"Urgh…lady Rias…"

The three knights who had lost consciousness also woke up at this time, but the bright light of the medallion swiftly attracted their attention.

They looked at Aleron and then Darzax which invoked a hint of fear in them.

"It looks like I resonated with it, eh?" Aleron grinned. "What now?"

Rias looked at Aleron and Darzax while glancing at Odar behind them before turning to Aleron as she spoke, her tone slightly pleading, "Usually…I would want to invite you to the Empire, so we can train and get powerful before the ruins open, but…are you willing?"

She didn't know their background but knew it was at least more powerful than her background, so she feared he would reject this partnership.

"Of course, I am," Aleron said with a light laugh. "I am also looking forward to venturing into this ruin."

"It's good that you are eager, but you are not alone," Roxen suddenly said, but her tone was calm. "The natural candidate is only one, but she can also choose a candidate of her choice one time if she can't find the natural one."

"The minimum lifeform rank requirement to enter the ruin of Azure Shard Moon is Epic-rank, and you must also be powerful enough to survive, explore, and fight for treasures there."

Aleron laughed and nodded, "Yeah, that is natural. I have to be strong to enter the ruin and have fun there. So, when is it opening?"

After all, he was confident about getting stronger!

'Ultimate Gacha System…I have to utilize it and the resources of kingdoms to get stronger.'

"The ruins will open after nine months," Rias said with a smile. "You can come to the Empire with me now or any time you wish."

Aleron and Rias talked for a bit more and exchanged their communication cards' contact.

Rias and the group left afterward. They were staying in the Luxadia city for two more days for some other business.

"Dax, let's go back to the kingdom and learn more about this world. We'll also use resources and stuff, so I can get stronger," Aleron said with a grin. "I want to learn Magic too."

"Kingdom? Boss, you are from a kingdom?" Odar suddenly asked.

"Not really," Aleron laughed. "Anyway, do you want to come with me as my subordinate or back to your previous life?"

"Boss!" Odar shouted with a serious expression and cupped his fist. "I have no one behind me or ahead of me. I want a better future which I believe I will get by following you, so I am saying goodbye to my life here."

"Please make me your subordinate," Odar bowed.

Aleron nodded and turned to Darzax," Let's go back, Dax."

In the next second, all three of them were enveloped in a black veil before they vanished and appeared high in the sky above clouds.

'Holy shit! T-This…?!' Odar internally shouted.

Darzax's giant bone dragon appeared again as the three of them rode on it, flying back to the fallen Falran Kingdom's capital.

"Boss, what kind of dragon is this? It's dark golden with shadowy energy instead of flesh…"

"It's an Exceed-rank Bone Dragon," Darzax said with a faint smile. "Its name is Merasul."

"Exceed rank!" Odar gulped.

Aleron was surprised, "Then it must be very powerful…"

"My secondary magic path is Summoning-magic, so I do have a lot of summons though only one Exceed-rank minion, My lord," Darzax said with a smile. "I want to summon one more Exceed-rank lifeform for your protection, so I hope the kingdom's treasure has some sort of catalyst that can help me with it."

"We'll find out soon," Aleron laughed.

"Kingdom's treasury? Boss, I-I am confused," Odar hesitantly said.

"You'll find out soon."

Suddenly, Aleron heard a notification of the new banner's successful generation.

[A new banner has opened—Secret Realms: Fest of Demiplanes.]

'Oho?' Aleron curiously opened the banner to know more about it, only to get shocked and excited like never before upon finding out what this banner actually entailed!

…

Luxadia City, Duke Palace.

"Duke Rahad! It's been confirmed that the Falran Kingdom's capital has fallen. It's filled with undead!"

In the hall, Duke Rahad sat at a table with five people.

Hearing the news that arrived, everyone at the table frowned.

"Undead?" Roxen raised her eyebrows.

"Yes. From the aura and inspection our team did, the capital is completely filled with Undead energy."

"Dark clouds have covered the entire capital, not letting any sunlight pass through it. The whole city is lit up with ghastly dim lights all over! It's as if the capital suddenly transformed into entirely something else!"

"Moreover, we couldn't stay there longer because we were attacked by the former Elite Guards of the kingdom, who strangely had demonic wings and fangs, their eyes blood red!"

Duke Rahad frowned before looking at Roxen and Rias, "I shall send a notice to Adventure Guild to put a Quest to find more information about this. I'll also send my elite team to scout the place, so if you..."

"We'll assist you if the need arises," Roxen nodded. "We are here for two more days precisely to inspect the anomaly that occurred there. If the Demons have breached the Falran Kingdom and taken control of the capital, we have to destroy them as fast as possible."