"My child!" cried Daren as tears fell from his clear eyes that were now filled with a little bit of sorrow but mostly gladness.
"Papa!" cried the little girl in his arms. Seeing this little goddess cry could probably make the strongest masters destroy Mountains and dry up the oceans to please her. All the world ever wanted was her smile.
[ Um. Host! You there? Right now is not really the time to have a mysterious reunion with your long-lost daughter. ]
'Ha. Wha... what just happened?' questioned Daren. he could feel emotions filling up his soul from out of nowhere. He felt like this girl was his own blood
He felt like he had spent years watching her grow but then was separated from her for a long time and now was finally able to reunite with her.
Daren felt like these emotions were truly his but also not his at the same time. It felt warm but out of place at the same time.
[ In honor of my role as the system, I promise that I will explain what is happening to you very soon.
At this very moment though, I suggest that you leave this place and meet with her highness, Celina. ]
Daren trusted the words of the system as he turned towards the city and realized that all the beasts had long been dead and that Durant along with his soldiers had jaw-dropping expressions.
They were really confused, stunned, surprised, and feeling a whole lot of different emotions right now.
He held onto his daughter tightly as he ran in the direction of the gates without saying a word to them. He only awkwardly smiled before becoming a blur.
........
In the view of the soldiers, everything they just saw made no sense.
For these guys, it all started with the overpowered ultimate technique ("Hellish Sacrifice Of No Return") that surprised the soldiers and Durant with its power and size.
They thought that someone would die in this ball of fire but were stunned when neither died.
They were once again left in shock when it seemed like Daren was somehow conversing to the wyvern even though it looked like he was talking to air since the wyvern used a mental communication method.
They were not dumb enough to think he was talking to air.
The thing that made them drop their jaws first was when Daren summoned the magic contract. The ominous clouds and godly lighting from the heavens were something they had never seen.
Even Durant had never seen something like this since all he had ever done was kill beasts. None of them had ever been willing to enter a contract with him.
What really fried their brain into pieces of mushy char was when the wyvern turned into a mini goddess-like loli that stole all their heart away with a single look at her deep, ocean blue eyes.
This girl then had gone on to call the young man in front of them, "PAPA!". This made no absolute sense in all of he'll, heaven and earth.
It was inconceivable to them what happened as the handsome young man recognized the girl as his daughter.
They were no all going to run back to the city and tell this story to all their friends and family. The clean-up of the beasts could be left to the lower-level soldiers as it was not their responsibility as the elite fighters.
Before they could follow in the young man's steps and return to the city they served, a tall, manly figure covered in black mist appeared from the shadow of Durant.
The man had a mysterious but oppressive aura that screamed danger to all the veterans including Durant.
"This oppression, this power, this aura! A Core Refining Expert!" yelled Durant out loud, as he could not control, his voice or his thoughts under the presence of the mist-covered man that wore all black.
This man stuck out like a sore thumb in the bright fields with his dark energy.
He opened his mouth to speak with a very loud, deep, and somewhat muffled voice as he was trying to hide what he really sounds like.
"You are not to speak to anyone about what you have seen today. All of you can only say that you saw the young man subdue a wyvern.
Anything that you saw after the arrival of the magic circle must be kept secret.
This is the order of from the empires' Martial Saint!"
The strange man then took out an 8 inch long, 1-inch thick jade pice with the words "Martial Saint: etched into it. The jade was bluish-green with a regal purple decorating the words with its glowing, mysterious energy.
The men all saw the jade insignia and heard this man's words very clearly. Without any delay, all of them kneeled with one knee to touch the dirt and bowed their heads.
They then put their right hand over their left chest and said "As the liege commands!".
All the elite soldiers and Durant had nothing but fear and respect in their voices.
The Martial Saint. The second highest authority of all of Gigantus Empires military forces. The highest position obviously belongs. the great emperor himself.
The Martial Saint's title was honored due to its noble nature and unyielding attitude. They were feared due to having the strongest cultivation in the empire and due to how merciless they were on the battlefield.
If he wished, every man within this nation's military would lay their lives down to carry out his orders.
The mysterious man then nodded slightly as he disappeared into DUrants shadow and his presence was completely gone. There was no pressure on the soldiers and the grass that was under that man's feet seemed unharmed.
It was like he was never here. Just like a shadow.
........
By the time Durant and his soldiers had digested what their given order entailed, they got off their knees and left the plains.
In front of them, the city gates opened and an intimidating group of 5,000 men gathered to welcome them as they clapped for the victorious and unharmed comrades.
After the elite soldiers had returned to their homes and Durant had done the same, the 5000 muscular left through the pointy iron gates. They started to clean up the aftermath as their responsibility was to skin the animals and separate any valuable body parts.
The valuables would be sold to the merchants. This money would then be used to hold a feast tonight with the meat being from the beasts they had killed.
Any surplus would be shared to the Veteran's DIstrict where the retired soldiers of this city lived.
At this time, Daren was already standing in front of the marquess's mansion where the guards were pushing the black iron gates with a little bit of trouble due to its weight.
He already sensed Celina's presence within the manor and was going to confront the system with her.
Daren entered the luxurious manor with its glamourous decorations and lush carpets. He walked down many corridors until he was able to reach the dining room in which they first had dinner with the marquesses' family.
The grand dining hall was empty as lunch was still 2 hours away. On the table were seated 3 people dresses in luxurious robes and dresses.
On one side were the marquess and the wife while Celina sat across from them. When she heard the doors to the hall open, Celina turned her head around and saw Daren entering.
She got up from her seat and approached him with long strides as if she was jogging. She wanted to run but the dress she wore was too long and frilly. This restricted her movement.
When the little girl saw the beautiful, crimson-haired goddess coming towards her, she had an elated look on her face as she smiled widely and more droplets of tears started to form around her crystal blue eyes.
She tugged on her father's torn sleeve and he understood what she wanted as he slowly let her down from his arms.
The girl landed softly on the ground and swiftly ran towards the goddess while yelling "Mommy!".
Celina stopped in her tracks when she heard this as there was a look of surprise and deep confusion written all over her face. She looked around to make sure there was no one else in the room.
When she was sure that the girl was clearly aiming for her, she was unsure of what she was to do in situations like these.
An unknown little girl had appeared in the arms of her companion and declared Celina as her mother. What would most people do in this kind of setting except to wait for answers from the man who brought her here?
"Mommy! Mommy! I missed you so much. Where did you and papa go?. Where's aunty?" asked the cute girl as tears dripped down her chubby cheeks like a small stream of clear water.
Her white dress that covered up to her knees was started to get slightly soaked as the dress is made from a very lightweight and soft material.
An atmosphere of confusion and awkwardness was created as
"I'm not your..."Before Celina could finish her words, an endless flow of emotions surged up from nowhere and flooded her soul.
Just like Daren, these emotions felt like they belonged to her but were foreign at the same time.
She had seen what happened on the battlefield through the connection of the system and even saw the strange message that the system had displayed.
She had also sensed what Daren was feeling towards the wyvern but she had believed that these would be exclusive to him.
She did not expect the wyvern to consider her a parent as well. She did not expect to feel exactly what he felt but in her own way.
While Daren had awakened fatherly feelings of overprotectiveness and doting, Celina had awakened motherly feelings of deep affection and pride towards this daughter of hers.
Celina's crimson eyes also watered just like her daughter's as she picked up the little girl with the same grace and gentleness that Daren had exercised.
She embraced her daughter as her child hugged her back. The two beautiful women displaying loving emotions of care and yearning for each other created a light atmosphere.
This atmosphere had made it hard for the Hendrix couple to even breathe as the spectacle of heavenly proportions was emitted as if two noble souls were being enlightened.
There was a tranquil aura of nobility and holiness in the air as the mother and daughter confided in each other for what seemed like an eternity.
[Not to bother your reunion but the system had finished the reconstruction of miss Chanela. ]
[The system will now finish the awakening of her consciousness by consuming the absorbed (Pure Blood Of An Imperial Demonic Dragon).]
[PLEASE ENJOY THE REUNION! ]
["š"]
["^^"]
As usual, the system's timing was horrible but this time, it was different.
Instead of displaying a message, the words were spoken in a very husky, female voice that had an informal tone but contained hints of respect in it. .
The voice rung very clearly in the heads of both Daren and Celina. Celina paused her excessive crying and looked over at Daren at the same time his gaze went over to her.
They confirmed each other guess that they both heard the same things.
Blip!
A mini black hole opened up between Daren and Celina. This black hole stretched from the floor to a height of about 5 feet and 9 inches.
As soon as this appeared, Hyun and Yeon appeared out of the shadows of Andrew and Margret (The marquess and marchioness, for anyone that forgot.) that were standing at the back of the room.
The black mist-covered beings stood beside their masters to protect them from what could be a threat.
The black hole was something that no one here had ever seen and that's why the guards considered it as a foreign entity that may be harmful to their masters.
Tap! Tap!
The sound of footsteps originating from the hole filled the room with uncertainty.
A pair of long, snow-white legs in 2-inch, black heels stepped out from the black hole like it was a portal of some sort.
Following the legs came the very slim and curvy body of a young lady who wore a red dress with black, lace outlines. The dress was somewhat of a tight fight as it highlighted the girl's hourglass figure in an alluring way.
Her face was quite similar to Celina's as it had features comparable to it as a thin nose and defined jaw. The young lady also had a seductively red lip like her sister. She had chubbier cheeks though and was shorter than the current Celina who was 6 feet tall.
(Daren stands at 6 feet 11 inches tall due to cultivation modifying his body.)
The lady had short crimson hair and eyes that were the same blood as the shade as Celina.
"Aunty!" yelled the little girl in Celina's arm as she jumped out of the embrace with godlike agility and landed in front of her aunt.
She caught the little girl in the air with a speed that left little gusts of wind behind her. She brushed the little girl's hair with her hand and ran her fingers through the silky strands.
She then lifted the girl with the now playful expression and spun her around in the air as people did to their little children.
"I heard you missed mommy and daddy so I brought them back. Will you forgive this useless aunt of yours for taking so long?" asked the young lady as she started to put the girl back on her tiny feet.
"This little princess is very angry but will forgive aunty if she gives me my favorite candy. " said the little girl as she pouted and turned her head away from her aunt with a "hmph".
"Hehe. I'll buy a room filled with your favorite 'Rabito' flavored candy when we go back to the capital. For now, how about we find you a place to rest since you should be very tired after transforming back to your original form. "
The aunt bent down and looked at her niece with a wide smile while patting her head again.
'Hmph. This princess is not tired but I wouldn't mind some rest." replied the little girl like a tiny tsundere.
The young lady straightened her back as he looked at Daren and Celina who had walked very close to her.
With a sweet and somewhat annoying voice, she said " I know you have a lot of questions so the system and I will try our best to explain ourselves."
"Yeon, can I bother you to take my daughter to and find her a quiet room her she can rest" asked Celina as her usually soft voice was sounding hoarse from crying.
The smaller, female shadow next to Margret looked towards look toward her masters and big brother for confirmation. They nodded once at her and she understood that she must comply with this request.
The girl then walked towards the small child and hesitatingly put forward one of her slim hands. The child took her hands without any concern and followed her out of the large dining hall.
"Please have a seat. This might take a while to explain. Also, would the marquess and marchioness please step out of the room?
This conversation is between family and is about things that may put you at life-threatening risks if were to listen in. "
The young lady let out a sliver of killing intent as she said this. This killing intent was gruesome and bore a demon-like pressure that almost caused Hyun's thought attitude and concentration to shatter.
Without a second of waiting and permission from his masters, he took their hands and rushed them out of the room at a speed that creates a breeze that blew the hair of the 2 beautiful women's and one man's hair.
Daren and Celin walked towards the table at a steady pace and sat down side by side while the young lady sits across from them.
"Let's begin with who you two really are."