Chapter 23: A Surprise Birthday
Lyna sighed softly in relief, picking up the last Communicator Part then placed it in her bag. She smiled at us and waved her hand. "That's the last one!~"
Sera nodded then looked up at me. "Mission complete. In less than 20 minutes no matter. We should be heading back now. I'm sure Milcham is getting worried about Elisa."
Elisa blushed, fixing the beret on her head. "H-Hey now, I can fully handle myself out here! I've done so before meeting the love of my life, and I can continue doing so!" She said, puffing out her cheeks.
I chuckled softly and began to walk forward, using the trail that Sera left behind to lead the girls back to Pyroc. "Alright, let's get going. I know Inoka and Tsuhori are growing concerned about me."
The three nodded then began to follow me. They began to express their excitement, not only for being able to finally complete their C-Gadget but also being able to do something nice for Claire.
The walk back to the kingdom was serene, filled with the brimming excitement from the three girls as they discussed what they were going to do for the Crest Reader and Claire's C-Gadget. Their chatter was very tech savvy and highly intelligent, the three obviously sharing the same intellectual mind and soul.
"Hey," A rugged voice called out behind us.
We stopped in our tracks and turned back to notice a figure standing behind us. As I looked at the figure, my eyes widened, my mind slightly racing with questions.
'Morokai..?' I thought, wondering how he was even still alive.
Morokai exuded a more fierce and formidable presence, clearly reborn to be a powerful berserker class Beast Hybrid. He still had a muscular build, but he now donned scales upon his body, indicating immense physical strength and his draconic state, and his outfit combined elements of both armor and demonic aesthetics.
He wielded another enormous, menacing axe with infernal energy emanating from it, suggesting a new connection to draconic infernal powers. The weapon itself was intricately designed, adding to his fearsome look.
He sports large, curved horns and wild, white hair, further emphasizing his demonic and beastly nature. His energy indicated he was now part-demon and possesses more fearsome abilities. Flames and blood red energy surrounded him, enhancing his aura of power and destruction. This indicated his control over intense flames and his ability to unleash devastating attacks.
"It's been a while, Emperor," Morokai said, a wicked chuckle escaping his lips. A Dark Crest flowed upon his chest, ominously emitting dark energy.
"You have to be kidding me..." I uttered, my gaze unwavering and unflinching.
"This is real, very real!" Morokai exclaimed, tilting his neck up to show the scar of his previously severed head.
I glared and studied his appearance for a moment to try to understand what to make of his sudden revival, then it clicked to me. "You used Regena to revive yourself via Beast Immolation...And you still have Chaos's Influence.."
Morokai smirked, his chilling blue eyes glowing with murderous intent. "The moment you severed my head, I thought I was done for. In that moment, I used my last seven minutes of heart activity to transfer my energy to Regena who then used Beast Immolation to revive me, thus turning me into a Sacred Beast! I've been using these last few days searching for you... thinking of ways I could kill you.."
"And now," Morokai continued, pointing his axe at me with a devious smirk. "Now...I have my chance to take revenge."
I glanced at the three girls, shifting my foot and using my Earth Manipulation to shift the ground to maneuver them behind me. "Elisa, Sera, Lyna...Leave now. This is one fight I can not allow you all to partake in.."
Elisa glanced at me then glanced back at Morokai, a faint memory playing in her head. "It's him...he's the one I saw in Hearth Mountain. The one who killed those soldiers...one of them being Milcham's brother."
"You've seen this beast before? How could a man wield so much beast energy without fully turning into a beast himself..?" Sera asked, clutching her device. "It doesn't make sense. It's not logical..."
"I know it doesn't make sense, but Humanoid Beasts do exist. Ixia from Therris is a Dryad, a Humanoid Plant Beast. But this guy...he's straight up a demon. There's no denying that. He does have Sacred Beast Energy too," Lyna replied, bracing herself.
"Ryoma, allow us to stay and help you fight him off. I still have a bone to pick with this guy," Elisa said, readying herself.
I looked at Elisa then returned my gaze toward Morokai once again. "...Mmm...if you begin to struggle too much, I'm taking you out the fight all together."
"That's fair," Elisa nodded, taking a deep breath then exhaled and got into her All Out Stance. Her flames calmly began to surround her body.
Morokai laughed and got into his stance. "Get ready...Get ready! It's time for your suffering to begin!"
I summoned my sword then got into my stance. I launched myself toward him at high speeds, slashing upward but he swiftly dodged. I flipped my sword, holding it backwards and swiftly sliced horizontally, the force of my swing creating powerful winds.
Morokai appeared behind me with a devious smirk then his axe began encased with dark energy. "Demonic Axe Technique: Tomahawk!"
He threw his axe at me with brute force behind it. The axe spun rapidly toward me, forming a saw-like projectiles that flew right toward me. I blocked his axe, grunting softly as I was being slightly pushed back. Morokai appeared behind me, summoning his original axe then slashed at my neck.
Elisa rushed forward and landed a clean aerial kick to Morokai's face, a pulse of flames circling he foot upon impact and knocking him back. Morokai stumbled then his eyes narrowed toward Elisa. A wicked smirk played on his face as he recognized her.
"If it isn't the cute little daisy...where's your knight at now?! You're defenseless!" Morokai laughed, propelling himself toward her.
Elisa grunted as she began dodging the wild swings of his axe, reinforcing her defenses using her flames to block and parry his slashes. She swiftly ducked under his neck slash, landing a high reaching kick to knock him in the air. I rushed forward, following it with a downward slash to knock him back onto the ground.
Seeing that he was staggered, Elisa followed up with a powerful palm strike to knock him back then I knocked him away with a powerful roundhouse kick. Morokai rolled backwards on the ground then recovered onto one knee.
Morokai smirked as he slowly stood up, chuckling darkly. "This is exciting...very exciting. I can feel my adrenaline...I can hear him telling me to kill you!"
Morokai roared, his dark energy surging powerfully around his body. He lunged toward me at high speeds and landed a powerful slash to my midsection, knocking me back. He ran after me and began landing more slashes, one one more devastating than the last. He leaped in the air, knocking me to the ground with a kick then held his axe in the air.
"Aagni Vulkar Wave!" Morokai roared, throwing his axe at me then calm down with a slash, both strikes landing and causing a large explosion.
Elisa grunted as she guarded herself from the explosion, groaning as she was blown away by the force. Lyna caught Elisa and slid backwards slightly, grunting lightly. The three sisters watched the large smoke cloud, feeling slightly concerned about my wellbeing.
Morokai smirked as he watched the smoke cloud slowly clear. His eyes slightly widened as he noticed a spark of light coming from the smoke cloud then grunted as he felt a powerful force of energy radiating. The smoke cleared, revealing me clad in white armor, angelic wings manifested from my back, and a halo above my head.
I opened my eyes, my eyes shining gold and shimmering in the afternoon sun. I sheathed my sword then angelic gauntlets appeared on my hand, Arcane's Crest shining in the orbs of my gauntlets. Morokai felt my powerful Angelic Form, his body shuddering.
'What class of Angel is he..? Has he always had this power..?' Morokai thought, his gaze fixated on me.
"You are seeing the highest class of Angel. Archangel Class," I said, adjusting my gauntlets.
Morokai's heart thumped at the revelation, but he couldn't help but to chuckle which turned into a laugh. "Of course you would reveal such power! You've grown desperate haven't you?!"
I stared at Morokai then smirked, getting into my stance. "This battle will end in five minutes.."
Morokai seemed surprised by my declare then his sadistic smirk returned. "Is that so..? You will have to prove that! Show me your strength, Emperor!"
I walked forward, my body flickering in and out of view. I appeared in front of Morokai, landing a powerful uppercut to his chin and knocked him in the air. I dodged his counter then retaliated with a palm strike to his chest. With him staggered, I blew him away with a flap of my wings.
Morokai groaned as he rolled backwards, recovering on his feet and noticed me darting around him, my movements a blur of light and speed. Morokai looked around quickly, his eyes trying to keep up with me.
"You can't keep up anymore," I taunted, landing a barrage of light speed strikes at every conceivable angle.
I appeared in front of him, feinting my attack but Morokai caught on to my bluff, swinging his axe to strike me, but hit an afterimage. The afterimage disappeared, allowing the real me to appear in front of him and landing a powerful strike to his face, sending him crashing into a tree. Morokai groaned as he crashed through the tree, laying on the ground defeated.
"Whoa...Lord Ryoma was so fast.." Elisa said in awe, her eyes sparkling in wonder and amazement.
"I couldn't even keep up with him. He was moving faster than the naked eye could perceive," Sera said, adjusting her glasses. "His speed is faster than light itself when he's actually trying it seems.."
Lyna sighed in a lovestruck manner, holding her device to her chest. "He's so cool..~"
I noticed Morokai wasn't coming back to attack then smirked, reverting to my normal form. I walked toward the girls and dusted myself off. "Alright, let's go back to Pyroc. I'm sure he won't be bothering us for a while."
The three sisters nodded, following me closely. Sera and Lyna were interested in how I was able to move so quickly around and how I was able to transform into an Angelic Form. I began to explain how my Crest works for them, happy to let them in on a few of my secrets.
Morokai slowly stood up and grumbled softly, watching me walk off. "This still isn't over...Emperor.."
Morokai hurried off back into the forest, temporarily retreating. He couldn't believe that even with his renewed strength and upgrade, he wasn't able to defeat me. He wasn't sure on how much I was still holding back, but he knew one thing: the adrenaline he felt while fighting me was real. He enjoyed our battles, wanting to seek out the next time we cross paths.
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Inoka looked at all of the gifts she got for Claire, making her way back to the citadel with Tsuhori at her side. "So you were Ryoma's Retainer since he was 19? You stuck by his side for five years straight. That's dedication..~"
"Tyrant or not, I will always down my life for him. We bonded via the Goddess of Companionship and remained bonded. He's my only soulmate despite me being a Humanoid Beast. Oh, and I'm also a Divine Beast," Tsuhori said, smiling at Inoka.
"Whoa, really? How strong are Divine Beasts? I know you all are at the top of the chain in the Beast World, but like are you all as strong as the Gods and Goddesses?" Inoka asked, genuinely curious.
Tsuhori nodded, her tail swaying from side to side. "We match the strength of Lesser Gods like The Three Fate Weavers and Lesser Gods like Ultor the Avenger and Triton, Lord of the Seven Seas."
"Wow, to have strength like that. I can only imagine how strong Ryoma truly is~" Inoka giggled, glancing at the sky. "How strong is he actually?"
Tsuhori smiled and closed her eyes, her ears flicking. "Let's just say he's considered a Demigod based on heritage and bloodline. He scales between High Legendary Rank and Low Divine Rank."
"I figured~ He was able to match Cholra's strength and easily tame a Mythical Beast like Nebula. I can't say I'm surprised about this revelation," Inoka said, smiling to herself.
The two heard giggling going on behind them, looking back and noticing Elisa, Lyna, and Sera hurrying to the castle while dragging me along with them. They watched as we rushed by them, a soft smile playing on both Inoka's and Tsuhori's lips.
"Looks like they are finally back. We can go ahead and start setting everything up," Inoka said, her gaze meeting Tsuhori's.
Tsuhori nodded, her tail wagging happily and excitedly to get Claire's surprise birthday underway. She and Inoka hurried to the castle as well, the both of them excited to get started.
Elisa, Lyna, Sera, and I entered Elisa's workshop, the three of them getting ready to start building the C-Gadget and getting an updated core prepared for Claire's Crest Reader. The three worked efficiently, their concentration an all time high as they worked.
"Alright, just welding in the motherboard...and configuring the main systems," Sera said, typing away on her device. "And...done!"
"Alright!~ Let's turn this baby on and see how it works!" Elisa said, her excitement bubbling to the surface as she picked up the C-Gadget.
I walked toward Elisa and leaned down, looking at the device in her hand. The device was a futuristic, compact handheld gadget. It had a sleek, red exterior with black and white circular accents. The device seemed to have a dual function: it could be folded into a smaller, more portable form and then expanded to reveal a larger, translucent screen. The screen was used for displaying detailed information, potentially including images or data. The design suggested it could be used for tracking, recording, or accessing information, perhaps similar to a high-tech notebook or a specialized database tool.
"Say hello to the C-Gadget!~ You can send long distance calls, messages, even transfer data from one gadget to another from across the world if you wanted! And, because you helped us, we decided to give you one as well made with your favorite color schemes~" Elisa said, handing a sleek black and gold C-Gadget to me.
I took it from her hand, smiling at it then chuckled softly. "Thank you, ladies. You honestly didn't have to do that," I said, my tone a mix of gratitude and acceptance.
The three sisters smiled at me, pleased with my acceptance of the C-Gadget. We all looked at the time and decided to head out to help finish setting up the birthday party for Claire. I parted ways with the girl to find Claire, summoning my personal void to place my C-Gadget in.
I traversed the castle to find Claire, not finding her in her usual hiding spots then decided to check one location that I never thought to check. Making my way downstairs in the lower parts of the castle, I entered a room that held the Sol Lioness inside. The Sol Lioness raised her head, noticing me walk inside and looked at Claire who was laying against her, reading a book.
I noticed her and a tiny Pyroc resting together, a soft chuckle escaping my lips. I noticed the two look at me, and approached them. "My love, I have a surprise for you~"
Claire sat up, a sweet smile tugging at her lips. "A surprise?~ What is it?~"
I held my hand out, helping her onto her feet. "Follow me, and close your eyes. No peeking."
Claire looked up at me, smiling and closed her eyes. She felt my gentle touch on her shoulders, noticing me guiding her to where the surprise was. "Now you've got me very curious..~ I really wonder what this could be~"
I chuckled softly as I helped her up the stairs. I looked back and noticed the Sol Lioness following us, curious about where I was taking Claire. "I'll let you know when to open your eyes."
Claire nodded, carefully walking up the stairs, holding onto the stair railing for support. "Okay..~"
Inoka and Tsuhori finished preparing everything in the party room, pleased with their work. Inoka heard a knock on the door and made her way over to open it. Cracking the door open, she noticed Elisa and her sisters at the door, holding gifts for Claire and opened the door wider to let them inside.
"Have you seen Ryoma and Claire?" Inoka asked, her growing excitement eating her alive.
"He's going to find Lady Claire right now~ They should be here any moment," Elisa answered.
"Perfect! Milcham, are the maids finished with the accomodations?" Inoka asked, glancing at Milcham.
"Mhm, the maids just finished not too long ago," Milcham said, nodding his head.
Inoka nodded, taking one last look around the room. Once she felt everything was perfect, she nodded in approvement, now waiting for me to arrive with Claire.
Soon, there was another knock at the door, Inoka hurrying over to get it.
"Can I open my eyes now?" Claire asked, her tone now very curious.
I laughed softly at her question. "Not yet, my love. Sheesh, I never thought you'd be this impatient~"
"Well I've had my eyes closed for ten minutes now! I feel like you've led me around the castle twice by now," Claire giggled softly, keeping her eyes covered and closed.
Once I noticed the door opening, I led Claire inside, everyone remaining silent and waited for Claire to open her eyes. I tapped Claire's shoulder, signalling she could open her eyes.
Once she opened her eyes, she gasped in shock and awe, covering her mouth. She noticed everyone in the party room, eager to give her a surprise birthday.
"Surprise!" Everyone said in unison, their smiles brightening up the room.
"Everyone...you shouldn't have," Claire said quietly, moved to tears at the sight.
"Happy birthday sis!~ Ryoma and I planned the entire thing. This year, you would have a perfect birthday..~" Inoka said, smiling at Claire.
Claire looked up at me to confirm, noticing my nod of agreement. She couldn't help but to turned around and give me a hug, her tears welling with joy and a soft laugh of pure happiness. She gave Inoka a hug as well, giving her a tight squeeze.
"Thank you...~ Thank you all so much for this," Claire said, completely moved to tears.
Inoka giggled softly, holding her sister in a warm embrace. "C'mon, let's enjoy the party~"
With that, the party was underway, everyone gathering around to get a plate of delicious food prepared by the maids and enjoying quality time with one another. The atmosphere was very intimate yet lively, not too little guests but at the same time not too many. Everyone enjoyed the food and games that were prepared for all to enjoy.
As the evening went on, Claire went on to open her gifts. She first opened Cyra's and Kolden's gift, a beautifully made necklace with an ornament resembling Vesta's Emblem. Cyra felt proud of her smithing skills when making the accessory and Kolden was proud, supervising over Cyra the entire time.
The next gift she opened was from Milcham, a certificate of the renewed Flame Knights with the signatures of every new recruit upon the page. Claire's heart skipped beats that she was finally able to have her soldiers back after the Hearth Mountain incident.
"This one is from me and Tsuhori. We spent most of our afternoon looking for this specific set," Inoka said, smiling at Claire as she held out a box to her.
Claire took the box out of her hand then opened it, gasping at the sight of the prestige jewelry inside. Each piece not only resembled her birthstone, but also the birthstones of their late parents. In the middle, a pendant sat beautifully and Claire opened it, tears welling up in her eyes at the sight of a family photo with her, Inoka, and her parents.
"Inoka, it's so beautiful.." Claire said, her tone thick with emotion. She quickly hugged Inoka and smiled happily. "Thank you..~"
Inoka hugged Claire back, smiling happily. "You're welcome, Sis.."
Claire let go of Inoka and glanced at Tsuhori smiling at her. Tsuhori returned her smile, her tail swaying happily at her brimming happiness.
"And last but not least, our gift from Lord Ryoma and the Merylla Sisters to you, Lady Claire," Elisa said, holding out two beautifully wrapped boxes.
Claire glanced at each of us before unwrapping the presents then covered her mouth in shock, quickly gazing at Elisa and me. She took out two devices out of the boxes then couldn't help but joyfully laugh.
"You all shouldn't have! An updated Crest Reader Core and a C-Gadget..~ Oh Goddesses, this means so much to me. Now I can study much more on the Crests around the world...and even share my findings~" Claire said, getting up to hug me and Elisa. "Thank you so much..~"
Elisa happily hugged back, a soft blush settling on her face at the affectionate act of Claire. "You're welcome, Lady Claire..~"
I chuckled softly and planted a soft kiss on her head. "You're very welcome..~ I hope you enjoy your gifts truly..~"
"I will...this means so much to me..." Claire said, unable to hold back her overflowing emotions. She held onto me tightly, crying tears of joy and buried her face into my chest.
I smiled at her and held her tightly, comforting her by rubbing her back. Everyone smiled at her overjoyed reaction, feeling happy that they could each contribute to Claire's overall happiness.
Once Claire's tears dried up, she gave each of us a smile, now ready to continue the party. She joined each of us for more memories and games, unable to stop smiling. The night was beautiful, filled with laughs and joy. It was a night Claire would never forget.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone