章 36: Prologue part 1
After Ken managed to beat Azael, he left the place immediately with limping and a body full of wounds, also his right hand that gone. He kept forcing himself out of that place. The thing that looked the most different from him was that Ken, previously full of expressions, turned cold and emotionless. It was due to the effect of the curse that Azael had given Ken before he died.
Azael's floating castle is a luxurious and majestic castle located in the continent's southeast. But now, the castle is in ruins on a small island because of Ken's fight with Azael. When Ken came out of the wreckage, he quickly went to the edge of the island and looked for a lifeboat. There he found a lifeboat that was no longer in use. Ken boarded the lifeboat and rowed with the remaining one hand towards the Clorius continent.
Two days have passed since Ken left the tiny island where Azael's castle is located. Right now, he could see the Clorius continent already within his line of sight. Ken currently looks very thin, pale, and weak. All the strength he had, he used to row. He did not even find a single fish along his trip in the ocean.
When Ken finally reached the shore in the southern part of the Clorius continent, he immediately got out of the lifeboat and went for help. Not long after he walked, he finally saw many human soldiers gathered in a camp not far away. Ken knows that troops will guard every corner of the continent during the fallen god's subjugation final war. When Ken approached them, the soldiers immediately became alert.
"Who are you!? How dare you sneak in here!?" The soldiers drew their swords at Ken.
"I am Ken Nijisaki. I came here to meet your commander. Who is the commander in charge of this army?" Ken asked to meet their commander regardless of the attitude of the soldiers.
The soldiers looked at each other, and then they whispered. In the end, one of the soldiers immediately ran towards the camp.
"You wait here! We will report it to our commander first!" The soldier remained alert to Ken and did not lower his sword.
Ken didn't answer and just stood there waiting for their commander to come. After a few minutes passed, the soldier returned with a handsome young man with short blond hair and golden eyes. The man was quite tall and wore silver armor. Ken knows that man.
"Valco, so you're on guard here?" Ken greets Valco. He was the prince of the Adrienne Empire, and that Empire was the leader of the seven kingdoms on the continent and the one who summoned Ken and his friends from another world.
"Ken, did you manage to defeat the Fallen God-King Azael?" Valco asked Ken with a smile. But Ken could see a glimpse of the dark expression on his face.
"I've defeated him." Ken nodded slowly to answer Valco's question. But then he felt something strange from the people's gazes who heard his answer, especially Valco.
"That's great! You are indeed the hope of humankind in this world." Valco still praised him with a smile on his face.
"Thanks." Ken answered briefly.
"Then you should rest first. I'm sure you must be exhausted after defeating Azael. Let me take you to your tent to rest." Valco led Ken's way to his tent. Ken followed Valco from behind, and the soldiers followed behind them.
"You go in and rest. I won't bother you any longer." Valco pointed to one of the sizable tents. But when he saw it, Ken felt that something was wrong even though he didn't know what it was. He immediately shook his head and dispelled the thought.
Ken has known Valco since he and his friends were summoned to that world. Valco is the second prince of the Adrienne Empire, and he treats Ken and his friends like his best friends. Perhaps because their age difference wasn't that great, they quickly became friends.
Even Ken's expression didn't change one bit when thinking about such nostalgic things. Then he entered the tent and wanted to get some rest. Just as he was about to sit on his bed, a large magic circle suddenly formed under his feet and covered the entire ground under his tent. Then, a big explosion happened.
Booooooooooooooommmmmmmm!
The vibrations and shockwaves from the explosion could be felt throughout the army encampment. Smoke and dust covered the entire tent that was supposed to be a place for Ken to rest. When the smoke and dust cleared, Ken was kneeling on one leg. Luckily Ken quickly escaped from his tent when he saw the magic circle under his feet. Otherwise, he would be dead by now. But still, Ken was affected by the explosion. Currently, there are many burns all over his body from the blast's impact.
"What does all this mean, Valco?" Ken asked him coldly.
"You still don't understand?" Valco emerged from the crowd of soldiers and magicians. He was wearing armor and fully armed.
"I don't understand what you mean." Ken began to have difficulty breathing due to the impact of the previous explosion.
"Haa...we thank you for defeating the fallen god-king Azael. But do you know why we had to defeat him? Other than that, they are causing trouble everywhere in every corner of this continent. We don't need creatures whose strength is far above the humans in the world. Because in this world, creatures like that would only be the next threat." Valco explained his reason to Ken.
"So you mean I'll be the next threat?" Ken narrowed his eyes at Valco.
"Yeah, you'll be the next threat because you can even beat Azael. Besides, you are not a human of this world. So, you're the same as those fallen gods." Valco nodded and didn't deny Ken's words.
"Does everyone in this war know what you are doing?" Ken still couldn't believe that everyone who fought with him had betrayed him.
"Of course. What I'm doing right now is an agreement between the Empire and the seven kingdoms." Valco confirmed Ken's question.
"I see..." Ken nodded and closed his eyes. Everything he and his friends tried to protect ended up betraying them in the end. Ken had already lost his friends from the same world like him, and now he lost his friends in that world for a different reason. Maybe if he didn't have Azael's curse, he would have gone berserk to vent his anger and sadness.
"Then die! Be a sacrifice for the peace of this world, Ken! Everyone! Attack him together using your full strength!" Valco ordered all the soldiers and mages to attack. Thousands of arrows and fireballs rained down on Ken. On the other hand, Ken didn't do anything and just closed his eyes when he saw the incoming attack.
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