Godslayer's Legend

Chapter 1017: The Longest Goodbye

Arthur didn’t return to Nienope, but instead went to the planet of the godslayer-dragons at the far edge of the Orithyia Galaxy, one of the 19 planets that had recently come under his dominion.

Upon arriving there, he found Aleksas, the person he’d come looking for, along with someone else he wasn’t surprised to see accompanying him.

"Hello, Aleksas. Hello, Quinn," Arthur said, waving lightly at the two Progenitors.

"Arthur! I see you’ve been involved in some rather interesting things in this universe. You beat back Alexia’s poor father."

Hearing Quinn’s words, Arthur chuckled lightly and replied, "He came after me first. I simply retaliated. And I was victorious."

"Well, good for you," she said, appearing beside him and ruffling his hair.

"Your body’s gotten a bit stronger, too. The imbalance isn’t as severe anymore," she continued, noticing the increase in his physical body’s capabilities.

"I plan to deal with that soon," Arthur replied before turning toward Aleksas, who was silently observing the godslayer-dragons while a strange Universal Law energy swirled within his eyes.

"What brings you here?" Arthur asked.

Aleksas answered curtly. "I’m running compatibility simulations between your godslayers and specific dragon breeds from other multiverses."

The energy of that Universal Law continued swirling within his eyes as he watched the godslayer-dragons before eventually nodding to himself in satisfaction.

"I guess your simulations produced good results, huh?" Arthur said, noticing the faint hint of satisfaction on the man’s face.

Seeing this, Quinn immediately chimed in. "Oh my, you can read this stoic guy’s micro expressions? You’re good!"

Arthur smiled wryly at her words, but the smile disappeared a moment later as he looked up at Aleksas before speaking again.

"Aleksas, Quinn, please. I have a request for both of you," he said, bowing his head lightly.

That action surprised both Progenitors, and it also made them extremely curious about what Arthur wanted from them.

"What is it?"

Arthur raised his head at Aleksas’s question and said, "I plan to do something most people would call unfeasible, and others would call insane. And even knowing why I have to do it, I can’t completely silence the part of myself that still... feels."

The two looked at him in confusion, and Arthur continued speaking.

"I need both of you to do me a favour in the near future.

A certain drifter, Larry the Ubiquitous, is going to bring a message to both of you in a few months. When he does, can you please head to the Hell Universe and inform my mother that Progenitors can sense when their number changes?"

This was common knowledge on the Cosmic stage, and the two Progenitors naturally couldn’t understand why Arthur couldn’t simply tell his mother himself.

Then they recalled the words he’d spoken earlier, and slowly, they began to piece together a faint idea of what he might be planning.

"Now you’ve made me curious about whatever plan you’re cooking up in that little head of yours," Quinn said, barely suppressing the amused grin threatening to appear on her face.

"But it’s fine. I don’t mind acting as a messenger for a little while. What about you, Aleksas?" she asked, turning toward the Progenitor Dragon, who observed Arthur in silence before finally speaking.

"Do whatever you wish."

It was an answer very much like him, so Arthur wasn’t surprised.

"Thanks in advance," he said, activating the Cosmic Teleporter and generating another gate, this one leading to Nienope.

"I’ve gotta start preparing to return home. I’ll see you guys..."

He paused for a moment, pursing his lips lightly before nodding to himself and continuing.

"I’ll see you guys later."

With those words, he stepped into the Cosmic Gate and returned to Nienope, where he began concluding his business in Valmone.

◇　◇　◇

The days passed leisurely, and soon, the final day of the month arrived.

"December 31st. It’s been exactly 100 years since I first left this universe," Arthur said as he shut the drawer of his office desk.

Stelan, who stood at the other end of the desk, nodded silently.

’It’s already been 100 years, huh? Time really flies...’

He remembered the first time he met Arthur in that military base on Aramis more than a century ago, before looking at the man before him now.

’He was barely in the Epic Realm back then. Now he’s a High-Tier Deity and a Race King.’

The man shook his head at the absurd growth rate of the person he worked for before speaking.

"Your friends are all ready. They’re waiting downstairs for you."

Arthur nodded and exhaled deeply while looking at the projected star map floating above his desk. He then tapped a button at the side, switching it off.

As the projection disappeared, he rose to his feet and headed toward the door, stopping beside Stelan and patting the man on the shoulder.

"Thanks for everything."

"Huh? You’re not planning to kill yourself, are you?" Stelan replied skeptically, making Arthur laugh immediately.

"I decide to show some gratitude for once, and you immediately think I’m some depressed suicidal man."

"Gratitude from you is rarer than a perfect lunar eclipse on this planet."

Arthur flicked Stelan on the forehead at that response before walking out of the room and into the wide lobby on the top floor of the Administrative Complex.

He looked up at the ceiling, where a star map of the Orithyia Galaxy was displayed with all the planets Arthur owned glowing across it.

Nodding lightly in satisfaction, he spoke.

"I’ll be back before you know it."

With those words, he teleported to the ground-floor lobby where Esna, Layla, Nicole, and Elaine were waiting for him.

Layla was currently playing chess with McEnda II, while the godslayers manning the reception could only watch nervously, wondering why the hell one of the Supreme Demon Kings was present there.

"Time to go, guys," Arthur said, clapping his hands lightly to get their attention.

He walked over to the two playing chess and patted McEnda on the back as he added, "Don’t backstab me while I’m away, alright?"

"Seriously, dude?" McEnda replied with a raised eyebrow, but Arthur merely shrugged before pointing at the chessboard.

The man turned his attention back to the board and, after a moment, blinked in surprise at the arrangement of the pieces.

"Checkmate," Layla said as she rose from her seat with a proud smile.

"You finally got me with castling..."

McEnda smiled and extended his hand to shake Layla’s, then turned toward Arthur.

"You’re not coming back anytime soon, are you?"

"That depends on your definition of ’soon’," Arthur replied, raising his right hand to activate the Cosmic Teleporter.

However, before he could even touch a button on its surface, cosmic energy rapidly gathered within the room, and a Cosmic Gate began swirling into existence.

Elaine, who had been about to reach for Arthur, froze before turning her attention toward the device on his right arm.

Arthur, however, silently shook his head and spoke.

"That wasn’t me."

He hadn’t even touched the artifact yet, after all.

The Cosmic Gate finished forming, the portal stabilising for entry, and the moment it did, Arthur noticed a familiar blue aura lining its edges.

The sight made him chuckle as he realised who was responsible, lowering his hand with a soft exhale as he muttered, "Thanks, Barda."

Looking toward his friends, he said, "That’s our ride home. My sword instructor decided to leave us a little parting gift."

Turning back to McEnda, he shook the man’s hand and repeated the same words he’d said to Stelan.

"I’ll be back before you know it."

"You better be," McEnda replied. "We’ve got a lot of work for you."

Their hands parted, and Arthur took Elaine’s outstretched hand and headed toward the Cosmic Gate without saying anything else.

Layla said a quick goodbye to McEnda before joining Nicole and Esna, who followed right behind Arthur, and all of them stepped into the massive portal together, beginning their return to the Hell Universe.