Chapter 499 King Homely (1)

[Emissary of Death] wasn't a skill that should exist. Well, at least that's what Astaroth said as soon as the prompt popped up. According to him, the Precursors had a set of rules called Primiosis Laws.

One of the most significant laws was never to resurrect oneself or others, and the Precursors had ensured none of the skills related to resurrection ever saw the day of light. That's why it was most surprising when Ashton received a reality-shattering ability like [Emissary of Death].

However, Ashton had a rough idea of how and why he got the ability. His father was a Precursor who had seen his future and helped him seal the ill effects of Grim Reaper's scythe.

Although it was only a theory, his father might have imparted the skill to him while they were saying their final goodbyes to each other. It had to be that because Ashton had no other reason to why he would receive such a skill.

That said, he couldn't explain his theory to Astaroth because that would mean Ashton would have to tell the resident consciousness about his father. Something his father had instructed him not to do before departing to the afterlife.

[Oi! Can't you hear me?]

'Don't think I have a reason to,' Ashton smugly replied, 'It's just another skill that I'll never use, so why does it matter?'

[I respect you being drunk on overconfidence, but this matter isn't about you! Don't you see? If information about this ability gets out, the Xyrans will stop at nothing before they get their hands on you!]

Astaroth's words snapped Ashton back into reality. While what Astaroth said was true, he might never use the skill. But if he did, all hell would break loose.

Since Xyrans monitor most of the species in the galaxy, they could find out about [Emissary of Death]. If that were to happen, things would get ugly real soon.

Despite getting stronger since his fight with Beelzebub, Ashton wasn't delusional in thinking he could win against them by himself.

It was also one of the reasons why Ashton wanted Astaroth to have his own body now. After all, stopping two of them would've been difficult, even for the Xyrans.

'Now's not the time to think about wars ahead of me.' Ashton thought to himself.

[You're spacing out again!]

'I was wondering about the undead.'

[What about them?]

'How to torture them, that's what.'

[Hm... I suppose that'll be challenging. How is one supposed to torture creatures that don't register pain.]

'That aside, it's time to visit your brother.]

Brother... it had been a while since the word lost its meaning for Astaroth. Sure, Seraph raised them as such, but the betrayal from Astaroth's side had destroyed their relationship for good.

That said, even Astaroth couldn't repudiate that gluttonous bastard's value on a battlefield. Since Ashton was deadset on waging war against Nirvana, there couldn't have been a better soldier than Beelzebub by his side.

However, the meeting between them would have to wait. Now that the restrictions were lifted, Ashton wanted to gather more souls to create summons.

It would help him in the upcoming battle, and spare souls could be consumed in the unfortunate event when [Emissary of Death] had to be used. Thankfully, Contingency had no shortage of souls for Ashton to gather.

"Time to make yourself useful, Bismark."

***

Three days later, everyone was back in Livan. The city was in the middle of a joyous celebration. After all, it wasn't every day the living vanquished the undead.

Delegates from kingdoms close and far were also in attendance, and so were Anna's parents. It was the first time Ashton was about to meet them, and nothing could have made him nervous more than the possibility of them rejecting him.

"I'd rather fight the Xyrans without a weapon than go through this," Ashton mumbled while fixing his attire.

[Don't be a pussy now. How bad can it be? Either way, you should have thought about it before messing around with their daughter.]

"Sure, take advice about relationships from a virgin," Ashton scoffed, "I might be nervous, but my days aren't bad enough to take dating advice from you."

[You... I have had enough! Just wait! I don't care about anything else, but the moment I get a body, I'll get rid of this virgin tag once and for all!]

"Good luck getting laid with all that desperation oozing out of your body."

Ashton had to cut their bickering short. It wasn't wise for him to keep the others waiting since he was the star of the party. But before he could leave, someone else entered his chambers.

"Gosh, and people say girls take time to get ready," Anna said playfully.

Ashton took one look at her, and his jaw hit the floor. Anna had always looked beautiful, but she had pulled all the stops off this time.

Her usually tied hair was straight, her fiery red eyes were as beautiful as ever, and her figure was like a perfect hourglass. When she stopped before him, she was like a magazine cut-out dropped onto a celebrity sidewalk.

Her black dress left her shoulders uncovered. Instead, it was supported around her neck and flowed into a graceful cowl neckline. It was a tight fit which gave the dress a classy and polished look. Even Eula would have a tough time matching Anna's beauty.

"Stop staring, will ya?" Anna sheepishly mumbled while tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"As you wish, madame." Ashton replied before offering her a hand, "Shall we?"

"Of course!"

The two of them entered the community hall, hand in hand. There wasn't a single head that hadn't turned the moment their presence was felt. Was it due to Ashotn's extraordinary feats? He doubted it. But he was wrong.

After everything he had achieved, Ashton was a man everyone would want to be close with, and their behaviour made it abundant. While greeting everyone, the duo came across an elderly couple.

"Ashton, I would like you to meet my parents." Anna eagerly introduced them, and Ashton offered his hand to her father. However, it seemed like the latter had little interest in entertaining him.

"SO this is the lad who stole my girl," The man's crimson eyes glared through Ashton's soul, "Let's see if you're as good as everyone says you are, shall we?"