Reincarnated Hero System

Triton’s Ark Sector 1

Demon Navy Armada

Chatane Ocean

May 9th

531st Divine Year

When Evan, Artemisia, and Beatrix first told Arthur about Rezaemon’s deception—how the Forsaken Divine had used Arthur’s appearance to get close to them—Arthur didn’t ask about the battle, nor did he seem interested in the details.

Instead, he turned to Evan and raised an eyebrow.

“So… did you fall for it?”

In response, Evan shook his head, almost rolling his eyes.

“Obviously not.”

Arthur smirked, as though he had known there was a reason Evan would never be fooled.

Still, the question had been his first instinct, perhaps just to make sure Evan didn’t disappoint him.

As for Artemisia and Beatrix, the two goddesses exchanged a curious glance, then turned to Arthur, intrigued.

“Why are you so sure he wouldn’t have fallen for it?”

Beatrix asked in a genuinely inquisitive tone but Arthur simply waved her off.

“You wouldn’t get it, even if I explained.”

True, they never would.

Her understanding of the reality they lived in would never reach the level where she could, so there was no point bothering.

Evan sighed, recalling this exchange as he shrugged it off, thoughts shifting back to the present. It was a moment that had happened days ago, after all.

He stood up, setting down the console he’d been gaming on, and walked over to the wide observation window, at the ‘deck’ of the vessel he was on.

Calling it a deck, however, was a misnomer.

After all, what sea vessel deck was larger than entire countries?

It was a vessel spanning over 100,000 square kilometres; larger than entire countries on Aidos.

This was the Triton’s Ark, the infamous floating Island Mega-fortress that Evan had heard so much about.

Seized by the Gozonians earlier in January, and now repurposed for a new mission: a full-scale assault on the Aramisian continent of Plomux.

Just by expanding his perception a little bit, Evan detected tens of thousands of Demon soldiers. Legendries, Sovereigns, and Hundreds of Transcendents.

High-Rank demons, Dark Dragons, Dark elves, Vampires—races aligned on the Negative side of the Polarity Spectrum.

They were the allies of the demons of Gozon on planet Aramis and they were the ones who were teaming up with the Gozonian Demons to deal with the Aramisians.

“Truly a Nautical Crusade.”

Evan murmured the name of the Arc as he stepped out of the room, not before tossing on the new Uniform he’d been given.

It was a sleek military ensemble sewn from fine black fabric, trimmed with intricate gold linings. The rank insignia on his shoulder remained conspicuously blank, denoting his unique status within the ranks.

Draped over his shoulders like a cape, he wore a plain black overcoat, its sleeves empty.

With a final glance in the mirror, he adjusted the overcoat and stepped out into the bustling corridors of the Triton’s Ark.

The soldiers around him moved with an urgency, some carrying arms, others manoeuvring heavy equipment.

As Evan walked, those nearest parted to let him pass, instinctively stepping aside—a sign of respect for the overcoat that only High-Rank soldiers were permitted to wear.

Evan made his way to the command centre, greeting the demon guards stationed at the entrance with a nod.

They returned the gesture with firm salutes, their eyes following him as he entered the room.

‘Would’ve felt nice if the Uniform wasn’t Gozon’s…’

Most of the Commissioned Officers had been briefed on Evan’s existence. They weren’t given any specifics like he was a Rogue Hero or from the future, just told one thing.

He’s connected to Arthur Vaughn.

Automatically, Evan was now treated with the same respect afforded to aides of Generals.

Rather obvious considering Arthur was a ‘Major General’, and his rank was given to him at the agreement of Seven Demon Kings.

Stepping into the particular room he’d been called to, his gaze first went to Arthur who was lounged in a chair, legs draped casually over one armrest.

His posture was at ease despite the intense discussion taking place at the table. Seated around him were several Demon Generals, their uniforms adorned with stars marking their rank.

Alvey and McEnda bore four stars each, and not too far from them was a third figure whose aura didn’t lose out to theirs.

Evan didn’t need long to find out who it was as their name was printed on their uniform.

[Barron Agriker.]

The Demon Naval Admiral from the prestigious family of summoners.

The one who would become the ancestor of the Fifth Finger’s Contracted Demon, Xolgren.

Evan took in the scene just as Barron turned to Arthur, a bemused expression on his face.

“You’re a Major General, Arthur. Why would you want to board a scout ship yourself?”

Barron’s tone was filled with incredulity as he asked and Arthur only shrugged in response.

“For the fun of it.”

Alvey and McEnda exchanged a glance and sighed. Arthur’s antics were far from unusual to either them or any of their subordinate Generals.

They also knew about Arthur’s habit of going to the places they were attacking beforehand.

Arthur had entered the Duskhand Bastille and spent a week there before finally destroying the place. When they took down the Triton’s Ark, the boy had actually come to visit the place and toured it while it was under the control of the Aramisians.

As Arthur noticed Evan, he slid off the armrest and spoke.

“Good, you’re here. Let’s head over to some of the scout ships, shall we?”

“What for?”—is a question that Evan did not ask as he’d already heard the answer Barron was given.

So instead, he simply nodded in affirmation. Personally, Evan thought it’d be a good idea to join Arthur on a scout fleet.

Not for the fun of it, but to use the monsters that the Scout Fleet discovered to Level Up and reach the Superior Stage of the Epic Realm faster.

“The scout fleets are at the forefront, aren’t they? Are we gonna sail all the way there?”

“Nahh, we’d just teleport.”

Arthur responded to Evan’s query as he got up and his overcoat which was hanging on his seat floated up and landed softly on his shoulders.

“Oh, yeah. Alvey, have you told them about that snake guy who lives here? Yedrist, wasn’t it?”

Hearing Arthur’s question, Alvey, who passed on a bunch of files in his possession to Sigesi to share with the other Generals nodded.

“I was just about to inform them.”

“Inform us about what?”

When McEnda asked this, all the Generals turned to Alvey and the man casually dropped a bombshell that shocked the whole room.

“I killed him.”

“….”

“WAIT, WHAT?!”

Barron was the one who exclaimed loudly, and all the other Generals could clearly understand him. Even Sigesi who lacked facial expressions 99% of the time was visibly shocked.

As for Arthur, he wasn’t surprised as he’d found out earlier in the day. Even then, he wasn’t too surprised, as if he’d expected something like this. Alvey wouldn’t have them sailing across the Chatane Ocean if he didn’t have a plan to deal with the great Leviathan who ruled it.

Arthur nodded, and as they turned to leave, Alvey seamlessly continued the meeting, diving back into discussions with the Demon Generals who were not having it.

They bombarded him with questions about the dead Yedrist as Evan and Arthur exited.

◇　◇　◇

“You didn’t seem too surprised there.”

“I mean, it was obvious Alvey had something planned and we all knew it. We were just waiting for him to reveal the plan.”

Arthur responded to Evan’s words as they walked through the hallways, coats fluttering in the air and demons parting the way and bowing their heads while they passed.

“And here I was expecting to see a giant Sea Monster battle…”

Evan muttered under his breath and Arthur chuckled lightly as he led the way to their destination.

Sailing across the vast Chatane Ocean, the Gozonian Armada was bound to encounter Sea Monsters.

Especially those who were still carrying out Yedrist’s Orders to attack anyone who trespassed, unaware of the Leviathan’s death.

Some of such battles could release waves of demonic energy which the Aramisians might sense.

To prevent these skirmishes from alerting the Aramisians, Barron deployed scouts to survey the ocean routes ahead.

If the monsters up ahead were manageable, the scouts would set up concealment formations and swiftly eliminate them to ensure undisturbed passage for the ships.

However, if the monsters were either too numerous or too strong to defeat without attracting attention, they would relay this information back, prompting the Armada to alter their course.

It was a carefully planned strategy that involved stealth, and adaptive navigation.

It was in this manner that the Demon Armada had sailed across the Chatane Ocean, and now, they were very close to their target.

By tomorrow, the shores of Plomux should be looming into view.

Evan and Arthur headed to join up with some scout fleets on the west side of the Armada, but contrary to Evan’s expectations, he didn’t find any monsters that could help him get even a single level.

As there was no point heading back to the Triton’s Ark, the two boys spent the night on the Scout ship.

The final lap of their journey to Plomux was beginning, and it was then that something strange happened.

Two scout fleets vanished overnight—fifteen light ships, four support vessels, and a command ship each—gone without a trace.

By the time the reports reached Triton’s Ark, a third fleet had fallen silent, swiftly followed by a fourth dispatched to investigate.

Eighty ships and thousands of soldiers were lost in a matter of hours!

Alarmed, the Gozonians sent out two High-Ranked Demons to scan the area, risking detection by the Aramisians in a desperate attempt to uncover the mysterious assailants.

Yet, as if anticipating their every move, the unknown menace shifted its attacks, striking a fleet stationed on the opposite side of the Armada.

In a twist of fortune—or misfortune—it was the very fleet where Arthur and Evan were stationed.