Chapter 454: Vanguard of the Apocalypse (2)
After highlighting the side of light,
It was time to reveal the darkness.
A chill ran through the hall as the lights dimmed, And a certain girl stepped forth from one of the darkest corners.
The aura she exuded was unnatural,
So dark and foul that many present instinctively rose from their seats, preparing to fight,
Thinking an enemy had invaded the hall.
But Crown Prince Aegon Valerion raised his hand to calm them, Pointing instead toward his only sister ..
As Sir Alon refused to even look her way.
"No need to panic, my esteemed guests.
What you’re looking at now is one of the Empire’s strongest weapons in the coming war...
And my beloved sister .. Princess Sansa Valerion."
Wearing her Shadow Dress, With white hair, dark eyes, And a pair of ivory horns ..
Sansa, the demoness, stood before the world, Facing them all with her true, dark self.
And despite the oppressive aura surrounding her, Sansa remained unfazed,
Meeting their fearful gazes with a sweet, carefree smile.
"The truth is no longer a secret.
You all know of her demonic nature.
After the tragic experiments she was subjected to during her abduction,
She ended up like this.
But in exchange... she gained immense power.
The pressure you’re feeling now is but a fragment of that strength."
Sansa Valerion.
A full-fledged demoness who had reached SS+ rank ..
A monster among monsters.
Though Aegon introduced her as his sister,
The audience couldn’t help but stare at the black horns crowning her head.
No matter how they looked at her ..
This was no princess.
This was a demon.
"Sansa Valerion will fight at the vanguard,
Serving as a shield that protects the Empire from the Ultras’ invasion!"
Her survival up to this point,
And her participation in the war ..Had been Aegon’s plan from the very beginning.
Had it been up to Sir Alon, She would have been executed long ago.
But the prince had other plans for her.
And for that, Sansa smiled at him.
"Thank you for your kind words, dear brother."
She seemed sweet and gentle ..
But the sharpness in her aura, And the piercing gaze she directed at Aegon,
Told a far darker story.
Despite the pressure and the clear threat in her gaze, Aegon only gave a light chuckle, asserting his dominance.
For his sister .. the girl who not long ago had been his direct rival for the throne ..
Was now entirely under his control.
She was nothing more than a weapon in his hands, A sword he could wield however he pleased.
It was a complete victory for the prince.
And with Sansa’s inclusion, the shape of the special unit became clear.
But that wasn’t the end.
Just as the Empire had its shields,
It needed another sword.
A sword to stand alongside Snow Lionheart.
Another young man, like Raphael Bloodmader, whose past crimes had stained his hands, And though he too was forced to participate, It was exactly what he desired.
With a motion of his hand, Sir Alon addressed a matter the Empire had neglected for some time.
"Thanks to the efforts of Lady Ada Starlight, We recently uncovered a critical truth."
Sir Alon casually displayed footage of the Empire’s eastern borders ..
The ones bordering the Nightmare Lands.
Those borders had been eerily quiet for some time, Raising questions among the strategists.
But the information Ada Starlight brought back revealed the truth of what had been happening.
"It seems the Ultras are attempting to turn the Nightmare Creatures into part of their forces."
At this announcement, Most faces in the hall darkened.
It wasn’t unusual for the Ultras to use Nightmare Creatures in battle .
It had happened before.
But this time, it was different.
The sudden disappearance of nearly all Nightmare Creatures from the region at once , Meant this was no ordinary raid.
If the Ultras succeeded in fully controlling the Nightmare Creatures, It would mean they could unleash the Nightmare Lords themselves in the upcoming war.
Though it was only a fear without confirmation, The possibility was far from zero.
Sir Alon used this revelation to announce the final member of the special unit.
"The final warrior of this squad is a young man of the new generation.
Despite his youth, He has already made a name for himself ..
A name that strikes fear into the hearts of the Ultras more than any other."
"The young man they call the Black Reaper ... The one who single-handedly killed a thousand Ultras, And fought one of their Lords one-on-one."
"The one who held the eastern Nightmare Lands by himself, And slaughtered most of the Nightmare Creatures alone..."
Sir Alon continued recounting his feats,
And many in the hall had already guessed his identity.
"The sole wielder of the twin blazing swords... Frey Starlight!"
Finally, it was time for the world to witness him again.
Many in the hall were curious about him.
Even his friends were no exception—
Frey had vanished since the death of his friend Danzo months ago.
It was said that he had gone into seclusion to train, And no one knew what the young man . who had achieved so many feats .. had become since then.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say
He was now the most feared figure among the Ultras, After all the horrors he had unleashed in their lands.
The one who fought armies ..
Fought the Empyreans ..
Fought the Lords ..
And fought the Hollows...
He had done it all . And lived to tell the tale.
Even Sir Alon himself was curious about him.
’Frey Starlight has rejected all my summons until now...
Which makes him the only one I know so little about.’
There were many unknowns surrounding this young man, And Sir Alon wanted to unravel them at last.
This would be their first direct meeting.
And without warning...
He finally arrived.
But before they even saw his face ..
The entire hall froze, And even the strongest warriors darkened their expressions.
From out of nowhere, An overwhelming pressure crushed them all, Forcing many to the verge of their knees.
The entire hall trembled without warning,
And even Sir Alon himself couldn’t immediately grasp what was happening.
He had expected much from the young man called Frey Starlight.
But this...
This far exceeded his wildest expectations.
How could it not, When the aura pressing down on him now ..
Surpassed his own by far.
Holding his ground, Sir Alon cursed under his breath as his body lit up with radiant aura.
’I’m at the peak of SS+ Rank, damn it...
If his aura exceeds mine, then this can only mean one thing...’
Sir Alon’s expression darkened even further as the realization struck him.
Beside him, Aegon Valerion ..
For the first time since the summit began ..
Dropped his trademark smile, Replacing it with a cold, unflinching scowl.
Frey Starlight...
If even Sir Alon couldn’t measure his strength, Then it could only mean one thing.
Many thought the same,
Though few dared to believe it.
"The mythical rank spoken of only in ancient legends...
A power most thought was nothing but a fable..."
It had returned.
From within the portal, He took his first steps into their world.
Long white hair.
Black armor.
Sharp features that reflected an uncommon maturity.
A body overflowing with so much power that it rendered the room speechless.
This was Frey Starlight.
The man who shook the hall with an aura that reached the mythical SSS Rank ..
A power many believed was nothing more than a fairy tale.
And after a few moments of suffocating silence, With all eyes fixed solely on him ..
Frey Starlight finally withdrew his aura and spoke calmly:
"Forgive me, esteemed gentlemen... I’ve spent too much time in the Nightmare Lands, and I seem to have forgotten how to live among humans."
In the Nightmare Lands, Frey had kept his aura fully unleashed at all times, To assert his dominance over that cursed land.
And now, upon his return ..
He often forgot to restrain himself.
Especially now, After he had fully mastered the third stage of Shadow Adaptation,
Granting him complete control over his aura.
Because of this, Many mistook his aura for something far beyond their understanding .. Something otherworldly.
But that didn’t change one undeniable truth:
The Frey Starlight standing before them now...
Was one of the strongest warriors on the entire planet called Earth.