From my father?!”
“Not only him. Your mother as well.”
“My mother? Why would she do that?!”
“That's how dangerous the situation is. If you return home you'll become a liability because of your lack of strength.”
“Then what about Miko?!”
“He's different. To win this war his presence is essential as Tiamat's proxy. He also wouldn't leave either, since he wants to kill Krow too.”
“Essential? Kill Krow? What exactly is explaining at Xia?”
“Like I said. War.”
He then shook Sasha's hand off.
“If you were stronger, then you could've help him. But you gave up on fighting without even trying. Someone like that have no place in war.”
“Aeon, that's a harsh way to put it!”
Leon shouted.
“But it's the truth isn't it? If Aunty had received training from Miss Kimiko, she wouldn’t be so weak. And she wouldn't become a liability.”
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Sasha shoulders shook as Aeon’s words pierced her.
“Auntie, everyone around you is aiming for higher places. Don't you think it's slothful for you to remain where you are for the rest of your life?”
“………”
Sasha didn't say anything.
“Your father, mother, and brother are all [Tyrants] after all. So not many would dare to harm you; is what you're probably constantly tell yourself. But isn't that just being spoiled?”
This time he approached her.
“You ran away on impulse and caused a lot of people a lot of trouble. Well, I'm the one who helped you escape, because I thought the outside world would help you mature. But to my surprise nothing changed. You still believe you're untouchable because of your daddy and mommy, and haven't grown up at all.”
He stood directly in front of her.
“You’re still a weak bratty princess.”
“Aeon!”
Leon roared.
His body had was covered with markings and was leaking a demonic aura.
He was furious.
But he wasn't the only ones.
Behind Leon the twins were glaring at him as well.
Tessa’s eyes were purple and her body was releasing a beastly purple and a deadly black aura similar to Sasha's.
While Kristen aura had a bit of crimson in it.
When Aeon saw this he smiled and said-
“Calm down. I was just joking. There's no need to be angry.”
He stepped back from Sasha and turned his back to her.
“I'm sorry if I offended you, Auntie. I didn't mean any harm.”
Sasha remained silent as he started walking away.
“Oh, Gallu won't allow you to return either so don't bother going to the lake. And don't worry there will be people protecting you from the shadows.”
With that Aeon disappeared, leaving Sasha silently biting her lips in frustration.
Aeon then reappeared in front of the Dragon Stone in the middle of the lake.
He recounted moments ago, when he was being glared at by Leon and the twins.
“Hmm….the girl already possesses death magic, but it doesn't look like anyone realizes yet. As for the boy, he's also able to draw out Beleth’s power like his father. But it seems to be on a smaller scale.”
He then remembered Leon.
“That guy is very close to becoming a demon. There might be a chance of him becoming another Beleth in the future.”
He smiled.
“Looks like my father was right. Letting Sasha go with Leon did result in an interesting outcome.
In front of the Soul Chamber.
Momo was sitting on the ground staring at the building.
“Waiting for Miko?”
The one who said that was Kimiko who was walking towards her.
“It's been 8 months since he's been in there. I thought that he would come out soon.”
Said Momo.
“I don't know. Beleth is a very prideful demon, I doubt he'll give in easily.”
“Miko is prideful too, so I don't think he'll leave without achieving anything.”
The two silently stared at the building.
“So is everything prepared for the battle?”
Momo asked.
Kimiko nodded.
“Mea and her team arrived last night. Sherry also brought in some of her people.”
“Even though Gramps said it wasn't necessary?”
“She's being cautious.”
“What about Kroc? Did he leave already?”
“Yeah. He will handle will things on that end while we deal with the enemies here.”
“Then only thing that's left is Miko to come out, so that we can finally get our weapons.”
Kimiko and Momo looked at the source of the new voice.
“Oh, Aeon. You're back.”
Aeon approached them with a smile on his face.
“Oh, Grandmother! Long time no see!”
“Hello, Aeon. You look quite excited today.”
Kimiko greeted him with deadpan face, but it was obvious that she was happy that Aeon was treating her like his blood-related grandmother.
“Of course I'm excited. We’ll finally get rid of that arrogant bastard, and all those idiots that tried to kill Aunty Sonia.”
Even though he was only 5 at the time, Aeon remembered his aunt quite well. In fact they played together everyday. This stemmed from the close relationship between Sonia and his father, Rihan.
Rihan and Sonia shared the same mother, so even though all 7 siblings(Sasha wasn't born yet) were naturally close the two of them shared an unbreakable bond.
Aeon hated those who cast away his beloved aunt, and eagerly awaited their deaths.
“Don't get too excited Aeon. Krow isn't that easy to take down. If he was we wouldn't have waited this long to kill him.”
“I know, Grandmother.”
Aeon then turned his attention to the Soul Chamber.
“So Miko is there?”
Momo nodded.
“I think he should be coming out soon.”
“Why do you think that?”
“That's because I'm his master!”
Momo said with a bright smile.
“Looks like you really like him.”
Said Aeon.
“Of course. He's an interesting guy. Otherwise I wouldn't have spent so much time on him.”
“Hm. His friends were pretty promising too, especially the girls. But the ones called Ace and Sora weren't that far behind. Even though they were normal humans unlike Luka and Hinami, they have monstrous growth speed. They were all fun to mess- I mean teach.”
‘You were just going to say mess around with weren’t you?’
Momo thought to herself.
“Looks you both had fun being teachers. I'm glad to hear it.”
Death aura leaked from her body as Kimiko showed a smile on her face.
“Hm?”
It was at this time that the Soul Chamber lit up.
When they all looked at the entrance, they saw Miko standing there with a perplex expression.
When he saw them the expression immediately disappeared.
“How did it go?”
Asked Momo. She was curious about the expression he was making.
“Ah, we came to a compromise after months of arguing.”
“A compromise? Does that mean you can freely use Beleth’s powers?”
Miko nodded, but his expression was a complex one.
“I see. That's great.”
Momo didn't press on. It was enough that Miko could use Beleth’s abilities freely. Well, at least for now it was.
“Nice to meet you Miko. I'm your cousin, Aeon.”
Aeon grandly approached Miko and introduced himself.
“Aeon?”
Miko looked at him from head to toe as if sizing him up. A crimson glint flashed in eyes for a second before disappearing.
“…Nice to meet, Aeon.”
Miko greeted him in a business like manner, but Aeon didn't seem to mind and kept his friendly smile.
“So, what's the update on this snail pace war?”
“Krow finally finished gathering everything he needed, so it should be happening when his outside help gets here. So in a few days we should be at war.”
Kimiko answered.
“From the detailed information, you guys must have someone inside Krow's camp.”
Kimiko nodded.
“Yo, Miko. You're out right on time.”
It then, Nero and Nova appeared out of nowhere.
“You needed me from something, Old Man.”
Said Miko.
“Yup. Since we were going stage a blood play, I need to give you three props to help you fulfill your roles.”
Said Nero.
“Props? You mean weapons?”
“That's right. From the information I received there will be at least 10 [XXX Classes] paying us a visit. I need to give you guys something that will allow you to defend against these type of persons.”
“You mean Qi Artifacts?”
Nero nodded.
“Now without a further ado.”
He snapped his fingers and the scenery changed to the mountainous area.
They stood in front of a cave that had a golden boulder backing the entrance. The boulder had the insignia of a dragon and a sword on it.
“This place is the Primus Treasury. This is where the clans most valuable treasures are stored.”
Nero stretched his finger out and a red liquid emerged from under his skin like sweat.
It was a drop of blood.
The blood floated off his finger and shot towards the gold boulder.
When the blood hit it, the dragon and the sword lit up.
The boulder than started moving out of the way.
“This place can only opened by someone from the same direct bloodline as my father, Claudius. Meaning Krow cant enter here since he was only his half-brother and didn't share my grandmother’s blood.”
When the boulder moved away, a bright golden light shone from the inside.
Nero and Nova walked, so everyone followed behind.
When he walked in Miko realized just how spacious it really was. It looked like the entire mountain was the treasury.
There were thousands of treasure like golden swords, diamond encrusted cups, platinum plated armor, just to name a few.
They didn't bother with the treasure on the ground and continued walking. After a while, they stopped in front of a gold and platinum door.
Nero pushed it open and stepped inside.
When he walked in, Miko saw numerous weapons on display on the walls in glass cases.
One look could tell that it was an armory.
“Every weapon inside here is a God Rank Qi Artifact.”
Said Nova.
This surprised Miko, Aeon, and Momo.
“You three can choice any weapon you want from here. But only choose it when you're certain that you can wield it to the fullest.”
They nodded and all started exploring the room.
“Now that I think about it, don't none of these weapons have restrictions on them.”
Miko asked.
The higher the rank of the artifact, the stricter the restriction.
“No, these are fine. They were created by past members of the Dragna clan for the newer generation. The only restriction is that you'll need to be a Dragna to use them.”
Nero answered.
“I see.”
“Gramps, I'm choosing this.”
Momo held up a pair of silver gauntlets with purple gems.
“I'm lacking in hand to hand combat, so I believe these will help.”
“Those gauntlets were created by one of my grandfather’s past generals. Good choice.”
Nero nodded in approval.
“Then I'll have this.”
What Aeon held was a foldable hand-fan.
“Oh? Good eye. That fan might not look like much but it packs godly power.”
Said Nova.
Aeon opened the fan with a smile and some 2ft long blades stretched with it.
“What about you, Miko?”
Kimiko asked.
Miko looked around and said-
“None of these are appealing to me.”
“What?”
His words made everyone confused.
“Don't get me wrong. There are some badass weapons here, but they just don't feel right to me.”
“Then do you know what would work for you?”
Nova asked.
Miko pondered for a while before saying-
“Vastator(Destroyer).”
“?!”
The name Miko said caught Nero off guard.
“My grandfather’s weapon? How do you know about that?”
“When we ran into Krow, I was just about to touch it. I didn't know what it was, but I heard he called it Vastator.”
“Miko, Vastator is unlike the weapons here. It has an unknown restriction that prevents anyone other than Augustus from using it.”
Said Nero.
“Ah, don't worry about that. I can use it.”
“What?”
Miko's words caused the five of them to be confused.
Even he himself didn't know why he was so confident that he could use it no problem, but he was certain that he could.
After a while of thinking, Nero-
“….Fine. Since it could lead to something interesting, why not?”
He waved his hand and a black case appeared in front of him.
“Only the branch leader can take this case from where it's stored, so not even Krow could move it even if he wanted. So consider this your grandfather doting on you.”
The case floated in from of Miko, who grabbed it.
He held it in his hands and stared at it.
He could feel something surging from inside the case which caused something inside him to react.
And then under everyone's gaze, he opened the case.
The moment he did a demonic grin suddenly appeared on his face, which caught everyone off guard.
And then-
“Yo, partner. Looks like it's time for us to paint the world red again.”