The guardsmen were alarmed at seeing John hovering over his city as he inspected it before landing. Spiz, with a group of his men, came running towards him as he landed.

“John! You’re alive!” exclaimed Spiz

“Of course I am,” John grinned. “How were things in my absence?”

“Peaceful.” There was something odd about Spiz’s reaction, but John couldn’t quite put his finger to it.

“How are my family?”

“They’re fine,” said Spiz. “That’s right! You’ve hardly seen your son. Your wife built a new house. It’s much bigger. Let me take you there.”

It was now winter on Fi. There were guardsmen everywhere, walking the roads. “How are we handling the monsters?”

“They’re no threat, but they have been getting bolder.”

“It’s time to finish this once and for all. I’ll kill the demon hegemon tomorrow.” He was ready for the demon. He doubted that there was anything in the galaxy that was now a threat to him. He had tested his powers on his return trip, whenever Sevens had to ‘breathe,’ and had been awestruck by his own power.

John saw a familiar face while they were walking.

“Ara?” he called out.

“John!” Ara shouted, and came running towards him. “We knew you were still alive.”

John laughed, “It’s good to see you Ara, but what are you doing here? Weren’t you working for the Conglomerate?”

“They let us off our contracts a little early as a bonus, thanks to our ‘dedicated service.’ We decided to come here and help you out,” she replied. “Lady Aystrana hired us as the heads of her personal guards.”

“Are you happy with the position? I can give you something better.”

“No, we love the job. It’s so much more relaxed than our last one.”

They came outside a big mansion in the center of the city. Spiz hailed the door. John tried opening it, but the door wasn’t keyed to his identity. A few minutes later, Aystrana’s servant opened the door.

“Lord,” she stared at him in astonishment.

“Tell your mistress that I’ve returned.”

They took seats in the drawing room and John chatted with Spiz about the general goings on of John City.

“The satellite towns are getting harder to defend,” said Spiz.

“Don’t worry. We won’t have to worry about the monsters after tomorrow.”

Luten arrived in the drawing room at that moment.

“Lord John,” she did not look surprised to see him. “Her Majesty said you would not die that easily.”

“Have you been managing everything well in my absence?” John asked.

“Lady Aystrana has been doing most of the managing. She is a gifted administrator. We’ve had a ten fold increase in our profits since she took over. We now have more than a hundred satellite towns and a population of fifty million.”

“Fifty million! What about our fleets?”

“We have a full fleet,” said Luten. “Five capital ships, twenty five battleships, hundred cruisers, two hundred and fifty frigates, and a thousand corvettes.”

Now that was a decent fleet.

“Tell Abzulon and the Grand Admiral to meet me this evening. I want to see how they’re doing.”

A servant came into the room, serving refreshments. Aystrana appeared five minutes later carrying a little boy.

“John,” she took her seat.

“Aystrana,” John said. “Luten has been telling me good things about you. It seems that you’ve done well in my absence. Maybe I should make you the permanent administrator of Fi.”

“Are you not going to take a look at your son?”

John looked at Likel curiously. The boy seemed scared of him, peeking at him fearfully through his mother’s arms. Did he look like some kind of ogre to the child? John stuck his tongue out and made a funny face at Likel, who immediately started crying. He was three years old! Why was he acting so timid?

“Is he okay?” John asked.

“He’s fine. Just a little overwhelmed.”

While they were talking, Ara must have alerted Team Rose, for they were all the door. They were escorted to the drawing room and John stood up and greeted them with joy.

“Eh, you haven’t changed at all,” said Big Crow.

“Yeah,” said Lin. “Still the same.”

“He’s a little more sissified if you ask me,” said Rose. “His chin looks weaker.”

“How can someone’s chin suddenly look weaker, eh? Don’t talk nonsense.”

“I was just giving my honest opinion.”

John chuckled. It was good to see them back at it. Their bickering was like music to his ears.

“All right. I have something to say.” Silence reigned in the drawing room once more. Even little Likel was quiet. “I plan on going on an expedition to unknown space. It’s possible that I may never come back again. Who wants to go with me?”

Spiz shook his head, and Aystrana was looking at John like he was crazy. Luten couldn’t stop herself from swearing. Would he be going alone? Were there no adventurers left in the galaxy?

“I’m with you,” said Ara. The rest of Team Rose said the same.

“I have a fleet of ships ready. We just need the supplies and a few more people.”

“You cannot go,” Aystrana stood up and looked at him defiantly. “You are needed here. You have a responsibility to your people.”

“You’re welcome to come with me but if you’re staying, then you can look after all that,” John waved his hand. “You’re much better at it than I ever was. Likel will eventually be the Viscount of Fi.”

“Oor is being held together by glue at this point of time,” she said. “After the assassination of Pular’s aide three years ago,” she raised an eyebrow at John, “things have been very tense. Moreover, there are rumors that the Empress has turned Duke Ambur to her side.”

“Who is Duke Ambur?”

“The patriarch of House Trask. They were given charge of the planet Aroth after the war.”

It was Aroth again. That planet caused nothing but trouble.

“With Pular’s support among the nobles beginning to dwindle he will do something desperate. You are her Majesty’s most loyal ally. You might abandon your family, but you cannot abandon her now, in her time of need.”

John did owe the Empress a lot. Without her, he would never have progressed so quickly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be here for some time yet. It will take a lot of preparation and time before I can start out on my expedition. Let’s see what happens. Spread the word that I’m recruiting explorers,” he said to Ara. “Luten, screen all those who want to apply. If things are as bad as you say then war will erupt before I’m done with my preparations. If it doesn’t, then all the better. The Empress is smart enough to deal with Pular, and won’t need the help of a minor viscount like me.”

John visited Sher Khan with Lin, who was very excited to see them. The velox tiger shrunk until it was the size of a cub and then kept jumping on John. He laughed as he played with him.

“Remember when we first met him? All of you wanted me to let him die in the wild.”

“Yeah,” said Lin. “You made the right decision in looking after him. He’s a real beauty.” They played with the tiger until evening set.

John met with Abzulon and the Grand Admiral at his new residence. The Grand Admiral had aged perceptibly but still stood ramrod straight. He would be retiring soon. Abzulon had grown into a sturdy young man. They chatted about many different things.

“We have many native ship captains now,” said the Grand Admiral. “Abzulon has taken great initiative in recruiting and training them.”

“How many natives are captains now?” John asked.

“About eighty ships.”

“You’ve done well,” John said to Abzulon, dismissing him.

“Lord John,” the Grand Admiral said, “I’m getting on in years and want to retire to my home world. I heard about your expedition. Do you want me to postpone my retirement?”

“Is there anyone you recommend to take over your position?”

“Abzulon, though young, has shown himself to be qualified and capable.”

“You may retire to your home world with my blessing, Grand Admiral,” He shook the admiral’s hand and accompanied him to the door.

John slept with his wife for the very first time that night.

The next morning, while in his habitual trance, Inashta complained incessantly of how disloyal he was to her and her ideals. John just laughed and told her to give him a break. He traveled with Spiz and Team Rose to the demon hegemon’s abode, Inashta directing him the entire way. It was in the far north.

They came to a cave whose mouth was covered in ice. John blasted it apart with a fireball. Within, in a vast cavern, they could see a handsome man encased in a large crystal. He looked like a normal human being except for the two black horns on his head. His eyes were closed, but they twitched every now and then.

“Stay back and watch,” said John to the others. “Remember to control your emotions. This will be an educational experience for you.”

John blasted the crystal apart with a thick curtain of Dark Rainfall. The demon hegemon fell on the ground and slowly opened its pitch black eyes.

“You must be the Lord of this planet,” the demon said to John, taking a good look at him. It then stared at the others and laughed. “Do you think this ragtag group can kill me?”

“No,” said John. “I think that I’m more than enough.” He twirled his glaive and directed its point at the demon’s throat.

The demon moved back so quickly that even its afterimages were mere lines of light. It created a spear out of green infernal energy and ran forward to meet John. While they clashed they played a game of weaves. John unraveled his opponent’s weaves with ease, not really taking the fight seriously. He wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

The demon’s infernal energy corroded the aura around John’s glaive but it didn’t make any difference. New aura seeped into the corroded parts, strengthening his glaive once more.

John jumped back twenty feet. “Become my slave and I’ll let you live,” he said to the demon. He didn’t think the demon would agree. If it did, he could bring it out on the expedition. It would act like a demon repellent, keeping demon princes and other hegemons away.

“All right. Let’s stop fighting.”

“You’re trying to trick me. Hand over your core first.”

“I would rather die.”

“Have it your own way,” John shrugged.

They engaged in combat once again. John used Thunder Steps. This had become one of his favorite weaves. It was filled with so much raw power, light, sound and spectacle.

In a flurry of attacks John sliced through the demon’s body, but the demons’ regeneration factor was so great that it didn’t make any difference. John then used the energy draining method he had learned from the demon prince he had last fought. He had never had the opportunity to test it out before. It was very effective.

The demon wailed as energy drained from it. John could feel huge amounts of demonic energy enter his body. He directed it into his realm and towards the star, where it got absorbed and refined.

“How can you use that technique?” the demon wailed, now so weak that it couldn’t stand.

“I learned it,” John crouched beside the demon. “I bet you wish you had agreed to be my slave now.”

“Never,” said the demon. “I am Atlu, the destroyer of planets, the scourge of civilizations. I will never bow my head, especially to a human.” It exploded its own core.

“That was frightening,” said Spiz. His face was very pale. “You’ve grown much stronger. People wouldn’t believe me if I told them about this.”

“Eh, that was one hell of a fight,” said Big Crow. “Your expedition may not be so suicidal after all.”

“This was nothing,” John said proudly. “The monsters on Fi will now go back to their normal behavior. Winters will be much safer from now on. Let’s go back to the city.”

A year passed in peace and prosperity. John organized his grand expedition. He had five hundred volunteers in all. It would soon be time to launch. Then one day, news came that Duke Pular had captured Tanis.