Every bloodline present on Ardoros had a drawback that maintained balance among the power struggles of the four major families.
Devereaux gave limitless growth but restricted self-bloodline killing; Tenebri provided awakened skills but suffered from a curse slowly killing the entire bloodline.
The Riantain bloodline provided complete control over the body with the drawback of the mind isolating over time, eventually detaching from the outside world due to reaching the perfection of the human race.
And then there was the God’s Bloodline.
This bloodline possessed all the abilities of the other three without their drawbacks, not bound by self-bloodline killing, curses, or numbing of the mind—a perfect bloodline.
However, despite its perfection, the restrictions placed on the Abernathy Bloodline were strong enough to bring them to the level of others, or even lower, considering their history of decline from the second position.
This drawback caused their late awakening, tainted their entire lineage, and left a mark of humiliation around the world, but not enough to allow anyone to look down upon them.
After all, those who are weak are meant to be bullied, not those who hold enough strength to silence others merely by their presence.
And to once again prove its strength in the face of the world, five years ago witnessed the rise of a new prodigy born into the history of the Abernathy Family, awakening his bloodline at just eleven years old.
Something unprecedented occurred, sparking the beginning of a golden era for the Abernathy family, which had languished in fourth position for many years.
This was heralded by the rise of Edward Abernathy, the son of the current head’s fifth mistress.
Edward achieved Peak EPIC rank at just 12 years of age, a feat unheard of before, and ascended to Imperfect Middle LEGENDARY Rank within five years of that, through the various advantages provided by Abernathy family.
With now being the youngest human individual on Ardoros to achieve such strength at just the age of 17.
In the stretched expanse of the vast sky filled with a serene atmosphere, a sharp sound tore through miles of distance, filling the entire space.
ZZHHHHHZZZZ
The sound’s intensity increased as three humongous metallic architectures became visible in the vast sky, completely different from normal ships.
They were glimmering in white with golden lines, appearing majestic and divine, fitting of battleships belonging to the Abernathy family.
Among all three of them, the one leading in the middle was more advanced, with several white cannons prevailing from the bottom of the architecture, navigating above the 40,000 feet in the sky.
Inside the control room of the ship, the situation was completely tense; the air was heavy with slight sounds of breathing, which were also controlled, with the only vivid thing being the heartbeat.
“So, Ryuk Devereaux has woken up from his sleep,” sitting on a chair, a man with blonde hair and emerald eyes was observing the paper documents in his hand with a cold gaze.
Eyes that were reading the information slightly glanced at his right hand, which was completely metallic unlike his real body, proof of it being prosthetic.
“He is not even alone there?” Edward stated while reading the data, his eyes remaining calmer than the individuals inside the control room had anticipated, standing at their respective positions with Savants busy in ship handling.
Edward’s eyes were fixed on the information written as such:
Name: Ryuk Devereaux
Ranks: Energy – Early Ascendancy, Strength – Peak Epic
Present Support: 188 Elite Legendary Ranked Veterans.
Threats:
– Regina Devereaux (Peak Legendary Rank), Disciple of Sword Valley
– Drishti Devereaux (Peak Ascendancy Rank)***
Looking at the information that can be gathered, Edward narrowed his eyes slightly, furrowing his face as he inquired, “Why are there asterisks with Drishti Devereaux’s name?”
“Son, that’s because her levels are not exactly known,” came forth a middle-aged man with the same blonde hair and emerald eyes, informing the young man seated on the chair.
“What the hell? But isn’t it mentioned in the library about her?” Edward probed, asking about the information mentioned in the books available within the Abernathy family’s library, which carried details of each stronger individual’s with their name, above EPIC Rank.
“The things mentioned in the library are what the world knows,” the man explained as he moved towards the window, keeping an eye on the outside. Upon reaching, he folded his hands behind his back and continued, “Drishti Devereaux is a mystery to us.”
“The fuck….Just sacrifice some of the people and test her limits,” with his eyes closed and a slight bulge of nerves on his head, Edward stated, clenching his fist, feeling frustrated due to all these hurdles in his path.
“Edward, do you know the reason for the Abernathy family to fall to the 4th position?” The man gazed at his son, who looked back at him with a cold gaze, showing his dissatisfaction but still nodded.
SWOOSH
“Isn’t it because these insects were useless?” Slowly standing from his chair with clear anger surging within him, causing a heat haze to form around his body, making all the others shiver even with their Epic ranks.
“….” Hearing Edward’s words, which were very common, as he always looked down on his own brothers, the man, instead of clarifying things, just continued, “The previous head of the Abernathy family had proposed to marry Drishti 500 years ago when she was just an unknown Devereaux refugee who arrived out of nowhere.”
“Why a Devereaux?” Ignoring all the facts, the first question that came to Edward’s mind was why choose someone from that bloodline, which is considered arch enemies of Abernathy.
Yes, from an early age, all the books that Edward held had always mentioned the rivalry of Abernathies with them.
“Ahem, you never saw her, do you?” The man coughed, ignoring the thought crossing his mind about the well-known rumors, and added, “Also she was unknown and weak at that time.”
The man informed about the event 500 years ago, where an unknown woman of 28 years was sent to the Devereaux family by the hands of Tenebries, who claimed to have found the woman in some barren place.
Naturally, due to this being the first-time interaction between two major families, everyone kept an eye on this matter, and this is where the previous head decided to marry that woman out of curiosity.
“And?” Edward again inquired with a rude tone, feeling irritated.
“Did you know the previous head of the Abernathy family was at the middle level PARAMOUNT?” The man inquired.
‘?!!’
“…That’s…” Edward’s eyes were wide, already understanding the gap in strength being too high, making him not blink even while processing the things the man just informed.
“Not only that do you know how he died?” Man again enquired.
“H-He died?!” Edward knew that many previous heads of the families chose to retire and live hidden lives outside the Ardoros, just as he suspected the previous head had done.
“Remember, Edward, the strongest people are not those who display strength in front of us, but those who conquer battles unknown to us,” the man said, glancing at his son, whose expression betrayed his dissatisfaction and mounting temper.
“Damn it, not this philosophy again,” Edward finally snapped.
He should have remained in training if it hadn’t been for the news about Ryuk Devereaux being inside the Titanora.
His life was perfect.
He made a living by selling paintings at auctions, manipulating some of the adults into giving him sums of money, all while dreaming of one day becoming the king of that nation.
But then…
Out of nowhere, the prince of that kingdom kidnapped him and cut off his hand.
Somehow, he survived, his luck once again proving its presence and propelling him onto a much larger stage than that of a mere prince.
Coupled with the resurfacing memories of his past life and the goal he was assigned, he chose to laze around and indulge in the beauties of this world, engaging in carnal desires and the ecstasy of ravaging beauties daily.
Everything would have been perfect.
Until, he awakened his cursed Bloodline.
Every dream he had shattered, fallen into pieces.
And all of this happened because of that prince who disrupted the peace of his calm life, leaving him with scars that still reminds him of his situation.
All because of that prince, who turned out to be none other than Ryuk Devereaux, who had been in a coma for five years.
Being in Ardoros, there wasn’t a single chance for him to kill that guy.
But now, he would ensure to shred that guy into pieces until he begged for death, inevitably receiving it, with only a false hope of relief.
“Increase the speed of the ships. I want to kill that bastard now!!,” Edward stated bluntly, disregarding the formalities of acting composed, setting aside the focused demeanor cultivated through intense training.
“Edward, don’t be hasty—?!” His father tried to warn him, but was cut off by a sharp sound accompanied by a shockwave, causing a significant shake inside the ship.
BOOOOM!
ZWWOOOO—THUD
