Ishmavael Military Camp, Renacido. At this military camp, there was a training field where the young recruits used to spar against each other. The field was currently in use but not by any of the soldiers.

*Bam!*

An explosion erupted at the field causing large dust clouds to form. Two silhouettes were seen fighting in these clouds. One was using a sword while the other was unarmed. The unarmed silhouette blocked the sword with their arm causing a clang. They flew out of the smoke and their opponent followed behind them. Hina increased her speed and slashed Natasa across her torso. No blood was seen, not even a cut on her skin.

“?!”

Hina twisted her body to avoid a punch. The force behind that punch forced her back despite not hitting her. Natasa chased after her condensing her strength in her fists. She threw a punch and an invisible force rushed towards Hina.

“Hah~.”

Hina took a deep breath and lifted her sword overhead. With a low shout, she swung down her sword and cut the force. Natasa was blown back with an impression on her torso.

“That’s enough.”

Miko stepped in.

“Natasa, your basic defenses have greatly improved. You don’t need to enter your monster form to stop Hina’s basic sword attacks anymore. As for Hina, your sword skills have improved once again. Good work.”

He clasped his hands together.

“You two can rest for now.”

“I can keep going.”

“Then would you like to fight Luka?”

Miko pointed at Luka who was watching from the stands. Natasa frowned and shook her head. She sat on the ground to catch her breath.

“She fought Luka once and doesn’t want to do it again.”

“It’s because Luka’s pretty intense when fighting strong people. She got too serious and their spar turned into a real fight. Miko broke Natasa’s arms when he stopped the fight.”

“So she’s afraid of Miko doing it again huh?”

“Ace, Sora couldn’t you two phrase that better? You know that was an accident.”

Miko frowned at the boys who shrugged in return.

“And here I thought it’s because she punched you in the face when you were separating them?”

Miko glared at Sora and headed to the stands. There Layla, Luka, and his siblings were seated. He stopped at his siblings.

“Are you two okay? Do you wanna go spar?”

“I’m not in the mood.”

Kristen answered in monotone.

“Ah, I don’t feel so well. Maybe next time.”

Tessa was obviously flustered. Miko sighed.

“The time to meet our parents will be sooner than you think.”

He walked away without sparing them another glance. Kristen clenched his teeth and stood up.

“Ace, Sora! Can you please spar with us?!”

Ace and Sora looked up at him for a bit before smiling.

“Sure, why not?”

Kristen nodded.

“Come on, Tessa. We’re gonna get stronger. Stronger than ever.”

Tessa looked back at Miko who was still heading towards Layla and Luka. He lifted his right hand and showed her a thumbs up. Her face lit up and she stood up. She and Kristen went down to the field while Miko sat between Luka and Layla.

“You siblings have a great relationship.”

Miko crossed his legs and leaned on Luka a bit.

“Of course, we do. We share the same blood.”

Layla laughed a bit.

“I was just talking with Luka here. It looks like the Flameheart Clan is a bit uneasy regarding your recent actions.”

“They don’t want to make an enemy out of the one who saved my mother.”

“Well, they have all right to be. My mother and grandparents were hurt by their founder and his son. If I truly wished to rebel they would be the first I go after.”

Miko laughed.

“This isn’t a joke. The reason I’m here is to assure them that you don’t have such plans.”

“They’re free to think what they want. I’m just waiting for the surrounding countries to make their stance clear.”

“You still haven’t told us what you’re planning to do.”

“That’s because it’s a surprise.”

He showed a sinister grin.

“Anyway, I received word that there’s someone who wishes to meet you.”

“Who?”

“Barren Wagner.”

“The weapons dealer?”

Miko looked at Luka.

“You know him?”

“I heard my grandfather and the elders mention him a few times. Apparently, he sells weapons to rebel armies across the world.”

“Rebels? So he’s here to help me out?”

“Not necessarily. He works with the head of states of large nations too. Rebels are his main customers because he’s popular among them. He allows them to borrow his goods after signing a blood contract promising to pay him back if victorious. He even lends money to developing countries that are in need. He helped a large number of countries and military groups over the last decade.”

Layla explained.

“Oh? He must be rich. The interest rate must be quite something too.”

“Actually, I heard that it’s not too much above average. This is why he has such a good reputation.”

“….He sounds suspiciously kindhearted for a weapons dealer.”

“He declared that he’s a gambling man. He loves to bet on the underdog because their success stories are the ones that truly sells.”

“What do you mean?”

“One of the conditions for receiving his aid is letting him record your story. He has a company that sells documentaries of rebellions and small nations rising to power to the public. Of course, the documentaries won’t involve important secrets.”

“I see. Everyone loves a good story and real-life war stories about underdogs should sell, whether the underdog wins or loses.”

Layla nodded.

“He makes a lot of money from those.”

“So he’s a weapon dealer, a loan agent, and a movie producer. Sounds like quite the businessman, shady, but a businessman still.”

Miko straightened up.

“So let me guess, he’s here to document my rise and/or fall?”

“I think it’s safe to assume so.”

Miko grinned.

“Then, let’s go meet this shady businessman.”

Hall Of Rebirth, Nebulous City. Miko arrived at the building with his two successors, Layla and Natasa.

“Don.”

Oden and the rest of Renacido’s Guardians appeared and walked along with the three of them.

“What do you guys think about our guest?”

“I don’t like him.”

“You don’t like most humans, Aiden.”

Arlan shot him down.

“The guest was calm despite being in a place that could erupt into a battlefield any second now.”

“He got balls, I’ll give him that. He was surrounded by 6 Divine Beasts but didn’t seem troubled at all.”

Miko looked at Oden.

“Is he strong?”

“I don’t know.”

“It seems like he’s using some sort of device or artifact to completely suppress his aura and presence.”

Barak added.

“To be honest, we don’t even know his race. We’re only assuming that he’s human by appearance.”

Kris added.

“Not even by scent?”

They shook their heads.

“Oh, for him to fool Divine Beasts like yourself he must be quite the guy.”

They headed to one of the many offices made to entertain guests. They entered the office with Miko in the lead. He noticed a man sitting on the guest couch playing with a phone. With curly white hair resembling clouds, he wore a black and white 3 piece suit with two rings on both hands.

“Well, hello there Renacido’s Don King.”

He looked up at Miko.

“My name is Barren Wagner.”

(Ocean blue eyes without a speck of impurity.)

Miko found himself drawn to Barren’s eyes before anything else. Barren stood up and stretch his hand out. Miko looked at the hand a bit before shaking it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hahaha. You can be honest with me. My sudden request for a meeting is a nuance for you.”

“If we’re being honest, you are a nuance.”

Barren laughed as the two released each other’s hand.

“Well, Mr.Wagner. Take a seat so that we can hear why you’ve come here.”

Miko sat around his desk and Barren at the couch. Layla, Natasa, and the guardians spread out across the room as if to entrap Barren. Even so, Barren was all smiles.

“Since it seems that you’re short on time, I’ll get to the point. Don King of Renacido, would you like to form a partnership with my company?”

(I thought so.)

Miko opened his mouth but Barren spoke again before him.

“That’s what you thought I would say right?”

A frown appeared on Miko’s face.

“I’m indeed known to support rebellions and small countries because of my love of the underdog trope, however, I’m not here to satisfy my love for entertainment. Well, not like how I normally would.”

A broad smile appeared on his face.

“After all, there’s no underdog story here to follow because there will be no rebellion or uprising.”

Miko showed no reaction and his people followed suit.

“What makes you say that?”

“Instinct, I guess? Or you could call it a businessman intuition.”

Miko looked at him for a bit and sighed.

“Then what is the purpose of your visit?”

“It’s embarrassing but it’s nothing big like you’d think. I just wanted to meet you.”

“Meet me? For what reason?”

“I wanted to see you with my own eyes, the future pillar of the Dragna Empire. I think it’s worth traveling across the globe just to see such a person.”

“….I don’t get it.”

“You see, I’m a fan of entertainment and as a fan, I tend to look for the upcoming stars who can be the next big thing and you, Don King, is at the top of the list. I mean, your actions have caused quite a stir in the world. You’ve made the Dragna Empire a grand stage with you as the star. I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to meet you.”

“In other words, you’re a fan.”

Barren nodded.

“Then, if meeting me was all you wanted to do you’ve achieved your goal.”

“I certainly have.”

Barren stood up and walked over to shake Miko’s hand again.

“Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet me.”

Miko once again inspected his hand before shaking it. Barren smiling face was a complete contrast to Miko’s frowning one.

“I know you think this is a big waste of time but I assure you….”

Barren’s smile turned into a smirk.

“It’s anything but that, Miko.”

Miko’s expression didn’t change as he lifted his hand. The claws at Barren’s neck slowly retreated and the guardians returned to their original positions. Layla slowly put away a gun she was pointing at Barren while Natasa’s arm reverted to a human's.

(Huh? Was I trying to protect him just now?)

Confusion was plastered over her face. Barren shrugged and walked towards the door.

“I’ll be going now.”

He opened the door and glanced at Miko.

“I look forward to our next meeting, Don King.”

“If I’m being honest, so do I.”

Barren nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.

“Don, do you want me to dispose of him?”

“No, Oden. He’s a mystery so killing him could result in unnecessary trouble.”

“Miko, did you notice? He referred to you as Don King most of the time and only as Miko once. But that one time he seemed hostile. I think he might have a grudge against you for some reason.”

“He wouldn’t be the first.”

“For now, I’ll have our people watch him until he leaves the empire. I want to send some people to follow him and see where he goes after he leaves but I think that will lead to casualties and I want to avoid that.”

A knock echoed in the room.

“Come in.”

With Miko’s permission, a secretary entered the room.

“Excuse me, Don. We’ve just received the final response from the neighboring countries regarding the peace treaty.”

“Did you get the reports from our people in those countries?”

“Yes, Don.”

“I see, bring them here I’ll go through them.”

“At once.”

The secretary left the room with haste.

“Now then…”

Miko stood up from his table and walked to the center of the room.

“Ishma, Regis.”

The gloves on his hands turned into light and took human forms beside him. Ishma and Regis yawned.

“How long have we’ve been out?”

Regis asked with a sleepy tone.

“Around a month. Did you two manage to store up enough power?”

“Of course. This is the strongest I’ve ever been since I was sealed.”

Ishma showed off her biceps. Miko nodded.

“That’s good because it’s time to send the world a message.”

“!”

The atmosphere around them changed. The sleepiness vanished and was replaced by a stifling ferocity. Miko faced everyone else and looked them in the eyes one by one. Their bodies flinched at the sight of his beastly eyes. A savage grin crawled onto his, Regis, and Ishma’s faces. Whether it was an illusion or they were actually there, Layla and the others didn’t know, but they saw a dragon, a demon, and a devil appear in front of them. They only disappeared after Miko spoke.

“It’s time to get to work.”