The sun cast its golden rays upon the vast kingdom as Velian and his mighty army continued their relentless march.
The air was charged with tension, for the kingdom that had long been plagued by demonic cell users and merciless bandits were going to be regretting their lives as they encounter this army of hundreds of soldiers.
"Is it a good idea to let Aurora follow Delviny? Both of them are heavy on their aggressive approaches," Daphnia asked, as she and Aiko were the two girls that followed his group.
There were a total of three groups that went in different directions, but Velian had confidence in them so he didn't have to worry about them.
"It will be fine, Delviny is not going to let Aurora take any damage, I know that she might look like a careless girl, but she actually is a good girl inside,"
Daphnia smiled because she knew Delviny and her relationship wasn't close, unlike Velian.
At some point they started to look at each other like the lovers of the same man instead of mother and daughter, so now they have a more familiar relationship where they share some embarrassing things that shouldn't be shared between children and parents, but instead, they lost the small things they did when they were in a normal relationship.
Velian, a valiant king with a determination burning in his eyes, vowed to purge his land of these vile threats proceeded.
It had been two arduous days since Velian departed from the capital, and along their treacherous journey, they encountered more danger than they could count.
Four groups of bandits had dared to challenge his might, only to meet their swift and unforgiving demise. Their lifeless bodies burning with flame now lay scattered along the path, serving as a grim reminder of the consequences that awaited those who dared to cross Velian's path and commit crimes.
Along the way he made sure to rescue the girls and all the valuable things they stole and give them back to the villages.
But there was one encounter that stood out among the rest. As the sun began its descent, painting the horizon in shades of crimson, Velian stumbled upon a solitary figure—a demonic cell user.
His powers crackled with the dark energy of normal cell users, an unmistakable threat to the realm but not to Velian.
With a resolute heart, Velian engaged in a fierce battle that was obviously and painfully one-sided, his sword clashing against the wicked sorcery that the cell user possessed.
The clash of steel and magic echoed through the forest, but in the end, Velian emerged victorious. The demonic cell user fell, defeated, and their malevolent presence was extinguished forever.
"That's rather rare, I expect at least a few more of them to be in this place, it looks like most of them are near the area of the borders, after all, our kingdom is the least safe place for them,"
Velian still had no idea how these people turned into cell users. Even when he tried to question the girl or the tamer, that he caught, none of them remembered how they got these powers.
Now, with the evening shadows lengthening, Velian arrived at his former home, a place once filled with joy and love.
A place that he used to think of as his home and his first village, which he developed when he was a kid.
The memories of his girls' laughter echoed through his mind as he approached the gate. He knew Aiko's mother, his own aunt, would be waiting, her heart filled with both worry and hope.
"We're here," Velian looked at Aiko and Daphnia, who were just as excited to see Asumi, who should be coming to welcome them but for some reason, she didn't.
Upon entering the village after showing his face to the guards, Velian was obviously surrounded by the people of the village that already know him and used to hear about him through the old villagers.
Honestly, this village couldn't be called a village anymore as it looked like a town with several shops and a lot of people dwelling in it.
Velian had no intention to ignore the former villagers that supported him, and he knew this town was important to him both personally and economically.
After all, the papers that Velian use are all produced in this village keeping the receipts secret and protected by the personal army of Asumiko, so it had a lot of commercial value as a town.
After greeting all the old friends and new villagers, Velian made his way to the Asumi's house only to see it being developed a lot over time.
"Looks like Aunt is doing fine," Velian said looking at Aiko, who was excited to see her mother after a long time.
But before Velian could even knock the door creaked open, revealing a woman whose face bore traces of both surprise and happiness upon seeing her son-in-law, her best friend and daughter.
"Asumi, you're doing fi-"
Daphnia tried to hug her, but then only she noticed the abnormal thing about her friend.
"Asumi! You're-" She closed her mouth, while Velian had the same surprised reaction.
"Mother! When did this happen?" It was a shock for Aiko, but she felt like her whole body was trembling from the happiness.
"Well, it's still one or two months, I wanted to send a message, but I have been too busy training rookies,"
Asumi said as she was equally affected by the problem of the cell users.
"Still, you could have told me, I would have sent some extra warriors," Velian was not stuffed about how she didn't rely on her, but he was happy to see her relationship reignite its flame.
He was happy that he rejected her when she confessed and protected her relationship with his uncle.
"Are you guys going to stay there all day? Come inside, we have some food that I want to show Velian,"
She said and opened the door and let everyone enter the house while holding Velian hand and taking him to the couch asking him to take a seat.
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