As the dust settled, Arthur could be seen standing amid the wreckage, a young man dangling limply over one shoulder as he turned his gaze downward toward Lady Liana, his expression carrying not a trace of exertion despite the damage scattered around him.
Most summons would have cowered instinctively at the mere sight of a Demi-God standing before them. After all, a clear hierarchy of strength existed even among summons themselves, one that most creatures respected without needing to be taught, an unspoken order carved into instinct rather than experience.
But Arthur was a king.
He bowed to no one.
"That’s a wrap. The winner is quite obvious."
At the head of the room, the king waved a hand dismissively, his expression shifting as his attention settled directly onto Lady Liana.
"It is officially decreed that you return the girls to their mother immediately."
He paused briefly, letting the weight of the decree settle before continuing.
"And to help smoothen the process..."
A handful of shadow guards materialized beside him without warning, moving quietly into a tight, guarded formation around Liana almost instantly, their presence silent but absolute. The moment they closed in, a flicker of mild discomfort crossed her expression, subtle but unmistakable to anyone paying attention.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
From Arian’s camp, everyone present dropped into a respectful bow, one after another, each voice carrying genuine appreciation for the king’s apparent generosity.
"It’s fine. You may all leave now."
He smiled faintly at the praise before waving everyone off entirely.
"Except for Kang and his boy, of course."
He added the exception casually, freezing everyone mid-motion for a brief second.
"Don’t worry, I only have a mission for them. One with considerable rewards attached."
The king smiled easily, well aware of his own reputation as something of a schemer. Most people in the room already understood this about him, which meant he frequently found himself explaining his intentions more thoroughly than he’d probably prefer, a small price he seemed to pay without much complaint.
This, however, was simply routine for him at this point.
Once the others had cleared the room, the king turned his full attention toward Ethan and spoke with measured calm.
"Would you be willing to leave White Tower and join the Punishment Hall directly, holding the same rank as your father-in-law?"
For a moment, genuine shock registered across Ethan’s face, and he glanced sideways toward Kang out of the corner of his eye, half expecting some visible reaction from the man himself.
Kang remained outwardly unmoved, as though the comment meant nothing to him. But it was obvious enough that it did, given the king had just openly implied he was Hela and Ella’s father.
"I’m sorry, but I’m a member of White Tower."
After a long stretch of silence, Ethan finally spoke, his voice steady and his gaze unwavering despite the pressure of the moment.
He remained loyal to White Tower, not out of some undying devotion to the organization itself, but simply because everyone he genuinely knew and trusted within this world existed there. Beyond that, the Punishment Hall sounded like an unnecessary hassle he had no real interest in taking on, another layer of obligation and hierarchy he’d rather avoid entirely.
"Okay, that’s fine. You’re a citizen of Bark. That’s enough."
The king clearly hadn’t expected anything different. White Tower’s members carried a reputation for deep, mutual loyalty, and this wasn’t the first time he’d failed to successfully recruit someone from within their ranks.
"Anyway, your father-in-law informed me about the difficulty surrounding your evolution trial for your new summon."
The subject shifted abruptly, the king’s tone growing noticeably more serious.
"Celestial dragons represent an extremely rare species within the dragon lineage, the kind of prize even members of the dragon clan itself would kill to acquire, treasures spoken of in reverence even by creatures who otherwise bowed to nothing."
"In fact, only three known celestial dragons currently exist anywhere in the world. One is Ao Alon, the Son of Heaven within the dragon clan. The second resides somewhere within the Great Sea. And the third is the Dragon God himself."
Feeling the full weight of the king’s words settle heavily onto his shoulders, Ethan felt the pressure mounting with each passing second, the earlier confidence he’d carried into this room draining away steadily. Among this particular list of names, there was absolutely no one he could realistically challenge or fight.
These celestial dragons existed firmly in the realm of legend already.
’Am I going to be permanently stuck at tier 7?’
Ethan turned the thought over grimly, the very real possibility of hitting an unbreakable bottleneck settling uncomfortably into his mind. Plenty of summoners eventually stalled out entirely, their growth halted permanently by the sheer difficulty of their ritual requirements.
This wasn’t new or unusual by any means. Even the earlier dragon-breaking requirement had already sounded excessive by most reasonable standards. Yet Ethan had managed it regardless.
"Don’t fret. Bark granted me a vision suggesting you’ll prove important to humanity’s future, so I intend to help you."
The king smiled, clearly noticing the flicker of quiet despair building behind Ethan’s eyes.
"There’s one more person carrying a celestial dragon, and he happens to be here in Bark right now."
The king lowered his voice, leaning in slightly as he spoke.
"Normally, he remains under the kingdom’s direct protection, along with Karth’s, which means we can’t act against him under ordinary circumstances. Recently, however, he’s broken a string of kingdom laws during his so-called journey toward enlightenment."
"Your task is to locate him and capture him. Whether his summon happens to be slain during the resulting confrontation is entirely up to you."
Having said that, the old man’s expression shifted into something distinctly sly, clearly already anticipating exactly how things would unfold once the two of them inevitably crossed paths.
’This old man sure is slippery.’
Ethan couldn’t help but think it, watching the king’s expression carefully.getting on this man’s bad side was a terrible idea.
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