“To the great Chun!”

  Kelsey raised the toast to me, a glass of fine wine in her hand.

  She laughed, causing all my friends to do the same while Fia hugged me about the waist. My entire family was here. Master Hei Dong and Mother Dong, holding little Bryce. Blue Rose, Mal’Kira and Tu’lok, plus Jian Yi and Ling Wei. They all joined in with the toast as well as the laugh. Those not in on the joke, however, wore worried and cautious smiles as they toasted the newly crowned Duke and Imperial Marshal, Max Chun with the equivalent of calling him an idiot.

  But such was to be expected now.

  Mixed company.

  Until we got safely home.

  It’d been a day since the trial and we were aboard an Imperial skiff bound for the great Paifang hub in the sky. The golden rays of the Celestial Orb shined down from the cloudless skies of the great Imperial Capital City of Yee Guo.

  It was still hard to believe that I was now on the path of soon being able to ascend to even there now. I had finally broken through to the Lesser Deity Realm, able to take on my Sacred Soul in true physical form, but I was in no rush to leave my home just yet.

  In fact, getting home was exactly what I was trying to do right now.

  Having endured Lunalah’s trial and my own, plus defeating a corrupted Rhe Su Long as a newly ascended Lesser Deity Realm cultivator had granted me the title of Duke before the High Council. The entire empire now recognized my status and had granted me dominion over both Terra and the planet Lung Zept, home of Du Gok Bhong.

  And I was eager to get home to rule them.

  Tu’lok and Mal’Kira downed their drinks and pestered the wait staff for more, while the imperial officials who now served as my escort through the city bowed politely and smiled. I still wasn’t sure who they exactly were or what their purpose was, but the High Council had appointed them to accompany me, to ensure I returned to the Earth smoothly, I guessed.

  Or perhaps they were just there to ensure I departed period.

  Which was just fine with me.

  We had spent the night in one of the fanciest hotels in the city—a place truly fit for royalty. The rooms, if you could even call them that, were the size of mansions, outfitted with ivory and gold and staffed with teams of servants who would fulfil your every wish on order.

  We were all exhausted after the trial and devastation caused by Rhe Su Long’s failed ascension, but we managed to celebrate my victory by holding a private feast—drinking and dining well into the evening.

  Mother Dong then took little Bryce for the night, allowing Fia and I some time alone.

  It was a marvelous reunion.

  I hadn’t seen Fia for nearly six years and finally being able to make love to her as my wife was a night I wouldn’t soon forget. And neither would she, by the way we continued the next morning. She gazed up at me now, arms about my waist, her smile infectious.

  “I love you, Fia.”

  She blushed and laughed. “You are such a romantic. I love you too, my Duke.”

  I grinned at her. Her gorgeous silver eyes and matching hair, cut in her signature short bob. The Duchess Silver Light, now known as Fia Chun.

  It still felt surreal to refer to her as that, both as a Duchess and my wife, but that’s what she was now. The Struggler sighed with contentment, having attained at least one of my goals. Well…a few actually. My battle with the Empire was far from over, but I had reclaimed my home at least.

  Kelsey meandered over to me, throwing playful punches into my ribs. “So what’s the next move big bro? We going to bring my mom and everyone into the city, right?”

  I smiled at her—another one of my goals having finally come true. “You bet your ass,” I said. “No need to fear any sort of repercussion now. The entire planet is under our control.”

  Kelsey bounced on her toes. “I can’t wait.”

  “There is something we still need to talk about, Max,” Fia said, her tone becoming serious.

  Kelsey frowned. “Eh, this sounds like married people stuff… I’ll leave you guys to it.”

  “No, you can stay Kel Zhi,” she said. “This involves you as well.”

  “Huh?” Kelsey raised a brow at that, as did I.

  “The Mark,” Fia said. “You said you had found a way to get rid of it, but it’s still there. Is Bryce safe?”

  I shared an inadvertent stare with Kelsey, which Fia picked up on immediately.

  “What are you two hiding?” Fia fumed.

  “Nothing,” I said honestly. “Things just…may have not worked out like I planned.”

  “What does that mean?” She looked to Kelsey. “Kel Zhi?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know anything Fia, I swear. But…yeah. The big bad guy is still out there. I can sense it. Even now.”

  I could too, to be honest.

  Not in an overt way like falling under the rays of a Bloodmoon, but a subtle presence, like a lingering odor that was only faintly noticeable and only if you really concentrated on it. I looked to Kelsey.

  “You can sense it too?”

  She nodded. “Not strong but…”

  “Present right?”

  She nodded again.

  “Is that what happened to Rhe Su Long?” Fia asked, looking between the two of us, fear growing in her heart. “Is he at risk of turning into a monster like her? Please Max, I need to know if he’s going to be safe or not!”

  “He will be,” I said, looking around nervously as Fia raised her voice. “I just need some time to figure things out.”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Fia sighed, placing her hands on her hips. “What does that mean?”

  “It means he’ll be fine,” I said. “So long as he stays within a barrier like before, he’ll be okay.”

  She lowered her brows at me, completely unconvinced. “So nothing changed? You risked your life to liberate that death world and our son is still at risk? What the hell did you do down there, Max?”

  I thought back to my fight with I’xol’ukz embodied within that slug, which eventually inhabited Hun Wu’s body. I had managed to kill it by pulling the Chainmaiden’s core into my Inner World, keeping the monster from regenerating.

  But now it seemed to have only gotten more powerful.

  “I’m still not sure, to be honest.”

  Fia’s brows lowered into an unamused scowl. “Well you two better figure it out,” she said. “And fast. I can’t raise my son like this.”

  With that she turned and joined her mother, taking Bryce from her and cradling him in her arms. I sighed inwardly. This was a mission I still had yet to clear.

  Killing I’xol’ukz.

  “So what the hell did happen?” Kelsey asked speaking in English now. “Did you find I’xol’ukz down there or what?”

  I ushered Kelsey towards the bow of the skiff, moving us away from everyone else. We hadn’t had a chance to have a full Berserker debrief, but with the Paifang Hub still far in the distance, now seemed the perfect time. I spoke in English to ensure no one else would understand, revealing the secrets of the unseen world as I gave her a play-by-play recap of the events that took place on Dokumu.

  She listened intently, nodding every so often.

  “So what do you think?” I asked when I finally finished.

  “It obviously wasn’t him,” Kelsey said. “Not the real him. Remember I said that what I think he really is, is like the embodiment of Dark Frenzy itself? He can inhabit bodies but his true form is like a spirit. Maybe you gotta go back into the Spiritual Realm to really kill him.”

  “Yeah, maybe…”

  “And shit, you got to be like a mega beast inside there now, right? You’re a minor god now. And you definitely have to teach me some of your new moves.”

  I chuckled. “I will. But how do I really find and kill this thing? I thought I had found its lair before when I went into the Chainmaiden’s domain. Now I don’t know where to even start to look. It’s like he’s everywhere now. Not just radiating from a Bloodmoon.” I then frowned as a deeper concern surfaced. “Can it even be killed? Dark Frenzy itself?”

  Kelsey shrugged. “The only think I know for sure is that I’xol’ukz isn’t just a higher demon or something. It’s different. It’s like an idea. A thought. I don’t know if it even belongs in our world.”

  As she said the words something pulsed within my Flame.

  A new hidden truth revealed.

  “I think you’re right,” I said. “But I still need to find it and kill it somehow. I need to protect Bryce from turning into a demon.”

  “Don’t worry, big bro,” Kelsey said. “When we get home, we’ll figure something out. Until then, you can count on my Axe never leaving little Bryce’s side.”

  She brandished her weapon with a grin, its aura of Pure Frenzy resonating and protecting us from the dark gods seemingly boundless influence now.

  “Thanks Kelsey,” I said, pulling her into a hug. “I know I can always bet on you.”

  *   *   *

  We reached the floating islands in the sky and maneuvered through the aerial traffic to land right next to the five story Pai Fang that housed the Omni Gate leading back to our world. The imperial staff who had accompanied us, gave us departing bows as we disembarked the skiff and were ushered right to the front of the line.

  Not that there was a huge line to begin with.

  I still wasn’t sure how it all worked, but Earth was connected to this Paifang now, as were many other worlds on the outskirts of the empire. Determining which of those worlds this glowing purple gate would lead to was a matter for the imperial staff to attend to. I watched as one of them went about fiddling with Qi-crystals of various colors inside a small control booth at the side of the Pai Fang.

  “Duke Iron Bull,” I heard a familiar voice call out to me. “Or is it the Iron Duke now?”

  I turned about to see the smiling face of Master Zin Tai approaching, along with what looked like a couple dozen people all dressed in imperial robes. They each wore a yellow sash, the same as Zin Tai himself.

  I thought I’d finally gotten away from this guy, especially after putting my core Berserker arts on display in the arena. Perhaps he’d just come to say goodbye, but by his company I was sensing something else was up.

  I bowed to him nonetheless, putting on a smile and using [Indifference] to hide my sigh of annoyance. “Master Zin Tai. What a pleasure. Come to see us off?”

  “Hardly,” he said. “I’ll be accompanying you.”

  “What?”

  He pulled some papers from his robes and showed them to me. “The High Council did say they were to appoint an Imperial Arbitrator to oversee the transfer of lands from The Princess Lunalah and the Governor Tai Su Long to yourself.”

  “And they chose you?” I said incredulously as I looked over the papers.

  It was all Greek to me. Fine printed legal jargon penned in formal script.

  “Well, I volunteered for the job,” he said with a grin. “With my training as a Grand Sage and my history with you, the High Council felt that you would welcome me to act in your best interest as well as that of the empire.”

  I harrumphed. “Did they think that, did they?”

  Ling Wei quickly took the papers from out of my hands. “I think it is a most excellent choice. Master Zin Tai, we welcome your oversight.”

  He bowed again. “It will be my pleasure. I wasn’t expecting you to leave so soon, however, but I have assembled a team of trusted observers to assist me.” He motioned to the Imperial officials with him before giving me a grin. “Fear not, Duke Iron Bull, I won’t be in your hair like last time. I will be spending most of my time with the princess and her officials.”

  He must have been reading my mind.

  “Sure, alright,” I said, but I already felt the questions coming.

  I’d made him suspicious about the mission down on Dokumu and with my battle with Rhe Su Long, he’d gotten a glimpse of my true power. There’d be no other reason for him to volunteer for this job other than to observe me closer.

  At least I was a Duke now and I was somewhat beyond reproach when it came to using my techniques. Saving the entire High Council came with benefits after all. Still, having this guy hang around was a further complication I didn’t need.

  “Let’s get this over with then,” I said. “How do we go about kicking her out?”

  Zin Tai chuckled. “Ever so eager. I will call an initial meeting with the Princess Lunalah to discuss terms of the withdrawal. We’ll then need to tabulate a register of assets, consider immigration for those wishing to remain upon Terra and those who may wish to return to the core worlds.”

  “I can assist with that,” Ling Wei said. “I am quite versed with all the records.”

  “I hoped you would say that,” Zin Tai said, giving Ling Wei a bow. “Yet despite all that, it’s still quite a comprehensive process. This will take some months.”

  “Months?” I said.

  Zin Tai and Ling Wei both nodded.

  I groaned inwardly. I couldn’t stomach the idea of having to communicate with that psychopath again, much less for months, but I supposed there was no way around it. “Talk about a long-winded break up.”

  “Don’t you worry.” Fia nudged me with a smile. “I’ll be at your side when dealing with her. And we outrank her now, remember? If there is anyone who will be feeling discomfort it will be her.”

  That gave me some comfort.

  “Alright. Let’s get to it then.”

  We were finally given the all clear by the gate staff and lined up to transport as one. As I stepped through with Fia at my side and Bryce in her arms, a familiar purple hue met my vision, followed by a kaleidoscope of colors.

  The next thing I knew I was standing under a pale night sky, shifted red by the hue of the Bloodmoon. Bryce let out a cry and immediately I knew something was off. For a split second I could sense the Dark Frenzy exuding from the night sky.

  I raised my [Sacred Soul Shield] immediately in response, but was soon joined by Kelsey, who added her own protective aura to the mix. More cries rang out but it wasn’t just Bryce this time. It took my mind a second to adjust, but all around me was a swarm of people, thousands of them, all of them wailing and screaming.

  They were all trying to push through the gate, rushing us as we tried to exit ourselves. I yelled at them with [Fear the Flame] and [Struggler’s Resolve].

  “GET BACK!”

  My words echoed like a megaphone, stopping people dead in their tracks. I grabbed Fia and pushed through the crowd, getting to the far side of the Pai Fang. The rest of my entourage followed in my wake, including Master Zin Tai and the dozen or so officials he had brought with him.

  “What the hell is going on?” Kelsey cried.

  I still couldn’t figure it out myself, until I looked up at the sky and saw something missing. The Omni Gate was built within the heart of the capital city of Li Wan Province, what used to be old Beijing.

  But there was no Golden Pagoda hovering in the sky above.

  The Imperial City that housed the life preserving Aetherite crystal that blocked the rays of the Bloodmoon…was gone. As my eyes adjusted further, smoke could be seen rising in the distance, the outskirts of the city in flames. And then I sensed more. Screams and cries.

  Inhuman ones.

  Beyond the fires was a writhing sea of bodies.

  Demons…thousands of them.

  “Nine hells,” I muttered, as I took in the chaos unfolding all around me. “What the hell has that crazy bitch gone and done?”