Reincarnated Hero System - Chapter 1164 - 1164: Misassumptions

The names were very much like him, but the key point was that within these titles, one could see hints of the Disasters the Demonic Hand had planned or the major events that would occur.

The ‘Headless Knights’ clearly referred to the Dullahans, the ‘Giant Lizards’ were the White Dragon Faldo and the Lizard Lord Bhak, ‘Wars’ meant the GEE-Wolfen War, ‘False gods’ referred to the Fallen Celestial Deities, and ‘Rifts in Space’ concerned the ‘Fall of the Desert Country,’ which he was now planning to prevent.

Evan had then mentioned Phase 5 of his plans—Sea Chronicles and Stone Festivals—a very clear indication that he already knew what was coming next and was preparing to deal with it.

“I’ve seen how this world ends,” Evan said to the silent Bianca, tapping his fingers on the table as he continued, “Or at least, how it would end if I hadn’t accepted the offer to be a Hero and spent the past few years running around the continent like a mad lad, trying to screw up the Demonic Hand’s plans, which aim to accelerate the break of the Dark Continent’s Dimensional Rift—the event that kicks off the Beginning of the End of Aidos.”

Raising his right hand, he snapped his fingers, releasing a pulse of magic as he activated his Hologram Creation skill, speaking while particles of light gathered to create a 3D image around them.

“Causality would normally bitch about this since it’s an altered timeline, but taking advantage of the fact that you’re a Hero, I’m a Singularity, and it’s already passed, I can show you this.”

The light particles condensed into a holographic image of a city engulfed in flames, buildings burning as people ran screaming, while giant bipedal lizards marched through the streets, killing anything that moved.

“What’s this supposed to be?” Bianca asked with a frown, just as a streak of light slammed into the centre of the ruined city, the dust and smoke clearing to reveal a 10-feet-tall bipedal Lizardman wielding a flaming spear.

“What Lacertilia would’ve looked like if I hadn’t entered the equation,” Evan replied, then pointed at the giant Lizard in the hologram—the cutscene from Aidos Online—and added,

“Both the Lizard Lord here and the White Dragon Faldo would have been Level 700 by the time the dungeon break was originally set to happen.

But because of my presence, things got sped up, and the Disaster was executed improperly, with both still being Grandmasters, which made it possible for me to defeat them with the help of my Companions and David.”

He dismissed the hologram and, raising his gaze, continued, “The Demonic Hand’s plan for Tarse would make this look cute.

They want Gozon to be able to create an Outpost, and this is where the misassumptions start.”

Evan pointed at Bianca’s forehead as he spoke. “When I say Outpost, your mind probably jumps straight to Felicia’s memories of the Dimensional Rift on the Dark Continent.

But that’s not what a ‘Gozonian Battlefront World Outpost’ actually looks like.”

Using Hologram Creation, Evan produced an image of the Outpost on the Rhigor Continent of Aramis, showing Bianca everything—from the immense security, to High-Ranking Demons filling the area, and finally the Dimensional Rift converted into a Gate at the centre of it all.

Seeing the massive mechanical apparatus that stabilised the rift and turned it into a functioning Dimensional Gate under near-perfect control, Bianca silently inclined her head before looking back at Evan and asking,

“‘Gozonian Battlefront World Outpost’. What’s this ‘Battlefront World’ talk?”

“It’s what Gozon calls Worlds they’re invading to conquer,” Evan replied.

“And how did you get this information? From the future?” Bianca asked, raising a brow, and Evan shook his head.

“From the past, actually.”

“Huh?”

Seeing her puzzled expression, Evan went on to explain.

“I want you to take everything you’ve heard about my whereabouts over the past 9 months and toss it in the trash. It was all a lie.

For the past 9 months, I haven’t been on this Planet. The truth about what happened in Kreah last December is that I was sent back in time, to a Prime World like ours, one that happened to be under invasion by Gozon.

Fighting in that war is one of the reasons my strength rose so much in such a short time.”

“One of?” Bianca echoed, and Evan smiled wryly.

“Yes. One of. I went through a lot more than just an interplanetary war.”

Before she could ask more, Evan cut her off and continued.

“But that’s not the main point. The thing is, I’ve seen what other Worlds look like when Gozon mounts a full-scale invasion, not the impromptu one like last time.

The Demonic Hand wants them to launch that proper invasion, and I don’t.”

Pointing at her, Evan said, “Your boyfriend, Sloth, is one of the existences who would help prevent that, and keep them from launching an invasion for as long as possible.

So if forcing him to get off his lazy ass by using you as leverage is necessary, then that’s what I’d do. Because, trust me when I say this…”

Evan paused, taking a deep breath and shaking his head.

“Our Predecessors had no idea just how dangerous Gozon can really be. They also had no idea about the true power of an Existence with a ‘Demon King’ title, and how it would be instant GAME OVER for Aidos the moment he shows up.”

After a moment of silence, Evan tapped the table, generating a hologram that displayed a diagram of Gozon’s hierarchy.

“Outside of this world, there are beings called Race Rulers.

Lords, Kings, and Emperors.

And I’m not talking about symbolic titles with no real relevance, like the Elven Emperor’s, the Beast King’s, or Dragon Lord Altrishia’s.

I mean titles that grant actual, tangible power, and also affect existences in other worlds, as long as they’re of the same race.”

Looking up from his diagram, he said,

“Ginaroad Sargon is a ‘King’. A ‘Demon King’. That title not only gives him the flat percentage power boost all ‘Kings’ get, but it also slightly increases his strength for every confirmed demon under his ‘Rule’.

Unlike 1000 years ago, when he wasn’t ‘worthy’ of a Race Ruler title, he now meets some of the requirements to harness its power. So, let’s do a little math.”

Evan’s holograms changed to images of two planets, one over 30 times larger than the other and with more satellites, both natural and artificial.

“Aidos is a world with a population in the billions, despite its relatively small size. And Gozon here,” he said, gesturing to the hologram of the larger planet,

“Is exactly 37.6 times larger than Aidos, and more than 70% of its population consists of Demons, which Ginaroad rules.

A single ‘demon’ under Ginaroad’s rule gives him a very tiny, almost unnoticeable boost in power. But when you consider how many demons dominate the planet’s 92 Continents…that power boost isn’t so ‘unnoticeable’ anymore.”

Of course, it wasn’t infinite, and there was a cap to the title’s power boosts, especially since Ginaroad still hadn’t reached the Existence Realm of a ‘King,’ but he was still significantly buffed.

“If an existence with that much power stepped into Aidos as it is now, the result would be the stuff of nightmares.”

Evan shivered, rubbing his shoulders as he spoke and dismissed the holograms, adding,

“So, Bianca, I don’t know about you, but I’m not gonna rely on ‘those guys’ who haven’t made a single attempt at communication in over 1000 years, and I’m going to build Aidos’ strength to keep Gozonian forces off it for as long as possible, and push them back when they eventually come.

And you need to join in on that. After all, this is your world. It’s where you and everyone you care about live.

You want to protect it, don’t you?”

It was a question Evan didn’t even need Bianca to answer. Clearly, she did.

“So, you’re going to have to be willing to do whatever it takes to protect it, even if it means using the same people you care about as tools.”

Rising to his feet, Evan smiled wryly and added, “We Heroes are tools for ‘Aidos’ to protect ‘herself’ anyway.”

As he turned and walked away, he glanced out the window and said,

“We’re near Dragondune borders, so we’ll be stopping soon. I’ll be counting on you to handle our passes inside.”

With that, Evan stepped out of the train car, leaving the Princess in silence.

◇　◇　◇

Entry into Dragondune was as strict as entering any other country, but Evan’s group didn’t face the usual border checks since Bianca merely showing her face was enough for the dragons on guard to let them through.

‘That’s a huge security fla—oh.’

Evan’s thought criticizing was cut off when he noticed several waves of magic sweeping over the train, proof that they still conducted scans even with Bianca on board.

Dragondune was located in one of Tarse’s Great Deserts to the southeast of the nation, the ‘White Sand Desert,’ and the source of the desert’s name was obvious.

The sand mixed with other colours toward the borders, but the closer to the centre of Dragondune, the whiter it became, until it looked no different from sand gathered from riverbeds or beaches.

At the centre of Dragondune was the cause, a highly mineralised lake that deposited white sediments along its shores.

Over time, evaporation and sedimentation concentrated the minerals, creating large stretches of white sand along the lake. Strong desert winds then blew the sand outward, forming dunes that spread far from the lake.

The lake was probably connected to an underground river that led to the ocean or something similar, though there was no confirmation since Dragondune kept the details of their largest oasis secret. It was also a source of some of their mineral exports, so it was naturally under very tight security.

Anyway, that was why the sand was consistently white across the desert, unlike other deserts in Tarse with mixed sand colours.

‘Speaking of other deserts, should I head to the ‘Wild Lands’ after this?’

The ‘Wild Lands’ Evan had in mind were the desert regions in the roughly west-central part of Tarse, vast stretches of barren land with barely any oases, natural or artificial, that could support cities or towns.

It was also where the final showdown of the ‘Tarse Defence Plan’ would take place, as it held the location where the Demonic Hand planned to open the Dimensional Rift.

‘Nah. The Fifth Finger’s there now, and Vaeri might be there too. Let’s not push it.’

Evan shelved the idea and focused back on the hallways around him as he and Bianca made their way toward the lake at the centre of Dragondune.

His companions stayed behind at Zaixson Station City, the first stop, while only Evan and Bianca continued on to Dragondune’s capital, Ostium, a massive fortress city built around the central lake.

Teleportation Waypoints, long in use by the dragons before Kasteblum made them popular, shortened their journey to just a few minutes, and soon Evan found himself staring at the glimmering lake in the centre of Dragondune.

The dragons on guard all bowed when they saw Bianca, though some lifted their heads to shoot him looks ranging from curiosity to outright dislike.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve never done anything to Dragondune. So why the hell are those fools glaring at me?” Evan asked, turning his gaze toward the group of Legendary Level Dragons guarding the lake.

Just as one of them opened its mouth to speak, he hit them with a blast of intimidation that literally forced them to their knees.

“What are you doing?!” Bianca snapped at him, and he turned to her, eyebrow raised, asking, “Why are you shouting at me? They’re the ones who started it.”

“Just ignore them,” she said, facepalming as she turned to the dragons, all of whom were now radiating hostility toward Evan.