Reincarnated Hero System

|…Viol-|

|Didn’t I warn you not to dare think about it?|

A voice cut Evan off before he could finish the word, and in the next instant, a hand emerged from a sudden tear in space behind him.

It seized the back of Evan’s neck, flooding his body with enough light law energy to heal him and pull him back from the brink of death.

Not only did this make it harder for Evan to use Violet—since ‘being on the brink of death’ was a condition—but the hand then traced a seal onto the back of his neck.

The seal activated instantly, locking his ability to manipulate energy and preventing him from powering Mesarthim at all.

Under normal circumstances, such a seal would never work on him, but in his current state, Evan had no strength to resist.

Evan’s eyes widened as he heard the voice and felt the familiar presence behind him. Forcing his head to turn, he called out the name of the woman holding his neck.

“Kayla? How are you—?”

[I’ve finished my part to play.]

Kayla cut him off once again, and Evan’s eyes widened further. He hadn’t expected her to complete her part of the plan this quickly.

But that thought vanished as he focused on the current situation.

“Kayla… this—”

[I know.]

For the third time, she interrupted him, and before he could say another word, she covered his mouth with her hand.

Glancing past him, she addressed the two people behind him.

[Artemisia, Beatrix. Get him out of here and make sure he stays put.]

Hearing the names, Evan turned and saw the two goddesses emerging from the spatial tear Kayla had used to arrive.

Beatrix shivered instinctively as she felt the lingering destruction energy in the area. When she glanced around in the darkness and estimated how many light-years separated them from the nearest functioning star, her blood ran cold.

Artemisia noticed Beatrix’s reaction but focused on Evan instead. She used her Authority of Evolution to enhance his natural healing factor while extracting the residual energy from his wounds.

Meanwhile, just a few paces away, Leor and Malrik were frozen in fear at the sight of Kayla.

They recognized her. Of course, they did.

She was one of the strongest beings in the entire universe, and even at full power, they wouldn’t stand a chance against her—let alone now, when they were barely clinging to life.

Yet, despite the terror in their eyes, Kayla didn’t spare them a single glance. Her focus remained fixed on the empty space between them.

After a few seconds, she finally spoke.

|Come out, you bastard. I already know you’re there.|

Silence settled over the area after Kayla spoke.

Leor and Malrik blinked in confusion. Artemisia and Beatrix shared the same reaction.

But Kayla ignored their gazes, keeping her focus on the empty space before her.

Five seconds passed.

Then, a heavy sigh echoed through space.

“?!”

|??!!!|

A chill unlike anything they had ever felt crawled up their spines. Every single one of them, save for Kayla and Evan, shivered in instinctive fear.

Primal fear.

Suddenly, energy surged through the area. A staggering amount of divinity and magic power flooded the space, eclipsing anything they had ever felt in their entire lives.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, a voice rang out.

|I warned you, Kyrexi, not to underestimate him.

But now, look at you.

Out of the eight of you, six are dead. One has turned into a useless undead. And the other is riddled with so many irreversible wounds, he might as well be even more useless than the undead.|

At the sound of that voice, Kayla clicked her tongue in disgust, and Evan gritted his teeth.

‘I knew it…!’

He had found it strange how Dorian had managed to escape the dragonslayer seal and appear behind him at the perfect moment to strike.

And now, his suspicions were confirmed.

The divinity saturating the air grew heavier with every word spoken.

Artemisia and Beatrix froze.

It felt as though they were standing at the edge of a cliff, teetering on the precipice of death itself.

Then, a figure began to fade into view.

A gaze fell upon the two remaining members of the Kyrexi.

It was a weighty gaze, looking down on them as if they were nothing more than insects.

Not just ordinary insects, but useless ones.

Disappointment burned in that gaze.

Leor barely managed to turn his head. He already knew who was standing behind him, but he turned anyway.

And when his eyes met that gaze, his trembling lips parted.

“…Your… Majesty…”

The Race Ruler system of the Valmone Universe had specific titles reserved for its Rulers.

Race Lords were addressed as Your Lordship or Your Ladyship.

Race Kings were referred to as Your Excellency.

But Your Majesty—that title was reserved for the highest-ranking beings in the Race Ruler hierarchy.

Only five individuals in the entire universe held that title.

And now, one of them floated before them.

The pinnacle of the god race’s hierarchy.

One of the five Race Emperors of the Valmone Universe.

The god Emperor, Craig.

◇　◇　◇

Draped in flowing robes of deep crimson and gold, he floated with an atmosphere of absolute authority. His long, jet-black hair, bound by a golden clasp, cascaded over his shoulders, framing a face that seemed to regard everything around him with disinterest.

His mere presence alone was enough to weigh down the very space around him.

Ignoring the two remaining members of the Kyrexi, Craig turned his gaze toward Kayla and spoke.

|I knew you would come out of your hiding place sooner or later, Star of Lightning.|

Kayla frowned. She detested being called that. Craig knew this—of course, he did—yet he insisted on saying it anyway, clearly trying to provoke her.

Choosing to ignore his obvious taunt, she turned to Artemisia and Beatrix.

[Why are both of you still here? Get him out, now.]

The moment her words fell, the oppressive pressure suffocating the two goddesses vanished, and Beatrix wasted no time in activating her Spatial Authority.

Craig’s gaze shifted toward her, and that was all it took.

With nothing but a glance, the spatial gate Beatrix had conjured trembled, nearly collapsing in on itself.

However, when Kayla snapped her fingers, the space instantly stabilized.

[Do not make me repeat myself.]

Without hesitation, Artemisia and Beatrix grabbed Evan, ready to pull him through the portal.

But Evan resisted.

With a sudden burst of strength that stunned the two goddesses—especially given his injuries—he pushed them away.

Reaching out, he grabbed Kayla’s arm, attempting to drag her toward him as he shouted.

“Don’t… guh!”

Blood spilt from his lips.

Kayla turned to him, wiping the blood away with her finger before speaking, her voice gentle yet resolute.

[Eighty-three years ago, our positions were reversed. You did me a great favour then.

I suppose it’s time I repaid it, my dear benefactor.]

The way she addressed him made Evan’s eyes widen, his expression contorting into a deep frown.

“You can do that another day! This is obviously a trap!”

[Mhmm. I know.]

Kayla smiled depreciatingly, and slowly, her semi-transparent body began to lose its transparency.

Evan reached out with his left hand and clawed at the flesh behind his neck with his nails, ripping out the skin where the seal Kayla had drawn was marked.

He reached out with his right hand, about to activate an Authority, but before he could, Kayla released a burst of magic power that blew his body away.

Her body completely lost its astral nature, fully materializing, and the magic power she released surged to a whole new level.

Her noble gold eyes glowed as she turned her gaze, and a beautiful golden crown manifested above her head. It hovered just above her hair, adorned with multiple gems of various colours, each representing an element of the universe.

Her clothes transformed into a bright golden silk dress, and a long black-and-gold stole, materialized from a fusion of elemental law energies, gracefully floated around her neck.

Tendrils of lightning crackled at her fingertips as she fully turned, her gaze locking onto Craig.

|I always thought this universe had far too many Race Emperors.|

Her power surged outward, dominating the surrounding space and shattering the veil of concealment around them, exposing the Causality Enforcers who had been hiding within the folds of space.

Their stunned expressions were a sight to see, but Kayla paid them no mind.

As for Craig, though he was surprised for the same reason as the Enforcers—Kayla’s apparent power level being far greater than estimated—he merely raised an eyebrow.

|I think it’s high time the Master of this universe’s pantheon became someone else.|

That line finally got to Craig. For the first time since his arrival, his expression changed, his face contorting into a deep frown.

|A mere star dares to make such a claim? Defying the laws of Universal Master Selection as if they don’t exist?

I earned this throne—you think you can take it?|

|Watch your tone, boy. That Star predates your entire ancestry.

And do not cite the laws of Master Selection to me. I was there when they were created.|

Kayla’s gaze turned cold, the jewels on her crown glowing as Craig’s brow twitched at being called “boy.”

He extended his hand, and his body erupted with power. Light law energy condensed in his outstretched palm, forming a massive halberd, which he gripped tightly.

Leor, Malrik, and the Enforcers scrambled to escape, while Artemisia and Beatrix seized Evan and pulled him toward the spatial gate.

Suddenly, Kayla and Craig vanished.

A moment later, space exploded.

Light and lightning law energies clashed in a catastrophic burst, unleashing a surge of power on par with Evan’s last attack.

The blinding radiance of the collision was the last thing Evan saw before Artemisia and Beatrix dragged him through the gate just as it sealed shut.

◇　◇　◇

The journey across space was too much for the injured Evan to endure.

By the time they arrived at their destination, Aramis Prime, his condition had worsened, especially due to the grievous wounds on his soul.

“Beatrix!”

“I’m on it!”

Beatrix made no quips about Artemisia using her first name, immediately activating her Authorities of Time and Light.

She used her Light Authority to heal Evan, while Artemisia employed her Authority of Evolution to enhance his natural healing factor to an absurd degree. She then further amplified it with a temporary boost, while Beatrix manipulated time to accelerate the entire process.

The two goddesses poured their energies into healing Evan, ignoring the fact that, as a godslayer, he was inherently resistant to anything gods did to him—even healing.

This forced them to expend nearly three times more magic power than they were meant to.

By the time they succeeded, stabilizing him enough to regain consciousness, they had drained themselves completely. Both collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily, utterly exhausted.

It was then that the ambient cosmic energy began to stir.

Neither of them noticed at first, but when spatial law energy started swirling around them, forming a massive portal, their exhaustion was momentarily forgotten.

Instantly, both goddesses went on guard, drawing their weapons.

However, Beatrix’s eyes widened in recognition a moment later. She had seen this portal—no, Cosmic Gate before.

Just as her grip on her weapon loosened, someone stepped through.

“What’s up, guys?! Long time no s—what?”

The voice froze mid-sentence as its owner caught sight of the two exhausted goddesses and the wounded Evan lying on the ground.

At that moment, a surge of energy coursed through Evan’s body, forcing him back to consciousness.

His vision remained hazy, but when he looked up at the new arrival, his eyes widened at the sheer magnitude of cosmic energy emanating from him.

A young man, looking no older than eighteen, stood before them. Silver-haired, heterochromatic eyes, his handsome face now set in a deep frown.

Shifting his attention from Evan to the goddesses, he asked, “What the hell is going on here?”

Despite having never met this man before, Evan instinctively knew who he was.

The first of his race.

The Progenitor of godslayers.

He had returned to the Valmone Universe.

And Beatrix’s next words confirmed Evan’s suspicion.

“…A lot, Arthur. A whole lot.”