Nameless King

While Wain was finishing his battles with the Wizard, three flashes were rushing toward the shining tree, across the Lands of the Gods. One was purple like lightning in a violent thunderstorm, the second was as black as the darkness in the depths of the abyss, and the third was as golden as the light from a bright sun.

"Is that there?" Maria asked while looking toward the shining tree that was a few kilometers ahead.

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on there, but I can feel Wain's powerful aura. His aura has intensified many times over the past few minutes, it can only mean that he is in a fierce battle." Aurora said with a serious look as purple sparks appeared near her feet.

Whooooooooooooosh.

Behind her appeared a large magical circle from which three lightning bolts flew out, each heading toward one of the girls. They immediately felt a powerful surge of energy and became much faster.

"Keep up, we need to hurry. We might already see that tree on the horizon, but it'll actually take us quite a while to get there since it's so damn huge." Aurora's eyes grew colder as her aura rose.

Zero and Maria just nodded.

They were originally going to Lands of the Gods to explore the terrain in the new territory, but their other main objective was to find Wain. They weren't going to rush into it since it was almost impossible to find one person in such a vast area, however, when his energy became distinct and unstable Aurora immediately rushed to the tree.

'Wain... Why is it that even in a place as dangerous as Lands of the God, you find yourself in the middle of nowhere? There are so many dangerous creatures here... Especially Fifth Chronicle ones...' Zero muttered inwardly as she glanced at Aurora, 'Who are you fighting if she's so worried?'

Zero and Maria had already reached the Fifth Chronicle, but they were only on the Absolute Stage, so most of the opponents were too dangerous for them and Aurora was dealing with most of them. This increased their concern for Wain, for he was now weaker than they were.

...

Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.

The space on one of the rocks around the shining tree shuddered as three silhouettes emerged from the white flash. It was Sven, Osvald, and Marlis.

"Well, well, looks like we got here just in time." Sven said with a slight smile on his face as the massive dark blade came down on the Wizard. They appeared just as the battle between Wain and Wizard came to an end.

"Damn... Didn't you go to Death Shore recently?" Osvald uttered with a confused expression as she glanced at Marlis. She was petrified as her eyes grew wide as if she'd seen something unbelievable.

"What the fuck...? Not only was he able to get out of Death Shore, but he became so strong so quickly..." Marlis muttered while in disbelief as a shiver ran through her body, "He's just in the Fourth Chronicle, but why is his hidden aura at the Absolute Stage level...?"

The dark blade sliced Wizard apart, completely destroying him. The tremendous amount of energy caused the space to shake violently, then gradually returned to normal as the blade dissipated and the sword in Wain's hands returned to normal.

"Hah, Wain turned out to be much more capable than I had imagined. He was able to survive Death Shore and must have found something important to do there since he was so eager to get there. Moreover, I sense that his aura has only recently gone through several amplifications." Sven spoke as he crossed his arms.

"Oh, so he's getting stronger right during the fight? Fine! That's what it takes! So he definitely has the fire of a true warrior burning in his heart!" Osvald exclaimed with an excited expression as he slammed his fist on his chest.

"But... Who is his opponent? It's Arkan... his aura is somehow strange, too strong and it's not like the other Akrans, it's like..." Marlis muttered in confusion while staring intently at Virion.

"He's a renegade... His aura is the same as ours... It's quite weak, but that's on our side, for the Fourth Chronicle he's insanely strong." Sven uttered with a calm look.

"Hmm? Arkan is a renegade with a seven-pointed star from the younger generation... Doesn't he fit the description of someone who could steal an artifact perfectly?" Osvald asked while rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner.

"Well, perhaps you're right. Though I don't want to interfere in their fight, but if he did, in fact, steal the artifact then we should deal with the problem as quickly as possible. I have to check it out." Sven said in a careless manner as suddenly his gaze became serious and his eyes as icy as ancient glaciers.

Sven was particularly good at seeing auras as he could even peer into the souls of other beings, though it was usually impossible, which is how when he first met Wain, Sven realized that he had the soul of the Nameless King.

Now he was about to do much the same. The distance between him and Virion was too great for Sven to see into his soul, but it was enough to see what was in Virion's ring.

Sven's eyes sparkled as he sighed and murmured, "Nothing. If he was the one who stole the artifact I'd definitely notice it. Well, it looks like just two of the strongest creatures in the Fourth Chronicle are meeting and fighting to the death. Isn't that an amazing ability of fate?"

"Hey... Sven, it looks like we're not the only ones here who can make a difference..." Marlis muttered with a worried look as she pointed somewhere.

"Agh?" Sven turned his head as goosebumps ran down his body.

Two pairs of eyes stared at them, one ruby, the other amber. Both had indescribably powerful auras that were as strong as their own, or perhaps even greater.

Alucard and Gael looked at them with devious smiles on their faces, as if they were waiting for something.

Sven smiled and shook his head, showing that he wasn't going to interfere in the fight, then Alucard and Gael's attention shifted back to the top of the shining tree.