The Witch Hunter System

While Vaan was interacting with Hecate, the leaders from the human, witch, dragon, and wyvern sides all maintained their distance. No matter what Vaan and Hecate were discussing, they didn't believe they were qualified to join in.

Who would dare jump into a Great Devil's conversation before permission was granted?

As such, Astoria and Henrietta's first thoughts were to seek information about the situation from Ophelia. However, the latter found it extremely inappropriate to interrupt Hecate for a sudden inquiry.

In the end, everyone could only wait patiently until Hecate and Vaan finished their business.

When everyone witnessed Hecate's sudden surge of evil aura, they all felt fortunate for deciding not to approach her and interrupt her business.

As expected, a Great Devil was still a Great Devil.

Because of Hecate's incredibly heavy evil aura, Emperor Varan grew especially nervous regarding the future of his country. After all, they might have gotten rid of Abaddon, but now there was Hecate.

Fighting fire with fire wouldn't necessarily stop them from getting burned.

Fortunately, Emperor Varan's concerns were unfounded. He quickly felt relieved to see Hecate depart with most of her Dreamcatchers.

Even so, no one approached Vaan due to the remaining Dreamcatchers.

Only after Fourth Dream, Seventh Dream, and Ninth Dream disappeared for some time did they finally come forward.

"Lord Vaan, how is the situation?" Emperor Varan asked nervously.

Vaan glanced at Emperor Varan before casually replying, "The threat from Gehenna has been resolved. Hecate has taken charge of the Evernight Territory and put up a ban on dimension crossing."

"Thus, you no longer need to worry about the Vampire Lords invading again, Emperor Varan. With the black pillar in place, the weaker vampires won't be able to cross over either."

"Take this chance to rebuild your imperial capital, construct a defensive perimeter around the black pillar, relocate the affected citizens, and provide disaster relief."

"The Black Rose Kingdom, Holy Knight Empire, and Red Dragon Clan will aid your country's recovery. You can discuss the details with Henrietta, Astoria, and Lord Astarot," Vaan stated.

Emperor Varan suddenly knelt down and said, "On behalf of the Great Ratholos Empire, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart, Lord Vaan. I am fully convinced the Great Ratholos Empire will not suffer under you."

"The Great Ratholos Empire hereby pledges its allegiance to you, Lord Vaan," Emperor Varan said solemnly.

Although Hecate ultimately came to help, Vaan had still engaged with Great Devil Abaddon for so long and survived unscathed despite their vast difference in power.

That was an irrefutable fact.

As such, there was not a single warrior from the Great Ratholos Empire's side who wouldn't acknowledge him. He fully deserved everyone's respect and reverence.

Although Emperor Varan still had no idea how Vaan contacted Hecate, it no longer mattered to him.

What mattered was that the threat from Gehenna had been resolved, and they could move forward.

"Overlord Vaan!"

"Overlord Vaan!"

"Overlord Vaan!"

It was unknown who shouted it first, but many warriors quickly joined in once it was spoken, offering their respects and veneration to Vaan through their repeated chant.

At the same time, Vaan could feel countless faith energy pouring into him.

Although the amount of faith energy needed to forge the divine soul and officially step into the divine was enormous--to the point that Vaan had no interest in becoming divine through this method, he still wouldn't refuse the tribute.

After all, the power of faith could also affect his destiny and fate, increasing his chances of surviving tribulations and disasters.

"Don't mind the formalities. Do what you need to do, Emperor Varan."

"Understood, Overlord Vaan."

Shortly after Emperor Varan excused himself, he dragged the Sea Emperor and Princess Dana away to discuss some things, lest they had differing opinions on the legacy of the Armstrong family falling under an outsider's control.

Meanwhile, Vaan was quickly surrounded by his own people. He knew they had doubts and concerns, so he took his time explaining the situation to them.

However, their concerns only increased after learning about the situation from him.

They couldn't imagine how much pressure Vaan was enduring under his calmness. If it were them, they wouldn't remain so nonchalant, knowing they became potentially targeted by all the Great Devils.

Moreover, Vaan had to raise his strength to the peak of Rank 6 Divine Being and become one of the Great Devils to overcome this disaster.

The concept of becoming divine was virtually foreign to them.

Thus, how could it be easy?

Victoria's face paled after learning everything. She couldn't even feel happy about everyone prematurely recognizing her grandson as the overlord of Pangea.

Behind all the glory was sacrifice after sacrifice.

Her grandson took in the bloodlines of a dragon and wolf to acquire the power to survive. Now, to ensure survival and secure a future for Pangea, he would have to take in the bloodline of the vampires.

Her grandson was losing his humanity one step at a time – Victoria couldn't help but tear up at that thought.

She couldn't give him a normal childhood; now, she couldn't spoil him either.

Vaan had too much burden.

"Don't worry, Grandmother. I don't find myself pitiful. On the contrary, I am quite fortunate," Vaan honestly admitted.

If he was still living on Earth, he might have wanted to be spoiled and live a normal life.

However, he was currently living in Pangea, where the future wasn't guaranteed. As such, he naturally preferred taking every opportunity to grow stronger, no matter what became of him.

If Hecate truly had a method to incorporate Abaddon's bloodline into him without conflicting or weakening his existing bloodline, then it was his ideal choice.

After all, he believed achieving the divine body first was more beneficial in the long run.

A stronger vessel would accommodate stronger power – There should be some truth to this saying.

"There are a few things I want to settle before I head to Hecate's Dreamdust Territory. So, I will be returning to Sunpeak City first," Vaan stated.

"Alright," Henrietta and Astoria nodded with understanding.

Although they wanted to follow him, they knew they had to stay back for a bit longer to discuss disaster relief and support with Emperor Varan.

Nevertheless, even at that moment, Henrietta found it difficult to be normal around Vaan; she could feel her body heating up. However, she did her best to suppress her jittery emotions and maintain her composure.

Victoria had already learned about their relationship with her grandson.

Although she noticed they were trying to hide it from her, she couldn't find the mood to tease them.

However, the same couldn't be said for Vaan, who was aware of the heavy atmosphere and wanted to lighten it. He also noticed his grandmother had some friendship with Henrietta and Astoria.

As such, he was amused to discover they were trying to hide their relationship from his grandmother. After all, he had already spilled the beans to her.

'Ah, ignorance is bliss,' Vaan thought.

Suddenly, Vaan boldly pulled Henrietta and Astoria into his embrace and gave each of them a quick peck on the cheeks in front of his grandmother, taking them all by surprise.

Victoria originally wanted to take her time teasing Henrietta and Astoria until they realized she knew of their relationship.

However, Vaan's stunt brought everything to light, ending her little game.

Nevertheless, Vaan's killer move soon followed. After giving Henrietta and Astoria smooches, he squeezed their round buttocks.

"Mm…"

"Kyaa!"

Two different reactions sounded.

Astoria's face quickly reddened with embarrassment while Henrietta lost all strength and plopped on the ground after squealing. Her soul also seemed to have left her body at that moment.

At the same time, they felt more conscious of Victoria's gaze, which seemed to burn into their backs.

They didn't know how to face Victoria after being exposed like that.

"Alright, you ladies have fun. I'm off," Vaan chuckled and departed, washing his hands of the mess he had created.

Aeliana and Eniwse also left with him, followed by Ophelia and Lord Narvim.

Shortly after, Lord Astarot led the dragons away to help the humans in the imperial capital, not wanting to stay after sensing the strange atmosphere.

The Supreme Leader was the future overlord of Pangea. If he wanted the world to burn, then everyone was screwed.

…

Soon, it was just Astoria, Henrietta, and Victoria left. Blank looks hung on their faces, having yet to adapt to the present situation.

An awkward silence filled the dry air.

"Victoria, i-it's not what you think…" Henrietta recovered some of her wits and quickly made an excuse, looking frantic.

Meanwhile, Victoria looked at Henrietta's expression and found it difficult to remain dispirited.

"Pftt!" Victoria laughed and asked, "Even after reaching this point, you're still trying to hide your relationship from me, Little Hennie?"

"Ah! Stop it. Don't talk like that," Henrietta blocked her ears in denial.

"I also wanted to keep feigning ignorance and play along with you longer, but… Sigh, that grandson of mine doesn't know how to let people have fun, does he?" Victoria sighed with some regret.

"Y-You… knew?" Astoria uttered with surprise.

"Some time ago, yeah. Vaan told me himself," Victoria chuckled before urging, "Alright, let's hear it."

"Hear what?" Astoria replied with momentary bafflement.

"Hear you two calling me Grandmother," Victoria grinned with glee, adding, "Why? Do you need my help? Alright, let's practice. Repeat after me: Grand-mo-ther. Your turn."

Astoria and Henrietta shivered with hair-raising chills and goosebumps.