THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 656: The Meeting Before the Journey

Alongside the Imperial host ..the army assigned to deal with the Hollows ..an emergency council was convened near the field where Frey Starlight had fought his last battle.

It looked like a meeting from the outside, but in truth it was a hearing .. an inquiry held to hear the truth straight from Frey Starlight’s mouth: what had happened, and what exactly had caused that much devastation.

On paper, the session was chaired by Gal Varion Sunlight, commander of that front, with several ranking officers at his side. Most of Frey’s friends were present as well, gathered close behind him.

Within minutes, Frey took his seat across from Gal. The latter chose his words a hundred times before speaking, unsure how to handle someone whose power so vastly eclipsed his own.

After all, Frey was now a potential threat to the Empire .. he had tried to kill Prince Aegon Valerion ..and while they were wary of him, there was little they could actually do. Gal’s only option was to go along and try to stay on Frey’s good side.

”Frey Starlight... I trust you know why we’ve gathered?” Gal began.

Frey nodded. ”I do. You want the truth of what happened .. though this doesn’t feel like a ’meeting’ to me.” He leaned back, indifferent. ”Still, I’m not looking to escalate anything. I’ll give you what you want.”

With every eye on him, Frey began.

”First, let’s settle one point and stop living in denial. You all know the Gates our forebears sealed have opened again. I’m sure the rumor reached you.”

”I don’t know whether you chose to believe it or not, but know this: it’s real. There’s no ambiguity.”

At the mention of the Gates, Frey caught hesitation flicker across several faces.

”If the Gate’s broken, that means demons far stronger than before can enter our lands,” Gal said.

”They already have,” Frey answered, ”and they’re walking this earth, lurking far closer than you think, Gal Varion Sunlight.”

”That’s impossible!”

Gal lost his composure for a heartbeat, whispers of disbelief rippling through the tent.

”The higher demons are foes mankind cannot face. If they were here, we wouldn’t be alive to talk .. they’d have attacked already,” Gal pressed.

It was a fair point, and Frey found the explanation tedious. He didn’t bother to unpack it .. nor to bring up the possibility that heroes of the past might still be alive. A shadow of ill omen brushed his thoughts when he recalled Lioras refusal to come and what might have become of her.

”Believe what you want,” Frey said. ”Just keep what I’ve told you in mind so you don’t regret it later.”

He moved on.

”Which brings me to the battle I just fought—the one that produced the crater you all saw.”

At last, he spoke of his enemy.

”Here, on this very ground, I fought a demon. Not just any demon...”

He swept the room with a steady gaze.

”My opponent was Zibar .. the Tenth of the Upper demons.”

The name landed like a hammer. Silence fell, followed by a stunned collective intake of breath.

”The Tenth...?”

Many stared at Frey as if he’d just told the wildest lie imaginable. Even humans knew of the Upper Ten: monsters of power beyond reason.

”You’re telling me you faced such a demon and lived?” Gal demanded, tight-voiced.

”I didn’t just live,” Frey said. ”I won.”

”And I’m supposed to believe that?”

Gal sounded incredulous, as if the very notion insulted him.

Frey wasn’t lying .. though he omitted that what he’d fought was a mere copy. Explaining reincarnating souls and world-breaking abilities would only invite headaches, and Frey saw no benefit in burdening men like Gal with that truth.

”So according to you,” Gal summarized, ”an Upper Ten demon appeared on this soil, slaughtered our scouting teams to lure you in... you fought him here... and you defeated him?”

Frey nodded. ”That’s right.”

Gal’s fist tightened until it crushed the armrest of his chair. The account sounded like fantasy. Why would the Tenth come himself, take the trouble to kill the likes of Frost Moonlight and Ellen White just to bait Frey? And stranger still .. Frey claimed he had prevailed.

To Gal, a far more ”reasonable” explanation was that Frey himself had killed the scouts. But he couldn’t voice that after feeling the aftershock of the insane battle that had clearly taken place.

Outside of Frey’s own companions ..most of whom believed him .. the rest rejected his story outright. Frey didn’t bother pushing back; he simply pointed them to one immovable fact.

”If you think I’m exaggerating or lying .. if you won’t accept that enemies of that level are already near .. then do me one favor: look up. The best proof is hanging over your heads.”

He meant the sundered moon .. split by his final Nameless Judgement.

”Like it or not, that’s the truth,” Frey finished. ”The sooner you accept it, the better your chances of surviving what’s coming. Because none of us knows how this war ends.”

It was a mistake to think the Ultras were the last enemy, that victory over them would be the end. What stood behind the Ultras was far greater .. and far worse. Zibar, the Tenth of the Upper Ten, was only a small taste of the horrors still waiting.

As soon as he finished speaking, Frey rose and walked out of the council.

”Where do you think you’re going, Frey Starlight?!” Gal called after him, trying to halt him. Barely a quarter hour had passed since the meeting began, but Frey had no intention of staying a moment longer.

”I’ve no time to waste here. I told you what I know, and I’m leaving. Snow Lionheart is still missing, and finding him is my top priority.”

He spoke over his shoulder and continued on, unmoved by the threats tossed after him .. there was nothing they could do to stop him anyway.

”Don’t forget to brief your lord on what you heard,” Frey added. ”He’ll want the news.”

He meant Aegon Valerion, who would certainly hear of it first. Enemies were everywhere .. and Aegon Valerion was one of them, perhaps the worst of them.

Frey couldn’t see through the fog around the prince; everything about him was sunk in deep obscurity. But Frey was convinced the prince stood with the demons. Let him know even Zibar hadn’t been enough to kill him .. perhaps that alone would keep him at bay for a time.

And so, Frey left.

A small group peeled off to follow him at once. Turning back to them, he smiled.

”What is it? Have you all come to see me off?”

”To go with you,” said Daemon Valerion, taking the lead for the rest.

”I’d rather follow you than sit with that gaggle of feeble old men.” Daemon’s admiration was plain. ”You’re the one who beat the Tenth, right? That alone is reason enough for me.”

Daemon respected only true warriors and real strength .. and both stood before him in Frey. The sundered moon above had sealed his decision.

The others had their own reasons. Auriel came simply to support him; Seris, Selina, and Dawn had their motives as well.

Seeing them all ready to accompany him, Frey realized that, at least this time, he wouldn’t be alone.

”Good. I won’t stop you. But you’ll have to watch yourselves .. my path keeps dragging me into the hardest fights.”

He scratched his head and kept walking. ”Not that I go looking for them...”

Even if he sought peace, the enemies seemed to find him anyway.

”We’re heading to where Snow disappeared, right?” Seris asked.

”Yes. Straight there,” Frey said. ”But first, there’s something we need to retrieve .. and I think it matters to you in particular, Seris.”

Her curiosity kindled, Seris fell in beside him as Frey led them to a spot near the crater carved by his battle with Zibar.

As they walked, most of them couldn’t help but gape at the scale of the destruction.

Then, in an instant, everyone’s eyes snapped to Frey as a strange pressure rolled off him.

He stood before a mountain of rubble, a jagged hill of shattered stone. Frey raised his left hand and called to Balerion.

He answered .. but not as the familiar blade. He flowed into a black, eerie gauntlet that clad his arm to the shoulder.

”He’s still taking this shape,” Frey murmured, studying the black metal. He summoned Dark Sister as well, and gripped it with Balerion.

The moment the two met, their power seemed to fuse entirely, and Frey’s strength surged.

If his weapons had once been SS tier, he wondered what tier this fusion now represented...

Along with the weapon fusion, Frey could now call on Stage Four of Shadow Adaptation without strain. In seconds, a pitch-black aura crept over Dark Sister in answer.

”The Black-Hole Aura.”

A different, terrifying power .. mastered by Nameless when his control reached heights no one else had attained. It was that aura which had once let his blades carve through demons with ease, and even wound Agaroth himself.

Weapons fused. Black-Hole Aura awakened. Dark Ascension ready to be invoked.

With the three combined, Frey felt his power spike .. thanks to Nameless, who had forced that path open for him. Yet the feeling brought him little joy. It wasn’t born of his own effort. He felt like a lesser version of the original; even with all this, he was still weaker than the Nameless who had fought Zibar.

”I’ve still got a long road ahead,” he sighed, giving Dark Sister an idle sweep.

A single casual stroke sent a roaring wave of aura across the rubble-mountain and erased it to dust.

The onlookers were struck speechless. Frey could now loose that much force with a simple swing.

When the debris cleared, something lay exposed within the ruin .. something many recognized, Seris most of all.

”This...”

Frey reached down and wrenched it free, lifting it high.

”The great spear, Remshard. The only thing that survived.”

While the bodies had all been obliterated, this alone had endured. Frey studied it for a breath, then tossed it to Seris.

”I believe this belongs to you .. and to your house.”

Before moving on, he preferred to return the weapon to its rightful owners. Seris nodded her thanks.

”Thank you.”

She hugged the spear for a heartbeat, then stored it away, resolved to find a worthy bearer.

Frey gave a satisfied nod. ”Now we can go. There’s no reason to linger.”

”Let’s find Snow.”

And so Frey and his companions set out to search for the missing Snow Lionheart.