The echo of Ryu's voice barged through the martial world and took center stage. It wasn't that his voice was loud enough to travel so far, but rather that the disruption of Fate was so grand and all encompassing that those with true strength could hear it no matter how far away they were.
The concept was akin to a Sky God always knowing when their name was being mentioned except in reverse. But, in order to pull such a thing off, the weight of Ryu's name had to have an enormous amount of Faith backing it, such an enormous amount that no one in the martial world could ignore it…
And that he did.
The things that Ryu had accomplished on his own were simply ridiculous. But, the weight of the Tatsuya name would always outshine him and the legend of his talent weighed almost just as much. The reappearance of Ryu Tatsuya… Was something no one would ever forget.
…
"Tell the Martial Gods that the day I wipe them from existence is quickly approaching.
"I, Ryu Tatsuya, will never rest until the day the last of them is crushed beneath my feet!"
In a secluded region of the Shrine Plane, Elena looked up and into the skies. A wild vibration of Faith caught her attention, the words entering her ears just a moment later.
All around, the sound of battle and cries of war resounded. The Ancestral Beasts had not only descended onto the Armament Guild, but they had descended everywhere. In fact, a large bulk of their forces landed here, their eagerness to reclaim the Shrine World for themselves being at the absolute highest.
Elena, though, was indifferent to it all. One would have thought that it wasn't her family being attacked at all, but rather that she was watching a play being acted out before her. Despite being among the strongest the Martial Gods younger generation had to offer, she didn't move nor did anyone dare to command her to do so. The fear they had for that father of hers was far too great.
When she heard this voice, though, she sighed. She could feel all the internalized rage and fury in it, and the determination to do exactly as he said. The momentum behind it was already tens of times stronger than when she last met him, just how quickly was he improving?
If others could see Elena now, it would be hard to say how they would react. Something like sighing wasn't a matter she did normally and it definitely wasn't something others would be prepared for.
But, the stronger Ryu got, the more distant she seemed to feel she was from him.
Was it selfish? Elena was mature enough to admit that it was. She might be a woman, and many in the martial world seemed to think that that fit her into a particular box, but her will to protect Ryu was maybe even stronger than his will to protect her.
Her thoughts felt like they were all over the place, but Elena had had almost a billion years to think about it, a billion years to reflect on it. To others, they might be jumbled. But, to her, they were quite clear.
But maybe… Deep inside she had worries that didn't lose out to Ryu's own…
Elena's expression flickered. The battle outside had come to a halt after the martial world remembered her husband's name. Another woman might have been filled with pride. After all, that was her man. How many could make the world freeze with a single roar? But, for some reason, it just left her… agitated.
Elena rose to her feet and vanished.
When she reappeared, like a Goddess descended from above, her pink diamond hair fluttered and her dress clung to her curves as the wind danced about.
Across from her, a mighty bird flapped its wings. Its individual feathers were like intricately carved sapphire gems laced with golden veins. This Royal Roc had caused maybe the greatest devastation of any other creature in this general vicinity, reaping the lives of martial world geniuses one after another.
After snapping awake from its stupor, the Royal Roc's gaze met Elena's.
"You've finally decided to stop hiding in your little hole?"
"Didn't you hear?" Elena said plainly, her voice like a block of ice. "My husband has returned. Shouldn't I come out to greet him?"
The Royal Roc couldn't even react before an astonishing pressure crashed into its head. It had no idea when, but Elena had appeared above its head, a violent palm crashing downward and leaving a hand shaped dent in its scale-like feathers.
BANG!
The Royal Roc spiraled to the ground below, its skull rupturing and its life and death unknown
Elena's cold gaze swept through the battlefield, scanning through the Ancestral Beasts. It had been too long since she unleashed herself. And right now, she wanted to vent.
…
It soon became obvious that the re-emergence of Ryu wasn't the most shocking matter. But, what it represented was maybe even more important.
Many began to speculate about how these matters had occurred and how Ryu managed to survive for so long. But, it was then that many turned their attention toward the person who should have been the only surviving member of the Tatsuya… Primus.
Primus was an ancient character and his whereabouts were even further unknown. However, he had a name that shook the hearts who heard it. He was the first man to unite the Shrine World under his rulership and the first of Dragon Blood to subdue his kind under his banner….
The sudden attention he received led to an even more shocking realization, though. Primus was a member of the Mercenary Guild and was well known to be the only Sky God amongst their ranks who had not a single member within his faction. But, when he was checked today…
[Saintly Weapon Sky God Faction: 1].
[Ryu Tatsuya].
[Age – 22].
[Talent Designation – Common].
[Battle Prowess Designation – Incalculable].
[Status – Direct Descendant].
[Cultivation – Half-Step Path Extinction].