The Eternal Turtle had been travelling for two days before they finally reached the location that Lakshman’s house was located at. The Magic Titan informed Lakshman and his wives about nearing it, so they came out of their quartiers to check the scenery out.
“Nice…!” Sumara commented as she was hugging Lakshman’s side. “I like this open scenery. It’s quite peaceful…”
“It sure is and if there are any enemies, we can see them coming easily,” said Venezuela and she nodded with satisfaction.
“Uh… I only got this land because I thought it looked peaceful…” Lakshman said as he raised an eyebrow to Venezuela’s comment. “Not exactly with that in mind.”
“Doesn’t matter because it was an added bonus,” she said with a satisfied smile on her face. “If danger everyone comes to us in the future, especially when we have kids, it’s easier to use the underground tunnels you dug for us to escape through.”
“True,” he said and he nodded in agreement, but Sumara appeared to be surprised by her statement.
“Eh? You constructed tunnels underneath the house?” Sumara asked him with a puzzled look on his face.
He nodded at her and said, “That’s right, Sumara. I thought that in the future the tunnels might come in handy, whether it be in today’s generation, the next or whenever in the future.”
“He was more concerned about the future than the present,” said Emilia as she stood on his other side before hugging him happily. “I also helped him build the house and construct the tunnels, although he did the major part by himself.”
Sumara looked at him in awe and she smiled widely as she hugged him while saying, “Amazing… You’re really amazing, Lucky…!”
Lakshman laughed before he said, “I’m glad you think so.”
He turned back to observe the house that they were drawing closer to with a warm expression on his face. After ten years of slumber in a time stopping barrier, he was finally back at the place he felt home with.
***
“Aacchhoooo!!!” Lakshman exclaimed as she sneezed violently after opening the door to the house. “It’s so dusty in here…”
“Of course, it’s going to be dusty. The house hasn’t been cleaned for ten years,” said Erza as she heaved a sigh.
“We always kept the house clean and tidy daily to ensure it doesn’t catch dust and all,” said Emilia in a rather sad voice as she stared at the state of the interior of the house. “Now, it’s full of dust and cobwebs like an abandoned building…”
“Sure, but at least, the house is still standing!” Venezuela said bracingly. “Most abandoned buildings tend to deteriorate over time when you don’t do maintained on them. So, I’m impressed with the effort Lucky and Emilia put in when they build the house.”
“Thanks,” said Lakshman in a gloomy voice as he stared around. “Still, this will require a lot of cleaning…”
Emilia looked as if she was thinking about something before she said, “How about you and Vena go over to the capital to greet the people? You two are king and queen of this kingdom—!”
“Unless, they decided to replace the two of you,” suggested Cantia with a sad expression on her face.
Lakshman raised his eyebrows to the sky in surprise and Venezuela became upset at the very thought.
“That’s very rude of you, Cantia! They wouldn’t replace their leaders, unless they know we’re gone for sure,” said Venezuela, but her voice quaked as she doubted her own words.
“Yes and we did disappear for ten years… I’m sure they are waiting for you, even right now!” Cantia said, only for Silvera to clap her hand over Tetra’s mouth.
“That’s enough from you, Cantia. Now, come inside and be useful by helping us clean our house,” Silvera told her in a stern voice that did not take “no” for an answer.
“I’m coming, I’m coming! Don’t drag me!” Cantia exclaimed unhappily as she was forcefully pulled along by Silvera.
Cantia became quiet as she walked inside with Erza, Ondine and Tetra to begin cleaning the house from the inside. Emilia stayed behind to look at the concerned look on Venezuela’s face before she smiled at her.
“Like I said before, it’s better you two go off and greet your people than hang around here,” said Emilia with a smiling face. “We’ve already got enough hands on the cleaning job, so you two can go.”
“What about me?” Sumara asked curiously, to which Emilia nodded at her.
“Of course. We will need your amazing water skills to wash the place,” said Emilia and it brightened Sumara’s face.
“It will be my pleasure!” Sumara said and she paused to plant a kiss on Lakshman’s cheek before going inside.
Lakshman raised an eyebrow as he watched her go inside as he rubbed the side of his cheek. He turned his attention to Venezuela, who appeared to be torn between wanting to help the cleaning of the house, but at the same time, she wanted to go and greet her people. For him, it was decided on the spot what the correct course of action they must perform there.
“Let’s go,” he said and surprised her. “Like Emilia said, it’s better we two head off to greet our people.”
“Uh… Okay,” said Venezuela in resignation, but she smiled all the same while Emilia smiled warmly at them.
“Since you have decided on what you must do; I will also accompany you,” said the voice of the Magic Titan as she telepathically spoke to them. “I do wish to observe for myself how the humans live on this continent.”
“Then, feel free to join us,” said Lakshman with a smile while the Eternal Turtle roared before it slumped down and went to sleep. “Although, we’ll have to fly over there because of that barrier placed around the capital that makes my Phoenix Portal not work well.”
“Let, let us haste in our journey,” said Amaranda telepathically to him with she formed a smile on her face.
Without further delays, the three of them began surging with power before kicking off the ground to soar high into the air before heading towards the direction of the capital with Lakshman in the lead.
***
Lakshman, Venezuela and Amaranda flew through the air at high speed towards the capital with Lakshman being in the lead. While flying, he activated Elemental Sight, which allowed him to see anything out of the ordinary that cannot be seen by the naked eye.
“As I suspected; a barrier!” he noted when he saw the area ahead having a pink outline in the shape or a dome. “I’m glad to see Wolfenstine succeeded in making the custom Phoenix Sanctuary with the plan I had laid out for him.”
“Are we there yet?” Venezuela asked him through telepathy. “I have no idea where we’re flying at right now. So, are we getting there yet?”
“We’ll be there shortly,” said Lakshman through telepathy to inform both her and Amaranda.
***
Several minutes later, Lakshman saw they had reached what appeared to be the edge of the barrier, so he descended. Venezuela and Amaranda followed behind him down and they all landed firmly on the grass facing what appeared to be forest filled land. Venezuela wore a puzzled look on her face as she looked around while Amaranda furrowed her eyebrows with a frown on her face.
“Um… Lucky? I don’t see how this is the place,” said Venezuela as she did not know about the barrier.
Lakshman still had his Elemental Sight still active with his eyes being that of red crown-shaped eyes. He was looking straight ahead to see the forest filled land, but he could see the barrier erected in front of them, which Venezuela missed.
“I feel a powerful barrier somewhere in front of us,” said Amaranda telepathically to them.
“What?! A Barrier?!” Venezuela exclaimed in a very surprised voice. She looked around at the forest filled land and thought, “Don’t tell me… This is the Phoenix Sanctuary barrier?”
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“Most likely, yes,” said Lakshman and he nodded at her. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“What? How?” Venezuela asked with her eyebrows raised. “The barrier works in a way that doesn’t allow just anyone to break through it.”
“You’re right. It won’t let just anyone, however, you’re forgetting about me and who I am,” said Lakshman and she widened her eyes in realisation. “Besides, I’m not planning on breaking it; I’m just going to pass through it. Come on.”
“If you say so…” Venezuela said nervously before she and Amaranda fell into step behind him.
With his Elemental Sight active, he stopped for a moment to check it out by letting his hand pass through it first. After ensuring that it was safe, he walked straight through it with his arm held out for Venezuela to hold onto and walk through it with him. Unfortunately, Amaranda did not see the need for it and casually wandered through the barrier, setting off the alert system in the process.
“W-What’s that noise?!” Venezuela exclaimed in a shocked voice when she heard strange sounds heard throughout the area they were in.
“Oops… Did I do something?” Amaranda asked telepathically in a cool voice as she was undisturbed by the sounds.
Lakshman chuckled and said, “I suppose it’s nothing to you, but is very scary to the people inside the kingdom.”
“Still… I’m glad the alert system is working nicely. Now, time to see how Felix and the others will respond at learning there are intruders around here,” thought Lakshman comfortably while wearing a satisfied look on his face.
***
Felix was slumped on the hair he was sitting on in his work room with a rather sleepy expression on his face. He did sleep well, but he did not have the motivation to do any of the work that kept piling up on his desk.
Suddenly, from outside, he heard the alert system sound go off and it alerted him into sitting straighter on the chair. Sadly, he was in such a disheartened mood that he was very surprised when his face came forward and smacked hard on the desk, causing him to wince from the impact.
“Are you alright, master?” asked an invisible voice from somewhere in the room.
“Y-Yes! I’m fine! Go gather the Phoenix Clan and welcome our intruders!” Felix said as he straightened up in his char while rubbing his forehead.
“Understood, master,” replied the voice firmly.
Felix straightened up and walked over to look out of the window towards the location the sound was coming from. He squinted to check by using Zooming Force, but before he could look closer at who it was, the door opened and Dominic Rutherford, the Sword Titan stepped into the room. He was lightly dressed in his casual wear with a sword strap around his waist that carried the Sacred Spirit known as the Destiny Sword, which was sheathed at that moment.
Felix turned to him and smiled as he said, “Looks like we have intruders that breached the barrier.”
“Yeah, but the barrier is still intact,” Dominic said with a curious expression on his face. “So, most likely whoever entered through it must be a really powerful warrior!”
“Yes and let’s greet them, shall we?” Felix asked in a cool voice and Dominic nodded at him in agreement.
He held his hand out in front of him and said, “Phoenix Portal!”
In an instant, a black swirling hole appeared in front of him and into it the two of them walked. A moment later, they appeared out of the other end of the portal to stand in front of a large group of Phoenix Clan members that have assembled there at short notice. These are the forces that defend the capital from any attack from strong warriors, although not ones that are above the Sage rank.
“Good. You all gathered,” said Felix as he looked around at his men, only to be surprised by seeing the shocked expressions on their faces. “What’s up with them?”
“Uh… Felix… Felix…” Dominic said quickly and he tapped Felix on the shoulder as he faced the front with wide eyes filled with shock. “Y-You want to turn around… Really…!”
“Turn around and see our intruders? What’s so great about that?” Felix asked in a disinterested voice.
As he turned around while heaving a sigh, he heard a familiar voice speak loudly to him from the front.
“Really, Felix? Is that how you should be treating intruders, regardless of whether they are allies or enemies? Seriously… You’ve become too slack!”
Felix’s eyes widened with shock when he instantly recognised who that voice belonged to and looked at the intruders, his eyes widened even further along with his jaw slackening.
“L-Lucky…” Felix said slowly in a shocked voice when he saw Lakshman standing in front of him.
***
Lakshman was grinning as he saw the greatly startled expression on Felix’s face, which made him want to laugh. Even so, he stayed calm and contained while staring at the people at front with a cool expression on his face. Beside him, Venezuela was very taken aback at the delayed reaction from Felix compared to the Phoenix Clan warriors.
Lakshman saw Felix suddenly become firm as he asked him, “Are you really our king?! If so, prove yourself!”
“What?” Dominic asked him in a surprised voice. “Felix! He’s right in front of us standing in physical form and everything! What more proof do you need?”
Felix did not budge as he whipped out his sword and expertly swung it around before aiming it towards Lakshman with a serious expression on his face.
Lakshman smiled at him for a moment before beginning to power up that surprised them all. He began surging with power while radiating golden-red aura that surrounded him. The wind began to blow wildly around them and buffeted against them all as he went through the transformation.
“UUUUURRRRRAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!!!!” he screamed as he surged with power that caused the ground to tremble.
There was a flash of light and in that instant, he transformed into the Phoenix Titan form and in this form his almost straight black hair changed into spiky blonde hair. Felix along with the rest of his clansmen with Dominic, stared at the transformed Lakshman with wide eyes of shock as he stared firmly back at them through red crown-shaped eyes.
“Who else, but me is capable of transforming into this form that has spiky blond hair, red crown-shaped eyes and a power to boast about!” Lakshman said to them in a firm powerful voice. “If you still think of questioning whether I am your king or not, I will be forced to beat some sense into you…!”
“Lucky… It’s really… you…!” Felix said in a slow voice as he, Dominic and the rest of the Phoenix Clan warriors watched him with shocked expressions on their faces.
The next moment, he knelt down and put his sword down before bowing his head deeply as he said, “My sincerest apologies, but I had to check to be certain. Please forgive me, your majesty!
He was soon followed by the rest of the Phoenix Clan warriors as they all knelt down before Lakshman in servitude. Only Dominic remained standing, but he did not need to since he carried the Sword Titan title along with being the personal friend of the Phoenix Titan.
“Welcome back, your majesty!” said the group of Phoenix clan together and their voice echoed around.
Lakshman looked at them and a small smile appeared on his face as he said, “Yes… I have returned!”
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Author's Note
Thank you everyone for reading the chapter. This one was supposed to be a little longer, but I realised that I will have difficulty cutting down the content to make the chapter reasonable, so I decided to release the remaining content in the next chapter. So sorry about this, but it's just my way of pacing the story. So, I thank you for your patience, persistence, and hope to see you return as the story continues!