My Ultimate OP System: Summoning All Dragons, Gods, Heroes & Villains

Chapter 373: Decent Progress (1st Bonus)

The moment the two reunited, Luther’s eyes flew open in shock.

Almost simultaneously, Prince Rayleigh leaped into the air and caught him before he could crash into the battlements.

The prince staggered backward from the impact but managed to keep the captain upright.

For several long moments, they could do nothing but watch helplessly as Lord Krygon and Jillia continued flying deeper into Gritnia.

"We should limit the number of eyes seeing us," Krygon said calmly as he gradually ascended into the cloud layer.

Jillia immediately followed behind him. But suddenly, her expression changed. "My Lord... someone’s approaching."

She turned sharply toward the distance, narrowing her eyes. "Very fast."

Lord Krygon had already stopped and turned in the same direction.

Jillia immediately hovered in front of him once more. "My Lord, allow me to handle this."

Krygon gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "There is no need. We don’t have time for this."

After a brief pause, he added, "Besides, the one approaching is stronger than you."

Jillia’s eyes widened slightly before she immediately lowered her head. "Understood, my Lord."

It was a strange thing to hear, considering the only people Lord Krygon had ever described as "stronger" were the other Demon Lords... and, of course, the Demon King himself.

However, that no longer mattered.

Lord Krygon slowly hovered forward. Stretching out a hand, a massive purple magic circle appeared before him.

Almost at the same moment, Dark Nova burst through the distant clouds, flying toward them at tremendous speed.

A crimson glow of light burned within his eyes while red lightning coursed across his body.

The instant the demons crossed into Gritnia’s borders, the Hero sensed their presence. Because of that, he immediately abandoned the investigation he had been conducting and flew straight toward them.

However, just before he could close the remaining distance, the magic circle before Lord Krygon activated.

Countless streams of ethereal light spiraled upward from the circle before disappearing into the surrounding cloud cover.

Then the entire mass of clouds overhead began twisting violently. A deafening roar echoed across the sky as enormous currents of wind converged around Dark Nova.

The clouds themselves seemed to awaken as what resembled a colossal vortex rapidly formed around the Hero, surrounding him from every direction.

The overwhelming pressure crashed down upon his body, disrupting his advance and bringing his flight to an abrupt halt.

This was Astral Magic—Lord Krygon’s greatest specialty. Through it, he could command the countless vengeful spirits he had gathered over the years, binding them to both living beings and inanimate objects alike.

Even something as vast and intangible as the clouds could become a vessel for those restless souls.

Vengeful spirits were souls that had failed to return to the Well of the Undying after the deaths of their physical bodies.

More often than not, they remained behind because they carried grievances they could not abandon, even in death.

Bound by hatred, regret, revenge, or obsession, they wandered endlessly through the world of the living.

Lord Krygon commanded an immense number of such spirits.

Several aspects of his Astral Magic relied almost entirely upon them. And where else would countless vengeful spirits gather in greater numbers than on the Demon Continent?

There... death rarely came peacefully.

—

The awakened clouds continued converging around Dark Nova, crushing inward from every direction.

Then, suddenly, a violent burst of red lightning exploded through the vortex. The current tore across the heavens, ripping straight through the possessed clouds.

BOOM!

The entire formation scattered apart, and within seconds, the dark storm disappeared completely, leaving behind only the bright blue sky.

Dark Nova hovered motionlessly in the open air, his glowing gaze sweeping across the horizon in search of Lord Krygon and Jillia, who seemed to have vanished completely.

Norman slowly closed his eyes, spreading out his awareness in search of their presence.

After several silent moments, his eyes reopened as he wondered how their auras had disappeared.

It was as though they had never been there at all.

——

In another part of the city...

Not long afterward, Ethan, Hayley, and Percival finally emerged from the Breach Zone that closed shortly after.

Ethan still looked visibly worn. Hours of forcing his body to move under crushing gravity had left every muscle aching.

Percival sighed. "I’m never doing that again."

Hayley couldn’t help but laugh at how terribly bored her brother had been the entire time.

Ethan smiled before several translucent screens appeared before him. His eyes moved across the results, taking in the noticeable increase.

Both his Guardian and Warrior progress had improved considerably.

[Guardian Status: You have gained an additional 8% increase in your progress toward the next Foundation Phase]

[29% → 37%]

[Warrior Status: You have gained an additional 5% increase in your progress toward opening the next Meridian]

[17% → 22%]

[You have completed some self-imposed objectives]

[Creating a Load Chamber: +8000 XP]

[Creating a new training regimen: +7000 XP]

[Experience Points Balance: 414,750 XP]

His smile widened slightly, knowing that entire training session had been worth it.

Not only had he gained experience toward his Summoner progression, but both of his combat classes had advanced as well, especially his Guardian Class.

It was one of the largest jumps he had ever made in a single period revolving Foundation Phase leveling, despite the fact that progress normally slowed the further he advanced.

The three of them had spent practically the entire day inside the Breach Zone, so instead of returning to the guild, Ethan simply drove the Arcory siblings home.

—

A short while later...

The car came to a stop outside the Arcory residence and they all stepped out.

Without saying much, Percival simply raised two fingers as he walked straight toward the house. "Later, man."

Ethan watched him disappear inside before narrowing his eyes. "Is it just me, or was Percival acting a little strange on the way back?"

Hayley followed his gaze before smiling knowingly. "I think everything you said back in the Breach got to him."

"The whole conversation about the borrowed power?" Ethan asked, looking genuinely surprised.

She nodded. "It may have sounded a little harsh."

Ethan rubbed the back of his neck. "I wasn’t trying to make him feel any type of way."

"I know." She smiled. Then, as though suddenly remembering something, her expression became slightly mischievous.

Walking over to him, she said, "But forget about him. There’s somewhere I want to take you."

Ethan looked at her curiously. "Somewhere?"

She nodded with a smile. "Mhm. I think you’ll like it."

The way she said it only made Ethan even more curious.

"Alright," he said, turning toward the house. "But give me a second."

Hayley nodded and watched him walk inside while she waited beside the car.

—-

A/N: Second Bonus soon.

Still working on Art for Lord Krygon and Jillia but it should be done soon and will be posted on Discord first.