The King family courtyard is filled with scorched blood and shattered pride.
The once-imperious banners of Emperor Kai now lay torn and burning, flapping helplessly in the wind as the remnants of the royal army scattered like frightened ants.
Their formations broke down completely, discipline lost to despair. The Emperor himself—crushed beneath the weight of Kent's wrath and the echo of ancient spells—was nothing more than a fading nightmare now.
The wind howled, carrying with it the sounds of retreating hoofbeats, clanking-armor, and terrified cries.
But amidst the silence that followed the storm, there was a sudden, rushing warmth.
A blur of flowing hair, sobs, and outstretched arms surged toward the lone figure standing amidst the ruins.
"KENT!!!"
Lily was the first to reach him. Her white dress was torn at the edges, dust clinging to her once-pristine skin, but her face shone like the moon. She leapt at him, eyes overflowing, hands trembling. Kent caught her with ease, and she imdiately buried her face in his chest, fists beating weakly against him.
"You idiot! Do you know how scared I was?!"
He smiled with an emotional look, stroking her hair. "It's alright. I'm here now."
Before he could say more, Alia threw her arms around his back, hugging him from behind. Her composure—the regal poise of a noblewoman—had vanished, replaced by raw relief.
"You promised you'd never make watch you fight like that again…"
Sophia, eyes red but shimring, pressed her palm to his cheek and stared into his eyes. "I thought you were going to disappear like a ghost. We all thought…"
Kent stepped back and opened his arms wider.
"I told you all before—I'm not going anywhere until I've built a world where none of you have to look over your shoulders."
One by one, they rushed in—Maya, the quiet and sharp-eyed strategist, her lips trembling; Zoya, the feisty fire mage, wiping tears from her cheeks angrily as if embarrassed to show them. Even Mohini, who had never admitted her feelings aloud, stood at a distance with arms crossed—but her eyes betrayed the storm within her.
"You're all safe now," Kent said softly, arms around them all. "You've all endured more than you should have because of ."
"No," Lily whispered fiercely. "We endured because we believed in you."
"And because we love you," Sophia added, her voice breaking.
They held each other tightly, as though afraid he would vanish like mist again. Even the wind dared not disturb the mont.
Just then, a voice echoed from the ruined walls behind them.
"…So touching. Should I pretend I didn't see all that?"
Everyone turned.
A fat figure waddled across the broken stone path, brushing ash from his robe with exaggerated frustration. His belly jiggled with every step, but his spirit—bright, bold, and as familiar as sunshine—radiated warmth.
"Fatty Ben!" Kent's eyes lit up.
Fatty Ben opened his arms wide. "You destroyed a royal emperor and still forgot to tell your best friend? That hurts, Master. That really hurts. I almost cried."
Kent laughed and strode forward. The mont their hands clasped in a firm shake-turned-hug, ti itself seed to roll back.
"You look fatter than ever."
"And you look like you ca out of a god's furnace! What kind of man casually slaps down Emperor Kai like a mosquito? Are you even human anymore?!"
Kent smirked. "I had good motivation."
"Right… like the ten goddesses clinging to you right now?"
The won behind Kent blushed in unison, so rolling their eyes, so smiling fondly.
Ben stepped closer, lowering his voice. "You really did it, brother. You kept them all alive. Even when we all thought… we thought we'd lost you after the storm do broke."
Kent looked at him. "Thank you for keeping them safe."
Fatty Ben's jovial mask cracked for just a second. "I tried. But I failed… they captured us. They… tortured Iris. Threatened to execute Lily in front of us. If you hadn't returned—"
"I know," Kent said firmly. "But you stayed with them. That's more than I could ever repay."
"Then repay by never doing sothing that stupid again," Ben huffed. "You went alone! Next ti take us with you."
"I had to. Only Emperor Kai's demise could free you all."
Before Fatty Ben could speak again, an old voice interrupted them.
"Kent…"
A deep voice, trembling with age and emotion, called out.
The people made a way, and Patriarch Daku King, the once mighty pillar of the family, now aged but far from broken, walked forward with slow, deliberate steps. His once jet-black beard was laced with silver. His eyes, sharp even through the tears that shimred in them, locked onto his son.
Kent stepped down from the throne.
"Father," he spoke, voice steady, but a flicker of vulnerability echoed beneath.
The old man did not hesitate. In a mont of raw, unguarded emotion, Daku King embraced his son tightly.
"You returned… You lived! My son lives!" His voice cracked, muffled as he clutched Kent like he was afraid to let go.
Kent returned the embrace, not with power, but with warmth. He had beco a storm among n, but here, he was a son—flawed, exiled, but never forgotten.
Behind Daku, the old grandfather, a stoic man with a sword scar crossing his left cheek, stepped forward. He had once handed down the family's soul-forged blade to Kent, against the wishes of the elders. Many had mocked him for it.
Now, as he laid a weathered palm on Kent's shoulder, he gave a short nod. "You didn't sha the blade. You honored it."
Kent bowed. "It was your sword that cut open the path when all else failed. Thank you, Grandfather."
From within the manor, more mbers of the King clan began to erge—uncles, aunts, cousins, and younger disciples. Their faces were conflicted.
So held back smiles. Others hid resentnt behind polite expressions. The air turned tense. Though they owed their survival to Kent's intervention during the Kai Emperor's wrath, many still rembered the pain of exile, the loss of status, and the years of wandering through mud and disgrace.
It was Kent's very existence that had ignited the Emperor's fury.
A middle-aged man, Kent's uncle and a forr elder of the King Clan, stepped forward. "You returned stronger, and you saved us. But the cost... you know what it was. We lost two branches of the family. My wife was taken."
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