"…Did you hear that Bella's and Karma's son, who was presumed to be dead, was alive after all this time?"

"…WHAT?"

"…Yeah, apparently he was held captive in Dead World. It means that there is a hidden civilization there after all…"

The village people whispered among themselves.

It was news that already shocked these villagers out of their minds, so one could only imagine the reaction once the rest of the world knew as well.

Shock. Panic. Fear.

Currently, by the beach, Baru was throwing punches, and Kiernan was blocking them with his hands.

"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

Baru breathed heavily—he was trying to use Iron Smash—and show his skill to his big brother.

"You are doing it wrong, little brother. Do it this way—form a fist, and then press your curled middle finger against your palm.

"It's a little cheat method. It'll focus the strength of your body into the spot at the knuckle of your middle finger."

Kiernan said.

"Okay!"

Baru did just like he was instructed and punched Kiernan's hand. It was still weak, but it felt stronger than before.

Watching at the sidelines, Ellie and Daisy watched them train martial arts, and they were both pouting.

Ellie wanted to play with her dad, but Baru was 'stealing' him from her, and Daisy wanted to play with Baru.

"Iron Knife."

Kiernan slashed his hand towards the water, and it got cut in half. The split water sprayed up like a geyser.

It lasted only a moment and then fell back into the sea with a loud splash.

"How did you do that?"

Baru asked with a wide-open mouth.

"Hehe, I'll teach you once you learn Iron Smash."

Kiernan said, then he put his jacket back on and lifted Ellie up from the ground, and she giggled as he swung her around.

"Smooch!"

He kissed her on the cheek, then put her on his shoulders, and started heading back to the farmhouse.

"Baru, let's play!"

Daisy begged.

"Not now. I am training!"

Baru punched empty air—trying Iron Smash—and it didn't seem to be working, but he didn't get discouraged.

When they arrived at the village, the villagers greeted the father and daughter, and they greeted them back.

It was the first time that they saw Ellie smiling.

They had always thought that she seemed far too "sad" for a child of her age, but now she was beaming with joy and laughter, bringing light to the entire village.

They arrived back at the farmhouse, and Aoi was packing her and Ellie's stuff into the flying ship.

They were going to head back to Montrael.

"…Do you have to leave?"

Bella asked with a pout.

She finally got her son back, and they are already leaving, which made her sad to see them gone, as they brought a lot of joy to the farm.

"They must."

Karma said with a wry smile.

He also didn't want them to go, but they had to, as Kiernan had a lot of stuff to do with the government.

He could always go to Montrael alone, but Aoi and Ellie didn't want to be separated from Kiernan ever again.

Even in the village, even though he wasn't going anywhere, they weren't letting him out of their sight.

"Ellie, go check that you have everything with you."

Kiernan said.

"Alright, daddy!"

Ellie said excitedly and ran inside to make sure that her mother took all of her stuff with her to the ship.

"…Son, we will also be checking out if there is anything we can do about that martial soul situation of yours."

Bella said with a sad look.

She knew that Kiernan had the potential to become a truly great martial artist, and him losing his martial soul was truly a tragedy.

They couldn't let him just grow old and die before them. They weren't allowing that. No matter how long it took, they wanted to heal his martial soul.

"Nn."

Kiernan nodded with a smile.

He thought that there was pretty much zero chance that there was a "cure" for that, but he would be very happy if they could find a way.

In that moment, Ellie came back from inside, said, "She got everything!" and then boarded the flying ship with Kiernan.

They waved goodbye as they took off into the sky, leaving behind only clouds in their wake.

…

A few days later in Montrael.

"…Good god, you really are alive."

"…I thought for a moment that Karma might've dreamed it, but here you are, in the flesh."

"…What a shock, indeed."

The government members greeted Kiernan as he entered the meeting room, and they all stood up to greet him.

It was a show of respect.

"Hello."

Kiernan said, and he sat down on the end of the table, and the government members followed suit.

"The rest of the Martial Order… we can assume that they are… gone, right?"

A member of the government asked.

"…Yes."

Kiernan said with a sigh.

It made several government members grimace, and some of them used to be really good friends of Xerxus.

They even went to his funeral ten years ago, and after Kiernan came back alive, they thought maybe he was also alive.

"What happened?"

One of them asked.

It was a question that had been haunting everyone's mind for these ten years, as they wanted to know what happened over there!

Kiernan took a deep breath and started from the beginning—going through the experience in the mist, the discovery of Magical Beasts, and the village.

And then the part with the Black Knights.

When he was done, the government was shook to the core, as it was a shocker that Martial Order didn't stand a chance.

They had three Immortals!

Kiernan then went through his time in the prison, how he escaped, and what he had to sacrifice to get here.

The government turned silent after finding out about his martial soul, and they were already able to sense his lack of "strength" coming from the soul.

Now they knew why.

"…Is it possible to make peace with them?"

One of them asked.

"I know they are not inherently evil, but they have been brainwashed by Mercedes Rosburg, and they think that humans are basically demons.

"They speak of us like we are bedtime story monsters, and from a young age, they have already been made to believe that we are monsters that must be exterminated.

"Mercedes Rosburg wants to exterminate for her selfish purposes. She does not want peace, as it's against her agenda.

"She must kill us to get more power."

Kiernan said with a serious look.

It silenced the government, and their expressions turned ugly.

They had been working on creating the "Great Wall of Dead World," but it would be useless, as it won't be strong enough to stop Martial Gods from breaking through it.

"…What a troublesome dilemma…"

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