John’s asura transformation finally faded away as the war was over, flooding him with a wave of fatigue and exhaustion. He swayed slightly for a moment before collecting himself, while those nearby gazed at him with wondrous awe, as if staring at a god.
With great struggle, Kadin gazed up at Adam before him, who looked at him with simmering rage. Kadin had been beaten nearly to death by John, and was unable to put up any form of resistance, even against Adam. At this point, he was completely at the mercy of the one he had tortured to death, and Kadin couldn’t help but tremble in pleading fear.
“Please….spare me,” Kadin said in a pleading and groveling manner, casting aside the proud arrogance he had displayed up to this point.
“I…I was wrong,” Kadin spoke up once more as Adam remained silent, his icy gaze not changing at all. “I…I’ll help you become…the leader of our Starforge Clan! We…we’re family after all…and I’ll serve you going forward…I’ll help you-“
Adam seemed to have heard enough, his icy gaze intensifying as the thoughts of his fathers murder flickered in his mind. No doubt Kadin knew the truth of what had happened, and Adam wanted to get to the core of the truth.
Adam’s body flared with power for a brief moment as he activated several of the embedded formation disks within his body. Formational energy flared as a barrier suddenly sprung up into existence, trapping only Adam and Kadin within. The barrier was completely opaque, making it impossible to see through it.
His actions surprised the other youths who had been watching Kadin’s groveling, as they didn’t know exactly what was going on between the two of them. John’s gaze remained calm as he realized Adam did not want the others to hear his interrogation of Kadin…or see what he was about to do.
John’s gaze shifted to the side as someone rapidly approached him, smashing into him and embracing him deeply. John smiled as he embraced Iris back, who cried deeply into his chest. After a short embrace, Iris collected herself and took a step backwards while wiping the tears from her eyes.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” Iris said to John, her smiling face stained with tears.
“And I’m happy to see all three of you safe as well,” John replied, as he gazed at Chase and exchanged a head nod before his gaze shifted back to Iris. “Thank you for keeping everyone alive while I was gone,” John thanked her.
“It wasn’t just me,” Iris replied with a wide grin as she briefly explained what had happened, including the incredible improvements from both Adam and Chase. John raised an eyebrow as he heard about Adam’s story and his personality shift, but felt relief that everything seemed to have turned out for the better regarding Adam.
As Iris finished her story, John heard someone approach from behind, and felt a gentle pair of hands press against his back. A warm and vibrant energy started coursing through his body, eliminating the wounds on his body and filling his body with energy once more.
Iris glanced at Laia, slightly surprised to see her so close to John. She had never seen Laia before today, and did not know who she was or how she had come to be so close to him. Before she could ask for introductions, a boisterous voice boomed out from the side, catching their attention.
“Hahahaha, it’s surprising to see you so close to someone…I heard you were knocked into the Dao Transformation realm with someone else…seems like you two got quite close while in there!” Miko teased as he approached the group.
John had briefly introduced Laia to Miko when they had arrived to the battlefield, but the introductions had only been very brief.
Laia’s cheeks reddened slightly as she heard Miko’s words, while John stared at his friend with a piercing look.
“Shouldn’t you be a little more respectful to the one who saved your girlfriend?” John said as he gestured towards Iseria, who stood nearby and had been fully healed by Laia after being on the brink of death.
“Haha you hear that Iseria. John says we’re dating, so I guess that’s how it is now!” Miko said mischievously as he glanced at Iseria, who rolled her eyes at his words, but did not scold him like usual, and instead had a small yet subtle smile appear on her face which vanished almost instantly after.
John rolled his eyes as well at Miko’s antics, as his attempt to get back at his friend had failed spectacularly.
“I forgot. You don’t know how to feel shame,” John scoffed at Miko.
“What’s the point of feeling shame? It’s too tiresome,” he replied as he finally arrived before John with a large smile. The two stared at each other for a brief moment before bursting out with laughter and embracing each other with a warm hug, parting soon after.
Miko’s gaze shifted towards Laia, and his smiling face turned serious as he looked at her.
“Thank you…for saving my friend,” Miko said sincerely, while Laia returned his gaze with a warm smile.
“There’s no need to thank me,” Laia replied warmly as she lowered her hands from John’s back, her healing of him finally complete.
“Of course I’m going to thank you!” Miko said vigorously while performing an exaggerated bow, “How could I not thank the eighth princess of the Astral Empire for helping me and my friends?”
“What?”
“A princess of the Astral Empire?”
“Why is she here?”
“No wonder she’s so amazing!”
Whispers of surprise drifted out from the nearby youths, shocked to hear Laia’s true identity. Laia smiled at Miko’s strange antics, finding it to be quite amusing. Afterwards, Laia’s gaze shifted towards Iris, who was standing nearby in silence.
“You must be Iris,” Laia said to Iris while smiling with warm kindness. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“You know me?” Iris replied with slight surprise on her face.
“Of course. John told me all about you,as well as Adam and Chase. You four seem to be very good friends,” Laia replied kindly.
“Oh he did now?” Iris asked as she glanced at John with a questioning gaze, wondering what sort of things he had said about her. After glancing at John, she walked up to Laia and linked her arm around one of Laia’s arm, moving her away from the group.
“Come on. Let’s get away from these brutish boys and talk about things,” Iris said as she smiled at Laia, as if she had found a new friend, and one that was a girl for once. Laia smiled back and allowed herself to be moved away by Iris, leaving John, Miko, and Chase behind. They moved towards where Iseria was, and the three girls quickly began their discussions, laughing and smiling as they moved away from the others.
After the girls left, Miko’s gaze turned serious once more as he shifted his gaze towards where the enemy youths had been. They had completely scattered by now, with no trace of them remaining.
“Should we hunt down the remaining enemies?” Miko asked John.
“No, there’s no point,” John dismissed the idea. “Now that Asuros has left, none of them will dare to make another peep at all, as they’ll be too scared to run into either of us. They’ll go into hiding until this realm closes. Even if they managed to steal some of the teleportation talismans from the youths they had slain, they’ll be teleported to the entrance of this realm when it closes…right into the middle of all the Honorable Alliance Elders. So, either they die here…or they die out there…but their deaths are assured, and so they are of no concern anymore,” John explained his thoughts.
Miko thought about it for a moment and then nodded his head in agreement. After his and John’s display of power, the remaining youths would certainly hide until the realm closed, and were therefore no longer a threat.
He was just about to ask John another question, when an emotional voice sounded out from behind the two of them, causing them to turn around. John gazed at the girl who stood before him, her head slightly bowed and not looking him in the eyes as if she were not worthy of such a thing.
“Thank you…for saving us,” the girl said to John and Miko, her voice trembling with emotion.
“Thank you!” most of the other youths behind her boomed out as well shortly after, bowing their heads slightly in respect towards both John and Miko.
John remained quiet for a moment as he allowed them to complete their thanks, before he addressed the large group of several hundred youths before him.
“Only by getting strong can you ensure your safety and the safety of those around you.
If you really want to thank me, then do that by getting stronger, and becoming someone the Honorable Alliance can rely on,” John replied to them, his words igniting a fire within their hearts.
The group of youths all nodded their heads in acknowledgement, and would never for the rest of their lives forget this day, the one that saved them, and the one that steeled their hearts and minds to tread on the cultivation path with absolute conviction.