Phoenix rising v10 contesting

Phoenix Rising Chapter 236 Graduation

It was a nice day with the weather being slightly warm, but the cool winds kept people feeling cool. The sky was nearly clear, except for thee few clouds that lingered in random parts.

Overall, it was a day that people were feeling comfortable with.

On this day, there was a spell event being held at a certain location called Astral Academy. It was the graduation ceremony being held to honour to finishing of its final year students. The education lasted two whole years and now, it was their time to say goodbye to their academy life.

All students, teachers and parents were attending this ceremony in a great hall. Chairs were laid out everywhere and people sat with the seating arrangements; the graduating students sat at the front while other students sat around them and parents sat behind the rest of them.

Meanwhile, the teachers were sitting around at the outer edge of the hall and observed.

There was chatter and noise within the hall for some time as people talked about the ceremony. At that moment, they heard a loud voice begin speak and they took this as tier queue to become silent. The speaker was one of the teachers wearing a suit with a well fashioned tie.

“Hello to dear parents, students and teachers for attending today’s special event. This day, will mark the end of a two long year journey faced by the graduating students. During this time, they made spectacular process in their learning and made great friends along the way.”

When he finished speaking, there was a round of applause from everywhere that rang out. The sound was increased dramatically due to the enclosed space of the great hall. Once they settled down, the speak continued speaking more about Astral Academy’s greatness in teaching their students to be excellent in whichever fields they wanted to be in.

After talking for a while, he gestured towards the rows of chairs on the stage.

“Now, I would like for the principal to have a few words. Principal, please…”

There was the sound of clapping as the principle, Carmela Chaikin, rose to her feet. She was grinning in embarrassment and shook hands with the speaker. On the stage, there were several chairs with were seated by important people of the academy, but one of them was the Phoenix Emperor, Felix Phoron.

Felix was actually not meant to be there, but he had to fill in for the king of Floria Kingdom.

Two years ago, after the death of their previous king, the people of Floria Kingdom chose a new ruler and it was none other than Venezuela Sargold. At first, Venezuela declined the offer, but from the constant protest from her followers and sympathizers, she decided to take the throne as the empress of Floria Kingdom.

Thus, she became one of the women to become crowned as the ruler of a kingdom in history.

While she was the ruler, she was also a student and her studies took priority. That was when Felix took her place as a substitute and did most of the draining work while reporting her through a list of documents. At the same time, he did not completely do all of them as he made her do several work that only she must do.

Felix sat there while looking around and when he dropped his attention to the front, he caught the eye of Venezuela. She was looking at the principal speaking, but had turned to look at him out of curiosity. When they made eye contact, she smirked and winked at him, to which he simply shrugged his shoulders and made a small smile.

Carmila cleared her throat and said, “Now then, I greet everyone for coming today on this wonderful day! Today is a great day of celebration and an amazing day of realisation. It’s time for the graduation of these students that sit before me.

They spent these two years studying their hardest by learning, strengthening and refining their skills, but that is about to come to an end. Now, they will be entering society as fully realised magicians, highly trained swordsman and engineers of the future. They are the new That is why I, as their principle, have had the most wonderful time having them here at Astral Academy. These past two years have been great and I know the students enjoyed them as well.”

All the graduating students were grinning broadly and while they did agree with her words, they also believed she was being a bit less formal. They were aware of how bad her skills were at when it came to the professional attitude, but they felt pride with the way she was praising them.

Carmila took a deep breath and dramatically said, “And thus…! As my last duty as their principal, I dismiss them for the final time! Students! I declare you that you all have graduated!”

With a triumphant roar, all the students jumped off their seats and chucked their hats into the air. Both boy and girl were wildly happy by the last pronouncement of their principle. As such,

they eagerly shook ears other’s hands, hugged each other and bid each other a happy graduation before heading off to find their parents.

“Phew…!” as she struggled to make out of the crowded great hall. “That was something else…”

Just then, she heard a familiar voice shouting, “Emilia! Emilia!”

Emilia turned to look in the direction the voice was coming from and saw a girl waving at her.

She smiled and rushed over to her quickly just when the people began spilling out of the great hall. Struggling through the crowd, she made it to the people she considered as family.

Standing together with wide smiles on their faces were Ondine, Silvera, Cantia and Erza.

“You… You girls sure got out fast,” Emilia told them as she recovered her breath.

Ondine shrugged her shoulders and said, “I really had nothing to keep me stuck inside with that mob.”

“I already said goodbye to my classmates before they headed off to their parents,” Silvera said with a cheerful smile.

“I-I don’t really have anyone to say goodbye to since I’ve only known you girls for these two years,” Erza said while looking awkward.

“More than my friends, I wanted to get together with you!” Cantia said brightly and she flung her arms over their shoulders.

Hearing their reasons for being out so early, Emilia chuckled and said, “I didn’t exactly interact with anyone from school, so I wanted to get out before I became mushed by the large crowd.”

“Good thinking!” Cantia said and she gave him a thumps up with a wink, causing Emilia to laugh.

Erza looked uncomfortable as she said, “At least, everyone had someone to call a friend in this world, while I came to this world through unforeseen circumstances because the man I loved lives in this world.”

Looking depressed, she let out a sigh and her head dropped slightly. The other girls looked at each other before Cantia stepped forward to speak sense into her.

“Ah! Are you still on about that?” Cantia asked in exasperation. “You need to get over it and live in the present! It’s not the past that matters the most, but the present because that dictates the future!”

“What she’s saying is that you should focus on the here and now rather than thinking about the negativities so much,” Emilia said with a smile.

“Huh? That’s what I just said!” Cantia said indignantly.

Ondine raised an eyebrow and said, “No, you did not. What you said came out completely with a different meaning.”

“Ha?! Are you trying to pick a fight with me?!” Cantia exclaimed with a feline expression on her face.

Ondine looked ready to battle, but Silvera quickly got in between them and said, “Now, now…”

Then, she turned to Erza and said, “You’re not alone, Erza. Until a hundred years ago, I don’t have any memories of my past, my behaviour and my past actions, although I was widely known as an instrument of destruction. Now, I am trying to live my life the way I want without being bothered by all that nonsense.”

“Yeah! Be happy because we’re here for you!” Ondine said with a grin on her face.

Erza looked at them smiling and nodded before saying, “Yes. You’re right. I’m sorry. I can’t always broad over what can’t be done.”

They smiled at each other and that was when Cantia suddenly began looking around curiously.

“By the way, where is Vena?” she asked them.

“I… I think she’s still inside with the other people, I think,” Emilia said uncertainly.

“I’m sure she does considering she’s the queen of a kingdom now,” Ondine said and sighed.

“Hey, now. You shouldn’t speak like that about the ruler of this kingdom,” Silvera told her sternly.

“Oh, come on. Once we marry Lakshman, we’ll all be mistresses,” Ondine said before widened her eyes in surprise at what she said. “Wait! That’s that mean that Lakshman will most likely end up being king or emperor?”

“Who knows,” Cantia said with a shrug of her shoulders before looking excited all of a sudden.

“Hey, do you remember what we told Lucky two years ago before he left for his training up in the mountains? Remember it?”

Ondine looked curiously at her and asked, “Remember what? Did we promise something with him?”

Cantia’s jaw dropped in disbelief as she stared at Ondine. Then, she exclaimed, “What?! Are you telling me you forgot already, especially when you made that stupid prideful boast?!”

“What? What?” Ondine said while looking confused.

“Oh my beetles!” Cantia exclaimed unhappily. “Two years ago, you boasted that you’ll get the best marks out of the rest of us!”

Ondine blinked several times with an expressionless face. Then, she said, “Oh… Right… I did say that, didn’t I?” “Yes, you did!” Cantia said firmly. “Now, according to the final results, Emilia came first, second was Vena, third was tied together with Erza and Silvera, while I came next and you ended up last.”

Ondine looked uncomfortable for a moment as she clenched and unclenched her fists. At the same time, Emilia looked embarrassed by being ranked first in the education score while Erza and Silvera appeared to be pleased with their scores.

“I… was just being boastful when I said that. It wasn’t meant to be taken seriously!” she slowly said through gritted teeth.

“Oh…? I think Emilia and Vena took it fairly seriously from how furiously they buried themselves in the textbooks and notebooks!” Cantia said as she looked at Emilia.

Emilia became flustered and blushed a little as she said, “I… I… I wasn’t taking that boastful challenge that seriously. I just wanted to study hard, train well and get good marks. It’s all my effort that earned me my marks.”

“Oh, don’t be so modest, Emilia. Ondine here will feel superior if you act that way.”

“Hey! Your score was below the rest of them as well!” Ondine said in annoyance.

“At least, I beat yours!” Cantia retorted with a wide grin on her face, causing Ondine to feel as if she was pierced through her chest.

“Dammit…! I was careless…!” Ondine muttered unhappy while she pressed her chest tightly.

Erza and Silvera looked at each other and realised something bad will happen if they let Cantia continued talking. Her tendency to impulsively talk like that can create a problem, which left it up to the girls to clean up and make her apologise later. For this one, they decided to change the topic and draw the attention away from Ondine, who was very depressed by her failure.

“Anyway, it’s been well over a year, hasn’t it since he left for training?” Erza asked quickly.

Silvera nodded and said, “Yeah, it has! During this time, he hasn’t made any contact with us or anything, although Felix kept saying that Lakshman didn’t want to be interrupted.”

Emilia nodded and said, “Yeah, but his family took it pretty differently. Each time we visited them during the holidays, the twins kept asking where their ‘annayya’ was while Indra kept stating how gutless his son was for leaving his lovers alone while he trained to get stronger.”

“Yeah, but Lakshmi seems to be whole heartedly happy with her son’s decision to train while we studied. Stating about how he trained roughly up in the mountains while we smoothly spent out days studying and training,” Erza replied with a sigh. “Really… Feels like his family are quite different.”

Silvera chuckled and said, “Yes, but I like her sweets! They are pretty good!”

Erza nodded and said, “You’re right. Those sweets had quite the taste that I had never experienced before. It’s unfortunate we chose not to go visit their house after the first time due to how much the twins were pestering us about him. I wanted to try them out again when he returns.”

“Yes. I hope he returns soon…” Emilia said longingly.

“I miss him,” Erza said quietly.

“I want master to return as well!” Silvera said wishfully.

“Hey! You’re not the only one who wants to see him again!” Cantia said cheerfully.

“I want him to come back as well! I can’t take anymore of Cantia’s craziness!” Ondine said hopefully.

“What?!” Cantia exclaimed in shock before they all laughed.

Meanwhile, Venezuela finished her talking to the people and sighed in relief as she made her way out of the great hall. Felix had bid her goodbye a little while earlier, stating that he had unfinished business to return to. She apologised to him for making him do all that work, but he

just smiled and said how it was his duty to fulfil his temporary position until she takes her official position as empress.

When she came out, the first thing she did was look for the girls. Finding them standing at the side while laughing heartily, she walked over with a smile on her face. She suspected the girls must be talking about something pleasant to be laughing so happily.

“What’s you lot talking about?” she asked them curiously when she reached them.

Silvera turned to her and said, “Oh…! We were just wishing that Lakshman would return to us quickly.”

“I was wishing he could come back soon so that Cantia’s craziness would no longer be a burden for me!” Ondine said heavily.

As Cantia glared at her fiercely, Venezuela chuckled heartily.

“So? Vena. Do you want to see him again after these two years of no contact?” Emilia asked her curiously.

Venezuela looked surprised by the question. Then, she smiled and nodded as she firmly said, “Yes. I want to see the man I love so much again!”

“That settles it! We all wish him to come back!” Cantia said and she punched her fist into the air triumphantly. Just then, her stomach growled and she suddenly looked embarrassedly at them.

Erza chuckled and said, “In the meantime, why don’t we eat? I could do with some delicious cooking.”

Venezuela nodded in agreement and said, “Let’s go and eat. The academy is specially providing the food for us in celebration of our graduation.”

“Awesome!” Cantia exclaimed happily and together, they headed over to the eating stall where everyone was.

At that moment, up in the mountains and deep within the forest, a ripple appeared on a solid rock. There was a path leading to it, but it would have looked ordinary to all ordinary mountaineers. Seeing that it was a dead end, they would turn away and follow the path back the way they came.

A ripple, like the one on water, appeared on the solid form of the mountain rock. The ripple continued and slowly increased as seconds went by, that was until a large ripple occurred and seemed to have created a hole in it. Out of that hole, a tall man stepped out wearing a shabby looking cloak that covered the most of his appearance. The only visible part of him were his firm black eyes and the waist length black hair.

The man breathed in deeply and said, “Finally… Breathing in the fresh air of nature makes me feel so free…!”

He looked around at the scenery of trees that covered most of the sunlight. Seeing the light, he looked up and quickly shaded his eyes to see the bright light through the leaves of the trees. This created a scenery effect that was calming and peaceful to all witnessing it.

“Ah… The power of the sun. Yes… I’m finally back…” Lakshman said with a small smile on his face.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 237 Action Hero

Lakshman breathed in deeply and closed his eyes to let himself feel with the nature. It was a wonderful sensation to be back in this world after training continuously for two years in the Phoenix Training Sanctuary.

“Ah… It’s nice to be out and about,” he said as he began stretching his arms and legs.

Just then, he heard a voice in his mind say, “Really, master? I feel that you probably should’ve taken the time to come out for breaks.”

He chuckled and said, “I wish, but my training was pretty intense to take breaks, except when I slept to recover.”

“Yes and that’s why, your spiky black hair became straight and grew to waist length,” Tetra told him in exasperation. “If someone comes here and sees you, I’m pretty sure they will think you’re a wild man of the wilderness.”

Lakshman became annoyed and said, “Tetra, that’s not funny even if it’s a joke,” to which, Tetra chuckled. “Anyway, this mountain is protected by the Phoenix Clan, so I doubt any stranger will wander in.”

“You know that there’s a possibility of trespassers, right?” she asked curiously.

“If the clans is slackening their duty, I’ll go and fix them up,” he said firmly.

“Well, it’s a good thing the training area is protected by a portal lock.”

“Yes,” he said in agreement.

Lakshman turned around and with his hand raised towards the white hole, he said, “Portal Close.”

In an instant, the hole shrunk and disappeared from the face of the rock. There was a sudden burst of light that was very difficult to look through, but it vanished a few seconds later.

Lakshman opened his eyes and saw that nothing had been disturbed by the light. He tentatively walked forward and patted the wall and nodded in satisfaction when he was the portal had closed.

“Good. Now, time to go pay the girls a visit.”

“Yes and I’m sure they will be very angry to see you.”

“Huh? Why? Wouldn’t they be happy to see me after these two years of separation?”

“About that…” Tetra said slowly. “They did want to see you a while back, but you told Felix you didn’t want to see them. I’m sure they will be unhappy of your wish to not be disturbed by anyone.”

“Oh, come on, Tetra,” he said reasonably. “I was in the middle of training and I was badly wounded later because of it. How can you expect to see the girls looking like that?”

“Yes, but you expect they will be happy to see you wearing such worn-out tight clothes?”

“That’s why I’m wearing a cloak to cover myself up,” he said confidently.

“Master, you grew taller, grew your hair really long and even packed on a few kilos.”

Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and said, “It can’t be helped that I’m still in the growing stage.”

He heard Tetra sigh before she said, “Really… You need new clothes immediately.”

“I’ll worry about that later, but these will do for now,” he said firmly.

“Go ahead and do as you please,” Tetra told him in resignation.

He chuckled and said, “I don’t need you telling me that. Anyway, time to go and pay them a visit.”

“And where are you planning on going to see them?”

“Astral Academy.”

“Uh… Master, they probably would’ve graduated by now, you know? Maybe, we should just visit the Phoenix Clan first, get new clothes and then go pay them a visit.”

He looked annoyed as he said, “I told you I’m going to visit them first.”

“So stubborn…”

“Oh, shush.”

He raised his hand in front of him and said, “Now then… Phoenix Portal!”

In an instant, a black energy formed in front of him and created a vertical circular hole in front of him. The Portal grew wider to match his height and became stationary while dark energy swirled around it. He breathed a sigh before walking forward and stepping into the portal. A moment later, he stepped out into bright sun light and ahead of him were the gates leading to Astral Academy.

At first, he thought he ended up at the wrong location when he recognised the surrounding landscape. Then, realising he was standing several meters from the gates, he exclaimed in surprise. The guards, who were guarding the gates, looked at him suspiciously with their spears at the ready.

“Wow…! The academy seems bigger than the last time I saw it,” he said while looking surprised.

“It seems the academy had built more buildings in these two years. I am also sensing a lot of people inside the academy grounds.”

“Yeah, I’m sensing them too,” he said quietly as his eyes narrowed. “I think there’s more than a thousand people inside. What’s going on?”

Lakshman walked towards the gate, intending to go inside, when he was quickly stopped by the guards. When they saw him walking towards the gate, they gripped their spears firmly and barred his way by putting their spears in a cross-connection.

“Only the invited are allowed to enter,” the guard on the left said firmly. “Please, leave.”

“Ah. You see, I know some people inside and I wish to talk to them,” Lakshman told the guards.

The guards shook their head together and the guard on the right said, “I’m sorry, but a creamy is being held right now. All invited guests are already present and you don’t seem to have been invited. So, please kindly leave.”

Hearing the guards telling him so firmly made Lakshman feel a bit unhappy. He could sense the presence of Ondine, Venezuela, Emilia, Erza, Silvera and Cantia inside the academy. However, it appeared that only the invited are allowed to enter while others are barred from entering.

He inwardly sighed and thought, “Damn… I guess I’ll have to talk to them later.”

To the guards, he smiled slightly and said, “Alright then. I’ll speak to them at a later time.”

The guards nodded in confirmation and Lakshman turned to walk away from the academy. He felt disappointed at not getting the chance to see the girls the moment he came out after spending two years away on training.

After walking for a while, he found a sitting bench and sat down to rest. Passer-by’s eyed him curiously and muttered to each other, but he did not listen or care. For the moment, he had his head down and the ragged out cloak gave him an extremely shabby appearance.

“Those stupid guards…! Don’t worry, master. It’s not your fault,” Tetra told him soothingly.

“Don’t blame them, Tetra. They are simply doing their job. I just forgot the required steps to get into the academy now that I’m no longer its student,” he thought unhappily. “Damn…!

Where is Felix when you need him?”

“He’s probably busy doing stuff, master,” Tetra told him uncertainly.

He chuckled and thought, “Tetra… I was just asking without expecting an answer. You didn’t need to answer me like that. Besides, that answer is no use to me right now.”

“Oh, right… Sorry, master,” Tetra said apologetically.

“It’s okay. Anyway, things look peaceful around here,” he thought as he lifted his head to look around.

Everywhere he looked, he saw the happy expressions of the people while they walked along the streets. The air itself was dancing with joy from the happiness of the masses. It seemed that none of them had any worries or troubles.

“I can feel the spirits of nature dancing from the joy of such happiness,” Tetra told him in a surprised voice.

Lakshman nodded his head and thought, “Yes. You’re right. It appears the people have calmed down after the dreadful war that took place two years ago. I believe, they’ve set aside the past and made attempts to return to the peace before the war, but I feel a change. There’s more energy… more substance to them than before. It must be the doings of their new king, whoever that might be.”

“You’re right, master. Their new king must be a king, generous and peaceful person to let the people flourish like this,” Tetra said in an impressed voice.

They remained in silence as Lakshman observed the situation from the bench that he sat at.

Seeing all the happiness and the feeling the joy, he closed his eyes and leaned back. The wind blew smoothly across his exposed face and he felt cooled by it. After enduring two years of intense training, he was slowly adapting to the practicality of the outside world again.

“Master!” Tetra said suddenly in an alarmed voice.

“I know. I sensed it too,” Lakshman said as he opened his eyes.

At that moment, he had sensed the presence of danger with his Elemental Sense. Through his rigorous training, he had mastered the use of Elemental Sense to detect and alert him. He also became extremely skilled in keeping it activate at all times without costing him excessive energy.

Now, that skill came in handy when he sensed trouble brewing nearby. While he sat there, he saw people rushing towards in the direction of danger.

“Well…! Looks like there’s trouble,” he said before slowly getting to his feet.

Lakshman quickly walked and turned a corner to see a crowd gathering. Loud shouts can be heard and the voice of a man barking orders in a rough firm voice. Narrowing his eyes, Lakshman walked through the crowd and watched what was happening.

Right before his eyes, there were roughly fifteen strong looking people going in and out of a house. These people were carrying the furniture and other equipment form the house and throwing them out. Standing aside and shaking with fear was a woman in her mid-twenties with two children at her side. She was crying freely as she hugged her scared children tightly.

“Throw them out! Come on, empty the house!” a man ordered loudly.

The owner of the voice was a man with a bald head, read moustache on his face and wellshaped muscles, visible by the sleeveless shirt he wore. Just one glance at him made Lakshman recognise the fact that he was really strong. Also, he was slightly surprised to see the man had a tail sticking out of his back.

“One of the Beast race...” Lakshman muttered under his breath. “Mmm… Those ears and that tail isn’t like Cantia’s… Must be one from the Deigra Beast Clan.”

“I suspect that you are correct, master. That type of ears and the business of that tail is seen only in the Deigra Beast Clan.”

“Oh..? So, you do remember some things then?” he asked in his mind with a small smile.

Tetra sighed and said, “Oh, please… I only forgot what happened before the unknown events 8000 years ago. Don’t make it look like I’m totally clueless. The real one that’s clueless is Silvera.”

“You’re right, but I’m sure she’s learnt a lot in these two years and I’m sure Erza’s the same,” he thought confidently.

Just then, he was brought back to the present when the owner of the house began pleading with the bulky beast man.

“Please…! I just need one month to clear the debt! Please… Just one more month…”

The beast man looked at the man and snorted angrily.

“Yeah, right! That’s what you said the last time when we were lenient. Now, time’s up and you got your debt to pay!”

“B-B-But the sales for my goods haven’t been doing that well due to the summer season. In a few days, winter will start and I know they will sell well!” the man said desperately.

“You had your chance! Now, the Slavemancer decreed that you be evicted and be sold into slavery!” the beast man said firmly.

“No!!!” the man cried out and the wife became shaking with fear.

Lakshman narrowed his eyes and thought, “Slavemancer?”

“The title means that it’s someone that enslaves people,” Tetra told him informatively.

“Tetra, I know what that title means! It’s just that I’ve never heard of anyone by that name,” “Probably because people don’t want to talk about him master…”

“Mmm…” Lakshman was not happy from hearing such an ill named title. Although he did not know who this ‘Slavemancer’ was, but he was sure it was someone with great capacity. The fact that this

cruelty was being conducted with the Phoenix Emperor meant he the person had great authority and power.

Just then, the beast man looked at the man’s family and slowly said, “Well… I don’t know how much you and your wife will sell for, but your children will probably be sold at high price, especially the girl.”

The little girl shrunk into the safety of her mother, not knowing that her safety flew out of the window. Now, she, her brother and the rest of the family are about to face real trouble as they were going to be sold into slavery due to their debt.

Their father fell down at the beast man’s knees and began to beg, “Please! They are just children!”

“Get off my lovely shoes!” the beast man said and he kicked the man aside. “Your children that were put into their situation by your incompetence!”

The man was clutching the injury the brutish beast man dealt him. Watching this, all his family could do was watch helplessly as their family head lost all his power. They were left there as the beast man ordered his fifteen men to empty the house. The crowd did nothing, but watch this unpleasant events unfold before their very eyes.

Lakshman looked at the crying family and he was instantly reminded of Emilia. She was his lover and she is also his Human Slave. Due to certain events that could have been dangerous for her, he doubt her and he had treated her like a lover ever since. Now, he was reminded of Emilia being a Human Slave and he instantly recognised the kind of treatment she had faced when her parents were killed and all their debt fell on her head.

Sensing this, Tetra immediately said, “No, master! We mustn’t get involved in this matter! We have no right to interfere.”

He narrowed his eyes and thought, “There are people crying helplessly while thugs vandalise and destroy their property. Sure, I can understand them being in their situation because of the foolishness of their family head, but this sort of behaviour is wrong!”

“B-But, master…! This is the system of this world. You can’t change it because of your feelings.”

“Tetra, I was forced to realise the true form of slavery when I was tortured constantly by the Demon Dragon King’s experiments. I can never forget how draining it was for me to mentally retain my reason and reality to continue living. I’m sure Emilia also faced the same situation, but in a more psychological way than me. That’s why, I cannot overlook this matter anymore!”

With that, he stepped out of the crowd and walked over to the wounded man. He had coughed out some blood, which meant he was injured by the rupture of a damaged internal organ. Lakshman looked down at the man with narrowed eyes and felt sadness for him.

Kneeling down, he gently placed a hand on his body, causing the man to nervously look up through unfocused eyes.

“Lie still, I will heal you,” Lakshman said with a small smile.

Just then, the beast man turned around and saw Lakshman kneeling beside the man with a smile on his face. Looking closely at the cloak Lakshman was wearing, he gave off a very shabby appearance and caused the beast man to laugh.

“So…! The garbage guy found a friend with another garbage? How nice!” he asked in a carrying voice.

Lakshman’s finger twitched as he thought, “Did he just call me… garbage?”

“Yes…” Tetra said hesitantly.

Lakshman sighed and with a wide grin on his face, he said, “Funny how that’s coming out of the mouth of a wild animal!”

The beast man widened his eyes in shock and he began to shout, “You—!”

“Would you please be quiet as I heal this man?” Lakshman asked loudly. Then, facing the injured man, he smiled and said, “Healing Harmony.”

In an instant, the injured man’s body was surrounded by a bright dim light. The blood slowly flowing out of his body quickly began to heal and the pain also slowly reduced.

“Hey! Hello…? I’m talking to you!” the beast man shouted at him.

When he did not receive a response, the beast man looked at one of his henchmen and gestured towards Lakshman. The henchmen nodded and he let the box he was carrying drop with a crash before walking towards Lakshman.

“Hey, you! The boss is trying to talk to you, stupid!” the henchmen said as he grabbed Lakshman by the shoulder.

Lakshman, who was healing the injured man, muttered, “Discharge.”

There was flashes of lightning, which erupted out in bursts before enveloping the henchmen.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!”

In an instant, the henchmen began screaming at the top of his voice as lightning surged into his body through the contact on Lakshman’s shoulders. The shocking attack immediately paralysed his movement as it shot the nerves of his body while making sure that they left him alive. However, the longer he stood there grabbing onto Lakshman’s shoulders, the worse it got. Unfortunately, his paralysed body did not listen to his commands and he did not have the will to move his body to save himself.

Everyone watching the man literally get surrounded by zaps of lightning backed away with fright. Even his comrades stopped what they were doing to watch with wide eyes. Even the beast man was left speechless as he watched his men getting zapped by numerous bolts of lightning surging through his body.

Finally done with the healing, Lakshman smiled at the previously injured man and said, “You’re all healed.”

“T-T-Thanks…!” the man said while blinking at him in disbelief.

Lakshman stood up and turned around suddenly realised the henchmen was still grabbing onto his shoulder.

“Let go! How long are you planning on standing there while taking my electrical attack, idiot?”

Lakshman asked as he pushed the henchmen’s arm of him.

His arm finally free from Lakshman’s shoulders, the henchmen just stood there haphazardly with his mouth open slightly. Then, he collapse to his knees while shaking uncontrollably before falling to his side. He lay there and twitched without any control over his body due to the electrical attack.

Lakshman looked at the man in surprise and said, “Oh… Oops! I only used a Saint ranked lightning attack, but I guess it was a bit too powerful for the guy to handle, especially by an Emperor ranked person like me. Oh well… He’s still alive and breathing, but it’ll probably take him a while before he recovers completely.”

“RRRRAAAAYYYY!!!” screamed another henchmen.

Seeing his comrade go down by electrocution, he pumped himself with pure energy and charged towards Lakshman. As he rushed towards him, he took his right arm back as it began to glow as energy built up into it. The plan of attack for this henchmen was to deliver a quick and powerful blow to Lakshman’s chest, causing immense pain and suffering from the blow.

Lakshman turned his attention towards the second henchmen just as he reached him. The henchmen let out a battle grunt and brought his fist towards as he aimed at Lakshman’s chest.

Just before impact, Lakshman stepped aside and easily dodged the fist. For his turn, he simply brought his right hand across and slapped hard against the henchman’s face. The force of impact from the slap was so strong, it blasted the henchmen downward and he smashed hard into the ground.

“I just finished talking and another man goes down… Oh dear…” Lakshman said in a dull voice.

For a moment, the remaining thirteen henchmen looked at their fallen two comrades. Then, they charged towards Lakshman by building themselves up with energy while letting out monstrous roars. Lakshman quickly dodged them all and began walking forward. For each of them, he delivered what appeared to be a single punch straight into their guts. Like flies, the thirteen henchmen collapsed and lay unconscious on the ground behind where Lakshman stood.

Seeing everyone lying unconscious behind him, Lakshman sighed and said, “I don’t believe this. It hasn’t been an hour and I’m already back in combat.”

The beast man was looking at each of his fallen henchmen with eyes of disbelief.

“You… You beat them all with one punch?” the beast man asked him in disbelief.

“That’s all it looked to you?” Lakshman asked while looking surprised. When the beast man nodded, Lakshman sighed and began pointing at each of the thirteen fallen henchmen while saying, “I hit him twenty times, seventeen times for this guy, eighteen times for that guy, nineteen for this guy…”

Lakshman told everyone the numerous times he had punched each of them. When he finished speaking, he smiled and said, “So, yeah… An average of twenty blows per person, but for them to look as if I only delivered one blow… I guess training at 1,500 times gravity has that kind of effect on normal observers.”

Everyone, who heard the amount of his training gravity, exclaimed, “Training under 1,500 times gravity?!”

When Lakshman nodded at them, they all stared at him in disbelief. They could not believe what they just heard and considered him to be a monster. At that moment, the beast man began to chuckle darkly, causing Lakshman to look at him.

“To be able to make numerous punches look like a single blow… To train at 1,500 times gravity… Ha! Nice try at bluffing, vagabond!”

“A-A-A-A-A…” Lakshman’s jaw dropped in disbelief as he could not believe his was just called a vagabond.

“First garbage and now a vagabond?!” Lakshman though indignantly. “This pup really needs a beating!”

The beast man pointed at Lakshman and said, “That bluff may have worked on normal people, but I’m not normal! I’m a Sage ranked beast warrior of the Deigra Beast Clan!”

As he shouted out the clan which he belonged to, he instantly was covered by a bright glow of light. The brightness caused everyone to close their eyes for fear of losing their eyesight.

Lakshman shaded his eyes because he thought this flash of light was just an illusionary distraction for the real attack. When the light vanished, he was surprised to see the beast man had transformed.

The beast man was no longer human looking like before. Instead, he had the appearance of a beast dog that was standing on two hind legs as it stared at its prey. The face was beastly shaped with fang like teeth that could crush meat fairly easily. Even the man’s hands have changed to become sharp claw like hands and his legs also became lethal clawed feet.

At that moment, he opened his mouth and let out a roar that scared people in all directions. It was indeed a beastly howl of a dog that had gone mad with rage. Now, that enraged dog had taken on the form of a humanoid dog with a thirst for destruction.

“How do I look, fool?! Do I scare you now?!” the beast man asked loudly.

He noticed the fearful expressions on everyone’s faces from his roar earlier and he was not lying when he stared about his rank being Sage ranked. Now, he focused attention on Lakshman and was startled to see him look unperturbed.

Lakshman nodded and said, “I thought you were from the Deigra Beast Clan and that howl was so much like a dog. Really, I think I should just refer to you lot as the Dog Beast Clan, right?”

“Master, that’s rude…!” Tetra told him sternly.

“Yeah, I know, but for this once, I’ll put aside my manners to take care of this beast!”

The beast man became enraged and screamed, “Don’t insult my proud beast clan, you blood freak!” Then, after roaring again, he said, “Time to slice you apart!”

“I’m not an onion to be sliced apart…” Lakshman said in a dull voice.

“Whatever!” the beast man shouted and he lunched at Lakshman. As he did, he shouted, “Beast Claw!”

In an instant, his claws began glowing brightly and appeared to have become sharper. The strength of those claws were so strong, Lakshman knew they could tear a limb apart easily.

However, that did not apply to him as he easily evaded the attack of the beast man.

Continuing to dodge like this made the beast man really angry.

“Stop dodging and die!” the beast man roared angrily.

Lakshman shook his head and said, “You’re so much like a wild animal, I should probably start calling you Beast Man the Wild Dog!” The beast man got very enraged and he roared as he began attacking Lakshman furiously.

Lakshman, for his part, simply evaded them easily. He felt the beast man’s strength and realised he was strong, but it was nothing compared to how strong Lakshman was.

After dodging several times, he Lakshman sighed and said, “Time to wrap this up.”

When the beast came for another strike, Lakshman easily dodged it and turned around. Then, he delivered a powerful elbow into the beast man’s chest. He followed this up with bringing up his left arm up and slammed the fist into the beast man’s face. Finally, Lakshman completely swung to the front and he delivered a powerful uppercut at the beast man’s jaw. The powerful impact blasted the beast man up into the air with incredible force.

“Oh! Oops!” Lakshman said in a surprised voice. “I put too much force into that punch!”

Lakshman looked up and saw the beast man become a star high up in the sky.

“Oh… He became a star…” Lakshman said in an impressed voice. Then, looking puzzled, he asked, “Wait… How high did I punch him?”

“As far as I can see… No! I can’t see him!” Tetra said in a shocked voice. “Master! You punched him too high!”

“Yeah… I realise that…” Lakshman said in a slow voice. “Oh, wait! I see something…!”

Just then, the beast man appeared in the sky and he flew straight down before smashing heavily onto the ground. The dust that erupted from the crash, slowly cleared to reveal a deep hole in the ground. There was a movement from within it and the beast man slowly climbed out.

“Oh. I’m glad you’re still alive, even though you’re badly wounded,” Lakshman said in an impressed voice. Then, he leaded forward and said, “Just for your count, that was just three blows.”

The beast man looked at him and wearily asked, “Who… are… you…?”

Lakshman raised his eyebrows and asked, “So… You fight first and ask questions later?”

“Just answer the damn question…!” the beast man said tiredly.

Lakshman chuckled and smiled as he said, “Well then…! Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Lakshman Reddy, but everyone calls me the Phoenix Titan!”

Phoenix Rising Chapter 238 Training Results

“Phoenix Titan…?” the beast man asked in disbelief. When Lakshman nodded, the beast man sighed and said, “Damn… If I had known it was you, I wouldn’t have fought…!”

Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and said, “You never bothered to find out who I was. Your arrogance in your power was your downfall and that includes your stupid henchmen.”

The beast man grunted as he slowly climbed out of the hole in the ground. When he straightened up, the family in debt became fearful. He looked at the fear gripping them and he snorted disdainfully.

“You may have beat me and my men up, but their debt will not go away. They will still need to sell themselves into slavery if they want to avoid the worst case scenario possible!” the beast man said roughly.

Lakshman narrowed his eyes and said, “I am aware it means death, but I do not approve of it!”

The beast man chuckled and said, “Who are you to approve it or not? The Slavemancer has more authority in the area of politics than you. Even the empress of this kingdom couldn’t challenge his authority and power.”

Lakshman raised an eyebrow and asked, “Empress? The new ruler is a female?”

Just then, someone from the crowd said, “That’s right, Phoenix Titan sir. Venezuela Sargold is now the empress of Floria Kingdom.”

The information instantly caused both of his eyebrows to rise up in surprise and he said, “Wow… Vena’s a ruler now…?”

“Doesn’t surprise me, master. After all, she was loved by the people and the passing of her father, a great king, also added support, which would naturally trump over the other nobles,” Tetra told him casually.

“Yeah, but still… She’s a ruler, but what would that make me if I marry her? Will I become king?

En emperor? I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Let’s deal with it when the times comes, master.”

“You’re right.”

At that moment, a black hole opened a few meters away from them. Lakshman looked at it and smiled as he knew who was about to come through it. A moment later, Felix Phoron stepped out and he was looking bad tempered as the portal closed behind him.

“What the heck is going on here?!” he demanded angrily. “Why am I sensing battle all the way from the castle?!”

“Oh…! He looks angry,” Lakshman thought cheerfully.

“Master! There’s nothing funny about him being angry,” Tetra told him sternly.

“Yeah, but it still make me want to smile each time I see him looking so angry,” Lakshman thought happily.

Felix walked forward and looked at the unconscious bodies of the fifteen henchmen of the beast man, lying on the ground. Then, he noticed the family of four standing a few meters away as they fearfully looked at him.

He sighed and asked, “Would someone please explain to me what the heck happened here?”

Lakshman grinned and as he raised his right hand into the air, he said, “I think I can explain if you’re in the mood to listen.”

“What?” Felix said in a surprised voice and he looked towards him and the beast man.

“Yo!” Lakshman said and he waved his right hand at Felix in a greeting gesture.

Felix narrowed his eyes for a moment when he looked at Lakshman. Obviously, the clothes and the slight change in Lakshman’s appearance did not immediately register him to be who he was. Then, when Felix walked closer to get a better look, he realised who he was looking at and his eyes widened in surprise.

“Luc-I mean, Lakshman? Is that you?” Felix asked in a surprised voice.

“Can’t you tell just by looking or my voice at the least?” Lakshman asked and he sounded hurt.

“Well… There’s a slight change in your voice, but the most change is in your appearance. The last I remember, you were about my height, but now you’re really tall! What are you, 180 centimetres?”

“184 to be exact.”

Felix whistled and said, “184 centimetres! You certainly grew tall, surpassing both your dad and mum’s height.” After chuckling, he became serious and asked, “Now, tell me what happened.”

Lakshman explained to Felix about him being there coincidentally when he sensed danger.

After inspecting what was going on, he discovered the beast man and his henchmen emptying the house of the family of four. Not willing to stand by and watch this horrible actions going by, he stepped in and intervened.

“Then, I just delivered a few blows and knocked them all out,” Lakshman said with a small smile.

Felix shook his head and said, “Slavery is normal everywhere and it’s a common practice that’s conducted to punish those that don’t do the right thing.

Lakshman became extremely serious as he said, “To hell with slavery! Living beings are not slaves to each other and they will never be! I don’t approve it!”

Felix sighed and asked, “Lakshman… Do you know who you’re messing with?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care!” Lakshman said flatly.

Felix and the beast man looked surprised by his firm words. Lakshman then proceed to point a finger at the beast man as he spoke seriously to him.

“You! Go back and tell your leader that I, Phoenix Titan, do not approve of slavery! It’s about time that ridiculous law gets abolished throughout the world!”

There was a collective gasp of surprise from the crowd of listeners. They could not believe what he just said and they immediately became fearful.

The beast man’s eyes became sharp as he said, “You… You dare to speak about the Slavemancer like—!”

“I dare and I will always dare!” Lakshman said in a powerful voice. “This Phoenix Titan bows down to no one!”

There was a stunned silence following his pronouncement and everyone simply stared at him with open mouths. They felt fear of retribution from the Slavemancer, but they also felt happy

that the current Phoenix Titan was planning on doing well for them and the world. The family of four breathed a sigh of relief when he flashed them a glance and caused them to stiffen up in alarm.

“However, not paying one’s debt is still a crime…” Lakshman said slowly. “If you don’t pay your debt, you will be jailed! I hope that’s enough incentive for you to pay off your debt in the next two months?”

When Lakshman asked him with a glint in his eyes, the man of the family quickly nodded and said, “Yes, sir! Thank you for this chance!”

Felix folded his arms and nodded his approval at the conclusion of the argument. The beast man’s henchmen also slowly came to as the crowd began moving about while minding their own business.

“I will delay your message to the Slavemancer, but don’t expect leniency,” the beast man told Lakshman roughly. “He will come to hunt you down like the fiery bird that you are!”

Lakshman snorted and said, “I’m not a caged bird, you fool. I’m a phoenix bird that’ll burn anything down! It’ll be most likely be me who goes to pay him or her a visit.”

As his henchmen began to gather around him while massing their wounds, the beast man narrowed his eyes and said, “Sure… That is, if you’re truly… unlucky…!”

With that, he and his henchmen began running at high speed and they quickly disappeared.

Lakshman thought the men “Right. Let’s get out of here,” Felix said as he opened another portal.

The two of them stepped through the portal and arrived Felix’s office. Lakshman was instantly surprised to see paper lying everywhere on the ground. On closer inspection, he realised these were old data sheets on the finances of the kingdom that need to be trashed, but Felix had been really busy to clean them up.

“I can’t believe you were involved in a fight right after coming back!” Felix said indignantly as he sat on the chair behind his desk “Yeah… Sorry about that,” Lakshman said apologetically as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and he sat down on a seat in front of the desk.

“Really because I’ve been feeling that you’ve been pretty attracted to battle everywhere!”

Felix said as he eyed him shrewdly. “It’s like, you were meant to fight and do nothing else!”

“Oh, come on. I don’t fight for the fun of it,” Lakshman said indignantly. “I just happened to be there when all that happened. I told you that already.”

“Yeah, but fate seems to conspire to constantly put you in a situation where you have to fight to become strong. It makes me wonder what the God of Fate has in store for you.”

Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and said, “What will be shall be. All we can do is live our lives the way we want till we reach the end of the road. By the way, what are Sevedat and Wolfenstine doing right now?”

Felix told him that Wolfenstine made himself home in Floria and opened his science laboratory two years ago. Apparently, he went and destroyed the data along with the building of his previous laboratory in Mardana Kingdom. After which, he returned to Floria Kingdom and immediately began his experiments on the inferior Dragon Armours he collected after the war.

“He’s been trying to improve their quality and give it to common soldiers, but it’s been no use.

It’s proved to be a really difficult task to replicate the same type of armours like the Phoenix Armour of the Phoenix Clan and Dragon Armour of the Dragon Clan,” Felix said with a sigh.

“Still, he hasn’t given up on hope that he’ll one day get it right and who can stop him? I mean, he’ll live for the next thousand years without problems being a hybrid and all.”

Lakshman chuckled and asked, “And Sevedent? What happened to him?”

Felix told him that the Death Titan had gone to the Demon Continent and went through the Demon Portal into the Demon World, Demagrad. His decision to leave for Demagrad was to prepare the Demon Titan to become allies with the Phoenix Titan in the future.

“Eh? He went over to train the Demon Titan to become my ally?” Lakshman asked in a surprised voice. “Why? I thought the Demon Titan would already be trained by now or are you telling me he wasn’t born two years ago?”

Felix shook his head and said, “He was alive, but he lived an existence of seclusion that was well away from the other demon communities in Demagrad.

The previous Demon Emperor, the guy you easily destroyed five years ago, hated the Nine Pillars of Power and especially the Demon Titan who would eventually grow to be stronger than him. Fearing this, he made sure to kill off the Demon Titan’s family, but they disparately saved him by creating a powerful barrier to save his life.

The Demon Emperor couldn’t touch him while the titan stayed inside the barrier. Ever since then, he practically had no contact from the outside world except when he hunted for food.”

Lakshman became angry and said, “Damn… Lucky that bastard’s dead, otherwise I’d have killed him again!” Then, Lakshman thought of something and he asked, “But then… Wouldn’t it have been easier to go and meet the Demon Titan five years ago when I killed the past Demon Emperor?”

Felix nodded and said, “It would’ve been, but no one bothered and Sevedant was busy concentrating his powers on capturing his sworn enemy, Razzel. Now, he’s finally gone over and I’m sure they will be training as we speak. The Demon Titan and Death Titan are similar in their ways of darkness and they are fourth and fifth ranked within the Nine Pillars of Power.”

Lakshman nodded in understanding and said, “Yes. That makes sense and I hope the Demon Titan will be friends with me.”

Felix chuckled and said, “Speaking of being friends, the Sword Titan’s been constantly contacting us to find out about you.”

“About me?” Lakshman asked and he looked surprised.

Felix nodded and told him how the Sword Titan, Dominic Rutherford, kept asking them what had happened to Lakshman in these two years. This act of friendship made Lakshman realise how lonely Dominic had been before meeting Lakshman. It appeared that being part of highly ranked warrior with immense power made Dominic feel more connected to Lakshman than to ordinary people of society.

“I’ll to him later,” Lakshman said and Felix sighed in relief.

“Thanks because he kept bombarding us with questions and even at one said he’d come here!” Felix said unhappily. “To make matters worse, their new king also said he wanted to meet you in person.”

Lakshman chuckled and asked, “So, who’s the new king of Mardana Kingdom?”

“His name is Temba Trigard. He was once a soldier, but the people elected him to be their leader because his great wisdom and the kind of qualities that you seemed to have preached them while you were there. What are they talking about exactly?”

Felix narrowed his eyes and looked quizzically at Lakshman, causing him to chuckle embarrassedly.

“W-Well… At least, they are doing fine now. That’s what matters right now,” Lakshman said while smiling sheepishly.

Felix looked at him for a moment before straightening up and saying, “Mmm… Well, I won’t ask what you did since it’s doing them good…”

Lakshman sighed in relief and Felix chuckled when he saw that reaction.

“So then, mind telling me why you are dressed like that?” Felix asked him as he eyed the cloak he was wearing. “Also, why did you grow your hair so long?”

“About that…” Lakshman said slowly as he looked down at his cloak. “I didn’t think I would grow so much in the Phoenix Training Sanctuary, so I didn’t have much of change of clothes.

Most of my clothes were pretty much destroyed anyway by my training and I’ll have to get new ones later.”

“So, you just wore a ragged old cloak over yourself that makes you look very poor!” Felix said and he shook his head in disbelief. “Even so, that didn’t mean you should grow your hair so long.”

Lakshman put his arm back and caressed his hair while looking pleased with it.

“Well… This long hair is the proof of my training, although I did try to cut it. I tried using Flash Blaze to cut it off, but it only set my hair on fire.”

“Huh?!” Felix exclaimed in disbelief. “You idiot! Who the hell would use such a technique to cut their hair? Can’t you do it in a more normal way?”

Lakshman chuckled and said, “After that, I stopped and decided I’ll just go to a salon to get it done. However, I believe the hair will just grow back with my transformations.”

Felix looked surprised and said, “Transformations? What do you mean?”

Lakshman made a smile as he said, “You see… All this time, I had been concentrating on getting strong that I never considered focusing my energy. Well…! That’s exactly what I did during my training and body did I realise how much energy I was wasting it by my reckless use of techniques. So, I spent almost four months just focusing my energy until I finally succeeded in not wasting any of it.

That was when I sensed a huge depth to my powers. I think you are aware that currently, I only have fifty-percent of my true power unlocked along with the Decisive Player’s sacrificial ten-precent power bonus?”

Felix nodded at him while making a curious expression on his face. Seeing this, Lakshman nodded back and continued explaining.

“Within that fifty-percent power, I realised that I can do more transformations as a Phoenix Titan!” Lakshman said excitedly. “I am able to transform two more times after transforming into the Phoenix Titan! I call them my Phoenix Titan: Burst Form and Phoenix Titan: Final Form.”

“Oh wow…” Felix said in a surprised voice. Then, he looked puzzled and asked, “Um… Would you give me an example of how powerful you are in these forms?”

“Okay…” Lakshman said with a simple nod. “Currently, I’m in my base form and I can clearly sense that you’re still stronger than me.”

Hearing this, Felix nodded proudly and said, “Naturally I would be, but that’s probably because you’re power’s sealed.”

Lakshman chuckled and said, “That’s true, but I become really strong when I transform into the Phoenix Titan form now that I’ve focused my energy.” When Felix looked puzzled, Lakshman said, “Mmm… I think I would be a little bit stronger with you in the Phoenix Mode and me in the Phoenix Titan form.”

Felix‘s eyes widened in surprise and he said, “Wow…! Doesn’t that mean… you’re stronger in your burst form and final form?”

Lakshman nodded and hesitated for a moment before he said, “Actually… I haven’t been able to transform into the Phoenix Titan: Final Form.”

“What? Why not? I thought you could!” Felix said sharply.

Lakshman shook his head and said, “I tried really hard to transform into the final form and my hair grew really long and all, but I was exhausted. I went for it several more times with no good end result with the transformation failing. It seems I couldn’t draw any more power because of the restricted amount of energy I currently have.”

“I see… That is a pity…” Felix said unhappily before blighting up and saying, “Still…! To be able to push yourself into transforming and reach a higher stage with more power and strength is amazing! I wish I can do that.”

“I’m certain everyone wants to go through transformations to become stronger,” Lakshman said with a chuckle. “Most people keep forgetting that I’m a complete normal person in appearance without my Phoenix Titan transformation.”

Felix laughed and asked, “How about the other skills? What rank are you at now?”

“Emperor,” Lakshman said firmly with a confident smile on his face. “I gave up on my transformation efforts after realising I will never get any further than that. That’s when I focused all my concentration on training my mind, my strength and my energy into mastering all the skills from the great amount of knowledge I possess.”

Felix smiled and said, “Good! Now, will you put those skills to good use or than the battlefield?”

Lakshman nodded as he said, “Yes. First, I intend to settle the matter regarding the slavery and then, I will handle the matter regarding the marriage of me and the ladies.”

“I see. You were serious about it,” Felix said quietly.

“I dislike slavery because living beings are not slaves of this world, they are part of this world!

We can’t do what we’re not supposed to do!” Lakshman said sharply. “That’s why, I’ve decided to abolish that law as soon as possible!”

Felix remained quiet and listening to Lakshman’s’ fierce speech. Once the speech was done, he nodded and said, “I understand, but to do that, you will need a lot of authority and power.”

“I have power—!” Lakshman began, but he was quickly cut off by Felix.

“You have power, but you don’t have authority! You can’t move the masses or the other kingdoms by force! That becomes a dictatorship and it is a bad direction to head in!”

“So… What’re you saying…?” Lakshman asked suspiciously.

Felix sighed and said, “You and Venezuela love each other and so do the other girls. The people are aware of this and your future wives don’t seem to mind you marrying multiple of them. That’s why, I was thinking that you marry Venezuela first and become kind of Floria Kingdom.”

At those words, Lakshman’s eyes widened in shock and he shouted, “You’re suggesting a political marriage?!”

He banged the desk hard and glared at Felix angrily. Felix out his hands together and stared at back, unflinchingly.

“Damn you, Felix! I love Venezuela and the other girls and I wanted to marry them through love! Now, you’re telling me to marry her for the sake of obtaining political power?! That’s wrong! I can’t do it!”

“Lucky, listen to me,” Felix said seriously. “You want to abolish the slavery law and that would require a vast amount of political power. Now, if you become a king, you will have the sufficient authority to bring the other kingdoms together and get them to understand your thoughts. I know you will force the matter, but you will be treated an enemy of the world if you dare to take that step, Lucky!”

Lakshman was making an uneasy expression on his face and Felix sighed heavily. He thought Lakshman retained the firm stubbornness from his father and thought it will end badly for him.

At that moment, Lakshman looked at Felix and firmly said, “I understand.” As Felix looked eagerly at him, he continued saying, “I’m cure the ladies will also understand the situation and will do their best to help me.”

Felix grinned and said, “That’s great! I’m glad we resolved this matter a lot quicker than I thought.”

Lakshman sighed and said, “I just didn’t want to needlessly put up excuses to avoid what has to be done.” He hesitated for a moment before shrewdly asking, “Or… Were you thinking I was being as stubborn as my father…?”

Felix laughed hastily and said, “Well then, we should go and get you fixed up. There is no way I can let you go meet your lovely ladies looking like a vagabond.”

In an instant, Lakshman moved and he pointed his finger at Felix’s forehead. He had a serious expression on his face that somehow were cold and heartless, which cased Felix to shiver. It was an unnatural expression that made Felix fear for his life at that moment.

“Felix, I’ve just been called that twice now. Anymore times and I will seriously beat the crap out of them!” Lakshman said fiercely.

“S-S-Sorry!” Felix said quickly. “That’s why, we better go get your new clothes and get you a haircut since you need one!”

Lakshman released Felix and leaned back as he said, “Okay. That’s fine by me.”

Felix inwardly sighed and thought, “Phew, but dang… He’s become really firm in his way of handling people.”

“Calm down, master. He was only joking,” Tetra told Lakshman in his mind.

“That’s the second time in one hour! Seriously… I don’t that sort of crap within the hour that I came back!” Lakshman thought unhappily, making her chuckle.

Felix rose to his feet and said, “Let’s go.”

Lakshman stood up and walked out after opening it. Felix walked over to it, but paused at the exit to look at the paper on the floor.

“Phintex Rajas, please clear up and trash the needless items,” he said casually.

“As you commands, master,” said a voice from within the room.

Felix nodded and he closed the door shut as he and Lakshman went out for clothes and a haircut.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 239 Lovely Reunion

Felix and Lakshman went out of the castle and visited several shops for clothing that Lakshman could wear. After checking them out, Lakshman finally decided on several new clothes for him to wear now that his old ones are no good for him. Now that he got new clothes, he planned on using his old clothes as rags of cloth.

“Better to use them for something else than needlessly throw them out,” Lakshman had said when Felix inquired about him wanting to keep them.

Later, they visited a salon where the owner operated a custom cutting as per the client’s desire. He did this by simply letting the client customise with adjustments while he operated on him. When the owner asked him what kind of cut he wanted for his hair, Lakshman simply shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

“You pick,” he said flatly.

“Don’t you want to make your hair stylish? You know, like the previously spiky hair you once hair?” Felix asked him curiously. “It’ll look pretty cool and people will like it a lot.”

“I don’t care what others think of me,” Lakshman said sternly. “I am who I am.”

Tetra, who had transformed into her human form, sighed and said, “Master, the girls won’t be happy with that attitude of yours. They would want you to appear cool.”

“Fine, but I have no idea how to look cool. So, I’ll leave it in your capable hands to decide that, Tetra.”

“Leave it to me!” Tetra said confidently as she thumped herself in the chest.

The air salon owner used the magical cutting scissors to cut through Lakshman’s hair carefully.

He was aware of Lakshman's status as both the Phoenix Titan and the future husband of Venezuela Sargold, which is why he put in more effort than usual to be extra careful. He casted several illusions magic spells, just in case his hand slipped from nervousness and did something bad.

The man did not know that Lakshman had already activated his own magic to protect himself against such a disaster. Due to how good he had become in controlling his magic spells, he had

closed his eyes and appeared as if he was sleeping while his hair got cut. In the meantime, Felix just sat on a chair and watched with curiosity as Lakshman got his hair cut while Tetra instructed the owner.

After a while, the cutting was done and Lakshman opened his eyes to check his new look.

“Mmm! That looks good!” Felix said as he looked at his hair.

The owner smiled and said, “Yes. It certainly looks better than the long hair.”

Tetra nodded in agreement and said, “You’re right. Now, it doesn’t look straight and flat, but it doesn’t appear to be spikey either. On a whole, it looks great for your current appearance, master!”

Lakshman, who was turning his head this way and that way to look at his hair, just said, “It feels a bit weird for the hair to stand up like that. Is that thickness or just my hair being strange?”

Tetra chuckled and said, “That’s thickness, master.”

“Oh…! Thickness? Okay, okay. That makes sense,” Lakshman said with a smile of satisfaction.

He rose off the seat and turned to the man as he asked, “How much did it ask?”

“Fifteen gold, sir,” the owner said with a smile.

Lakshman, who had pulled out his Item Box, paused and looked at the man with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Fifteen?”

“That’s right, sir,” the man said respectfully.

Lakshman continued to look at the man curiously before he shook his head and said, “No. You’re lying to me.”

“Eh?” the man said and he looked surprised. “I’m not lying, sir.”

Lakshman shook his head and smiled as he said, “No, you’re lying. I can tell when someone lies to me.”

When the man looked alarmed, Felix looked seriously at him as he asked, “Hey… Are you deceiving us or something?”

Lakshman held his hand out and stopped Felix. Then, he looked at the man and said, “He’s not lying to me in a bad way. Rather, I believe you’re giving me some kind of discount for being a special customer, right?”

Lakshman, who had his Elemental Sense, constantly active, immediately detected the lie in the man’s words. At the same time, he also realised the amount of money charged was pretty low and he realised the man must be doing some sort of a discount.

“Forget about me being a special customer and charge me at the right price,” Lakshman said to him firmly. When the man continued to hesitate, Lakshman sighed and said, “If you don’t, it’ll low like I’m being pitied by you.”

“Ah!” the man said in shock and he quickly said, “No, no! I don’t want that!” Then, he reluctantly said, “Fifty-five gold, sir.”

“That’s better,” Lakshman said and he held the Item Box before saying, “Transfer fifty-five gold.”

In an instant, gold coins began flying out of the Item Box and landed on the shop’s counter.

Once the amount had been done transferring, Lakshman pocketed the Item Box. Then, after biding the owner of the shop goodbye, he, Felix and Tetra left the salon.

“I’m impressed,” Felix said in an impressed voice as they walked down the street. “You can detect truths and lies now?”

Lakshman nodded and said, “Originally, the Elemental Sense was used to detect the power levels and life energies of people. Realising that it had more potential, I improved its functions and became capable of utilising it to detect danger, trouble, lies and many other things.”

Tetra laughed and said, “Master became so good at it that he detected my suspicious behaviour when I served him food.”

“Served him? Was he in the middle of training or something?” Felix asked curiously. “And what did you mean by your suspicious behaviour?”

“She tried to drug me to sleep,” Lakshman said flatly. “Apparently, she thought I was training too hard and tried to put me to sleep so I could rest.”

“Because you were, master!” Tetra told him sternly. “Spending almost twenty hours continuously training in that hellish place… You must be out of your mind!”

“So, did you eat the food?” Felix asked curiously and Lakshman nodded.

“Didn’t need to,” Lakshman said simply. “I just used Illusion Destroyer to remove all unnatural substances within the food that I ate.”

“Illusion Destroyer?” Felix asked looking puzzled. “I don’t remember hearing about such a technique.”

“It’s one of master’s new techniques,” Tetra said proudly.

“Woah… That’s amazing!” Felix said and he sounded impressed. “How does it work?”

“Simply put, it erases all things that I preserve as not real, like that sleeping substance within that food. I ate that kind of food many times over the years and when I felt a new element in it, I immediately activated the spell and it got rid of foreign substance, leaving the delicious food only.”

“Interesting… Hey, does it… um… erase people?” Felix asked nervously.

Lakshman looked at him with his eyes slightly narrowed and said, “It is possible, but I highly doubt any of us will be able to use that spell in such a way to erase a living being from existence.”

“Meaning?”

“Only a god can do such a thing, Felix. No mortal or immortal being is capable of unleashing such a devastation upon this world than the gods.”

Hearing that, Felix sighed in relief and Lakshman smiled. The two of them knew the kind of devastation such a powerful spell would bring upon the world. Felix was glad such a spell cannot be used to erase people from existence.

Sensing the tense situation between them, Tetra quickly moved the conversation and said, “Master also learnt and invented several more techniques of really high ability!”

“Really? What are they?” Felix asked eagerly.

“Well… There’s Illusion Destroyer, Maga Distrab, Spirit Circuit, Metal Force and several more.

Oh yeah, I also made a contact with a Spirit Beast and Phoenix Familiar while I was at it.”

Felix’s eyes shot up in shock and he said, “Huh?! You made a contract with a Spirit Beast and a Phoenix Familiar?”

“While I was resting, I went through the vast amount of information I possess and I confirmed several things I had to do. First, I had to master both Spirit Summoning and Phoenix Summoning and the next is to make a contract with the summoning. In the end, I ended up contracting with a Spirit Dragon and an Eternal Phoenix.”

At hearing with whom Lakshman had made contracts with, Felix’s jaw dropped in disbelief. He stared at him in disbelief because he simply could not believe what he just heard.

“You managed to summon a Spirit Dragon and an Eternal Phoenix?!” Felix said in a carrying voice.

At his loud voice, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over at them with curious expressions on their faces. They wondered why the Phoenix Emperor was raising his voice so suddenly and wondered what it was they were talking about.

“Oh, for crying out loud,” Lakshman said with a sigh. “Phoenix Portal!”

In an instant, a portal opened up in front of him and he pushed Felix through it before he and Tetra walked in. Once inside the portal, Felix recovered and immediately bombarded him with questions.

“How is it possible for you to summon a Spirit Dragon and an Eternal Phoenix? That’s impossible!” Felix said fervently. “I tried summoning a Phoenix Familiar, but failed for unknown reasons. Yet, you’re saying you succeeded in summoning and making a contract with both of them?”

“Stop complaining, Felix,” Lakshman said as he began walking along the road of light with swirling darkness on either side of them. “It’s not like it’s completely unnatural for me.”

“Yes…! Yes…! I’m finally beginning to realise just how the unnatural becomes a natural thing for you!” Felix said heavily. “Anyway, I can understand you made a contract with an Eternal Phoenix since you’re the Phoenix Titan and all, but how did a Spirit Dragon make a contract with you?”

Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and said, “I know that dragons only connect well with other dragons, but I somehow managed to summon it. I mean, I was expecting something more in the terms of a Spirit Lion, but I was pretty surprised when a Spirit Dragon got summoned.”

As they walked, Felix looked at Lakshman’s back and asked, “Did the Spirit Dragon challenge you to a battle?”

“Yeah, it said something about testing my worth and I had to fight to prove myself,” Lakshman said in a dull voice. “I powered up and fought that thing head on!”

Tetra chuckled and said, “It was quite the battle too, a fully grown dragon verses a newly rising phoenix. For a while, I feared those two might end up destroying each other. Eventually, master won and the dragon consented to the contract.”

Lakshman laughed and said, “I never thought I’d end up in a battle between dragon and human in our very first meeting.” Then he shrugged his shoulders and said, “Oh well. I think it was worth testing each other’s strengths.”

“I see,” Felix said and he nodded in understanding. “I suppose your pets are in their respective dimensions?”

“Yes because I don’t exactly have a home here yet,” Lakshman said heavily. “That’s why, is there a land I can buy, Felix?”

“Huh? Land?” Felix asked in a surprised voice. “Why not live at the castle since you’ll become king soon.”

Lakshman shook his head and said, “No. I want to lead a simple life while bearing my responsibility is king. Also, when I have kids later, I don’t want them being raised by royalty. It will only feed their ego and turn them into the trash bags of society.”

Felix nodded and said, “I understand. I’ll see what I can do about the land, but I’m sure there is a place that’s available for sale, but I don’t know if you have the money to buy—?”

“If its money, I’ll have plenty and if that’s not enough, I’ll just go acquire more gold from another Labyrinth Tower to buy the land. How does that sound?” Lakshman asked with a small smile on his face.

Felix chuckled and said, “Sounds interesting. Anyway, let’s all discuss this together at a later date.”

They nodded at each other just as they stepped out of the portal and arrived outside of Astral Academy. As the portal closed behind them, Felix glanced towards it and looked impressed.

“You’re improved with using your Phoenix Portal. It’s a lot more solid than what I use and it certainly is better than the Magic Scrolls the Phintex Rajas use often to travel really long distances.”

Lakshman smiled and he said, “Stop getting impressed with everything I’m doing right now, Felix. I’ve changed.”

Felix nodded and they walked towards the gate, where the guards stepped forward to speak to them. When they found out that they were in the presence of the Phoenix Titan, they quickly bowed to him. Then, they quickly informed each other and let the gates open to let him and Tetra inside. Lakshman walked in and suddenly realised he did not sense the presence of Felix beside him.

“Felix, come on,” Lakshman told him as he turned around.

Felix, who was standing outside the gates, shook his head and said, “Sorry, but I only came out of office to get you new clothes, a haircut and escort you here. With my job done, I’ll be going back to work.”

“Oh… Alright then. Thanks for the help so far,” Lakshman told him and together, he and Tetra waved goodbye.

Felix chuckled and said, “Well, have a lovely reunion.” Then, he turned around and said, “Phoenix Portal.”

As a portal opened up, he walked into it and disappeared and a moment later, the portal closed. The guards closed the gates and returned to their standby state as Lakshman and Tetra continued walking inside.

“Mmm! I spell something delicious!” Tetra said as she sniffed eagerly.

Lakshman raised an eyebrow at her and asked, “Are you a dog or something to sniff like that?”

“Master! Aren’t you forgetting that phoenixes are birds?” Tetra asked sternly as she continued to sniff the delicious smell. Licking her lips, she said, “Now that I’ve smelt it, I feel hungry.”

“Haha. Fine,” he said before laughing heartily.

Together, they made their way towards where they were sensing the presence of many people. When they turned a corner, they arrived to see a large crowd had gathered there.

Most of them were standing around while talking happily while others continued to eat food

from the plates. As he looked around at them, he immediately saw the six girls whom he loves very dearly.

Ondine, Silvera, Venezuela, Emilia, Erza and Cantia were standing around together and talked.

Ondine had a glass of water in her hand, which she continued to drip from. Cantia still had a plate in her hand full of food that she was slowly eating, obviously to savour the taste. Seeing her eating so slow, made Lakshman want to laugh.

As he drew nearer, the girls stopped talking and widened their eyes. They did not know why, but they sensed the presence of someone they had been longing to meet over the past two years. In anticipation, they turned around and saw Lakshman walking together them with Tetra walking beside him. At first, the girls were frozen in shock when they saw the slight change in his appearance, but his new look memorised them and caused them to continue staring at him.

The first to break out of this spell was Erza, who had her eyes wide open. Then, she rushed forward as she smiled widely in thrill of great happiness.

“Lucky!” she cried out happily as she ran towards him.

Seeing her rushing towards him surprised Lakshman and he quickly stepped back to catch her as she jumped at him. As soon as he caught her in his arms, she swung her arms around him and hugged him tightly with her arms.

“Lucky! Lucky! You’re back! You’re back…!” she was saying happily.

“Woah there, Erza!” Lakshman said with a laugh. “You surprised me there, suddenly running at me like that. I thought you wanted to hit me or something.”

“Why would I want to hit you?” Erza asked him breathlessly.

Lakshman let her go and she landed gracefully on her feet. Just then, he saw the other girls rushing towards him and he quickly pushed Erza out of harm’s way. The next moment, he was hit by a wave of bodies as Ondine, Silvera and Cantia took a running leap and bumped into him before they began hugging him tightly. The impact from their running leap caused him to move back as his feet got dragged on the ground.

“Wow…! Ladies!” he exclaimed in a surprised voice. “Calm down…! I’m back—! Ouch!”

He winced because Ondine, Silvera and Cantia were hugging him a little bit too tightly.

Lakshman realised the girls became very strong over the past two years. It seemed their determination to get strong in an effort to try and catch him in his ever growing strength

pushed them forward. His strength was immense, but he feared anymore of their pressure will cause him to automatically activate his self-defensive combat mode.

“Ladies… Stop it. You’re crushing me!” he told them sternly and they finally let go of him.

“W-We’re sorry, but… but… we… missed you… master…!” Silvera said tearfully.

When they stepped back, he was startled to see all three of them shedding tears out of happiness at seeing him again and sadness of missing him for so long. Feeling a surge of affection for these three girls, he began patting their heads in a speedy movement that made it look like he was using three arms to pat their heads.

“You’ve certainly improved with your speed,” Venezuela said as she walked over to them. “On top of that, seems like you grew taller and your muscles also got a bit more bulky. Is it just far or…?”

Lakshman looked hurt as he said to her, “Ah, come on, Vena… I became strong, not fat.”

Venezuela smiled and said, “That’s good to know.”

He nodded at her and asked, “So… Should I still call you Vena or… Empress Vena?”

“Say that again and I will beat you up like anything…” Venezuela said quietly in a dangerous voice.

“I was just joking! Just joking…” he hastily said and she nodded in satisfaction.

He suddenly felt a nudge to his side and he turned to see Emilia looking up at him. The height difference between them was quite something because her fullest height was about his shoulder height. However, he did not care and they hugged each other happily. Unlike the other girls, Emilia was gentle with her hug and he felt all her emotions pass through him easily, feeling very happy.

“Welcome back, Lucky,” Emilia said sweetly.

Lakshman was thrilled to hear her voice and the sweetness in her voice made him feel his heat just skipped a beat. It was an amazing feeling that he had quite forgotten due to the training he was undergoing. Now that he is back, the once subdued feelings of love and peace.

When he straightened up and looked at all the girls smiling happily at him, he happily back smiled and said, “Yeah… I’m definitely back!”

Phoenix Rising Chapter 240 For the Future

A few days passed since Lakshman returned and during this time, he spent his days resting at the castle. That somehow became his new home, but he only thought of it as a temporary home. In the meantime, the girls stayed at Astral Academy for several things that followed their graduation. During this time, the girls visited ceremonies with the rest of their graduating year.

Once that was done, it was time to pack up their things to leave the academy. On the day of their departure from the academy, Lakshman visited them to check out his room in the male dormitories. It seems with the addition of a lot of male students, three more male dormitories were constructed to accommodate them.

On the day, Lakshman visited the room that he once occupied two years ago. Although he had abandoned his studies, the principal decided to retain his room so that he may take his things.

That was what Lakshman did on that day when he pulled out his bags and began stuffing them with the clothes.

“These clothes will come in for spare rags I suppose,” he muttered as he stuff his bag full of clothes.

He had already extracted the student identification card from him by simple using an extraction command. After handing it over to the staff ladies, he was told he should get his things together and leave soon. It seemed that a new batch of students would be arriving the next day and his room was going to be occupied soon.

Once he was done, he opened another bag and began pilling it up with his books. As he put the books into the bag, he noticed the encyclopaedia book that he often used to understand the things of this world. He was reminded of the time he had used to find out what kind of reaction he must produce when he met a ghost face to face.

He chuckled and said, “Ah… Spectra…”

Two years ago, the room was haunted by a ghost named Spectra, who had been killed in that room some hundred years ago. She was a very interesting ghost that acted nothing like a ghost should. Instead, it focused on trying to find a new master for its old weapon, the Demon Slayer that Lakshman now calls Spectra.

“Has it already been two years since you left? It somehow feels like ages,” Lakshman said as he put the book into the bag.

Two years ago, Spectra had failed in protecting the Demon Slayer from the evil hands of the Demon Dragon King, Razzel. Unable to cope with the fact of her failure and the inability to leave the room on her own, she began to despair. However, that was when Lakshman showed him and in amazing style, she helped him acquire the Demon Slayer before leaving this world in peace.

“She was pretty satisfied with the outcome,” Lakshman said as he closed the bag shut. Then, he stood up, put his hands together and said, “Anyway, thank you for everything, Spectra. I hope you are resting in peace.”

He stood there with his hands clapped together and quietly prayed. Once it was done, he straightened up and took one last glance around the room. Two years ago, he was a studying student at the age of sixteen, but now he has grown up into a powerful eighteen year old warrior. Soon, he will become a family head and will begin to bear a huge responsibility.

“Well then… Goodbye!” he said finally with a cheery smile and he picked up the two bags in each hand before leaving the room by closing the door shut.

He arrived out the gates and noticed the girls were not there. At first, he wondered if they came earlier and through Venezuela’s help, they left for the castle. He felt a little depressed from such thoughts, but it did not last when he heard voices from behind him. Turning around, he saw the girls running towards him with bangs slung over their shoulders and hands.

“Sorry for being late,” Ondine said as she breathed quickly.

“Erza and Silvera took a long time to pack their stuff up!” Cantia complained unhappily.

“S-Sorry, but I was double checking to see if I forgot anything,” Erza said and Silvera nodded at her head in agreement.

“Yeah and that kept us delayed and made Lucky wait for who knows how long!” Cantia told them sternly.

“I wasn’t waiting for that long,” Lakshman told them with a small smile.

“It’s usually the girl that waits for a bit, but making a boy wait is kind of bad,” Venezuela said and they laughed.

Together, they stepped into the Phoenix Portal that Lakshman created with his magic and they returned to the castle. When they returned, the maids came forward and took the luggage from them before escorting them to their respective rooms. Lakshman sighed as he entered his room and quickly jumped onto the bed. It was a comfortable bed with warmth and comfort.

For a moment, he lay there when for a while in silence. Later, the girls walked came in after knocking on the door, allowing him to sit upright to greet them. The room was large and there were chairs all around, but the girls ignored them as they sat themselves near their future husband. In the past, he may have been against it, but things have changed and he was ready to face it.

“So… We’re really going to do it,” Venezuela said after a few seconds of silence.

Lakshman nodded his head and said, “Yes and I wish to speak to a Phoenix Sage to prepare the arrangements of our marriage.”

Erza and Cantia moaned softly in happiness as she hugged him from behind. Ondine and Silvera were sitting on his left and they nudged him comfortably. Tetra and Emilia were sitting on his right and they also nudged him comfortably. Venezuela was sitting on a chair as she faced him and the rest of the girls. Lakshman was slightly confused why she was smiling at him.

“Why are you smiling?” he asked her curiously.

“Oh… I’m just finding it funny to see you surrounded by so many girls,” she told him with a slight chuckle.

He raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh, please,” and caused her to laugh.

“Well, it’s been two years and master’s become really handsome looking over these years!”

Silvera said happily.

“Wait. Are you saying I’m not handsome enough? Even when, Tetra went to the great length of advising the salon guy on how to cut my hair?” he asked her incredulously.

“Eh? Tetra did that?” Emilia asked in a surprised voice.

Tetra shrugged her shoulders and said, “Master didn’t seem to care how he looked with his hair. So, I took it upon myself to making it look the way we would like it. Well? Does it look good?”

“It’s super good!” Cantia said happily. “It’s not as spiky as it was two years ago, but that can’t be helped.”

Tetra laughed and said, “When we arrived several days back, he wanted to come straight down and see you all with his grubby appearance.”

“Hey!” Lakshman said indignantly. “I wasn’t grubby.”

“You still were shabby looking with that cloak you wore that day,” Tetra told him honestly.

He sighed and said, “Oh, fine… Rub it in, why don’t you?”

Ondine chuckled and asked, “So, what next, Lakshman?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like… How are we going to go about the marriage? Will you marry us all at the same time or… one at a time?”

Lakshman was stunned by her question and it took him a moment to recover to say, “Ondine…! That is so wrong on so many levels!”

Ondine shrugged her should and said, “We still have to face it.”

Lakshman shook his head and they began discussing about the marriage procedures. Cantia wanted him to marry everyone at the same time, but Venezuela wanted him to marry one at a time. After a while of dispute between the two girls, Emilia finally stopped them, they and the rest of the girls agreed to marry one at a time. The reason for this is simply to not overburden the marriage ceremony.

“It feels more romantic to do it one at a time than all at once,” Venezuela said firmly. “Besides, doing us all at the same time might be too much for Lucky right now.”

At those words, the girls goggled at her in amazement and looked at Lakshman. He had a pained expression on his face from hearing her question his capacity.

“C-Can we not go there right now, please?” he asked quietly and Emilia nodded vigorously while blushing furiously. “I mean, aren’t you the least bit embarrassed by saying that, Vena?”

Venezuela was surprised by his question and blushed as she said, “I suppose I do feel a bit of it…”

He shook his head and said, “Unbelievable… The empress sure is firm headed— ouch!”

“I told you not to call me that,” she told him sternly as she pinched his leg.

“Anyway, shouldn’t we start informing people about this marriage plan of ours?” Ondine asked curiously. “I mean, we can’t do our marriage in a simple way, can we?”

“We can do it,” Venezuela told her. “We can simply invite our relatives, the Phoenix Emperor and the Phoenix Sages to proceed with the marriage ceremony. What do you all think?”

“I… I’d prefer to do it in a simple fashion,” Emilia said quietly. “I don’t like crowd and all the attention that come with it.”

“I’m fine so long as everyone is fine with it,” Cantia said cheerfully.

“Maybe going with the simple marriage is a good idea,” Ondine said in a thoughtful voice.

“After all, Lucky will be the king in the future and we’ll be like his mistresses. I don’t see any problems with going with simple marriage ceremony held with our closest relatives and friends.”

As the other girls nodded in consent at her, Lakshman slowly asked, “Are you… okay about being… you know… mistresses and stuff like that?”

“What’s you talking about?” Ondine asked him incredulously. “Right back when you were thirteen, I swore I will be your strength, didn’t I? Why should I worry about nonsense like that?”

“I’m destined to be with you! I don’t care about such stuff nor can I take your love for these girls back since you love them as much as you love me!” Cantia told him firmly. “Don’t worry about it!”

“Wow… You actually said something useful for a change!” Ondine said in an impressed voice.

“What’d you say?!” Cantia exclaimed in a shocked voice.

While they were glaring at each other, Emilia went to speak to him while blushing a little.

“I… I swore I would always love you for being so kind to me. You saved me from slavery, gave me a place to live and took care of me as if I was someone very close to you. I will always stand by your side, Lucky.”

“Emilia…” Lakshman said and he patted her head gently, which she liked very much.

“There is no need for me to care about that stuff since I’m yours!” Tetra told him firmly with a smile.

“Me too!” Silvera said happily.

“Thank you girls,” Lakshman said happily. Then, looked over his shoulders at Erza, he asked, “What‘s wrong, Erza?”

“I…” she began and hesitated for a moment. Then, she continued speaking by saying, “I came into this world following you because I had nothing left to keep me in my world. The man that I loved dearly is in this world and I came without hesitation. Now, you are my life and my love that I can never abandon!”

“Erza…” Lakshman said softly and he pulled his swung his arm over her shoulders to pull her in.

“Don’t say that. You have a life of your own and I’m sure you will become helpful in your way in this world! Believe it!”

“Thank you…” Erza said softly and she snuggled in with a pleasant smile on her face.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. When Venezuela told them to come in, a maid entered the room and bowed before them. The main had come to inform them of their lunch being ready and this gave Lakshman the incentive to get off the bed.

“Lunch! Lunch!” Cantia sang happily as they left.

They arrived at a side room where a large table was arranged with more maid standing aside.

After sitting down on their seats, the maid moved in and began serving them the food. Once the food was served, Venezuela dismissed the maids to go and eat their own lunch. At first they protected, but Lakshman also suggested they eat since they wouldn’t be needing it.

“The only one amongst that’ll be needing seconds is Cantia and I can assure you she is capable of putting food into her own plate,” Lakshman told them firmly with a smile on his face.

“Understood,” the head maid said and they all bowed to them before leaving the room.

“Were you saying something about me?” Cantia asked him curiously when she paused in her eating.

He lightly shook his head and said, “It’s nothing. Just eat.”

“I will!” she said and grinned at him before continuing to eat.

Ondine, who had been sipping on a large glass of water, looked at her with distaste. The way Cantia ate her food made Ondine feel a little unhappy because it was exactly like that of a wild animal eating food. However, she was aware of Cantia being a member of the Camdra Beast Clan and her heritage of the beasts was one she cannot easily change. In the meantime, she continued to drink only her water and she felt rejuvenated from its wonderful taste.

“This water’s good!” Ondine said happily to them.

“I’m glad you’re liking it,” Venezuela told her. “Unlike you, the rest of us need actual food in our bellies to satisfy us.”

“Ah… Well, sucks to be you,” Ondine said and she returned to drinking her water.

Lakshman ate his food while glancing occasionally at her. With the knowledge that he obtained from the Decisive Player, he learnt many great things and that included the information about its people. He was startled to learn that Ondine was originally a human behind, but had been transformed into a Water Spirit to save her life.

Apparently, Ondine had been a human child when her parents were killed by a Beast Dog. When she was at deaths door, she was saved by Ondine the Water Spirit. She found the baby girl and sensed her nearing her death, but she also sensed her the great destiny lay ahead of her. In order for the girl to fulfil her destiny, the Ondine sacrificed her life by merging and transforming the human child into a Water Spirit. Thus, the one newly reborn Ondine Monahasara was taken in by the Water Spirits elder, Rodrack.

“It’s unbelievable that she was originally a human,” he thought as he watched Ondine gulp down water after water. Then, a sudden thought occurred to him and he wondered, “That reminds me, I did forcibly feed her to eat the food and she ate. I guess she can eat human food, she prefers water above them all? That makes sense since her biology did change from a human to a Water Spirit.”

“What’s wrong?” Emilia asked him curiously when she spotted him looking intently at Ondine.

“It’s nothing,” Lakshman said hastily.

Just then, Felix entered the room and hearing his reply, he said, “If it’s nothing, then focus on eating.”

“Huh? Felix? What’re you doing here?” Lakshman asked as he turned around and saw him take a seat on a spare chair in front of the table.

“Came to eat,” Felix said shortly. Then, he pointed at the food tray and said, “Levitation.”

In an instant, food began to float up into the air from the tray. Before anything could get spilled, Felix created a magical barrier around the food and he levitated it towards him easily.

Finally, he let the food drop on his plate lightly before deactivating his magic. Seeing his skill with the magic to make the food move from one place to another, Emilia and Ondine clapped energetically.

“That was amazing!” Emilia said energetically.

“That was cool!” Ondine said in an impressed voice.

“Thank you, thank you,” Felix said and he bowed his head slightly as if he had just performed a stage stunt.

Lakshman looked at him and asked, “Felix… How lazy can you be to use magic when you could’ve simply got up and got the food yourself?”

“Oh, shush,” Felix said flatly. “I’ve been really busy these last few days with the financial handlings of our kingdom. I’d like you to take a bit of my work and see if you can do it without letting your brain explode form pressure.”

“There wouldn’t be any need for that since after I marry Venezuela, she will dump all her work onto me and go play fun with the ladies,” Lakshman said as he turned to eye Venezuela with a small smile on his face.

Venezuela looked alarmed and she quickly said, “I won’t do that! I won’t let my husband handle everything! I’m a queen and I have my duties to perform as well.”

“Calm down, Vena. I was only teasing you,” Lakshman said and she made a pouting face at him.

“That’s so unfair!” she said and he laughed.

“If it’s work that I can do, I’ll do my best!” Erza said firmly. “I was a princess in Alzard and thanks to these two years of learning, I’m pretty confident I should be to handle the work that’s in this world. If you want, we can switch roles in taking the public appearances and such.”

“That would be lovely,” Venezuela said gratefully. “Thank you for the offer, Erza.”

Erza put a hand on her chest and said, “It’s the least I can do for my future sister.”

The two of them smiled at each other as they found firm alliance from each other. Felix looked at them and nodded approvingly.

“Good to see your future wives beginning to understand each other and it’s also good that they’re willing to help each other,” he said in an impressed voice. “Girls tend to usually selfishly focus on what they love doing the most rather than the focusing on the import tasks at hand.”

“Is that why you and Rasha are so distant lately?” Cantia asked shrewdly, making Felix choke on his food.

He used his magic to summon water into his empty glass and he drank form it before speaking sternly to Cantia.

“We’re not distant. She’s just busy handling the matters with the clan while I’m handling the business of the kingdom. Besides, she’s a mother and has to put her most of her energy into raising Sasha.”

“How is Serina?” Lakshman asked him curiously. “I think she’s turned fifteen a few months ago, right?”

Felix nodded and said, “Yes and she’s doing fine with her studies and everything. Once she turns sixteen, I’ll have to start looking for matches that will be best suited for her.”

“Just be careful with who you pick as her future husband, Felix. You don’t want an idiot that’ll put her through pain and suffering,” Lakshman said and he narrowed his eyes angrily. Then, he made a bright smile and said, “On the other hand, she might fall in love with her destined one?

After all, marries are made in heaven.”

Felix nodded and said, “You’re right, but I hardly doubt my daughter will have the kind of luck that let you meet your destined queens!”

They all laughed and continued eating their food. Lakshman, however, paused in eating his food to think about what Felix had said. Lakshman was well aware of the term Destiny Queens, which he knew was referring to the girls surrounding him at that table from the knowledge he possessed.

During his training, he tried finding out what Destiny Queens meant. Sadly, he found nothing of what it actually meant or the real meaning behind the term. The only thing he learnt about Destiny Queens was that there were a total of nine of them, which meant he will run into two more whom he will fall in love with and marry in the future.

“I somehow get the feeling it’s something that will be explained to me at a later date…” he thought unhappily.

“Is something the matter, Lucky?” Cantia asked him when she looked at him. “You’re making quite a scary expression just now.”

Lakshman quickly recovered and smiled as he said, “Oh…! It’s nothing…!” Then, before Cantia could ask any more questions, he looked at Felix and asked, “By the way, did you find a land for us to live at, Felix? I believe I gave you the details of the kind I am expecting.”

Felix ate the last of his food and wiped his mouth with a cloth at the table side. Then, he looked at Lakshman and said, “Yes. You asked for a vast open plains and I found exactly that to the west from here. It’s got quite the distance of travel from here to there, but it’s excellent there.”

“Ah. Cool. I’ll have you show it to me at a later time,” Lakshman said and Felix nodded in affirmation.

“Open planes?” Ondine asked curiously and she turned to look at him. “Why open plains? Is it because you liked your childhood home?”

Lakshman nodded and said, “That and it’s because I like to feel the open air. I don’t like confined spaces and I certainly don’t want to feel restricted. In the future, you girls will have kids and I want the kids to enjoy their youthful lives happily without feeling constrained. I don’t want them to be raised as royalty due to there being a high chance of them becoming corrupted by their self-important, especially when their father is a king and a Phoenix Titan at that.”

The girls began to make embarrassed smiles at how far ahead he was planning. They had been pestering him into marrying them and now that the prospect of a marriage life and future children made them feel extremely embarrassed. Lakshman saw their shyness with the way they avoided eye contact as they fixedly stared at their plates. Only Venezuela recovered enough to speak straight by looking into his eyes.

“Is that why you’re choosing to raise our kids away from the castle?” Venezuela asked him curiously. When he nodded, she narrowed her eyes and said, “Wouldn’t that raise them in isolation? I mean, isn’t the open planes far away from the capital and will not be anywhere near the settlements. Our children will probably grow up without having anyone to call friend.”

Lakshman nodded in understanding and said, “That may be true, but Vena… To our children, we may be their parents, but we are also their closest friends. No friend in the world can help a child between than their parents, although bad parents will never be able to help their child.

We are not going to be bad parents and I won’t let that happen! Even if some of us are busy, our children will still have each other and his other mothers, my wives of course, as we slowly educate them and raise them up. I will not let them get the single child mentality because that will cause unnecessary competition between them.

We are a family and we need to stick together to tighten the bond between us. Although my upraising was slightly weird, I’m hopeful that I will not let such things happen to our children.”

He was wearing a serious expression on his face as he finished speaking. For a moment, there was silence within the room as everyone wore a surprised expressions on their faces. Then, the sound of clapping was heard and they turned to see Felix clapping energetically with a bright smile on his face.

“Brilliant!” Felix said pressingly. “I’ve heard of parents wanting to make their wife pregnant and then let them raise the child while the men focused on work. Here, you’re suggesting that everyone works together to raise your family without letting the interactions of others cause a rupture in the bond that you will be forming. You’re family’s going to do great! I can feel it!”

With that, Felix flashed him a wink and gave him a thumps up gesture with the hand.

Lakshman chuckled as the girls also agreed and looked admiringly at him. After that, Felix rose to his feet and carrying his plate, he left the room because he had work to return to. A few seconds later, they also finished their meals and rose to their feet.

“What should we do now?” Cantia asked curiously.

“How about we go visit father-in-law and tell them about our plan to marry?” Emilia asked tentatively.

Lakshman nodded and said, “Good idea and I want to see them anyway.”

“Yeah, but you better be ready to receive some beating, master. Your father is not happy with you…” Silvera said before chuckling darkly.

“Oh… Stop that…” he said, but he did become a little bit worried.

Lakshman stopped and attempted to activate the Phoenix Portal when Venezuela grabbed his hand and shook her head.

“I’d like us to fly over there for once,” she said with a smile.

“What? You want to use my pets to fly over there?” he asked uncertainly. “Going through the portal is a lot faster through.”

“It doesn’t hurt to travel by air for a chance and I think it’d be refreshing,” Ondine said in support to Venezuela’s idea.

“That’s right. I’d like to fly on those interesting creatures you told us about,” Erza said and she looked eagerly at him.

Lakshman saw the eagerness in all their eyes and finally sighed in resignation.

“I guess there’s no harm in travelling by air and it’ll be a good exercise for them as well,” he said with a smile.

A while later, they were standing in the wide open space at the back of the castle. Lakshman chose this place to summon his pets because he feared their sudden appearance would cause panic among the crowd and the guards would automatically attend with fear of attack. He made sure the girls were standing well away from him before he began focusing his energy.

With forceful power, he clapped his hands together and he immediately shouted, “Summoning Familiars! Come forth: Eternal Phoenix, Phylex and Spirit Dragon, Draga!”

Two large magical circles began to form several meters in front of him. They began to glow brightly and emitted shimmering light that blinded everything in sight. A few seconds later, the shimmering light was gone and the magic circles went with it. In their place, two majestic looking creatures appeared as the light subsided. One was a powerful looking dragon with silver body and scales that it stretched as if it was yawning after waking up from a long sleep.

The other was a fierce looking phoenix bird with golden-red feathers, sharp claws and large wings at its sides.

The two creatures shook their large bodies and glanced at each other for a moment. There was a tense situation when the two eyed each other fiercely before they turned to gaze upon the one who summoned them.

“At your call, we have come,” said a voice in their minds, which surprised the girls.

“I-Is this telepathy?” Cantia asked in a startled voice.

Lakshman grinned up at them and asked, “Hey, you two. How’ve you been?”

“I was having a pleasant sleep when you called me,” the Spirit Dragon, Draga, telepathically told them in a lazy voice. “Was there something urgent going on to make you summon me?”

The Eternal Phoenix, Phylex, turned its fierce bird like face towards Draga and telepathically said, “How rude! We are in front of us master, the Phoenix Titan! You will do wise to remember that, Draga!”

“I don’t need to be told by the mighty Eternal Fire Bird about who my master is, Phylex!” Draga told him roughly through telepathy as it lazily flapped its wings.

“Whoa…” Erza said in a surprised voice. “Um… Do these have a grudge against each other?”

“I think that’s pretty obvious just from looking at their interaction,” Silvera said quietly as she nervously watched the two giant creatures.

“Well then…! Draga!” Lakshman said loudly and Draga turned its head to look at him. “We’re going to travel to a place near Rodfox Kingdom. I want you to carry the ladies standing over there.”

Lakshman gestured at the girls standing a few meters away and Draga turned its head to look at them. For a moment, the girls felt like shrieking when they saw its fierce vertical pupils staring fixedly at them. It continued to stare at them as seconds passed and it made the girls worried.

Once it was done with the staring, it snorted and telepathically asked, “The first thing you’re going to use me for after leaving that training world is to go travelling around the world?”

Lakshman chuckled and said, “Not really. The girls haven’t had the chance to fly and I felt it would be something different to the usual method of going through a portal.”

Draga snorted once more and said, “Fine. Just get on.”

As it lowered itself to the ground, Lakshman turned around and gestured for the girls. Taking that as a hint for them to get on, the girls walked nervously towards the dragon. They were feeling slightly stunned from the nervousness by the powerful breathing of the dragon. Once they got near the dragon, they were suddenly lifted into the air before being flown over and placed upon the dragon’s back.

“Wow! That was cool!” Cantia exclaimed excitedly.

“Yeah… It was…” Venezuela said in a surprised voice.

Emilia was nervous, but was gently rubbing the dragons back as she said, “Thank you for letting us on, Mr. Dragon.”

The dragon snorted loudly and telepathically said, “Its fine and don’t call me that. I have a name and it’s Draga. Now, hold on because I’m not responsible if you fly off during flight.”

“Eh?!” the girls exclaimed in shocked voices.

“Draga’s just kidding, He won’t let anything happen to you,” he told them brightly as he got on Phylex’s back. “Alright! Let’s go!”

The girls became tense as the dragon lifted its wings and with a powerful force, launched itself into the air. Its powerful wings continued beating until it was fully airborne. The girls nervously gripped the scaly body of the dragon tightly as a powerful force of wind began to blow at them. The force was strong, but it was not enough to knock them off the dragon’s back and they were confident that he will protect them.

Draga hovered over the castle for a moment until Phylex was at its height. Then, with a powerful whoosh of its wings, it propelled forward and shot off at incredible speed. The girls began screaming earnestly from the shock of flying at such intense speed. The force of the wind on them was so strong, it became difficult for the girls to sit straight and they were forced to lean back on the dragon’s body.

“This is awesome!” Cantia bellowed at the top of her voice.

“No kidding!” Ondine agreed in a loud voice.

Emilia and Erza had covered their eyes and were not even bothering to open them because the force of the wind was too strong on their eyes. Cantia and Ondine were staring around with great enthusiasm a clouds whooshed past at high speed. Silvera and Tetra were looking around casually as they had quickly gotten accustomed to the Unable to take it anymore, Venezuela screamed, “This is too fast!”

The Spirit Dragon ignored the complaints and continued to fly at high speed, his wings beating up and down occasionally to keep him going. Following right behind them was Phylex and sitting comfortably on its feathery back was Lakshman. Unlike the girls, Lakshman had gotten accustomed to flying at high speed due to his flying ability and the training involving his pets.

“Draga is going a little overboard in scaring those young women,” Phylex said telepathically.

Lakshman chuckled and said, “You’re right, but we’ll be left behind if we travel at this speed.

Catch up with them, Phylex!”

“Understood,” Phylex replied telepathically.

With a swooshing of its wings, the Eternal Phoenix began to fly at great speed to catch up with the speedy Spirit Dragon, Draga.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 241 Parental Blessing

They travelled for almost a day when they finally reached the Rodfox Kingdom. The speed of their travel over the air was really fast that Venezuela was not happy about. Erza and Emilia had already fallen asleep and they were leaning on each other as they slept quietly. Only Cantia and Ondine were looking around excitedly while Tetra and Silvera were talking about something related to the Sacred Spirit.

Following right behind Draga the Spirit Dragon was Lakshman as he sat on the back of Phylex the Eternal Phoenix. He was swinging over the side of the bird while gipping its feathers so as not to fall off. He spotted the kingdom and saw that they were flying past it. This made him decide it was time to descent.

“Draga! Start descending, but do it slowly so the girls won’t fall of,” Lakshman telepathically communicated with Draga.

“I know. Don’t tell me when I already know what to do,” Draga telepathically said sternly.

Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and as Draga began to descend, he telepathically told the Eternal Phoenix, “Follow him, Phylex.”

“Understood,” Phylex replied telepathically and it dived after Draga.

They descended through the clouds and soon arrived out of them to see the clear landscape below. Lakshman leaned over and saw the road leading to the farm fields and situated near them were rows and rows of houses. However, he immediately recognised the one that had a front gate and apparently there were two kids playing outside.

“Must be the twins…” he thought happily.

A while later, Draga gently lowered itself to the ground and finally landed. The moment it landed, Venezuela slid off its back and hit the ground with her back. She groaned from the impact, which quickly turned into a pleasurable moan as she rubbed her back against the grassy ground.

“Ah… The ground feels so welcome…” she said in relief.

Draga snorted and telepathically said, “Hmph! You’re just soft.”

“Soft? Soft?” Venezuela said incredulously as she picked herself off the ground. “You were going way too fast!”

Draga snorted again and telepathically said, “Hmph! You humans are so weak. I could’ve gone faster if you just asked. Unfortunately, I didn’t because I didn’t want you girls throwing up on my lovely body!”

Venezuela could not believe what she just heard and her jaw dropped slightly. She quickly recovered and shook her head in exasperation.

“You are one rude-rude dragon! You know that?”

Draga just shook its body and telepathically said, “I’ve been told and I don’t care.”

Venezuela shook her head in disbelief as the other girls were lifted off its back and gently set them on the ground. Cantia and Ondine were really excited and seemed to be ready for another trip by the sky. Tetra and Silvera knelt down to wake up the sleeping Erza and Emilia.

When they woke up and saw they were sitting on the ground, she looked surprised.

“Have we arrived already?” Erza said in a surprised voice.

“That was quick…” Emilia said before letting out a yawn.

Just then, Phylex gently descended to the ground and sent powerful winds in all directions.

Then, it folded its wings at its side as Lakshman got jumped off and landed lightly on the grassy fields.

Draga turned its head towards Phylex and telepathically said, “Phylex, you’re slow.”

Phylex shook its head and telepathically said, “No, Draga. You were just too fast.”

“How’s the trip by the air?” Lakshman asked the girls.

“That was amazing! Can we go again?” Cantia and Ondine asked eagerly.

“We slept,” Erza and Emilia said with small smiles on their faces.

“It was okay, I guess. I mean, it was comfortable,” Tetra said and Silvera nodded in agreement.

“I see. That’s good to hear,” he said and he smiled at them.

“How’s that good to hear?” Venezuela asked incredulously. She pointed at Draga, who was now lying down and closed its eyes, said, “This dragon flew way too fast for me to enjoy the flight!”

Lakshman chuckled and said, “Yeah… About that…” He turned to Draga and said, “Draga, you really were flying a bit too fast. Turn it down a notch, okay?”

“If I didn’t go fast, we wouldn’t have made it before nightfall,” Draga telepathically told them.

“I know, but it wouldn’t have mattered if we came at night. I would’ve just transported us into the Phoenix World and we would’ve camped there for the night before leaving in the morning,” Lakshman said in a reasonable voice. “Anyway, please go slow and steady next time.”

“I’m not a Turtle Dragon to fly at my leisure. I’m a Spirit Dragon and Spirit Dragons fly fast!”

Draga telepathically told them roughly.

Lakshman sighed heavily and said, “Whatever.”

Venezuela looked incredulously at him and asked, “That’s it? You’re not going to reprimand him?”

He shook his head and said, “He’s a Spirit Dragon and the term we have to look for is ‘dragon.’

Because of that stupid dragon pride, he won’t change his ways for anyone. There’s no point in trying in the first place since I already failed numerous times, even to the point of challenging and defeating him.”

Venezuela let out a sigh of resignation and said, “Fine. Alright then, let’s go.”

There was a sudden burst of light from where Phylex the Eternal Phoenix stood. When the light vanished, a small fluffy bird appeared and it flew over to land on Lakshman’s head. There, it nestled down and seemed contented in staying.

“I-Is that Phylex? Why did it become so small?” Ondine asked curiously.

Emilia turned to them and said, “Familiars have the ability to transform themselves into their fullest form or take on a form of simplest size. In this case, Phylex chose to become small to accompany us, right?”

“Affirmative, young miss,” said Phylex telepathically.

“What about Draga?” Cantia asked and she pointed at the Spirit Dragon that was lying on the ground.

“I’m not interested in following you humans. I’ll just stay here and relax until you need me to fly you again,” Draga said telepathically and he beat his wings lazily at them, gesturing them to get going.

“Well… You heard the dragon,” Lakshman said with a smile on his face. “Let’s go and meet my family. It’s been two years, I wonder if they’ll recognise me.”

When they approached the front gates, he noticed that his sisters had run inside. It seemed the sight of two really large creatures scared them into running inside. He remembered about their age and realised they should be five years old, but it seemed they still were slightly afraid of the unknown. As the front gates were opened, Indra appeared at the entrance to the house.

“Ah…! Father, I’ve come—!” Lakshman began to say happily.

“You’ve finally come back!” Indra shouted and he charged at Lakshman with his sword held firmly in his hand.

“Wha?!” Lakshman exclaimed and he kicked off the ground and soared back.

Indra charged after his son and swung at him, only to end up missing due to Lakshman’s quick reflexes in dodging the swing. The both of them came to a stop several meters away with Indra looking very angry and Lakshman looking totally confused.

“Yes… He certainly recognise his son,” Cantia said quietly.

Ondine, who was panicked by the father and son assault, quickly asked, “W-Why is he angry?

Why?” At that moment, Indra charged forward and began swinging his sword at Lakshman, only to be dodged quickly.

“Dad! Why are you angry? What have I done to deserve this?” Lakshman asked incredulously.

“You…! Foolish idiot! Do you how I felt when you ran away for two years?!” Indra exclaimed angrily as he kept swinging his sword at his son at high speed.

“What? Ran away? What do you mean I ran away? What did I run away from?” Lakshman asked desperately as he moved fast to evade the sword strikes from his father.

Indra stopped swinging and they came to a stop once more. He straightened up, pointed his sword in the direction of his son and said, “Two years ago, the girls visited us and that’s when I and your mother met your new lovers, Erza Flameheart and Silvera the Demon Slayer Sacred Spirit. I was happy, but when they told me that you went up into the mountains to train, I believed that you ran away from responsibility!”

“Ha?!” Lakshman exclaimed in shock. “You thought I ran away to train?”

“Do you have any idea how I felt when I learnt that my son ran away from his lovers. Do you have any clue how I felt, as the future father-in-law of these girls, about how selfish you were?” Indra demanded in an extremely angry voice.

“Father…! Listen!” Lakshman said in a strong voice. “I trained to become stronger up in the mountains, not because I ran away from my responsibility…!”

“I don’t believe it!” Indra shouted and he charged toward his son again.

“Gah!” Lakshman exclaimed in shock as he barely avoided another stroke from his father.

“Liars will be liars and there will never be any change in them!” Indra shouted at his son.

This time, Lakshman got angry and he asked, “Then, what will make you believe me?”

Indra held his sword at the ready and asked, “You want me to believe you? You really want me to believe you? Then, defeat me in battle and then I will believe you!”

He charged at his son and attempted to cut him down from the top. As the sword came down, it was instantly stopped in its tracks when Lakshman grabbed it firmly with his right hand.

Indra attempted to swing it down, but it would not budge as Lakshman looked up and glared at his father.

“Fine… You’re asking for it!” he said fiercely.

Using Infinity Step, he disappeared and reappeared several meters away. Then, the two warriors prepared themselves by taking on fighting stances. There was a tense second as the two glared at each other fiercely.

“RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” screamed Lakshman suddenly as he began surging with power.

The next second, he kicked off the ground and rocketed towards his father. Indra quickly pulled back and swung his sword back, aiming to cut Lakshman. Lakshman reached where his father stood and with ease, he brushed the sword aside, not even getting affected by that

defensive motion. Surprise, Indra quickly extended his left hand to try and grab at Lakshamn, but the hand also got slapped aside with ease.

Lakshman glared at his father and he pulled his hand back before delivering a powerful force towards him. Indra saw the punch coming and automatically closed his eyes as he waited for the impact. For a moment, there was no sensation and no sigh of impact which made him open his eyes. He was startled to see the fist centimetres away from his face.

For a moment, they just stood there looking like stony statues when Lakshman moves. He quickly unlocked his clenched fist and formed into a flip like posture with his hand. Indra blinked in surprise when he saw this.

“Huh?” he asked involuntarily.

Lakshman flicked his father’s forehead lightly and nothing seemed to have for a second. The next second, Indra was blasted into the air and he sailed several meters away before crashing to the ground. Dust rose into the air as his body came to a crashing stop. Indra was knocked out by the powerful flick attack from Lakshman’s hand.

As he straightened up from his flick attack, he heard a familiar voice say as it came closer to him.

“Nicely done, Lucky,” the voice said and he instantly turned to see who it was.

His mother, Lakshmi, was walking towards him with a wide smile on her face. He was amazed that his mother did not change that much, although there are the signs of hair slightly turning white here and there, but she still appeared to look young and beautiful.

“Mother!” he exclaimed happily and he quickly walked forward.

“Welcome back, Lucky,” she said happily and the two of them hugged in their family reunion.

At that moment, Draga snorted and telepathically said, “Hey. Should you really be having a mother and son reunion when you father is out cold over there?”

Lakshman and his mother separated as she turned to smile at the Spirit Dragon.

“He will be fine, but I do feel he deserved a flick on the forehead for his stupidity,” Lakshmi said sardonically. “Anyway, I take it you are the familiar that my son made a contract with?”

Draga shifted his position on the ground to look towards them as he telepathically said, “That’s correct. I am the Spirit Dragon known as Draga. Your son is quite the troublemaker to summon a mighty creature like me, but I consented after witnessing his strength first hand.”

“Ah. Well, please do take care of my son,” Lakshmi said with a nod of her head at the dragon.

“There’s also me that your son has made a contract with, madam,” said the telepathically voice of Phylex as it flew over to her from Emilia’s arms.

Lakshmi held her hands out and he landed gently on them. The small fiery bird seemed to bow as it telepathically spoke to Lakshmi.

“Nice to meet you, mother of my master. I am the Eternal Phoenix called Phylex. It’s pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Ah. Thank you for the kind introduction. I’m Lucky’s mother, Lakshmi. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Please do take care of my son as well,” she said pleasantly.

Phylex bowed its head and telepathically said, “I will do my best.”

Lakshmi smiled and nodded in acceptance. Then, she started to smile widely when she turned to look at her son.

“So… Will you marry these two as well…?” she asked him curiously.

Lakshman’s eyes shot up in shock and he shouted, “NO!” His mother and his lovers, who were standing near the entrance to the house, laughed heartily at the joke.

“I was only joking,” she said to her son, who was looking worn out. “Anyway, it’s better to bring in your father from the sun. Otherwise, he’ll be covered in the dust when the wind picks up.”

“You’re right,” Lakshman said with a nod of his head. As she and the girls walked towards the house, Lakshman turned to Draga and said, “Draga, go pick up dad and bring him into the house.”

Draga snorted and telepathically said, “Why should I? He’s your dad. Go and pick him up yourself.”

Lakshman narrowed his eyes and seriously said, “Draga…!”

“Alright… Fine,” he said finally in a resigned voice.

Draga became surrounded by light and when it vanished, a smaller form of him appeared. He quickly flew over to where Indra lay unconscious on the ground with his eyes closed. Using the flight magic, he was lifted into the air and Draga took him towards the house while making sure nothing was happening to him. At the house, Lakshman took over and carried his father in and laid him on a chair, causing him to slump slightly.

Just then, there was the sound of running feet and Lakshman’s twin sisters appeared.

“Annayya’s back!” they said together excitedly.

“Hello there, young cuties!” Lakshman said happily and he knelt down to greet his twin sisters.

After giving them a hug, he asked, “How have you been? Are you behaving yourself properly?”

“I’m doing well,” said the twin sisters almost simultaneously.

“That’s good to hear and see,” Lakshman said and he patted them gently on their heads.

“Hey, annayya…! Can you guess who is who?” the left kid asked curiously.

“Can you tell who is Indira and Priya?” the right one asked eagerly.

“Let’s see…” Lakshman said and he sniffed twice as he put on a show. He looked at the two of them curiously and when he finally decided who was who, he pointed at each other them as he said, “The left is Indira and the right is Priya.”

“Yay~!” the girls cheered happily. “Annayya got correct!”

Emilia, who was surprised, asked him curiously, “How can you tell? They look like mirror images of each other.”

“Oh, come on…! There’s no way I would forget about my cute little sisters!” he said confidently. Then, he turned to them and said, “Well then, go on and play.”

“Okay, annayya!” they said happily when they saw the bird form of the Eternal Phoenix and the small form of the Spirit Dragon, the girls let out cries of, “Ah~! They’re so cute~!”

The girls rushed over and began to strike the two creatures happily with excitement. Phylex happily let the girls stroke his feathers while Draga was slightly startled by how excited they were. In the end, he just snorted and let the girls play with him.

Lakshman smiled at them and rose to his feet before straightening up his clothes when Mariana appeared carrying a tray of drinks.

“Welcome home, young master,” she greeted him with a smile on her face.

“Hello, Mariana!” he replied as he was happy to see her.

They walked into the living room and she placed the tray of drinks on the table in the centre of the room. When she straightened up, he and she hugged warmly.

“How’ve you been?” he asked her curiously.

She just sighed wearily and said, “Oh… Doing the usual house work and stuff on a daily basis.”

He chuckled and asked, “Ah. Then, you should probably think of getting married soon.”

She chuckled and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m not at the same age as young master to marry now.”

“Oh… What are you talking about?” he asked in disbelief. “Look at you… You still look young, you got your beauty and you’re a darn good chef! What could possibly make you look old when you have such great qualities of a wife?”

“Oh… Stop that, young master. You should focus on buttering up your future wives,” she said sternly, but she smiled all the same, making him laugh.

A few seconds later, Indra stirred and came to realise where he was. When he saw Lakshman standing with Mariana and happily talking, he sighed heavily.

“So… He defeated me with nothing, but a flick of his hand?” he asked heavily.

“His finger,” Lakshmi told him and he sighed heavily once more.

Seeing his father awake, Lakshman walked over and sat down on a chair beside the girls. He smiled at his father, who seemed to be looking guiltily at him.

“So… Do you believe me now, father?” he asked Indra curiously. “I mean… I did defeat you in battle like you wanted me to.”

Indra nodded and looked at him before asking, “I was fine with you getting extra lovers, and it’s no big deal to me since it’s your choice. However, I would’ve liked ithave heard it directly from you instead of the girls telling me about it.”

“Sorry father, but I immediately wanted to get started on my training because of how much I was lacking,” Lakshman told him firmly. “So, please never think I will run away from responsibility.”

“I won’t… I’m sorry about that,” Indra said and he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Anyway, what brings you and your lovely future wives here? I feel you’re here for more than just a simple visit.”

Lakshman nodded and he looked at his girls for a moment. They nodded at him and he turned back to speak to his parents.

“We’ve decided to get married,” he told them calmly and firmly.

Hearing those words, his parents looked surprised for a moment before smiling widely.

“About time!” Indra said firmly as he grinned at his son. “So, you finally decided to make the next step.”

Lakshman nodded and he explained his decision to marry the girls individually, starting with Venezuela. Indra and Lakshmi were slightly perplexed by this method and Lakshman explained how he will become king, causing Indra to look disgusted “You’re doing this just to become king?” Indra asked and he looked disgusted. “I don’t believe this!”

Lakshman shook his head and said, “No, father. The real reason for this is simple of there being a problem that might rise from the religious believers of the God of Justice. I think that religion was called the Shambasa Religion, I think.”

“Oh!” Indra exclaimed in surprise and nodded in understanding. “Now, your actions make sense.”

“You’re right. The Shambasa Religious people will most certainly will attempt to stop you. They are firm believers of the God of Justice and blindly follow the faith of one man marrying only one woman.”

“There is nothing wrong with that decision, I feel that they are ignoring the rules set by the God of Freedom,” Lakshman said to them. “The gods have given us free will by creating this world and letting life be born each and every single day. As such, I believe the blind following of only one god is not right. I mean, there are multiple gods all around the world that people believe in, right?”

Indra and Lakshmi nodded at him, just as Emilia began speaking.

“My father’s from the Serprad Demon Clan and my mother’s a human. When I was a child, my dad always told me how hard he fought against the Shambasa Religion about letting humans marrying non-humans.”

“Oh my goodness…!” Venezuela said in a shocked voice and the other girls also voiced their surprise.

Emilia shrugged her shoulders and said, “They struggled and I’m sure we will struggle since I’m technically not a full human. Just take a look at these horn bumps on my forehead, it should create a problem.”

Erza chuckled and said, “You look fine, Emilia. Besides, I’m not even from this world. If that’s an issue, I’ll just fry the people that dares to stop us.”

“Well said, Erza!” Ondine said in an impressed voice. “My sword isn’t for show and I can get the chance to show off my skills to Lucky!”

“Um… No one needs you to show off, Ondine,” said Lakshman with a chuckle. “Anyway, I believe all of us should be ready to take on any kind of danger from here on. In the past, there were people that did marry more than one people and they ended up getting eliminated by the Shambasa Religion.”

“They must be pretty stupid if they want to pick a fight with you, the Phoenix Titan!” Indra said angrily.

He sighed heavily and said, “I’m pretty sure they will try, even if I am the Phoenix Titan. For one thing, I don’t have much of an authority within the kingdom right now and they will do their best to stop it. That’s why, I have some backup plans ready to go with.”

“Really? What are they?” Cantia asked eagerly, but he shook his head lightly.

“I don’t want to expose them just yet because they are only backup. I want to save up my trump cards and use them when it’s necessary. I hope you understand my decision in not telling anyone about this.”

“Ah. If that’s the case, its better they are kept a secret,” Cantia said and the other girls nodded.

“So Lucky… Will you take on the role of king or will you let it all drop on Vena?” Indra asked with narrowed eyes.

It was obvious that he was suspecting his son to become lazy and let it all fall onto Venezuela’s head. Indra and Lakshmi were quite surprised when Venezuela was elected as the queen of Floria Kingdom and it made them wonder whether their son would become king or not.

Officially, he would become the king of the kingdom, but Indra wondered if his son would be happy to take that role.

Lakshman’s happy expression was wiped from his face and was replaced by an expression of seriousness. His parents realised it was something very important that he was about to tell them and they listened intently.

“I will take on the role of king because there are several things I want to do to improve in this world. However, before I get onto doing any of that, I want to focus on abolishing the slavery system from this world for good! For that, I need the power of the Floria Kingdom so that I have the necessary authority to speak to the other kingdoms and convince them about it.”

When he finished, there was silence for a few seconds as everyone thought about what he said. Then, Indra looked at his son and nodded his head quietly while Lakshmi looked at him worriedly.

“What you’re planning on doing is great, but…” Lakshmi said and hesitated as she looked at her husband with a worried look on her face.

“I know…” Indra said without looking at her. Continuing to look at his son, he said, “Lucky, abolishing the slavery system won’t be as easily you said it out loud. You’re going to be dealing with the Slavemancer. I don’t know how powerful you’ve gotten, but it better be more powerful than that guy. Everything about him is nothing good and anyone stupid enough to mess with him ended up losing their lives, horribly.

He holds much authority and power in a lot of kingdoms, even amongst the demons. He is a powerful person and there were talks of him being on equal ground with the Nine Pillars of Power. Even Felix couldn’t touch him! Just imagine he is to even force the Phoenix Emperor to bow down to him!”

“Eh?! He forced Felix to his knees?” Venezuela asked in disbelief. “I thought those were just false rumours… It’s actually… true?”

Indra nodded and said, “Yes. Some twenty years back, Felix became the new Phoenix Emperor and his first order of work was to abolish the slavery system. He got the kingdoms to agree with him so long as the Slavemancer was kicked down. Felix went to do just that, but like a

hero being defeated by a demon, Felix couldn’t even lift a finger against the powerful pressure of the Slavemancer.

Even I couldn’t believe it when Felix told me of his experience at being defeated even before the battle began. That’s why… Lucky! Do you believe— No! Do you have the power necessary to take that bastard down once and for all?”

Indra looked at his son fiercely with an extremely serious expression on his face. He was worried for his son, but he was also worried about the girls that will follow right behind him.

For their sake and as their father-in-law, he had to make sure Lakshman was not making a fool hardy decision on a whim.

Lakshman sat there with his hair throwing a dark shadow over his eyes. As he sat there, pressure in the air caused the tension within the room to slowly rise. As they watched, Lakshman began to release golden-red aura that was creating the pressure around them. It was strong and powerful with no way of breaking it.

Seeing this, Indra thought, “No way…! This is a pressure that is even more powerful than what Felix can muster! Wow…! Just how powerful did my son become?!”

Lakshman lifted his head and to their surprise, they saw his black eyes had changed to red crowned shaped eyes. Those were the eyes that he would often be seen to possess when he transformed into the Phoenix Titan form. Now, he was capable of drawing in the power of the Phoenix Titan without having to actually transform into that form.

“Don’t worry, father. I haven’t wasted my time training for two years!” he said in a voice that was extremely powerful that caused the pressure in the air to thicken.

Indra’s eyes widened in alarm when he saw the powerful look i9n Lakshman’s eyes. He suddenly grinned and said, “Yes! That’s it! That’s my son!”

Lakshman breathed and let his power drop and the pressure in the air quickly vanished with his eyes returning to normal. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and Ondine reached over to punch him on the shoulder.

“What were you thinking releasing your power like that?” she asked indignantly.

“I felt father needed a demonstration of my new found powers,” he said cheerfully.

“Yes, but how did your eyes change?” Silvera asked curiously. “I thought you needed to transform into the Phoenix Titan form to have your eyes change their shape or was I wrong?”

Lakshman shook his head and said, “You’re right. In the past, that would’ve been the case when I realised I was wasting a lot of energy by transforming. So, I focused on being able to use my powers more fluently in my base form and only go higher if I need to. In a way, I am stronger than Felix because of how efficiently I can use my energy now.”

“Amazing…!” Silvera said and along with her, the other girls also looked impressed by how effective his two years of training was.

“Well…! I’m proud of you, my son! You’ve really surpassed me in every way!” Indra said happily.

“Oh…? Did it take you this long to realise that, father?” Lakshman asked with a small smile on his face.

“Oh, come on… Even my son’s become quite the comedian,” Indra said and they all laughed.

“Anyway, father and mother… Can you get up for a moment? Also, come towards the centre,” Lakshman said as he got up to move the table out of the way.

“Sure… What do you want us to stand up for?” Lakshmi asked as she and Indra rose to their feet.

“You’ll see,” Lakshman said shortly and he gestured for the girls to get up as well. When they all rose, he turned back to his parents and said, “Now, please wish us well.”

“Huh?” Indra and Lakshmi both said in surprised voices.

The next moment, Lakshman, Ondine, Tetra, Silvera, Venezuela, Emilia, Erza and Cantia knelt down around them and touched their feet. Both Indra and Lakshmi were surprised by this act of discipline and the way they wanted the blessings of the adults. Indra and Lakshmi looked at each other before smiling and blessing them at the same time.

“May your future be full of happiness and joy,” said Indra and Lakshmi at the same time and they touched the heads of their new family members.

Mariana stood back and watched these scene as she quietly shed a tear. She quickly wiped the tear and felt happiness for the family she had served for most of her life. Even Indira and Priya stopped playing with Phylex and Draga to watch this arm scene of family unfold before them.

Phylex was sitting on Indira’s head and Draga sat on Priya’s head as they watched this scene of family.

“May the eternal flames of protection be your guardians for life,” Phylex telepathically said quietly.

Draga snorted quietly, but he telepathically said, “May the spirits of nature guide you to eternal peace.”

Thus, Lakshman’s desire to obtain the blessings of his parents succeeded. Now, he was ready to focus his attention on the problems that are to come. No matter how difficult the problems are, he was confident he will succeed because freedom and justice are on his side.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 242 Engineering the Future

Lakshman and the girls spent the night with Indra and his family. The ladies had a wonderful time talking about the marriage arrangements and the sort of dresses they would be wearing.

The boys, which is mainly Lakshman and Indra, spent their time together talking about the events of the past.

The next morning, they ate breakfast with great appetite, which was super delicious with Emilia and Ondine helping out Lakshmi and Mariana. Everyone ate the food with happiness that also included Lakshman’s familiars. Phylex happily ate the vegetable food while thanking the ladies for making it. On the other hand, Draga the Spirit Dragon did not want to eat the food of the humans, but Lakshmi’s words of encouragement finally got him to eat, which he did with great happiness.

“Human food usually taste bad, but I’ll make an exception for this one,” he told them telepathically and they smiled happily.

“Just come out and say you like it already,” Phylex telepathically said to him.

“I don’t like it, but it’s good enough to eat,” Draga telepathically said gruffly as he ate.

The ladies took that to mean he did like the food and smiled at each other happily. Phylex is well mannered and the twins like him very much and Draga is lazy and prideful to admit to most things.

“Your familiars are really something,” Indra said to Lakshman, who simply smiled. Then, Indra suddenly remembered something and he said, “Ah. That reminds me…”

He rose to his feet and left the dining room before returning a few seconds later with an envelope. He held the letter tightly in his hand and once he sat down on his chair, he passed it over to Lakshman.

“It’s a letter from Sumara Manjuvad that arrived in mail two years ago,” Indra told Lakshman as he observed the envelope. “We received this a few days after you left to attend Astral Academy.”

“Really? From Miss. Sumara?” Lakshman asked eagerly. Then, a puzzled expression cover his faced and he asked, “If it came a few days after I left, couldn’t you have posted it to me immediately?”

Indra nodded and said, “I thought about it, but I also came to the conclusion that you might be busy in studies and this letter mighty distract you from it. So, I decided to hold onto it until you came home for holidays. I never thought you’d go on a training though.”

“Ah. I see,” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding.

He looked at the envelope and had the urge to immediately open it when he realised he still had food on his plate. His discipline dictated that food comes first before anything else and so, he put it aside and quickly shoved the food down his mouth. Once he was done, he let the dining room and arrived in the living room to sit down as he opened the envelope. He held it upside down and a folded letter fell into the palm of his hand. Once he unfolded it, he began to read the contents of the letter.

“Dear Lakshman Reddy, How are you, Lucky? I hope you doing well in both health and education. The last I saw, you were still a kid, but I believe you would have grown up a lot over these three years. Are you perhaps wondering how I am doing? I am in a healthy condition with no side effects of traveling for so long.

I promised you I will write you a letter every so often, but my travels did not give me a chance.

I suppose you can wonder why I travelled for so long. It seems an explanation is an order and I will provide the best explanation I can while leaving out tedious details.

After leaving your home in that village, I arrived at Rodfox Capital and I searched for signs of jobs. Unfortunately, there were none and I began my journey from kingdom to kingdom. I first travelled to Mardana Kingdom to find a job, which I fortunately did as I ended up teaching the Mardana Magical Engineering, where I got to work with the Scientific King, Wolfenstine.

A few months later, I resigned my job and left the kingdom because some fishy things made me take that decision. Students were disappearing, there were the apparent random deaths during the night when people find their mutilated remains. It became dangerous and I decided to take my leave before I got dragged into that mess.”

Lakshman realised that Sumara was referring to the random kills that the Demon Dragon King, Razzel, had been doing in the past. Just thinking about those events made his blood boil angrily, but he quickly relieved the anger because Razzel was dead and he would never cause trouble again. With that, Lakshman returned to the letter and continued reading.

“I began to feel this tension amongst the Elemental Spirits during my journey. I had realised that I made the correct decision in leaving Mardana Kingdom when I did. Anyway, I next went to Ashtra Kingdom and I had to do a mandatory test to apply for teaching at Ashtra University.

I spent two years studying there and that was when I finally decided to reach a higher rank.

So, using the salary that I saved up from my teaching for two years, I enrolled in the upper classes. I started my serious studies and after spending two difficult years, I finally realised my dream and was able to use King ranked spells like Lightning Burst Wave, Icicle and several more. I also managed to master Positron Cannon, an Emperor Ranked technique, but it was difficult.”

When he reached this part, Lakshman exclaimed and said, “Woah… Miss. Sumara mastered Positron Cannon? That’s amazing!” He suddenly thought of something and he thought, “Wait…

She studied really hard to master that technique when I had the Decisive Player bombard me with so much that I wished I fainted to rest.”

He laughed and continued reading her letter.

“With the completion of my studies, I was left feeling confident with my skills and strength.

That made me wonder how your training is coming along. I hope you did not slack off after I left and became a lazy bumpkin because I would hate to think of one of my finest students becoming like that.”

At those words, he laughed and said, “You worry needlessly, Miss. Sumara,” before continuing to read.

“Once I was done with my studies, I decided to visit Floria Kingdom one last time. It took me a few months reach the kingdom, but when I did arrive, I was surprised to find it under construction. As it turned out, it appeared the kingdom had been attacked a while back by the demon army, led by the Demon Emperor. I was even more surprised when I found out the one who defeated the Demon Emperor was none other than the Phoenix Titan.

Now, this is where things get complicated because apparently, the Phoenix Titan’s name was Lakshman. At first, I was shocked to think that you were the Phoenix Titan and that you defeated an Emperor ranked warrior.”

Lakshman chuckled and said, “But I did!”

“However, a lot of people had trouble pronouncing his real name and some even said they don’t remember it that well. All they could remember was that he was a young boy with golden spiky hair with red crown shaped eyes. I don’t remember you having golden hair and

certainly not red crown shaped eyes. I didn’t believe that person to be you because people tend to exaggerate the truth, which is either fifty-percent truth or made up junk.

Anyway, I tried to teach in Astral Academy, but it seemed I had to pass another test. Sadly, the test proved to be really difficult as it was asking for various things that I just never bothered to learn. After I was unsuccessful at getting enrolled into the academy, I decided to return to my home continent, the Bazaraka Continent. The Demon World, Demagrad, is the home to many of the demons, but I am born in this world and as such, Bazaraka Continent is my home and I feel it’s time I return the favours done by my family and relatives.

I am sure you will be sad to see me go back home without meeting you again, which is why I am posting this letter to you. I am unsure when you will receive this letter, but I am confident that you will be very powerful by then. How powerful? I suppose we can start comparing yourself with power warriors like the Phoenix Emperor and the Nine Pillars of Power, which I believe I had forgotten to tell you about. Anyway, I think you would have learnt about them by now since they are the strongest warriors.

And now, I bid my farewell to you, Lucky. I do not know when we will meet again, but if we are destined to meet, we will meet. Until then, study well, train hard, become strong and never give up! That is a rule I believe I hammered hard into you in our training and although it might make you reckless, go with it! You will be perfectly fine because I have this feeling that you will reach great heights. I believe it and you believe it as well.

With sincere regards, Your previous home magic tutor, Sumara Manjuvad.”

Lakshman reached the end of the letter and he felt really happy as he smiled at the letter.

From the details that she included, she had mastered her skills and reached King rank. It seemed that she was fine and safe, which made him feel relieved. He was his first teacher before Darian Ronald, Rumble, Felix, the teachers of Astral Academy and the Decisive Player.

Happiness gushed forth for his previous teacher as he showed both liking and respect for her sincere attitude in her training to become stronger. However, he did feel a twinge of displeasure when he learnt that she had left.

“Judging from the time of delivery of the letter and the posting, I guess she left a while before I arrived as Astral Academy,” he muttered unhappily.

As soon as he felt depressed, he smiled widely and said, “Oh well! I’m sure I’ll meet her again soon enough! Now that she’s become strong enough to help her people, it’s time I follow in her footsteps to get moving with my desire to help the people and the world!”

He nodded confidently as he was filled with determination to succeed. Later that day, it was time for them to return to Floria Kingdom and they were saying goodbye to the family. As the women talked, Lakshman and Indra stepped aside to speak personally with one another.

“Lucky, make sure you be a better head of the family than me,” Indra told him firmly with a serious expression on his face. “Unlike me, you’re going to be the husband of seven women and they will start relying on you. On top of that, you will become the king of a kingdom once you marry Venezuela. You told me you will lead a simple peaceful life in that new home that you’re going to buy, but be ready for a hectic life, alright?”

Lakshman nodded and said, “I know my words to make you feel relieved will be wasted since you will constantly about me, but be confident in me, father. I have learnt many great things in these two years of training and I will make sure no problems will occur.” As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly thought of something and he asked, “Actually, why don’t you, mother, Mariana and twins move over to our new house?”

Indra chuckled and said, “I see. You’re trying to keep the family together.” They smiled at each other when Indra shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, this is my home, Lucky. You’ll be starting your family of your own and you shouldn’t need us there to assist. Be a man and do things like I did, from scratch.”

Lakshman laughed and said, “Fine, father, but you will have to come for the wedding.”

“Of course! There’s no way am I or the women of this house are going to miss that out!” Indra said and they smiled each other.

Once they were done talking, they returned to the girls, who were laughing.

“Time to go?” Ondine asked curiously and Lakshman nodded at her.

“You girls climb onto Phylex and Draga to return while I use my portal to go do some business,” he told them as Phylex and Draga returned to their full forms in a flash of light.

“Eh? You’re not coming back with us?” Erza asked in a surprised voice.

He shook his head and said, “I have some things to take care of, but in the meantime, you ladies return and set things up for the marriage.”

“Okay, but you better be back soon. We can only do so much without you around,” Venezuela said and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Alright, alright. I’ll be back soon anyway, so there’s no problem in me being late,” he told her with a smile on his face.

With the help from Phylex and Draga’s magic, the girls got onto the backs of these mighty creature’s backs. They shouted their farewell as the two majestic creatures beat their wings and slowly lifted into the air. Then, once they were airborne, the two of them whooshed away into the distance at great speed.

“I just hope they don’t get airsick,” Lakshman said, causing him and his family to laugh.

He held his hand out and with the destination in mind, he said, “Phoenix Portal!”

“Take care, Lucky!” Lakshmi told her son with a wide smile on her face.

“Bye, annayya!” the twins said at the same time and they waved their small hands at him.

“Make sure you get back on time!” Indra told him sternly.

He turned around and with a grin on his face, he said, “No worries and see you later!”

Once he was done waving goodbye at them, he turned around and walked into the portal, which closed a moment after him entering into it. For a few seconds, he was walking along a straight white road that was shrouded in darkness on either side of it. Then, he walked out into the bright sunlight, causing him to squint to adjust his eyes as the portal closed behind him. After getting used to it, he realised he was at the capital of Floria Kingdom.

“Good. I’m here,” he muttered in satisfaction. “Now then, I should be close to where Wolfenstine’s laboratory is located…”

He looked around and the shabby area he was in when he saw a large board hanging off a building. The sign read “Wolf’s Lab,” which caused Lakshman to involuntarily chuckle.

“Wolf’s Lab?” he asked in amazement. “Wow… That’s one strange title right there.”

He was sure it was definitely Wolfenstine’s laboratory, which looked as if it was run down. As he observed more closely, he noticed the shifting in the appearance, which made him realise there was a strong illusion barrier placed on the building to make it look that way.

“Smart,” he muttered in an impressed voice. “I guess he wanted to avoid danger. Anyway, let’s see if he’s in.”

Lakshman walked over to the building’s entrance and raised his hand to tap once on it. The moment that he tapped the door that it promptly fell forward and slammed against the ground.

“Ah…” He was frozen in shock when the door he wanted to knock against fell on the ground.

“Oh crap!” he exclaimed. “I only knocked, but I didn’t think I was so strong that a simple tap knocked the door down…!”

Just then, he heard footsteps from the inside and he heard a familiar voice shout, “Oh my goodness! Who the hell knocked the door down?”

The lights within the darkened room switched on as a man’s frame appeared in front of the doorway. As the lights became bright, Wolfnestine came into clearer picture. There was not much of a change in his appearance, except that his white hair became long and spiky. His broad shoulders and strong muscles gave off the feeling of a powerful warrior as he wore a business style short and pants. Strangely, he was wearing spectacles, which truly gave him an impressive look.

“Oh…? Is that you, Lucky?” Wolfenstine asked curiously as he walked forward a bit to get a better view.

Lakshman smiled and nodded as he said, “Hey, Wolf and sorry about this. I only meant to knock on the door, but I didn’t think I put so much strength that it would actually knock the door down.”

Wolfenstine chuckled and said, “Of course not.”

He walked forward and bent down to easily pick up the fallen door. With a gesture, Lakshman walked in as Wolfnestine easily fitted into the entrance and closed the door. Lakshman looked at him putting the door into place nonchalantly without bothering to fix it up.

“Um… Is that door not attached to any swinging stuff? Is it just there for show?” Lakshman asked curiously.

Once he was finished, Wolfenstine turned around and said, “Not really. I just never bothered to fix it up with the bolts for the swings.”

“So, you basically knock it off and put it back in place to make it look solid,” Lakshman said before shaking his head incredulously. “That must mean that door’s been knocked over on several occasions.”

Wolfenstine laughed and gestured for Lakshman to sit on the chair near the table. Lakshman slowly walked over as he looked around the building of Wolfenstine’s laboratory. It really did not look like a laboratory due to the many types of tools hanging off the ceiling along with some other stuff that would be used for experiments. Some of them seemed to be dusty as if they had not been cleaned and used for a while.

“Looks like you haven’t been working for a while,” Lakshman commented from looking at the tools as he sat down.

Wolfenstine sat down on the chair in front of the table, which was opposite to Lakshman. He leaned back on chair and sighed heavily.

“You’re right. I haven’t been working at all lately. It seems the world is doing pretty fine with my Crystal Clocks that you suggested. Now, I don’t seem to be getting anything into my mind to make,” he said in a dull voice.

“Aren’t you receiving payment for the improvement of the Energy Crystals and the supply of energy sources?” Lakshman asked him curiously. “Or, is there not enough incentive for you to make anything else?”

“I’m getting the payment from Felix and it’s pretty good for a Scientific King like me. Like expected, I spent quite a while fixing up those Energy Crystals and experimented with them to make their efficiency better in using the natural energy source without going out of control. I think you’re aware of the dangerous brightness for the eyesight.”

Lakshman nodded and said, “Yeah. It would literally feel like the sun was thrown into our eyes.

Then, there’s the recoil from the explosion of the overloading of the Energy Crystal that would certainly feel like a small explosion. I think it’s good that you’ve fixed that up, but you can’t give up like that, Wolf.”

Wolfenstine chuckled and sighed before saying, “My clansmen are doing well at the Forest of Fog and I literally just have to use my Vocal Transmission Device to speak to them. Through this telepathic communication, there’s no need for me to visit them except the every year.”

“Mmm…!” Lakshman made a noise with his mouth as he was impressed by nodding his head.

“Then, how about you make it global?”

“Global? Are you suggesting that I expand the device and multiple it to be used by everyone all around the world?”

“Why not? I mean, it would be very useful and people would simply love to use such a simplified device.”

Wolfenstine shook his head and said, “No, Lucky. People would simply need to master the Telepathy magic spell or to contact with someone from a faraway place, they just have to master the King ranked Telepathic Spirit magic spell to connect to them.”

Lakshman nodded and said, “Right, but there are two problems with that way of communicating. The first is that those are high ranked techniques and they required people to actually master those technique to make them work. The second is the requirement of concentration to focus your mind on the person or the people you want to connect to and speak with.

These two require people a lot of strength, deep concentration and a large quantity of energy.

For people like us, it’s quite an incredible feet to achieve it, but for those that cannot do it is just simply unfair in my opinion. That’s why, I want you to improve the Vocal Transmission Device so that it works when anyone uses it.

Also, I believe there should be a Teleportation Zones in various places connection to each other. Right now, I’ve mastered the use of Phoenix Portal and I’m using it constantly to move from one place to another. Even the Phoenix Clan members use the Warp magic spell to teleport themselves to a known destination.

I believe there are Teleportation Circles connecting the continents together even though I’ve never seen them, but I believe there should be Teleportation Zones around several places connecting one kingdom to another or one place to another specified place. Like, during the attack of an invading army, the people can use these zones to escape from harm’s way if they are installed in all homes.

Along with that, I think we should make—!”

“Hold onto your reigns!” Wolfenstine exclaimed in a loud voice. “At least, let me write them down…! Geez…!”

Wolfenstine quickly got up to go and pick up paper and pen before returning back to the table.

Once he sat down, he asked, “Alright! Fire away and tell me whatever you want to try experimenting. Then, let’s talk if we can achieve it or not.”

“Suits me just fine,� Lakshman said with a shrug of his shoulders and he began telling Wolfenstine his ideas.

Some of the following are in the list of major inventions or creations that Lakshman wanted to be made or implemented: The use for these devices is simply to let multiple people talking to one another through the use of telepathy. Naturally, people Vocal Transmission Device would not need to speak in their mind and whatever they said out loud into the device will get transmitted to the receiving end of the device through real-time functionality of the magic cells.

Teleportation Zone

These are the connections between several places that enables the teleportation of several people at the same time. The idea behind this is to be used for travelling long distances, but only limited within the boundaries of the continent they are in.

However, the people can choose to install ones that enable them to move from one continent to another.

This gave birth to the idea of Teleportation Rings that could be used to achieve the same principles, except these rings would be worn on the people. The user would activate the ring’s teleportation magic and once they specify a locatable destination, the ring would automatically transport them directly there.

Barrier Crystals

The idea came from the past events two years ago when the people of Floria Kingdom were under attack by the invading army of Mardana Kingdom. The true purpose of these crystals was to secure the person that has a hold of this. If the person is under attack from an enemy, the crystal would act like a barrier and it would shield them and the people around them from possible injury.

The main drawback with these crystals was that they cannot protect you from the most devastating attacks, but it would work as it was intended to function.

Titanium Armour

These are the armours that would be mixed with the knowledge of the Phoenix Clan and the remains of the inferior qualities of the Dragon Armour. The intention behind the creation of this type of armour was to provide the Phoenix Army and the Floria Kingdom Army the fighting edge they need against other kingdoms and clans like the Demons and Dragons.

There is the chance of them illegally being transported to the other kingdoms, which is why there will be a remote breakdown feature that will enable the Phoenix Clan or Floria Kingdom the power to dismantle the armour by remote activation. Such a powerful armour should not be wielded by the other kingdoms due to their lower trustworthiness.

Lakshman continued to list down the kind of inventions that he wanted to be done or made while Wolfenstine quietly took note of them on his piece of paper. This went on for almost an hour with the different and varieties that Lakshman had in mind. There were also minor inventions included as well to help reduces the use of natural resources and rely on the natural energy provided by mother nature.

“The God of Nature wouldn’t mind us using the power of the natural energy,” Lakshman said confidently.

“If you say so,” Wolfenstine said while laughing. Then, as he looked down at the list, he said, “Anyway, this is quite the list you’ve made me write. I didn’t think you studied Magical Engineering since you left for your two years of training. Was there some special training available at that place?”

Lakshman smiled when he saw the eagerness in Wolfenstine’s voice and eyes.

“There really wasn’t much in there expect for white space, wildly fluctuating gravity and weather,” Lakshman said and he grinned at him. “Anyway, one can learn a lot from the amount of knowledge they have amassed like me.”

Wolfenstine did not understand that Lakshman was referring to the vast amount of knowledge he possess. He gained this from the now deceased Decisive Player, who had given him that knowledge as his final gift to him. During the training, Lakshman realised most of the knowledge would be very useful to the world once they are implemented, although he kept a few under wraps because he felt they would increase the chances of trouble than creating peace.

“Well, whatever it is, I’ll think of starting on these at some time soon,” Wolfnestine said as he folded the paper and set it aside. “Now… Why don’t you get down to the actual business that brought you all the way here?”

Lakshman looked surprised and asked, “You can tell?”

Wolfenstine nodded knowingly and said, “Indeed, I can. People don’t come near me because of how wild and inhuman I am with my experiments.” After they laughed, he narrowed his eyes in a business like way and asked, “So… What brings the mighty Phoenix Titan here?”

Lakshman chuckled and said, “Stop that…” Then, he straightened up and smiled slightly and as he asked, “I was wondering if you can make the most delicious liquor possible.”

“Liquor?” Wolfenstine asked in a surprised voice. “I didn’t think you were into that sort of stuff, Lucky.”

Lakshman immediately shook his head and said, “Oh, please! I’d rather die a natural death than be killed by such junk, but a lot of people seem to like it and the thing has its use in what I have in mind.”

“Hmm…? What do you intend to use the most delicious liquor for?”

Lakshman smiled and said, “I’m hoping to, you know, soft talk the other kings into agreeing with some of the things I have in mind of doing once I become king.”

“Oh…” Wolfenstine said curiously and he narrowed his eyes intently. “So, what do you have in mind?”

Lakshman simply smiled before beginning to speak to Wolfenstine about the details of the liquor.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 243 Freedom & Justice

A portal opened within the castle walls and Lakshman walked out of it before it closed behind him. He straightened up and looked around to see that he was all alone. Nodding in satisfaction, he began walking along the empty corridor as he sensed the presence of Phylex and Draga nearby. As he focused on locating them, he found them in the backyard of the castle, lying down and fast asleep.

“I guess they’re taking a nap,” he thought before smiling.

Just then, he turned a corner and almost walked into Felix, who was looking frantic.

“Hey, Felix. What’s up?” he asked him curiously.

Seeing him, Felix breathed a sigh of relief and said, “That goodness I found you. Come this way, quickly!”

Felxi began jogging away and Lakshman jogged after him with a surprised expression on his face. For some reason, Felix was unusually tense and it made Lakshman be on high alert. There must be a strong reason to make Felix feel this tense to make him search for him desperately.

They walked for a while before turning a corner and arrived at a meeting room. Felix opened it and as he went in first, he spoke to the people Lakshman could not yet see.

“I’ve brought him. Now, you can discuss the matter.”

Lakshman walked through the open doors and arrived in a spacious meeting room. He immediately noticed Ondine, Tetra, Silvera and Cantia seated behind the large chair that was seated by Venezuela, Emilia and Erza. He immediately sensed the tension in the air and realised the girls were very anxious. Looking towards whom they were facing, he was startled to see several people wearing orange robes. Six of them stood behind a seated person, who he supposed was their leader.

The girls turned around and made relieved expressions on their faces when they saw him.

Ondine, Tetra, Silvera and Cantia wore relieved expressions upon seeing him, but Venezuela, Emilia and Erza did not turn to look at him. When he got closer, he saw the seriousness on their faces and it was mirrored in their eyes as well. He immediately realised this must be a very serious matter for them to not take notice of him.

Felix sat down on a chair that horizontally aside from them. He positioned himself there so that he would immediately step in to stop any unnecessary actions. At the same time, he edged his chair slightly towards the girls to clearly state whose side he has picked to side with if the choice was even asked.

Lakshman sat down between Venezuela and Emilia before facing the orange robed men with a firm expression on his face. He observed the men shift slightly when they looked at him through the eyeholes through the cloaks on their faces, which hid most of their face. Then, he saw the emblem embedded on the chests of their cloaks and he immediately realised who he was dealing with.

“Master, these people are from the Shambasa Religion,” he heard Tetra say in his mind.

“They’ve come today to speak to you about our marriage.”

“I understand,” he replied without changing the firm expression on his face.

The seated man bowed slightly towards him and said, “My sincerest greeting to you, Phoenix Titan. It is an honour to meet you here today.”

Lakshman nodded once and simply replied, “Yes, I’m sure.”

“My name is Revan Telipad and I am associated with the Shambasa Religion,” the man introduced himself to Lakshman in a clear voice. “Currently, I am here on behalf of my religion to speak to you about something concerning your marriage with these young ladies that sit with you.”

“What about it?” Lakshman asked calmly.

Revan nodded and said, “In the customs of our religion, we do not allow for the marriage between multiple women and one man. This has been followed for generations and those that crossed that line became the victims of the hand of justice our god dealt them.”

“More like the handy work of the people from the religion,” Lakshman thought while he kept a straight face.

“The God of Justice, Sangrahan, is a compassionate god who upholds the values of justice. His greatness in creating the law and order that which binds us has allows the people to flourish.

As such, we follow his teachings through the ages and we refine what we learn from the experience that life as taught us.

However, your desire to marry multiple women has become a thorn in our quest for world order. The God of Justice never allowed the marriages between multiple women and he will see this as a treasonous action against his teachings. As his believers and followers, we advise you to cut your ties with the women and happily wed with the queen.”

Cantia and Ondine clenched their fists together angrily. They were upset by the words the religious believer just uttered in front of them and they did not hide the anger shown on their faces.

“Why you…?” Cantia began angrily and she tried to get up, when she was stopped by the hand Lakshman raised.

He raised his hand and indicated for both Cantia and Ondine to stay seated. Heeding his indirect gesture, they stayed seated while continuing to glare at the religious people. For their part, the orange robed men with their religion crest on their chests did not do anything, but stay where they were. It was obvious to Lakshman that disaster would occur from his side rather than their side.

“This is tricky… I’ll have to choose my words carefully…” he thought slowly.

There was a moment of silence within the room as the people remained silent and still. The tension in the air slightly thickened as the two sides eyed each other cautiously. Lakshman had closed his eyes to think about what the man had just said to him. After nodding several times, he opened his eyes and began speaking to Raven.

“I see the God of Justice has some really sincere followers. That is good to see,” Lakshman said and Raven bowed in appreciation. “However, I am not a follower and nighter are the people sitting with me. We know and understand the laws the God of Justice maintains to keep order in the world, but I believe that order is also dependent on the free willed choices that people make.”

Raven’s face was hidden by his mask so his expression could not be seek, but Lakshman saw his eyes flicker slightly. From this small movement in their eyes, he realised he had made himself a “I do not understand what you are trying to say,” the man said slowly in voice that did not show his emotions.

Lakshman sighed and leaned back on the chair as he said, “Well… For starters, you are completely ignoring the God of Freedom and his many teachings. Sure, he is not as well-known as your God of Justice, but I believe the free will allows man to do whatever they please, so long as the justice is kept intact.”

“That perhaps is the case, but the God of Freedom is also known to be a trickster, prankster and one who does whatever he pleases. In recorded history of his presence known to man, he has had multiple wives, but none of them have ever experienced true happiness,” Raven replied in a calm voice.

“How do you know that?” Lakshman asked immediately. “I am also aware of the multiple goddesses whom he wedded, but as far as I am aware, there is no record that suggests his wives are unhappy with the marriage.”

“We… We have them recorded in the history of our religion—,” Raven began to say, but he was cut off by Lakshman’s quick response.

“Which is questionable because it is your religion and your history. It’s what your so called Shambasa Religion has decided to keep while throwing away anything else it did not deem worthy to retain. As such, it becomes questionable whether you speak the true facts or the facts that mostly favour you.”

Lakshman spoke calmly with a small smile on his face, but the firmness of his words left no doubt that he did not believe in anything Raven told him so far. Raven understood this and he nodded his head to convey that he understood the underlying message Lakshman had passed him along with his words.

“Are you perhaps calling us as liars?” Raven asked finally and there was a hint of anger in his voice.

Lakshman shook his head and said, “I’m not calling you people ‘liars’ specifically, but I do believe it makes you and your teachings questionable. One might even argue that you deceive the followers of the God of Justice, who upholds the mantle of responsibility to keeping order in the world.”

Raven went to speak, but Lakshman did not give him an opportunity and kept talking.

“I also believe you’re spreading the wrong message with your teachings. The God of Justice created order in this world that brought balance to it. However, he left the mantle of responsibility to the creations of the God of Life and God of Fertility. He left us to keep the order in the world, which is why we are unable to see him, feel him or contact him.

This is where the God of Freedom comes in as he dictated free will and gave all life a mind of their own. Instead of making us function in similarly, he gave us our own will, our own emotions, feelings, minds and beliefs. Using this, we are left in charge to keep the world going while retaining the slowly dissolving order around the world.

Finally, you people need to get out of your narrow minded beliefs of your teachings and look at the world around you. Two years ago, Floria Kingdom and Mardana Kingdom experienced great pain due to the war and it was not stopped by the gods, it was me who defeated Adeboal and Razzel. It was me who restored the destroyed land and restored everyone back to full health.

Always keep in mind that freedom and justice play an important role in keeping the world in order. If even one of them shifted in the balance of power, you will face utter chaos around the world. Which is what I, the Phoenix Titan, stand for. After all… I am a phoenix who rises from the ashes in the name of freedom and justice.”

There was a stunned silence within the room once he finished speaking. Felix and the girls were shocked by his powerful words of wisdom that carried a great amount of power and force. The firmness in which he spoke clearly stated how strong his beliefs were. Felix was looking aghast as he stared at Lakshman and the men in orange robes.

Raven’s men were unsettled by Lakshman’s words because they completely defeat the purpose of their teachings. They are hard followers and their beliefs run deep, to the point that they were shaking with anger. Lakshman noticed the anger, but he pretended to not notice with his eyes closed.

One of them took a step forward and with a shaking clenched fist, he asked, “You… dare to call our teachings as lies? You portray our hardened beliefs as a waste of effort? What do you know to say something like that? What do you understand about our religion to speak about us in such a way?”

“That’s enough,” Raven said quickly as he realised the situation was escalating to the point he was losing control over his followers.

Lakshman just shrugged his shoulders and said, “I sure am clueless about your religion, but I think freedom and justice should go hand-in-hand in keeping peace around the world. Of course, you shouldn’t need a youngster like me to tell you right? Or, am I correct in thinking every one of you are just the regular dumb believers of religion?”

“Stop!” Raven said in a more firm voice, but it was too late.

“Why you treasonous vermin!” the follower shouted angrily. “I‘ll show you the firmness of our belief in our god!”

The next moment, he leapt forward and quickly charged towards Lakshman. Felix tried to get up, but the movement of the orange robed man was quicker than him. The girls tried to get up

to stop him when they were suddenly forced back down by a pressure from Lakshman. He opened his eyes and saw the man lugging towards him with his fist raised, which was glowing brightly with energy.

“Hpmh… Foolish,” he muttered with a sigh before activating his powers.

In an instant, fire erupted form where he sat and quickly surrounded him and the girls. He raised his hand and as he did, the flames extended a flaming hand out. Using the flaming hand, Lakshman controlled it by using his left hand and grabbed the man in mid-air. The robed man attempted to break free, but he began screaming in pain when Lakshman began to close his hands and tightened his grip on the man’s body.

Raven and Felix jumped to their feet in shock at the display of power as Lakshman easily gripped the man tightly, causing him to moan painfully. He was not crushing him, but the firm grip from the flames was causing the man to feel the heat and the pained compression his body was going experiencing.

Lakshman looked at Raven and spoke in a powerful voice.

“You see, follower of Shambasa Religion… I love these women and I decide with my will alone.

Nothing will make me change from who I am and who I will always be!”

The next instant, he turned the man around with his flaming hand and slammed him hard onto the ground. He used his left hand to relax his flaming hand and bring the hand back to create a shielding flames around himself and the girls sitting with him.

“I decide however I will want to live my life and so will the girls that deeply love me. Believe what you want to believe because the God of Freedom gave you that freedom, but know that I will show no mercy if you try to get in my way! I will face you at any time at any place regardless of the circumstances because I am always ready!” Lakshman told him fiercely.

At that moment, the flames began to take on the form of a warrior as it surrounded him and the girls. Raven, his men and Felix saw the flaming armoured body of a warrior with a phoenix head that was shielding the people within its protective coat of flames.

Raven took one glance at Lakshman before turning around and walking towards the exit. His followers quickly helped their unconscious comrade and followed right behind. One of the followers quickly went ahead and opened the door for his leader to pass through. At the door, Raven stopped and looked back at where Lakshman sat while being surrounded by the flaming warrior.

“Those are strong words, but let us hope you do not come to regret them,” Raven said before he and his followed exited the room.

Once they were gone, the girls breathed easily again and they got up to move out of the flames. Lakshman remained seated with his eyes closed as he calmed his racing mind.

“I-It’s like an extension of a warrior from within,” Emilia said quietly as they saw the armoured body of a phoenix warrior the flames took the shape.

“Yeah… It’s amazing…” Ondine said in awe and Cantia nodded her head energetically in agreement.

Lakshman let out a deep sigh and deactivated his magic, which caused the flaming body of the phoenix warrior to immediately disappear. He leaned back and stretched his arms to get the sudden stiffness out of the muscles.

“Fascinating how he’s using the flames as a protective shield,” Venezuela said as she was intrigued by the magic technique. She turned to him and asked, “What was that just now, Lucky?”

He looked at her and said, “It’s called the Elemental Coated Armour.”

“What?!” Felix exclaimed in disbelief. “That’s the Emperor Ranked Elemental Coated Armour?!” When Lakshman nodded, Felix’s jaw dropped in utter disbelief.

“What? You know what it is, Felix?” Emilia asked him curiously.

“Yeah because I never heard of it either,” Venezuela said and the girls turned to look at him.

Felix quickly recovered and coughed before saying, “Well… The Elemental Coated Armour is as you saw, it uses the energy of the user and takes on a physical form of their inner strength. Of course, it depends on who uses that technique because it can change its shape depending on their inner will.”

“So, Lucky had a fiery strength and a strong will, which made it take on the form of a fiery armoured phoenix warrior,” Emilia said and she nodded in understanding. “That makes sense.”

“Yes, it does, but what I don’t get is how you knew about it!” Felix said to Lakshman. “It’s a secret technique that only very few people know about and that includes the Nine Pillars of Power. However, I don’t remember telling you about it and I certainly don’t think anyone

would’ve blabbed about it either. So, how did you…?” As soon as he asked that question, Felix widened his eyes in realisation. “No way…Is it… your knowledge…?”

Lakshman nodded and smiled as he said, “Yes. I was drawn to a question: how do I face opponents with swords when I don’t have either Tetra or Silvera with me. So, I searched for a solution and the answer came to me in the form of the Elemental Coated Armour magic spell.

With it, I am able to fight using the extended form of my inner will and I can also create energy swords to use in battle. It’s a powerful technique, so I mainly learnt it to use it for self-defence, but I’ve managed to master it quite a bit.”

“Yes… It’s an amazing feat that you mastered it within the two years of your training!” Felix said in an impressed voice.

They looked at each other and smiled with respect, which got interrupted by Ondine asking, “Um… What do we do about that religious guys?”

“Leave them alone,” Lakshman said flatly. “I said the truth and it’s up to them to face the facts.

They can’t always run away and hope their so called god will provide them with answers.

Unfortunately, freedom and justice play a powerful role in keeping this world together, keeping us together and the connection that links all living creatures to one another.

So long as they keep lying to themselves and run away from the truth, they will never escape the endless cycle of fear. Their fear of their god, the fear of change and the fear of difference.

All of this will add up and will eventually lead to a result that we will not be happy with.”

“You’re right, but they will become desperate to silence you, Lucky,” Felix said in a serious voice. “You better be careful from now on. They’ve realised that you are a heretic in accordance to their religion and like so many others that defined them, you will also be attacked and most likely eliminated.”

“How about we eliminate them?” Ondine asked as she casually placed a hand on the hilt of her sword.

“Yeah! Get rid of them and problem solved!” Cantia said in agreement with Ondine.

“Honestly…! You two…!” Venezuela said crossly as she turned to look at them. “What are we, killers to go around killing people just because we don’t like them?”

“Uh… I just thought it would solve all of our current problems,” Ondine said and together with Cantia, they hung their head in sadness.

“I for one don’t want to take the easiest option of killing them,” Silvera said firmly. “After all, we’re living beings like them, so what gives us the right to kill them? I mean, we’re not their creators, we’re not their saviours and we’re certainly not their relatives. I just don’t think killing is the right option.”

“I agree with you, Silvera,” Lakshman said in a firm voice. “We’re not killers and we’re certainly not assassins. Let’s not go so low as to contemplate killing before giving them the chance at redemption. Everyone deserves that chance, regardless of the kind of actions they committed in the past. That’s the difference between killers and heroes.”

The girls nodded in agreement, but Venezuela looked at him intently and asked, “Is that why you had such a tough time taking out Razzel?”

Two years ago, after he left for his training, they were visited by the Sword Titan, Dominic Rutherford. He informed them of Lakshman’s actions in giving Razzel the chance to change himself. When the attempt back fired, Lakshman was left with no choice, but to utterly destroy the Demon Dragon King and let the Serpent of Revenge do the rest.

Lakshman sighed when he remembered the past events and said, “Look… I will admit that I may have him given him unnecessary amount of changes, but he was filled with the savagery of revenge. I thought he would change if I made him think about all the lives he killed and absorbed. Ultimately, I was forced to put an end to him once and for all.

Even after all that, I still wish to give chances to my enemies to make change. That is, unless I am perfectly certain they will never change because of who they are. Remember ladies… I’m not a killer, I’m a protector, a defender of the world and the creatures that live in that world.

They make up the world and without them, the world will collapse. That’s why, I do this without regrets.”

The girls looked at him for a moment before looking back at each other.

“Well, if that’s how it is,” Emilia said with a smile.

“It can’t be helped,” Venezuela said with a sigh.

“No worries,” Erza said and she winked at him.

“That’s good,” Tetra said and she nodded at him.

“Keep it up, master,” Silvera said and she gave him a thumps up.

“You’re awesome!” Cantia said cheerfully.

“I proud of you!” Ondine said proudly.

Hearing their different response made Lakshman laugh heartily and it had been a while since he laughed like this. The girls looked perplexed by his sudden laughter and they looked at each other to wonder they knew. Lakshman noticed them looking at each other and correctly understood what they were wondering.

“Hearing such different response form you make me laugh,” he told them as he chuckled.

“Seriously, I never expected you ladies to give me such variety responses.”

“Well… I don’t know what to say to that, but oh well. At least, you’re happy,” Erza said and the girls nodded at him. “Anyway, we better get going and prepare the royal marriage ceremony, send out the invitations and get the scheduling for the marriage date ready.”

“I think there’s an open venue next week if you want to try for that, Felix suggested and Erza nodded at him.

“That’s good to get this done and be over within one week. What are your thoughts, Vena?” she asked as she turned to face Venezuela.

“I think that’s fine, but are you girls absolutely sure you want me to go marry him first?”

Venezuela asked and she looked at them uncertainly. “You all were aiming to be his first wife…”

The girls looked at each other and shook their heads at her.

“I did try hard to be the first since I was the first person he met since he was just a kid,” Ondine said and she smiled slight. “However, I quickly realised that no matter who got to marry him first, we’ll all be his wives and that means we’ll be sisters to each other. That’s why, I dropped the thought of wanting to marry first.”

“I’m the same, although I never exactly wanted to be first anyway,” Cantia said and she nervously fidgeted with her fingers. “After all, marriage is very new to me and I’m unsure how it’s proceeded and everything.”

“I don’t know about the past, but I’m looking forward to getting married together,” Silvera said brightly. “If we follow along Ondine’s logic, we’re going to be like sisters and I have no problems with that! So yeah…! Go get married first, Vena!”

“I will support you,” Tetra said firmly with a smile on her face as Emilia and Erza nodded in agreement.

Vena looked around at the girls and smiled happily at them.

“Thank you everyone,” she said thankfully to them all. Then, brightening up, she smiled and said, “Let’s make this grand!”

“YEAH!” was the reply of all the girls within the room.

Felix remained silent, but he was grinning broadly as he watched the enthusiasm of the girls.

Lakshman was the same before he leaned back on the cough and breathed with a small smile on his face.

“Good for them,” he muttered and he closed his eyes before falling asleep.

And so, Lakshman and Venezuela married a week later grandly with the entire Floria Kingdom cheering for them, which was the 8099PX, 13th of Shadien. It was indeed a great day to celebrate the marriage of the queen of Floria Kingdom with the Phoenix Titan, now the king of Floria Kingdom. Some objections were raised by the Shambasa Religion, but they were ignored as the kingdom celebrated the rise of a new king and queen.

Several days after their marriage, which was the 8099PX, 20th of Shadien, things began to settle down and that was when a quiet wedding was held for Lakshman to marry Ondine, Tetra, Silvera, Emilia, Erza and Cantia. On that day, they were in the presence of Lakshman’s family, Venezuela’s mother, Dominic Rutherford, Felix Phoron with his family along with several other diplomats of the royalty. These people were also present during the royal marriage as well, but were hardly seen due to the amount of crowd amassed at the castle.

Thus, Venezuela, Ondine, Tetra, Silvera, Emilia, Erza and Cantia became part of the ‘Reddy’ family with their marriage of their lover, Lakshman. With the marriage complete and his position as king firmly implanted into the hearts of the people and the kingdom, Lakshman was ready to move on with his plan to help his kingdom and the world.

Phoenix Rising

Chapter 243 Special Marriage: Lakshman & 7 Destiny Queens On the 8099PX, 20th of Shaide, a married had been scheduled. Unlike the royal wedding with Lakshman and Venezuela, this one was held simply without the notice of the entire kingdom.

The reason for this is simply that Lakshman felt it would be going overboard to expect such a fancy marriage like the royal wedding.

“It’s best to celebrate our wedding with those whom we want to share it with. After all, it’s family and friends that are the most important before anything else,” was the response Lakshman had for Felix’s question as they planned for the marriages.

“I see,” Felix said in understanding. Then, he smiled slightly and said, “I’m glad that was the reason. Otherwise, I’d have started doubting your courage to fight against the Shambasa Religion.”

“Huh?” Lakshman asked incredulously. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well… You know, it’s been almost a week since we heard anything from those blind believers of their God of Justice. I just thought you might be worried they will do something to harm you and your women.”

Lakshman stared at him with an expressionless face before saying, “Felix… If you speak like that one more time, I’m going to put in a word that’ll make Rasha have a word with you.”

Felix laughed and said, “That won’t be necessary. By the way, about that land you wanted to buy…”

“Yeah. How much is that open plains you mentioned?”

“It’s about 5,000,000 gold.”

Lakshman’s eyes widened slightly and said, “Wow…! That much?” When Felix nodded, Lakshman put his hand on his chin and muttered, “That’s bad… With the amount that I spent on getting those clothes and gold together to give away freely, I forgot to check my amount.”

He quickly opened his Item Box and said, “Money Count!”

In an instant, a holographic magical steam came out of the box and the smoke quickly formed into the shape of 500. Seeing this, Lakshman and Felix looked at each other before sighing heavily. Lakshman quickly recovered and he wore a determined expression on his face with his fists clenched.

“No need to worry! I’ll just go to a Labyrinth Tower and collect all the gold. I’m sure the gold should be more than enough to cover up the price of that land,” he said confidently.

Felix looked startled and he quickly said, “Hey…! Do you know how long it usually takes someone to reach the top of the Labyrinth Tower alive?”

“I suppose… a few month, I think…” Lakshman said casually.

“You’re saying it so simple as if it doesn’t concern you…” Felix said in a worried voice.

Ah, but you’re forgetting who I am. If it’s me, it shouldn’t take any more than four days!”

Lakshman said cheerfully.

Felix looked at him in surprise and shook his head before saying, “Really… I don’t know if you’re overconfident or that you’re powers are actually made your super strong!”

To such a response, Lakshman simply laughed and did not say anything. The next day after the wedding, he informed the girls what he intended on doing. Although they wanted to come with him at first, the head maid immediately put her foot down, saying how irresponsible of the brides to run off when their marriage is less than seven days away.

“Thank you, head maid!” Lakshman said gratefully. “Compared to the many strong opponents I’ve faced, you take the crown at being really hard headed! Even I have trouble letting them listen to me sometimes. I’m impressed!”

The head maid bowed deeply as she placed a hand on her chest before saying, “I will take that as a compliment, your majesty.” When she straightened up, she shifted her glasses and said, “However, I believe the husband should have a firmer stance within the family to make them listen to you.”

He simply chuckled and said, “Save that lecture for later, head maid. I’m just a newlywed groom and it takes a while before I get accustomed to my position.”

That afternoon, once he had finished dinner, he summoned Draga the Spirit Dragon into the backyard. The reason he summoned Draga was because of his powers as Spirit Dragon allows him to easily locate superficial life, such as a Labyrinth Tower.

“Draga! I want you to locate a Labyrinth Tower and take me there,” Lakshman told him firmly.

“Why me? Use your Spirit Circuit to locate it and fly over there,” Draga telepathically said lazily as he laid himself on the grassy field.

“Draga…!” Lakshman said in a powerful firm voice, causing Draga to groan.

“Fine…” he telepathically said and he slowly straightened up.

He tilted his head upward and for a few seconds, he said nothing. After sensing the location of a Labyrinth Tower, he turned his towards and telepathically informed Lakshman about it.

Nodding in response, he quickly jumped onto Draga’s back as it prepared to depart.

The girls, who had been standing at the entrance of the backyard, began loudly wishing him a safe journey. They were worried because they were worried and also had doubts whether he would return soon or not.

Lakshman sensed their doubts and cheerfully shouted, “You girls better be in excellent dresses by the time I come back! Otherwise, you’ll have an earful!”

Once he was seated on Draga’s back, the dragon beat its enormous wings hard and lifted itself into the air. After reaching a certain height, the dragon shoot away towards the direction of the Labyrinth Tower at high speed. The girls watched their beloved fly away on the dragon’s back with worried expressions on their faces.

“You girls need to cheer up!” Cantia said as she quickly brightened up. “A stupid Labyrinth Tower shouldn’t be a big problem for Lucky!”

“I know, but that’s not what worries me,” Erza said slowly. “I’m more concerned about how long it’ll take him to come back.”

Ondine slapped her back and cheerfully said, “Don’t be so negative!”

“Yeah, but Erza has a point…” Venezuela said in a worried voice. “I’m starting to it wasn’t such a good idea to let him go today.” She suddenly got irritated and said, “Darn him for rushing it.”

“I think he probably did it so we wouldn’t find some excuse to stop him from leaving,” Silvera said and the other girls looked at each other before smiling.

“Well, what’s done is done and he’s beyond the range of our telepathy to connect to him. So, let’s just focus on getting ourselves ready for the wedding this 20th!” Cantia said and the other girls nodded energetically.

During the week before the marriage, Venezuela was helped by the girls in decorating the castle. The girls had watched and helped her with various things that a bride needed to get done for the marriage. This time, it was her turn to watch and lend her help to the girls.

Additionally, she began doing her work as the queen, which finally let Felix relax a bit with the heavy decrease in workload.

“I’m amazed you’re able to do all this and never complain,” Venezuela said in an impressed voice.

Felix looked stricken by her words and he slowly said, “Your highness… Any man would want to complain from doing so much work, but I never had anyone to complain to.”

Seeing him looking so depressed, made her quietly say, “Ah… I’m sorry I asked.”

In the nights, the girls were made to sleep in their quarters within the castle walls. The head maid was very strict about how much contact they must have with each other due to the upcoming marriage of Ondine, Tetra, Emilia, Erza, Silvera and Cantia. They were used to sleeping together like companions and them having to sleep lonely for this week made them feel lonely. They would often try to sneak into each other’s beds, but the head maid catches them and promptly puts them under a sleeping spell.

“Good grief. His majesty is too lenient on the mistresses,” said one of the maid as they lifted Ondine and Cantia using levitation to carry them back to their bed rooms.

“I think his majesty is a very nice person, perhaps a bit too nice for his own good…” another maid commented.

“You’re right, but let’s not get into that. After all, it’s not our place to talk about how his majesty treats his wives.”

“That’s true.”

“I agree.”

“Okay, okay, but it does make me wonder who will give birth first. Maybe her majesty, Venezuela?”

“What are you talking about? It’s obviously her majesty! She married his majesty first.”

“Yeah, but don’t forget his majesty will soon be marrying a variety of races.”

“Oh yeah… Two Sacred Spirits, one Water Spirit, two humans and one of Comdra Beast Clan.”

“I guess there could be the chance of one of the non-humans giving birth first. After all, they do have a more powerful bodies than humans after all.”

“Ha? Are you calling her majesty weak?”

“No! That’s not what I—!”

Just then, there was a loud clapping sound from behind and the strict voice of the head maid said, “Stop chitchatting and take the mistresses back already!”

The maid stiffened from hearing her powerful, yet strict voice and they quickly replied, “Yes!” The girls spent their days either trying out dresses the dress lady wanted them to try. Then, they spent some evenings in the company of the nobles that live within the neighbourhood.

The nobles that visited them were ones that either retained their title due to their past services to the kingdom or their newly sworn loyalty to the new king and queen.

After the war from two years ago, many nobles were stripped of their titles and were sentenced to imprisonment. Felix made sure the heads of the family go to jail while their family live a simple life.

“I cannot let their mistakes come back to haunt their families,” Felix had said to Venezuela when she questioned his method of action. “I am aware it’s not in my place to do so, but I cannot pretend to be bystander and watch as someone suffers directly in front of me.”

Venezuela smiled upon hearing his response and said, “I see… That is a good thought, which I believe you’ve learnt from my dear husband.”

Felix smiled and nodded as he said, “Naturally. Lucky—I mean, his majesty Lakshman is a kind hearted ruler and he would not have liked to see that happen,” to which Venezuela agreed.

Most of those fallen nobles were taken care of by the Phoenix Clan, who let them continue to contribute to the kingdom by doing what they can. While it is not a prosperous wealth they currently possess, they are not poor enough to lose their homes and lands. Many of their children, both male and female, have begun enrolling at Astral Academy to use their education to score a secure job to take care of their families.

“I’m really glad Lucky managed to change your mind two years ago after the war. Now, there are job opportunities appearing everywhere with the new system that he’s constructing,” she

said in an impressed voice. “Also, I believe he’s going to be hiring more people to handle the documents and files from now on.”

Felix nodded and said, “Yes. In the week of your marriage, he had been going through a lot of documents. He was reading at such speed, I thought he did not read any of it with the way he kept flipping the pages,” and he sighed. “Anyway, he said he has a lot of things to do one the marriage was over and things began to settle down.”

Venezuela nodded and said, “Yes. I believe what he’s going to do will revolutionise the world once and for all,” to which Felix wholeheartedly agreed.

The days quickly went by and before they knew it, four days went by. It was one day before the day of the wedding and there still was no sign of Lakshman anywhere. The girls did wonder if he had come during the night while they were asleep and left, which somewhat angered them. However, the maids and the guards reported of there being no sigh of a dragon flying above or the presence of the king within compounds of the castle.

“After he departed, we did not sense his or the dragon’s presence anywhere near the kingdom, you highness,” the guards said as they knelt down on the ground in the throne room.

Venezuela was seated in the chair next to the king’s throne with a scowling expression on her face. The girls were taking an early afternoon sleep because of how exhausted they were from constantly on the work. For Venezuela, it came naturally because of her position and how constantly she had attended such formalities.

After giving the report, she gestured for the guards to take their leave, which they did after they bowed to her. She was worried because there had been no word or contact from him for the last four days. Fearing something might have happened to him, she turned to side where Felix stood at attention.

“Is there a way to find out where he currently is, Felix?”

Felix shook his head unhappily and said, “Unfortunately, that’s impossible, your highness. We do not currently possess the information regarding where he had gone.” He saw her getting angry and he quickly added, “However, we do have the currently known locations of active Labyrinth Towers. I will immediately send the Phintex Rajas to find out immediately!”

Venezuela nodded her head and said, “Yes, please do that.”

Felix nodded and he walked away, but came to a stop at the entrance of the throne room. At that moment, they all sensed a great power coming towards them, but they were unable to

locate the direction it was coming from. At first, the guards readied their weapons in thinking it was an attack, but they quickly realised the energy signature belonged to an ally.

Just then, a loud voice was heard within the throne room and the owner said, “You fear unnecessarily for my safety! I am the King of Floria Kingdom and above all, I am the Phoenix Titan! Lakshman Reddy!”

Light gathered in the centre of the room, which quickly formed into a fiery inferno. The flames grew higher and became larger as it took on the form of a fiery phoenix bird. It screeched loudly and caused everyone to cover their eyes desperately. Once the screeching noise was over, the fiery bird of inferno disappeared as the flames began to rotate around while making space within.

A man appeared and he was spinning a large weapon in his hands above his head. As the flames slowly died down, they saw that it was a halberd that which the man was spinning in his hand. The next moment, the man stopped spinning it and hit the handle hard on the ground, causing the flames to suddenly get spread everywhere.

Lakshman stood in the centre of the room while clutching the halberd with his right hand. He was grinning as he easily lifted it and rested it on his shoulder as he addressed everyone.

“Hey…! I’m back!”

The watching crowd of people, who had raised their hands in defence against the flames, were surprised. They thought the flames would scorch them from their intensity, but it all turned out to pass through them as if they were not real flames.

“Lucky!” Venezuela cried out joyously.

She quickly rose to her feet and used Infinity Step to move from her position to him in a blink of an eye. Without stopping or hesitating, she spread her arms around him and hugged him tightly. With on hand holding the halberd, Lakshman used his left hand to return the hug.

After a few seconds of this, they separated and that was when Venezuela looked up. She was smiling, but the smile slowly vanished when she saw the state of his face; bruises and cuts that were slowly letting blood out. Shocked, she stepped back and looked at the state of his body; his clothes were battered and slightly bloody, which had been ripped in several places.

Everywhere she looked, she saw multiple wounds and bruises covering his body.

“Oh my goodness! You’re injured!” she cried out in in a shocked voice. “Quickly, we need healers!”

Lakshman chuckled and said, “Calm down, Vena. I can heal these on my own.”

She glared at him fiercely and said, “Not another word from you! Side room! Now!” Seeing the fierce look in her eyes, he sighed and walked through the side doors and entered a side room. Following behind them was Felix and a few people that could heal him. A few minutes later, healers quickly arrived and they began healing his wounds using their Sage ranked healing spells. Once they were done with healing him, he thanked them and turned his attention back to Venezuela and Felix.

“Have you been fighting continuously for the past four days?” Felix asked incredulously.

Lakshman flexed his hands and moves his arms around before saying, “Sort of. I did take a sleeping breaks while being protected by my Elemental Coated Armour. Then, there were times when I accidentally stepped on a trap that would drop me down a few floors. Other than that, I had fun fighting against a wave of lava, being chased by magic resistant boulders, army of Minotaur with magic enhanced axes and plenty more that I don’t feel like listing.”

“And you did all that in four days? Wow!” Felix said in an impressed voice. “You’ve probably set a new record for reaching the top of a Labyrinth Tower in four days! Mmm… Maybe I should try beating that record?”

“Go for it if you want. I’m not going to stop you,” Lakshman said with a smile. “Anyway, it was worth it after gaining all the gold and stuff that’s located at the top, but that sure surprised me. I wanted Draga to take me to a normal Labyrinth Tower, but he took me to a Labyrinth Jointed Tower, which was like two towers connected. Hmm?” It was then that he sensed the anger emanating from Venezuela, surprising him in the process.

She lifted her head and he was startled to see the anger in her eyes as she glared at him fiercely. She walked forward and began banging his chest with her fist with each word she uttered.

“You… Never… Contacted… Called…! Why?” she asked angrily.

“Uh, yeah… Sorry about that,” he said and he scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.

“By the way, where is everyone? Are they done trying out their clothes and everything?”

Venezuela nodded her head and said, “They have and are currently sleeping because they are tired.”

“Tired ha…” he said and he let out a sigh. “I probably should go and get rest.”

“Yes, but before that…” she said as she pointed at the weapon he was carrying. “What is that?

Is that just an ordinary weapon or…?”

He shook his head and said, “This is a Sacred Spirit that’s been sleeping in that tower for who knows how long. Now, don’t misunderstand me bringing her here in thinking I’m going to marry her and all. She’s not meant for me, I can say that for certain. I believe her destined partner is someone in the future.”

“Really? In the future? How do you know?”

“I’m sure because when I touched her, I saw a lot of flashing images and I saw whom she was meant to be with. At first, I ruled it out as simply me going crazy, but crazy doesn’t explain why I felt a slight connection to the guy in those images. Then, I surmised that he’s the Phoenix Titan after me because I don’t possess any information regarding him, which means he doesn’t exist yet.”

“I see. That makes sense, but it still intrigues me how you can know so much without your brain exploding,” she said before chuckling.

He laughed and said, “Oh, come on, Vena… The God of Wisdom, did not give our minds built in limitations. We can learn as much as we can and by doing so, we develop further into acquiring an advanced mind. I know we get headaches and such sometimes, but that’s because you don’t drink lots of water. Our brains essentially live off the water that sustains us.”

“Okay, okay… Don’t give me a science lecture all of a sudden,” she said with a chuckle. “So, what are you going to do with her?”

“I’m going to keep her where she will wait until her destined partner comes for her. Currently, she’s asleep and on standby. I can probably use her as a weapon, but that’s it. Just like Tetra, the Phoenix Blade, who did not activate for Felix or my dad except for me, I believe she will never activate for me except the one she is destined to be with.”

Lakshman gestured for Felix to come closer and when he did, Lakshman handed the weapon over to Felix. He looked at the weapon with curious eyes as he examined it. On the surface, it looked like any ordinary halberd, but he knew from experience that is only a deception. Just like the Phoenix Blade that was capable of activating and forming strange markings on her sword, he was certain this weapon was capable of doing the exact same thing.

“Alright. I’ll keep her in the hands of the Phoenix Clan and then probably move her some other place for protection,” Felix said and Lakshman agreed with a nod of his head. “Well then, I’ll leave the two of you alone.”

He smiled and turned around to activate the Phoenix Portal. Once it appeared, he quickly walked through it with the weapon in hand and disappeared before the portal closed behind him. Once he was gone, Lakshman pulled Venezuela closer to himself and he smiled down at her.

“How about we have some sleepy time together?” he asked quietly.

She looked surprised before blushing and quietly saying, “So pushy…!”

Just like that, a day went by smoothly without any trouble or incident. The people inside the castle were most relieved their king had returned just in time for his second marriage. This marriage was being held in the evening when the stars would be out. The girls wanted to be married under the starry night for the simple reason of it being beautiful during that time.

On the day of the marriage, Felxi and his family arrived through the Phoenix Portal with presents in hand. Then, Indra and his family came early with the help from a Phintex Raja. A while later, Darian Ronald, Rumble and Marilia arrived while carrying gifts within their Item Boxes.

Rumble actually attempted to punch Lakshman in the chest as a manly punch, but Lakshman easily countered it and he slammed him so hard in the face, Rumble smacked hard into the floor and got stuck. Indra and Darian squared off as if they were about to fight, causing their respective wives to step between them. Although they were once student and master, their relationship had been very rivalry.

Surprisingly, Dominic Rutherford arrived using a sword that he planted in the castle. He did in the last wedding when he planted the sword at the side before going back to Mardana Kingdom with the king. It was apparently a technique called Teleportation Sword, which enables the Destiny Sword to teleport the wielder and those linked to him through physical contact to move to the desired location.

“That’s a handy way of travelling, but wouldn’t it be a problem when your destination sword is either taken out or destroyed?” Venezuela asked him curiously.

Dominic snorted and said, “Oh really? Let me tell you now that only ones from Nine Pillars of Power are capable of destroying a teleportation sword.”

This was proved to be true when Felix attempted to pull it out with all his might, which became impossible. Lakshman attempted to pull it out, but Dominic quickly pleased with him to stop. However, he did not hang around as Lakshman was taken away by the maids to do some last minute check on his body, which he was embarrassed about.

“I can do it on my own, thank you!” he said irritably, but he did not stand chance against the glint shown from the head maid’s glasses.

“Rubbish. It’s our duty and don’t interfere,” she said firmly, causing him to become meek.

“Dammit… I’ve faced many opponents who were crazy and wild with overwhelming strength, but this is a first time I have to defeat against. The head maid’s too hard headed for me to get through to her,” he thought to himself unhappily.

Finally, it was evening and the marriage was going to be held in the backyard. It became night pretty quick, so the guards cast their magic to create floating light balls. They hovered around the yard and shone perfectly bright light in all directions.

Lakshman had summoned Phylex and Draga as well to attend the wedding. The Eternal Phoenix was very curious about the human marriages and observed intently, while Spirit Dragon was not interest and he simply lay down and slept without making any sound.

“At least, he’s not snoring like a usual dragon…” Lakshman thought in relief.

While all the invited people stood around and watched, Lakshman and the girls gathered in front of a large tree that was located at the very back of the garden. Standing under the tree was the sage, who conducted the wedding between Lakshman and Venezuela.

“Would the new marrying couple please step forward,” he said to them.

At first, Lakshman, Ondine, Tetra, Silvera, Emilia, Erza and Cantia stepped forward. Venezuela stood back and smiled for the people standing in front of her. Her wedding with Lakshman was a grand success and now she wished well for these girls as well. Emilia and Erza looked around and were surprised to see her standing back.

“Come on forward, Vena,” Erza said with a gesture and Emilia also did the same.

Venezuela shook her head and said, “I’m already married to him. It doesn’t suit me well to stand with you all.”

The sage shook his head slightly and said, “You are mistaken, young lady. That man is your husband and will soon be marrying several more women. Even if you are already married, there is no actual law that doesn’t allow the wife of the husband to be part of his marriage a swell. Please, step forward and stand beside him.”

Venezuela was hesitant to move due to her nervousness, causing Dominic to walk over to her.

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her forward to make her stand next to Lakshman. She looked sideways and smiled in embarrassment as Dominic returned to stand at the side with his sword held vertically in front of him.

“Dominic Rutherford. Ready,” he said and once again, with a flash of his blade, multiple vertically hovering swords appeared around the marrying couple and the sage.

The sage began with the Prayer of Life by repeating the same words as last time. Once that was over, he looked at the couples and asked each of them for their consent. For each of his questions, all the girls replied “I do” without hesitation, although Ondine, Emilia and Silvera were looking embarrassed. When it was Lakshman’s turn, he firmly replied “I do” without the hesitation like last time.

“Now, I compel you, Lakshman Reddy, to kiss these girls at the same time to form the bond of love,” the sage said quietly.

Lakshman stepped forward and turned to face the girls with a smiling face. Then, as he realised something, his smile faltered and he turned to the sage uncertainly.

“Hold on. Did you just say I should kiss them at the same time?” he asked him in a surprised voice.

“That’s correct,” the sage replied clearly.

Lakshman’s eyes widened slightly and he pointed at the girls and at himself before saying, “You want me to kiss them at the exact same time…?”

Everyone suddenly realised the implication of that and when the sage nodded, they all exclaimed, “What?!”

“Oh, oh my…!” Marilia said and she, Lakshmi, Mariana and Rasha were chuckling to each other.

“I didn’t expect this,” Indra said in a surprised voice and Darian nodded while Rumble roared with laughter.

“Mmm… That’s tricky,” Felix said thoughtfully. “Perhaps I should get the Phintex Rajas to go around searching for anymore Lakshmans around here?”

“Felix! That’s not even funny!” Lakshman said angrily, causing the men to laugh.

“What do we do?” Erza asked uncertainly.

“Can’t you do that One Man Army technique on us?” Cantia asked curiously.

Lakshman shook his head and said, “They are only illusions to throw my enemy off. There’s no use in using them here since there’s any enemy to fight. Mmm…” He turned back to the sage and asked, “Is it possible for me to plan my kiss on them, but not directly?”

The sage nodded and said, “So long as your direct kiss lands on all of them, it is fine. If you use an illusion magic to transmit your kiss onto each of the girls, even that is acceptable.”

Lakshman sighed wearily and said, “I never thought I’d have to use that technique for this, but whatever.” He immediately closed his eyes and placed a hand on his chest before saying, “Doppler!”

In an instant, multiple form of Lakshman began to walk out of him left and right. Everyone watched in amazement as the multiple of Lakshman continued walking out until there were a total of seven of them. The primary Lakshman removed his hand off his chest and breathed a sigh before looking at his copies.

“This should be fine, right?” he turned and asked the sage, who nodded his approval.

“A-Are they illusions?” Indra asked curiously as he rubbed his eyes.

“Nope. They look pretty real to me,” Darian said as he blinked in surprise.

Felix had appeared to be surprised by Lakshman’s move, but now he was smiling. He understood that the Doppler technique was a magic spell that caused the original to be split into several parts of himself. Although they all look real, their power gets cut down to match them equally. It’s a handy technique to for causing confusion in opponents, but he would prefer to not use that technique against powerful opponents.

As the multiple forms of Lakshman stepped forward with grinning faces, the girls were taken aback. They were highly surprised at seeing so many of them, let alone kiss the one standing in front of them.

“Oh wow… There are seven of him in front of me... I must be dreaming…” Ondine said in a surprised voice.

“Oh, for crying out loud, kiss already!” said the telepathically irritated voice of Draga.

While everyone laughed, the sage smiled and said, “You heard the dragon. Go ahead and kiss to mark your bond.”

The several girls stepped forward and the multiple forms of Lakshman stepped forward.

Finally, they leaned forward and finally kissed. As they kissed, the slowly rotating blades around them shot up and clashed, causing confetti to reign down on them. There was a clapping sound that echoed to all corners of the backward as both the invited and the occupants of the castle clapped at the union of sevens girls and one man.

Just then, the Spirit Dragon made a loud noise and it stood up on its feet before letting out a tremendous roar. At the same time, the Eternal Phoenix screeched loudly and made everyone clap their hands over their ears. The two majestic creatures looked at each other before opening their mouth and firing their individual techniques towards the point where the swords were clashing high up in the air. When the technqiues collided, a shower of icicles fell down on top of their heads.

“Doppler Out,” said the voice of the primary Lakshman and his other forms quickly transformed into small balls of light before they flew into him. Once the glow was finished and he reappeared, he looked up at the two creatures firing their individual techniques to the point above them.

“Icy Breath and Inferno Breath,” he muttered before letting out a chuckle.

The sage cleared his throat in a loud voice and the two majestic creatures stopped firing their techniques. Everyone stood and waited for him to conclude the wedding ceremony.

“As such, the conviction of these youngsters have been heard and I declare them to be couples for the rest of their lives! Please, wish them well to live a life in peace with the bonds and the love their form and share.”

Lakshman and the girls turned around to see everyone was clapping with wide smiles on their faces. The two majestic creatures let out their roars loudly to emphasise their approval of this wedding. Even the stars seem to be dancing from the union of Lakshman and Seven Destiny Queens.

Phoenix Rising

Chapter 243 Special Marriage: Lakshman & Venezuela On the 8099X, 13th of Shadien, a royal wedding was arranged. This was the wedding between the Phoenix Titan, Lakshman Reddy, and queen of Floria Kingdom, Venezuela Sargold. The wedding was going to be held in the large hall that was located on the ground floor of the castle.

The news of the marriage quickly spread like wildfire within the kingdom and everyone was excited. The marriage between the Phoenix Titan that saved their kingdom twice to soon become their king was exciting for the people. The entire kingdom was buzzing with excitement and noise as they cheered for their marriage.

“The kingdom sure is energetic about the wedding,” Lakshman commented one time during their time together. “I didn’t expect they would be this happy about it.”

“What did you expect? You saved the kingdom twice and even managed to defeat the king of an enemy kingdom. Naturally, the idea of you and me, the queen, marrying is an amazing idea!” Venezuela said with a smile on her face.

“I know, but it’s my first time seeing the people so happy. I doubt they were this happy some five years back when I saved the kingdom then from the Demon Emperor.”

Venezuela chuckled and said, “That’s because people tend to forget, but the war with the Mardana Kingdom was really intense. I doubt the people will forget that easily, especially when it cost them their beloved king.”

“Yes… I’m not happy about his passing, or my inability to deal with that cursed wound…”

Lakshman said and he momentarily looked unhappy. “Anyway, I’ve learnt a few things that should ensure cursed wounds would of that level can be healed in my training.”

“That’s good. You can pass on that knowledge to the healers and it would really help us out,” Venezuela said happily.

He nodded and said, “Yes. I already talked about it with Wolfenstine and he suggested a few things to add on. He’s thinking of turning that cursed would into an immune system that protects the body.”

“Is that possible?” she asked eagerly, but he shook his head sadly.

“Sadly, no. Our level of technology has not developed enough to implement such a method into the bodies of living creatures. However, I suppose it is possible in a thousand years or so.

I’m only guessing, but there’s a possibility of it becoming a reality in that time.”

“It’s a pity we won’t live long enough to see that day come,” she said with a sigh. “Anyway, help me out with selecting the people whom you and I want to invite to our marriage.”

“Okay, but shouldn’t the girls be here for that?” he asked curiously and he looked around.

“No. They said it’s our marriage and we should deal with everything on our own while they go and prepare the decorations and stuff,” she said with a smile.

Lakshman grinned and said, “Alright then. Let’s make the list.”

The two of them spent hours selecting the people whom they wanted to invite and those that they seriously did not wish to be present. There were many people that Lakshman never met, but he knew he has to make a good impression on them to use their connections in the future.

He hated the thought of how dirty politics was, but he had little choice in the manner.

Within the list of people they invited, they had his family as the main priority which was Indra, Lakshmi, Priya, Indira and Mariana. Then, they had Darian Ronald the Sword King and his wife Marilia, Hanuman the Monkey King, Dominic Rutherford the Sword Titan, Temba Trigard the King of Mardana Kingdom and several more that Venezuela wanted to visit their marriage.

Only fifteen percent of those invited people they wanted to have there just to make connections.

Once the list was made, Lakshman handed the list over to Felix, who dispatched the Phintex Rajas to go invite those people. As soon they were dispatched, Lakshman was dragged away to test out suits for him to wear. In the two years, he had grown really tall, causing them to make a custom suit to fit him.

“Can’t we just go with what we have instead of going to this extra length of trouble?”

Lakshman asked wearily when he saw them taking note of his sizes.

“How foolish, young man! This is a royal wedding and one must make top appearance, especially you the Phoenix Titan!” said the lady in charge of measuring him.

“Right…” he said weakly and resigned himself to the fact he will have to wear their customised suit.

Three days later, the customized suit arrived for him to try out. It was a black neatly knit suit with a stylish white shirt for him to wear on the inside. There was a tie with and its embroidery was quite fascinating. After wearing the clothes, the clothes decider nodded her approval that it really suited him.

“Wow… That was tiring,” he muttered when he let out.

He walked around the castle and saw the many decorations the people were placing using the levitation, summoning and various other magic spells. It was indeed big and he was startled to learn it was not the biggest in the recorded history.

“I believe the biggest marriage ceremony was held around 300 years ago, when the Floria Kingdom had established a peace treaty with the other races,” Felix informed him. “The other kingdoms also followed with that peace treaty between the races and we separated to live our lives peaceful ever since then. Thanks to the efforts of the Phoenix Clan, the world was peaceful once more.”

“Yeah, but when you disappeared, they became slack and that demon invasion started five years ago,” Lakshman said as he eyed Felix through narrow eyes. “W-Well… Without their leader, the function sort of took a tumble.”

“Fine, but I’ll be taking over if anything happens,” Lakshman told him firmly.

“Suits me just fine,” Felix said in a relieved voice. “I’d be happy if you take over later—!”

“No thanks!” Lakshman said quickly. “I’ll be busy with my rulership as king, I don’t want you adding more to my plate. You do your job and I’ll do mine.”’

“Right,” Felix said in understanding and did not speak about it again.

Finally, the day of the marriage arrived and the morning sun was bright as anything. Lakshman, who had slept alone for the entire week, was woken up by maids early in the morning. He was surprised that it was only six in the morning by the Crystal Clock by his bedside. When he grumbled why he was woken so early, the head maid told him it was prepare him.

“We start preparing this early?!” he exclaimed in disbelief.

“That’s right. The marriage takes place at ten, so you must get ready before then,” she told him patiently.

“Oh yeah. You’re right, but I want to have my morning bath first…”

“Of course. We will accompany you.”

“Uh…” he said and he instantly became nervous saw the glint in the head maid’s eyes.

He was taken to the large male bathroom in the castle and there, he spent fifteen to twenty minutes being washed by the maids thoroughly. The head maid supervised as the maids spent the time happily wiping his back, front and his legs, which he was not so happy about being almost naked except for the towel wrapping around his waist. They then attempted to wash his middle, but he quickly got them to leave so that he can wash himself.

“Darn head maid…” he muttered unhappily.

Once he was cleaned, he got out and quickly wrapped the towel around him. When he called for the maids, they returned and wrapped him around with a woollen robe that covered him up completely. This allowed him to walk back to his room, where the maids began to dress him up neatly with care.

“Make sure not to cause any creases to appear!” the head maid said as she shifted her glasses.

“Yes, head maid!” the maid replied together as they carefully got him to wear the suit.

For Lakshman, it was an unusual experience to be helped into clothes by somebody else. No amount of knowledge prepared him for the maids to touch all over his exposed part of the body as they slowly and carefully put the suit on. He gritted his teeth as he watched the girls at work to get the suit on him. Once it was on, he walked over to the large mirror and checked himself.

“You look wonderful, your majesty,” the maids said with glittering eyes.

He laughed half-heatedly and said, “Thank you, but you don’t have to call me like that.”

“Don’t be so modest, your majesty. As of today, you are becoming king of Floria Kingdom!” the head maid told him firmly.

“Right…” he said and he realised the maids have begun to see him as their king.

It was an hour before he and Venezuela finally met each other. With one look, he was baffled by the breath taking beauty of Venezuela and the white dress she wore. Which seemed to be increasing the charm of her smile. At first, he was startled and he had taken an uncertain step back in surprise. Finally realising it was really Venezuela and not someone using an illusion magic, he walked forward wearing a dumbfounded smile on his face.

“How do I look?” she asked him politely and she swirled around to give him a 360 look.

For a moment, he was stumped about how he should complement her. Finally giving up, he just sighed and said, “I’m sorry Vena, but my words fail to describe how beautiful you are.”

Hearing that, Venezuela flashed him her charming smile and caused his heart to start beating quickly. Before he could blush, he looked away and spoke to the girls that were staring at them. He was slightly startled to see them making forced smiles, which made him realise he had not been paying them much attention within the one week.

“It can’t be helped that I’ve been busy this whole week doing whatever the peopled needed me to do for the wedding…” he thought unhappily.

He looked at them hesitantly and asked, “Uh… How do I look?”

“You look fine, but I think this rose should do you wonders,” Emilia said and she walked forward to pin the rose onto his suit.

For a moment, he thought he would experience pain from her pinning it tightly due to her and the girl’s anger. As it turned out, she gently placed her hands on him and easily attached the rose to his suit. He was startled because he no longer sensed the anger radiating from her or the girls using Elemental Sense.

“You’re not upset or anything?” he asked them curiously.

Emilia looked up at him in surprise and then looked back at the girls. It was Tetra who realised by what he meant and he chuckled happily.

“Master, we’re not angry at you or anything that you didn’t pay attention to us this whole week,” said Tetra with a smiling face. “Rather, we did leave you and Venezuela alone to let you prepare for the wedding after all.”

“Oh… But, I sensed danger just now… Did I imagine it…?” he said uncertainly.

The girls all smiled and shook their head as Erza said, “No, we’re not angry actually, but we were upset. We got up early today to get you ready, but the head maid said that wasn’t needed and told us to get Venezuela ready.”

“Actually, I tried insisting they help you out since you’d feel pretty uncomfortable around other women,” Venezuela said. “However, the head maid is stubborn and won’t allow her duties to get take away from her.”

“Ah…” Lakshman said as he finally understood the reason behind their irritation earlier. “Oh well. I’m glad you’re angry at me specifically.”

“Mmm…” Cantia made a noise with her throat and eyed him shrewdly before saying, “Maybe, we should feel a little irritated?”

“No!” he said firmly and the girls laughed.

A while later, the people were beginning to gather outside the castle. That was when Lakshman’s family were warped directly into the castle and they landed inside a room where Lakshman was waiting for them. Upon seeing his family, they came forward and hugged each other happily. Both of his parents were impressed by the clothes he wore and his sisters were eying him with stunned faces.

When Felix entered the room, Indra quickly walked forward and the two did a punching thing with each other. It seemed their friendship was strong even though they have not seen each other for a while. Right behind Felix was Rasha and their daughter, Sasha. They greeted each other happily and began talking cheerfully to each other as they sat down on the summoned chairs.

Lakshman wanted to talk more to them, but the head maid forced him to go back and sit down on the high chair.

“We don’t want you moving unnecessarily until it’s time,” she told him sternly and he groaned unhappily.

It was an hour later that it was finally time for the wedding to take place. Lakshman and the maids were the only ones to remain in that room as his family and Felix’s family left to attend the beginning part of the wedding on the ground floor. The procedure to the wedding was for the groom to walk hand in hand with the bride.

“It’s time,” the head maid said and the maid moved forward to do their last attempts at cleaning him up.

Once he was ready, he got up and walked out of the door. At the stairs, he stopped and waited for the bride to arrive, who arrived a few minutes later. Venezuela was carrying a bokay of flowers and she was smiling happily. Lakshman, for his part, felt pretty calm even though he thought there was the chance of him feeling nervous. At the stairs to the bottom floor, Venezuela stood to his left while he stood to her right, as per the traditions of the marriage ceremony. Finally, with all preparations done, the head maid gave them a push and made them walk slowly and carefully down the stairs.

When they arrived downstairs, a hush fell over the crowd as people stood around to look.

There were people wearing strange looking rectangular metallic blocks that appeared to be flashing light in their direction. Lakshman instantly recognised them as the Magic Cameras, which seemed to have been gaining popularity. The bride and groom smiled at each other as they held hands together as they walked slow and steady towards the hall.

Once they arrived at the hall, he was stunned by how many people were packed inside.

Standing in front of the hall to greet them was none other than the Sword Titan, Dominic Rutherford. He smiled and nodded at the both of them before stepping aside and letting them through. After letting the bride and groom walk first, he followed right behind them with the crowd watching with wide smiles on their faces.

Lakshman and Venezuela reached the stage platform, which was constructed for the wedding.

They were met with a man wearing white robes with a cool expression on his face. He was a sage, man who would conduct the marriage ceremony and will announce them married with their consent.

The girls, who had been following right behind them, took seats near the front where the seats were spared for their sitting. Dominic did not sit down and instead, took his place behind Lakshman and filled in the role, which was the Knight of Justice.

In a flashy movement, Dominic pulled out the Destiny Sword and spun it several times before holding it up vertically.

“Dominic Rutherford. Ready!” he said in a firm voice.

The Destiny Sword flashed and several swords materialised around the bride, groom and the sage. They quickly flipped to hover vertically and remained stationary in mid-air. The watching crowd of people let out voices of amazement and began clapping at this spectacular display of knighthood. Dominic simply turned his head slightly and nodded at them.

The sage raised his hand high above and waved it, causing silence to slowly cleanse the room.

Then, he told the bride and groom to release their hands, to which they did before flexing their hands to ease their muscles.

“Now, I wish for everyone to stand as I read the Prayer of Life,” he said in a loud carrying voice.

Lakshman surmised that he was using Wordless Incantation to use amplification magic to increase the volume of his voice. Upon his request, the hall was filled with sounds of people standing up and shuffling their feed on the floor. As soon as silence fell, the sage began reading the prayer out loud for them to all hear clearly.

“To our creators of the world, we give thanks on this special day when two lives are going to be bound. People are born and people die, but in between that time, they prosper by the laws that govern this world. As such, we try out best to live happily while fulfilling our wishes and dreams. That is why, we give thanks to the God of Freedom for letting us have freedom, we give thanks to the God of Justice for creating laws of the world, we give thanks to the God of Wisdom for lending us knowledge, we give thanks to the God of Fertility for giving us forms and we give thanks to the God of Life for creating life. Amen.”

Everyone either put their hands together or crossed them in front of them. For a minute, there was only silence within the hall and once it was over, the sage gestured for them to take their seats. After yet more loud noises were made from them sitting down, silence fell again for the sage to commence the wedding.

“Now, I will ask the bride and groom to openly confess in the presence of people, spirits and our makers,” the sage said in a loud clear voice. He turned to Venezuela and asked, “Venezuela Sargold… Do you wish to be together with the Lakshman Reddy for life?”

“Uh…” Venezuela hesitated due to feeling nervous. Then, she smiled and nodded before firmly saying, “I do.”

The sage nodded at her once and turned his attention to Lakshman before asking, “Lakshman Reddy. Do you wish to be together with Venezuela Sargold for life?”

Lakshman did not say anything, but that was because he was feeling nervous. Before coming down here, he was feeling calm and relaxed, but suddenly being in the spot light of everyone watching him, it was somehow making him feel really nervous.

As the people began muttering, the sage narrowed his eyes and calmly said, “Do not fear, for it is fear that one must conquer. Be brave and proudly come out in the open with your confession.”

Lakshman began to chuckle and grinned broadly as he firmly said, “Yes… I do!”

The sage nodded once and straightened up to look at the two people in front of him. He opened his eyes in a flash and in a loud voice, he announced, “Very well! I and the gods have heard their confessions and have decided them to be a couple form this day forward! Now… Kiss to form the bond of your future.”

Lakshman and Venezuela looked startled for a moment and they turned to look at each other.

She blushed brightly while Lakshman looked really surprised by what he had to do next. He received a slight nudge from behind as Dominic encouraged him to go ahead. While that was happening, the swords began to move around them in a rotational circle.

“Oh…! Fine! I’ll do it!” Lakshman thought firmly.

He took one step forward and had to bed down slightly due to the difference in his and her height. With their faces coming closer to each other, they looked into each other’s eyes before finally kissing. As they kissed, the people began clapping loudly and there were others who cheered loudly.

“I conclude this wedding by confirming that Lakshman and Venezuela are bound for life as partners of love!” the sage finally said as he clapped his hands together to close the wedding ceremony.

When he finished speaking, there was the sudden sounds of bells ringing high above from somewhere close by. The vertically hovering swords flew high and clashed, causing a rain of confetti to fall down on their heads.

After that, they had an early lunch with the guests out in the backyard of the castle. The previous day, Lakshman recalled Draga the Spirit Dragon and Phylex the Eternal Phoenix back to their dimensions. Phylex wished them a happy married life before leaving while Draga left without saying anything. During lunch, Lakshman met up with Darian, Marilia and Rumble, who were delighted to see him married and they got the chance to meet Venezuela.

After lunch, Lakshman and Venezuela stood at the entrance of the castle. Large tables were laid out in front of them with clothing and money, which the pair began giving away to the people of their kingdom. This was something that had never been done within the recorded history of Floria Kingdom nor was it practiced in the other kingdoms.

It was Lakshman’s idea as he said, “I want to give things away freely to let the people know I’m not going to be king that will force his subjects to do his bidding.”

The first principle of a king was to show his compassion for his people, earning himself great respect in the process. Venezuela happily agreed, although she was unhappy that he was using the money he had saved up to give up clothes and money freely. He did not care since it was for the greater good of his people and his position as king.

Once that was done, there was three hours of rest and it was back to the hall. This time, only the invited were allowed in as a wedding part was held that night. The hall was changed slightly with two chairs seated on the stage, which was where Lakshman and Venezuela sat to observe the dance program that was planned.

Lakshman watched the dancing of the ladies that played according to the music, which was quite nice. The beat and the rhythm gave the music a life of its own and the girls dancing to it

gave a comfortable feeling. He liked the dance and the music, making him want to learn more things to increase its popularity.

Once the dancing was over, they stood up to receive many congratulations from many of the visitors. With Venezuela’s help, Lakshman met many of the officials that they invited. He also met up with the King of Mardana Kingdom, Temba Trigard, whom he was impressed by. The man was once a soldier, but the firmness and the air of a king that he carried with him really put him on a different plane compared to Adebola.

It was midnight by the time the party came to an end and everyone said goodbye. With the help of Phintex Rajas, all invited guests were warped out of the Floria Kingdom and back to their homes. Lakshman and Venezuela were really tired by the end of the day, but they were pleased with the day’s progress. Finally, they were able to sleep together that night without problems and no interruptions.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 244 Soldier Training

It had been a week since Lakshman married the girls. They spent the first two days inside the walls of the castle until their house on the open plains were fully constructed. Lakshman and Emilia used their magic to construct the house while Ondine and Cantia kept a look out for them. In the meantime, Venezuela and Erza handled the kingdom work while Tetra and Silvera acted as their bodyguard.

“Should the house really be this big, Lucky?” Emilia asked him uncertainly after they built the foundation walls.

He nodded at her and said, “We need to. We’re a big family and that requires a big manor house. I know I did say to live peacefully away from the castle, but that didn’t mean we just live in cramped space. Let’s be comfortable while we live here.”

“Okay,” she said without further complaint.

Lakshman and Emilia were combining their magic to create the house using stone magic spells.

Once the foundation was built, Lakshman used levitation magic to lift themselves into the air to focus on the upper floors. Every now and then, Emilia would return to the castle and come back with food through the Phoenix Portal. Only Ondine received a large jug of water, which she gratefully drinks from.

“Nothing beat the taste of water!” she said happily.

“I don’t know… Food beats water any day,” Cantia argued.

When the girls looked at each other through narrowed eyes, Lakshman chuckled and said, “Normal living beings require both food and water to keep themselves going. Ondine is not like the rest since she’s a Water Spirit and requires the natural water for her to keep going. As for Cantia and the rest of us, food and water go together.”

“Yeah, but still…! She didn’t have to say water tastes better than food!” Cantia complained unhappily.

Ondine chuckled and said, “Cantia, water is my source and it tastes good, better than the food that I tried a long time ago. Anyway, why are we even talking about this? This is so stupid…”

“Huh? Stupid? You’re the one who brought it up!” Cantia said indignantly.

“No… You started it,” Ondine said crossly.

“No, you!”

“You!” Having had enough of them squabbling, Lakshman loudly said, “Alright! That’s enough!

Whoever started it, I’m putting an end to it!”

At that, the girls became quiet while they ate or drank, but they still continued to throw daggers at each other with their eyes. Lakshman only sighed and Emilia patted him gently on the shoulders. Ever since he returned, he had noticed a strange relationship between Ondine and Cantia, almost like they are rivals and yet friends at the same time.

“Oh well. At least, they are getting along, which should be fine for now…” he thought before inwardly sighing.

Once they were done, the construction of the house continued with Lakshman and Emilia concentrating on building it. Felix did suggest for them to take the help of construction magicians, but Emilia declined the offer.

“It’s our house and we have the skills to make it on own on,” she said and Lakshman agreed with her.

Before constructing the ground, Lakshman used Burial Ground to create a large hole in the ground to serve as their basement. He also intended on building tunnels and such as escape routes for them in case something like an emergency required them to escape from there. He secretly wished a time would not come for him or his family to have to use them to quickly leave.

After a week of construction, the house was finally completed. Using utility magic, Lakshman painted the walls of the house pure white because he disliked walls to be any colour, became he believed white is the colour of peace. Once the exterior and interior of the building was completed, he and the girls sat down to write up a list of furniture, equipment and anything else they needed to start their lives there.

“Felix, is there a way we can arrange to get these items in the list?” Lakshman asked Felix later once it was done.

Felix looked at the list and raised an eyebrow in surprise. Then, he looked at him and said, “These are a lot. Why don’t we have them readied by different services? That way, the princes will wary and it’ll give you more of an advantage in how much in total you pay. After all, buying everything from one place can be pricy compared to buying them separately from different services.”

“That’s understandable,” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding.

The necessary equipment arrived at the castle in less than two days, surprising the girls. Felix proudly stated how important his position as the Phoenix Emperor was within the kingdom, to which Lakshman just shook his head without saying anything. After moving them through the Phoenix Portal and arranging them at the house, Lakshman and the girls finally began to live from that house on that open plains.

“It’s beautiful to live here with the open air, the fresh breeze and the calm atmosphere surrounding us,” Erza said peacefully as she leaned over the balcony.

“Which was the point of buying this really expensive land and living here,” Venezuela said cheerfully.

“I thought it might be boring to live here, but I guess having its peace doesn’t hurt the mind,” Ondine said as she sat down to mend her sword with the toolkit.

Lakshman eyed her wearily and said, “Hey… Don’t say that while fixing your sword. It really throws a loop into what you say.”

“It doesn’t matter since the intended meaning was delivered,” Ondine said calmly as he eyed the sword.

He went upstairs to the master bedroom and saw Tetra, Emilia, Silvera and Cantia fast asleep.

They were sleeping together peacefully after the exhausting task of moving the furniture and equipment everywhere. Lakshman did most of the work, but the girls were exhausted from doing the sudden work of lifting heavy things and moving them around, even when he told them to let him handle it.

“Really… They sure are impressive,” Lakshman said with a smile and closed quietly closed the door shut. “Right! Time to go and act like a king!”

With that, he informed the girls where he was going and using the Phoenix Portal, he returned to the castle. Upon his return, the guards quickly walked forward and informed him about guests waiting for him at the throne room. Thanking them, he quickly used Warp to move to the side room beside where the throne was located.

“About time you got back!” Felix said in relief.

“Who are the guests?” Lakshman asked curiously.

“They are the messenger from the other kingdoms that requested an audience with you.”

“Okay.”

Lakshman wore the king’s cape and the crown, which he grumbled was slightly disgruntling to wear before walking towards the announcers near the throne. Once the announcer shouted the arrival of the king, everyone stood at attention. He entered the throne room from the side room and was followed behind by Felix. Once he arrived at the throne room, he turned around to face everyone before raised his hand in greeting.

Once he sat down, he said, “Be seated.”

The ministers sat down on the chairs lined a level down from the throne, which had steps leading down. Felix sat down on the chair to the left and picked up a list containing the names of the guests that have arrived to meet with the king. A line of seven people arrived near the stairs of the throne. Lakshman observed each of them and immediately recognised a beast man, whom he remembered as the one he beat up upon returning from his training.

Felix stood up and stated the name of the messenger and where they came from. It appeared that the first three were messengers from the other kingdoms sending their greetings and presents. Lakshman rose to his feet and took the presents from them before handing it over to the guards on the side. The next there were merchants that wanted him to observe their business and possibly promote it within their kingdom.

“I will personally ensure to visit to see for myself the kind of merchandise you sell and purchase. If they are indeed seem worthwhile, I will make sure to help you get your business going,” Lakshman said, to which the merchants bowed deeply, grateful for giving them his time.

“Now. The final one is from… uh… Slavemancer,” Felix said in a slightly nervous voice.

The moment he stated whom the last person came from, there was a gasp of surprise from the seated ministers. Lakshman narrowed his eyes slightly at hearing the name, but what surprised him was the nervous behaviour of the people. It seems they were not happy to hear the name, including Felix from the nervous expression on his face.

“We meet again, Phoenix Titan,” the beast man said casually.

There was a shocked silence within the room. Felix pointed at him and angrily said, “You dare to call the king—!”

“Enough!” Lakshman said firmly, stopping Felix in midsentence. “I still have my rank and title.”

He turned back to the beast man and asked, “What brings you here?”

“I have informed your message to him and the Slavemancer was quite surprised. Now, seeing that you have become king, he has invited you to a party. Slavemancer is going to hold the party four days from now. Here is a list consisting of the others that he has invited to the party.” Then, he smiled and quietly said, “You must come.”

Lakshman raised his eyebrows slightly and took the list from his hands. Without glancing at it, he nodded and said, “Very well. Inform the Slavemancer I will attend his party and accompanying me will be Felix Phoron, the Phoenix Emperor.”

Felix quickly turned around and looked surprise as he looked at Lakshman. He asked him an indirect question “Why me?” through his eyes, but Lakshman chose to ignore it.

The beast man nodded in satisfaction and said, “The Slavemancer will be pleased.”

Lakshman nodded with a small smile and he spread arms wide before saying, “I’m holding a dinner party tonight and I expect everyone to attend it.”

Once the audience with them was over, Lakshman got out of the king’s cloak and took off the crown.

“Ah… That was tiring to wear,” he said before doing some stretches with his neck and arms.

“Lucky! What did you mean I’m going to accompany you to that party? In fact, why did you even accept that invitation? It doesn’t make sense,” Felix said with a confused expression on his face. “Aren’t you trying to abolish slavery? So, why are you trying befriend him?”

“I’m not trying to befriend him, Felix,” Lakshman said clearly. “Rather, I am using this opportunity to see what kind of guy he is. I know we will end up being enemies eventually, but it is best to play it strategically until I am able to call for the Conference of Kingdoms, where I will lay the plan out.”

“I see. Until then, you want to play it low,” Felix said in an impressed voice. “Good plan.”

“Yes, but I have other matters to take care of before that,” Lakshman said firmly. “By the way, where’s the grounds our soldiers train at?”

“This way,” Felix said and led the way.

They walked to the side of the castle and arrived to see soldiers training with swords. They were swinging the swords up and down while counting. Lakshman was fleetingly reminded of how he used to train when he was a kid, which caused him to smile. His father, Indra Reddy, put him through rough training from when he was just seven until he became really strong.

When the drill master saw Lakshman and Felix walking towards them, he quickly reacted and shouted, “Attention! His majesty has arrived!”

The soldiers immediately lowered their weapons and came to a stop near the drill master.

Lakshman stopped in front of them with Felix standing slightly behind him and to the side.

“What brings you here, your majesty?” the drill master asked curiously.

“Mmm… I came to observe how the men are trained to wield the weapons and how efficiently they use their skills,” Lakshman told the drill master. Then, he began addressing the men in a loud voice, saying, “Now, I want all of you to be at attention and relax while I assess your body conditions.”

“Yes!” they replied at the same time.

Lakshman nodded and said, “Phoenix Eyes.”

In an instant, his clear black eyes changed and were replaced by red crown shaped eyes. He began pacing around them with his hands folded behind him as he observed the soldiers.

Often, he would stop at a soldier and tap them on the shoulder before nodding and moving on, causing the soldiers to become nervous.

Once he returned to stand in front of them, he turned to the drill master and asked, “Are the rest on break?”

“That’s right, sir,” the drill master said. “We usually have a session in the early morning, midmorning, afternoon and in the evening. During that time, the soldiers take breaks and go rest before returning to train at their appointed schedule. It is a smooth system employed to keep soldiers feeling refreshed after a hard day’s training.”

Hard day’s training, huh…” Lakshman said quietly as he narrowed his eyes slightly. He spoke to the soldiers in a loud voice and said, “All of you are in good condition, both in health and mind.

However, I would now like to see how great you are with your skills and abilities! Now, line up!”

The drill master began barking orders and got the soldiers to quickly form into a line. While they were doing that, Lakshman raised his hand and using the Stone Wall technique, he made five stone walls rise up out of the ground. They were slightly taller than a human’s average height and appeared to be strong.

Felix walked closer to him and asked in a whisper, “What are you intending on making them do, Lucky?”

“Just watch,” Lakshman replied quietly. Then, in a loud voice, he said, “I have create five stone wall and equipped them with high resistance to physical and magical attacks. Now, I want all of you to try and destroy those stone walls. I want all five of them destroyed in one go! The purpose of this is to demonstrate to me that you possess the skills capable of taking down such hardened objects.”

He walked towards a solider and asked, “Give me your sword, soldier.”

“Y-Yes, sir!” the soldier said and he quickly handed the sword over to him.

Lakshman looked at the sword with his still active Phoenix Eyes and nodded in satisfaction. He gestured for them to take a step back to watch from a safe distance. Once he was sure they were safe, he turned around to face the five stone walls near the opposite end of the field.

“This is what you should be able to do!”

Lakshman held the sword firmly in his right hand and changed energy into it using Weapon Force. The soldiers were surprised to see him holding the sword with one hand, leaving his other hand free. For them, they could only wield their one sword with both hands unless they need to hold onto a shield with their free hand.

Once he was ready, he dashed forward so fast that he created a gust of wind to blow backwards to buffet the soldiers. After charging forward, he quickly reached the stone walls and in a flowing movement, he cut down one stone wall after another until he went past them. As he came to a stop, the five stone walls slowly crumbled and hit the ground with a thud.

There was a stunned silence before loud applause were heard throughout. As he straightened up, he heard the claps of the soldiers from behind him. He smiled slightly before walking back to them and as he walked past the fallen stone walls, there was a sudden materialisation of a magic circle. The destroyed parts of the stone wall fell down and the remaining stone walls grew back to full height.

“As you see, the destroyed stone walls will automatically be brought back to their previous state,” he explained to them. “Now, go at it and try your best! For all those who have destroyed all five of them like me, they will receive a reward!”

After handing the sword over to the soldier he borrowed it from, he returned to the side and let the drill master take over. Lakshman stood there and through the use of his Phoenix Eyes, he saw the gathering energy of the soldiers as they channelled their energy into their weapons through the use of Weapon Force. Once they have changed their weapons up, each of them took turns in charging forward to destroy the stone walls. Ultimately, not a single soldier was capable of destroyed any more than one wall.

“Those are pretty strong stone walls…” Felix commented as he watched the soldiers try again.

“How strong are they?”

“I applied an Emperor Rank magic resistance spell on it to decrease the force of impact from the soldiers. It would feel like you are facing a stationary opponent with high magic resistance against physical and energy attacks. You saw how easily I destroyed them earlier.”

“Yeah, but still… Isn’t this a little tough for them?” Felix asked uncertainly.

Lakshman turned and looked at him seriously before saying, surprising Felix in the process.

“On the battlefield, these soldiers must fight with all they got. I am just their king and all I can do is lead them into battle, but it’s truly up to them to change the outcome of that battle.

They are not sacrificial pawns or dolls to be used and thrown away. Each and every one of them have life in them and have families they must return to. As such, I am simply providing them the necessary training to become stronger.

Right now, their bodies are fit and strong, but I don’t believe their energy levels are adequate enough. Remember Felix, Phoenix Clan doesn’t serve a nation. It’s true that Floria Kingdom is their home and they fight to protect, but it’s really up to the kingdom’s army to protect its people living in that kingdom.

If ever this kingdom goes into war, I want the soldiers of the kingdom to be fully prepared for the worst outcome possible. Death is not the worst outcome, living without being able to use your body properly once the war is over. That is worst part of war because it leaves many in a weakened state. That’s why, I want my soldiers to be well prepared to survive in that hostile environment!”

Felix was stunned by how heartfelt those words were. Lakshman cared deeply for the people of the kingdom and now that he became king, he planned on protecting them the only way he can. Lakshman knew the people have high hopes for him because of him being the Phoenix

Titan, but they do not know of the fact that he currently only has fifty-percent unlocked with ten-percent bonus power. However, without letting it bother him, Lakshman was teaching his people with good intentions.

Lakshman turned to the drill master and asked, “Do the soldiers train with spears, lances and anything alike?”

“They do, but their primary method of fighting is with their swords,” replied the drill master.

“It’s mainly the type that are usually preferred by the Grobula Demon Clan.”

“I see,” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding as he remembered the demon invasion by the Demon Emperor. He then asked, “What about archery?”

The drill master shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, no. When the royal family went hunting in the forest, the soldiers carried the arrows and put the bow together, but that’s about it. We never considered archery a type of fighting style.”

“Not meant for fighting style?” Lakshman asked before chuckling. “Hmm... It seems a lot of things must be done to get the soldiers adapted to fighting with different weapons in different ways.”

“Is that so…?” the drill master asked curiously and Lakshman nodded.

“That’s right. Singularly focusing on using swords isn’t right. One must be quick to adapt in the face of danger and I want my soldiers to possess that knowledge instead of blindly running away,” Lakshman said with a firm expression on his face. “Very well. I’ll talk more on this later since this training of theirs will take a while.”

They turned their attention back to watch the soldiers attack the stone wall. Thus far, they managed to destroy only one stone wall in an individual attack. Seeing this, Lakshman inwardly sighed and realised how long their training to become strong is.

“Should I enhance their training with Gravity Rings? Hmm… That might be effective, but I need to take into account that these are grown men and above all, they are just normal humans. I am part of the human race, but I cannot call myself a ‘normal’ human because of my powers and destiny.”

Just then, a soldier screamed loudly and brought his attention back to the field. To their amazement, the soldiers destroyed one stone wall and quickly moved to destroy the second.

His energised sword pierced into the stone wall, but unfortunately it did not cut through enough to make it fall over. With the energy exhausted, the man knelt down and stabbed the sword on the ground while breathing heavily.

“Did you see that?”

“Yeah!”

“That guy got his sword in, but couldn’t cut it.”

“Yeah. That’s a bummer.”

“He was so close to getting that second one down!”

Lakshman heard the men muttering to each other and he smiled before walking over to the exhausted soldier. Hearing the footsteps, the soldier looked up and was surprised to see Lakshman walking towards him with a smile on his face. He attempted to quickly rise to his feet, but he felt a little weak at the knees.

“Take it easy, soldier. You did a good job attempting to cut down the second stone wall in ten minutes that I was here. Well done!” Lakshman said and he patted the man on the shoulder in encouragement. “Keep it up and soon, you’ll be able to cut down all of these five walls with no problems!”

“Y-Yes, your majesty!” the soldier said gratefully.

“Whoa… He got commended by the king!”

“Amazing!”

“Alright! I’m going my best and get his majesty to feel proud of me!”

“Me too!”

“Let’s all do our best!” said a loud voice and there was a chorus of voices that said the same thing.

Lakshman let the man go and walked back to where the drill master and Felix stood at the side. Felix was looked surprised by the Lakshman’s method of encouraging the soldier by personally going to him. That act alone encouraged the rest of the soldiers into doing their best. He knew the word would soon spread amongst the soldiers and they will soon be trying their hardest to be become stronger to please their king.

Felix leaned closer to Lakshman and whispered, “Well played.”

Lakshman just shrugged his shoulders and said, “I only intended to congratulate the soldier for his effort, but I guess it worked out in a whole to encourage the rest of the soldiers.”

Felix nodded approvingly and smiled. He felt confident in the efforts Lakshman was putting in to make his people feel happy with him.

Lakshman turned to the drill master and said, “Now then, I will take my leave and let the soldiers continue training. Tomorrow at lunch, I want you to come to my office and report to me the total number of soldiers that are part of the kingdom’s army. In addition to that, I have various other details that I want to speak with you about.”

“Yes, sir. I will be there by lunchtime,” the drill master replied firmly. He turned to the men and shouted, “HALT!” The soldiers stopped and looked towards them with curious expressions on their faces “I will be taking my leave, so don’t mind me. However, remember that I will reward everyone that has managed to destroy all five stone in one go. The reward won’t be costly, but it won’t be cheap either. It’ll be the kind of reward you deserve.”

“Yes, your majesty!” the soldiers replied at the same time before bowing to him.

Lakshman nodded in satisfaction and he began to walk back into the castle with Felix following right behind him. As they reached the entrance, he heard the drill master bark orders and let the soldiers continue their training. Once he was out of sight, he smiled and let out a hearty laugh. Felix shook his head before smiling.

“I thought you were going to make them use the Gravity Rings to get stronger,” said Felix with a surprised expression on his face.

Lakshman nodded and said, “I did think of it doing that first, but I quickly realised the soldiers just needed encouragement to get stronger. It’s their determination that makes the difference between hard work and talent. I don’t need them becoming so strong they will match us and that’s impossible for them to achieve in the first place.” He suddenly chuckled and said, “Anyway, I’m only using Gravity Rings in my early morning trainings. You see? I’m not wearing them right now.”

“Ah! I never noticed, but you’re right. You don’t have any rings on your fingers and I doubt I can see the rings through your long pants,” Felix said in a surprised voice. “Why don’t you use them all the time?”

Lakshman shook his head and said, “I’ve reached the maximum my current body can handle.

In the future, when the final seal is unlocked, I suppose my body will go through some changes to accommodate the increase in potential and power.”

“Are you saying you’re satisfied with the power you’ve achieved so far? You aren’t planning on pushing yourself to become even stronger?”

“No, I’m not… There are still the Nine Pillars of Power and though I don’t want to admit it, I’m nowhere near enough to compete with them when it comes to our powers. In fact, I believe I’m stronger than Dominic when I transform into my Phoenix Titan: Burst form. For that, I will continue to focus pushing myself in the mornings so that I can spend the rest of my days doing my usual work.”

“I see. That is indeed the right thinking. I’m certain you will become truly strong to finally sit with the Nine Pillars of Power, whom you should stand above as the Phoenix Titan.”

“Yes. Thank you,” Lakshman said gratefully. “Anyway, lead me to my office because I have quite a lot of details to write out.”

Felix looked at the side of his face and saw the firm expression there. Lakshman was in a serious mood and he knew it was not time for making jokes. There is work to be done and Lakshman was ready to focus on them.

“As you wish, your majesty. This way,” Felix said and he led the way to Lakshman’s office.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 245 Slavemancer’s Party

Three days passed since Lakshman received the invitation to attend the party that Slavemancer was holding. It seemed the Slavemancer wanted to meet him in person, which Lakshman intended to do anyway. Although they would become enemies eventually, Lakshman did want to assess his enemy to figure out what kind of tactic he would use if battle is inevitable.

During these three days, Lakshman spent his time mostly in the confines of the king’s office.

That room is larger than Felix’s office room with a bigger desk and a bigger task to handle.

Lakshman spent his time writing up documents and left the other details to be entered by the newly appointed officers, who also worked in the same room as him.

At first, they did not like the idea of working in the same room as the king, but Lakshman insisted on it.

“How am I supposed to talk to you when you’re in another room?” was his argument. “I can’t always make you lot run around and waste precious time! So, stop arguing and do it already!”

With the final orders given, the officers began working from the king’s room. Felix was also forced to move rooms, but now he was no longer had the problem of clutter or the cramped space to deal with. Together, they all worked together while passing each other the notes to proofread before doing the final detail.

Lakshman ordered the manufacture of multiple spears and the equipment for archery. The tools for the archery are mainly bow and arrow, but he also included gloves, protective gears and a snort knife. He was clear with his aim to train his soldiers to master all three types of weapon styles; sword, spear and archery.

When the drill master visited him during lunch, Lakshman was informed that there were only 7000 soldiers within the kingdom’s army.

Lakshman was surprised and he asked, “Isn’t that a bit low for an average army count?”

The drill master nodded and said, “That’s right, but the previous war threw a lot of fear into the men, so they quit the army and returned to the farms. Most of them turned into adventurers and continued to live that way. I and the Phoenix Emperor attempted to recruit them back, but they feared another war and refused.”

“I see. That’s understandable,” Lakshman said as he nodded his head. “I don’t need men that are not willing to protect the kingdom, however, I cannot allow their weakness to spread into the men we have right now. Call for the men that quit the army to meet me in five days’ time.

Alright?”

“Yes, sir. That should be plenty of time to gather them while you visit the Slavemancer’s party in two days,” the drill master said with a nod.

Lakshman chuckled and said, “So, you heard of that. What are your thoughts about me attending that party?”

“There is nothing for me to say against you going there, but do please be careful, your majesty.

The Slavemancer is known to be an extremely dangerous person and he has this strange magic that enables him to control people.”

“So I’ve heard…” Lakshman said quietly.

That morning, he finally got to see the list of people that would be attending the party. From the way the list was formed, it was evident the Slavemancer expected them to attend the party regardless of their circumstances. As he quickly went through the unfamiliar names, he was struck with surprise when he saw Darian Ronald, Hanuman Monkaggy, Darian Rutherford and the king of Rodfox Kingdom, Ragavendra Jagabadasen.

“Wait… Jagabadasen?” he had thought when the family name suddenly struck a chord in his memory. “That means, he is the father of Shalany Jagabadasen, who’s the princess of that kingdom…!”

He was amazed at the connection he missed until now and he chuckled to himself. It had been five years since they met and he clearly remember the happy playful girl whom he played with when they were young. He remembered the promise of playing together in the future and it made him feel sad to have forgotten that promise up until then.

“Oh well. I just have to explain I’ve been busy becoming stronger and fighting against evil numbskulls,” he thought dully. “Anyway, she’s not meant for me, I am certain of that. Her union is meant to be with somebody else, but who…? I just wish I had more information about it… Oh well. I’ll just ask her carefully when I meet her. Yeah… I could use this opportunity to visit the castle to meet her in person, although I do wonder if she will remember me…”

Later, Lakshman informed the girls about his decision to attend the Slavemancer’s party.

Venezuela and Emilia were immediately worried and told him flat out not to go as it was

dangerous. Cantia and Ondine, on the other hand, said they were being soft by not letting him go.

“If he doesn’t go, it gives the impression of a cowardly king,” Ondine said in annoyance and Cantia nodded in agreement. “Besides, what’s there for him to fear from that guy slave guy?

Lucky’s super strong and won’t be beaten by a necro-uh whatever that guy’s name is!”

As Lakshman chuckled, Venezuela glared at her before saying, “Ondine! You’re underestimating that guy! Even Felix couldn’t get near him before being effected by whatever that magic was! Seriously! It’s magic that controls people! Lucky never met an opponent who controls his opponents!”

“It’s true I never met an opponent like that, but I’m also confident that I won’t fall for that man’s tricks,” Lakshman said confidentially. “Besides, I have to go regardless of whether you like it or not. It’s to show my courage and my loyalty to Floria Kingdom. Anyway, Darian, Rumble and Dominic will be there.” Then, in a firmer voice, he said, “Two of the Nine Pillars of Power will be there! So, I can assure you no problems will occur there that will cause me harm.”

Venezuela looked unhappy and Emilia weakly said, “B-But…” He used both of his hands to pat them on the head and smiled at them. They liked the sensation of their heads being caressed by his hands, which is because he is careful in handling the ladies.

“I promise I will return safely,” he said with a smile on his face. “However, I’m not taking Tetra and Silvera with me this time.”

“Eh? Why not?” Tetra and Silvera asked at the same time.

“It’s because I’m having Felix as my escort.”

“Felix?” Cantia suddenly exclaimed in a surprised voice. “Why him? Vena just said that guy couldn’t even stand his own against the Slavemancer. Why take him?”

“Because, I want to observe the magic that Slavemancer uses,” Lakshman said firmly. “I’m confident I won’t fall for it, but that doesn’t mean I understand his magic very well. There are a few ways of controlling people and I want to know what controlling type his magic belongs to.”

Cantia looked aghast and said, “I feel sorry for Felix for being used like a pawn by you.”

“Ah! Don’t say that! It’ll make me look like the bad guy,” said Lakshman indignantly.

Thus, on the third day in the evening, Lakshman wore a pair of clothes befitting a king and met with Felix in the castle. Only Venezuela, Erza and Rasha were present to see him and Felix off.

“You be careful,” Erza said firmly. “I heard he is a dangerous person, but I’m confident in you in.”

“Thanks. That makes me feel better,” Lakshman said and Erza smiled.

Venezuela on the other hand did not crack a smile and simply said, “Do come back safely.

There are a lot of us waiting back at home.”

“Oh, come on…!” Lakshman said in exasperation and with widened arms, he hugged the two girls. Once he broke apart, he turned around to ask Felix, “Are you ready?”

“Definitely!” Felix replied with a smiling face. “My wife’s totally fine with letting me go.”

Rasha sighed in exasperation and turned to Lakshman before she said, “Make sure he doesn’t do anything silly.”

“Huh?” he said indignantly. “Make sure I don’t? I’m afraid it’s the other way around with me having to make sure he doesn’t do anything silly.”

Lakshman laughed and said, “We can decide who does the silly things once we get there.”

He raised his hand and was just about to activate his magic when Felix stopped with by saying, “Hold on! You’re be using Phoenix Portal a lot lately. Now, it’s my turn to use it and besides, do you even know where we’re going?”

“Good point,” Lakshman said as he conceded. “Lead the way, Phoenix Emperor.”

“Naturally!” Felix said firmly. He held his hand out and said, “Phoenix Portal.”

In an instant, a black hole appeared in front of them and widened to allow a man to pass through. After turning back to wave to their respective wives, the two of them stepped into the portal and disappeared as it closed behind them. A moment later, they arrived at the other end of the portal and they found themselves standing near the entrance way of a brightly lit mansion. Lakshman looked around at the surroundings and he realised the location was slightly outside the compounds of the Rodfox capital.

“Wow…! This place is something,” Lakshman said in an impressed voice.

“Yeah… I never thought I’d come back after all these years to see this place again,” Felix said grimly.

“Cheer up. We’re not here to fight… at least,” Lakshman added the last word as an afterthought.

Just then, they heard a familiar voice say, “Welcome, welcome…! We’ve been expecting you!”

They looked to the entrance of the mansion and saw the beast man standing there. The beast man was wearing a suit and tie with his sleeves, which gave him a noble appearance.

Lakshman was slightly taken aback from his appearance, but he quickly recovered to greet him back respectfully.

“Ah. I see that you’re doing well,” Lakshman said smiling while Felix simple nodded his head at him.

“Of course,” the beast man said with a smile. “Now, come this way please. Most of the guests have already arrived are now up in the open space.”

“Lead the way,” Lakshman simply said before he and Felix followed the beast man.

Instead of using the entrance, he led them to the side of the house and after turning a corner, they saw stairs leading upstairs. After climbing up the stairs, they arrived at an open space where tables were laid out here and there with food on them. People were standing around groups as a loud chatter being carried everywhere by the air.

“Has your master not come yet?” Felix asked the beast man curiously.

“Master is in the middle of getting ready, but don’t worry. He will make his appearance very soon. Until then, please get something to eat or go around talking to people,” the beast man said casually before going back down the stairs.

“Really…? I’m a king, yet this guy acts like a bigger king than me…” Lakshman said in an amused voice.

“Don’t be surprised. He believes himself to be a greater man than any other king. After all, he outlived all the kings, living for over 300 years,” Felix said before sighing. “Many brave warriors attempted to put an end to his reign, but they were immediately caught under his strange control and were forever his slaves.”

“Is that why you brought the Legendary Sword of Justice with you? In case you get affected by his strange magic, you have your legendary weapon to protect you?”

“It protected me the last time. Otherwise, I might’ve become a slave. Justina did say I was foolish to think my powers alone would be enough to make me stronger than him. That guy’s strong, but his magic is incredible, but I wish there’s a way to stop it from controlling everyone.”

“Let’s see about that after today. If he ever uses that magic, I will immediately know how he is managing to control and intimidate so many people,” Lakshman said with a firm expression on his face.

Lakshman suddenly sensed the presence of a friend and when he turned around, his smile widened. Darian, Rumble and Dominic were standing near a crowd and seemed to be talking to each other with serious expressions on their faces. Lakshman nudged Felix on the shoulder and they walked over to greet them. They sensed their approach and turning around, they smiled once they saw who they were.

“Hello, Lakshman!” Dominic said and the two men shook hands firmly. “Good to see you hear.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think you would come or were you that afraid of him?” Lakshman asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not really, but I saw your name on that list of people he invited. I didn’t have anything important going on and I was curious about who the guy was, so I came to hang out with you,” Dominic said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Lakshman laughed before turning to greet Darian and Rumble. They visited him during his marriage, but he did not get to greet them properly due to the head maid keeping him away to not overexert himself. Now that he got a good look at them, he was surprised to see Darian looking much older than he did five years ago while Rumble looked slightly older than last time.

“You seem older than last time…” Lakshman said uncertainly. “Are you not eating well?”

Darian laughed and said, “I doubt eating is the problem here and Rumble just never stops eating. With him and his stomach, there’s never an endless supply of food.”

“It can’t be helped! I’m just hungry all the time with no meat around!” Rumble said unhappily.

“Marilia’s been feeding me more vegetables and it’s beginning to make feel really like a rabbit.”

“Don’t say that! She won’t be happy to hear that compliment,” Lakshman said as Dominic and Felix laughed while Darian scowled.

Rumble shrugged and said, “I already did, but strangely, she just smiled at me and said it’s good I’m a rabbit.”

“Of course, she would say that! It’s better to be rabbit than a monkey brained idiot!” Darian said, causing Felix and Dominic to chuckle.

“Really? Did we come all the way here to make fun of me and my diet?” Rumble asked incredulously. “If you’re poke fun at someone, do it to that guy over there. Look at him, he keeps on eating and eating while I stand here getting jokes poked at my diet. I’m not fat nor am I hungry like that pig over there.”

“I think a battle between a hungry pig and an angry monkey would be one to watch,” Felix commented, causing Darian to laugh heartily.

“No thanks. I don’t plan on wasting my amazing fighting skills on a chubby pumpkin like him,” Rumble replied with a grin on his face.

“Now, now…” Lakshman said with a smile on his face. He turned to Darian and asked, “How is Marilia?”

“She’s doing fine back at the training centre,” Darian replied with a smile on his face. “Business is booming and we’ve decided to expand our base to the other three kingdoms as well.

Actually, I was planning on coming down to Floria Kingdom a few days ago, but I received this invitation.”

“I see…” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding. “Um… Darian. Don’t mind me asking, but did you stop using Saver Mode? You seem a lot older than the time I saw you five years ago.”

Darian sighed and nodded as he said, “That’s right. I just feel Saver Mode is not worth using anymore. I mean, with all the energy and power that it suppresses, I don’t believe I need it anymore. So, I’m growing older by the day like Marilia.”

“I see. So, you’ve decided to finally grow older like Marilia instead of staying young like you were five years ago,” Lakshman said as he understood the reason. “Guess, love for your wife trumps your desire to stay young and live a longer life. That’s probably why I or Felix don’t bother to use Saver Mode. Although, I did use Power Mode once.”

“What?!” Darian exclaimed in a shocked voice. “You used Power Mode? How long did you use it for and were you after getting out of it?”

“I… I exhausted myself using it for… I don’t know long, but it was for about twenty minutes… probably?” Lakshman said uncertainly.

“Unbelievable!” Darian said incredulously. “What were you thinking? Power Mode draws all the power and gathered it into one area, creating a lethal force! With such an amassed power at your disposal, your body becomes greatly burdened by the sheer amount of that gathered energy.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice and it doesn’t let you grow older.”

Darian shook his head and said, “That’s not the point. When you are in battle and fighting against strong opponents, you automatically activate Power Mode. That’s why, your powers get stronger with each fight you encounter. However, if you dive into the actual Power Mode, you’d seriously draw on more than just the energy of your physical body, you’re also using your spiritual energy. In a way, that’s foolish self-destruction.”

“I know, I know… I’m well aware it and I’ve trained to be strong in any case,” Lakshman said firmly. “You don’t have to give me such a lecture right now.”

“In that case, well done,” Darian said and he smiled again.

At that moment, the lights within the open space slowly dimmed and a bright line was shone on a man standing right at the front. He was wearing a suit and acted as a man who was going to announce something.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please… The time has come for the master of the party to arrive,” he announced and everyone turned to look towards the stairs leading up to where they were.

The mansion was a large building in this remote area and where they were was far from the main building. It seems this side was built so as to hold parties and such, which really was to keep the guests well away from the main part of the mansion. Now, the master of the building was about to enter the open space from what looked like stairs leading down into the mansion.

Everyone fell silent and curiously waited for him to arrive. A few seconds later, a handsome looking man in a well-dressed clothes arrived with a woman at his side, whom he had a hand placed around her shoulders. The woman appeared to be around Lakshman’s age and strangely familiar to him.

“Wait… Isn’t that… Shalany? Shalany Jagabadasen?” he thought in surprise when he saw her standing next to whom he took be the Salvemancer. “There’s no doubt about it. That lady is Shalany, but why is next to him? What connection does she have with him? Is he her destined partner…? I don’t know… I don’t feel that is the case…”

“Hmm?” Lakshman suddenly was brought back to the present when his Elemental Sense triggered an alarm. It warned him about something dangerous, but he could see where the danger was being triggered from. Then, he looked towards the Slavemancer and his eyes narrowed slightly. With his normal eyes, there was no way he could have known whether something was going on or not, but he has a technique that allowed his eyes to see the change.

“Phoenix Eyes,” he muttered quietly.

In an instant, his black eyes were replaced by red crown shaped eyes. When he focused his vision, he saw the disturbance in energy around the Slavemancer, which was warping itself around Shalany like a snake. Although she was smiling, he saw the nervous energy surrounding her.

As he continued observing them with his Phoenix Eyes, he was surprised when he noticing something happening to Slavemancer’s eyes. Using Zooming Force, he focused on those eyes, which suddenly changed. Lines were forming on the eyes to cut the yellow circle to create a ring around it, which was filled with red colour and on the centre was a strange looking shape he did not recognise seeing before.

He got a clear image of such menacing looking eyes and he searched his knowledge bank for the information on such eyes. Within seconds, he figured out what those eyes were and he started at them in disbelief.

“Demon Eyes!” he thought in surprise. Quickly realising something undetectable to the eye was taking place, he muttered, “Elemental Sight.”

In an instant, everything around him quickly became grey as the colours were filtered out.

Instead, the grey shapes of the people were coloured in blue and green. He looked at the Slavemancer and was startled when violet lines began to shoot out of the eyes and headed towards each and every one he made eye contact with.

Such a line was shot to Felix, Darian and Rumble and they began glowing without them realising it. A violet beam shot past him and headed straight towards Dominic, but got deflected by an energy field surrounding him. Lakshman turned to see Dominic’s side glowing in the form of a blade, which he realised was the Destiny Sword protecting her master against the controlling beams of light.

Lakshman turned around and was slightly surprised when he made eye contact with the Slavemancer. The next moment, a violet beam of light was fired and it shone straight at him, which was invisible to the naked eye. He reacted by raising his hand and extending his forefinger out before charging it with energy. Once the energy reached him, he easily flicked it aside with his energised finger.

As he smiled, the Slavermancer noticed him flick the violet beam away. He raised his eyebrows momentarily before smiling and turning away. Lakshman noticed him deactivate the eyes, which returned to their normal yellow colour. Lakshman deactivated Elemental Sight and looked around to see that no one had noticed the change in his colours.

“I see… You were using Illusionary Eyes to keep them from seeing the chance in your eyes,” he thought to himself with a smile. “Unfortunately for you, such a trick won’t fool me or hide the fact that you’re using your Demon Eyes to control people through eye contact. Yes… The Demon Eyes: Controller.”

Lakshman now knew how the Slavemancer had been able to control the people thus far.

Within that party, he and Dominic were the only ones not affected by those violet beams of energy that no one noticed. However, he realised those eyes will most likely affect him if he ever dropped his guard.

“What’s wrong?” Felix asked him curiously when he noticed the grim expression on his face.

“Ah? Oh… Nothing,” Lakshman said as he was brought back to the present.

The Slavemancer and his partner Shalany, walked towards the front, where the announcer stepped away. He looked around at the people and once again, Lakshman saw the change in the eyes through the use of his Phoenix Eyes and saw the violet beams of energy fly towards

and hit the people whom he made an eye contact with. As one flew towards him, Lakshman did not raise his finger and instead activated his Power Barrier with his eyes, easily deflecting the energy in the process.

Smiling around them all, the Slavemancer spoke and his voice was heard all the way to the back where they stood.

“Welcome and thank you for coming today’s party! It is lovely to see so many people show up on this special occasion where we are in the presence of two kings; one is Ragavendra Jagabadasen and the other, who only recently became king of Floria Kingdom on top of being a Phoenix Titan; Lakshman Reddy.”

The people began clapping as they looked in the direction where both of the kings stood. Once the clapping died down, the Slavemancer began speaking once more.

“Now! Without further ado, I pronounce that it is time to eat!” he said cheerfully, which was following up by more clapping.

At that moment, large tables suddenly began their way from inside the mansion, which was being pushed along by a waiter or waitress. There were both human and non-human waiters that used hover magic to carry the food trays without letting them fall. They were aware of how dangerous it would be for them because a disaster would befall them at the hands of the Slavemancer.

“I’m hungry! Where’s the meat?” Rumble asked excitedly and he hurried over to the nearest food tray.

“Honestly…” Darian said wearily and he went after them, soon to be followed by Felix.

Once they were gone, Dominic leaned forward to Lakshman and whispered, “Lakshman… Just now, I sensed something weird…”

“Yeah, I sensed it too,” Lakshman replied firmly with a single nod of the head. “It seems that guy’s been controlling people through eye contact using Demon Eyes: Controller.”

“Really? I didn’t notice at all,” Dominic said in a surprised voice.

“Of course, you didn’t notice since you lack magic skills,” Lakshman said sternly, making Dominic smile in embarrassment. “Luckily for you, the Destiny Sword was by your side and protected you from those controlling beams.”

“Eh? How did you know I brought her with me?” Dominic asked in a surprised voice. “I made sure to hide her well in my pants.”

“Course you did, but I noticed her activated powers when I defended myself against those beams,” Lakshman said and he grinned at his friend.

“Oh… Anyway, what should we do about him? I think we can take him down right here for suing magic to control people, but…” he hesitated and looked worried. “There is the chance he will use them as hostages or make them attack us for him?”

“Those chances are likely, but let’s not worry about that right now. We’re hungry and we need food. If we don’t get food into our stomachs, we won’t have the energy to do anything,” Lakshman said and he winked at him.

Dominic nodded at him and together, they walked over to where Darian, Rumble and Felix stood with plates in their hands. Lakshman was eager to eat, but he still kept his Power Barrier up just close enough to protect himself from any direct or indirect attacks. From what he just experienced, he knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 246 Clash of Opinions

Lakshman quickly finished his plate of food and got away from the crowd. Dominic, Darian, Rumble and Felix were still eating their food while being talked to by the people. Although the guests showed interest in Darian and Rumble, they quickly turned their attention to Dominic and Felix. He watched as they struggled to eat and talk at the same time.

“I’m sorry you guys,” Lakshman muttered while wearing a smile on his face. “Thank you for your sacrifice.”

Earlier, he had sensed the shift in attention towards him, but he pretended to ignore it. He knew they had simply waited for him to complete eating, but Lakshman did not wish to talk to them. So, he used the four of them as bait to draw the attention away from him before getting away from there. Now, he used Duplifier to lower his presence from the place.

“Um…?” said a voice from near him.

He turned and was surprised to see Shalany standing there with a glass of water in hand. It appeared that she had finished eating earlier on before everyone else. This fact did not startle Lakshman because he was well aware of the amount of food a girl can eat compared to a man.

“Did you want to talk to me or something?” he asked her curiously.

She nodded and looked intently at him for a moment without saying anything. Her continuing silent stare made him feel uncomfortable, which she quickly realised.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to trouble you,” she quickly said, “but you looked like someone I knew in the past. You even have the same name as my childhood friend.”

“A childhood friend?” he asked curiously and he wondered if it was about the time they used to play together.

“That’s right. That boy had features like you and I often played with him at a young age. He left on a journey and made a promise with me. When I looked at you, I thought you looked just like how he would look once he grows up.”

He chuckled and with scratching the back of his head in embracement, he said, “Actually… I’m that kid from five years ago, Shalany.”

“Huh?” she said with a surprised look on her face. “Y-You’re that boy from back then?” She suddenly looked happy and said, “Really? Wow! You became the Phoenix Titan and now crowned the king of a kingdom in five years! That’s amazing!”

He chuckled and said, “Back then, I was on a journey to Floria Kingdom to help Felix out. Then, a lot of things happened and I because I got distracted by them, I completely forgot about our promise to meet again.”

“Oh… I thought as much…” she said in a slow sad voice. “He was the only person I got to play with other than my brother and an outsider at that. Father—I mean, the king never let me meet strangers that easily, but that boy happened to be the companion of the Sword King, Darian Ronald. So, you are him.”

“I’m really sorry I forgot about that promise,” he said honestly. “Actually, that’s part of the reason why I came here; it’s not just to attend the party, but to also see how you are doing.

So, I was pretty amazed when I saw you attending the party with your father.”

“I see…” she said with a nod of her head in understanding. “He’s my fiancé.”

“He’s your what?” he asked in a surprised voice.

She nodded and said, “That’s right. Father thought of forming friendly relationships with the Slavemancer, so it was decided that our marriage will do just that.”

“It was decided for you? Did you have no say in the matter?”

“There’s not much of a choice and it’s not like I dislike him either. So, I agreed to the marriage.”

“What about your brother? The last I remember him, he’s always stick his face in the books, but he really cared for you though,” Lakshman said and he chuckled as he remembered the past events.

Shalany hesitated for a moment before saying, “Brother… Ah… Yes, he also accepted it since it will form a friendly relationship with the highly influential person like the Slavemancer.”

“Okay,” Lakshman replied simply as he looked at her.

She was not looking at him and instead was looking out into the garden of the starry night.

There was a sad expression on her face and he sensed something was not right. He also believed her words were mixed in truth and lies, but he did not want to question her here.

However, it made him become suspicious of her behaviour and the nervous energy she radiated earlier while she stood next to the Slavemancer.

“Something doesn’t feel right about this. If she really did like him, she wouldn’t be so nervous around him. There is something going on here, but am I allowed to know about it? To her, I’m a complete stranger, but all people in the world matter to me because they are part of this world. After all, the world will be safe if they are safe.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but she suddenly asked him, “You really grew tall in five years.

Did you know that?”

“What?” he asked in a distracted voice. “Oh. Yeah! My wives commented on how big I grew and even my parents couldn’t believe it. Well, both of my parents were tall for their age, so I guess I inherited it from them, although I think I got some from my family line.”

Shalany nodded in understanding before a voice was heard from behind them.

“My, my! What could my future wife and the Floria Kingdom’s king be talking about?”

Lakshman and Shalany turned around to see the Slavemancer walking towards them with a smile on his face. Seeing him approaching them, Shalany became tense for a moment before quickly relaxing. Lakshman, on the other hand, smiled while staying on his guard to defend himself against that man’s Demon Eyes: Controller.

“How do you do? My name is Rakuzen Sambire and I carry the title of Slavemancer,” the Slavemancer said as he introduced himself.

He held his hand out before they shook firmly. Once their hands were released, he turned to Shalany and asked, “What were you talking to him about?”

“I was just talking friendly with Lakshman,” Shalany said quickly.

“Oh? Addressing the king of a friendly kingdom by his name?” the Rakuzen asked in a surprised voice. “My future wife really has some nerve to do that.”

“We’re childhood friends and Lakshman wouldn’t be angry because of that,” Shalany said firmly and Lakshman laughed.

“You were childhood friends with the Phoenix Titan? I didn’t know about this.”

“Well, when word reached the castle about the rise of a new Phoenix Titan under name Lakshman Reddy, I became suspicious. At first, I thought it might be him, but we were the

same age and I thought it could possibly be him. However, the news was vague and the rumours that soon followed were slightly hard to believe.”

“Rumours tend to blow out a lot of details to make it seem impressive,” Lakshman said with a smile.

“Of course,” the Rakuzen said with a nod. Then, he gestured towards a table and asked, “Would you mind sitting with me to chat? Standing around like this can get tiring.”

“Sure,” Lakshman replied.

Together, they walked over to the nearest table, where Rakuzen gestured for a waiter to come closer. After instructing him, the waiter nodded and left before returning with two chairs. As the two sat down to sit behind the table, another waiter arrived at their table with two glasses of water. Rakuzen sipped a little from his glass while Lakshman quickly drank all of his because he suddenly felt thirsty.

“So, Phoenix Titan… How is my party so far?” Rakuzen asked curiously. “I’ve set it up pretty well, right?”

Lakshman nodded and said, “You certainly did. Although there were many guests here that I’ve never met before, it still feels pretty welcome.”

Rakuzen laughed and said, “That’s natural. Any party would be feeling welcoming to their guests or rather, are you saying you’ve been to parties that the feeling as if you weren’t welcome there?”

“No, but I had heard so much about you and from that, I was a bit sceptical about the party.

However, after coming here, I quite liked it and I believe it turned out well.”

“That’s good to hear,” Rakuzen said with a wide smile on his face.

While they were talking, the crowd of people heard them speaking and walked over to them.

Lakshman, Rakuzen and Shalany were soon surrounded by a crowd of guests that curiously listened to what they had to say.

Darian and Rumble appeared at the front of the crowd and observed with curiosity. Felix appeared and stood on Lakshman’s right while Dominic appeared to stand near him, which was also near Shalany. Lakshman turned to look at each of them and he paused when he saw Shalany looking strangely up at Dominic. His attention quickly returned to Rakuzen as he began speaking once again.

“Yes… You heard a lot about me, but I’ve also heard a lot about you,” Rakuzen said coolly.

“You are a hard worker, not one who orders his subjects around like a typical king, firm with your methods and there is this sense of rulership you possess even though you’re only eighteen-years-old.”

“That’s true, but I have to quickly grow up to take charge because of my position,” Lakshman replied with a smile on his face. “A kingdom relies on its king to make the correct decisions for it and its people.”

Rakuzen nodded and said, “Good answer. However, your kingship isn’t the only thing that reached my ears. It seems that there is rumours going around about you intending to abolish the slavery system. IS that true?”

There was a sudden silence within the open space and everyone gulped as the tension in the air began to thicken. Rakuzen had his hands together as he observed Lakshman intently with his eyes. Lakshman, for his part, remained cool headed and smiled back at him.

“That’s right. My plan is to abolish the slavery system,” he replied in a cool, but firm voice.

“Why is that? Is there something about the system that you dislike?”

“Fundamentally, the slavery itself that displeases me. Who are we enslave someone for the rest of their lives for whatever reason? We are not their creators and we certainly don’t own their life in any way.”

“That is true, but slavery is like a punishment for those wrong doers. They are enslaved because that is the price they paid for sacrificing their freedom,” Rakuzen said through narrowed eyes. “There was one time where you beat up my men when they were in the process of taking over a man who didn’t pay back his debt. I think you think yourself as a hero for saving them, but you only saved them from their consequences.”

“Saved them? I think you’re mistaken there, Rakuzen,” Lakshman said with a shake of his head. “I saved them from slavery, but not from the law. The price of not paying back debt is punishable by law and that’s to put them in prison.”

“Isn’t that similar to slavery?” Rakuzen asked curiously. “After all, you’ve taken their freedom away and locked them behind cold bars inside a prison. In slavery, they at least are useful to others that buy them. Rather, it is better to be enslaved by somebody rather than spend your life behind bars.”

Lakshman shook his head and said, “I don’t agree. Not being able to pay off debt is a punishable crime and the law must act, which is agreed upon by the people of this society.

Law and Order are placed so as to keep the society and its people safe. At the same time, it acts as a symbol of justice to punish those that broke those laws and created problems.

Slavery is not accepted by everyone, but it is there to keep those in need of them satisfied.

Their lives are treated as dirt and they are used for various purposes without any reward. At the same time, I am aware that there are other masters who have treated their slaves as friends, which I’m not saying is bad. However, enslaving life that we have no right to is wrong.”

“Mmm…!” Rakuzen made an irritated noise from his mouth. Then, he asked, “You saved a family from enslavement, but have you ever considered what would happen to their lively hood? Did you even consider that they might escape from the kingdom in the middle of the night and go somewhere far away to avoid facing the unfair charges of your policies?”

Lakshman raised an eyebrow in amusement because of what he just heard. It was clear Rakuzen was attempting to indirectly blame Lakshman and his policies of creating problems.

Lakshman had already thought about this and realised the implications of such an action, but there was something else before that which he could not forget.

He took a deep breath and said, “There was a young girl living near a village that was attacked by a large monsters. Her parents and relatives were killed in the attack before the Sword Titan arrived on killed all of them. Because of the debt her family was in, she was sold in slavery and was toyed around like an expendable doll. In the end, her life turned into a nightmare because of the enslavement she was put into.

Her suffering did not end there as once she had served her purpose, she was sold back into slavery. Another master took her in and her life was once again become the toy of their enjoyment. Like this, the girl was enslaved over and over to masters who did not give a damn about her life, treating her as someone that is meant to be used and thrown away like a ragdoll.”

There was a collective gasp of shock from everyone listening. Felix and Dominic made an angry expressions on their faces while Darian and Rumble, like so many others, looked uncomfortable. Felix felt such anger was because the story was real and it was about one of Lakshman’s wives; Emilia Serabell.

“By the time she was saved, her age was thirteen and half her heart was void of emotions. The one who saved her… was myself!” said Lakshman as he gestured to himself with his thumb finger. “I used Memory Lane to see her memories and I have seen the pain she felt, the torture she endured and the humiliation she faced. I could’ve easily wanted revenge on the people that did that to her, but she didn’t want me to take revenge. She simply wanted me to make sure no one becomes a slave and experience what she did. That’s why, I’ve decided on abolishing the slavery system once and for all.”

Rakuzen nodded in understanding, but he suddenly laughed and said, “I thought you had a powerful reason to be wanting to destroy the slavery system so badly, but I didn’t expect that.”

“Is something wrong?” Lakshman asked with a frown on his face.

Rakuzen shook his head and coolly said, “Yes. You’re doing all this over the fact that this one girl you saved suffered like hell?”

Lakshman was shocked at how coolly the man in front of him spoke those words. He looked around and saw the people around were looking uncomfortable and were doing their best in avoiding his eye contact. They agreed with his sentiment, but were fearful of showing it directly in front of the Rakuzen, who was the Slavemancer. They feared his retribution as past experiences have taught them well.

Sudden, Dominic lost the control over his temper and he shouted, “You fool!” He pointed a sharp finger at Rakuzen and said, “You foolish Slavermancer! How dare you speak in such a way about that one person? Forget about her being a woman, but someone with life! How could you talk in such a way after hearing about her suffering?”

Rakuzen shrugged his shoulders and said, “I’m being quite honest here. I mean, going through all this trouble and struggle just because you believed one girl was tormented—!”

“That alone is enough to make any man boil with anger, you fool!” Dominic shouted at him.

“Life is a valuable jewel given to us by god! No one has the right to play with it or use it however they want! If it were me, I would’ve killed those bustards in the name of justice!”

“Dom, calm down,” Lakshman said quickly and he rose to his feet to pat his shoulder.

Dominic turned to him and angrily said, “Lakshman, how can you just sit there quietly and listen to the nonsense of this heartless bastard?!”

Rakuzen laughed and asked, “Heartless? I believe it’s called being focus on doing your business instead of letting your feelings interfere. Of course, I don’t expect the Sword Titan to understand. After all, you’re just a beast.”

Dominic became enraged and he started forward, but Lakshman stepped forward and held his hand out to stop him. Dominic turned to him angrily, but was taken aback when he saw how angry Lakshman was by the expression on his face.

“I agree with what you have to say there, Slavemancer,” Lakshman said quietly. Then, he surprised everyone when he said, “It’s better to be a mindless beast than a heartless monster like you.”

In an instant, lots of things happened that shocked Shalany into clutching her mouth with her hand. Rakuzen became enraged at being compared to monsters and beasts, he activated his control magic. In an instant, the mass crowd attempted to move forward to attack without volition, but were stopped when magic swords flew into them and stopped them in their tracks.

Those swords were created by Dominic, who had reacted in an instant to whip the Destiny Sword out. Now, he swung around and clashed swords with Darian, who was making a pained expression on his face. Rumble also came to attack and Dominic easily overpowered him before bring him down with his left hand. Like that, he fended off the Sword King and Monkey King.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Dominic exclaimed as he clashed swords with Darian.

“I… I’m not doing it!” Darian replied in a struggling voice. “My body is moving on its own!”

“Same… here…” Rumble struggled to reply from where Darian was holding him down with his left hand.

While that was happening, the people were shocked to find themselves pierced with swords in their stomachs. They began screaming in shock and attempted to move, but were frozen to the spot like stone statues.

Shalany, who was standing near Dominic, was shocked and she turned to him before saying, “You stabbed them with your magic swords. You killed them…”

“Those are Paralysing Swords. They act by stunning the person and freezing their movement, paralysing them in the process,” Dominic told her. “If I was serious, they really would’ve been dead! Lakshman! Are you okay?”

He turned his head slightly and was surprised to see the position he was in. Lakshman had knocked down his chair and quickly grabbed the involuntary punch that Felix threw at him.

After grabbing it, he raised his hand and quickly charged it with an energy ball, which he was aiming straight at the Slavemancer.

“Yeah. I’m perfectly fine,” Lakshman replied to Dominic’s question without looking at him.

“Anyway, I see this is how you used your controlling magic powers on the people and used them to attack me. Seems like quite the handy magic you got there, Slavemancer.”

“L-Lakshman… I’m not doing this by my will…!” Felix said through a struggle as Lakshman held him at bay.

“I know,” Lakshman said without turning to face him.

Rakuzen simply sat there without bothering to raise his hands up like so many would in that situation. He had a cool expression on his face as he stared directly at the ball of energy that Lakshman had gathered and was aiming straight at him.

“You plan to murder me here and now?” he spoke coolly to him.

Lakshman shook his head and said, “No. Like I said, if I had wanted revenge for what happened to that girl, I would’ve killed everyone who had a hand in her enslavement, including you.” He deactivated his energy and let the energy flow away while continuing to hold Felix off.

“Besides, killing you is not important, killing your bad habits! If I kill you, someone else will rise up to take your place like as if your dead served for the greater purpose of those that want slavery to stay intact.”

“Hmph! You’re weak,” Rakuzen said and he deactivated his control over the people.

Through the Phoenix Eyes, Lakshman saw the control over the people get released. He sighed and let go of Felix, who began flexing his hands and arms. He then proceeded to tell Dominic to release the people from the Paralysing Swords, which he did and the people were glad to see they were safe.

Lakshman looked back at the cool looking Slavemancer and said, “Today, we meet as host and guest, but the next time we meet, it’ll be as enemies.”

Rakuzen did not say anything, but he nodded in understanding while he continued to smile.

Lakshman turned to Felix and said they were leaving, to which Felix agreed to. He and Felix bid their farewell to Shalany, Darian and Rumble before turning away to leave. At that moment, Dominic went after them with a firm expression on his face.

“I’m coming with you,” Dominic said firmly to them.

“You want to, but aren’t you now based in Mardana Kingdom?” Felix asked curiously. “What will your king wonder when his trusted warrior didn’t return after a party?”

“Actually, I already told him I’d be leaving for Floria Kingdom since I want to be with my friend,” Dominic said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Lakshman smiled and said, “I’d be happy to welcome you into the kingdom. You’d also be a great teacher in teaching my soldiers the fight well with the sword and the other weapons as well.”

“Then, I will do my best,” Dominic said and he clapped his chest.

After nodding at each other, Felix opened the Phoenix Portal and the three of them walked through it before it closed behind them. After they left, the other guests slowly left with each of their escort and the final to leave was the king of Rodfox Kingdom and his daughter, Shalany. They all left and it was finally the Slavemancer alone in that open area.

Rakuzen was sitting in the same position on the chair from before. He smiled and bid his farewell to all the guests as they left. Even after the king and his daughter left, he continued to sit there and smiled for reasons unknown. A while later, the beast man came up the stairs to check up on his master.

“Um… Master?” asked the beast man after walking to his side. “All the guests have left.”

Rakuzen did not say anything and simple sat there, smiling as he stared ahead. The beast man became worried at seeing his master sit there silently and smile for apparently no reason at all.

“Master… Are you perhaps unhappy from the Phoenix Titan’s behaviour?” he asked tentatively.

“Unhappy…?” Rakuzen said slowly and his smile slowly faded off his face. “No… I’m ABSOLUTELY FURIOUS!” He screamed the last two words and he began surging in violet Elemental Glow. The floor made large cracks and it quickly spread everywhere and cracks appeared on the walls as well.

The beast man was shocked by the tremendous surge of power from his master. Then, all of a sudden, he was grabbed by his shirt front and he was forced down to his knees to stare fearfully into the mad eyes of his master.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW FURIOUS I AM?!” Rakuzen bellowed and another wave of energy exploded from his rage. “THAT BASTARD THINKING HE IS A BIG SHOT! I, THE SLAVEMANCER, AM NOTHING COMPARED TOP HIM?! SO WHAT IF HE IS THE KING OF A KINGDOM? I SPENT LIVING FOR OVER 100 YEARS WITH THE HUMANS FEARING ME! NOW, HE PLANS ON BEING A BIG SHOT BECAUSE HE IS A KING OF A KINGDOM AND A PHOENIX TITAN?!

DO YOU KNOW HOW HUMILATING THAT WAS?!”

The beast man felt like wetting himself from how dangerously mad his master was. His energy was flowing around wildly and it was destroying the open area little by little, causing the furniture and construction to get demolished. A while later, the flow of energy began to calm and settle down as he quickly released all pent up anger. However, the mad rage in his eyes did not fade and he looked at the beast man with utmost anger on his face.

“I want you to message all the kingdoms…! Let them know that if they dared to assist the Phoenix Titan, the newly crowned king of Floria Kingdom, dared to do anything with their assistance, they will pay it with their lives!”

“A-All the kingdoms…?” the beast man asked uncertainly in a fearful voice.

“ALL OF THEM!” Slavemancer bellowed and frightened the beast man further. “While you’re at it, I want the head of the Phoenix Titan at my feet! Do whatever it takes, I don’t care! His head has to me at my feet! You got that?!”

“Y-Yes!” the beast man replied quickly.

He was finally let go and he staggered to his feet before bowing to his master. Then, as quickly as his legs could carry, he got away from there and away from the mad rage of his master.

Once he was gone, the Slavemancer clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth with uncontrollable rage.

“Get ready, Lakshman…! I WILL DESTROY YOU!!! UUUURRRRRAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!”

With a roar of rage and power, his power surged to the surface with wild winds being blown around the open area by his raging energy. There was a sudden flash of light and the next moment, an explosion resulted with the destruction of the open area he was sitting at. A while after the dust cleared, he was standing around the rubble with a mad expression on his face before roaring in cold mirthless laughter and they echoed around the area under the starry night.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

Phoenix Rising Chapter 247 Affection

A portal opened up inside the castle at Floria Kingdom and out through it came Lakshman, Felix and Dominic. These three stepped out of the portal and turned to watch it slowly shrink before closing. Once it did, Lakshman and Felix breathed heavily.

“I can’t believe that just happened!” Felix exclaimed in a shocked. “Unbelievable! Dominic!

What were you thinking, getting angry at him like that?”

Dominic looked at him furiously and said, “Oh, come on…! That guy’s asking to be beaten up good! Otherwise, why the hell did he comment about that girl like that? Seriously… He truly is a heartless monster like the rumours have said about him.”

“Yes, he is,” Lakshman said in agreement. “Anyway, this puts us at odd with him now.”

“What do you mean?”

Felix looked at him in exasperation and said, “Don’t you know what you just did? What you made Lucky do?” When Dominic continued to look confused, Felix sighed and said, “You made him talk back in a rude manner to the Slavemancer! In doing this, Lakshman became his enemy! We made an enemy out of him and now the entire kingdom might in trouble because of that!”

“What? That’s my fault? Getting mad at a guy who lacks the basic heart of a human? A guy who disrespects people and makes them do his bidding using his strange controlling magic?”

Dominic asked indignantly. “If I do believe I made a mistake, I would most certainly kneel before him and beg for forgiveness! I would happy accept any punishment I may receive, however… I don’t believe I made a mistake with dealing with that man!”

Felix looked shocked by what he just heard. Then, he was surprised when Lakshman said, “I agree with Dom, Felix. Dominic did the right thing in acting the way he did. Everyone else there also agreed with our sentiment, but were too afraid to make their opinion heard. You know how it is… They’re afraid of him and I don’t blame them.”

“Yes, they are afraid, but you’re saying you’re not afraid the least bit?” Felix asked incredulously.

Lakshman shook his head and slowly said, “I’m not afraid, but I am worried…”

“Worried?” Dominic asked curiously. “Is there something to worry about?”

Lakshman turned to him and said, “Think back to what just happened at the party. I held an energy ball in the palm of my hand and had it aimed directly at his face. Instead of clinching or raising his hands, he just sat there and coolly looked back at me.”

“He just probably didn’t want to show that he was afraid,” Dominic said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“No… I don’t believe it,” Lakshman said with a shake of his head. “He was holding back, otherwise that place would’ve turned into a battle zone and we’d be fighting for our lives while those innocent guests would’ve perished! He’s clearly stronger than us!”

Dominic was stunned from the shocking words of Lakshman before slowly asking, “Are you saying that he didn’t attack us because he cared for the guests?”

“More like, he didn’t want to ruin his appearance,” Felix suggested sadly. “He’s probably right now so mad at us that I’m sure he probably destroyed the place we all were earlier.”

“That’s crazy!” Dominic said simply and he shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe that guy is a crazy bastard.”

“Anyone with the power to control people are crazy!” Lakshman said flatly. “Especially, when there’s no way of countering or protecting yourself from such a thing. Well, if you’re like me and Dom that is.”

Felix was surprised by his words and he quickly asked, “Wait! Are you saying you know how he controls them?”

Lakshman nodded and he pointed towards his eyes. He still had the Phoenix Eyes active from the party.

“Using the power of my Phoenix Eyes that I activated during the party, I was able to witness the strange disturbance in the Magic Force. It was also then that I witnessed the Slavemancer’s eyes change to something else called Demon Eyes: Controller.”

As Lakshman deactivated his eyes to return them to normal, Felix looked startled as he asked, “What? His eyes changed? I don’t remember seeing his eyes change. Did you, Dominic?”

“No. I didn’t see his eyes change either,” Dominic replied as he shook his head.

“Yes. I thought as much,” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding. “He was using an illusion spell to make his eyes appear like normal when he activated his demon eyes. As he made contact with each of the guests, he transferred this strange magic controlling energy through eye contact. It happens so fast, it’s easily missed by a naked eye.”

“Oh… Is that what I felt that approached me twice?” Dominic asked curiously and Lakshman nodded at him.

“That’s right. It’s the magic controlling energy, but you were protected by the Destiny Sword. I, on the other hand, had to quickly react and flicked the first wave away while using a Power Barrier to protect myself on the second shot.”

“Ah…” Dominic said in a surprised voice. Then, with a curious expression on his face, he asked, “Did he notice the deflection of his magic?”

“Clearly,” Lakshman replied before sighing. “That’s probably what prompted him to be on his guard and use the guests as tools to scare us.”

“Scare us? He clearly tried to make them attack us!” Dominic said furiously. “The Sword King and Monkey King both attempted to hit me, but I easily blocked them both. Even Felix tried to throw a punch at you.”

“Just a punch and it contained none of his full strength,” Lakshman said as he pointed it out.

“He clearly was testing us and the result must’ve been what he expected. Anyway, he’s now our enemy and I’m sure her will do whatever it takes to stop me from implementing the abolishment of the slavery system.”

“Dammit… I hate people like him!” Dominic said in a frustrated voice. “Always considering their own personal goals than caring about other people. How can the law allow these people continue to thrive on such crude ways to live? Why can’t these people be punished by the hand of justice?”

Lakshman smiled at him and said, “Dom, your sense of justice is really something to be envious about. However, keep in mind that justice can only prevail when people like us put the effort into bringing people like him into justice. Only then can justice do its thing in punishing them for good. Although, sometimes it’s hard to control that urge to kill them off on the spot.”

He finished speaking and there was a dangerous dark look on his face that made Dominic nervous. It was the same kind of nervousness he felt back at the part when Lakshman gave him that look to quieten him. Dominic did not quite understand why Lakshman possess such deep hatred towards slavery, even though he himself dislikes it as well.

“Anyway, I see that he possess the Demon Eyes: Controller,” Felix said and Lakshman nodded at him. “Curse him! He’s got powerful eyes that literally allows him to control anyone he looks in the eye! I wonder if I can get Wolfenstine to make us some sort of face masks or something to protect our eyes.”

“What?” Lakshman asked incredulously as a smile formed on his face. “Are you saying that we should fight him blind?”

As Dominic laughed, Felix indignantly said, “No…!” He then sighed and wondered aloud, “Still, I wonder how he got those eyes… Only a pure blood demon can grant such a blessing or curse, depending on which way you interpret it. I wonder… Was it the Immortal Demon Empress, Kaizukamra?”

“I don’t think she would do that, Felix. She’s a lazy type that hardly leaves her demon castle and I doubt she will leave even if she wanted to. So, I highly doubt she was the one that granted him those eyes.” Lakshman said in a reasonable voice.

Five years ago, Lakshman defeated the Demon Emperor, Halquza, during the in demon invasion five years ago. Upon his defeat, a new ruler was elected in the demon world and it was the pervious ruler before Halquza, Baldrick Draigad. Before being elected, the Immortal Demon King and his wife, the Immortal Demon Empress, Kaizukamra, spent their time together in a quiet remote part of the demon world. Lakshman learnt about it through Sevedant “Mmm… You’re right…” Felix said slowly and he nodded in agreement. “It must be someone else, but who…? She’s the only known pure blooded demon capable of doing that. Her husband Baldrick certainly couldn’t do it because he’s too of a meat head and besides, he hates humans to the point he blindly kills them without a care in the world if they appear in front of him.”

“That’s true,” Lakshman said with a smile. “Also, isn’t it true that he really hates being elected back into the Demon Lord position?”

“Of course, he would. That guy’s lost his warrior spirit when he was defeated by the Sword King, Monkey King and Phoenix Emperor 300 years ago in the demon-human war,” Felix said before laughing. “The Sword King being Darian Ronald, Monkey King is Rumble and the Phoenix Emperor being my great-great-grandfather.”

“Wow…! You’re great-great-grandfather was among the people that defeat that immortal guy?” Dominic asked in an impressed voice. “Sorry if I sounded rude, but I never thought you were from the same family as that person.”

“That’s fine,” Felix said with a smile. “After my great-grandfather passed away, it was my grandfather’s turn to become the Phoenix Emperor. At a later time, my father refused the position that my grandfather offered him and instead found love that brought me into existence. Anyway, after my grandfather passed away, I obtained the title of Phoenix Emperor.”

“It’s funny how love can play an important role in changing a lot of decisions,” Lakshman said and he grinned at Felix.

Felix shrugged his shoulders and said, “Maybe, but I don’t see your love for your wives turning yourself into the enemy of one of the most influential people in the Human Continent.”

“Yeah… Well… That just happened,” Lakshman said awkwardly and Felix shook his head.

“Anyway, forget about me and let’s start preparing ourselves for any sort of attack. Felix, go and inform the Phoenix Clan about what just transpired. Prepare them for combat as soon as trouble strikes. Got it?”

“Understood and while I’m at it, I’ll have some Phoenix Sages prepare to conceal the kingdom with a Phoenix Sanctuary.”

Lakshman shook his head and said, “That won’t be necessary. Slavemancer won’t launch a direct attack on the kingdom, but he will probably resort to unorthodox methods of eliminating me. Probably hire some mercenaries and use them to assassinate me.”

“Damn him…!” Dominic said and he clenched his hands tightly.

“This sort of thing is normal when one has such great power as me,” Lakshman said wearily.

“By the way, I want to address the people of the kingdom of what transpired at the party. I won’t tell them everything, but it’s better to let them know than keep it a secret.”

“Good idea since they will come to know about it sooner or later,” Felix said and he nodded approvingly. He turned around and held his hand out before saying, “Phoenix Portal!”

With the opening of the portal, he walked through it and disappeared before it closed behind.

Lakshman turned to Dominic and gestured for him to follow him. So, they walked for several minutes and turned a few times before they arrived at king’s chamber. As he opened the large doors, he saw the head maid and the other maids waiting patiently as they sat down on the chairs.

When they saw him enter, they quickly rose to their feet and bowing deeply, they said, “Welcome back, your majesty!”

“Yup. I’m back,” he said brightly. Then, he gestured towards Dominic and said, “Head maid, this is my friend, Dominic Rutherford the Sword Titan. He’ll be living here from now on and I’m wondering if a room can be prepared for him within the castle.”

“That certainly can be arranged, your majesty,” the head maid said with a bow.

“Good,” Lakshman said in satisfaction and he turned to smile at Dominic. “You’re new home will be within the castle.”

“Uh… Wait, Lakshman,” Dominic said uncertainly as he looked at the maids and then back at his friend. “I can just take a room at a hotel and stay there. I can fend for myself by constantly entering the Labyrinth or the Monster Dungeon. There really is no reason for you to let me stay here.”

Lakshman sighed and said, “I thought you might say that. You’re pride as a warrior won’t allow you to feed of somebody else’s money after all.” He sighed again before saying, “At least, stay here for the night and tomorrow morning, you can go and buy yourself a home or stay at a hotel like you planned.”

“B-But…” Dominic said uncertainly.

Just then, the head maid turned to him and said, “Please listen to the kind words of his majesty. We will not cause you any trouble other than the minimum requirement of having you take the bath and change into comfortable clothes to sleep in.” When he continued to hesitate, the head maid became stern and she said, “Any more hesitation will be disrespectful for the temporary hospitality his majesty is providing you.”

“Okay, okay,” he said quickly with an uncomfortable expression on his face.

“Right. Please, follow us this way,” the head maid said and the other maid began to lead him away.

Lakshman watched him go and smiled as he thought, “Oh dear… Even, Dom is no match for the head maid’s toughness.”

He stretched his arms and said, “Now then… Time to do some late night work before I go to bed.”

“No, your majesty. It’s time you return home. The mistresses would be waiting for you,” the head maid told him curtly.

“Oh, come on, head maid… I haven’t exactly finished my work for today,” he said and he looked at the mountain of paper stacked on his desk.

“Master…!” the head maid said sternly and she intently looked at him.

“Alright…! I’ll go home since I’m not needed here anymore,” he said in resignation.

“Then, I wish you a very good night, master.”

“Yeah! You too, head maid! I’ll see you in the morning!” he said and he waved goodbye. He turned around with his hand held out, he said, “Phoenix Portal.”

With the portal opened, he walked into it and it closed behind him. After a few seconds of walking along the light path surrounded by utter darkness, he exited through the other end of the portal arrived inside his house. Currently, he was in the bottom floor and he was surprised to see everything in place. All the furniture and the decorative items were all neatly placed around the room.

“Looks like the girls did a good job of this place,” he muttered in a happy voice.

He took off his shoes and was just about to go upstairs to the bedroom when he saw the light in the kitchen. At that time, there was only one person among his wives that would be using the kitchen at such a time in the night. He quietly walked over to the kitchen and as expected, Emilia was there moving the bowls and stuff.

“Emilia, what are you doing?” he asked her curiously, knowing full well she could sense his presence.

“I’m just cleaning things up before going to bed,” she replied as she moved the dishes here and there.

“Leave that tomorrow morning,” he told her, but she simply shook her head.

“It’s better to clean up now than go through the extra trouble of doing it tomorrow morning.

After all, I’d rather spend my time with you than here with the dishes. For one thing, dishes don’t talk back.”

He laughed as he walked towards her and hugged her from behind. At first, she was surprised, but she smiled and continued putting the dishes away. Once she was done, he let her go and she finally turned around to look at him. She was slightly surprised to see him looking strangely at her.

“What’s up?” she asked him curiously. “You seem a little duller than when you left.”

“Oh… Things happened at the party,” he said and he told her everything that had happened.

While listening, she walked out of the kitchen and headed towards the living room. Lakshman followed after her as he explained about the commotion resulting in a standoff between him and the Slavemancer. She only replied by making occasional sounds from her mouth to let him know she was listening. Not until did they sit down on chairs and faced each other did she speak to him.

“So, we became enemies anyway,” he finished with a sigh.

“I see,” Emilia said and she nodded. “I suppose that young girl was me, I guess?”

“Uh… Do you disapprove that I used your story to clearly state how horrible slavery is?” he asked her uncertainly.

“No. I was just surprised you thought of using my storey as an example,” she said with a small smile on her face.

“Yeah, but that guy… His comment about it is… unforgivable!” he said with an angry expression on his face.

“Stop that,” Emilia said and she rose to her feed before sitting beside him to place a hand around his shoulders. As she hugged him from the side, she said, “My past is the past and nothing we do will change that. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t apply what I leant to change the future. I don’t want revenge because it doesn’t result in anything good. I want the slavery system abolished so that someone else wouldn’t have to face the same kind of pain as me.”

“That’s why, I didn’t try to kill that bastard the moment he uttered those words!” Lakshman said fiercely. “Although, I am wondering if I did the right thing flaring up at him like that and going as far as to point my energy ball at him. Do you think I did the right thing?”

“Mmm…” Emilia did not immediately reply and pondered about it. After a moment’s pause, she smiled and said, “Vena might be unhappy since it turned you, this kingdom enemies of him, but Erza would’ve happily supported your decision. Ondine would be thrilled to hear what you did and the same goes for Cantia, I guess. As for Tetra and Silvera, I suppose they will follow whatever you do with occasional advices to alter it.”

Hearing her say what his other wives would’ve said, made him smile and chuckle happily.

Then, he looked quietly asked, “What about you?”

“As for me…” she began slowly in a thoughtful voice. “You did the right thing and I’m proud of that. That man really spoke badly about the slavery and I agree with everything you said. That Slavemancer really has no desire to step down from his position as the most influential person in the Human Kingdom with a lot of power.”

“That makes me really happy!” said Lakshman in a very happy voice.

He put his arm around her shoulder and brought her closers. She leaned her his shoulder and quietly smiled. Like that, they sat there for a few seconds in silence. Then, realising it was getting late, Emilia eased herself from his grip and rose to her feet.

“It’s getting late and I’m feeling sleep,” she said in a tired voice. She raised her hand up and said, “Energy Out.” In an instant, the energy crystals all around that kept the room lit were went out. Emilia left the room to go turn the lights of the kitchen off as Lakshman rose to his feet. When he arrived outside the room, Emilia was there waiting for him and together, they walked towards the stairs. After climbing them to the top floor, they heard the sound of breathing from the room on the far right. They slowly walked forward and he slowly opened the door while making sure to make the least bit of noise.

Sprawled on the bed were the forms of his wives sleeping peacefully. He could not tell who was who in the dark and he did not want to use his Phoenix Eyes to look around.

“I don’t think I want to crawl around while they’re sleeping so peacefully,” he said as he smiled in the dark.

“I agree. Let’s sleep in the next room,” Emilia suggested and he nodded as he quickly closed the door.

The two of them quietly walked next door and quickly walked in before closing the door shut.

Lakshman walked over to the bed and quickly unravelled the bed sheets before getting into them. Emilia loosened her shit slightly before breathing in relief and also got into bed with him. For a moment, they lay there lying on the comfortable bed while staring at the dark ceiling as light streamed lightly through the closed curtains on the starry night.

“We need to go shopping next time,” Emilia said abruptly after a few seconds of silence.

“What for? Didn’t we get everything?”

“Yeah, but we forgot about nighties. Up until now, we didn’t need nighties since we had been students and we never bothered to get changed because of how tired we were from studying late into the night. However, we are now married women and I believe we need to start wearing lighter clothes to sleep comfortably. Do you agree?”

“Yeah, I agree, although… I feel the nightie will, you know… make your proportions clearer to see.”

For a moment, there was silence as Emilia digested what he just said. Then, she sighed and asked, “Up until now, you showed no sign of anything, but the desire to get stronger.

However, it seems like you’ve changed slightly in these two years and have started showing other desires.”

He was startled by her voice and he said, “Wait… Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“After marriage, you’ve been happily sleeping with us and everything. It seems you’ve been rather lustful towards us after the marriage than before it. Looks like, you’ve found us pretty attractive to have difficulty suppressing your nightly desires.”

“Uh… Um… I…” Lakshman was lost at what to say at the words of his wife. It was indeed true that ever since their marriage, he found the girls very attractive and lovable. For this reason, his manly attitude began to crumble after almost each night from work that he enjoyed sleeping with them.

“If that’s bad, I’ll stop immediately and make sure to use restraining magic to suppress—!”

“Oh, stop that…!” she said wearily. “I’m not complaining or anything, but actually am glad you’re active about it. We’ve been beseeching you for five years, but you simply ignored us by saying that you were either too young or that you’ll do it after marriage. I and I’m sure the others are also happy about how it turned out right now.”

For a moment, he remained frozen in surprise. Then, he smiled and said, “I… I’m glad to hear it.”

“Yes, but tell me…” she began and her tone made him immediately worry about what she was going to say. “Which one of us do you like the most?”

“Huh?” he asked in a surprised voice. “Which one I like? I like all of you equally.”

“Yes, but there must be someone special deep down there,” she said and she turned slightly to pat him on the chest. “Just come out and say it.”

“Really…! I don’t have anyone especially in mind…” he said uncertainly, but she did not believe his words.

“Lucky…” she said sternly and he wished he was anywhere, but there. “Come on and say it honestly. I won’t say anything if it’s not me, so just say it…!”

He hesitated for a moment longer before finally sighing heavily in resignation.

“Among the seven of you, I like… you the most, Emilia,” Lakshman said finally.

Emilia was surprised by his response and she said, “If you’re saying that I’ll get angry, then—!”

“I honestly like you the most, Emilia!” he said forcefully. “Believe me! It’s nothing to do with pity and most certainly not because you’ll get annoyed at me or something.”

“In that case, tell me why.”

“Why…? Hmm…” he began in a wondering voice. “I suppose I like you the most because you’re the calmest, the nicest and the wisest out of all the girls.”

“Oh… That maybe trye, but I believe my body isn’t that well developed for my age if you compare it to Cantia’s body or Silvera’s body. Vena and the other are beautiful and more attractive looking than me.”

“Who the heck said you’re not beautiful or attractive?!” Lakshman suddenly exclaimed in an annoyed voice and surprised Emilia. “Believe me, Emilia. You’re the cutest out of all the girls and I love you for it! Besides, it’s the heart that sounds more than the face!”

Emilia did not say anything, but she smiled in the darkness of the room. She was happy to learn the fact that the man she loved likes her the most, even though she asked him out of curiosity than anything else. Surging with happiness, she turned and snuggled closer to him before placing her arm around him.

“You’re so simple, but that’s what I love the most about you,” she said and it made Lakshman chuckle.

After that, the two of them quickly fell into a comfortable sleep and they slept till morning.

However, they were awoken forcefully when the door leading to the room opened with a

bang. This caused Lakshman to quickly wake up in alarm to sit upright. He turned towards the door and saw Silvera standing there.

He quickly began to say, “Silvera! Hold on a second! I think you’re misunderstanding about—!”

Before he could say anything more, Silvera quickly said, “Lucky! Please come down stairs immediately! Someone strange is sitting in the living room!”

“Huh?” he asked in a distracted voice and that was when he noticed the panicked expression on her face. “What’s the matter, Silvera?”

“Please come downstairs!” she said and she walked forward to grab him by his hand.

Leaving Emilia rubbing her eyes sleepily, Silvera pulled Lakshman out of the room, down the stairs and into the living room. When he arrived, he saw the other girls standing near the door with apprehensive looks on their faces. They turned around and were relieved to see him walk in. He smiled at them before turning his attention towards the chair on the other side.

A man sat there as he leaned his back on the chair in a relaxed way with his eyes closed. The clothes the man was wearing were very strange compared to the simple pant and shirt that Lakshman and the girls wore. As Lakshman continued to look at him, he had a strange sensation run through his body. Something about the man sitting there with his eyes closed made Lakshman feel strange, but he could not explain why.

He walked forward and tentatively asked, “Um… Excuse me?”

The man did not respond and remained seated on the chair. The girls appeared to be tense because they were being affected by his mere presence in that room. Just then, Ondine got irritated at the fact that the man ignored Lakshman’s voice.

“Hey, you…!” she said angrily. “Stop ignoring us!”

“Ondine, calm down…” Lakshman said quickly.

“I can’t calm down!” Ondine said in an annoyed voice. “This guy suddenly appears in our living room and then proceeds to ignore us while he apparently sleeps! I can’t tolerate this!”

“Stop that, Ondine,” Venezuela said quickly, but Ondine did not pay any attention to what she said.

“I don’t care! He’s an intruder and intruders must be deal with punishment!” Ondine said and she pulled out her swords before leaping towards him. “Wake up, stupid idiot intruder!”

As she lunged at him, the man suddenly raised his hand and clenched his hands slightly. In an instant, Ondine’s eyes widened in shock and she landed back on the ground. Both of her swords hit the floor as her body began to struggle.

“Young miss… Acting recklessly is a bad thing,” the man said in a lazy voice.

The girls watched in shock as Ondine began to make painful noises as she struggled on the ground as her energy began to distort around her.

“Why you…!” Cantia began angrily and she quickly transformed into her cat humanoid form.

Before any of the girls could do anything, Lakshman extended his arms wide and got in their way.

“Stop it!” he shouted at the man desperately as he watched Ondine writhe on the floor.

The moment that he shouted, the man relaxed his hand and in that instant, Ondine stopped writhing. She lay there panting and was out of breath from the pain she had experienced moments before.

“Do not worry yourself, young man, for the girl is fine and safe,” the man said coolly as he sat up.

“Safe-nyaa?! You hurt her-nyaa!” Cantia shouted at him angrily with her hands ready to attack.

“That’s enough!” Lakshman shouted in a firm voice and he looked at the girls angrily. “No more.”

His wives were surprised and they lowered their weapon, but they eyed the man cautiously.

Lakshman turned back to face him. The man straightened up and finally opened his eyes, which surprised everyone in the room. Emilia finally came down the stairs and she arrived in the room to see the man. She was startled to see the man had golden eyes with two red curved shapes positioned on either side of the centre with four diamond shapes position on the up, bottom, left and right side of his eyes.

“W-Who are you?” she asked him nervously.

She did not know why, but his very presence within the room was causing her to feel unease.

This was a new and strange sensation she had never felt before and she was having difficulty explaining it herself. All she can tell was the man very presence was creating a lot of pressure.

Seeing their nervousness, he widened his eyes said, “Oh…! So sorry, but it seems I accidentally activated my pressure while I was asleep.” His yellow eyes glowed for a moment and once it vanished, the heavy pressure was suddenly gone. “Now, to answer the question of that young lady over there… You can say, you’re in the presence of a god…”

“A-A god?” Lakshman and his eyes widened in shock as he said, “Y-You don’t mean…!”

The man straightened up on his chair and smiled at them as he said, “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m known as the Mythological God of Energy, Engraut. I’m come to speak to you about your past and the future.”

Phoenix Rising Chapter 248 God Explanation

“God of Energy? Engraut?” Venezuela asked in a surprised voice.

Engraut nodded and said, “That’s right.”

“I don’t believe you-nyaa!” Cantia said angrily. “You hurt Ondine and now you call yourself a god-nyaa? You must’ve hit your head pretty hard by something solid-nyaa!”

Appearing to be surprised, Engraut said, “I’m sorry to hear that, but you are blaming me unnecessarily. I did not hurt the young Water Spirit, but she was attacking me at that time. So, I simply disturbed her energy to cause her some pain and stop her from attacking me.”

“Ugh… How did you do that?” Ondine asked wearily as she sat down on a chair.

To this, Engraut waved his finger and said, “I’m sorry, but I cannot reveal godly secrets to mere mortals.”

Ondine sighed and said, “Really… After all this, you’re going to say that weird line?”

“There is nothing weird about it because it’s a fact,” Engraut told her firmly. “What I used is a godly technique and if I were to explain it, I would be giving away the secrets of the gods.”

“Stop saying you’re a god-nyaa! I don’t believe it-nyaa!” Cantia said repeatedly.

“I don’t know… He’s pretty convincing with the way he speaks and that pressure we felt moments earlier,” Erza said nervously and Silvera nodded with an apprehensive look on her face.

“Nyaa! If he really is a god, let him prove it-nyaa!” Cantia said firmly. “We can’t believe every numbskull that calls himself a god!”

The girls looked at her and together, they said, “Huh?!”

Engraut was momentarily surprised by her words and he shook his head before sighing.

“Mortals… Always demanding one to prove themselves god,” he said in a weary voice. “Very well. I suppose you have the right to know whether I am truly a god or not.”

The girls turned to face him; some were wearing apprehensive expressions on their faces while others looked nervous. Cantia, on the other hand, smiled confidently as if she was prepared for an expected result. Lakshman was the only one among them that felt Engraut proving himself as god was a bad idea.

“Very well… So be it,” Engraut said as he got off the chair and rose to his feet.

For a moment, he had his eyes shut and remained standing without doing anything. Then, in a flash, his eyes opened and in that instant, an intense pressure filled the room. Wild energy began to surge from Engraut’s body and flowed everywhere within the room. It was a strange dark energy that was slightly different from the killing intent that usually creates this pressure.

His yellow eyes with red and orange shapes glowed and it gave him a menacing look as dark energy surged wildly around.

The girls widened their eyes from sensing the intense pressure coming from him and the tension suddenly rise into the air. Even Cantia’s eyes wide with fear and her mouth hung open in shock. None of them had ever sensed this power before in their lives and the intensity. All of them slowly raised their hands together and clapped them together in a sort of prayer.

For Lakshman, it was a different kind of feeling than what the girls felt. Unlike the kind of pressure that threatened to destroy them, he had a sense of Déjà vu as if he knew this pressure, but he could not remember exactly. However, he quickly looked around and saw the house beginning to crack under the intense pressure and it will not be long before the whole house came crashing down.

“God of Energy! Please…! Stop it!” he bellowed at the top of his voice.

Hearing his plea, Engraut deactivated his pressure and it slowly dissipated. The pressure was gone with the dark energy vanished into thin air with Engraut returning to look normal.

Everything began to settle down and Lakshman had a good look around to see the damage done. There were great large cracks inside the house and he saw the same kind of damage appear outside the room as well.

“Phew… Now, will you believe me that I truly am a god?” Engraut asked in an exasperated voice.

The girls, who had their hands together in prayer with wide eyes, slowly lowered themselves to the ground and knelt. It was the first time they had god in person and at knowing who he actually was made them bowed down deeply. He looked at them bowing towards him and a small smile appeared on his face.

“Good. You girls are humble to honour a god like me,” he said in a satisfied voice.

Lakshman, on the other hand, looked at Engraut through narrowed eyes. He did feel devotion surging with him, but this strange sense of familiarity caused him to now bow down before the God of Energy. Engraut looked towards him and blinked in surprise at the serious expression on his face. He smiled when he realised his godly pressure made Lakshman feel a sense of familiarity with him.

“So then... Shall we get started on talking Lakshman Reddy or should I call you Ashura Rangavardan?” Engraut asked him curiously.

Lakshman raised his eyebrows in surprise and he asked, “T-That name… How do you…?”

With a grinning face, Engruat said, “Well… I did say I came to speak to you about your past and the future.”

A few seconds later, the girls recovered and Lakshman asked Venezuela, Emilia and Erza to go around repairing the house. In the meantime, Ondine, Cantia, Tetra and Silvera remained with him as they took seats facing the God of Energy. The earlier malicious pressure was gone and Engraut was smiling easily at him, which surprised the girls a little bit. Emilia brought them a tray with glasses of water “Um… How did you enter the house?” Ondine asked curiously. “Because, I believe the door was locked last night.”

“Yes. It was locked, so I let myself in through the window,” Engraut said with a smiling face.

“Huh?” Tetra asked in a surprised voice. “Why did a god, such as yourself, come through the window like a burglar?”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t it have been easier to ring the Magic Bell attached to our front door-nyaa?”

Cantia asked curiously.

Engraut shook his head and said, “You’re fundamentally mistaken there, Sacred Spirit. I’m a god and because I am god, I do not require permission to let myself into a building. As a god, I can go anywhere I want at my leisure. However, there are certain things I refrain from doing such as entering a premise where the occupants are supposedly changing clothes.”

Lakshman, who had been drinking water, suddenly spewed water out of his mouth in shock.

After spluttering and receiving helpful pats on the back by the girls sitting around him, he looked at Engraut with a shocked expression on his face.

“You… You were a peeping tom?!” he exclaimed in a shocked voice.

Engraut quickly raised his hand and said, “Please… Before you unfairly accuse me of anything, let me tell you that I do not participate in such an activity. If I were to, my wife will certainly beat the hell out of me.”

“You’re wife? Gods have wives?” Silvera asked in an amazed voice. “I thought the Mythological Gods only lived in their domains and represent something to control.”

Engraut nodded and said, “We certainly do, but it was never recorded within your mythological records. The records kept by the ancients were destroyed a very long time ago.

Anyway… We, the male gods, do each have female gods as our wives, although some choose to remain bachelors throughout their existence.”

“Oh…” Silvera said in a wondering voice.

“Um…” Ondine began hesitantly. “Please don’t think I’m being rude, but do gods have babies?”

There was a pause in which all of them turned their heads to look at Ondine in surprise. Then, they turned to look at Engraut and wondered what his reply would be. To them, gods are divine beings with infinite life span and they are unreachable by the mortals that exist on the Physical Plane. However, this new knowledge of gods having wives brought that question onto Ondine’s curious mind.

He smiled at her and said, “No. The Creator, he who created all worlds, gods and life, allowed us to become couples with other gods or goddesses. However, there are still some gods that chose to lead a bachelor life for existence.”

“Oh… Is there a, you know, concept of deception like the stuff down here?” Ondine asked curiously.

Engraut looked surprised and he asked, “By deception, are you referring to failure of love and divorce?” When Ondine nodded, he shook his head lightly before saying, “No. We do not possess the concept of divorce because we truly wish to be with each other, unlike the mortals with your many mixture of feelings, emotions and desires.”

“Oh… You’re right I guess on that one,” Ondine said and the other girls nodded in agreement.

Lakshman looked at her for a moment before turning his attention to Engraut and asked, “Anyway, you said you came here to tell me about my past and the future. Does that mean you know my past and what might happen in the future?”

“I am aware of your past and as for the future, think of it as what I guess will happen,” Engraut said and Lakshman nodded in understanding.

“Then, please proceed,” Lakshman said eagerly.

“I will, but I wish for your wives to be present to hear this. You and they are family and in essence, it makes them and you very connected to each other.”

At his request, Silvera rose to her feet and she quickly hurried away. A minute later, she returned with Venezuela, Emilia and Erza with curious expressions on their faces. After they dragged chairs over and seated themselves around Lakshman, Engraut finally smiled before he began to speak.

“In the ancient times, when the magic was used by those specially gifted, you ruled that time as the first Phoenix Titan, Ashura Rangavardan. At that time, the ranks did not exist and people that carried the title of ‘Titan’ were considered those with power equalling the gods. You were the strongest at that time among all the mortals and with that power, you bravely or foolishly challenged the gods.

That was when you defeated Whamana, the God of Wisdom of that time. After his defeat, you proceeded to challenge the God of Justice, Sangrahan. Ultimately, Sangrahan defeated you, but he and the other gods were highly impressed and they granted you Divine Protection of all sorts that you have yet to unlock. It was also then that you received the blessing of reincarnation and after many cycles, you have finally returned.”

“I returned?” Lakshman asked and he looked surprised. “Why do you say that, God of Energy?

Aren’t all of my reincarnations me just grown up differently?”

“In essence yes, but they all lacked the kind of spirit that made you who you were as Ashura Rangavardan. However, this time the path you took was very similar to Ashura’s with the watchful guidance and protection from Whamana that existed within you.”

“By Whamana, do you mean the Decisive Player?”

“Decisive Player? Is that what he made you call him?” Engraut asked before chuckling. “That guy really doesn’t deserve to be called the Decisive Player because of who he was originally.”

“What do you mean?”

“Being the God of Wisdom, he lacks basic human emotions and feelings the other gods are able to experience. Sadly, the current God of Wisdom is also the same, but Whamana got

lucky when Ashura took his spirit into himself when the God of Destruction, Druesion, destroyed his godly body. Ever since then, Whamana received the feelings and emotions that Ashura shared with him and soon acquired the same kind of principles as Ashura himself.

After his death, Whamana held onto those feelings and emotions as his spirit continued to go through the cycle of reincarnation. However, his attempts at making the Phoenix Titans of each cycle similar to Ashura failed because of a dark presence that Ashura was cursed with because of a battle against a dark evil of the past. That curse developed a conscious of its own and soon began taking control over the Phoenix Titan, feeding them with great negative thoughts and ambitions.”

“That’s the Voice of the Phoenix,” Lakshman said and the girls looked at him in surprise. “I realised that during my two years of training to supress that dark evil lurking within me.

However, the Voice of the Phoenix was misdirected because it technically meant the Decisive Player. I’m now calling it the Voice of the Phoenix because I don’t want to link that name with someone like Decisive Player, who sacrificed his life to save me.”

Engraut nodded and said, “That’s right and 8000 years ago, a great racial war started because of that great evil lurking within you. It used the Phoenix Titan of that time to start a war by deceiving each side and it ultimately led them to fight each other. However, Whamana managed to use forceful means to supress this… uh… Voice of the Phoenix and brought the Phoenix Titan back to his senses.

After that, I think you should know what happened with him stopping the war by sacrificing his life to summon the World Guardians.”

“Yeah! The Phoenix Titan gallantly sacrificed his life to summon the World Guardians to put an end to the racial war. Due to his sacrifice, the people commemorated their foolishness to fight and thus, the era of the Phoenix began,” Venezuela said before frowning and asking, “Are you suggesting the Phoenix Titan 8000 years ago was a bad person regardless of his sacrifice to bring peace?”

Engraut shook his head and as he gestured Lakshman, he said, “I’m not saying that at all. I am merely pointing out how dangerous that Voice of the Phoenix was as it corrupted the Phoenix Titans after Ashura’s death. However, the Decisive Player pleaded with the God of Life to wait 8000 years to let the accumulated darkness from committing evil acts slowly dissipate. Finally, after being reborn, he completely suppressed the Voice of the Phoenix and allowed you to be raised like a sheltered kid to keep you innocent.”

“Huh?!” Lakshman exclaimed in shock as the girls widened their eyes in astonishment. “How do you know that?”

“Oh… From time to time, I dropped in while you were asleep to converse with that guy,” Engraut said before smiling widely at him.

Lakshman looked startled by those words and he slowly said, “He never told me…”

“Ah, young man… He’s been keeping you in the dark for a long time!” Engraut said with a shake of his head. He sudden looked at him intently and asked, “By the way, have you told your wives about the Destiny Queens?”

“Uh…!” Lakshman replied shortly with an uncomfortable expression on his face.

“The Destiny what?” Tetra asked while looking puzzled.

“Destiny Queens,” Engraut said clearly. “There are a total of nine Destiny Queens, but so far only seven have been gathered.”

“Seven?” Tetra and the girls looked at each other with a surprised expression on his face.

“Lakshman Reddy needs the Destiny Queens to be strong,” Engraut said with a nod of his head. “All seven are in this room married to him for life.”

“Hold on…” Venezuela began slowly in a quiet voice. “Does that mean… You married us to be strong rather than because you loved us...?”

“Huh?!” Lakshman exclaimed in a shocked voice as the girls turned to glare at him. “Wait!

You’re misunderstanding!”

“Destiny Queens, please clam down. He indeed loved you and it had nothing do with the fact that all of you were Destiny Queens,” Engraut said with a heavy sigh and surprised the girls.

“To be honest, Lakshman is destiny to marry only the nine Destiny Queens of this century. The Goddess of Fate played her cards well in getting all the Destiny Queens meet each other through fated meetings.”

“Of this century?” Erza asked with a puzzled expression on her face. “Are you saying we’re the only Destiny Queens to exist in all the cycles of reincarnation that Lucky’s spirit went through?”

“That’s right,” Engraut said and he nodded in agreement before smiling at them. “It’s not just Lakshman, but while you stay together, the stronger each of you are. I don’t know how strong that is compared to powerful opponents, but strong enough to defend yourselves and fight for the right cause.”

“Oh…” the girls all said at the same time and they turned to look sadly at Lakshman.

“Why didn’t you tell us this yourself?” Venezuela asked while looking upset. “Did a god really have to come all this way to tell us this?”

“Um…” Lakshman began hesitantly.

“Please don’t blame him because he did not quite understand how to explain it to you, the girls whom he loves so dearly,” Engraut said in a reasonable voice. “He clearly didn’t want you to misunderstand his intention of marrying you with an alternative reason with self-interest.”

“That’s right!” Lakshman said quickly as he followed up after Engraut’s words. “I wanted to tell you several times, but I was worried what you might think after being told. I mean, I’m glad to love you all and am really happy to be destined to be married to, but I was nervous how you would react at knowing about the Nine Destiny Queens.”

“We understand,” the girls all said at the same time and they moved over to hug him from all around.

“You should’ve had more trust in us,” Venezuela said sternly.

“We would’ve believed you!” Ondine and Cantia said in unison. “We love you after all!”

“As I thought! We were destined!” Erza said happily with Emilia nodding silently in agreement.

“Regardless of that, I’m your weapon and I will fight alongside you,” Tetra said with Silvera nodding in agreement with a grin on her face.

“T-Thanks girls…” Lakshman said slowly as the girls squished together to hug him.

Watching this romantic scene unfold before him, the God of Energy said in exasperation, “Um… Would you please refrain from being lovey-dovey in front of a god?”

“Oh…! Sorry!” Lakshman said quickly and the girls broke away.

“It’s fine, but still… Please do remember that I am a god, no matter how friendly I may speak with you,” Engraut said drily as the girls returned to their seats. “Anyway, that’s all that I can tell you about your past that I learnt from Whamana. Really… He left such an important task to me before disappearing for good.”

“He was pretty cool though,” Lakshman said with happy smile. “He did help me through complicated training to grasp the concepts like Flight. That was really difficult to master. That reminds me…” He turned to the girls and asked, “Have you learnt Flight yet?”

“Of course!” they all said at the same time in a loud voice, startling both him and the God of Energy.

“Okay, okay… I was just asking…” Lakshman said with a chuckle. “So, what is it about the future you want to tell me, Engraut?”

“Yes, but before that, I want to highlight the key difference between you and Ashura Rangavardan,” Engraut said with a serious expression on his face.

“A key difference between the past me and the current me?” Lakshman asked curiously.

“Yes. It’s how you deal with your evil people. You show needless compassion towards your enemies and often offer them chances at redemption, but Ashura kills his enemies without the slightest bit of mercy. Compared to him, your actions are quite foolish.”

The girls were surprised by his harshness; Ondine, Cantia and Silvera got angry at calling him a fool. Lakshman narrowed his eyes slightly and said nothing for a moment as he intently looked at him.

“If it makes me a fool to show compassion to my enemies, then I’m fine with it,” he said in a firm voice, surprising Engraut in the process. “An assassin kills his enemies without the slightest sign of mercy or regret. I’m a hero and I am to be a hero that offers his enemies the chance at changing themselves for the good. It just makes that much of a big difference between a hero and an assassin. However, I will deliver the ultimate blow to them if they stretch my compassion. So yeah… The last time I checked, I’m a hero and not an assassin.”

For a moment, there was silence within the room as the girls nervously looked between Engraut and Lakshman. The God of Energy and Phoenix Titan stared at each other intently without saying anything for a few seconds. Finally, Engraut sighed and formed a small smile on his face.

“I’m glad to see you’re firm in your stance about your way of fighting,” he said and he sounded impressed. Then, he became serious and said, “As for the future… Make sure to be on guard…

You may never know when you’ll be attacked.”

Lakshman blinked in surprise before he said, “Huh? That’s it?”

Engraut shrugged his shoulders and said, “You and the Destiny Queens must stay close.

Otherwise, your increasing enemies will take an opportunity to destroy you all. That was how Ashura lost his Destiny Queens of his time and this led to his eventual defeat.”

“I see,” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding. “So, the Destiny Queens of the current century are the reincarnations of the ones that Ashura lost. Now it makes sense, why I have these fragments memories of seeing someone surrounded by the women that surround me right now. Now, it makes perfect sense.”

“Yes and you girls, I know it might be annoying, but he will have to meet two more Destiny Queens. Which means, he will also marry them whenever their fated meeting occurs.”

“Yes, we understand,” Venezuela said and the other girls nodded. “There’s already seven of us, so I don’t see the problem of adding two more to the group.”

“You know… With nine women and one man, we’re a perfect team of ten!” Ondine said in a bright voice.

“Mmm… Is that why there are only Nine Destiny Queens and One Phoenix Titan?” Venezuela asked the God of Energy as she looked intently at him.

“As to that, I don’t really know,” Engraut said honestly. “I really don’t know much about what the term ‘Destiny Queen’ implies by the Nine Destiny Queens and why you are specifically chosen, reincarnating after a very long time. Even Whamana, with his extensive knowledge and wisdom from when he was a god, did not know anything about it or the actual reason behind the terms given to you chosen ladies.”

“Well…! It makes us special-nyaa!” Cantia said excitedly. “The most special women in the entire world-nyaa!”

“Maybe… Maybe…” Engraut said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Only time will tell and speaking of time, it’s best I go back. I’m sure my wife will be waiting for my arrival back at home.”

“Are there homes up in the Higher Plane?” Emilia asked quickly, but Engraut simply waved his finger with a small smile on his face.

“Unfortunately, that’s part of the godly secrets that mortals should not really know about,” he replied with a smiling face. He rose to his feet and once everyone else did, he nodded at them and said, “Now then, make sure to take good care of yourselves and have wonderful babies soon.”

“Huh?!” they all exclaimed in surprised voices.

“I think it’s a bit early for that…” Lakshman said and he looked embarrassed.

“Then, get on with it! You’re a man, right? We god’s don’t have that opportunity to give offspring’s, but you’re allowed to by the power of The Creator,” Engraut said and he suddenly looked strangely frustrated.

“You’ve been saying quite a bit about this The Creator-nyaa. Who is he-nyaa?” Cantia asked curiously. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that god other than the Mythological Gods-nyaa.”

“I believe he is the ultimate god of existence,” Lakshman said in a slightly uncertain voice, “I doubt knowledge about his existence is recorded within the records that the Phoenix Clan or the Dragon Clan possess.”

“We don’t know yet of The Creator’s true gender, but they have infinite amount of power in creating this world and all its properties. The reason we even exist is because of that being, but we really don’t know much about who they are or where they came from.”

After explaining to them about The Creator, he sighed and looked up at the roof. The girls did not understand why he looked blankly at the roof of that room, but Lakshman realised. He sensed the strange powers the God of Energy was using to connect to something far, far away from their reach.

“Anyway, I must leave. You remember everything I’ve said and lead your lives onwards to a future that hasn’t been written,” Engraut said and he winked at them.

“Thank you for coming, like a thief, into our house to tell us something important!” Lakshman said and together, he and the girls bowed down to thank the God of Energy.

He smiled and said, “May the forces be your guidance to lead peaceful lives.”

“Thank you,” Erza said gratefully for his blessing and he smiled.

“God of Energy… Is it possible to count of your help in the near future?” Lakshman asked curiously.

Engraut looked at him with raised eyebrows and she slowly shook his head.

“I’m afraid you shouldn’t expect that,” he said in a quiet voice. “While I did inform you about your past and what will have to be done in the future, I’m still a god. Like all the gods, I’m a bystander as I watch over the actions and behaviour of the people in the Physical Plane.

However, remember this: Gods won’t help you if you don’t make your efforts before seeking help.”

“Well then… After my full efforts have been put in, will you help out?”

Engraut chuckled and said, “I’m just an observer or a messenger if you look at it that way.

However, the other gods will most likely help you out, but only if you are willing to spend your time with them. There are an interesting bunch, even among us gods and I prefer to stay in my domain than meet with them. So, if you want help from them sometime later, you’ll have to put up with their character.”

Lakshman laughed and said, “I can’t believe a god is saying something rude about other gods.”

“Quite,” Engraut replied with a smile on his face. “Now, I best be going before my wife wonders where I disappeared to and just for your information, her name is Jena, the Goddess of Love. Make sure to remember that name if you ever meet her or she meets you in the future!”

“Yes! We will!” Lakshman said and the girls nodded beside him.

He waved farewell at them one last time before beginning to glow. A few seconds later, he exploded into light particles and these lights soon took on the forms of energy butterflies.

They glowed in blue colours as they slowly flapped their wings and magically flew out of the room through the open window. Lakshman and his wives watched the butterflies exit through the window feeling a sense of determination in the air and in their hearts.

Once they were gone, Lakshman and his wives sat back down before letting out sighs of relief.

In the initial contact with the God of Energy, but they eventually relaxed after realising he was a very nice and sincere god However, this still left them “So… His wife is the Goddess of Love, Jena,” Erza said before sighing heavily. “No wonder he seems full of energy.”

“No. Even before that, he’d be full of energy being the God of Energy,” Venezuela told her.

“Yeah, but this just proves we hardly know anything about the gods. We are mortal beings and with the flow of time, we slowly grow and eventually die out. They, however are the divine beings with infinite life spans and exist in a dimension that out of our reach.”

“We’ve really learnt a lot today,” Emilia said with a small smile on her face. “We know a little more about Lucky’s past, us being these Destiny Queens with two more yet to be married and

a little more about the gods than we already knew. So, I guess we didn’t waste today’s time at all in his company.”

“Still-nyaa…! I wish he uses the front door next time-nyaa!” Cantia said indignantly. “Going into someone’s house without being welcomed in-nyaa. He’s a rude god-nyaa.”

Lakshman laughed and as he patted her head, he said, “I think he lacks that basic common sense, Cantia. He’s a god and our rules don’t necessarily apply to the gods that live who knows where.”

“Even so, he is a very rude god,” Ondine said with a frown on her face. “He could’ve told me to stop instead of disturbing my energy to hurt me with the way he did.”

“I think he had no choice since you wouldn’t have listened to him when he tells you to stop with the way you recklessly attacked him,” Lakshman said with a shrewd expression on his face.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Ondine said indignantly as she stared at him with an annoyed expression on her face.

He chuckled and he looked up at the ceiling. Even with the past he was told about, there was much he did not know. The memories he currents has in possession are just fragments of one big jigsaw puzzle. However, he was not interested in putting the pieces of his past memories together and instead, his desire now was to focus on the present.

“He’s informed me about my past and told me about an uncertain future,” Lakshman said and he raised his hand into the air. Then, he clenched it tightly and said, “Regardless, I will still keep moving forward like I always have because I am the Phoenix Titan!”

“Yeah!” the girls said together and they also raised their clenched fists into the air to mimic him.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 249 Abolishment of Slavery

Two days later, Lakshman was in the king’s chamber and was seated behind his desk. He was speedily writing down on the document and passed them aside to be stacked. Sometimes, he received documents that needed for him to thoroughly check through the sum values and other times he received documents that needed his signatures for various activities.

His staff were working harder than before, ever since he made it public notice. The previous day, he informed the public about his decision to abolish the slavery system and let people live their lives freely. At first, the kingdom’s people were startled as they were not sure if it truly will be accepted with the Slavemancer being who he was. That was when Lakshman informed them that he has become the enemy of the Slavemancer.

At this, the crowd panicked and they became really worried. They started yelling at him for making enemies out of the Slavemancer because they knew, through past events, of how dangerous it was to make that man angry. Lakshman, however made it very clear to the people that it was ‘him’ the Slavemancer will attack, not them.

“In that man’s eyes, I’m his enemy and not this kingdom!” he told them in a firm voice. “You have nothing to fear because it is me he is after! He will most probably attack me and that’s fine! I’m more than ready to handle whatever he might throw in my way!”

The people were amazed at how confident their king sounded because it was the first. The previous king, Bernard IV Sargold, feared the power of the Slavemancer and became unable to do anything about it. Yet, their current showed no fear or doubt in his words, which were firm and strong. Unlike earlier, they began clapping and cheered his name, to which he simply smiled.

The next day, which was that morning, the kingdom received a threatening letter from Slavemancer. Normally, letters would usually take more than a month to reach the receiver, but these ones were delivered by the fast moving members of the Enslavement Department.

The contents of the letter carried a threatening message from the Slavemancer and it was apparently sent to all the other three kingdoms as well.

“Any kingdom that dares to lend their assistance to the Phoenix Titan and the king of Floria Kingdom, will face my wrath! I will spare all of you if you immediately cut your ties with that man and never dare to mention his name anywhere ever again!”

Reading those words, made Lakshman scowl furiously. He knew something like this might happen, but it was annoying when he involves someone else into this. Lakshman wanted to seek their help after he made the final arrangements to the laws that they are modifying. That letter spurred energy into him and together with the officers, they began to quickly work on the arrangements.

“We need to hurry before he does something that might really turn the other kingdoms against us!” one of the officers said anxiously.

“We need! Stop reminding us of it!” another one replied irritably.

Lakshman was working his hardest to do his part for the kingdom, but the tension in the room felt draining. Due to the threating message, the officers were worrying themselves needlessly while trying their best to get the laws rearranged.

Just when he was unable to take anymore, the doors opened and the drill master walked in with a serious expression on his face. He walked up to Lakshman’s desk and stood at attention before speaking to him.

“Sir! As per your instructions, I’ve gone around the places around the kingdom and gathered the soldiers. However, I was only able to gather those that showed interest in what you have to say while most chose to not return.”

“I see,” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding. “Good job! At least, you were able to bring some to see me.”

“It is part of my duty, sir!” the drill master replied firmly.

Lakshman nodded at him and he rose to his feet. As he walked around the desk, he addressed the people furiously working on the documents in front of them.

“People! We’re really close to reaching out goal! Just a little more effort and it’ll be finally done! Keep it up!” he told them in an encouraging voice.

“Yes, your majesty!” they all replied at similar times.

Nodding at them in satisfaction, he left the room with the drill master. His name is actually Anthony Midragus, a soldier that once served as a guard for the nobles. Once Venezuela took over, she hired him and tested his skills because she wanted to train the newly recruited soldiers. Once she became busy with her studies, Felix took over and he granted Anthony the task of drilling the new soldiers with the fighting skills they need in battle.

“How goes the training of the new recruits?” Lakshman asked casually while Anthony led the way.

“I haven’t returned to the castle in over four days, your majesty. I had been doing my best to peruse the soldiers to come and listen to you,” Anthony said apologetically.

“Never mind. It seemed the task I gave you was more troublesome than I expected,” Lakshman said coolly.

“It indeed had been, but now there are people here to listen to your great words. By the way, your majesty… Did the Sword Titan come with you after returning from the party?”

“Yes. He said he had originally wanted to come and settle down here, so I brought him along.

Why? Is there a problem?”

“No! None at all! It’s just that I saw him training the soldiers on my way to see you.”

“Huh? Training the soldiers?” Lakshman asked and he looked surprised.

Anthony nodded and said, “That’s right. Apparently, he was demonstrating his skills by destroying those five magical stone walls you created for their training. I also saw him giving tips on handling the sword in a more appropriate way.”

“Mmm! Sounds like I’ve got to go and see how he’s doing,” Lakshman said in a curious voice before smiling.

After walking for a few minutes, they arrived at the courtyard where the soldiers usually trained. Currently, it was lunch time and the soldiers were away getting meals at the lunch hall. Standing around in the courtyard were a lot of people that surprised Lakshman. If he had to count, he guessed there were roughly a hundred people within that space available. He was surprised just from the number because he believed there would be at least, fifty or so people, but a hundred really surprised him.

The people were not facing the front, so they missed him and Anthony arrive. They were standing around in groups and quietly muttered to one another with gloomy expressions on their faces. The clothes they wore were rough that needed replacements for better clothes.

From the overall look at the group, Lakshman knew those people were very poor.

Anthony walked forward and in a loud voice, he said, “Alright! His majesty, Lakshman Reddy has arrived! Now, show him your utmost respect and greet him courteously.”

“Ouch!” Lakshman thought as he rubbed his eyes in surprise. “I didn’t expect he could shout this loud without any amplification magic on his throat.”

The people turned around and slowly walked forward, their expressions changing. Instead of gloomy, they were now looking curious as Anthony stepped aside to let Lakshman appear. He stood at a raised location where the people would get a good look at him.

“Hello, my fellow ex-soldiers,” Lakshman began in a cool voice. “How are you today?”

There was no reply, except the stares they gave him. Then, a few slowly mumbled in reply without actually saying anything out loud. Lakshman inwardly sighed as he realised how serious the situation was. He did not like it, but he has to get a grip on the weaklings standing before him.

“Now, the reason I called all of you here is because I am giving you a chance to return to the army!” he said firmly.

At that, there was a sudden reaction and they quickly looked at him in surprise. Their eyes widened in surprise at how quickly he got right down to the point, which they did not expect.

They were used to hearing their leaders scold them for their misbehaviour and that was what they expected for their desertion of the kingdom’s army.

“For one thing, I’m feeling depressed looking at how sad your appearance is! Seriously! You left the kingdom’s army to become the losers of society? Is that the kind of achievement you wanted?” he demanded them as he voice slowly rose with his strong feelings.

The people lowered their heads unhappily and he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“Don’t you dare let your heads drop in front of me? It won’t hide your mistakes nor the truth of what you’ve become after you left! I don’t know what the other kings might’ve done in my place, but I’m offering you a chance to get your jobs back!”

“R-Really?” one man at the front asked nervously.

Lakshman looked at him and smiled before saying, “I have no reason to lie and no need to in the first place. I want you, your kingdom needs you! It is our duty as responsible people to take up arms and defend our homes! Would you really be happy to know some random enemy marches in here while you were simply focusing on trying to live your lives freely the way you want?”

The soldiers looked surprised at his words and some even shook their heads.

“No! You certainly wouldn’t because cowardice is not part of who we are! For centuries, armies before us fought their utmost so that their future, that is us, will spend our time peacefully. However, such a thought is nothing, but a dream because it will never happen so long as people keep fighting for the wrong cause!”

“You are also the same!” he thundered and shocked the people into widening their eyes. “I’m ashamed of all of you for deserting the army! I heard that most of you feared for your lives and left the army after the war two years ago! Well, that’s fine an all, but what will happen after that? What will you do when an army charges directly at you? Will you flee? Where will you flee and for how long can you escape?

You can run, but you can never hide. This world is too small and you don’t possess the skills to live like that! What then? Give up your lives, surrender to the enemy and become their useless slaves of war? The very sound of that term makes my blood boil with anger! When I, a powerful mighty warrior, gets angry from such thoughts, how can you soldiers accept it?!”

The people were looking uncertain because they did not know what to say. When they left the army, they were filled with fear at seeing how many of their comrades perished. This fear caused them to quit the army and return to their homes, but they soon found out how sad that decision was. They each had a family to feed and their current ability with the sword would only rank them at the Advanced level. They can hurt for monsters in a Labyrinth and collect the money, but it was not enough to sustain an entire family.

“I am aware of the fact that your families worry endless whether their loved ones will return or not,” Lakshman said in a soothing voice. “I am aware of the pain they experience after learning the passing of their loved ones and the torment they go through to keep themselves together. In the process, their children get affected by the neglect and that eventually becomes a disease that will end up taking their lives!”

“That’s why! Instead of running away from danger, you become strong to face it like a true warrior!” Lakshman said in a powerful voice. “Take for example, the Sword Titan, Dominic Rutherford! Currently, he’s the 9th ranked of the Nine Pillars of Power and is exceptionally skills with all types of weapons, but did you know that he was orphaned at the age of seven, his parents died and left him alone!

Since then, he was raised at the orphanage like any of the children that either lost their parents or were abandoned by them. Unlike the rest of the children that did their best to stay happy, he focused on getting stronger to never face the same kind of death like his parents!

His attitude to become strong eventually caught the attention of the previous Sword Titan, Jagan Bredrock and under him, he trained to master all types of weapons to truly become the powerful Sword Titan that he is now.

He lacks magic skills greatly to the point that he can’t even use a simple healing spell. Yet, he is capable of sensing magic around him and react instantly! How can he do that when he’s just a normal human like the rest of you? Please don’t compare him to me because I’m not pure human because I also possess Phoenix Blood for I am Phoenix Titan! My title itself should be a big give away of that fact!”

The listening crowd of people were surprised at those words as they listened intently to him speak.

“When such a normal person trained his hardest to reach what he is right now, can’t you do the same?” Lakshman asked them finally. “He didn’t want to die in an accident like his parents and that pushed him to be an exceptional weapons master by the time he was thirteen! After receiving training from the past Sword Titan, he grew to a level that he’s in a league of his own! If there’s match between him and me without the use of magic and pure weapons based, I doubt I can win easily because he is a powerful opponent who can hold his own against both weapons, magic and energy skills.”

“That’s right!” Anthony chipped in to add in a word of support. “Earlier, while I was on my way to inform his majesty of our arrival, I witnessed the Sword Titan right where you were standing. Those five stone walls behind you were the ones his majesty created for training the soldiers to become stronger, which are infused with an emperor ranked magic barrier that makes it difficult to cut through!”

Lakshman looked surprised and he thought, “What? Emperor? What I cast is just a King ranked barrier spell called Force Wall.”

He wished he could tell that to Anthony, but he did not find a way to doing it without breaking his concentration. He noticed the people listening intently and realised any chance of using Telepathy to speak to him telepathically would distract him and cause suspicion to form in their minds. He reluctantly sighed as he continued listening to what Anthony had to say.

“The Sword Titan, using an ordinary sword, easily cut through it very easily!” Anthony said and the people looked amazed. “With just an ordinary sword, he managed to cut those stone walls and thus far, only a few of the soldiers had managed to cut through two of them. So imagine, how strong you would be if you got as strong as him?”

“Exactly!” Lakshman said as he decided it was time for him to land the finishing blow.

“Previously, you lacked the skills necessary to put up might of a fight, but that’s not what we’re going to do this time! I have conscripted the Scientific King, Wolfenstine to develop a new type of armour called Titanium Armour, which is the combination of a Phoenix Armour and a Dragon Armour combined!”

“Ah!” said the many voices in surprise as they were taken aback from learning of this.

“They are currently in development and very soon, we will have them ready! The next time an enemy kingdom or race decides to take its chance in invading us, we will show them that we’re not a push over!” Lakshman said in a powerful voice. Then, he raised his fist up and punched the air above him as he said, “We are Floria Kingdom’s mightiest army and anyone who dares to mess with us will suffer the consequences for their foolishness!

In return, I will make sure to raise your salary and give you bonus for extra hours that you put into protecting this kingdom. Additional to that, your children will also receive education at Astral Academy, which will soon no longer be inclusive to middle class only. I believe that everyone deserves to study and grow up to be something else while leaving us to do the battles for them!”

His voice echoed around the silent courtyard as the men looked on with wide eyes at Lakshman. He let his arm drop down and stared at each of them with a serious expression on his face. The firmness in his voice and the determination he exhibited penetrated through the cloud of doubt in the soldiers and they felt foolish for ever deciding to leave the army in the first place. Without their regular salaries, they had trouble sustaining their families.

“So!” Lakshman began in a firm voice. “Who decides they will join and protect this kingdom and who won’t? If you are unwilling to protect this kingdom and are scared for your life, then leave and never show me your face ever again! I’m not calling your cowards, but I’m not going to treat you as proud warriors either!”

For a moment, there was silence when, one brave man stepped forward from the front and said, “Sir! I will re-join the army!”

Another man stepped forward and said loudly, “I’ll join you, sir!”

“Me too!”

“Same here!”

Very soon, all the people standing there began to echo with the same “I’ll join” message loudly. Lakshman looked around at them and grinned in satisfaction. Truth be told, he was worried that they will demand an increase in their salary and such than what he intended on increasing, but his fears were unneeded. These people were grateful for him to care for them to the point he was going to give them an advantage over everyone else.

“Now, one last thing!” Lakshman said loudly over their excited voices and they quickly fell silent. “I want all of you to fight without dying! Don’t fight for the glory, but fight to survive! If

ever we go into war, I want to see that every one of you alive when it’s over! I won’t surrender to enemies, but I care for your safety at the same time! I will only send you out when I alone am not enough. Pass on what I said today to your comrades that sent you here to test because I’ll say the same thing to them.”

“Uh…!” one of them said as he was startled by what he just heard.

He was not the only one as everyone looked surprised by him suspecting them. They did not know that he had been using Elemental Sense to detect how they were reacting to everything he said to them. At his sudden question, he quickly understood these hundred were simply sent here by the rest to test if he was a better leader than their previous king. Lakshman recognised the fact that they liked Bernard IV Sargold very much as a king they wished to serve and die for, making them test Lakshman.

“You’re mistaken, your majesty!”

“Yes! We’re not testing you!”

“There’s no need to test someone as mighty as you!”

“You’re the Phoenix Titan!”

“You stand for resurrection and rising—!”

“Freedom and justice, idiot!”

“Oh… My bad!”

Lakshman could not believe what he just heard and he burst out laughing, surprising them.

After that, Lakshman bid them farewell and let Anthony handle the rest while he returned to the king’s chamber, feeling very accomplished. It was indeed a pain that they received that threatening letter that day, but from his success in relaying to the people of his trustworthiness made him feel really happy.

“A king is someone who is born from the hearts of people, not from the calculations of manipulations,” he thought to himself as he grinned as he joyfully returned to the king’s chamber.

A week later, notices have been hung or attached on buildings front for people to see and read. The contents of the notice was the government, by the order of the king, has decreed the permanent abolishment of the slavery within Floria Kingdom. While that was going on, the soldiers of the kingdom visited the Slave Market to free all the slaves white and arresting

anyone that tried to stop them. Along with freeing the slaves, the notice included a small detail about the king offering 1000 gold to each of the slaves to start afresh.

When Felix heard the amount, his mind exploded in shock.

“You’re going to give away 1000 gold per slave?!” he exclaimed in shock upon knowing about it. He began calculating out loud by saying, “Then, if there are over 40 slaves in a Slave Market, then that’s… that’s… well over 40,000!!!”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Lakshman said with a smile on his face.

“Right and how are you planning on paying them that much?” Felix demanded as he looked seriously at him. “You’re not seriously thinking the kingdom has enough budget to spare over 40,000 gold, are you?”

“I never had such an idea,” Lakshman said clearly. “I’m giving them that money from what I saved.”

“You’re doing what?” Felix asked in disbelief. “From your own money? Why?” Lakshman shrugged his shoulders and said, “It’s the least I can do for them for all the pain they’ve endured thus far.”

“Oh… That’s good you’re doing that, but remember that you have a family of seven to feed as well,” Felix told him in a worried voice. “In fact, do your wives know you’re doing this?”

Lakshman nodded and said, “They do. I told them last week and they happily agreed.”

“Oh. Then, I’ve got no complaints,” Felix said with a satisfying nod.

Lakshman made a small smile on his face as he thought, “It’s true that I’m giving that money away to them because I feel sorry for them, but it’s also because I want to cleanse myself for all the crimes I committed in my past lives.”

On the 11th of Beitec of the year 8099 PX, slavery was officially abolished. On that day, all those arrested for resisting against the law were sent to prison. The slaves were rescued from the Slave Markey and the doctors used their healing magic to make them recover, but they knew it will take a long time before they fully recover from being slaves.

On the 15th of Beitec of the year 8099 PX, the slaves were brought near a pavilion near the castle so the king could address them before handing over the money and letting them go.

Lakshman wanted to have a personal talk with all of them before he freed them from the chains that enslaved them.

It was before afternoon when Lakshman made his appearance at the head of the front of the pavilion. At first, he was startled to find all slaves sitting on the ground while looking really nervous. He looked around at the pavilion and saw the chairs stacked neatly at the sides as if they were not touched.

“Damn the nobles…!” he thought angrily and made a mental note to address the nobles after this.

He extended his hand towards the people and said, “Summoning Chairs.”

In an instant, bright balls of light began flying away from the palm of his hand. They flew towards where each of the person sitting on the ground and hit them in the face. For a moment, all of their bodies began glowing brightly and this caused them to cry out in shock.

The next moment, there was a puff of smoke and when it cleared, all of them appeared to be sitting on puffy comfortable chairs. The watching guards were stunned and this included the people themselves to suddenly find themselves seated on really comfortable chairs.

“Sir! Why are you using your magic to give these slaves such chairs?” a guard near him asked with a puzzled expression on his face.

Lakshman turned to look at him coldly before he said, “They are no longer slaves. They are as free as you and me now. Show them some respect!”

“Ah!” the soldier said and he realised the blunder he made. “My apologies! Please forgive me for my mistake, your majesty!”

“It’s fine, but don’t dare call them slaves again,” Lakshman said in a fearsome tone and the guard bowed deeply before retreating.

Lakshman turned and stepped at the centre of the stage before using amplification magic to speak to them.

“Welcome, my dear guests of today! It is an honour for me to be with you here on such a beautiful day!” he said cheerfully.

The people were slightly taken aback at suddenly hearing his voice and they turned to face the front. Many of them widened their eyes in shock at suddenly realising they were looking straight at the king of this kingdom. Some quickly averted their eyes or hid them with their hands. Lakshman sighed heavily and decided he has to be rough to get them focused on him.

He took a deep breath and thundered, “I want all of you to open your eyes and focus on me!

This is an order!”

In shock, the people snapped their eyes open and looked at him in shock. Many were desperate to get away from there due to their fear and respect of being in the presence of such a powerful person. He sighed again before smiling at them once more.

He raised his hand and said, “Transcendence.”

In an instant, a barrier was erected around the pavilion and affected everyone inside it.

Transcendence is an Emperor ranked Barrier Magic Spell that calms the minds and bodies of all those that it affects. The people all seated on comfortable chairs began to relax and calm down, their nervousness going away in a matter of seconds. They were all looking very pleased from the small smiles on their faces as they turned to focus on him once again.

He smiled and said, “Now that you’ve calmed down, I’m happy to tell you that from now on, you are no longer slaves of Floria Kingdom. I know it has been a tough life living as slaves and feeding on the small scripts of food those slavery people fed you. It’s also been very tough for you to give your lives away to slavery because of your own person reasons, but now that isn’t the case anymore. You are now as free as the rest of us.”

The people looked surprised and some of them began to slowly smile from knowing they were no longer slaves. Lakshman saw the smiles slowly forming on their face and he nodded on his next course of action.

“On behalf the powerless people that watched, enjoyed and the powerless that couldn’t do anything, I am truly sorry from the bottom of my heart! Please… Find it in your heart to forgive us for our arrogance of taking advantage of you!”

With that, Lakshman bowed deeply and he was not alone. Felix, Venezuela and several officials, including all the guards standing around, all bowed their heads down deeply in apology. The people looked around in shock at seeing so many people bowing their heads down to them. Only recently they were slaves, so they were taken by surprise at this show of remorse and repentance.

Lakshman raised his head and straightened up, followed by everyone who had bowed.

“Of course, freedom doesn’t come without a price. I do have a condition for setting you free,” Lakshman said and the people suddenly became nervous. He breathed a sigh before firmly saying, “I want you to follow the rules of society, but above all, make sure you don’t harm others with your newly given freedom.”

The people blinked in surprise at his words and they slowly turned to look at each other before turning back to face the front.

“I’m sure some of you want revenge on certain people, but I don’t want you to do that! I want you to start afresh with this freedom we are giving you and lead your lives peacefully from now on. That is my one and only condition for all of you to follow along with following the rules of society. However…! If I ever discover any of you broke that condition to do as you please, I won’t show mercy as I punish you personally!”

With the fearsome voice Lakshman spoke in, the people gulped nervously and nodded back at him. He smiled a moment later and they inwardly relieved, which he sensed with a little assistance from his Elemental Sense.

“Other than that, I bid you good day and wish you all the best for the future,” Lakshman said and he waved goodbye and he deactivated the Transcendent magic spell.

With the finality and reality catching up to them with the deactivation of that spell, most of them burst into tears. Many of them were truly happy from the bottom of their heart at finally freed and the sudden freedom made them want to cry from both sadness from joy. Lakshman sensed this and he sniffed slightly before turning away.

“I’ll leave them to you,” he said to Venezuela and she nodded in agreement. She turned around and began speaking with Felix about the arrangements.

Lakshman smiled and he turned around before activating Phoenix Portal. Using it, he arrived at the castle and walked along the empty corridors, feeling happy for those people. He won a small battle, but there are plenty more in the path he treads upon, but he was prepared and so were his wives.

After walking for a while, he arrived at the courtyard where the soldiers were being trained.

He saw Dominic Rutherford with Anthony and they watched the soldiers with their arms crossed. The soldiers did their best to destroy all of the magic stone walls, but managed to only destroy two walls and penetrate the third wall. Dominic had to destroy the third one to make it regenerate back to normal.

Dominic turned around and noticed him standing there watching them. He smiled and walked over with a smile on his face.

“Hey! How’d it go?” he asked once he walked over.

“It went well,” he said with a small smile on his face. “Right now, they’re crying and I couldn’t handle it, so I came back to see how the soldiers are doing with their training.”

“Ah,” Dominic said and he nodded in understanding. He turned to observe the soldiers as he said, “These bunch are good and are slowly getting better. Their technique needs slight adjustments, but they are improving well. Which reminds me… I head you managed to convince people into re-joining the army.”

“I did and I’m glad they are re-joining. Once they join, our army should be pretty strong once the Titanium Armours are finished being made,” Lakshman said confidently.

“Yes and I hear you used my story to convince them about it,” Dominic said and he eyed him sideways shrewdly. “Was my story that much better than using anyone else’s?”

“Uh…” Lakshman began and he looked slightly embarrassed. “You see, yours was the only story that I remembered on the go. After all, I couldn’t possibly prepare a sheet of something that I should talk with like most public speakers, right?”

As Dominic chuckled, Lakshman hesitantly asked, “Was I wrong in using your story as an example?”

“Ah. Don’t be nervous about it. I’m quite happy my childhood story came in handy to encourage those people. I think it’s a better story than telling about yourself since you’re totally unnatural from a child!” Dominic said before laughing heartily.

“Hey! I had my circumstances for that and I told you about it already,” Lakshman said indignantly.

“Yes and so does everybody else,” Dominic said and he turned to wink at his friend.

Lakshman sighed and he shook his head before turning back to watch the soldiers train.

Anthony was encouraging the soldiers loudly, which he must have picked up from the way Dominic handled the soldiers. Lakshman smiled in satisfaction as he saw the drill master change his ways slightly to be more of an encouraging figure than a frightening figure.

Dominic, on the other hand, was not looking at the soldiers or at Anthony. Instead, he was looking up at Lakshman, who was a quite taller than him. There was a frown on his face as he watched his tall friend through narrowed eyes.

“Hey… How about we hang out tomorrow?” he asked him finally in a cool voice. “I feel we should.”

“Alright. I’m fine with it, but why? Are you planning a friendly get-together or something?”

Lakshman asked curiously.

“No,” Dominic said quietly. “I plan to fight you.”

Phoenix Rising

Chapter 250 Lakshman vs. Dominic (Start)

“Dominic, remind me again why we’re doing this,” Lakshman asked curiously.

“It’s simply because I want to fight you,” Dominic replied easily. “I never had the chance to fight you before and I feel you’ve relaxed your grip on fighting with your paper work.”

Lakshman sighed and said, “Naturally…! I’m a king now and my responsibility is so great, I haven’t had the time to train the past few weeks.”

“Is that why you’re not wearing those Gravity Rings anymore?” Dominic asked him curiously. “I always thought you were more serious about training than me, but I guess I was wrong.”

Lakshman sighed and shook his head wearily. The two of them were standing on the land that Lakshman bought for his family. The house was kilometres away from them with all his wives inside as they watched from a safe distance. They did not like the very idea of friends fighting each other like this.

The previous night, Lakshman came home and informed them about Dominic wanting to fight him. At first, they thought it was a joke, but the seriousness in his face conveyed that it was not a joke. Venezuela and Emilia was shocked, Tetra and Silvera were confused while Ondine and Cantia got angry. Only Erza nodded as if she understood the motive behind him fighting his friend.

“It makes sense Dominic would want to fight you since you appear to have weakened,” she said wisely. “With all the work you’ve been doing and never having the time to train, it’s only natural he tests you out. After all, you’re both part of the Nine Pillars of Power and they are the strongest in the world. If the strongest of their ranks is weak, then there’s a problem.”

“There is a problem already!” Venezuela said angrily. “Dominic should know by now that Lakshman is super strong and doesn’t need to be tested!”

“Hey. Don’t get angry at me. I’m only saying what’s I think’s running through Dominic’s mind,” Erza said in a reasonable voice.

Lakshman understood it and the next day arrived with Lakshman going to the castle. Once he brought Dominic through the Phoenix Portal, he was met with five angry eyes with serious expressions on their faces. Dominic was a little stumped at seeing the beautiful wives of his

friend suddenly being so hostile towards him. Only Emilia seemed to be treating him like usual because she had already accepted the fact.

“They are men and all they want to do is fight,” she said when the others looked at her incredulously. “There’s no point getting angry over the inevitable. Besides, I am also curious about this fight.”

Dominic laughed after hearing this and he turned to Lakshman before saying, “Haha.

Pressure’s on you!”

“Give me a break…!” Lakshman said wearily.

Once they were done with drinking the glass of water and juice Emilia gave them, the two rose to their feet and headed out. Before leaving, Lakshman told the girls to use the Emperor Barrier Magic Spell called Enforce to protect the house and themselves.

“If things go like usual, it’ll get pretty messy and our attacks will go wildly everywhere,” Lakshman told them with a serious expression on his face.

Emilia, Erza and Venezuela understood and they used three their individual magic to create three layers of the barrier spell on the house and surroundings. Once that was done, they used Zooming Lenses, an Illusion Magic Spell that allows them to watch the fight as if they were with the two warriors. Lakshman looked around the house one last time to check if there was a weakness in the barrier. When he found none, he nodded in satisfaction before leaving to fight Dominic with Tetra and Silvera following right behind him.

“I hope Lucky beats the crap out of Dom!” Ondine said angrily as she watched the Zooming Lenses.

“Yeah! Kick him up!” Cantia said energetically.

“Calm down, you two! This isn’t a death match, but a simple friendly match!” Emilia told them wearily.

“I doubt there will be any friendliness once the fighting starts,” Erza said and Venezuela nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Lakshman, Tetra and Silvera stood at one end while Dominic stood at the other.

That was when Lakshman asked Dominic the question to which Dominic answered with coolness. It seemed the fight really will get out of hand as he expected.

“Girls,” Lakshman said and he held out both of his hands.

“Yes,” Tetra and Silvera said at the same time.

Tetra held her hand out and grasped his right hand while Silvera held her hand out to grasp his left hand. They held his hand with respect to the hand that had their Contract Seals. The two seals appeared momentarily and in a flash of light, both girls transformed into swords; Tetra transformed into a Broad Sword while Silvera transformed into a curved Katana.

Dominic pulled out his one and only weapon, the Destiny Sword and held her steady in one hand. Then, he suddenly noticed that Lakshman was holding onto two swords and he looked own at him only one sword.

“Oh dear,” he said with a small smile forming on his face. “I’ve only got one. Oh well. I’ll just multiply them. Seta.”

“Understood,” the Destiny Sword replied in his mind.

As the Destiny Sword began to glow brightly, he momentarily let go of the handle. The sword slowly rose into the air and hovered vertically in front of him. There was a small glow of light and the one separated into two. Dominic held out both of his hands and grabbed each handle at the exact same time. In an instant, a golden glow of light went through him and caused him to momentarily close his eyes. Once the glow was glow was gone, he reopened his eyes and smiled once again.

“Destiny Sword: Dual Style!” Dominic said firmly.

He demonstrated cool skills with the sword as he spun them several times before grabbing them and resting them on his shoulder. Once he got ready, he looked towards his friend, who is now his opponent.

“Are you ready?” Dominic called to Lakshman.

“Yes!” Lakshman replied back and the two of them grinned at each other.

“Then, let the battle begin!” Dominic said loudly. “I’ll start first with a bang!”

In an instant, he channelled Weapon Force into his weapons and they glowed brightly. The next moment, he brought them together and swung them, releasing the gathered energy in a slicing wave. The wave of energy burst forward and drove ahead towards where Lakshman stood ready. Once the attack reached him, Lakshman swung at it and jumped into the air at the same time.

There was a small explosion and smoke quickly exploded onto the scene. Dominic watched as Lakshman burst out of the smoke and flew high into the air from his jump from a moment ago.

Once he reached a certain height, he gathered Weapon Force into his weapon and shouted the technique name.

“Blasting Slashes!”

He began swinging his sword over and over as he discharged energy from his swords in small waves of slicing energy. They headed straight towards Dominic and he instantly reacted by shouting his own technique name.

“Wall of Blades!”

In an instant, multiple swords materialised in front of them and quickly formed into a defensive wall. The waves of slicing energy slammed into the sword and tried to push forward, but the wall of swords did not budge. Once the attack was finished, Dominic waved his sword upward and the swords swung around to point their bladed end upward as well.

“Storm Blades!”

With the shout of that technique, he hurled the swords flying towards Lakshman at high speed. As the swords reached him, Lakshman began swinging his sword at incredible speed and destroy each sword as each sword came at him. Unable to main flight with the heavy fire of sword, Lakshman descended and held both of his sword at the ready.

Dominic waved pointed both of his swords towards Lakshman and shouted, “Hurricane Blades!”

In an instant, multiple swords appeared around him and shot away like a circular rotational stream. Lakshman saw the swords, rotating like a hurricane, flying towards him and his grin widened.

“Flash Clash!” he shouted and both of his swords glowed momentarily.

He began destroying one sword after another as the hurricane swords hurtled towards him at great speed. After a minute of this, he destroyed the final sword and was surprised to find Dominic right behind the last sword.

“Here I go!” he shouted and he thrust his right swords towards Lakshman.

“Not a chance!” Lakshman shouted back and he dodged the sword thrust.

Lakshman took a step back as Dominic continued charging towards him and the two finally clashed swords. Their movement was incredibly fast and their clashed hard against each other with incredible force. They matched each other move for move while slowly increasing their speed, power and strength as the battle continued.

“Wow! They’re fast…! They’re really fast!” Ondine said in disbelief.

“Incredible-nyaa…!” Cantia said as she accidentally transformed into her humanoid cat form in excitement.

“Mmm…! Lucky’s become really strong over these two years!” Venezuela said in surprised. “I don’t remember seeing him moving at this speed before.”

“Well, he did train at 1500 times gravity. Naturally, he’d be faster than before!” Erza said happily.

“Yes, but Dominic’s putting up a good fight as well,” Emilia said as she watched the fight through narrowed eyes.

The intensity of their sword battle continued with nighter of them giving an opportunity for a counter attack. Dominic suddenly broke away from his regular strikes and raised both of his swords above his head. Lakshman looked up and he widened his eyes slightly in surprise as he Dominic swung them down with a heavy force. Lakshman kicked at the ground and pushed himself back as Dominic slammed his swords on the ground, destroy the ground in the process and flowing the area with a cloud of dust.

Lakshman burst out of the clouds and flew back to land several meters away. He was surprised when Dominic’s two swords suddenly burst out of the cloud of dust as they headed straight towards him. He swung at them one they were within reach and he deflected them aside. As he did, Dominic suddenly appeared in front of him and he grabbed his sword before he begun to swing them in a diagonal strike. Before Dominic could land those blows, Lakshman quickly moved his arms back down and defended himself from the sword strikes.

The force of the impact blasted him backwards and Dominic followed after him. Lakshman flipped through the air and landed back on his feet as he and Dominic began clashing swords once more. Their furious battle to defeat each other was causing large cracks to appear on the ground while destroying small pebbles. Their clash was becoming so intense, shockwave began to be sent each time they attempted to clashed swords with one another. The two of their expressions were contorted with frustration as they fought really hard to hit each other.

Dominic suddenly pulled back and charged really hard against Lakshman, surprising him in the process. Then, he followed up by bring his two swords diagonally as he aimed for his head.

Lakshman reacted instantly and he ducked to avoid them and he right leg and planted it firm on Dominic’s chest.

“Positron Blaster!” Lakshman shouted.

There was a blast of blue energy and it exploded out from beneath his feet. The bust of energy blasted into Dominic’s chest and hurtled him backwards. As he flew away with the energy pushing against him, Dominic raised his right sword up in the air and shouted out his next technique.

“Strike Blades!”

In an instant, a large number of blades appeared in the sky and surrounded Lakshman. All of them were hovering vertically for a moment before swinging around to point their pointy edges down towards Lakshman. He watched as the swords began to glow brighter and brighter until they were full of lethal energy that can cut through energy. The next second, they shot towards Lakshman at an incredible speed.

As he watched them hurtle towards him through the air, he realised there was no way he could dodge them all in time. Lakshman gritted his teeth and gripped his swords firmly as they soared towards him. When they reached him, be shouted out loud his technique he used against them.

“Flash Swords!”

Both the Phoenix Blade and Demon Slayer glowed brightly in his hands as the swords reached him. Lakshman began swung his sword so fast that he looked like he was almost standing still.

He was turning around and moving his sword accordingly at incredible speeds to match the speed of the swords before destroying each and every one of them.

Dominic sat upright in and watched in amazement as all his numerous swords were destroyed.

He was amazed at the speed in which Lakshman managed to move to destroy all of them.

Finally, with all of them destroyed, Lakshman spun around to glare fiercely at his opponent, surprising Dominic in the process.

Lakshman raised both of his sword above his head and shouted, “Light and Darkness Blades!”

In an instant, the Phoenix Blade’s blade began to glow in white energy while the Demon Slayer’s blade began to glow in dark energy. They suddenly extended high into the air and appeared to almost reach the sky. With his swords extended out to great length, Lakshman roared as he swung his swords down, aiming for Dominic.

“Whoa!” Dominic shouted in shock as he quickly jumped to his feet and stepped aside.

The two light and dark energy swords slammed on the ground where he was moments ago. He stood now, centimetres away and watched the how powerful those two energy blades were. A moment later, the energy blades retracted and returned to normal size in Lakshman’s hands.

As the dust cleared, Dominic was surprised to see the deep groove marks they left on the ground from the point of launch to the point of impact.

Lakshman was breathing a little quickly, but he began to smile as he straightened up.

“Master, how did you learn of these techniques?” Silvera asked him curiously in his mind.

“While I was training these two years, I learnt many great things and that includes the new techniques as well,” Lakshman said with a satisfied smile on his face.

“Well…! I’m impressed you managed to control the power of darkness, which is my element, pretty well,” Silvera told him and he nodded in acceptance.

Dominic turned around to face Lakshman and the two of them looked at each for a few seconds without saying anything, stony faced with hard to read expressions.

Watching them just standing there and staring at each other, the girls were confused.

“Why did the fight just stop?” Cantia asked impatiently “I don’t know. Maybe they’re taking a break?” Ondine said hopefully.

“Break or not, those two really have powerful skills to be using such advanced techniques,” Dominic finally breathed a sigh before smiling at his friend and opponent which the Lakshman returned by smiling back.

“I think that’s enough of a warm up. I’m pretty pumped up to fight to the fullest,” Dominic said casually “Yeah. Same here,” Lakshman said and two exchanged grins on their faces.

Hearing what they said, the girls turned to exchange shocked looks at each other.

“That was just their warm up?” Emilia asked in a surprised voice. “I thought they were fighting for real!”

“I thought the same thing, but wow…! All of that was the war up?” Venezuela asked while looking mightily surprised.

“The Nine Pillars of Power are insane!” Ondine said and Cantia nodded vigorously.

“Seriously…! Their standards are too wacked out!”

“Yeah, but now I really want to see want they can do for real!” Cantia said and all of them nodded in agreement.

They eagerly watched as the two warriors stood and stared at each other silently. The wind began to blow smoothly and ruffled their hairs while cooling them down. It was finally time for them to show their true force and they were ready to do it.

“Right…! Time to power up!” Dominic said sharply and his eyes became sharp.

He gripped his swords tightly as he began surging with power as an Elemental Glow of golden aura surrounded him.

“UUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

With a roar, his began his transformation into a powerful form. His normal black straight hair suddenly rose up and became very spiky while strange shapes formed on his clear blue eyes.

His powers also rose exponentially and he appeared to look cool with the way looked right now.

Dominic grabbed his hovering swords and smiled coolly at his opponent. Lakshman raised an eyebrow and although he could see something different about his appearance.

“So, your hair became spiky and your eyes changed slightly?” Lakshman asked curiously and Dominic nodded.

“That’s right. This form is something I mastered in transforming into with the help of the Destiny Sword,” Dominic explained casually. “In this form, I’m known as Sword Titan: Ruler of Swords!”

“Ruler of Swords?” Lakshman said as he raised his eyebrows. Then, he smiled and said, “I suppose the name’s got its purpose right. Now for me to transform!”

As he said, he stabbed the swords into the ground before clenching his fists. He began surging with power and as he did, golden-red aura surrounded him, which was his Elemental Glow. As he exerted his power for the transformation, his black hair became blonde and his black eyes changed to red crown-shaped eyes. He gave off an impressive appearance with the sudden rise in his power and strength.

“Phoenix Titan Transformation,” he said in a cool voice.

The girls watched him transform and they all grinned happily because they had not seen him transform for a long time. Finally, being able to see him transform once more and sense that amazing power, gave them a feeling of happiness they could not explain. They reasoned that it must have something to do with the Destiny Queen titles they each possess.

“Ah…! Now I remember! When you transformed into the Phoenix Titan, you had blonde hair and those red strange shaped eyes,” Dominic said with a smiling face. Then, he made a puzzled expression and said, “Although, I do remember you having spiky blonde hair, not almost straight blonde hair.”

Lakshman shook his head and said, “Your eyes are strange as well and as for my hair, I’m not done transforming yet! I have one more step to go before I can fight you to the fullest!”

“One more?” Dominic asked in surprise and Lakshman nodded.

Lakshman nodded and as he exerted his power, he began screaming at the top of his voice.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!”

There was a violent burst of energy with the wind blowing wildly around. Dominic had no trouble standing firmly against the strong winds as he watched Lakshman transform once more. With this new transformation, Lakshman had spiky blonde hair and his body was being constantly surrounded by random burst of lightning.

As the transformation completed, Lakshman looked towards Dominic and said, “I call this my Phoenix Titan: Burst form!”

“Phoenix Titan: Burst form?” Dominic asked and he looked surprised. “Sounds interesting.”

“It is, but you’ll find out anyway when we resume out battle!” Lakshman said fiercely.

With that, he grabbed his swords and pulled them out of the ground very easily. Then, he spun them skilfully in his hand before placing the Phoenix Blade on his shoulder while holding the Demon Slayer out at the ready. Dominic prepared his sword and the two warriors got ready to do battle. The girls watched expectantly and waited for the clash of titans to begin.

The wind became still and silence ensued within the surrounding area as the two warrior stared at each other. They were waiting for a single to let them begin and they received it when a pebble, which had been carried by the wind, suddenly landed on the battle in front of them. It landed with a thud and made a small noise, but it was enough to signal the start of their battle.

The two warriors charged towards each other and screamed as they surged with power.

“UUUUURRRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!”

The two of them quickly covered the distance separating them and met at the centre.

Lakshman and Dominic began their furious battle by swinging their swords at each other and they were moving so fast, it was difficult to follow each of their movement. The two warriors fought furiously against each other for several minutes while dual wielding with their respective swords.

All of sudden, their clashing energies exploded and they were pushed back from its force.

Without pause or hesitation, the two kicked off the ground and charged at each other once more. This time, they brought both of this swords forward and clashed against each other with all their might. The forces collided violently with their clash and as they pushed hard against each other, a violent flash of light erupted from where fighting, blinding everything in sight and making it difficult for anyone, including the girls, to see what was happening on the battlefield.

Once the flash of light disappeared, the two were shown clashing swords against each other at high speed. Each of their blows against each other was sending shockwaves in all directions.

Phoenix Rising

Chapter 251 Lakshman vs. Dominic (Finish)

After the flash of light vanished, Lakshman and Dominic appeared to be fighting at incredible speed with the intensity going wild. Each blow they delivered carried a lot of power and each clash sent shockwaves in all directions. After transforming and getting stronger, the two of them were matching each other perfectly while block the other’s stroke strike.

Lakshman’s wives watched the battle from the safety of their home, which was under three layers of Emperor ranked Barrier Magic Spells called Enforce. This spell works by protecting the people from shockwaves and any of great destruction around the area. At the sheer force of the battle, the barriers were supporting each other in firmly protecting the house and the wives inside it.

Lakshman and Dominic moved from location to location as they clashed swords. Sometimes, they rushed in to clash only to get pushed back from the explosion of their energy. Like Lakshman had initially expected, their speed was wild and their movement was difficult to see.

As they were about to clash again, Dominic suddenly came to a stop and leapt back, allowing Lakshman to smash the ground with his swords. Before Lakshman could recover, Dominic waved his right sword at Lakshman and shouted the technique out loud.

“Hurricane Storm Blades!”

In an instant, swords began materialising all around Lakshman and rotated around each other while pointing their bladed edges towards him. Lakshman straightened up, just in time to see the countless spinning swords all around before they soared straight towards him.

Lakshman responded by charging up both of his swords with Weapon Force and he spun around to attack as he shouted out the technique name, “Phoenix Wave!”

He swung the Phoenix Blade at two of the swords soaring towards him like a hurricane and released a powerful energy wave, which swept forward and obliterated all the swords in its paths. At the same time, he used swung the Demon Slayer on the other side as he shouted the technique he used for it.

“Dark Wave!”

In an instant, dark energy was released with his swing and the wave surged forward before obliterating all the swords in their paths.

Like this, Lakshman continued releasing energy waves of destruction in all directions until all the swords were obliterated. Once the final one was over, the area was covered in dust and he narrowed his eyes as he focused on his Elemental Sense to detect where Dominic was. At that moment, he heard Dominic shout out the technique he had used form somewhere covered by the fog of smoke.

“Raining Blades!”

In an instant, several portals opened up in the sky and Lakshman looked up in shock. Swords swarmed out of the portals until the sky was full of them. Lakshman gritted his teeth and put let go of the sword handles because he chose to use a magic technique instead. He raised both of his hands into the air and shouted out the technique as he quickly gathered the energy to fire it.

“Blazing Hurricane Fury!”

In an instant, a fiery inferno burst from the palm of his hands and flew up into the sky like a hurricane. The raining swords became engulfed by the scorching flames and exploded into pieces that soon disappeared into particles of light. Using the created magic attack, he swung his hands around and made sure to destroy all the raining swords with his blazing attack.

At that moment, Dominic exploded out of the cloud of smoke as he charged towards him. He saw Lakshman with his arms raised while the swords were hovering on his other side.

“I got you!” Dominic shouted triumphantly.

Lakshman saw him burst of the smoke and he realised the Sword Titan used Raining Swords as a distraction to land a hit on him. He watched as Dominic pulled back his sword to land a blow with a grin on his face.

“Not today!” Lakshman shouted back and he grinned back. Then, he shouted, “Doppler!”

In an instant, a copy of himself split away from him and he charged towards Dominic, surprising him in the process. With a roar, the Lakshman copy charged Energy Force into his fist and landed it on Dominic’s fast, blasting him back several meters away. With the attack landed, Lakshman deactivated Doppler and the copy turned into light and merged back into him.

He quickly grabbed his swords and charged after Dominic, who was pressing his nose painfully.

It seemed the punch had broken his nose as blood was coming out of it, but there was no stopping the battle now until one of them was defeated. Dominic became angry for his broken nose and he glared at Lakshman, who was charging towards him.

“Blasting Blade Cannon!” he shouted angrily.

He brought his two swords forward and held them in front of him as multiple swords began materialising around there. More and more swords appeared and they soon formed into a cannon. Once it was formed, Dominic began channelling energy into it and very quickly, a large ball of energy formed right at the centre of the cannon’s mouth.

Lakshman saw this and he stopped in mid-charge to look on in surprise. He recognised the shape as that of a cannon that launches large energy balls to destroy fortresses and take down castles. He was startled when he saw the pulsating energy wave it was charging and it soon reached a power of level that surprised him.

Just then, he heard the voice of Tetra speaking to him in his mind in a worried voice.

“Lucky, I advise you to not think of using Positron Burst Cannon in this situation. That thing has more power than what you can put into your attack.”

At that moment, he heard Dominic shout, “Hey, Lakshman! You can dodge this if you want, but you’ll end up looking like a big chicken! So…! Are you a chicken or a Phoenix Titan?”

Lakshman became irritated with Dominic’s poly in making sure he would not get away from the face of that cannon. In the first place, Lakshman had no thoughts of dodging out of the way, but it still made him feel angry that his friend did not trust that he would take that blast head on.

“So, Tetra… Still think I should step aside after hearing that?” Lakshman asked in an exasperated voice.

“Uh…” Tetra began and hesitated before saying nothing.

“Face it like a man, Lucky!” Silvera said surprisingly. “If he wants to test you, then this is the right way to show him what you’ve got!”

“If you’re thinking like then, then it sounds good to me!” Lakshman said and his smile widened.

“Just be careful. Remember that there’s three of us here, not you alone,” Tetra said and he nodded in understanding.

Once the charging of the cannon was complete, Dominic shouted, “Attack!”

As he exerted his power, the cannon of swords widened its mouth and discharged the gathered in a massive wave of energy. The wave of destruction roared across the ground, tore up the grass and headed straight for Lakshman. As it neared him, Lakshman widened his eyes in shock as he realised it was much more powerful than he sensed earlier.

“W-What’s this?!” he said just as the energy wave reached him.

The next moment, he disappeared from sight as the wave of destruction swept through where he stood and continued onwards. It travelled some distance before finally being released, which resulted in a massive explosion that released a powerful force of wind in all directions.

The three barrier had a slight difficulty in fending off the powerful wings that slammed against it in order to protect the house and its occupants.

“Oh no-nyaa! He’s gone-nyaa!” Cantia shouted before being knocked on the head by Ondine.

“Lucky will never be defeated like this!” Ondine told her angrily. “Now, calm down and use your senses properly.”

“R-Right-nyaa…!” Cantia said uncertainly and she focused on sensing him. When she found his signal, she smiled and said, “He’s alive-nyaa! He’s okay-nyaa!”

“Yes. He’s fine, but I don’t know if he’s okay,” Venezuela said as Ondine nodded while looking worried.

“He’s taken far worse beating than this from the time I came from! He’s be fine!” Erza said firmly as she watched through narrowed eyed.

“Yes, but that’s who knows how long ago in the future that was,” Emilia said uncertainly. “I mean, you said he was eighteen years of age when he came to your world, but who knows…

He might’ve gotten stronger by the time he went to Alzard.”

“Oh… There is that possibility,” Erza said and, all of a sudden, she looked really worried.

Dominic was breathing smoothly as he watched the smoke slowly clear through narrowed eyes. The level of attack was not enough to kill him, but he knew it was enough to knock Lakshman unconscious. However, for some reason, he sensed that Lakshman was perfectly

okay for some reason. As the smoke cleared, he was stunned when he saw something amazing.

Where Lakshman stood was a large flaming energy wings positioned defensively. As the smoke cleared, the wings spread out and opened to reveal Lakshman to be perfectly fine. He was holding the Phoenix Blade and Demon Slayer firmly in his hands while being surrounded by a large flaming aura as a phoenix energy figure towered over him.

“I don’t believe it!” Dominic shouted in shock. “He used Elemental Coated Armour in such a quick amount of time?”

While he appeared to be shocked, Lakshman breathed a sigh in relief. He had originally been taken by surprise, but his reaction did not dull and he instantly activated Elemental Coated Armour. As such, the magic spell immediately activated and creating energy wings like a phoenix, it shielded him from the wave of destruction.

“That was close. Otherwise, I’d be knocked out cold by now,” he said calmly and looking towards Dominic, he loudly said, “So…? Anymore dangerous stuff you want to try using on me while I have my energy armour out?”

Dominic appeared to be stunned for a moment before gritting his teeth in frustration. He waved his right sword and the gathered cannon of swords quickly separated and became individual swords once more. He charged forward and this time, he attacked together with the swords that came behind him.

“AAAAHHH!!” he screamed as he charged towards Lakshman with an army of swords behind him.

Lakshman saw him coming and once Dominic was within reach, he raised his leg and kicked him hard in the chest. The impact of the blast against was so strong, it blasted Dominic backwards, but it did not stop from sending the army of swords to attack Lakshman in his place.

“Flash Swords!”

Using that incredible move, he began moving at super speed and moved forward to destroy all the swords easily within no time. Dominic rose to his feet just in time to catch Lakshman’s swords with his own and surging with power, he threw Lakshman off and they continued to battle using their sword strikes against each other.

While they were fighting, Dominic continued summoning more swords to attack Lakshman like a distraction. However, this tactic failed as Lakshman immediately increased his speed to fight

him and destroy those swords at top speed, a speed that Dominic had trouble matching as he was right now. It was pretty obvious with how quickly Lakshman was able to react compared to the speed at which he was moving at currently.

Dominic suddenly leaped back and shouted, “I’ve got no choice! Transcendent Blades of Destruction!”

There was a violent flash of light that caused Lakshman to cover his eyes in fear of being blinded. When the flash slowly vanished, he was stunned when he saw the sky full of swords.

There were portals everywhere and this allowed for the continuous summoning of these swords.

He immediately knew these swords were not like the ordinary swords he had destroyed so far.

Dominic hovered in the air with his right swords held above his head and when he was ready, he lowered them and aimed his sword at Lakshman.

With that, the swords began raining down on the ground and upon impact, the swords exploded violently. The ground began to explode all around Lakshman and he tried to cover, but it was no use as he was surrounded by them. It became dangerous as he soon realised he was taking damage from all the explosions occurring all around him, even though he was using the Elemental Coated Armour.

“Lucky, these are the Transcendent Blades of Destruction and they have the power to penetrate through energy defensive barriers, in which case, the Elemental Coating Armour. Did you forget about it?”

“Ah!” he said in shock as he suddenly realised what Dominic had used. “Dammit! I was under the impression these were the strange Blades of Destruction. That’s why, I was confused!

Now, it makes sense! Ouch!”

He had winced when he suddenly got cut and blood slowly seeped out. Immediately deactivating the Elemental Coated Armour, he began to dodge around the explosions while attempting to destroy them before they landed, but it was no use. His waves of slicing energy passed right through them and they continued headed raining down on him.

Just then, he heard Dominic shout, “If you can’t handle this, surrendering is the best option for you!”

He was full of confidence and it made Lakshman very angry, causing him to stop dodging around. As the explosions continued occurring around him, he crossed his arms together and gathered energy all around him to destroy all of the swords and portals at the same time.

Once the energy was gathered, he released it by shouting, “Transcendent Destruction!”

A dome like shape formed around him and it expanded to great size as it destroyed all the raining swords. Dominic was shocked when he saw the attack and he quickly got away from there as the attack expanded higher and higher until it reached where the sword portals were.

With ease, it destroyed the portals and stopped any means of such swords being summoning to harm Lakshman. Once it was over, Lakshman deactivated his magic and the attack disappeared into particles of light. He breathed a little quickly, but he managed to stabilise it and smile as he looked up at the sky.

Dominic was not up in the sky, but on the ground and he was currently charging towards Lakshman with his swords glowing brightly. Lakshman sensed him he quickly turned around to see him charging towards him at high speed.

He immediately raised his Phoenix Blade and as he aimed it words him, he shouted, “Stone Driver!”

In an instant, the ground began to flow into the air to form into a giant stone drill and it began spinning at high speed. With an exertion of his energy, Lakshman launched the drilling stone attack straight at him. Dominic was startled to see the attack coming straight at him, but he kept charging forward while being undaunted by the fearsome stone drill.

“Cutting Blade!” he shouted and like an onion, he copped the stone drill into pieces in a flash before charging towards him.

As Dominic charged towards Lakshman once more, he was looking frustrated and it was obvious why. Thus far, Lakshman had demonstrated that he was capable of taking care of himself and was quite skilled with the both the sword, magic and energy techniques. He realised there was no way he could defeat him like that.

“Hmm…? I thought I came here to test him, so how did I end up wanting to defeat him?”

Dominic thought as he was surprised with himself.

“You initially did, but you’re purpose changed because your fight with Lakshman brought your warrior spirit to the surface, master,” the Destiny Sword answered for him calmly. “Now, use that spirit and win this fight because you are a warrior known as the Sword Titan!”

He inwardly chuckled and thanked her. With renewed energy and determination, he charged forward as he yelled while Lakshman stood his ground and prepared to fight back. However, just as they were about to clash, he smiled and activated another technique.

“Paralysing Swords!” he shouted and as he swung his swords at him, he sent numerous swords hurtling towards Lakshman at great speed.

“Crap!” Lakshman shouted in shock.

He tried to destroy them, but there were too many and they stabbed into his arms, legs and chest. In just one second, he found himself trapped and unable to move or defend himself as Dominic came forward. His swords fell to the ground as his grip slackened from the effects of the paralysis. Dominic was wearing a gleeful expression on his face as he swung his sword down at Lakshman to cut him and knock him out.

Lakshman saw the blade coming and with frustration pumping inside him, he screamed, “Inferno Fury!”

His body suddenly exploded into flames and he used it on himself, which caused him to feel his skin burning. However, this allowed him to momentarily break free off the paralysing effect of the Paralysing Swords. He quickly ducked around Dominic and pulled out all the swords, which momentarily surprised him as he realised there was no blood after pulling them out.

“What the?!” Dominic exclaimed in surprise when Lakshman suddenly moved, which he was not expecting at all.

Lakshman deactivated Inferno Fury and as Dominic turned around, he punched him the chest so hard that it blasted him high into the air. Dominic was stunned from the impact and found himself defenceless when, all of a sudden, he was hit hard in the back by Lakshman, who disappeared and reappeared behind him in an instant. Slamming him hard in the back, Lakshman sent Dominic hurtling back down to the ground. Dominic turned around as he flew towards the ground and his eyes widened in shock when he suddenly saw Lakshman standing there with a large ball of energy ready to fire.

“Positron Cannon!” Lakshman shouted and he released the energy as a beam.

With surging force of power, the beam was discharged and it engulfed Dominic before sending him flying into the distance. Dominic screamed from the intense pain of having received the powerful attack at close range. He was knocked out even before he crashed onto the ground and slid to a complete stop. He lay there, unmoving as smoke slowly drifted upward from his burnt clothes.

Lakshman breathed a little quickly before sighing and saying, “I won— Ouch!”

He suddenly felt intense pain from his arms and he looked to see burn marks all over them. It seemed that using Positron Cannon with an unfocused mind caused his hands to get burnt in

the process. There were also other injuries from burning himself to break free of the Paralysing Swords effect.

Later that day, Dominic was sat down forcefully by Venezuela, Ondine and Cantia before being scolded by them numerous of times. Lakshman was busily healing himself while receiving scolding of his own from Emilia and Erza for burning himself, no matter how many times he stated clearly he had no choice.

After finally being set free from their individual scolding, the two of them sat together and talked quietly to each other. Venezuela and Erza were outside fixing the destroyed ground with Venezuela using water magic to clear away all the dirt and Erza using earth magic to make the ground good as new again. Lakshman and Dominic wanted to assist, but they were forced to stay home “Sorry I caused so much mess!” Dominic said as he apologised to Lakshman.

“It’s fine, but really… You’ve certainly shown me your skill with using so many different magical sword techniques,” Lakshman said with a smile. “That last one took me completely by surprise when you used those Paralysing Swords on me right when you reached me. That was brilliant!”

“Thanks, but that forced you to burn yourself to break free of the effects,” Dominic said as he looked sad. “That really surprised me.”

“Yes. About that…” Lakshman began and he looked seriously at Dominic. “That technique is amazing and strong, but it lacks the kind of power it needs to make that effect stronger. Do you understand what I mean?”

Dominic nodded and said, “Yes. I know I lack certain amount of skills, but I’m training to get stronger. My plan is to eventually reach the Golden Warrior transformation and be super strong!”

“Golden Warrior? Mmm… That is indeed a powerful transformation a Sword Titan can do!”

Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding. Then, he looked at him with a shrewd smile as he asked, “How do you plan on getting stronger if you’re sneaking away to Rodfox Kingdom to enjoy some time with Shalany?”

Dominic was startled by those words and he quickly looked up at him.

“W-W-What’re you talking about, Lakshman? Me and Shalany? She’s engaged to the Slavemancer, remember?” said Dominic while looking uncertain.

Lakshman looked at him with a knowing expression on his face as he said, “Oh… I’m aware of what I’m talking about. You used your Destiny Sword to shield her as well by passing the energy chain between you two. I noticed through my Phoenix Eyes the strange energy that seemed to be linked between you two back when the Slavemancer used everyone, including the king of Rodfox Kingdom to attack us. However, she was the only one, other than us, that really did not get affected by it. Now, tell me how to explain that? You didn’t even bother to shield Darian or Rumble, but you bothered to shield her instead.

Also, you’ve been returning late in the night at the hotel you are staying. You finish instructing the soldiers in the evening and after that, you return straight to the hotel and eat. For some reason, you leave the hotel for hours before returning in the middle of the night. After recurring occurrences of this and suspicious of your relationship, I set a Phintex Raja to tail without being detected by you.”

Hearing this, Dominic widened his eyes in shock and Lakshman nodded with a grin forming on his face.

“I had become suspicious of your relationship with her after that night at the party. So I set the Phintex Raja to tail you and it wasn’t before long that he found a trail of you leaving through the use of your Teleporting Blade technique. The Phintex Raja lost you several times because that magic was difficult to trace, but after finding a strong trace, he used Warp to go where you went and guess where that was? Rodfox Kingdom’s castle!

After searching through the castle using his Sneaker Transport Magic Spell for silent movement, he found you hugging the princess and consoling her. I was pretty surprised upon receiving the news, but I was busy with handling the details about the slavery system and all.

Now… Tell me what you couldn’t tell me before and lying won’t help because I can sense if you lie to me.”

Lakshman became silent and looked intently at Dominic, while the Sword Titan appeared to be nervous looking. Then, he finally told Lakshman from the start, which started two years ago.

Upon not receiving any word from Lakshman after leaving Mardana Kingdom, Dominic grew worried and he began travelling around the kingdoms and one of his trips brought him to Rodfox Kingdom. While there, the king suggested for him to stay at the castle and Dominic tried to refuse, but the king insisted and because of that, Dominic stayed at the castle. During his stay, he had regular contact with the princess and because they shared a friend with the same name, it grew them closer until finally they were attracted to each other. However, she was a princess and he was a Sword Titan, which separated them because of their social status.

“After that, we regularly met without anyone knowing about it,” Dominic said as he came to the end of his love story. He chuckled and said, “I’m a coward aren’t I for not making her mine when I have the power to do so.”

Lakshman shook his head and said, “No. I see that you’ve taken into consideration of the status quo and knowing it will upset the kingdom if they learnt the princess eloped with the Sword Titan of the Nine Pillars of Power, you kept your status quiet until you achieved a higher rank. Is that part of the reason you came here and started instructing the soldiers? To earn yourself a name and rank of nobility?”

He was smiling as he asked that and Dominic knew he was angry about it or anything. He sighed and said, “Yes. I wasn’t being cunning or anything, but I wanted to achieve the higher rank and gain her hand in marriage through effort. However, it was decided that she will marry the Slavemancer.”

“I see…” Lakshman said slowly and he nodded in understanding. “Perhaps, asking the help of her brighter would help. I know he’s a guy who always had his head in the book, but he cares for her deeply and I’m sure he would want to see her being happy with the man she loves from the bottom of her heart.”

Dominic suddenly had a dark expression on his face as he said, “No… He’s in no position to do that.”

“Huh? Why not? Is he being shut up by from intervening in this marriage?” Lakshman asked with his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Dominic looked very sad as he said, “Yes. His mouth’s been shut for good.” When Lakshman looked puzzled, he looked up at his friend and said, “He’s dead.”

Lakshman’s eyes widened in shock and he quickly asked, “Dead?”

Dominic nodded and said, “He was blamed for treason for apparently betraying the interest of the kingdom. As such, he was executed by beheading in front of everyone.” He suddenly clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth as he said, “All of it was schemed by the Slavemancer to take him out of the picture because he is one of the possible people that would interfere with his plans to marry Shalany.”

Lakshman could not believe what he just heard and he slowly said, “That bastard…!” He looked at Dominic and asked, “What are you planning on doing?”

“She’s really worried and wants to elope with me, but that won’t satisfy my justice. I want to punish the guy who did that to her brother and then marry her, however…” Dominic said and

he looked very lost about what to do next. “That’s why, I wanted to talk to you, but somehow ended up saying I wanted to fight you. I used this opportunity to test to see if you had the power to handle a guy like him and you pretty sure did well.”

“I see… Now, it all makes sense,” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding. He contemplated for a moment before saying, “Very well! I’m going to push my plans a little faster now that you’ve told me about this. It’s time I take the hurt to him!”

“D-Don’t do this just for me—!” Dominic began, but he was cut off when Lakshman threw him a sharp look.

“It’s not just you! That guy killed a man who only wanted to protect his little sister and what’s more, used a crude method of getting rid of him! I’ve only thought of him as an enslaver, but now I am certain he’s a mongrel that deserves to die!”

Dominic nodded and he wore a firm expression on his face as he said, “Yes! I completely agree! It’s time he faces the judgement of justice for all his crimes!”

Lakshman leaned over and patted his friend on the shoulder approvingly. He made a mental note to immediately return tomorrow to accelerate the plans to meet with the other three kingdoms, so that he can start his direct attack on the Slavemancer.

Afterwards, they retold everything they spoke to the girls and they also agreed. They could not find it in their heart to forgive a guy who would enslave and murder for selfish reasons. With that, it was decided that they would all assist in getting Dominic and Shalany together.

Lakshman was very eager for their marriage because it became clear to him that they were destined for each other, just as he was destined to marry the Nine Destiny Queens.

That evening, Dominic bid them farewell and using his Teleporting Blade, he left for the hotel room. Before going, he checked with Lakshman to make sure that he was not being tailed, which made Lakshman laugh and reassure his friend that he was not.

“Make sure you don’t end up in danger,” Lakshman said before winking at him, which caused Dominic to laugh before leaving.

That night, Lakshman went to sleep together with his seven wives and although they all slept quickly, he had trouble sleeping. Knowing about what had happened to Shalany’s brother made him feel sad and it fuelled his anger towards the Slavemancer. He remembered the tears shed by the freed slaves yesterday and it strengthened his determination. Feeling slightly happy from seeing their happy smiles later, he finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The night was quiet and peaceful, but that would not last for long because danger was approaching their home and this was something Lakshman was certainly not expecting at all.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 252 Takedown of Religion

That night, Lakshman awoke with a start and he was not the only one. Cantia quickly jumped out of bed and transformed into her humanoid cat form with a fierce expression on her face.

She appeared very beast like as the other girls quickly got up to dress.

“W-What’s this sense of danger?” Emilia asked nervously.

“I don’t know, but it’s coming from the outside,” Lakshman said as he quickly got dressed.

One they were dressed, Lakshman and the girls quickly went out of the room and went downstairs. The sense of danger became evident when they reached the door. Fearing an attack, Lakshman immediately activated Enforcer on the house, but he could sense really strong people to be outside. Opened the door, Lakshman activated Light Balls magic spell and they immediately illuminated the entire area within 400 meters.

“Oh my…!” Erza said and they all looked shocked.

In the distance, they could a cloud of dust rising into the sky as riders on horseback rode towards them. Just from this distance, Lakshman and the girls could sense the killing intent they were giving off and it made them feel worried, which was because all of the riders were really strong.

“This doesn’t make sense! They’re as powerful as us!” Ondine said in a shocked voice.

“Yes, but more importantly… Why are they coming here and what are they after?” Venezuela asked in a worried voice.

“There could only be one reason they’re coming here with such killing intent-nyaa!” Cantia said angrily. “They’re here to kill us!”

Lakshman came to the same conclusion at almost the same time and he widened his eyes in anger. Earlier, he gave a warning for Dominic to be careful, but he did not think he would have to heed his own advice like this.

As the riders neared them, they noticed the light hovering above them to illuminate everything in the area. Realising their targets are aware of their presence, they slowed their horses to a stop and got off to fight from there.

“Phoenix Eyes!” Lakshman said and his black eyes changed to red crown-shaped eyes. Then, he also said, “Elemental Sight!”

In an instant, his vision became grey and colours of red and blue became visible as they coloured the people. His wives were coloured in blue colour and he was startled to see a mass of red in the distant. Deactivating the magic, he informed them of the fact that everyone over there were their enemies. They immediately made grim faces and looked on with their weapons prepared.

Just then, they heard a loud voice coming from where the riders had stopped. The voice clearly addressed them, but it was more intended towards Lakshman.

“We are the Demon Extermination Squad of the Shambasa Religion! We have come here to eliminate a demon known as Lakshman Reddy!” the voice said in a loud clear voice.

Lakshman blinked in surprise and asked, “Huh? I’m a demon?”

“The Shambasa Religion has watched your actions for a while and it has decreed you as evil!

And so, we have come on a mission to eliminate the demon that will plunge this world into chaos and destruction.”

“Um… Okay…” Lakshman said and he sighed heavily.

For the past few weeks, he had been monitoring the activity of the Shambasa Religion thoroughly, despite being busy with the slavery issues. Reports have come in to say the religious people were spreading word that he was a demon sent by the God of Destruction to destroy everyone. At first, Lakshman could not believe the nonsense, but he grew to worry on what they will do next. So, he decided to watch silently and now, they made the ultimate move of eliminating him from existence.

“As such! We advise you to peacefully surrender and we will not harm your wives! However, resistance will not be accepted and it will result in the entire destruction of your family!” the voice said arrogantly.

This finally made Lakshman angry and for the first time, he took them seriously. He would have shown them mercy by simply defeating them, but their words about hurting his family made his blood boil with rage. His wives sensed this and they quickly came forward to pat him on the back and his shoulder to calm him down. At first, he was surprised, but he nodded in thanks and turned to glare at the attackers.

“Amplification,” he said and he pointed his finger at his throat. Then, he began to speak in a loud voice that carried all the way to where the attackers were.

“I see that you’ve come a long way to carry out your mission, but I would have to decline the offer! You see… I’m not a demon and I’m certainly not going to destroy this world! Now, law down your weapons and surrender because I have lost my patience with you arrogant religious freaks!”

Lakshman sounded arrogant, but he could not help himself because of his anger from earlier.

His words hit a chord among the attackers and they appeared to be monetarily shocked. Then, the man at the front, who was acting as their leader, sighed and spoke again in a loud clear voice. He deactivated his magic and waited for their reply, which came a few seconds later.

“Your insults to our religion will not go unpunished!” he said angrily. He immediately deactivated his magic and turned to his men as he said, “Prepare the fire at my command!”

“Sir!” they replied and they quickly took their position and gathered energy to fire their magic attack.

Sensing this, Lakshman widened his eyes in surprise and he said, “They really dug their own graves!” He turned to the girls and said, “Get ready!”

“Right!” the girls said and they nodded at the same time.

He turned around just as the attacking magicians shouted, “Heavenly Cannon of Justice!”

A large ball of energy began to gather in front of them and it grew larger with each second. It eventually was big enough for Lakshman to see and he widened his eyes in shock. The girls were also extremely taken aback at the numerous massive attacks that had risen to great size.

“Fire!” the leader of the attackers shouted and with a surge of power, the magicians released the large energy in a large wave of destruction.

As the wave of destruction headed their way, Lakshman widened his eyes in shock and eh said, “Dammit!”

He clapped his hands together and said, “Summoning Familiars!”

In an instant, two large magic circles appeared in front of them and a moment later, the Eternal Phoenix and Spirit Dragon appeared. The two of them were made cries of surprise when he saw the incoming attacks that were headed towards them.

“Phylex! Draga! Protect us!” Lakshman ordered them in a loud powerful voice.

“Understood, master!” Phylex said telepathically.

“Got it!” Draga said telepathically.

In an instant, the two of them extended their wings out and gathered energy into their mouths before launching it in a big wave of destruction towards the incoming wave of destruction.

“Inferno Destructive Wave!” was the technique Phylex used.

“Spirit Blast Cannon!” was the technique Draga used.

In an instant, they launched their individual attacks and they went swiftly away at high speed.

For a few seconds, the three charging waves of destruction quickly covered the distance before slamming hard into each other. There was a moment of struggle between the forces as the magician attackers poured their energies into their attack to push forward while Phylex and Draga fought back by fuelling their attack, causing both sides to not budge.

The clashing of forces ultimately resulted in a flash of light, which was followed by a massive explosion. The magicians used several layers of barrier spells to protect themselves from the extreme forces of attack while Phylex and Draga quickly used their large bodies to protect their master and his wives. Once the wind began to settle, the dust cleared to bring the battle ground into full view.

“Damn them…!” Erza said angrily. “I just fixed the grass only a few hours ago and now it’s all destroyed because of them!”

“Show no mercy! Venezuela said in agreement.

As Phylex and Draga screeched and roared in anger, the attacker’s leader watched the result of the attack. He turned around and began giving orders to his men in a loud firm voice.

“Alright! We will have difficulty using our magicians to launch powerful offensive assault on them with those two monsters summoned! Instead, arms yourselves and we will strike them from close quarters! While we do that, the magicians make sure to support us from the rear while also fighting off the monsters when they attack.”

“Understood!” the men all said in reply. Then they all chorused “Let the faith in your god lead us victory!”

With their chorus done, they began charging forward on foot while leaving the horses behind.

Lakshman deactivated Elemental Sight and watched the army of soldiers rushing towards them with swords in their hands. Many of them were wielding one sword, but there were some that had two swords at the ready. He had to immediately make a tough decision right there and then as to whether to kill them or not.

He remember Sevedant, the Death Titan, once telling him, “Enemies must die.”

“I somehow feel I understand what he meant,” Lakshman said in a quiet voice. He finally sighed heavily and turned around to face his wives. “Emilia, Venezuela and Erza! Stay behind and support us with your magic. In the meantime, Phylex and Draga will strike at their magic unit while I, Ondine and Cantia will attack those armed men up front!”

“Got it!” Erza, Emilia and Venezuela said and they looked determined.

He looked up at Phylex and Draga before saying, “You two, fly overhead and take out their magic unit! It’ll be troublesome if we get attacked while we attack their close combat unit!”

“As you command!” Phylex replied telepathically.

“With pleasure!” Draga said telepathically in a strangely happy voice.

The two of them beat their wings and quickly rose to their feet to fly towards the enemy forces. Lakshman turned to Ondine and Cantia with a grin on his face.

“Time to show them our stuff!” Ondine said and he nodded at them.

“Awesome-nyaa!” Cantia said in a flash of light, she transformed into her large beast form.

Lakshman turned around and held his hand out to Tetra and Silvera, who took his hand and immediately transformed into the Phoenix Blade and Demon Slayer. Grabbing them, he jumped onto Cantia’s back with Ondine and rose her as she quickly ran forward.

The magicians of each side began bombarding each other with magic bombs and magic beam attacks. Sometimes, they got showered with rocks, but their comrades used defensive magic to protect themselves. The charging army of warriors with swords blazing with energy, roared and Cantia let out a beast like roar with Lakshman and Ondine riding on her back.

As they neared each other, Lakshman transformed into the Phoenix Titan and launched himself off Cantia’s back to go forward. As he landed, he swung his swords diagonally and sent an x-slicing wave at his enemies. Those in front got taken out by the attack, but he rest continued forward while roaring like wild animals.

Lakshman darted forward and leaped into the air before deflected several swords to land in their midst. In an instant, he spun around with his swords held out and he cut up several at the same time. The warriors yelled in rage and they surged forward to attack him with their energised swords. Lakshman reacted quickly and in an incredible speed, he blocked and deflected their sword attacks while cutting and slicing in order to kill his enemies.

“Remember that I’m here as well!” Ondine shouted and she jumped off Cantia to begin her assault on the army of warriors.

Cantia opened her beast mouth wide and began breathing fire on them. The warriors were in shock as they had the Phoenix Titan, an enraged Water Spirit and a wild beast cat to contend with. Just then, Lakshman dodged a sudden sword strike and looked around to see the leader about to deliver another strike. Lakshman dodged the attacked and the two quickly crossed swords with incredible force. That was when Lakshman noticed the rods attached to each arm of the soldier.

“Those are Amplification Rods!” he thought in disbelief as he fought against the leader. “No wonder they seemed unnaturally strong per my standards!”

“Looks like they were aware of how strong you were and they began to use these crude objects,” Tetra told him in his mind.

“Fools…! Where is the honour of their warrior pride of fighting with all they got?” Silvera asked angrily.

“They are following the definiation right, but they took it to a new level by adding those rods to their equipment,” Tetra explained in a sad voice.

Just then, Lakshman irritably thought, “Would you please stop talking in my head? It’s seriously distracting because I’m in the middle of a battle here!”

“We’re sorry!” Tetra and Silvera told him apologetically before becoming silent.

Meanwhile, Phylex and Draga flew overhead and headed straight for the magic unit at the back, who were boosting their soldiers with amplification magic spells to make them stronger.

They noticed the two monsters headed their way and they dispatched a separate magic unit to deal with them.

“Take them out before they have the opportunity to strike at us!” the leader of the magic unit shouted.

“Yes, sir!” his men replied and they began charging their magic spells before launching them at the monsters.

“Fire Blaster!”

“Rock Slam!”

“Stone Cannon!”

“Hurricane Blaze Cannon!”

“Electron Fury!”

“Thunder Driver!”

Multiple attacks began flying towards Phylex and they bombarded his body, causing him to let out a screech of anger. He was already angry with them attacking his master, but making him feel pain him made him mad. He swooped overhead and gathered energy into his mouth before launching the attack at them.

“Hell Blast!”

A large ball, composed of fire, was launched from its mouth and it hurtled down towards them. The magic unit quickly activated their defensive magic spells to counter it.

Unfortunately for then, Phylex used a large amount of energy to make that attack powerful and it easily destroyed all of their defensive spells before smashing into them. There was an explosion of flames and they quickly spread everywhere, causing the magicians to get burnt in the process.

Draga flew around him and opened its mouth wide, he gathered energy and launched the attack in a white beam of energy down at the burning magician unit.

“Frozen Cannon!”

Upon impact, it instantly froze everyone and they became icy statues and he continued blasting the cannon as he flew past then, “Put out the fire with water magic and take them down!” the leader of the magic unit, who survived the attack with a few burns on his face and body, shouted at the magicians.

They began to put out the fire while others gathered large quantity of magic and launched it towards Draga.

“Blast Drive Cannon!”

A powerful jet of blue light soared into the air and knocked into Draga’s right wing, disabling it for the moment. From the shock of the attack, he soared down and slammed into the ground as he let out a roar. Phylex attempted to support him, but several other magicians began their attack on him and they kept him away from supporting the Spirit Dragon.

As the dust cleared, Draga rose to his feet and glared fiercely at the magicians through vertical pupils. He was enraged at the fact that mere humans brought him down by temporarily disabling the function of one of his wings. He narrowed his eyes and his nostrils flared in rage as he staggered to his feet.

“Filthy humans! Die!” he roared telepathically.

As the magicians continued to attack his armoured body with magic that little damage, he opened his mouth wide to launch an attack of his own at them.

“Spirit Hurricane!”

In an instant, large rings of energy got released from his mouth and they soared forward. Upon being hit by the rings, the magician screamed wildly before his body exploded into pieces, causing several of the magicians to blow up from just one of that attack. Draga continued firing Spirit Hurricane in all directions before the magicians quickly retreated to put up a defensive barrier over themselves.

While that was happening, Lakshman fought hard against the leader of the attackers. He was having no trouble with the battle, but he did not wish to kill this man who seemed to be full of pride and honour. His first principle when he faces an enemy is to give them a chance to surrender and he attempted to do that.

“Stop this needless bloodshed!” he shouted at him as they clashed swords. “You’re men are needlessly dying!”

“Shut up, demon! We don’t need your pity!” the leader shouted at him as they backed away from each other. “In the name of the God of Justice and the Shambasa Religion that I follow, I will carry out my mission in destroying you!”

Lakshman widened his eyes in shock and felt despair surging from within him. In that instant, he became extremely angry with the religion that sent these brave men to their deaths.

“Very well! I understand your mission, but I have to live and if it means to that you die, then I shall carry it out!” Lakshman screamed at him.

The leader smiled and said, “Bravo! Now, die! UUUUHHHHHH!!!”

He charged forward with his sword blazing with energy that he held with both of his hand and swung it at Lakshman, who easily ducked to avoid the blow. After dodging the sword strike, he used the Demon Slayer to quickly swing around to stab into the man’s stomach. The man groaned in shock and he looked down to see the dark katana blade piercing into stomach through his armour.

“Y-You have defeated me, but you didn’t defeat my faith!” the man said weakly before his body sagged and collapsed on the ground as his life was extinguished.

Lakshman stood there with the Demon Slayer bloodied from the kill it delivered as people began to realise what just happened. He held his head down and stared at the man, who fought bravely for the faith that he believed in and this enraged him.

Lakshman reared his head back and he began screaming at the top of his voice as he began to surge with energy.

“UUUUUUURRRRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

All around him, the fighting stopped and all warriors, including Ondine and the beast form of Cantia stopped to turn to face him. The magician attackers and his wives all stopped their assault and watched in shock while Phylex and Draga looked on as Lakshman addressed everyone on the battlefield.

He activated amplification and increased the volume of his voice before addressing all enemies.

“All of you leave before you all die painfully at my hands! Your leader is dead and there is no one left to lead you further! Turn around, get back on your horses and get away from here before I open my eyes! When I do, I will slaughter each and every one of you until you are all a bad of meant only! Now, retreat before you perish!”

As he finished speaking, he began to surge with power and he gave off a powerful intimidating aura that scared everyone. The close combat unit took one glance at their fallen leader and began shouting in fear. They turned around and ran all the way back to where their horses were from where they left them. The magicians were surprised to see their close combat unit retreating when they saw the two monsters land nearby to glare fiercely at them. Letting out

cries in fear, they also joined their close combat unit and began riding their horses back the way they came.

Once they were gone, only silence remained in the entire area. Ondine and Cantia in her beast form, walked towards Lakshman as he looked down at the warrior that he had killed.

“Why are you letting them go free, Lucky?” Ondine asked him hesitantly when she reached him.

He turned to look at her with a pained expression on his face as he said, “I’m not a killer, Ondine… I’m not a killer…”

He looked down at the Demon Slayer that was bloodstained from killing the leader and he felt remorseful about it.

“I’m sorry I used you to do the deed, Silvera,” he thought apologetically.

“There is no need to apologise, Lucky. He left with you with no choice and you did what you had to do. Unlike his blind belief in his faith, you had your responsibility as the head of the family to protect us and the kingdom,” Silvera told him reassuringly in his mind.

“Silvera is right, Lucky. Please, don’t torment yourself for what you did because it is justified by your reasons to protect us,” Tetra told him in his mind.

“Yes. You’re right,” Lakshman said and he nodded in agreement.

Later, he made Phylex fly overhead and use Inferno Breath to burn the ground and the bodies.

He did not wish to bury them, but he also did not want to leave them out there for the birds to eat. As the ground burned up and Erza used her water magic to make it rain later, he silently prayed for the peace of the people that have died that day. Very soon, new grass formed and grew in their place to clear away the night’s destruction.

Afterwards, Lakshman sent a squad of warriors to the hall the Shambasa Religion owned and had all of the sages, including the head sage, arrested. At first, their head sage protested against the charges and denied everything and that was when they tested out a new drink that Wolfenstine invented, which he called the Noitophturt. Using this on the head sage immediately produced result when he admitted to sending the Demon Extermination Squad the religion had under their command.

After that, Lakshman declared the false beliefs the Shambasa Religion had been spreading, which shocked the entire kingdom. The religion soon became hated within the kingdom and their very image was ripped up and destroyed by the enraged populace of the kingdom.

A while later, Lakshman sent a squad of Phintex Knights to the three kingdoms with a letter that, in no subtle tone, demanded the kingdom to immediately take down the Shambasa Religion and if they supported them, he would wage a full scale war on them as enemies of false beliefs. Fearing trouble and knowing how powerful he was, the three kingdoms immediately obeyed the letters and told the populace exactly what he wanted them to say.

Very soon, Shambasa Religion, which was one known as a brilliant religion, quickly became the hated religion. However, its fall gave birth to several new religions that Lakshman was keeping a watchful eye over. These religions sang a different tune to the Shambasa Religion, preaching peace and peace of mind. He let them do whatever they want for now, but if anything happened in the future, he clearly told them he would do the same thing he did to the Shambasa Religion, which they quickly understood.

A week after all the trouble was blown over them, Lakshman was at his house in the living room. He was leaning his back against the comfortable char he was sitting on as he contemplated on his actions so far. He was soon joined by Venezuela as the other girls were out shopping for food supplies and to buy new clothes.

Venezuela sat beside him and smiled as she said, “You really took down the Shambasa Religion. Well done!”

“Thanks, but tell me… Why couldn’t you take it down? You’re the queen of the kingdom, right?” he asked her curiously.

She chuckled and said, “I am, but most people didn’t take my word that seriously. I had to get Felix to do most of the things because of their stupid attitude towards me.”

“It’s because they treated you like a woman instead of a queen,” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding. He looked irritated as he said, “Damn nobles… They will never learn their lesson. I’ll have to have a person word with them later.”

“Right,” Vena said and she smiled as she leaned on his shoulder. “So, what’s your next objective?”

“My next objective…?” Lakshman asked slowly. Then, he slowly nodded and said, “My next objective is to take down Slavemancer and get Dominic married with Shalany. That is what I must focus on doing now.”

“Well then… I will support you fully,” she said as she closed her eyes.

He nodded without saying anything. As she rested by leaning on him, he leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. The Slavemancer was a tough opponent, who has bother support, wealth, authority and power to control the people of society. However, Lakshman began to felt excitement surging within him as he prepared for his final battle against the king of slavery.

“Get ready, Slavemancer…! I will take you down…!” he thought firmly and he smiled as he closed his eyes to rest.

Phoenix Rising Special Meeting Whamana “Whamana… Whamana… Whaman!” said a voice within the darkness.

Whamana, who was mostly known as the Decisive Player, slowly opened his eyes. He suddenly found himself floating in a world of darkness. The only light in the place was coming from his body, which was glowing in a brilliant white light. He was surprised to find himself there to the point he had feeling in his body. He used his arms to feel his body and he was surprised to find himself solid.

“Why…? Why do I have my body?” he asked while looking confused.

Just then, he heard a familiar voice near him say, “Hello, Whamana. It’s been a long time since we met.”

Whamana was surprised to hear the voice and he swirled around in the dark to see who it was talking to him. He was surprised when he saw a large glow of light that seemed to be stationary in the emptiness of that dark world. At first, he narrowed his eyes suspiciously because he remembered seeing that light somewhere before. It was a strange light that seemed to possess a mind and a will of its own.

“Where have I seen that light before…?”

“Whamana, did you forget me after such a long time since you left the God Plane?” the voice asked in an exasperated voice.

Upon hearing the term ‘God Plane,’ he realised whom he was talking to and a small smile formed on his face as he relaxed.

“Oh… It’s you, Creator?”

As he said the name out loud, the light quickly changed shape and took on the form of a human being. A white mouth appeared on the white being as it appeared to be making a small smile on its white face.

“Very perceptive of you to recognise me,” The Creator said brightly. “Many have forgotten that I am always around even though they believe I am far, far away from their reach.”

Whamana shrugged his shoulders and said, “Unlike all the beings you created, you don’t possess an actual form. You’re an omnipotent being capable of doing anything at will, so something as simple as changing your form is easy. So yeah… It’s only natural that I’d recognise, plus you are the one that created me.” Then, he looked around at the dark world and asked, “So, where am I? And, what is this place?”

“It doesn’t matter where you are,” The Creator said shortly.

“Fine. Then, answer me why I’m still have a physical form or the fact that I’m still here?”

“Your thirst for knowledge never ceases to amaze me,” The Creator said and he smiled again before he said, “I brought you back from the Unknown.”

“The Unknown? IS that where I’ve been this whole time?” Whamana asked and The Creator nodded.

“After sacrificing your spirit energy to bring Lakshman Reddy back to life, you lost all spiritual recognition and thus, ended up getting piled up with all the rest of junk in the Unknown.”

“That’s right! I did that!” Whamana said and he looked pleased with himself. “Thanks to me, he lived, but I do wonder what happened after that. Do you have any idea what possibly happened to him after that?”

The Creator’s white body suddenly glowed bright pink, which made Whamana look very annoyed.

“You didn’t add a please at the end of your sentence,” he said cheekily. “Be nicer to someone when you ask someone a favour and make sure to end with a ‘please’ for politeness.”

“Stop teasing me and show me what’s happening to him right now!” Whamana demanded irritably.

The Creator’s body suddenly became bright red and fumes started exhibiting out of him. The darkness suddenly began to swirl around wildly as tension began to thicken in the air.

Whamana was shocked as he suddenly realised he angered his maker and quickly apologised for his rude behaviour.

“I’m sorry for my rudeness! Please, forgive me!”

The Creator nodded in satisfaction as his body glowed bright green. Whamana took the colour to mean that he had calmed down and he sighed wearily. It had been a very long time since he met with The Creator and he quite forgot to mind his manners around him.

“So… Could you please show me what Lakshman Reddy is doing right now?” Whamana asked him curiously.

The Creator nodded and said, “Since you asked so nicely, I shall.”

He raised his white hand to the side and in an instant, a white holographic screen appeared.

Whamana turned to see the screen was filled with white dancing dots and they were moving around madly.

“Terminal, show me what Lakshman Reddy is currently doing," The Creator said to the holographic screen.

“Yessu!” said the dancing dots.

For a few seconds, the holographic screen continued to be danced with filled with dancing dots. Then, the screen became completely black and a moment later, an image appeared on the screen. Whamana widened his eyes in amazement as he saw Lakshman appear on the screen while smiling. He was apparently sitting in some sort of room while surrounded by seven women around him.

“Ah…!” Whamana said in sheer happiness in seeing his face. “He’s changed quite a bit in the appearance, but his hair’s the most change there. I remember it being spiky black, but now it’s almost straight with it standing up slightly.”

“This is his current form two years after you last saw him,” The Creator said to him. “He has grown quite a bit in these two years and his power has also risen to a satisfying level.”

“Wonderful!” Whamana said in a happy voice. “I’m happy to see he had grown up so much in just these two years and I’m also glad to see the seven Destiny Queens gathered around him.

Hmm?!”

He made an explanation sound when the screen seemed to have panned out to give a wider display. To his surprise, the person sitting opposite to Lakshman was none other than the God of Energy, Engraut.

“Huh?! Engraut? What’s he going there?” Whamana asked and he looked worried.

“He is there to explain a bit about Lakshman’s past along with the small detail about the Destiny Queens, which you seemed to have left him to do in your place,” The Creator said and his body turned an annoying yellowish colour.

“Ah… I was supposed to do that, but unfortunately, Lakshman’s heart was pulled out and I had no choice, but to use my energy to restore his ripped out heart,” Whamana said and he looked uncomfortable. Then, he quickly recovered and smiled as he said, “Anyway! I’m glad he gathered the seven of them and soon, his destiny will be fulfilled!”

The Creator looked at him for a moment before waving a white hand at the holographic screen. The dancing dots stopped dancing and made a smiling face on the screen before vanishing in a puff of black smoke.

“I have answered everything you requested and now, it’s your turn to answer my requests.”

Whamana leaned back slightly in the dark world and formed a small smile as he said, “I thought as much. Knowing you, I was sure you wouldn’t have brought me back without a powerful reason. Fine. What request do you have for me to answer to?”

The Creator began glowing in orange colour and he spoke in an annoyed voice.

“Do not treat me like I am some sort of schemer,” The Creator said indignantly. Then, as his colour returned to pure white, he asked, “My request is about learning what you do to Lakshman Reddy from an early age.”

“What I did? Do you mean my doing my best in absorbing everything that I deemed he didn’t need?” Whamana asked and he appeared to be surprised.

“Yes, but even with that, his growth was unnatural and strange, which confused me. That’s why, I want to better understand what you did to him, right from the very beginning.”

Whamana made a small frown on his face as he asked, “You’re The Creator, the maker of everything! Are you saying you couldn’t see into his mind to find out for yourself what I was doing?”

“Not quite. I had tried and found that the boy was being shielded from external factors, such as myself, from the God of Live, the God of Freedom, the God of Justice, the God of Destruction, the Goddess of Fate and the Goddess of Protection. With them protecting the boy from my infinite power, I did not delve much into that matter since they are doing so much to protect that boy from the Eye of the World.

Then, after you left, I became able to see into his mind, but I could not find out anything at all.

So, explain to me what happened in there. Why did he grow up to fight with sword and energy only? What happened to the five years of magic training he received from a certain individual known as Sumara Manjuvad? ”

Whamana folded his arms and closed his eyes for a moment as he floated there. A few seconds later, he reopened them and he smiled as he looked up at The Creator.

“Fine. I will answer,” Whamana said shortly and The Creator nodded in satisfaction.

“Answer me why the boy uses only sword and energy? What happened to the magic he learnt? Was the teacher bad or—?”

“Hold on!” Whamana quickly said and The Creator stopped speaking to listen. “No! Sumara Manjuvad is an excellent teacher, no doubt about it! Her explanations of the concepts behind the magic and then their execution was spot on. In fact, Lucky could’ve mastered his magic training in 2-3 years’ time.”

“You interfered,” The Creator said and Whamana nodded in agreement.

“I certainly did. I had observed how the young Phoenix Titans quickly became overconfident with their exceptional inborn talent in using magic, never knowing their strong negative feelings brought the Voice of the Phoenix to the surface. That title should actually belong to me since it stated in the Phoenix Clan’s records as it is a conscious without the Phoenix Titan that leads them into doing good.

I was easily pushed aside each time the Phoenix Titan was reincarnated and after committing crimes, the negativity within the Phoenix Titan’s spirit grew to an extensive large amount.

That’s why, after the Phoenix Titan died 8000 years ago, I requested the God of Life to please hold back the next reincarnation until all the collected negative energy from the spirit is released. He agreed and it took 8000 years before we were reincarnated once more, along with the Voice of the Phoenix.

The Voice of the Phoenix became weak due to losing all of its negative power and that gave me the edge. I quickly fought and suppressed its consciousness away with my own power and allowed the baby to grow up into an innocent, stupid, dumb and dense headed fool. I know I did unjust to the kid, but I had no choice in the matter, with that lethal thing lurking deep within him. It’s like how easily a powerful demon controls a weak minded human into doing something bad without the human ever realising it or becoming aware of it until it’s too late.

The last Phoenix Titan was the same, realising the horror of his actions when the racial war because of him.

Anyway, I focused on absorbing all negative thoughts, blocking his complex thoughts and made sure to make him focus only on using sword and possibly energy. Using magic became a taboo for the newly rising Phoenix Titan and I also made sure to do all these things without the boy ever becoming aware of my presence within him. In essence, I became the very demon that almost controlled him into becoming a total fool!

Whamana looked very sad at himself at the words he said about his actions. He was truly unhappy with his actions, but he had steeled himself and prepared to do whatever it took him to fulfil his mission.

“If I let him grow up without any interference, the Voice of the Phoenix would’ve easily pushed me aside and taken over the boy’s mind before making him do terrible things as usual. I had no choice because there wouldn’t be next time since there might not be a world to be born into after this!”

The Creator nodded his white head in understanding as he said, “That explains it, but this whole thing started right before the death of the First Phoenix Titan, Ashura Rangavardan, right?”

Whamana nodded and said, “The Great Ancient Darkness killed his wives, the first Destiny Queens in order to weaken him. It worked and in a fit of rage from losing his wives, Ashura attacked the great darkness and weakened it in the process that it had to sleep for a very long time. Unfortunately, defeating it also cost him his life and thus the reincarnation process of the Phoenix Titan began. However, the Great Ancient Darkness placed a powerful curse on him, which became the Voice of the Phoenix.

Now, it’s going to return several years from now and I wanted Lakshman to be pure to fight it.

That’s why, I forcibly took over his mind and made sure any and all complex thoughts about the techniques and the world are dulled and he focused solely on getting stronger. His personality was innocent and he never once thought of hurting a single creature, except the monsters that hurt him and the people around him. His strong sense of righteousness was even greater than Ashura’s if I have to compare.”

“Oh? Then, explain to me why he was so suddenly almost killed when two Serprad Demon Clan warriors stumbled into him while they chased after a mutated Two-Headed Cerberus?”

The Creator asked curiously.

“That was entirely Tetra’s fault!” Whamana said forcefully and he suddenly looked very angry.

“That stupid Sacred Spirit sensed the birth of her new master, but could not confirm that it is Lakshman Reddy. Apparently, she was suspicious of his strange behaviour, which was nothing like that of a new rising Phoenix Titan.

In order to better assess him, she remained deactivated until the time Lakshman met the two Serprad Demon Clans. She momentarily activated her powers and used them to forcibly hold his powers back. Because of that, he missed the movement of the demon warrior and he became stabbed in the chest. Then, she used that opportunity to come into Lakshman’s quickly fading mind and there, she met me.

I was so furious with her that I almost came to slap her in the face! However, she is a Destiny Queen and I quickly calmed down before explaining what I’ve been doing, which she quickly understood and followed according the plan I laid out to her. After that, you should know what happened.”

The Creator nodded in understanding and he smiled at how angry Whamana looked.

“Calm down,” he said in a calm voice. “One man’s efforts changed the very future. Your actions helped Lakshman to develop into a fine young man. Now, he is the king of Floria Kingdom and married to seven of the Destiny Queens. He has done lots of effort into demolishing the slavery system in his kingdom, the false believers of Shambasa Religion and is now going to go head to head against the Slavemancer in order to take down slavery for good and get Dominic Rutherford and Shalany Jagabadasen.

You need not fear him losing control to the Voice of the Phoenix. He met it and he understood its evil nature, which is why he spent the last two years concentrating mostly on suppressing it unconsciously so it would not rise up and take over him like it did in his past lives.”

“That’s amazing!” Whamana said brightly as he cheered up at the news. “My boy…! Only two years have gone and he’s grown so much! I am really proud of him!”

The Creator nodded in agreement, but his smile vanished and his body began to glow in purple colour. Whamana noticed the colour change and he realised The Creator was anxious about something, which was strange to see.

“What’s the matter?” Whamana asked while looking worried.

The Creator looked at him slowly and said, “The God of Life choose the wrong time to let Lakshman Reddy reborn.”

“Huh? Why?” “It’s because his mortal enemy has been awakened; the Calamity Titan,” The Creator said and his purple glowing body became darker to show his unhappiness.

Hearing the title of who it was, the colour drained from Whamana’s face and he exclaimed, “No… No…! No! It can’t be! He shouldn’t be awake just yet—!”

The Creator nodded and said, “That was the case, but he was awoken by a selfish boy some hundred years ago and Calamity Titan granted him the power of the Demon Eyes: Controller.”

“So…! It was him after all that gave him those eyes!” Whamana said and he looked angry. “I always thought there wouldn’t be any chance of Kaizukamra giving him such powerful eyes, but it was actually him…! It makes sense now!” He quickly looked up at his maker and asked, “Please! You have to warn Lakshman about his mortal enemy! Please!”

The Creator shook his head and Whamana demanded, “Why not?!”

“In the year, 7777 of the WAR Era, I watched the world heading towards its destruction with many of the world leaders fighting each other over to dominate the world. I wanted balance in this world and so, I entered the Physical Plane as Zekadraite Askajengret and put an end to the war in three years. Thus, I ended up becoming the Emperor of the World and that was when the IRN Era began.

I spent the next 1000 years trying to keep peace around the world while helping them progress with their learning and such. However, by the end of the 1000th year, I realised how foolish I had been with them constantly trying to fight each other instead of trying to live in peace. They were like rapid animals that lacked the basic thought to understand that they were destroying themselves.

After that, I firmly chose to never assist the dwellers of the Physical Plane ever again. How they live, where they go and what happens to them is left up to their fates. Their destiny is decided by what they choose to do and where they eventually go from those choices. Like that, I believe it is only right to leave Lakshman Reddy to his fate and see where he goes.”

“Are you saying I should waste my endless torment of having to watch from the sidelines as each Phoenix Titan failed in what Ashura originally imagined for his reincarnations to do?”

Whamana asked while looking frustrated.

The Creator looked at his creation and made a small smile as he said, “You are needlessly worrying. His fate is strong and if they ever meet, you can be confident that he will survive the ordeal.”

“B-B-But—!” Whamana began desperately. “With his current transformation as the Phoenix Titan, he will never defeat the Calamity Titan! He has to unlock the final seal and awaken his true transformation! Only then can he hope to defeat Calamity Titan and there’s a problem with that since many bad things will happen once the final seal is broken!”

The Creator placed his right hand on his white chin as a question mark appeared above his head as if he was thinking about something. Then, the question mark suddenly became an exclamation mark and he smiled once more as he looked at Whamana.

“Since, you have sacrificed so much to keep that boy alive, I will help the boy out when the need arises,” he told him. Whamana’s eyes widened in surprise and as he slowly smiled, The Creator quickly said, “However, I will not support him from the front or the side. I will only appear at random times when he stuck like a small guidance. Many of my creations have done the same to heroes of the past, so I doubt it will hurt if I do something similar to Lakshman Reddy.”

Whamana smile widened and he said, “Thank you very much, O’ Mighty One! Now, I can be at ease as I fade away into the Unknown.”

“In return, I want you to go to the Cycle of Rebirth,” The Creator said and a small smile appeared on his face.

“Huh? Return to the Cycle of Rebirth? Why?” Whamana asked curiously while looking surprised.

The Creator nodded and said, “Yes. The Phoenix Titan that will be born after Lakshman Reddy will require your assistance and you will do well when you become part of the Nine Pillars of Power to help him out. I am certain that Lakshman would agree with me if he was here right now.”

“Wait! What do you mean I’ll be part of the Nine Pillars of Power and which one will I end up being?” Whamana asked immediately.

“Who knows…?” The Creator said and his body became bright pink, annoying Whamana again.

The Creator obviously knows about the future, but he will never tell anyone about it due to his desire to watch as it unfolds. Whamana only had a certain amount of knowledge about certain parts of this time, but he knew nothing of what might happen in the future. However, he understood what The Creator was saying and he slowly smiled up at his maker.

“Alright. I’ll agree to your terms,” he said and he floated forward with his hand held out.

The Creator appeared to be surprised at Whamana’s held out hand and he asked, “You’re planning to shake hand with your maker?”

“What’s wrong with that? Among the humans, children often end up gladly shaking hands with their parents, who gave birth to them. It’s the same with what I’m doing here,” Whamana said cheerfully.

The Creator smiled and his body colour changed to that of green. Then, he held his hand out and shook it firmly with Whamana. Suddenly, Whamana’s body began to glow brightly and he realised he was going to head towards the Cycle of Rebirth.

As he was being pulled, he looked at The Creator and said, “Make sure you fulfil your part of the deal!”

The Creator nodded silently and Whamana was pulled up as he floated away from his maker.

He looked one last time down at his maker before disappearing into the darkness in a flash of light. The Creator looked up to watch him go and once he was gone, he sighed with his body colour returning to pure white.

“Time to see what move the young Phoenix Titan will make next,” The Creator said before chuckling and he formed a small smile on his white face before disappearing in a flash of light from that dark world.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 253 Counterattack

Lakshman was in his king’s chamber and he was signing a pair of papers on his desk while his staff were not there. After putting in a lot of effort into the abolishment of slavery within Floria Kingdom, they have taken a week of break. During their absence, it was silent without the usual bustling noise, which initially surprised Lakshman because he had gotten accustomed to the noise.

“It really makes a difference when you work alone,” he muttered as he signed the documents.

He doors to the room opened and Felix walked in while looking around. It had been three days since the staff went on leave and the almost empty room always surprised him whenever he came.

“You called for me?” asked Felix once he arrived and stopped behind his desk.

“I did,” Lakshman said and he patted the signed documents at the side table. “I called you here to give the final approval to this before making them public.”

Felix picked up the documents and asked, “Is it about the Weapon Ranks?”

Lakshman nodded and said, “That’s right. It’s about time I get these rolling out.”

“Hmm…” Felix made a small sound with his mouth as he went through the documents.

“Weapon Types: Spear, Bow and Hammer. You’re adding these to the types of weapons someone can master other than the usual Water Sword Style and North Sword Style?”

“Dominic is very good at both spear and bow, which he demonstrated not too long ago. It made me realise that, just because people are bad at them, doesn’t mean I should just ignore their potential. That’s why, I want to add their ranks to the existing weapons ranks as well.”

“I see. It’s good that you’re seeing a wider picture,” Felix said and he sounded impressed.

“Yes, but it makes me wonder why the previous kings never bothered to implement this before me,” Lakshman said while looking perplexed.

“It’s simple…! They didn’t have the kind of power you have to make it possible until now!”

Felix said before letting out a small laugh. “They may have had authority, but they lacked the

powers of a powerful warrior to make these things possible. Also, don’t forget than more than 4000 years went by with people only caring about comfort than actually fulfilling their roles as leaders.”

‘I know, I know…” Lakshman said wearily. “Anyway, how goes the handling of taking down the Shambasa Religion and all their associates?”

“It was quite easy once you sent that threatening message to all the three kingdoms,” Felix said with a small smile on his face. “Seriously…! I never thought the day would come when you’d threaten a neighbouring kingdom.”

“What choice did I have?” Lakshman asked irritably. “They wouldn’t move if I didn’t force them to! If they had showed their correct behaviour in the past, I would’ve spoken to them nicely. However, their history has been nothing good and that’s why, I threatened them if they didn’t act properly.”

Felix smiled and nodded in understanding when, all of a sudden, both of them became alert.

They sensed a strange disturbance taking place outside and as they looked towards the door when a sudden explosion suddenly rang somewhere in the castle.

“What the? Are we under attack, but how?” Felix asked and Lakshman shook his head.

He rose to his feet and moved to the front with Felix when he heard screams of people being attacked. Fearing something bad, he and Felix quickly walked forward when, all of a sudden, several people appeared at the entrance of the door.

“There he is!” the leading man, who appeared to be from the Deigra Beast Clan.

Lakshman watched him in shock and saw his claws were bloody as if they had cut through many bodies. Surrounding him were several more warriors from the same clan as him with claws and mouths red with blood. They had obviously hurt or killed the guards to barge into the castle and their target was Lakshman.

“Die!” the front beast man shouted and he leaped into the air with his sharp claws at the ready to cut Lakshman up.

Lakshman stood there for a moment and watched him soar towards him when Felix suddenly got in front of him. Annoyed, Lakshman used his left hand to grab Felix by the collar and pull him aside as the beast man suddenly increased his speed to rocket towards Lakshman. The moment the beast man reached him, Lakshman moved at incredible speed and he ducked to avoid the lethal claws.

He lunged his right hand out and grabbed the beast man by the face and held him firmly there.

The beast man yelped in surprise and before he could do anything, Lakshman turned him around before slamming him hard into the floor, causing the ground to shake momentarily. He lay there unmoving, knocked out from the powerful slam against the floor. Lakshman turned and saw the rest of them leap towards him like wild animals.

“Ugh!” Lakshman became annoyed and he quickly brought his hands in front of him and released a strong wave of energy towards them, blasting them out of the room in the process. Once they were out, he followed them while ignoring Felix’s shouts of concern.

“Lucky! Wait!” Felix shouted, but he quickly gave up knowing Lakshman would not listen.

Lakshman chased after the nine beast men and arrived at the courtyard where the soldiers had trained earlier. Right now, it was deserted because they were on lunch break and as Lakshman arrived there, he was suddenly surrounded by “Why are you attacking me? Who sent you to kill me?” Lakshman demanded angrily, but the beast men simply growled in anger. As they transformed into their beast forms, Lakshman sighed and said, “Fine…! I guess I’m just going to have to beat the answers out of you! Energy Blades!”

Two shimmering energy swords appeared at his side and he grabbed them as he looked at the beasts surrounding him. The first to make their move was the beasts and the one behind Lakshman leaped at him in an attempted to bite his head off, but Lakshman quickly reacted.

He swung around and dodged the attack while, at the same time, he used his energy blades to cut off the beast’s sharp claws and teeth. Then, they all began attacking him quickly and he moved around chopping of and trimming their sharp claws and fang like teeth with ease while dodging their every attack.

“I could just kill them since they are attempting to kill me, but I have this strange feeling again…” he thought while he continued to dodge around their attacks. “It’s back again five years ago when I was travelled with Darian, Rumble and Marilia. Those wild Triaboros attacked a caravan of people along with a Fribaboros. It turned out the Fribaboros was a mother just searching for its baby those people had kidnapped. Maybe the same thing is happening here…?

Maybe they’re attacking me for completely different reason?”

“Hey! Why are you so desperate? Answer me!” Lakshman shouted at them and only received their growling in response. He sighed and muttered, “Seriously…! I’ll have to use Transcendent Talk.”

Just then, he heard a familiar voice shout, “Paralysing Blades!”

In an instant, several materialised out of nowhere and they flew towards the beasts. Six swords in total lodged themselves into each of the beast to paralyse them from making any sort of move. Lakshman turned around to see Dominic holding his Destiny Sword out while looking furious at the beasts that were attacking his friend.

“I heard a commotion earlier and when I came to check, the guards came running to me and said something about a monster attack. At first, I was confused, but then I sensed your power suddenly rising and I realised you were engaged with these monsters. So, I quickly came here to assist,” Dominic explained as he walked over to Lakshman.

“Makes sense,” Lakshman said before waving at him to stop where he was. “Now, stop right there. I’m going to use a technique that could hurt you.”

“O-Okay…” Dominic said and he looked puzzled.

The beasts had fallen all around him, but they still had plenty of energy in them to growl at him. He looked around at them one last time before closing his eyes and clapped his hands together.

“Transcendent Talk!”

In an instant, his body began to glow in a bright glow of light and the light quickly spread everywhere within the courtyard. A moment later, he opened his eyes to find himself standing in a white space with clouds flying in all directions. Lying down around him were nine Deigra Beast Clan warriors in their beast form as they radiated red aura of rage.

As he stood there, he heard small voices from them as they made their way towards him.

“We have to kill him! We have no choice!”

“That’s right! Our families are in danger if we don’t bring his head back!”

“We have to succeed or our wives… our children… they’ll be killed…!”

Lakshman heard them and his eyes narrowed as he was glad his hunch was correct in thinking they attacked him for a completely different reason. He closed his eyes and clapped his hands together and in an instant, he felt his reality change once more. Reopening his eyes, he found himself standing at the courtyard with the beasts lying down with the paralysing swords stuck in their bodies.

“You’re attacking me because your families are in danger, huh?” Lakshman asked curiously and the beasts suddenly stopped growling. They yelped in surprise and he smiled as he continued to say, “It seems whoever sent you here want my head as their gift and failure would be the end of your families.”

The beasts remained silent and looked at him through wide eyes in surprise and he shrugged his shoulders. He used his summoning magic to conjure up a comfortable looking chair and he sat down on it with the beasts still lying down around him.

“Come on, you lot! Answer me already!” he shouted at them and startled them. “Turn back into your forms, otherwise I will seriously shock the hell out of you with my lightning attacks!”

In order to carry out his threat, he activated Lightning Burster magic spell and the lightning began to burst out of the right hand he had held out. Seeing this, the beasts immediately let out a low moan before transforming back into their humanoid forms and that was when he realised that they could not appear like any human like Cantia or the beast man that works for the Slavemancer.

As Dominic appeared to stand and watch from the side lines, the humanoid beast dogs knelt down and said, “W-We humbly apologise for attacking you Phoenix Titan! Please, forgive our murderous actions, but we had no choice! Our families are being held hostage my one of our own kin, who evolved to become stronger than the rest of us.”

“On of your own?” Lakshman asked curiously and he wondered if it was the one he was thinking about.

They nodded their heads at him while one of them said, “Yes! He’s the guy who works for the Slavemancer.”

“Ah…! So… It was him…!” Lakshman thought and he inwardly smiled. Outwardly, he appeared to be serious as he said, “Mind telling me everything from the beginning, but before that…

Dom! Tell Felix to tend to the guy who I knocked to the floor in my chamber.”

“O-Okay, but—!” Dominic began and he looked around at the humanoid beasts.

“Go already!” Lakshman said irritably and Dominic hurried away to the king’s chamber. Once he was gone, Lakshman turned around and was surprised to see they had all gathered in front of him while looking worried. He sighed and asked, “Tell me from the beginning of what happened.”

They retold the events of the past few days, which took several minutes to explain. According to what they said, the beast man that worked for Slavemancer apparently arrived at their

homes and attacked his own kin before beating down all the men. Then, he took the women and children as hostages and said he would see to that they receive a proper funeral if they did not successfully return with the head of Lakshman Reddy. After that, they travelled here using their exceptionally built beast bodies, but used their humanoid forms to enter the capital of the kingdom.

Hearing this, Lakshman clapped a hand over his head in annoyance and thought, “Damn…!

Make a mental note to see Wolfenstine to see if he’s done with that Barrier Generator!”

“You’re our target, so we didn’t hurt your guards by that much.”

“Yes! We simply scratched them to make sure they wouldn’t come after us.”

“I see,” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding. “At least, I’m glad there wasn’t any needless death, otherwise I would’ve had to punish you lot! However, didn’t you think it was a bad idea to attack the king of a kingdom like that?”

“We… thought about that, but our priority is to protect our families,” one of them said and all of them appeared to be sad.

Lakshman looked at them and sighed heavily before saying, “Fine! I understand you didn’t attack me because you wanted to, but your circumstances forced you to and I will accept those circumstances. However, if that man learns of your failure, he will ruthlessly murder your families without a second thought. That’s why, I will lend you my assistance in handling this matter.”

“Y-You will?!” they asked quickly and Lakshman nodded firmly.

“Of course because I have a bone to pick with that guy as well, plus the guy he is working for.

Both of them need to go down and this just gives me that opportunity to do just that,” Lakshman said and he smiled at them, causing the beasts to smile in happiness.

Later, when he told Felix the same time, Felix clapped his hand over his head in disbelief. He could not believe those people attempted to kill the Phoenix Titan over something like that, but Lakshman quickly stated how their families are important to him.

“I’m sure you’d be pretty serious if Rasha and Sasha were kidnapped by a fellow family member, right?”

Felix looked at him coldly and said, “In my case, I would’ve blown the guy to bits before I let that happen.”

Lakshman looked a little taken aback at how firmly Felix said those words.

“Uh… A-Anyway…! We need to help these guy out and taking that down at the same time is the way to go,” Lakshman told him as he quickly recovered his firmness. “Go alert members of the Phintex Rajas to prepare for an assault on the Enslavement Department in Rodfox Kingdom! In the meantime, call for the meeting with the other kingdoms! It’s time to take slavery down once and for all.”

Felix nodded and said, “Understood, but that will take a few days of time to contact each of the kingdoms. By the way, how should I go about handling the Rodfox Kingdom? Isn’t their king worried about their relationship with the Slavemancer?”

“Even if it takes forceful means to bring him back, do it!” Lakshman said firmly.

Felix nodded in agreement and he set his plans in calling for the Four Kingdom Meeting, which he sent a Phintex Raja to each kingdom to call them to it. Each of the kingdom’s kings were surprised when they received the message for the meeting, but they knew they must go since it was the Phoenix Titan calling the meeting.

Several days after the attack of the beasts, it was finally decided the meeting was going to be held in Floria Kingdom inside the castle. Each of the kings would be arriving with the assistance of the Phintex Raja using their Warp magic to travel long distances in a short amount of time.

While they were preparing for the meeting, Felix met with Rasha and explained what was going to happen, which she was slightly apprehensive about.

“I heard the Slavemancer controls people through eye contact or something. How will you counter his eyes?” she had said to her husband while looking worried.

Felix shrugged his shoulders and said, “I am worried about the same thing, but Lucky said not to worry and told us to meet him before leaving for Rodfox Kingdom with those ten Deigra Beast Clan members.”

“I see…” she said slowly and she nodded in understanding. “I can’t believe one of their own kin used them to assassinate a king. That’s so sad, but it makes matters worse that he has hostages! You better make sure the hostages are fine and safe, otherwise Lakshman will be really angry at us and the clan!”

“I know. I’m well aware of the risks involved here, but this isn’t my first time handling a tough job. So, don’t worry because I am confident that failure is only twenty-percent with us having higher chances of us achieving victory!” Felix told her confidently.

A few days after that, which was 34th of Beitec, the Four Kingdom Meeting was going to held around ten, going by the times stated clearly on the Crystal Clocks. Early in the morning, Felix and a small group of Phoenix Clan members arrived at the castle before departing for Rodfox Kingdom on their mission. They arrived at the courtyard where the soldiers usually trained, but they were not training that day. The arrival of kings from the three other kingdoms put their top priority into defending them.

Lakshman was waiting for them along with a fully armoured Dominic, the Sword Titan. It seemed that he was also going along with them, which relieved Felix because his power of swords and skills would certainly come in handy to be used against the Slavemancer. Also standing beside Lakshman was none other than the Scientific King, Wolfenstine. His presence with Lakshman surprised Felix because he thought the guy would be “I’m glad you came before leaving because I was worried you might leave with talking to me,” Lakshman said as he smiled at them.

“We’re not that impatient to go,” Felix said and the rest of them nodded in agreement.

“Right. Anyway, Wolfenstine. Give them the stuff I ordered you to make a while ago,” Lakshman said to him.

“Of course,” Wolfenstine said and he grinned before extending his hand out.

There was a bright glow of light and in an instant, a plate full of strange looking glasses materialised. Felix and the warriors looked at them and thought they looked bizarre with the way they were strangely shaped. As he took the plate to each of them, the warriors took one each and put them on. There was nothing different about them, except it made them looked really weird.

“What are these?” Felix asked as he examined the glasses.

“I call them the Resonance Glasses!” Wolfenstine declared proudly. “A while back, Lakshman came to see me after coming back from that party at the Slavemancer’s mansion and told me to make him glasses that had the power to protect the user from demon eyes. I was immediately excited at the prospect of making protective glasses for such things and thus, Resonance Glasses are born!”

“Oh…!” the Phoenix Clan warriors let out their voices in amazement.

“What exactly do they do?” Felix asked curiously.

Wolfenstine clicked his finger and said, “They work by simply absorbing the energy from the Demon Eyes: Controller and release it into nature. So far, there have been no side effects of the sort that could affect you all in battle, so don’t lose them and make sure to keep them on at all times!”

Felix raised an eyebrow and asked, “You made these without testing them out? What if they fail?”

“What? You’re doubting me?” Wolfenstine asked indignantly and he looked hurt. “I’ve always been good at the demon stuff since they are fascination to learn about and I did once meet the great Immortal Demon Empress Kaizukamra and got the chance to ask her about those demon eyes that she possess and can grant to others.”

“You met her? I never knew about that!” Lakshman asked and everyone stared at him in amazement.

Wolfenstine shrugged his shoulders and said, “That was over a hundred years ago when I was moving from continent to continent to understand the different properties of the land, the nature and the elements. During those travels, I met Kaizukamra and her husband, the Immortal Demon King, Baldrick Driagad.”

“That’s amazing!” Dominic said as he looked at him with an impressed look on his face.

“Thank you!” Wolfenstine and he inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement.

Lakshman nodded approvingly before turning to face Felix and the rest of the Phoenix Clan warriors that gathered in front of him. These are the warriors that would be attacking the stronghold of the Slavemancer while, in the meantime, he waged his own battle against the kings of the other kingdoms. He looked at each of them and saw determination on their faces as they were prepared to carry out the order given to them by him, the Phoenix Titan.

“Alright! It’s time you better go because the kings will be arriving shortly,” Lakshman told them and Felix nodded.

“I agree,” Felix said and he turned around to address his men. “Right! I’ve already had a Phintex Raja show me the location that is pretty safe for us to arrive at near the Slavemancer’s stronghold. We arrive silently, but when we attack, we fight them with all we got! Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!” the men replied in a loud firm voice.

“Good!” Felix said approvingly and he nodded once. Then, he looked around and asked, “By the way, where are the beast men?”

“Over here!” said a voice and he turned to the side to see them arrive walking towards them surrounded by guards with spears.

“Huh? You’re only coming now?” he asked them while looking puzzled.

“Sorry, but I was knocked out pretty badly from being slammed hard into the floor by the Phoenix Titan,” said the beast man at the front, who seemed to be the leader of his group.

“Unfortunately, the doctor wanted to check me through thoroughly before I was finally released.”

“I see,” Felix said and he nodded in understanding. He turned around to face Lakshman and said, “We’ll be leaving you for a while and we will return with victory in hand.”

Lakshman nodded and said, “Yes and I too shall be victorious in my battle of words with the other kings. Now, depart before the other kings get here.”

“Understood. Phoenix Portal!” Felix said with his hand held out in front of him.

A black hole appeared in front of him and widened to a large size to allow for a full grown human to walk through it. He nodded one last time at Lakshman before walking first into the Phoenix Portal and he was soon followed by his men and the two beast warriors from the Deigra Beast Clan.

As Dominic walked towards it, Lakshman gave him a thumps up and said, “Give them hell!”

“I plan to!” Dominic replied firmly with a small smile before stepping into the portal.

The Phoenix Portal remained open for a few more seconds before closing and vanishing into thin air. Lakshman stood there for a moment longer before turning to face Wolfenstine as he had something to say to him.

“Wolfenstine, I want you to immediately go and prepare the Barrier Generators to activate it over the entire kingdom. I suspect the Slavemancer will try to unleash some sort of lethal power against us once things start moving in my favour.”

“That’s no problem,” Wolfenstine said and Lakshman nodded at him.

“Now, time to go and meet the kings to win this battle of mine,” he said quietly and Wolfenstine patted him gently on the shoulder.

With that, Lakshman began walking towards the room where he would be meeting with the kings while being escorted by the guards. Meanwhile, Felix, the Phoenix Clan warriors, the beast warriors and Dominic arrived at a secluded area within the forest. They continued walking through it and found themselves to be very close the mansion where the Slavemancer lived in. It was quiet for the moment as both Felix and Dominic assessed the situation.

“From within that mansion, I can detect a lot of life signals similar to the Deigra Beast Clan warriors!” Felix said and Dominic nodded in agreement as he sensed them as well.

“So, they are alive?” one of them asked quietly and Felix nodded.

“It seems they are injured, but they seemed to be doing fine for the moment. However, it seems there are a lot of strong warriors inside. I suspect they are wearing the Amplification Rods to be strong. Damn the nobles for making such a crude equipment to boost one’s power,” Felix said in a low frustrated voice.

“It can’t be helped,” Dominic told him calmingly. “Anyway, everyone…! Prepare yourselves.

The enemy appears to be strong and let’s move in quickly to take them down. Prolonged battle will only drain us of our energy while he summons reinforcements to take care of us.

Let’s take him down before that happens!”

They all nodded at him in understanding with serious expressions on their faces. Dominic turned to face Felix and was surprised to see him looking at him with through narrowed eyes.

“Nice of you to steal my lines,” Felix said to him indignantly.

Dominic shrugged his shoulders and said, “It doesn’t matter who says it as long as the message gets conveyed.”

“You’re right,” Felix said as he conceded the point. Then, in a louder voice, he said, “Let’s go!”

Together, they all quickly moved forward and with the element of surprise by their side, they attacked the mansion with great force.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 254 Kidnapped Love

“All of you, listen carefully to my instructions,” Felix said quietly and they listened intently.

“Wait on my command as I and Dominic provoke the enemy. We will draw the most of them out, while the rest of you infiltrate the mansion. Got that?”

“Yes, sir,” his clansmen said with a nod of their head.

“There had been vague rumours about an underground cellar existing in this mansion. Please do make sure to check that out the rumours were true,” Dominic said and Felix agreed with a nod in his direction.

“Right. Let’s go!” Felix said and the two of them exited the forest.

They appeared several meters away from the mansion and they slowly walked towards it while looking casual. Dominic was only pretending while, deep down, he was surprised by how casual Felix appeared. It seemed that he wanted to give the enemy full time to prepare themselves to face them. It did not matter to him since they are on a mission and he was just doing his part for his group.

It had been several seconds since they appeared and they covered quite the distance to the mansion. There were guards on the top of the mansion balcony as they looked ahead when, to their surprise, they spotted Felix and Dominic walking towards them. They could not clearly see who it was from this distance, but it immediately became clear it was an enemy.

“Sound the alarm! It’s an enemy attack!” the guard turned around and shouted at the unseen people behind them.

Very soon, the entire mansion became alert as the guards on the balcony arrived with spears in their hands. Both Felix and Dominic observed as each spear was charged up with energy and they began hurling the spears at them. After launching the spears at them, they turned around to pick up more from wherever they were stored.

As a rain of spears filled the sky and soared straight towards them, Felix and Dominic formed a small smiles on their faces. They began dodging each of the spear and pulled out their respective weapon to destroy the spears in mid-flight; the Legendary Sword of Justice by Felix and Destiny Sword by Dominic. As they finished destroying the current spears, they saw another rain of spears heading towards them.

Felix immediately aimed his sword towards them and shouted, “Blade of Justice!”

In an instant, his sword began covered in a bright glow of red light and it quickly extended to great length. As it stretched ahead, he swung the sword and in doing so, he easily destroyed all the raining spears. Dominic took the opportunity to activate his Destiny Sword as he aimed up at the balcony where the enemy spearmen were.

“Raining Blades!” he shouted and he winked before saying, “in honour of your raining spears.”

Several large magical circles appeared in front of him and numerous swords flew out of them until there were a mass of them. They soared through the air and flew straight at the enemy warrior before piercing them in the arm. Chest and head. With them down, Dominic spun his sword several times in his hand before folding his arms and resting it on his left arm.

Just then, the door to the mansion, burst open and a wave of warriors charged forward while yelling loudly. Felix and Dominic watched in astonishment as warriors just kept coming out of the mansion. It seemed that everyone had been home at the time of their attack, which caused Felix and Dominic to exchange meaningful looks before smiling at each other.

“Well…! There’s no helping it!” Felix said.

“Yeah!”

They both roared with power as they surged with energy that surrounded them with their respective Elemental Glow. With energy surging from within, they both transformed at almost the same time their respective forms; Felix transformed into his Phoenix Mode, which made him have red hair and red eyes while Dominic transformed into his Ruler of Swords form with spiky black hair and strange shaped eyes.

“Dominic, you take the left half and I’ll take the right half!” Felix said as he surged with strong power.

“Okay!” Dominic replied firmly as he radiated in golden aura. He raised his sword in the air and said, “Dividing Blade!”

In an instant, his blade extended high into the air in a flash of light and he brought it down forcefully. The enemies saw it coming and they immediately split, just in time as it slammed to separate both sides.

“Ah! We’re cut off from each other!” one man shouted in shock.

“How do we cut this thing?!” some shouted as they attempted to cut the blade of light, but it did not breaK. The beast man, who was leading the charge, had been cut off and he ended up on the right side. He looked toward his separated force of men before giving them orders.

“There’s no helping it,” he said irritably. “You lot, attack the guy in your side while we got the one on our side! Failure is not forgiven! Remember that!”

“Yes, sir!” the men replied and the two separated forces began running towards their side of the opponents.

On left side, which was where Felix stood, they reached him and began attacking him in close combat battle. They were truly strong and like he guessed, they were all wearing the Amplification Rods on each of their arms. It angered him for a moment before he smiled as he continued dodging their every movie, which was numerous.

“Stand and fight your coward!” one of the men shouted at him angrily.

“As you wish!” Felix said gladly and he stopped running to stab his sword into the man’s chest.

“Severing Slash!” Felix shouted and the blade suddenly extended forward to stab several more directly in front of them.

He pulled out his sword and swung around to cut down the people behind him as they surrounded him. As he cut down enemy after enemy, the enemy warriors retaliated by gathering their magic attacks and firing it at him.

“Stone Bullet!”

“Web Rocket!”

“Thunder Blast!”

“Iron Shot!”

“Mud Strike!”

Felix saw the attacked soaring towards him and with the support from the Legendary Sword of Justice, his speed monetarily increased and he began destroying each of the attack before it hit him. Infuriated by the failure of his men at attacking Felix, the beast man decided it was time for him to personally attack him.

“Beast Claw!” he shouted and his claws began to shine brightly as they were charged with lethal killing energy.

“Beast Force!” he shouted and his aura exploded all around as it raged with power.

“Beast Crusher!” he screamed before letting out a monstrous roar as he transformed into his beast form.

With his ready to attack, he charged forward towards Felix while screaming “Get out of my way!”

Felix was fighting of numerous attackers as they used their swords to try and attack him, but his increased speed gave him the edge in retaliation before they realised what had happened.

Just then, he sensed lethal energy charging towards him from behind and he turned around to see the beast roar as it charged down the path towards him while blasting its comrades out of its way. He jumped out of the way and avoided being rammed by the brute beast.

The beast stopped and turned around as it let out another beastly roar before charging towards him once more. Felix landed and turned around with his narrowed as he stared at the charging beast. He nodded once and his sword began to glow brightly in red colour with power. He knew the beast was the strongest out of all the warriors’ surrounding him and it made him feel the urge to kill it even more.

“UUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” he screamed as he charged towards the raging beast.

The beast and the Phoenix Emperor roared with power as they charged towards each other, causing the attacking men to stand back to watch. Once they were near each other, they leapt into the air at each other and attached each other; the beast attacked with its claws and he attacked while Felix attacked with his sword as he shouted a technique out loud.

“Slicing Justice!”

There was a momentary flash of movement and two dived past each other to land once again on the ground. Felix suddenly groaned in pain and knelt down by his cut shoulders, which were bleeding profusely along with the numerous wounds he received earlier from fighting the warriors. The beast turned around and began to roar with laughter in a beastly way. Felix was breathing a little quickly, but he quickly formed a smile on his face as he knelt there on the ground.

“Finisher!”

The beast stopped roaring with laughter and its eyes widened in shock as it felt intense pain all around its body. In an instant, several deep cuts appeared on its beastly body and blood erupted out of it at great quantities as it roared one last time before collapsing on the ground.

It lay there on the ground, dead with its men standing around and watching with horrified expressions on their faces.

“Now then…!” Felix began as he slowly rose to his feet. “Time to eradicate all of you bastards from existence. Power Mode!”

In an instant, his entire body erupted in flames and seemed to consume him for a moment.

Then, the flames died out and revealed red lines on his face going up and down from his eyes.

His hair standing up as if it had been hit with static electricity while the innards of his eyes turned black while his eyes were red. The men were taken aback at the sudden change in his appearance and they sensed the great increase in his power.

Felix moved and he instantly cut down six men in a flash and he stabbed the sword down on the ground. He spun around and gathered energy into the palm of his hands and fired them at each of the attackers. While swirling around, he kept firing the balls of energy at them, which touched them, but did nothing else. For a moment, the men thought the technique had failed when they saw the crazy expression on Felix’s face as he finished firing the balls of energy at them.

As a wide grin formed on his face, he said, “Phoenix Death Charge!”

He clicked his fingers and in an instant, the balls of energy suddenly glowed brightly red. The red balls suddenly expanded and swallowed the person it was attached to before locking them in a large red ball. The next instant, all of men inside their sealed balls began screaming in agony as lightning shocking the people inside. As they screamed in pain, their bodies began swelling up to become very large until they finally exploded. The exploded blood smeared on the red ball and hid the gruesome details of their death from view.

“Nicely done, but I think you should start with that from the start,” said the Legendary Sword of Justice, Justina’s voice in Felix’s mind.

He was breathing a little quickly, but once he deactivated Power Mode and returned to normal, his breathing became easy.

Felix sighed and thought, “Don’t be ridiculous, Justina. I can only use that technique in Power Mode because the technique requires lethal force and a strong desire to kill, which can only be activated in Power Mode because it enables me to feel strongly about things. That’s why, I don’t normally go into Power Mode due to how powerful that technique is due to the amount of pressure it required from me.”

He clicked his fingers as he said, “Inferno Bruner!”

In an instant, all the red balls became engulfed in flames and they slowly melted until there was only a black soggy remains on the ground. Those were the testament of the numerous people his technique had killed and he felt no remorse for killing them due to their nature of being evil.

“Should we get going now?” asked Dominic, who had finished is battle and headed over to him.

“Yeah!” Felix said and he turned to face him.

That was when he noticed something strange behind Dominic and he looked over to see what it was. To his shock, he saw numerous warriors lying dead on the ground with multiple swords piercing through their bodies. Many of them had expressions of horror on their faces while others had their heads missing from their bleeding necks.

“Ugh…!” Felix groaned when he saw the bloody sight. “That’s nasty! You really took the definition of brutality to another level.”

“I didn’t really intent to kill them because I thought I should give them a chance to change, so I used my swords to stab into their legs to stop their movement. Idiots didn’t give up and roaring with rage, they tried to attack me, but I still wanted to let them life following the same principles of Lakshman. So, I used Storm Blades to try and frighten them into submission, but that failed as well. I’ve already given them their chance to survive and change. So, I quickly finished them by using Strike Blades on all of them. It’s their fault because their justice to life failed them and ended up costing them their lives.”

Dominic explained in a calm voice and Felix nodded without saying anything before they left the bloody battleground to go into the mansion. The Phoenix Clan warriors have already entered the mansion and they seemed to have had a fighting on their hands as well. Bodies lay everywhere with the ground and walls showing signs of battle and destruction. Felix and Dominic eyed the dead before turning to see a Phoenix Clan member arrive to see them.

“Sir! We found an underground cellar with many slaves being kept there,” he said to them.

“I thought so,” Dominic said grimly and he clenched his fits in anger.

“How are they doing?” Felix asked quickly with narrowed eyes.

The man immediately replied by saying, “Their health is in critical condition and required immediate medical attention, but we are doing what we can to make them last until we return to the kingdom.”

“Okay. I’ll leave you to it,” Felix said and the man bowed before returning to the stairs leading underground.

“That bastard…! So, he really is a loathsome arrogant man that must be punished! Now, I can understand why Lucky made us attack the mansion right now,” Felix said grimly.

Just then, they heard a voice echoing through the mansion and they immediately recognised it belonging to the Slavemancer.

“You have done well to take care of my welcoming party, so why don’t you come up and greet me?”

Felix and Dominic looked at each other before nodding in agreement and together, they climbed the stairs leading to the second floor. As they arrived at the floor, they noticed the right side where there were more stairs leading to the top, which they remembered was the open space they all stood during the Slavemancer’s party, which reminds them that they did not see the open space earlier.

Ignoring the question about why it was no longer attached to the mansion side, they continued to climb more stairs that led them to the third floor. They arrived to find a lone door in the centre and they came closer, they heard Slavemancer’s voice speak again.

“Come in. I am expecting you.”

The voice was cool and calm without a hint of fear or hesitation. The two of them stopped outside the door and looked at each other. They held their weapons at the ready and with a nod at each other, Felix turned the knob and opened the door. They expected a rain of attacks being fired at them, but none of the expected happened and they safely entered the room.

The room was large and well decorated with the prized possessions of the Slavemancer.

“I’m glad only the two of you came, otherwise I would’ve found it hard to face a huge crowd with the way I look,” said the voice of the Slavemancer from within the room.

Felix and Dominic turned to see the Slavemancer was sitting in a comfortable looking chair several meters away from them and they were suddenly hit with shock when they saw that he was not alone. Sitting on the arm of his chair with his hand over her shoulder was the princess of Rodfox Kingdom, Shalany Jagabadasen. She was loking nervously between them and the Slavemancer, who sat looking at them with a cool expression on his face.

“W-What…? Shalany?” Dominic asked and he looked stricken for a moment at suddenly seeing her sitting beside the man they came to defeat. “W-What are you doing here?”

“I…” she began hesitantly, but a pressure on her shoulder from the Slavemancer’s hand caused her to stop.

“You know, invited her over for some tea to talk more about each other. After all, we are fiancés and I felt we should get to know each other better,” the Slavemancer said with a sweet smile on his face. “However, you idiots came barging in and caused quite the ruckus. I clearly told my men to take you down with force, but it looks like I hired weaklings. I even gave them the Amplification Rods to boost their power and they still lost to the likes of you, even though I spent quite an amount inventing it.”

“You invented it?!” Felix asked in disbelief.

Slavemancer nodded and said, “I wondered how I could use my powers to defeat the Phoenix Clan and Dragon clan if I ever become their enemies in the future. That led to me thinking that perhaps my control magic might not work, so I would require brute force to defeat you all. So, I invented the Amplification Rods and gave them out to people I trusted would use it to my benefit.

Later, when that idiot king Bernard IV Sargold was getting annoying, I wanted to scare him by killing his daughter, Venezuela Sargold. However, that plan failed when the nobles I trusted the job to went and screwed it up big time and ended up being punished by you. Luckily, I had used my control magic on them and a memory replacement spell that placed all the blame slowly on them without anyone ever suspecting me.”

“You tried to kill Venezuela…?” Felix asked and he looked shocked. Then the Slavemancer nodded, Felix clenched his fist angrily and said, “Wait till Lakshman hears of this! He will kill you!”

“I’m sure he will, but I have bone to pick with the Sword Titan over there!” the Slavemancer said and he suddenly became angry. “You have a lot of nerve loving the girl whom I will be marrying soon.”

“Huh? What?!” Dominic asked in disbelief, shocked that the Slavemancer knew about his relationship with Shalany.

“Yes… I’m aware of your relationship with Shalany. She revealed it to me during tea and would you believe it if I said that I wanted to push her the usual slavery style?” the Slavemancer

asked and he suddenly looked furious. “Fortunately, you came and I decided to handle this matter with you right here.

You know, I am well aware the Phoenix Titan called for a meeting with the four kings to discuss handling my matter and I knew they will agree. He is a powerful king who abolished the slavery in his own kingdom and fought off an army of attackers as well.”

“You knew and yet… you did nothing to stop it?” Felix asked and he stared at him disbelief.

“I tried to stop them, but several of your Phintex Rajas arrived and quickly warped the king out of there. I knew immediately the four kingdoms will agree with whatever Lakshman Reddy has to say. That’s why, I chose to use my future wife as a bargaining chip to get the Sword Titan to join my side!”

Felix narrowed his eyes sharply while Dominic exclaimed, “What?!”

The Slavemancer held his hand out and asked, “Join me, Dominic Rutherford. I will ensure that you do see your love come true after I marry and become king of Rodfox Kingdom. After achieving my goals, I will let you and Shalany get together again and I promise I will never bother you ever again.”

In anger, Dominic activated the Destiny Sword that he wielded with his right hand. In an instant, the room was full of swords and they were all hovering in mid-air as they pointed their bladed edges towards where the Slavemancer stood. Shalany squealed in surprise at seeing so many swords within the room as they dangerous hovered to strike at their enemy.

“I will never join the side of evil!” Dominic shouted at him in a firm voice.

The Slavemancer smiled when, all of a sudden, he rose to his feet and held Shalany by his side with his finger pointed straight at the side of her forehead.

“Ah!” Shalany cried out in fear with the Slavemancer holding her hostage.

Felix looked angrily at them as Dominic shouted, “Leave her out of this, fool! This is between you and me!”

“Yes, but unfortunately, I hold her hostage. Now, will you dare to kill me while killing her at the same time?” the Slavemancer asked as he sneered at him.

He was surprised when Dominic suddenly smiled and said, “You won’t do anything to her, idiot. You need her so that you can take over the Rodfox Kingdom and become its ruler! That’s the whole point of you doing all this in the first place! Besides,” Dominic said slowly and he

gestured at all the swords hovering in the air, “these are Targeted Blades and they only hit those whom I specifically target! Unfortunately for you, you’re their target!”

“Oh dear…! That is a problem,” the Slavemancer said and he suddenly chuckled, much to their surprise. “Looks like my justice wasn’t strong enough to save me… Oh well. Flash Flare!”

In an instant, there was blinding light within the room and it caused both Felix and Dominic to cover their eyes for dear life. While being blinded their heard the Slavemancer speak in a hearty voice.

“Now then, I will take my leave and bring my future wife along with me. So, I’ll be seeing you later!”

“No! Dom, help me!” Shalany cried out desperately.

Dominic became very angry and he shouted, “Strike!”

In an instant, all of his Targeted Swords flew forward towards where the Slavemancer and Shalany stood. Dominic heard a clashing sound as his swords struck each other. As the flash of light slowly faded, they were able to see clearly again and they were shocked to see the Slavemancer and Shalany had disappeared. The struck swords disappeared into particles of light as Dominic took tentative steps forward with a horrified expression on his face.

“No… No…! No...! No…! NO!!!” Dominic said slowly before screaming, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!”

In an instant, he began surging with power and it began to blow the wind wildly. The power began to go out of control as his rage over took his reason as he continued screaming. The roof of the mansion began to tear away until it was finally flew away before splitting up into pieces as it could not withstand the sheer force of Dominic’s power. Large cracks began appearing on the floor and the mansion threated to collapse.

“Dominic! Stop! That’s enough!” Felix shouted as loud as he can as he fought against the strong forces of wind as the energy flowed around wildly within the room.

The power slowly began to calm down and the forces of wind relaxed. The room they were in was totally destroyed with the bed, possessions and all valuables crushed into pieces by the raging power from moment earlier. Dominic’s rage subsided, but his emotions were not and as he fell on his knees, he freely cried while letting out a hurtful voice.

Felix reached him and as he patted his back, he firmly said, “Stop it! Stop crying like a little baby that’s lost its toy! It doesn’t suit a warrior with great power like you…!”

Dominic’s crying subsided, but his eyes were red and he wore a miserable expression on his face. Felix was also upset at finding himself helpless when the Slavekmancer used a Transport Magic Spell to escape from the mansion. It made him feel even angrier at the thought that he failed to stop him from taking Shalany as hostage.

“Phintex Raja!” he shouted and a Phintex Raja appeared kneeling in front of him. “Return to Floria Kingdom and inform Lakshman what happened here! Hurry!”

“Yes, my master!” the Phintex Raja said and he warped out of there in a swirling movement.

Meanwhile, in the castle of Floria Kingdom, Lakshman was walking out of the conference room while talking to the other three kings of their respective kingdoms; Temba Trigard of Mardana Kingdom, Roland Fro Hantom of Ashtra Kingdom and Ragavendra Jagabadasen of Rodfox Kingdom. They were all looking very pleased with each other, which was obvious as Lakshman won his case with them through several minutes of debating the advantages and disadvantages of such decisions.

“I trust you all will do your part in making it possible to turn this era into a peaceful one?”

Lakshman asked them as they arrived outside with their delegation that greeted them.

“Of course, Lakshman. You went through the trouble of outlining everything that would put everyone on an equal footing, so it is only natural that we do our best to achieve it,” Roland said as he nodded at him.

“No worries!” Temba said and he winked at him.

“I will do my best, but the Slavemancer…?” Ragavendra asked nervously.

“You told me he attempted to stop you earlier and he sealed himself as the enemy of all the kingdoms! I will make sure he will get hurt badly, so please be at ease,” Lakshman told him and Ragavendra breathed a sigh of relief.

Lakshman turned to the waiting Phintex Rajas and said, “Take them back safely.”

“Understood, master,” they said with a bow.

After biding them farewell, Lakshman returned to the courtyard and waited to see if Felix, Dominic and the Phoenix Clan members returned yet. Seeing no one there, he sighed and sat down on a bench to wait since he no longer had anything to do for the day. He was quite pleased the other kings came to agree with him about the abolishing slavery and he did

promise them he would take down the Slavemancer, whom they feared would cause them great harm.

“Oh well. I’ve already planned on taking him down anyway, so it’s not much of a problem,” He muttered before smiling.

Just then, he sensed something approaching and a moment later, a Phintex Raja warped into the courtyard. Lakshman quickly rose to his feet as the Phintex Raja immediately knelt down in front of him.

“How goes the attack on the mansion?” Lakshman asked him immediately.

“Sir! The attack had been successful! We defeated all enemies within the boundaries and have taken and found slaves being held down in the underground cellars,” the Phintex Raja reported to him.

“I see,” Lakshman said slowly as he understood the details. He clenched his fists as he said, “Damn… I suspected as much! Anything else to report?”

“Yes, sir,” the Phintex Raja said and he reported to him what happened between Felix, Dominic and the Slavemancer.

“What? Shalany was kidnapped?” Lakshman asked in disbelief and the Phintex Raja nodded. “I see… I guess he realised he stood at a disadvantage with the Phoenix Emperor and the Sword Titan, especially when the Phoenix Emperor is protected by the power of the Destiny Sword.

Very well. You did well in reporting me this.”

“It is part of my job, sir,” the Phintex Raja said and Lakshman nodded in agreement.

“Shalany’s been kidnapped, which means the Slavemancer will be marrying her very soon. This isn’t good…! I have to quickly find her before it is too late! Otherwise, Rodfox Kingdom will fall in his hands and he will use the power of his Demon Eyes: Controller to take over all of the people in the kingdom,” Lakshman thought as he contemplated the worse that could happen.

Not wanting that to happen, he knew the right choice then was to save Shalany from him. He transformed into the Phoenix Titan and using the Phoenix Eyes, he activated World Sensor. He concentrated on finding Shalany’s life signal, but minutes passed without any result. Realising she must be hidden by some sort of powerful barrier that countered his power, he summoned the Eternal Phoenix, Phylex.

“Did you need me for something, master?” Phylex telepathically asked him curiously when he saw his master’s worried expression on his face.

“Yes. I want you to try and locate the location of a certain person called Shalany Jagabadasen.

It’s urgent! Can you locate her?” Lakshman asked his familiar.

Phylex became silent for a moment as he raised his head high into the air to sense the life signal of the person specified to him. Lakshman knew the magic invoked by humans is quite different to the magic invoked by a magical creature, especially one like the Eternal Phoenix.

So, although he failed in locating her himself, he was confident that Phylex can locate her with ease.

A few minutes later, Phylex looked back down at his master and telepathically said, “I have found her, master. She seems to be at a location that is quite far from here.”

“That’s good. I want you to take me there right now!” Lakshman ordered him and Phylex sat its body down for him to get on.

Before he could get on, Lakshman turned to the Phintex Raja and said, “Return to the Phoenix Emperor so that he will need you for anything urgent.”

“Understood,” the Phintex Raja said and he warped out of there.

Once he was gone, Lakshman said, “Phintex Raja!”

Another Phintex Raja appeared at his command he spoke to him by saying, “I want you to go to my home and bring all of my wives here. Tell them everything that’s happened and tell them to wait for me to return with Shalany.”

“Yes, master,” the Phintex Raja said and he warped out of there.

“Right…!” Lakshman said he was helped onto Phylex’s back and once he was firmly sitting on the Eternal Phoenix’s back, he said, “Let’s go, Phylex!”

“At once!” Phylex replied telepathically.

He beat his wings firmly and rose into the air and hovered there for a moment to get himself properly airborne. Then, with a powerful force, he blasted away into the distance and headed towards where he sensed Shalany’s life signal. Lakshman held onto his back with a serious expression on his face as he raced to her rescue.

Watching him flying away on the Eternal Phoenix was The Creator, who had taken on the appearance of a Phintex Raja.

He stood at the top of the castle with his arms folded and watched Lakshman going away as he quietly said, “So… It’s almost time…”

Phoenix Rising

Chapter 255 Lakshman vs. Slavemancer

Lakshman rode on the Eternal Phoenix’s back as they soared in the direction towards the rescue of Shalany, who was kidnapped by the Slavemancer. She was kidnapped during the raid on the mansion in which the Slavemancer lived and as it turned out, he had been prepared to kidnap her with plans to marry her and become king of Rodfox Kingdom.

He knew that if he did not make it in time, more than kingdom will end up going up in flames; the heart of two lovers. Shalany happens to be the lover of the Sword Titan, Dominic Rutherford and the two of them had shared mutual love for two years. Now, it was Lakshman’s job as both friend and ally to save her from the fiendish hands of the Slavemancer.

“How far are we, Phylex?” Lakshman asked in a loud voice as they whooshed past several villages down below.

“We are about to cross the border of the kingdom, master,” Phylex telepathically informed him.

“Pick up the speed! We don’t have time to lose!” Lakshman shouted in a frustrated voice.

“Then, hold on, master,” Phylex replied softly. “Phoenix Rocket!”

In an instant, Lakshman fell face first into the soft fur of the Eternal Phoenix surged with power. The next second, its entire became covered in flames and it rocketed towards their destination at an incredible speed. It was moving so fast, Lakshman had to lay flat on its back in fear of being blown away by the powerful winds.

“THIS IS FAST!!!” Lakshman bellowed at the top of his voice as he closed his eyes and held on for dear life.

Within a matter of minutes, the Eternal Phoenix slowed down and Lakshman finally sat upright again while looking surprised. He had never in his life experienced the kind of ride he just had while sitting on the back of the Eternal Phoenix. Just then, he leaned over the side and looked down to see they had arrived in familiar lands.

“So…! They still are in Rodfox Kingdom!” he shouted as his guess had been correct.

“Yes and we will be arriving shortly,” Phylex informed him telepathically. Several seconds later, he telepathically said, “There it is, master.”

Lakshman rose to his feet and stood firmly on the Eternal Phoenix’s back while the wind blowed hard against him. Just then, Phylex cast a magic barrier over himself to protect Lakshman from the wind as he looked towards their destination. Lakshman was surprised when he saw a large dark fortress kilometres away from them, which gave off a sinister feeling as he concentrated on it. As they neared it, he sensed that a powerful barrier was set up and it made sense to him because it stopped him from sensing Shalany’s life signal.

“Now, what would you have me do, master?”

“Keep flying around while I launch my attacks on them.”

“You’re going to bring down that fortress?”

“No. My plan is to cause a distraction!”

Lakshman raised his hand into the air and shouted, “Air Strike Cannon!”

Several magic circles began appearing all around the fortress and they began to rotate faster and faster while the glow slightly became brighter each time the magic circle went faster.

While, at the same time, the guards down on the fortress top saw the flying bird in the sky and they began alerting the occupants of the fortress.

“They have been alerted of our presence.”

Lakshman cursed and said, “No worries since this will rattle them. Attack!”

With the command spoken, the magic circles gathered large balls of energy in the centre of their magic circle and launched them in a large beam cannon. The attack soared down and slammed on the ground near the fortress, causing a similar to an earthquake sensation to the occupants inside the fortress.

“I hope Shalany forgives me if I make her sick from this,” Lakshman muttered as he saw the ground getting destroyed all around. “Right! Continue attacking till I say stop. Elemental Sight!”

All colours vanished and his sight got replaced by grey colours as he focused singularly on the fortress. To his surprise, the fortress appeared to be grey and the occupants were not shown, protected by the barrier that was still erected all around them.

“Damn! This barrier’s powerful enough to block Elemental Sight?!” Lakshman shouted angrily as he deactivated the spell. “Phylex, can you tell me the exact location of where Shalany is?”

Phylex looked down at the fortress and a few seconds later, he said, “She seems to be held up in centre of the fortress, master.”

“Right! Thanks!” Lakshman said. “Keep flying around and wait for my command.”

“Understood.”

Lakshman nodded once and without pause or hesitation, he leaned over the side and fell of the Eternal Phoenix. He plummeted downward as he flew straight towards the bottom of the fortress while it was continued to be shaken violently from the several Air Strike Cannons. As he soared downward, he saw several warriors arrive at the rooftop and begin launching attacks at him.

He smiled and said, “Fools. Inferno Rocket!”

The moment he finished saying the technique name, his entire became engulfed in roaring flames. The next second, his speed dramatically increased and he hurtled towards the fortress like a rocket without anything there to stop it. The warriors continued firing whatever spell they could think off, but their attacks kept getting deflected away from the force of charge as he dived at an incredible speed.

“Coming down!” Lakshman shouted as he reached the rooftop of the fortress.

Without bothering to stop his flight, he continued down and lashed his fist out, smashing through the floor in the process. He continued smashing through several walls before finally reaching the bottom and before he could smash through the ground, he quickly deactivated the magic propelling him forward and brought his legs down to land heavily on the ground, causing dust to scatter everywhere.

As the dust slowly cleared, people came rushing down while demanding, “Who’s that?!”

“You’re enemy, idiot!” Lakshman said irritably and the dust got scattered as he whooshed forward.

There were two warriors standing in front of him with their weapons raised to attack him.

They swung their swords to attack him, but he quickly dodged them and moved in to drive his fists into their stomachs. Then, he rose up slightly and clenched his fists before slamming them on either sides of their faces, blasting them out of the room, through several more walls and finally out of the fortress itself.

Lakshman continued moving forward as more attackers came charging towards him. He delivered a power punch to the first man in the gut, launched a powerful uppercut with his left and jumped into the air and turned around to whack the third guy across the face with his leg.

All three were out cold from the attack and were sent in all three directions; the first guy went smashing into several more of his comrades, the second guy got sent up through the ceiling and the third guy went smashing into the walls on the side.

He kept moving forward through the men by taking each of them out with one or two blows while concentrating on knowing where Shalany was. After going through a lot of warriors on the ground floor, he sensed her several rooms away. So, he began smashing the walls down to reach her and she was startled when her room wall smashed down as Lakshman came out of the dust. He spotted her in the corner with her mouth gagged with her hands and feet tied up to stop her from moving anywhere.

“Are you okay?” Lakshman asked her once he managed to untie her.

“Y-Yes, but why are you here?” Shalany asked him while looking confused.

“I’ll answer that question later. More importantly…!”

He turned around and saw the men charging towards him, with him reacting quickly to strike back. The first guy to reach him got whacked in the face by Lakshman’s leg and he was sent flying into more of his comrades while more made their way towards him. They gathered energy and launched it at him, but he easily deflected them back at their users, burning them up in the process.

Lakshman suddenly sensed a dark energy closing in and recognising whose it was, he quickly went back to Shalany’s side and held her firmly with his right hand. He raised his left hand over his head just in time to see the Slavemancer arrive through the door with a furious look on his face.

“So…! It was you…!” he said angrily, glaring angrily at Lakshman.

“Surprised or did you think it was Dominic?” Lakshman asked him curiously.

“No, but I am highly surprised and angered that you came to take away what belongs to me!” the Slavemancer said furiously.

Lakshman clicked his tongue three time and said, “You’re wrong there… She doesn’t belong to you.”

With the raised hand, he fired a beam cannon out of his hand and made a hole in the roof.

“And she certainly isn’t staying either,” Lakshman finished before winking at him. He quickly said Shalany, “Hold on tight!”

Shalany hugged him tightly and with a surge of power, Lakshman rocketed up through the hole he made and soon flew out of the fortress.

“Phylex!” Lakshman shouted and he heard the loud sounds of heavy beating wings from behind as he soared through the sky, holding onto Shalany hugged him tightly.

The Slavemancer and his henchmen look on in amazement as he flew away before he turned to his henchmen and shouted, “What are you buffoons doing?! Go after them!”

“Ah…! Y-Yes, sir!” they shouted before blasting through the roof of the fortress without care.

Lakshman safely got Shalany on the Eternal Phoenix’s back and turned around to see men flying out of the fortress to follow after them.

“Air Strike Cannon! Your final mission: Destroy the fortress!” he shouted they headed away from there.

Receiving the orders, the several magic circles began spinning wildly before releasing a large beam cannon down at the fortress. With a heavy impact, the fortress was smashed into pieces and there was an explosion that completely destroyed the fortress right down to its foundations. As the dust slowly cleared, the Slavemancer is seen standing amongst the rubble while being protected by a barrier spell he quickly cast to protect himself from the resulting explosion. He looked around at the fortress that he once used as a secret base to do most of his operations from, now rubble because of one guy.

“UUUUURRRRRAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!! That man is dead!!!” he screamed and he surged with power before he also rocketed after them.

The Eternal Phoenix flew quickly through the air with Shalany lying low on its back for dear life to stop herself from getting blown away by the strong wind. Lakshman constantly looked over his shoulders to see the men chasing after them relentlessly.

“Damn them…!” Lakshman said angrily. “They sure are persistent.”

Hearing that, Phylex telepathically began to say, “Phoenix—!”

“Hold on, Phylex! Shalany can’t handle that sort of pressure! Go the same speed as you are right now,” Lakshman told him firmly.

“But, master…! Those people are quickly catching up to us if we continue to travel at this speed,” Phylex telepathically told him in a worried voice.

“Fear not, because I’m here!” Lakshman said confidently. “I’m going to stop there here and make my stand against the Slavemancer, who I can sense is not far behind them! Meanwhile, you take Shalany back to Floria Kingdom and inform my wives and I won’t take no for an answer!”

Phylex took a moment before finally saying, “Very well… I will perform as you instructed.”

“Good!” Lakshman said and he turned to smile at Shalany before saying, “Make sure to calm Dom down because he’s crying like a baby, thinking you are gone forever.”

“S-Sure…” Shalany said slowly and she blinked at him in surprise.

“Alright! Go!” Lakshman said and he got off the Eternal Phoenix’s back to let it fly into the distance without him. “Now then… Time to these lot,” Lakshman said slowly as he turned around and he smiled as he spread his arms out on either side of him.

The flying men saw him get off the large phoenix bird and saw him turned around to spread his arms out.

“That guy’s trying to get in our way to stop us!”

“Should we fight?”

“No, idiot! Master will be furious with us if we let the girl leave our sight!”

“Yeah! Let’s fly around him!”

“Fly around him!”

As the men reached Lakshman, they suddenly spread and flew to either side of him.

Lakshman, with his arms outstretched, held his head down with a shadow falling over his head. The men saw him making no move to stop them and they grinned, thinking he was afraid to stop them all at same time. Suddenly, all of them came to a stop as they slammed into something solid in mid-air, stunning them in the process.

A smile creped onto Lakshman’s face and he said, “Idiot…!”

He exerted the strength in his arms and brought his outstretched hands together in front of him. With each move, the men were suddenly being pushed against by something invisible, which they quickly realised was an invisible barrier. They tried punching it, but soon found out they were no match against the powerful barrier Lakshman was using to drag them through the air in front of them.

Finally and forcefully, he brought them together and slammed the hard into each other. With that done, Lakshman pulled both of his hands back and began gathered energy in the palm of his hands, which gradually formed into a large ball of blue light. The men clutched their heads, which they bumped when they hit each other, and turned to see the gathering energy in front of him.

With the energy gathered, Lakshman brought his hands forward and as he launched the attack, he shouted, “Positron Burst Cannon!”

The gathered energy was released in a large wave of destruction and it swept forward at incredible speed. The men watched in horror and they attempted to escape, but they were stuck in place by the barrier that Lakshman put around them. The wave of destruction swallowed them and incinerated them from existence in a matter of seconds with ease. Once the wave was done its job, Lakshman released the energy and let out a small breath before looking grim.

“Normally, I don’t kill, but I’m glad I killed you because you were rotten to the core!”

For a few seconds, he hovered there while contemplating on what he did, when he sensed the arrival of the Slavemancer. He was soaring towards him at great speed with a furious expression on his face while radiating in purple aura.

“Lakshman!!!” he shouted in a loud angry voice.

He suddenly increased his speed and rocketed forward, surprising Lakshman in the process and before he could do anything, the Slavemancer grabbed him by the face. With a forceful grab and push, he dived towards the ground while holding a firm grip over Lakshman’s face.

When they reached the ground, the Slavemancer pushed Lakshman against the ground and began forming a deep groove in the ground, causing pain to Lakshman in the process.

“Where is shere?!” the Slavemancer demanded in a loud voice as he kept flying forward while keeping Lakshman grooving through the ground.

Lakshman struggled for a moment due to surprise before having had enough of being grooved to the ground.

“Get off my face!” Lakshman shouted angrily.

He used his right hand to knock against the Slavemancer’s hand and released the grip on his face. Then, pushing his hands behind him, he lifted his body almost vertically to deliver an uppercut with his leg against the Slavemancer’s chin, surprising him in the process. He followed through by landing a powerful blow on the Slavemancer’s chest with both of his legs, causing the Slavemancer to slow down in his flight.

Lakshman flipped through the air and landed back on his feet and saw the Slavemancer clutching the places where he was hit by him. Angered, he flew forward with a mad expression on his face and he lashed out a fist at Lakshman’s face, but it was quickly dodged. Lakshman had ducked to avoid the attack and he went back upward as he delivered an uppercut with his fist before slamming the Slavemancer on the side of the face with his left fist, but the Slavemancer quickly brought his fist forward and hit Lakshman in the face, pushed each other away from each other for several meters.

Lakshman and Slavemancer quickly landed and surged with energy before they charged towards each other. With a forceful slam against each other, the two of them began their battle against each other in earnest as they quickly pulled out all the punches on each other.

The force of their battle sent wild winds in all directions and caused the ground to crack from the sheer pressure of their battle.

They had reached a certain height that made the nearest tallest mountain look small from their height. Then, the Slavemancer suddenly grabbed Lakshman’s face and slammed it hard against his own, causing Lakshman to get surprised as he soared back down. He was momentarily surprised, but he quickly recovered and spun in the air before landing back on his feet.

“Positron Cannon!” Lakshman shouted and he quickly gathered the energy before launching the beam cannon directly up at the Slavemancer.

The Slavemancer dodged the attack by flying away from it and charged his own attack as he shouted its name out loud.

“Dark Pulse Wave!”

He brought both of his hands forward with a black ball of energy gathered there and he launched the ball of energy down towards him. Lakshman saw the attacking coming and he charged his attack up and began firing energy blasts at the ball, which slowly began to pulsate darker and darker until it finally exploded before reaching him. As the dust covered the view,

Lakshman soared up into the air and burst of the dust, surprising the Slavemancer in the process before elbowing him in the face and then, whacking him across the face with his fist.

The Slavemancer clutched the place his was face was hit with his right hand and he aimed at Lakshman with his left.

“Infinity Gravity!”

In an instant, Lakshman felt a powerful tug towards the ground where he hovered and he rocketed downward and landed heavily on the ground. The heavy gravity was intense and it threatened to squash him like a pancake tomato. Lakshman fought against the force of the intense gravity for a few seconds and then, firmly clenching his fists, he screamed as he surged with power.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!”

With his power alone, he destroyed the magic that caused the gravity around him to become really intense. Once he was free of it, he raised his hand and pointed at the Slavemancer, hovering up in the air, before shouting the technique name.

“Heavy Led!” In an instant, the Slavemancer’s body felt really heavy and he had difficulty moving his head.

With the movement become heavy, his flight energy could not sustain his increased weight before he plummeted downward and smashing heavily on the ground. He groaned as he struggled to break free from the spell that was placed on him.

“Demon Boost!” he roared loudly.

In a burst of power, dark energy began getting released and that immediately deactivated the magic his body really heavy. He stood up and wiped the dust off his face to glare fiercely at Lakshman, who was smiling proudly.

“I’ll kill you…!” the Slavemancer shouted at him.

“The same goes for you!” Lakshman yelled at him.

The two of them roared with power and charged towards each other at high speed. They quickly covered the ground and smashed into each other at great speed. The force of impact sent the wind blowing in all directions at increased speed as the two warriors pushed their fists against each other. They quickly grabbed each other’s hands and began screaming as their

surging energies and power overlapped each other, causing a great disturbance within the surrounding area.

A suddenly explosion of energy erupted between them and they were blasted backwards from each other. When they finally came to a stop, the two of them glared at each other furiously.

The Slavemancer spat on the ground while looking angrily at Lakshman, who was looking back at him confidently.

“So… This is what it means to be fight a fully powered Phoenix Titan?” the Slavemancer asked curiously.

“Huh? Did you say something?” Lakshman asked him curiously because he missed what his opponent just said.

“I’m saying I’ll kill you once I power up!” the Slavemancer said angrily.

Lakshman looked surprised as the Slavemancer began to gather energy from within and scream as he surged with power.

“UUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

There was a sudden burst of dark energy that surrounded the Slavemancer for a moment, causing Lakshman to immediately go on guard. As the light slowly faded, Lakshman was surprised to see the Slavemancer had buffed up with a well-developed body; rippling muscles, which even Lakshman had not attained due to his physique being slightly different to everyone, including his father, being the Phoenix Titan. The Slavemancer had his Demon Eyes: Controller active and Lakshman looked troubled as he sensed the sudden rise in his enemy’s power.

“It’s been a while…” the Slavemancer said reminiscently. Then, he turned to Lakshman and said, “Now…! Time to take you down!”

He disappeared in an instant and surprised Lakshman, before reappearing a second later in front of him. A powerful punch was delivered to Lakshman’s face, stunning him in the process and the Slavemancer quickly followed up with a power punch, which he delivered to Lakshman’s gut with his left fist. Stunned again from the second blow, Lakshman was then hit in the chest by the Slavemancer’s leg and it sent him flying high up into the air.

Unable to control himself from the stunning blows from earlier, the Slavemancer rocketed upward and appeared ahead of him before slamming him hard in the back and caused Lakshman to groan from the pain of the blow. The force of impact knocked him down and he

rocketed downward without anything to stop him, when the Slavemancer suddenly activated a magic that did.

“Earth Strike!”

A small portion of the ground rose up below Lakshman and he slammed into his with it slamming hard into his gut. He groaned again from the pain, but the attack did not stop there.

“Earth Toss!”

With a suddenly forceful push from the risen ground, Lakshman’s limp body was tossed into the air and he blinked in surprise when he reached the height at which the Slavemancer was hovering at. The Slavemancer grinned him before activating his next technique.

“Dark Force Strike!”

He began radiating dark energy from his body and his muscles suddenly tightened up. Then, he began punching at Lakshman at such a speed that it looked like he was delivering more than a dozen punches in an instant. Lakshman’s body got riddled with powerful punches from the Slavemancer. After dealing various punches all over Lakshman’s body, he grabbed his leg and began swinging up around and around as he hovered in the air.

“Hurling Force!”

With a shout of the technique name, the Slavemancer began surrounded by dark energy and he swung Lakshman’s body down and released it. His body hurtled towards the ground at great speed before slamming hard, causing a giant explosion of dust to rise into the air. A few seconds later, the dust started to clear and showed a small concave in the ground and Lakshman laying, face down, in the middle of it.

Seeing his enemy lying down like this made the Slavemancer say, “Hmph! So, even the Phoenix Titan is no match for me in my powered up state? How boring and he held the air of a powerful warrior too! What a disappointment!”

Meanwhile, Lakshman lay on the ground for a moment before slowly moving his aching body.

He slowly pushed him off the ground while breathing a little quickly before finally sitting on the ground. As his breathing eased up, he looked up at the sky where the Slavemancer hovered and he shrugged his shoulders with a sigh.

“So, that’s how strong he is in his powered up state?” Lakshman said before breathing deeply.

He suddenly jumped to his feet and said, “Well…! Since he powered up, time I take this battle to the next level!”

He smiled for a moment before making a serious expression as he clenched his fists and gathered the energy from within. With a surge of power, he began radiating in golden-red aura as he began his transformation into his next form, the Phoenix Titan: Burst form. Then, as the power began rising to the surface, he began screaming at the top of his voice.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!”

There was a flash of light and once it vanished, his slightly spiky hair suddenly became really spiky while his body was surrounded by small random bursts of lightning. The Slavemancer continued hovering in the sky and watched, in surprise, as Lakshman completed his second transformation.

“I didn’t know the Phoenix Titan had the power to go beyond the power he previously had.

Now, he has spiky blonde hair and there is this strange lightning burst surrounding him body,” he said quietly with a serious expression on his face.

Lakshman breathed a long sigh with his eyes closed and remained like that for a moment.

Once he reopened them, he looked up at the place the Slavemancer hovered high up in the sky. Lakshman raised his hand up above and aimed directly at his enemy as he activated a magic spell to hit him with.

“Stone Driver!”

Small pebbles and small rocks rose from the ground and quickly gathered to make large stone with a cone-shaped at the front, which was spiked. The cone-shaped area began to rotate violently at high speed as it threated to shred everything in sight. The Slavemancer watched in surprise as Lakshman launched the attack straight towards him and he quickly reacted by activating a firing a technique of his own at it.

“Aerial Cutter!”

In an instant, he sent a dozen slicing air towards the stone drill and cut it up into pieces, which exploded into mid-air. Lakshman nodded as he assessed his opponent’s skill and he activated his next magic technique against him.

“Air Strike Cannon!”

The moment he shouted the technique name, several magic circles appeared around the Slavemancer, much to his surprise. The magic circles began to circle and they became brighter before firing large beam cannon at him.

“Enforcer!”

The moment he shouted his technique aloud, he brought his hands and knees closed to himself defensively. A powerful barrier formed around him and it did its best blocking against the powerful beam cannons as he held his position firmly before surging with energy and roaring with power. As he extended his arms and legs, the barrier expanded out and immediately swept towards the magic circles and destroyed them in the process. The Slavemancer looked down at the Phoenix Titan and dived towards him at high speed and quickly reached the ground.

“Urgh!” he screamed and he lashed out at his face, but Lakshman quickly dodged him and the attack ended up destroying the ground.

As dust exploded out, the Slavemancer continued his attack on as he swung his fists and legs in his direction, but Lakshman dodged each of them with little difficulty. Then, when he found an opportunity, he ducked below the Slavemancer’s body and delivered a power punch into his gut, causing the Slavemancer to widen his eyes momentarily before the Slavemancer grabbed Lakshman’s face and smashed it against his own. Quickly recovering from the attack, Lakshman swung both of his legs upward and slammed it hard into the Slavemancer’s face, releasing his face in the process.

Lakshman flipped through the air and landed back on his feet before charging forward to slam his elbow in the Slavemancer’s gut and then he quickly followed through by raising his fist up and slamming his face very hard. The impact force lifted him off his feet and set him hurtling backwards for several meters before he landed back on his feet, clutching his nose. As he brought his hand to his eyes, he was startled to see blood flowing out of it.

“Damn you…! Damn you!” he screamed in mad rage. “Earth Rush!”

He immediately activated his magic and the ground in front of him suddenly rose up vertically and rushed towards Lakshman, who immediately activated his magic in defence against it.

“Iron Blockade!”

In an instant, particles of light gathered in front of him to form a large iron wall of defence that did not let the earth to push it back towards its caster. With it holding its position firmly, Lakshman quickly moved forward and punched at the iron as he activated another magic spell.

“Iron Spikes!”

In an instant, he punched twice on the iron wall and two spikes from the point of impact extended out. They soared towards the surprised Slavemancer and pierced his shoulders,

causing him to scream form the pain. The Slavemancer looked at the two iron spikes digging deep into his shoulder and he groaned as he moved his hands to grip them tightly. As he began surging with power, he lifted the iron spikes along with the entire iron wall in a display of great strength before bringing it back down forcefully on Lakshman.

Lakshman held his hand up and immediately grabbed the iron walls with his hands before griping it firmly with both of his hands. Then, in a display of his strength, he began swinging the iron wall and as he did, he lifted the Slavemancer off his feet. For a moment, the Slavemancer dangled in mid-air as he held onto the spikes stabbed into his shoulders before slamming heavily on the ground as Lakshman brought them down.

With their use over, the iron walls turned into particles of light and vanished as the dust slowly cleared from the point of impact. The Slavemancer is seen standing up with blood dripping from where his shoulders were pierced and he glared angrily at the Phoenix Titan. He suddenly let out an angry roar while being surrounded by a violet Elemental Glow before he charged towards him at high speed. Lakshman took a fighting stance and he surged with energy while radiating in golden-red aura before clashing fists against the Slavemancer.

The two warriors began fighting each other with at an incredible speed, which would have looked like flashing to normal eyes. While fighting at this speed, the two of them landed blows on each other’s bodies while doing their best defending and guarding; the Slavemancer landed several blows on Lakshman’s body while Lakshman also delivered several more blows towards the Slavemancer.

The Slavemancer lashed out his leg at Lakshman, but he quickly avoided it by raising his legs into the air and dodging it before lashing his leg out at the Slavemancer. Upon contact, the Slavemancer groaned and was pushed back, but he quickly grabbed onto Lakshman’s foot and slammed him onto the ground. Lakshman immediately reacted and flipped his body upward and pulled the Slavemancer before slamming down on the ground.

Before the Slavemancer could recover, Lakshman quickly moved forward and slammed his knees into his opponent’s gut, causing the Slavemancer to spew blood out. The Slavemancer gritted his teeth and using his energy, he sat upright to catch Lakshman’s legs, but was surprised to see them gone. Lakshman saw his move and he quickly jumped into the air to avoid it before flipping in the air and grabbing the Slavemancer’s legs in the process.

Once he landed back on his feet, Lakshman lifted the Slavemancer into the air slammed him slammed him hard into the ground and he continued doing this several more times before tossing him high into the air. The Slavemancer wearily floated up into the air before recovering and stopping his free flight into the air.

He scream in rage and shouted, “Ah! Why…?! Why am I taking more damage than you?!”

“It’s possibly because all the negative you committed has come back to haunt you!” Lakshman replied firmly. “Now, it’s time to pay up, Slavemancer. Surrender peacefully or perish.”

“Surrender?! Me?! Never!” the Slavemancer screamed and he quickly brought his hands together to gather energy for his attack.

Lakshman sighed and said, “I knew you’d say that. People like you always said the same time, regardless of how badly they are defeated. There’s only one way out for you: being destroyed at my hands!”

He quickly put his hands together and began gathering energy for his attack as he faced up at his opponent. It took each of them a few seconds to gather the necessary amount and once they were done, a large ball of energy gathered in their hands.

“Death Drive Cannon!” the Slavemancer shouted and he launched the black wave of energy down towards his opponent.

Lakshman aimed his attack upward and as he launched it, he shouted, “Solar Starburst Attack!”

His attack was released in a mighty blue wave of destruction as he soared up into the sky and headed towards the incoming black wave of destruction. The two waves soared toward each other and collided at centre point and for several seconds, a struggle ensued between the users of their respective energy attacks. The Slavemancer tried to push forward with his energy, but he was shocked when the energy attack from Lakshman began to push back towards him and it eventually swallowed him up.

An explosion resulted at the point where the Slavemancer was hovering moment before it and a great cloud spread from the explosion and it became hard to see everything. Lakshman held his hands at attack position and readied himself because he could feel that his enemy was still alive. Once the smoke cleared, it became clear that the Slavemancer was still alive, but quite badly wounded and he slowly descended from the sky to kneel on the ground.

“Please! Forgive me!” the Slavemancer suddenly said and he fell to his knees for forgiveness.

Lakshman’s eyebrows rose slightly in surprise and he asked, “You feel sorry and regret for everything you did?”

“Yes! I truly do! Please…! Spare me my life…!” the Slavemancer pleaded desperately.

“Well… I did say I will kill you, but… If you’re feeling regret, then I will believe it,” Lakshman said with a shrug of his shoulders.

He began walking towards the Slavemancer and once he was within reach, the Slavemancer slowly raised his body to look up at Lakshman, who was looking down at him with a merciful expression on his face.

The Slavemancer slowly smiled and said, “Thank you… But, no thanks!”

His smile widened into madness and so did the expression on his face and he immediately raised his right hand at Lakshman before launching the energy attack at him. The wave of energy seemed to swallow Lakshman whole before soaring away into the distance and exploding. For a moment, the Slavemancer felt triumphant to use this sneaky method to let the Phoenix Titan drop his guard long enough for him to launch a direct attack on him.

As the smoke cleared from the launch of the attack, the Slavemancer’s smile slowly faded and his jaw slowly opened in disbelief. Without him realising it, Lakshman had appeared to be standing right behind him and he had his leg raised before landing it hard on the Slavemancer’s body, slamming him heavily into the ground. Once he slammed the Slavemancer to the ground, Lakshman removed his leg off his back to stand firmly with his arms folded, an expression of utmost disgust on his face.

“I knew you were lying the moment you asked for forgiveness, you fool!” Lakshman said angrily to the ground stuck Slavemancer. “Did you take me for a fool? My power over Elemental Sense can detect more than people’s power level and their life signal! It’s capable of detecting when someone had spoken truth or lies while also detecting the unnatural energy flow all around me. You were a fool from the start to think your small trickery would’ve worked on me!”

The Slavemancer moaned softly as he lay on the ground from the shock of having been slammed into the ground hard from behind.

“Anyway…! Enough is enough! People like you will never learn, will never change and are a waste of existence!” Lakshman said with a deadly expression.

He unfolded his arms and began gathering energy, which became a large ball of energy in the palm of his hands. The Slavemancer quietly whimpered and cursed Lakshman from the bottom of his heart, but he could not muster the energy necessary to retaliate from the heavy slam to the ground.

At that moment, Lakshman widened his eyes when he suddenly sensed something strange. He sensed a greater power level within the area, but he had difficulty sensing its exact location. At

first, he wondered if it belonged to a friend, but he never knew anyone with that sort of energy signature. The air soon became thick with tension as even the Elemental Spirits seemed to be afraid from the mere presence of this unknown being in the area.

Suddenly, Lakshman sensed a great level of increasing energy and he turned to his left. There, soaring straight towards him at an incredible speed, was a large energy wave of destruction.

He widened his eyes in shock at the sheer size of it and he immediately realised he did not have the time to dodge it or create an energy barrier to protect himself. So, he quickly turned towards it and brought his hands in front of him and defended the best he could against it as it surged forward and slammed into him.

“AAAAAAHHH!!!” Lakshman screamed in pain from being slammed by such a powerful wave of destruction.

The dark wave of destruction pushed him back and carried him several meters before slamming him into the side of a mountain and exploding a moment later. The Slavemancer slowly opened his eyes and watched, in shock, as his enemy was suddenly taken to a far distant mountain by a powerful wave of energy that he certainly could not muster. Then, he heard a familiar voice speak from somewhere close to him and he slowly turned to immediately recognise who it was.

The man appearing before him has a slim build, similar to Lakshman’s, but he was wearing completely black clothes. He was around 175cm tall with deep black eyes and a pure spiky black hair. He was wearing a puzzled expression on his face as he spoke.

“My, my… I didn’t expect the mighty Phoenix Titan to be so easily overpowered by my attack like that.”

The Slavemancer looked up at this man and widened his eyes in shock, he said, “Calamity Titan!”

Phoenix Rising Chapter 256 Descending Calamity

Lakshman lay knocked against the mountain he got smashed into by the powerful wave of energy that was fired by an unknown person. He groaned before pushed himself to his feet and standing up straight, he saw someone radiating strange aura next to the collapsed form of the Slavemancer. He stretched his arms and legs to ease the slight pain in them began walking towards them.

He walked cautiously towards them as he was prepared to defend himself if the standing man decided to attack him again. However, the nearer he got to the stranger, the feeling of bloodlust began to surge within him. As his eyes narrowed, he sensed the standing man to be almost as strong as him.

“Ah. You’re okay after taking that much?” the man asked him in a loud carrying voice.

Lakshman narrowed his eyes suspiciously and once he was a several meters away, he stopped and spoke to the stranger.

“Who are you? Why did you attack me?”

The stranger made a strange expression on his face and he burst into laughter that had no humour in it. As Lakshman watched the man laugh, he felt his blood boil with rage and he suddenly felt a strong desire the kill the stranger. It surprised him because he had never felt such a strong urge to a living being before, except when they left him with no choice, but to end their life.

“I’m surprised you asked that question! It’s only natural that we try to eliminate each other being mortal enemies and all!” the stranger said finally after he calmed down a bit while still continuing to grin broadly.

“What?” Lakshman asked sharply. “What do you mean when you said we’re mortal enemies?

In fact, why do I feel this strong urge to kill you even though I met you just now?”

The stranger widened his grin and said, “It is only natural the Phoenix Titan and the Calamity Titan fight to kill each other the moment they ever meet face to face!”

“What…? Calamity Titan?” Lakshman asked in disbelief. “You’re a titan? That’s impossible!”

Hearing that, the stranger roared with laughter and the Slavemancer angrily shouted, “You fool! Don’t you realise you’re talking to one of the greatest demons that ever existed in history? A demon that slept for over 8000 years and has finally awakened to grant my wish! He is the Calamity Titan!”

“That’s why I’m saying it’s impossible!” Lakshman said sharply as he stared at the stranger.

“There are only nine titans in the world and they are labelled the Nine Pillars of Power!”

The stranger chuckled darkly and said, “Of course… The Nine Pillars of Power are indeed the titans known to man, but there was one that was never registered as part of them because he was above them all!” He grabbed a thumb at himself and said, “Me…! The Calamity Titan and you’re my mortal enemy, Phoenix Titan!”

“Why…? Why are we mortals enemies? I know nothing about you, except that you stopped me as I was about to finish off that bastard over there!” Lakshman shouted at him angrily and he pointed at the Slavemancer.

The Calamity Titan made a surprised expression on his face as he said, “Oh, really? You really don’t know our tragic bloody history? Ha…” Sighing deeply, he shook his head and said, “My, my… I didn’t expect the blow I gave you 8000 years ago is still affecting you!”

“What?!” Lakshman exclaimed in shock. “What blow did you do? What did you do to me so long ago?”

The Calamity Titan grinned widely and folded his arms as he said, “I placed those seals on you, messed with the Phoenix Connection connecting your memories and did whatever I could to mess with the almighty Phoenix Blade to cut down her power! All in my attempts to weaken you the next time I woke up 8000 years later so I can finish you once and for all!”

Lakshman’s eyes widened in shock at what he heard and he slowly said, “What…? You… You did this to me…? You were the one that put those seals on me?! To cut down my true power?”

“Yes, I did!” the Calamity Titan admitted openly in a happy voice. “8000 years ago, I fought against the Phoenix Titan during the great racial war that followed the disappearance of Zekadraite Askajengret, the Emperor of the World! I fought the Phoenix Titan, but he was too strong and that’s when I used my dark powers to disrupt the Phoenix Connection, placed the Four Seals of Darkness on him and finally tampered with the power of the Phoenix Blade while he was distracted from what I did to him!

Even so, he beat me up so much that I needed 8000 years to recover from the damage I took form that battle! While I slept, I felt confident that I will have the upper hand the next time I awaken to face the new Phoenix Titan and this time, I will destroy whoever he is!”

Lakshman could not believe what he just heard and he narrowed his eyes sharply, gritted his teeth angrily and said, “You pulled such a dishonourable trick on me? Where’s your pride as a warrior?”

“I did it because I’m a warrior!” the Calamity Titan said as he grinned widely. “Achieving victory through any means necessary makes me the strongest out of all the Nine Pillars of Power!

However… I awoke 100 years earlier than I intended by a selfish foolish boy who wanted the power to control people…”

He looked down at the badly beaten and wounded Slavemancer and snorted while the Slavemancer lay there while groaning unhappily.

“I gave you such a powerful eye, but you didn’t know how to use it properly! What a waste!” the Calamity Titan said disparagingly. “Now, return my eyes to me at once because you no longer need them anymore!”

“N-No!” the Slavemancer shouted as he attempted to resist.

“Resistance is futile!” the Calamity Titan said and he held his hand down towards him.

The Slavemancer let out a blood curling scream as his eyes were pulled out of their socket and turned into small ball of light that soared upward and fused into the Calamity Titan’s eyes. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he reopened them, the Demon Eyes: Controller were active. The Slavemancer crawled across the ground and grabbed the Calamity Titan’s leg as he begged him desperately while blinded.

“G-Give me back my eyes! Give them back!”

“They are my eyes and mine alone! Now, get off my feet!” the Calamity Titan said roughly and he kicked the Slavemancer across his side.

The Slavemancer cried out in pain and shock from the impact at his side before being blasted away. Lakshman turned and watch, in shock, as the Slavemancer soared several meters through the air before crashing landing to a dusty stop. There was no mercy with the way the Calamity Titan kicked him as the Slavemancer lay there dazed and shocked as blood slowly flowed down his face from the removed sockets where his eyes once were.

“Now… Where was I…?” the Calamity Titan asked as if he had done something as simple as swatting a fly.

Lakshman turned back to the Calamity Titan and asked, “You… Why did you do that to him?

Aren’t you on the same side?”

The Calamity Titan waved his finger and said, “He awakened me to grant his wish to control people and in return, I acquired the source I needed to quickly recover my strength by absorbing on the negative energy of people. It was a give and take contract. The moment he became useless to me, that contract became nil and I no longer have any use with anymore, thus I took back what rightfully is mine.”

Lakshman widened his eyes in shock and he asked, “You…! What is wrong with you…?”

The Calamity Titan shrugged his shoulders and said, “Young Phoenix Titan, you have much to grow and understand about the world. I will use those useful to me and for those that have no usefulness at all, I throw them along with trash they belong with! That’s the law of this world that we warriors must abide by!”

“Well, I don’t!” Lakshman shouted and as he clenched his fist slightly, he began surging with power.

The Calamity Titan grinned as he saw his enemy powering up and he said, “I can sense that you unsealed three of the four seal that I placed on you! Even so, you’re nothing compared to how powerful I am right now, despite only having fifty-percent of my true power!”

“I don’t care!” Lakshman bellowed and he kicked off the ground to rocket towards the Calamity Titan.

He quickly covered the distance separating him and the Calamity Titan before reaching his enemy. The Calamity Titan wore a wide grin on his face and he began to surge with power as he was surrounded by deep violet aura, a different kind of Elemental Glow to the known normal violet colour.

Lakshman soared forward and unleashed his fist forward and the Calamity Titan did the same with his fist. Their fists collided against each other with each warrior trying to push forward with a great surge of their own power. The collision of the powers sent a shockwave in all directions before an explosion occurred where the two of them clashed, pushing the warriors back.

The two warriors quickly recovered and began gathering large quantity of energy into their hands respectively. Lakshman used both of his hands to gather energy into the palm of his hand while the Calamity Titan gathered energy into the palm of his right hand. It took them a few seconds and once their techniques were ready, they unleashed the attacks in a powerful driving waves of destruction towards each other.

“Solar Starburst Cannon!” Lakshman shouted as he unleashed the energy in a blue wave of destruction.

“Dark Resonance Beam!” the Calamity Titan yelled as he unleashed the energy in a black wave of destruction.

Both waves of destruction drove a great groove on the ground as they soared straight at each other. When they made contact, there was a struggle of power between both waves of destruction as their respective user used their power to push forward without giving budging or giving in. For several seconds, the two waves of destruction fought to claim victory, but with no victory coming out of it, an explosion resulted in sending a powerful force of wind in all directions along with the debris from the destruction.

As the dust slowly covered the area, Lakshman and the Calamity Titan burst of the dust and soared towards each other; Lakshman wearing a serious expression on his face while the Calamity Titan wore a wide grin on his face. When the two of them clashed once more, the true fight began and it was a dramatic fight. Each blow they delivered towards each other sent shockwaves in all directions to destroy the small rocks and pebbles that littered the ground.

Lakshman slammed his fist hard into the Calamity Titan’s face while the Calamity Titan kneed him hard in the gut. Stunned from the sudden blow, Lakshman quickly brought both of his fists forward and slammed them against the jaw of the Calamity Titan. Before sailing away from the blow, Calamity Titan managed to deliver a powerful kick to Lakshman’s face and the two were blasted from each other with strong force. Lakshman quickly landed on his feet and he aimed his hand at the Calamity Titan as he activated a technique of his own.

“Iron Bullets!”

Magic particles began preparing around him and they soon took the form of small lethal looking iron objects. Then, with an exertion of his energy, he launched them straight towards the Calamity Titan, who saw them coming and he raised his hand towards the incoming objects.

“Force Control!”

In an instant, the objects stopped in mid-air and they appeared to be struggling to move forward. The Calamity Titan closed his hands and the objects got crushed in an instant.

Lakshman was shocked when he saw the iron bullets turn into particles because he did no see how they were destroyed so easily.

The Calamity Titan aimed his hand towards him and with an exertion of his power, he raised his above him. In an instant, Lakshman felt himself being lifted upwards and he got lifted into the air forcefully and as the Calamity Titan brought his hand down, Lakshman soared back down to smash into the ground. The Calamity Titan’s grin widened and a crazy expression appeared on his face and began lifting his hand up and down, making Lakshman’s body soar upward and then plummet down to smash into the ground.

This occurred several times and Lakshman got very frustrated and confused as to how the Calamity Titan was controlling him from such a remote distance.

“Enough is enough!” Lakshman bellowed and with a surge of his power, he broke free after casting a barrier spell around him.

The next instance, he disappeared and surprised the Calamity Titan before reappearing right behind him. The Calamity Titan sensed his presence from behind him and he slowly turned to look at him with wide eyes. Before he could do anything, Lakshman delivered power punch to the back of Lakshman as he shouted the technique he used next.

“Force Blast!”

With a mighty force, the Calamity Titan was blasted forward and he soared straight into the air from the impact of Lakshman’s fist on his back. As he soared away, the Calamity Titan raised his hands, quickly gathered energy and activated a magic spell at Lakshman.

“Icicle Crusher!”

In an instant, a large particles of light appeared on either side of Lakshman and quickly formed into a large wall of ice, which moved forward to crush him. Lakshman immediately extended out both of his arms and firmly held the walls of ice from crushing him. The Calamity Titan landed on his feet and extended his right hand out as he aimed towards Lakshman.

“Dark Meteor Cannon!”

In an instant, several magic circles appeared all around Lakshman, who continued struggling against the force of the ice walls. The dark magic circles created a large ball of energy and launched them straight towards Lakshman and as he saw them soaring straight towards him, he kicked off the ground and his hands slid upwards, allowing him to get out of the way. The bottom section of the walls of ice, where he stood, were destroyed by the mighty waves of destruction.

“Icicle Breaker!”

With the shout of his technique, Lakshman forced his energy into the walls of ice and slowly caused them to crumble into pieces. With that done, he remained airborne and looked around at the magic circles that were aimed up at him. At the same time, the Calamity Titan began attacking him with another technique he activated.

“Icicle Storm!”

In an instant, a strong wind suddenly hit Lakshman and it made him feel a little chilly, because it was a lot colder than the usual weather. Suddenly, his check got grazed by something sharp and he suddenly saw a whole load of icicles headed towards him.

Ah crap!” Lakshman shouted in shock. He quickly raised his hands above him and said, “Blazing Hurricane Fury!”

In an instant, a fiery wave of fire erupted from his hands and soared upward to destroy the icicles that were soaring towards him. Once they were gone, he looked around to see another waves of destruction flying towards him while he remained floating in mid-air.

“Wow!” he exclaimed in shock as he quickly dodged them.

He gathered a large ball of energy in the palm of his right hand and as he turned in mid-air, he fired them towards the magic circles. With each impact from the energy ball, the magic circle was destroyed and soon, none of were left remaining. Lakshman landed on his feet, only to suddenly get pulled forward by something that seemed to be gripping him like an invisible hand. He flew forward and as he burst from the smoke from the explosions earlier, he was shocked when he saw the Calamity Titan pulling him forward with his hand.

“Burning Force!” Lakshman yelled and he erupted in flames.

He forcibly freed himself from the invisible gripping force from the Calamity Titan and surprised him in the process. Then, he disappeared and reappeared in an instant in front of the Calamity Titan, who widened his eyes in shock when he saw the Phoenix Titan in front of him. Lakshman was lowered slightly, but he pushed himself upward and as he did, he brought his fist forward and delivered a powerful right uppercut to the Calamity Titan’s jaw, blasting him high up into the air.

After soaring for several seconds in the air, the Calamity Titan recovered and looked down with a grin on his face. It looked like the damage that Lakshman was dealing to him was not affecting him the way Lakshman thought it would while his enemy’s attacks were slowly weakening him.

The Calamity Titan extended both of his hands out and he quickly formed a large black ball of energy and he hurled it down towards Lakshman, momentarily surprising him. Lakshman quickly recovered and he put his hands together as he gathered energy to fire the attack straight at the Calamity Titan.

“Super Solar Drive Cannon!”

With a shout of the technique name, Lakshman launched a large red wave of destruction that rocketed up into the sky. The large black ball of destruction and the red wave of destruction flew towards each other and made contact in mid-air. There was a few seconds of struggle between both forces pushing against each other. A moment later, a large explosion resulted causing a large wave of dust and a strong force of wind to go in all directions.

Lakshman held his ground firmly against the strong winds until they finally began settling down. He looked up and narrowed his eyes to see where the Calamity Titan was when, all of a sudden, he sensed his presence right behind him. He turned around and just in time to see the Calamity Titan deliver a powerful punch to the side of his face, blasting him several meters before he smashed into the side of a mountain. Once the dust cleared, Lakshman was seen lying against the mountain while looking dazed and surprised.

“I must admit! You’re quite good with your skills in fighting me!” the Calamity Titan told him with a wide grin on his face. “However, your strength alone isn’t enough to win this fight against me! You don’t have the kind of power you need to be stronger than me!”

Lakshman slowly recovered from being smashed into the mountain and he got back on his feet to glare fiercely at his opponent.

“I don’t know how strong you think you are and maybe you’re stronger than me, but that still won’t stop me from fighting my hardest to defeat you!” Lakshman shouted at him angrily.

“Good! Good! That’s the spirit of a true warrior!” the Calamity Titan said appraisingly. “Now, let’s see if you can keep up with me when I fight like this!”

As he finished speaking, he began radiating in deep violet aura with a mad expression on his face. Lakshman quickly prepared himself with his arms ready to fight him as they prepared to continue their battle against each other.

The Calamity Titan suddenly disappeared and reappeared in an instant in front of Lakshman before delivering a power punch into his gut. Lakshman spat blood out from the shock if impact before his body was blasted into the mountain and he drove through it before blasted out on the other side of it. As he managed to remain on his feet, he was shocked when he saw the Calamity Titan suddenly appear in front of him before beginning fighting him.

Lakshman and the Calamity Titan began fighting at each other at incredible speed that made it look like they were flashing from their speedy movement. Lakshman and the Calamity Titan both delivered powerful blows to each other, but it seemed that Lakshman’s blows to his enemy were not causing him much damage while he received tremendous damage from him.

The Calamity Titan sensed Lakshman weakening and he grinned broadly before quickly striking at him. He delivered a super strong power punch into his gut and then quickly followed up with a powerful uppercut and then finished the movement by kicking Lakshman hard in the chest and pushed him back. He quickly brought his hands forward and quickly gathered a large portion of energy, he launched a black wave of destruction straight towards Lakshman.

The powerful impact from the kick and the direct impact from the powerful wave of destruction pushed Lakshman backwards until he slammed into the mountain, which caused it to make large cracks all around it before crumbling into large chunks of rocks that fell down and smashed into pieces.

The Calamity Titan began laughing loudly when, all of a sudden, he sensed someone approach him from behind. He turned around and saw the Slavemancer aiming a powerful gathered energy with both of his hands towards him.

“I finally understand how deceived I was with my eyes…! All I wanted was the power to control people to do good, buy because of those eyes, I committed great crimes that forgiveness alone never relieve me of the blood that has stained my soul! So, I will redeem myself by killing you, evil monster!” the Slavemancer screamed in rage.

He brought his hand forward and unleashed the energy into a large blue wave of destruction towards him. The Calamity Titan immediately reacted and using a powerful barrier to shield himself, he moved forward and stopped the attack by closing his hands on the Slavemancer’s hands that was firing the attack. He grinned as he looked at the bloodstained face of the Slavemancer with a crazy expression on his face.

“You’re right! Evil monsters must be destroyed!” the Calamity Titan said in agreement.

“Reflection Factor!”

In an instant, the blue wave of destruction that the Slavemancer unleashed towards the Calamity Titan suddenly was launched from with his palms. The Slavemancer screamed in agony before being consumed by the powerful wave, which three times stronger than the one he had launched earlier. In an instant, he was incarnated before an explosion occurred to spread dust everywhere.

As the dust slowly cleared, the Calamity Titan sighed and said, “I pitied him and wanted to let him live, but I guess I was being too linient on him for being useful to me before. What a waste…! Anyway…”

He turned around and folded his arms as he slowly rose into the air to look at where the Phoenix Titan had smashed into. Lakshman lay there on the ground while moaning painfully from the damage he had taken from his battle against the Calamity Titan. He slowly moved forward to sit up on the broken chucks of rock as he looked around to see where the Calamity Titan was and he looked up to see him floating up in the sky.

The Calamity Titan was wearing a crazy expression on his face as he said with his voice being amplified so that Lakshman could hear it, “You put up a descent fight, despite having fiftypercent of your true power. However, it’s time to let you feel despair!”

“Huh…?” Lakshman asked with a puzzled expression on his face.

The Calamity Titan continued to grin before making a serious expression on his face as he unfolded his arms. He clenched his fists and began gathering energy from within as he began surging in deep violet aura as he began screaming with power.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!”

The sheer force of him powering up sent a wild surging energy in all directions, causing the ground to make large cracks beneath. The surrounding mountains began crumbling as the clouds began to turn darker with lightning bursting everywhere. Lakshman watched, with horror, as the Calamity Titan went through a transformation that he could not believe as he leaned his back on the rocks to sit firmly there without getting blown away by the strong force of the wind.

There was a violent flash of violet light that spread everywhere before it vanished a few seconds later. Lakshman has his jaw drop in shock as he stared up at the transformation the Calamity Titan achieved. He had spiky purple hair, which seemed to have increase slightly in how much hair he had on his head while his black Demon Eyes: Controller somehow became bright yellow. He radiated in pure dark energy surrounding him as he stared down at his enemy.

“Do you still think you have the power to fight me in my Calamity Titan form?” the Calamity Titan asked in a voice that seemed to pulse with power.

Lakshman watched the dark radiating with wide eyes full of shock.

“This power… It can’t be…! He’s so strong that my pales in comparison to his power! This is… unbelievable!” Lakshman thought desperately as he watched him.

Then, quickly recovering, he asked, “What do you intend to do after you recovering your full power?”

The Calamity Titan looked down at him and smiled before saying, “Rule the world!”

“Rule the world?”

“That’s right! Controlling the world and lead them forward is the way the Emperor of the World did previously and from his example, I am certain I will do an even better job than him!

Unlike him, I won’t disappear and abandon the people of this world like he did to us 8000 years ago! That… is my ultimate goal this time!”

“What will happen to those that oppose you?”

“Those useful to me will live and those that aren’t will perish. Those principles of mine will never change in a million years!”

Lakshman widened his eyes in shock before shouting, “You fool…! That is a foolish thought!

The Emperor of the World ruled over the people by forcing them to not fight! He never once thought of controlling them or killing them to show that you rule over them is not right! What you’re planning on doing is nothing more than dictatorship!”

“What’s wrong with that? I’m giving these stupid mortals a chance at making sure they can lead peacefully lives without blindly doing whatever they please in the name of their selfish desires and goals. Even to achieve their dreams, they do things that are very difficult to imagine, which is why I will force the control of the world into my hands and lead them into peace!”

“You are mad! You are talking trash in the name of freedom and justice! People must retain those two as that makes them who they are instead of the mindless puppets that you have in mind of making them become! I will never accept this and I will do everything within my power to stop you!”

The Calamity Titan heard his declaration and he grinned slightly before asking, “I knew you would say that. The previous Phoenix Titan was slightly different, but you remind me of a certain someone from a very long time ago. That guy believed in the exact same thing, which ultimately resulted in his destruction. What makes you think you won’t end up like him?”

“Because… I’m not a loser!” Lakshman bellowed at the top of his voice.

He clenched his fists and he began surging with power while a golden-red aura surrounded him. As he began to power up, the Calamity Titan’s smile vanished and was replaced by a serious expression on his face as he watched the Phoenix Titan going through a transformation. Lakshman began screaming at the top of his voice as his spike blonde hair began to grow longer and longer that slowly grew to waist length and the bursts of lightning became more prominent around him than previously.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

Lakshman continued to scream as his power rose to great levels, causing the Calamity Titan to widen his eyes in shock as he saw how much power Lakshman was rising. It was an incredible amount that would eventually put him on the same foothold of power, even with the remaining of his power sealed away.

“It can’t be…! He’s capable of pushing this much power, even though he only has fifty-percent of his full power unsealed?” the Calamity Titan muttered in disbelief as he watched his transformation and the rise in power of the Phoenix Titan.

“AAAAAHHH!!! AAAAHHH!!! AAH!!! AAHHH!!!! AAAAAAAHHHH!!! AAAAAAAAAAA…!”

With his breaking screams, Lakshman suddenly lost control of his power and his lost his transformation. His blonde hair suddenly vanished, leaving him with a long waist length hair with his eyes returning to appear pure black once again. Lakshman tethered on his feet for a moment and he looked up at the Calamity Titan with unfocused eyes before collapsing backwards and lay on the broken rubble of rocks.

“Hmm…! Looks like the transformation was too much for him with the way he currently is…” the Calamity Titan said slowly with a serious expression on his face. “However, to be able to pull up so much power like that… Who knows how powerful he will become if I let him live…

No…! He must die right now!”

With that said, the Calamity Titan began gathering dark energy into the palm of his hand as he prepared to kill the Phoenix Titan, Lakshman Reddy.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 257 Hero Destruction

“What?! He remained behind to fight them off?” Venezuela demanded in a shocked voice.

The Eternal Phoenix hung its head unhappily as Shalany went to speak in its defence.

“They were chasing me and Lakshman decided to remain behind to take them down. The phoenix bird tried to argue, but the orders were clear and without a choice, it brought be back here like instructed."

“So? He should’ve tried to fight those orders! That’s what I would’ve done if my master inclined to remain behind to stay and fight!” Venezuela said harshly.

“Calm down, Vena… It isn’t Phylex’s fault that Lucky isn’t here. He was simply following the orders he was given and besides, it’s Lucky! He doesn’t need much of help in taking them out.

I’m sure he’s finished with them by now and is using his Phoenix Portal to come back to us,” Erza said in a reasonable voice.

“Y-Yes, but still… Following orders blindly is—!”

“We’re humans and it’s an Eternal Phoenix. Think of its position as a mighty phoenix bird of light and fire. It has to keep its pride as a bird that obeys its master, otherwise it will lose face in front of the other phoenixes!” Erza said sharply and Vena looked surprised. “After that, the only path for a phoenix that lost is pride is death! Would you really be happy to see it die because of something this silly?”

“Uh…” Venezuela was stumped and she did not say anything for a moment. Then, in a low voice, she said, “I don’t want that.”

“I thought so!” Erza said briskly with a nod of her head. “You better apologise to Phylex because he’s looking really upset!”

Venezuela looked up to see Phylex’s large head was being patted by Tetra and Silvera. Apart from Venezuela, Tetra and Silvera were pleased with the work of the Eternal Phoenix. Emilia was attending to the badly injured people with immediate need of medical attention with other healers while Felix assisted them. Dominic was standing next to Shalany and looked a

little lost as to what to say. Only Ondine and Cantia were annoyed at Lakshman’s actions to stay behind and fight.

“What was he thinking?!” Ondine demanded irritably. “It’s no problem fighting them off, but then he left us behind like this! Now, I’m all pumped up to destroy them when I saw the state those people were in!”

“I agree-nyaa! Lucky’s a dimwit-nyaa!” Cantia said while looking very irritated.

“Oh, you two…!” Erza said in exasperation and she turned to face them. “Think about it! Those guys must’ve been flying pretty fast for him to stay behind. Otherwise, what would be so troublesome for him to keep him back there?”

“I don’t know-nyaa, but he could’ve used his Phoenix Portal, unsummoned Phylex and safely got back here…!” Cantia said irritably and Erza sighed before shaking her head unhappily.

“Listen, you stupid cat! His enemies must have been very fast for him to not act in such a way.

Instead, he made a simple choice of staying behind to take them down once and for all. That is what I believe went through his mind at the time he got off Phylex’s back.”

“I agree!” Dominic said as he finally stepped in to defend his friend from the irritation of his wives. “I believe Lakshman decided it was final time he put an end to their reign and took the chance to take them down once and for all. I would’ve done the same thing without getting the whole kingdom involved in matters that don’t really concern them.”

“I suppose I have to agree with that…” Ondine said as he understood what Dominic was saying. “Even I would’ve done the same now that I clearly see how pathetic they truly were!”

She bunched her hands into fists and gritted her teeth angrily as she watched the people getting treated. Earlier, when they returned, she was horrified to find how badly they were in need of medical attention. Emilia quickly went to assist along with Felix using the strongest magic spells they knew to heal them before proper healing could be conducted. It appeared that most of them were starved between meals and that was only the beginning to the multiple injuries they suffered due to brutality.

“So, please don’t call Lakshman a dimwit or something because he had enough of this mess!”

Dominic told them firmly. “That’s why, he ordered us to over the mansion and arrest the Slavemancer. However, I failed and my Shalany got kidnapped right before my eyes as I stood doing absolutely nothing!”

“Don’t get so emotional about it… I’m here now,” Shalany said and she placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

“Right… Sorry…” Dominic said slowly before retreating to stand beside her.

They stood there in silence “It’s taking time! It’s already been more than half-an-hour since Phylex returned and there’s still no sigh of Lucky returning,” Emilia said as he walked over to them with a concerned look on her face.

At that moment, Tetra, Silvera and Phylex made shocked expressions on their faces and they looked up. Phylex began to emit a low burning aura that surprised them as they stood and watched him beginning to glow slightly in red aura.

“What’s wrong?” Erza asked them.

“Lucky’s in trouble! I can feel it!” Silvera said with a panicked look on her face.

“Yes! I feel it too! Something isn’t right with him!” Tetra said with an extremely worried look on her face.

“Master is under attack by an extremely powerful dark force of evil!” Phylex said telepathically to them and he sounded worried.

“Then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go and save him!” Ondine said firmly to them.

“Let’s go since there’s no point in staying here-nyaa!” Cantia said quickly with a serious face.

“I’ll come—!” began Dominic, but he was stopped with a serious glare from Venezuela.

“No! You stay here and look after your girlfriend while we go and save our husband!”

Venezuela retorted and stopped Dominic in his tracks.

“R-Right…!” Dominic said and he fell silent once more.

“Can you tell us the exact location that Lucky’s currently at?” Erza asked Tetra, Silvera and Phylex.

Tetra and Silvera had difficulty locating him, but they were fortunate because Phylex lend them their hand. He informed the girls the exact location of where the battle between Lakshman and Calamity Titan was taking place.

“We appreciate the help,” Emilia said and she quickly began casting her teleportation spell.

“I can assist in taking you there if you get on my back,” Phylex said as he offered his support to them.

“No thanks. Teleportation gets us there a lot quicker than riding on your back,” Erza told him quickly. Then, she smiled and said, “You did a good job of bringing Shalany back to us safely.

Now, you can return back to your world and await for your next summoning.”

The Eternal Phoenix nodded its head at them and in a burst of flames, disappeared into thin air. A few seconds later, Emilia was done casting the magic spell and a yellow teleportation magic circle appeared beneath their feet as they gathered around. They bid the group standing outside it farewell being teleported out of there. A moment later, they teleported onto a plain ground with mountains surrounding them.

As they focused on where they were, they suddenly winced from a sudden shockwave that swept towards them. They looked towards the source and were shocked when they saw Lakshman fighting furiously against an unknown man whom they knew nothing about.

However, their heads suddenly ached when they saw his face.

“Why does his face look so familiar, even though I don’t remember seeing him before?”

Ondine asked as she clutched her head as pain seared her mind.

“I know-nyaa…! I’m feeling a great headache when I look at his face-nyaa!” Cantia said before wincing as her head suddenly twinged with pain.

They were all experiencing the same pain from seeing the Calamity Titan’s face, but they never met him before. However, they were sure that his face was familiar to them as if they knew him from a very long ago. They could not explain how that was possible and it made it difficult to think anything under the pain they were experiencing.

“Ah!” Tetra shouted in shock when she saw what happened next.

The Calamity Titan quickly beat Lakshman up and launched a powerful wave of destruction that sent him smashing into a mountain. From the heavy impact, the mountain began cracking and collapsed on the ground before smashing into large chunks of rocks. The girls watched in horror as their husband was knocked back by a powerful wave.

“No… Lucky!” Venezuela, Erza and Emilia called out at the same time in shocked voices.

“Damn you…!” Ondine bellowed and she began surging with blue aura surrounding her.

“Nyaa!” Cantia shrieked and she sharpened her claws while making a beastly expression on his face. “How could he do that to my husband-nyaa? Unforgivable!”

Silvera was shocked to see her beloved husband get sent flying into a mountain before she sensed something. It was a different energy from all of them and she turned to see another man rushing towards the Calamity Titan with gathering energy in his hands.

“Who’s that?!” Silvera asked sharply and the girls turned to see whom she was looking at.

Recognising him immediately, Venezuela exclaimed, “Slavemancer!”

“Oh no…! That means, Lucky is outnumbered 2 to 1!” Erza said with a shocked expression on her face.

However, the Slavemancer surprised them by attacking the Calamity Titan, who quickly nullified the attack and the next moment, reflected the same attack back towards the man who used it. They were shocked when they saw the Slavemancer get consumed by the blue wave of destruction before being destroyed by it, resulting in an explosion that spread dust in all directions.

“No way…! He defeated that man just like that…?” Venezuela asked in disbelief.

“I thought the Slavemancer was strong, but… he got defeated just like that…!” Emilia said with a horrified look on her face.

Just then, they saw the Calamity Titan rise into the sky to hover there facing towards where Lakshman had smashed into. They turned and were relieved when they saw Lakshman slowly get to his feet to look up towards his enemy.

All of a sudden, the Calamity Titan began powering up and shocked the girls into complete silence. The sky started to turn murky dark as he radiated in deep violet light as he went through a transformation. Once it was done, the girls were shocked at how powerful he had become with the change of his appearance. His current power level dwarfed everyone and that also included Lakshman.

Then, they began conversing with each other and although the girls could not what they said clearly, they were certain it was something very serious. After a few minutes of conversing, they saw Lakshman become very angry and he also began his powering up to transform once more. The girls were left speechless as his power level rose past the point they thought was possible until it almost closed the gap that Calamity Titan made. However, Lakshman overexerted himself and he collapsed backwards before falling down on the rocks.

“Lucky!” the girls shouted and they quickly began running to his aide.

Up in the sky, the Calamity Titan snorted as he gathered energy into the tip of his finger. A small black ball formed there and random bursts of lightning erupted from it. He brought his hand forward and aimed towards Lakshman before launching the small ball of energy towards him. As the ball travelled through the air, it grew bigger and bigger as it absorbed the surrounding energy from all around them until it reached massive proportions.

At the same time, the girls reached Lakshman and turned to face the huge dark ball of energy soaring down to destroy them. Quickly reacting, the girls activated their magic and energy skills to defend themselves.

“Enforcer Force!” Venezuela, Emilia and Erza shouted their magic techniques with their hands outstretched.

“Barrier Force!” Ondine and Cantia shouted and activated their energy barrier while radiating in blue aura.

“Deflection Force!” Tetra and Silvera shouted at the same time and activated their barrier abilities.

All of their techniques combined and created a solid barrier then created a light screen like barrier above them. For a moment, the wind got blown away by a powerful force as the large black ball of energy soared down slammed into their barriers. For a moment, there was a struggle between their barriers and the energy ball and the girls quickly fell on top of Lakshman to protect him while he lay there badly wounded.

For a moment, a wild force of wind and energy were sent in all directions as the two forces fought. Then, the ball of energy suddenly exploded and that created a wild blowing wings that destroyed the mountains that were nearby. As the smoke of dust clear to bring the view back to normal, the girls sat upright and looked towards their enemy, still floating high up in the sky.

The Calamity Titan looked down at his enemies and squinted slightly to get a better look at them. When he saw the faces of the girls, his eyes widened in shock as if he could not believe what he had just seen.

“No way…! The Destiny Queens? They’re here…?” he asked in a voice full of disbelief.

Ondine became angry at his attack and she launched herself into the sky. She soared upwards and was soon followed by Tetra and Silvera as Erza, Venezuela and Cantia launched attacks from the ground. Meanwhile, Emilia concentrated on healing Lakshman’s wounds with a

tearful face because she had never seen him this beaten up before. The beaten up body of her beloved husband made tears flow down her face as he applied healing magic to him.

The Calamity Titan hovered there with his arms folded with a barrier around him to defend himself against their magical energy attacks as Ondine, Tetra and Silvera reached him. They began using their swords to attack him from all three sides, but the powerful barrier kept in place and remained unperturbed, despite them doing their best to attack it.

He suddenly looked at Tetra and said, “Phoenix Blade… Hasn’t your experience from the past taught you not to fight me like this?”

“What?” Tetra asked in shock as she did not understand how he knew her name.

“Guess you don’t remember, ha…?” he said dully.

“What don’t I remember?!” Tetra demanded and she began attacking him furiously.

“Find out for yourself, stupid,” he said before turning his attention to Silvera. He raised an eyebrow eyebow at her attempts to destroy the barrier as he asked, “Zemitra… You’re seriously attacking me…? You’re master?”

“Huh?” Silvera said and she appeared to be shock as she stopped attacking him. “W-What do you mean you’re my master? That man you beat up is my master! Not you!”

The Calamity Titan breathed a heavy sigh and closed his eyes as he said, “I see… Looks like you also lost your memories… What a disaster…!”

Silvera was shocked by what he said and she demanded, “What memories did I lose? What are they?!”

At that moment, the Calamity Titan’s eyes flashed open to shock her. The next moment, he raised his hand towards her and quickly gathered the energy and fired the black wave of destruction at her. Luckily for her, Ondine and Tetra quickly reached her and saved her from certain destruction before they slowly descended back down while holding her as she stared up at him in shock.

The Calamity Titan looked down at them and he fired another large wave of destruction down at them. The girls quickly activated their barriers, which protected them as they were pushed down to the ground. The energy wave disappeared as they landed on the ground and Ondine spoke to the other girls seriously.

“That guy’s too strong! We don’t have what it takes to defeat him as we are right now!”

Ondine told them with a serious expression on her face.

“Let’s poll our powers together and fire at him!” Venezuela said and they agreed.

They began channelling their energies together at a certain point above them and it soon took on the form of a large energy ball. Then, with an exertion of their energy, the ball of energy was released in a massive red wave of destruction as it soared up into the sky and headed straight towards the Calamity Titan. He saw the attacking coming and he widened his eyes in surprise before being consumed by it.

An explosion resulted after he was consumed by the light and the girls believed they had won the battle. However, they were shocked when they still felt his life force and looking up, the dust slowly cleared to bring him into full view. There was hardly any scratch on him as he opened his eyes to look down at the ladies that attacked him just now.

“I see… So, it’s almost time…” he said vaguely in a muttering voice. “Then, I must not let you live! Perish!”

With the shout of the last word, he raised both of his hands above his head and quickly gathered a massive amount of energy above him. In a matter of seconds, a gigantic black ball of energy formed above him and the girls watched with wide eyes in shock as swung it down towards them with ease. The girls quickly attempted to destroy it, but their attacks got deflected and it remained unperturbed as it sailed down towards them.

“No…! That thing is too powerful!” Venezuela shouted in shock.

Erza turned to them and said, “Let’s quickly grab Lakshman and get out of here!”

“You’re right!” I’ll prepare the teleportation spell right now,” Emilia said as she quickly began to cast the teleportation spell.

The Calamity Titan sensed them attempting to use a teleportation spell to get out of there and he snorted. He raised his right hand and with a click of his finger, he activated a spell that disabled teleportation magic spell from working.

“Dimension Block!”

In an instant, the teleportation spell Emilia had been working on suddenly exploded into particles like breaking glass. She was surprised for a moment before she attempted to use it several more times, but the magic kept exploding as the barrier that the Calamity Titan created blocked it from being used.

“It’s no use…! The teleportation spell is being blocked by some sort of barrier!” Emilia said and the girls were shocked to hear it.

“Let’s quickly caste the barrier once more-nyaa!” Cantia said, but Venezuela slowly shook her head with a defeated look on her face.

“It’s no use… This attack is several times stronger than one our combined barriers fended off earlier…” she said weakly. “It’s over… We’re done for…!”

The girls widened their eyes in shock at her words and realised the hopeless situation they were in as they turned to see the gigantic black ball of energy flying towards them slowly and steadily. Death was approaching at a slow pace and it was making them feel very hopeless because none of their powers are enough to take it down, let alone defeat the one that used it.

Just then, they heard the sound of feet on rock and they turned to see Lakshman standing up with his long hair falling over his face as he firmly stood. They were stunned that he managed to regain conscious and even mustered the energy to stand up with his badly beaten body.

“It’s never over till it’s over!” he bellowed at the top of his voice.

With a roar of power, he immediately transformed into the Phoenix Titan: Burst form and kicked off the ground to rocket towards the falling black ball of destruction. When he reached it, he lashed his fist out and made impact, causing the ball to suddenly stop in its tracks as it met his powerful force.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

For a moment, he struggled against the might of the ball before screaming as he punched the ball back towards its caster.

The Calamity Titan raised his eyebrows in surprise as he saw his attack soaring back at him, much quicker than he had sent it earlier. Lakshman hovered in the air and breathed heavily while radiating in golden-red aura that was surrounding him.

“I’m surprised you still had the strength in you to fight back,” the Calamity Titan said in an impressed voice. “However, what will you do against two?”

The Calamity Titan extended his right hand out again and quickly gathered his energy and formed another gigantic ball of energy before launching it towards the one soaring towards

them. There was a collision of forces between the two attacks before the newest attack began pushing the black ball of energy back down towards Lakshman.

Lakshman held firmly in the air and he brought his hands up to stop the attack. The two black energy balls soared down and slammed into him as they gradually increased speed. Unable to fight against it, he was pushed back down before he got slammed into the ground. The girls screamed in fright as the two attacking black balls soared towards them as they were unable to do anything to fight back.

There was a suddenly flash of black light and an enormous explosion resulted in the whole area getting destroyed. The black wave of destruction began to spread everywhere as it destroyed the ground in the surrounding area. Mountains got destroyed form the sheer magnitude of the power as the ever fast blowing wild wind carried dust and debris everywhere.

Once the wave was gone, only dust remained and it completely covered the entire area in it.

The Calamity Titan watched with his arms folded as the dust slowly cleared to reveal a deep black hole in the ground where the two black balls of destruction exploded to destroy everything in its path. He activated his Elemental Sense and began sensing the world for the life signature of the people his attack had killed. Not finding their life signals at all, a wide smile began forming on his face.

“Yes!” he bellowed at the top of his voice as he punched his fist into the air triumphantly. “I did it! I finally did it! I finally defeated the Phoenix Titan and his Destiny Queens!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

He laughed hysterically at the demise of the Phoenix Titan and his wives, the Destiny Queens.

That day, the world lost its strongest hero and saviour along with the Destiny Queens, destroyed by the Calamity Titan.

Phoenix Rising Chapter 258 Calamity Ruler

“What?! You let them go on their own?! How could you?!” Felix shouted at Dominic in a shocked voice.

“W-Well, Venezuela told me to not interfere before they teleported out of here,” Dominic told him nervously.

The two of them were sitting in Felix’s room inside the castle with each seated behind the desk in their respective position; Felix behind the desk while Dominic sat in front of it. Dominic wore an uncomfortable expression on his face as he nervously looked at the furious faced Phoenix Emperor.

“That’s not a good enough reason, Dominic! How could you let them go like that? You should’ve stopped them!”

“Felix… You know about Venezuela being very hard on anyone that tries to get in her way and forcing them to not go using my powers as Sword Titan is a bit… You know…”

Seeing Dominic hesitate made Felix realise he had asked the impossible of Dominic. The Sword Titan heavily believes in justice and from his point of view, letting them go to save their husband was the right thing to do. However, it was clear his feelings were not happy with the decision and it slightly annoyed Felix.

“Fine… I understand your point, but why tell me this an hour after they left?” Felix asked and he looked annoyed.

“Ah. You see, you’ve been busy helping the healers with fixing up the wounded and then you began ordering the Phoenix Clan to get ready to storm the various known locations of the Slavemancer around the other kingdoms. Then, you instructed a large portion of the Phintex Rajas to concentrate their full powers in defending the kings and their families of neighbouring kingdoms from any attack from the Slavemancer’s forces.”

“You didn’t want to interfere with my business and that led you to wait a whole one hour before telling me this…?” Felix asked in an exasperated voice. He banged his fist on the desk and said, “Curse your prideful justice! Don’t you know that there’s nothing stopping you from informing me about the wellbeing of my king?!”

“Ah…!” Dominic said and his eyes widened in shock as he realised the obvious. Then, he looked very sad as he said, “I’m sorry, but I keep forgetting Lakshman is the king of a kingdom because of the way he often acts.”

“Yes, I know the feeling,” Felix said in an understanding voice. “Being part of the Nine Pillars of Power takes more precedence than his position as king. However, he did his best as king as well, so I have no complaints on his actions and behaviour.”

“Thank you for understanding,” Dominic said gladly and Felix nodded his head at him.

“Yes, yes, but that leaves us with a problem…” Felix said slowly as he put his hands together.

“It’s been an hour and there hasn’t been a word from them after leaving for this long. It makes me worry as I sit here and think about what might be happening to them. I don’t know where they went either even if I wanted to help them out. Dammit…!”

Felix sighed and in a loud voice, he said, “Phintex Raja!"

In an instant, a Phintex Raja appeared kneeling with his head bowed slightly as he asked, “Master. You called?”

“Yes. I want you and several others to go trace the last known location of Emilia Serabell— I mean, Emilia Reddy after she left here. I want a report within the next ten minutes! Hurry!”

“As you order, master!” the Phintex Raja said before disappearing as he warped out of the room.

Ten minutes later, the Phintex Raja warped into the room, causing both Felix and Dominic to quickly turn to look towards him eagerly for good news.

“Report to me,” Felix said quickly and the Phintex Raja bowed his head curiously to his master.

“Sir! We have traced the last known location of Emilia Reddy, which happened to be within the boundaries of Rodfox Kingdom. There, our team discovered a great battle had taken place and we found a large hole in the ground in the vicinity. The battle was fierce and the mountains, which should have been plenty around there, have been reduced down to only a several.

As we explored the area, we could sense the energy signatures that belonged to her majesty, Venezuela Reddy, along with Ondine Reddy, Erza Reddy, Silvera the Demon Slayer, Tetra the Phoenix Blade, Cantia Camdra and his highness, Lakshman Reddy. We also detected two other energy signatures, one of which belonged to the Slavemancer, but the other we could not identify.”

“I see. So, where are they?” Felix asked the most important question.

The Phintex Raja hesitated for a moment before saying, “We have used the highest known spell to sense all life signals in the world, World Sensor, and except for the life signal of the unidentified energy signature, we could not detect the rest of their life signals.”

Felix could not believe what he just heard and he slowly asked, “What?”

“All of us poured out magic into expanding the World Sensor to great distance that covered the entire world, but we were unable to detect the life signals of his majesty, his wives and the Slavemancer. Only the life signal of the unidentified energy signature was detected, which happened to be somewhere in the Demon Continent.”

Felix appeared shocked when Dominic said, “I can understand if the Slavemancer died at the hands of Lakshman or that unidentified person. However, to not be able to detect the rest of their life signals?”

He looked down at the Destiny Sword and asked, “Seta! Can you detect the life signal of Lakshman or Phoenix Blade or the Demon Slayer?”

There was a moment of pause before the Destiny Sword told him in his mind, “Unfortunately, I am unable to detect the life signals of any of the ones you just suggested.”

“How about the rest?” Dominic asked quickly with a desperate expression on his face.

“I’m afraid I’m unable to detect their life signals as well. It appears as if though their life signals had suddenly disappeared from there and this is possible if they had died,” the Destiny Sword explained to him in a calm voice.

“No… It can’t be…!” Dominic said in a shocked voice.

Felix was looking at Dominic, but a sudden thought came to his mind and he quickly turned to the Phintex Raja.

“Can you tell me what sort of energy was this unknown energy signature you detected along with the rest?”

“The unknown energy signature we detected was massive, dark and seemed to be really pure, despite there being lethal energy surrounding the area. It was a kind of power that we, the Phintex Raja, have never studied or encountered till now, sir!” the Phintex Raja said in a nervous voice.

Felix widened his eyes hugely in shock at those words and he slowly said, “Massive dark pure energy?” He looked at his hands and muttered, “No… It couldn’t be him… could it…? That’s impossible because he was thought to be killed by the Phoenix Titan, but again… that could’ve been just a trickery…!”

“Is something the matter, sir?” the Phintex Raja asked him curiously.

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” Felix replied distractedly as he quickly recovered from his reverie. “You can go now.”

The Phintex Raja bowed his head before warping out of there and Felix looked up to see across the desk at the Sword Titan. Dominic was wearing a shocked expression on his face as he had difficulty swallowing the only answer that remained before them.

Dominic quickly looked at his sword and seriously asked, “Seta! Are you absolutely certain you can’t detect the life signals of the people we’re looking for?”

“Master… Within the boundaries of powers that I am allowed to sense, I am certain that I cannot detect he life signals of Lakshman Reddy and his wives! However, I do sense the presence of an old enemy from around 8000 years ago.”

“What? An old enemy from 8000 years ago?” Dominic asked in a surprised voice and Felix’s eyes widened in disbelief when he heard those words.

“Are you positive this enemy is from 8000 years ago?!” Felix asked abruptly and surprised Dominic.

“Um… Seta?” Dominic asked her curiously for a response to Felix’s question.

“I am certain because the Sword Titan of that time fought him and almost died before the Phoenix Titan arrived to fight him. I can never forget the pure darkness he commands, even though he is fighting for the side of evil!” Seta said in an angry voice.

Dominic looked towards Felix and nodded at him, causing Felix to gasp in surprise. Then, he breathed a heavy sigh before saying, “I don’t believe this…! I thought he was surely dead, killed at the hands of the Phoenix Titan of that time!”

“Um… Who’re you—?” Dominic began with a confused expression on his face.

At that moment, they heard a loud piercing voice shout, “HHHeeeeellllllooooo!!!”

Both Felix and Dominic quickly clapped their hands on their ears and said, “Gah! My ears!”

For a moment, there appeared to be disturbance in the air as scratchy noises were made before the voice was heard speaking telepathically to everyone in the world.

“Oops. My mistake! It seems that I had spoken a little louder without intending to. So, let me start over.” The speaker cleared his throat loudly and telepathically said, “Hello my future subjects of the world! How are you doing on such a wonderful day? It is a wonderful day for me because today, I am happy to say that I will be becoming the overlord of the world!”

“What?!” Dominic exclaimed as Felix widened his eyes in shock.

“I have lived for more than 8000 years, right back in the time when the Emperor of the World ruled this world with an iron fist that never allowed anyone to challenge his authority! It’s been 8000 years since then and it’s high time someone else takes over the mantle of responsibility that he left behind when he suddenly disappeared in the year 1000 of the Iron Era! For a long time, I have waited for my chance to resurface into the world after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Phoenix Titan 8000 years ago! Now, I am free at last and I will finally be able to become the next Emperor of the World!

The current Phoenix Titan will not stop me because I have seen to it that he was killed! I killed him along with the allies he had with him in his attempt to stop me! The same punishment will be laid to anyone who dares to get in my way and that especially goes to the Nine Pillars of Power…! If you dare to challenge me, you will most certainly perish! Mark my words!

Obey me and you shall live, but disobey me and you will perish! I do not need trash clogging the world. With this, I, the Calamity Titan, will now take my rightful place as the Emperor of the World! That’s why, obey me subjects… object my world!”

Those listening to his powerful voice were left speechless from sheer shock of hearing world conquest of the world they were living in. Pandemonium erupted in the villages, towns and capitals of all the four kingdoms as people began running around madly with fright. They did not know who this unknown force was, but they could tell that he was a dangerous being and they suddenly feared for their lives.

“That Calamity Titan killed Lakshman and his wives?!” Dominic exclaimed in an angry voice.

“That bastard, but who is he? I never heard of a man by the name Calamity Titan before!”

“His name is not meant to be spoken at all, except by those powerful enough to challenge him, master,” the Destiny Sword told him in his mind. “Many feared him and they began calling him the Ruler of Darkness.”

“Ruler of Darkness?” Dominic asked with a perplexed expression on his face. “I don’t remember you telling me much about him.”

“I hardly knew anything about him either other than his name and that he fought my master 8000 years ago,” the Destiny Sword replied.

Dominic appeared to be confused before looking towards Felix and was surprised to see the dark expression on his face. Felix was looking shocked as he stared at his hands with wide eyes full of fear. It was the first time for Dominic to see Felix looking so frightened.

“F-Felix…? Are you okay?” Dominic asked uncertainly.

“Do I look okay to you?” Felix asked as he lifted his head to look weakly at Dominic. “That bastard just declared himself the Emperor of the World! If what he said is true about him killing Lakshman and his wives, then there’s no one left to stop him anymore!”

Dominic narrowed his eyes suspiciously and asked, “You seem to know something about this guy… Mind explaining to me a bit about him to me, Felix…?”

He has asked slowly and clearly, but his message carried the demand for an answer. Felix noticed it and he sighed before beginning to explain to Dominic about the Calamity Titan.

“According to what’s been recorded in the Phoenix Clan historical records, the Calamity Titan was one part of a group known as the Pillars of Power, which was the Nine Pillars of Power of the past. He was the strongest out of it, although it was a difficult comparison between him and the Phoenix Titan, but they appeared to be mortal enemies as they always seem to try and kill each other upon meeting face to face.

Anyway, when the Emperor of the World suddenly disappeared, the Calamity Titan betrayed the order of the Pillars of Power and attempted to seize control of the entire world. However, that’s when the racial war occurred and during that time, the Calamity Titan was supposedly killed by the Phoenix Titan.

His death was an assumption only and there had been no real proof to suggest he had died.

Who would’ve thought that he had gone into hiding and had waited 8000 years to fully recover from the battle damage he took against his battle with the Phoenix Titan of that time.

Now, he’s returned to once again take over the world by becoming the new Emperor of the World!”

As he spoke, Felix wore an extremely pained expression on his face as he put his hands together.

“What a disaster…! I, not only didn’t suspect the suspicions around his death, but I didn’t bother to push Lakshman to ultimately break that seal locking away the remainder of his power… I really am failure of a Phoenix Emperor…!” Felix said with a shame faced expression on his face.

“Don’t say that!” Dominic said quickly in a firm voice. “You’re not responsible for his return and you definitely didn’t let Lakshman walk into his death! He was a proud warrior and like the rest, he fought him with everything he had, as we’ve heard of how furious the battle had been by the Phintex Raja. Besides, he wouldn’t have wanted you to blame yourself like this! Instead, he would’ve wanted you to fight this menace and take him down, which he would’ve done as well!”

“Stop saying that…! I’m powerless against the Calamity Titan!” Felix said weakly. “Lakshman was extremely strong for his age and he easily surpassed me in both speed, skill and strength by the age of eighteen, but all of that were easily thrown away when he was easily killed by the Calamity Titan! That guy’s a monster and he will achieve his goals by any means necessary!”

“That’s a load of trash talk!” Dominic burst out angrily as he suddenly jumped to his feet, with his chair falling back from the force of him standing up. “I’m the Sword Titan and I’m also the Ally of Justice! Let’s fight together, combine our strength and defeat that evil menace once and for all! There is no way we can lose if we all fight together because there is strength in numbers!”

Felix looked up at him and slowly asked, “You really think we have a chance at victory?”

“Yes, we do! We have to pool our collective powers fight as a team to win this battle against him! There’s no way we can lose because justice is stronger on our side!” Dominic replied confidently.

Felix remained emotionless as he continued looking up at the determined Sword Titan. Then, he slowly formed a smile on his face as he nodded in understanding. He suddenly realised how hopeless he felt a moment ago, but that was replaced by a burning spirit of energy as he decided to take action.

“Very well! We’ll bring the four kingdoms together and also request help from the other races because I’m certain they will not abide by the tyrannical rulership of the Calamity Titan. The past Emperor of the World ruled this world through compassion, but the Calamity Titan’s rulership will be nothing more than dictatorship! That’s why, we must stop him immediately!”

Dominic nodded in satisfaction and said, “Okay. I will immediately make my way to Mardana Kingdom to arrange for the king to get his soldiers ready for war.”

“Do what you can, but leave most of the diplomat talking to me,” Felix said and Dominic nodded in agreement.

“Well then…! I’ll see you later!” Dominic said before he left the room, closing the door shut behind him.

Felix was smiling with ignited strength and courage as he thought, “I will avenge your deaths, Lakshman, Venezuela, Emilia, Erza, Tetra, Silvera, Ondine and Cantia!”

As he thought those words, he was suddenly reminded of something as he thought, “Wait…

Lakshman died, so who will tell Indra and Lakshmi their one and only son died…?”

Felix’s burning spirit suddenly dried up and he slumped in his chair as despair began to surround him once more. He finally sighed before hearing the sound of birds flying past his window and he rose to his feet to look out into the beautiful sky. The day started out so beautiful, but now he felt it was not so beautiful anymore as the clear blue sky began covering up with dark clouds, an ominous sigh of what was to come.