Chapter 125: The Woman Returns

Author's Note: This is the first chapter of the seventh arc, the Enigmus Arc.

Chapter 125: The Woman Returns

Inside the magic power A-Rank Club in Flagron Town.

Goma sits calmly on a chair next to a lit fireplace, book in hand.

Goma still remains the only A-Rank human in the entire country of Harmone.

He wears a brown T-shirt and black long pants, silently reading his book. Someone walks into the room, and he hears the voice of a young adult woman.

“Father.”

Goma lowers his book and listens.

“Father, I can sense the winds of chaos picking up in this country.”

His eyes drift to the cover of the book in his hands. The title reads “The Meaning.”

“I know,” Goma says. “It is… concerning. I have a hunch as to why, but I will need to look into it.”

“I see. Well, you are the greatest alive. You will accomplish anything you want.”

He hears her footsteps moving away.

“It’s probably worse than she thinks,” Goma mutters to himself.

***

Four months have passed since the events of the Swamp Underworld. It is now April, Year 119, and it has been eleven months since Zeth broke out of the Hawk Clan prison. Zaydra is now 537 years old.

Zeth trains alongside Sasha. The heroes are back in their adventuring clothes, though Zeth also wears his headband.

Zeth narrates. “After seeing what Korobu did to Telecouch City, we all felt weak. We all needed to get more powerful. We enlisted the help of RAG, Run And Gun, to help us train. He was happy to help. When we first met him, he was a low D-Rank. He is now a high D-Rank. Zaydra was needed for the task squad that my mother had summoned to look into Poleon. Mother also had her angel forces increase their presence on Earth to fight any threat by the Dark Goddess, even if it meant she temporarily had to break the rules. As we trained over these four months, it became increasingly clear that humans simply were not as innately powerful as divine beings and demons. As of right now, I am a middle D-Rank. Sasha and Keith are now low D-Ranks. However, Emily, Kurt, and Joe are starting to fall behind. Emily is a high E-Rank. Kurt and Joe are middle E-Ranks. Not a huge gap, but it’s starting to grow. It’s starting to frustrate them too.”

Joe drops to his knees and punches the ground after learning his rank.

“Damn it!” Joe shouts. “Are we humans really that limited!? More power!!”

Emily places a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. All it means is we need to train harder.”

“She’s right,” RAG says. “Humans can achieve great heights, even if it takes longer.”

“But we don’t have that kind of time!” Joe exclaims. “We saw what Korobu did! He would annihilate us in a second!”

“Joe, we need more power, but at the same time, we need to accept what we are,” Kurt says, trying to calm him.

“Saying that doesn’t make it easy!” Joe replies, still frustrated.

“We could always try and find the third of the eight altars,” Zeth suggests.

“Do you have a way to find one?” Joe asks.

Zeth looks down, disappointment etched across his face. “…No. Not without divine contact with my mother, but I can’t do that right now, and Zaydra is not here.”

***

In Heaven.

Harmona sits at her desk in her office and speaks with one of her generals.

“My Goddess, my angel soldiers investigated the city of Hashon and were surprised to see most of its residents gone,” Zentano says in a formal tone.

“Was it the work of the Dark Goddess?” Harmona asks.

“There was no trace of any of her influence.”

“This is bad. What could have happened? If only I was fully recovered, I could have seen what happened.”

“In any case, we will continue to investigate,” Zentano says before she bows and leaves.

***

Back to the heroes.

The group resumes their training when a woman approaches. It’s Udana.

“Udana?” Zeth says.

“Hello, Zeth,” Udana says. “After ten months, we are finally ready for you.”

Udana has returned to inform Zeth that they are ready. But ready for what?

Chapter 125 END

To be Continued in Chapter 126: The Enigmus Project