Chapter 502: Heading Out

Ten minutes had passed since Ethan returned to his chambers, after the conversation with Nathan.

He had a few translucent system screens floating before him.

The first displayed the result of the advancement he had just completed.

[Congratulations!]

[Your Summoner Level has increased.]

[Summoner Level: 26 → 27]

[Experience Points Balance: 125,000xp]

[Experience Points Required for Next Advancement: 875,000xp]

[Congratulations! You have gained a new Summon!]

[Summon Class: Beast]

The other screen floating beside it revealed this set of information;

[Special Reward Acquired.]

[Sigil of the Spirit King — Capacity Expansion]

[The maximum number of individuals who may bear the Sigil of the Spirit King has increased by 1.]

[Sigil of the Spirit King: 2/2 → 2/3]

Under normal circumstances, Ethan would have spent more time considering both rewards. But his attention wasn’t even on them.

The system screens remained suspended before him, but his eyes had stopped truly reading them.

Ever since returning to his chambers, the earlier conversation still weighed heavily on his mind.

A certain question, however, took the most deliberation in his thoughts.

Why had everything become so natural?

He possessed Ethan Stark’s memories, that much had always been obvious.

He remembered Ethan’s childhood, his experiences, the people he’d grown up around and the life he’d lived before the soul of Allen entered his body.

But he didn’t just have the memories; he also bore all these feelings that came with it.

His friends felt like his friends. Stark Industries felt like his responsibility.

Nathan felt like his father. And Irene...

Ethan’s expression tightened slightly.

He was preparing to walk directly into the domain of monstrosities to save her

Not because he believed it was something Ethan Stark would have done. It also wasn’t because he felt obligated to preserve the relationships belonging to the body he’d inherited.

He truly wanted his mother back.

The desperation he felt whenever he thought about what Irene was enduring was real.

At some point, there had stopped being a distinction between the emotions contained within Ethan Stark’s memories and the emotions he considered his own.

Even his name barely felt borrowed anymore.

So where exactly did Allen end and Ethan begin?

Nathan’s words had forced him to acknowledge something he’d rarely stopped to consider.

He had spent a long time being Ethan that sometimes he genuinely forgot he’d ever been anyone else.

Were Allen and Ethan still two different people?

Or had the boundary between them gradually become so blurred that they had become the same person?

"Babe?"

The voice pulled him from his thoughts.

Ethan looked toward the entrance to see Isabella stepping into the chamber, with Hayley walking beside her.

Kimora was with them as well, her small hand held securely in Hayley’s right hand.

"We’re ready," Isabella said.

Ethan dismissed the system screens with a thought and nodded. "Alright."

"Be safe, Brother Ethan."

Ethan paused and turned his attention to Kimora.

There was a sadness on her face that she wasn’t doing a particularly good job of hiding.

Ethan’s expression softened. He walked over and lowered himself onto one knee in front of her, bringing himself closer to her height.

"We’ll be back soon," he assured, gently patting her head.

Kimora gave him a nod, although the worry didn’t entirely leave her expression.

Ethan smiled at her before rising to his feet.

When he looked up, both Isabella and Hayley were smiling at him.

He acknowledged them with a smile as well, before heading toward the entrance. Isabella and Hayley followed beside him, with Kimora still holding Hayley’s hand as they made their way out.

—

While team made their way out of the palace, Pan followed behind his two students, Bernadette and Valerie.

"Good luck, both of you," Pan said.

Bernadette and Valerie turned toward their teacher and gave him a nod.

Pan watched them for another moment before stepping aside, allowing the two women to continue after the others.

He might not have been willing to follow them into the Dragon Continent, but Irene was his friend.

And whatever reservations he had about confronting dragons, he genuinely hoped that when his students and the others returned, they would be bringing her back with them.

It seemed as though the Demon Queen had decided to make something of an entrance herself.

Morgana emerged from the palace shortly after them, dressed in dark green armor that covered much of her body. A pair of horns protruded from the sides of her head, curving outward.

As a half-demon and half-human, the Queen possessed complete control over her hybrid form, allowing her to manifest or conceal her demonic characteristics whenever she pleased.

More importantly, Morgana’s hybrid nature was much like Ethan’s and Eduardo’s.

She was both a complete demon and a complete human rather than an imperfect mixture of the two races.

Because of this, she did not suffer from the deficiencies in magical power and physical strength that plagued more than ninety-nine percent of the world’s hybrid population.

However, Morgana wasn’t alone. Another figure stepped out of the palace behind her.

Eorlagar, One of the Ten Demon Lords.

The moment Ethan and Nathan noticed him, their expressions hardened.

Neither said anything, but Morgana seemed to notice their reactions despite never looking in their direction.

"A majority of your team is weak," she said casually as she continued walking. "Eorlagar will even out that difference."

Eorlagar offered no comment of his own.

Morgana continued ahead until she had placed some distance between herself and the others.

Then she stopped and extended her right hand forward.

A pair of lips suddenly formed in the center of her palm.

From the mouth emerged something grotesque—a hand composed of black, malformed flesh. It pushed its way outward from Morgana’s palm.

This hand belonged to one of the countless beings Morgana had consumed through her Devouring Magic.

One that had possessed Portal Magic.

The black hand cast the spell as a green magic circle materialized before its palm.

Then a large green portal opened up.

The path into the Dragon Emperor’s palace was ready.

-

The moment the portal opened, Isabella’s shadow spread outward from under her feet, darkness rapidly covering the ground beneath the rest of the team.

One after another, they all sank into it.

Isabella entered last. She sank into her own shadow, her physical form disappearing as the darkness flowed toward Morgana and merged with her shadow.

This was all part of their plan.