55 Horus

"You two, stop bickering!" 

From afar, chatters of people echoed around the Bloodbanes' ears. Even Aviante perked his brows as his gaze shot through that area. Although he recovered from his injuries, he had to stop halfway after their appearance. 

'How did they get in?' Aviante murmured with an ugly look. 

Based on his intelligence, Freya Taylor, humanity's strongest mage, shouldn't be able to do this. His face became hideous as he thought of any possible reasons on how they entered. 

'In that case…' 

His eyes darted towards Urs. In his life, he had never seen a human become a 'King' successor. There was a handful of them who managed to become envoys but no one can beat what Urs did. 

Becoming a successor while having a mortal body is not an easy feat. The King they served wouldn't just bestow his power that would kill his envoy in the process. 

Too many questions arose in his head. However, the present is more important than that. He got up, brushed the dust off his gear, and grinned towards the approaching Awakeners. 

'Although they only sent 6, they were elites.'

Aside from the 4 he saw earlier, there were 2 new faces. A bald man wearing sunflower polo and shorts rushed towards Urs location. His face was oval-shaped with his long beards stretching to his neck. 

On his left, a rather good-looking old man followed. He wore a brown haori with a katana hanging from his waist. His features seemed to come from a fairy tale but even then, his body emitted a sharp pressure. 

'Hmm… a warrior and a swordsman.'

For him, fighting them in his current condition would be taxing. They might even beat him if they find a chance. Without dilly-dallying, Aviante quickly motioned his subordinates to leave. Their goal has been achieved. 

At that moment. 

"They are escaping!!!" 

The gatekeepers run towards the red portal Aviante spawned. However, they were blocked by the newly appearing Awakened halfway. There were 7 SS-Class gatekeepers left but the only problem is their strength is far from their best. 

Due to Urs' continued summoning of monsters, they were still exhausted from the long battle earlier. 

"This is bad, we can't escape."

"We might be able to force our way out but I'm sure we'll pay a heavy price."

"That's better than nothing. We'll do that."

No one asked for their lord's help. They knew he was exhausted too. If they could at least bring down at least 1 more human, it would shake humanity's foundation. 

With a determined will, the 7 gatekeepers readied their weapons. 

On the other hand, Freya cast her buffs while others Awakened went on position. Her other hand condensed healing energy and shot it through both Hans and Urs. 

...... 

After receiving the soothing energy, Hans felt his body light and energetic. His broken bones healed in a blink of an eye while his mana regenerated twice as much. 

He closed his eyes for a moment before clenching his fists. His sights darted towards the Awakened. 

Earlier, before the second shockwaves reached him, a barrier suddenly stopped it from happening. Realizing he's not alone, Hans immediately went defensive and tensed his muscles up that were ready to strike anytime. 

As the dust settled, six figures caught his attention. 

It was the Humanity's SS-Class Awakened. 

Freya, Kristina, Cassia, and Miguel. However, there were two new faces. 

Japan's Retired SS-Class, Tajima Nakamura. He claimed to be the last living man who inherited the wills of his samurai ancestors. He wasn't bound in Japan and was living his retired life somewhere in another country. 

'Although he's old…' 

It can't be denied that this old man once held the title of The Humanity's Strongest Swordsman.

The bearded bald man on his side was even more dangerous. 

Australia's SS-Class, David Murray. 

Suddenly, a cheeky voice interrupted his thoughts. 

"Are you Urs' summoned beast?" 

Hearing a question behind, Hans cocked his head and stared at Miguel. 

'Summoned beast?' 

Did they mistake him for a summoned beast?

"Y-yes… I'm a summoned beast! Please help my Master!" Hans answered with an awkward voice. 

Well, now that they were here, they could at least lower Urs burden. He's useless in this fight. He can't even approach closely because if he did, he'd be caught in the crossfire. 

Understanding Hans' words, the six exchanged glances before nodding in agreement. They looked towards Hans and spoke. 

"Lead the way." 

Fortunately, they didn't notice his strangeness. 

........ 

Aviante's face frowned as he temporarily closed the portal. His subordinates were surrounded by those humans and they couldn't break out. He could help but that would be dangerous. His strength hasn't recovered yet and forcing his body would not be a good idea. 

'I miscalculated it all!!!' 

If he left after obtaining the keys, it wouldn't come to this. Now, it was too late to regret. 

'If push comes to shove…' 

He would have no option but to abandon them. In just a day, he lost 20 gatekeepers and thousands of servants. This would truly hurt the power he built to the core. 

As Aviante whacked his brains out, on the other side, the atmosphere is becoming eerie and gloomy. 

"My lord! Don't worry about us!" 

"You should leave while we hold them back!!" 

Hearing their cries, Aviante sighed dejectedly. He wasn't sad that his subordinates would die here but rather mad about his decision that led them to this point. 

'I don't know how I will explain it to others, especially my wife.'

The gust of wind blew on his cheeks as he took a final glance towards his subordinates and the humans. Without looking back, Aviante opened a portal and left them with a grateful back. 

Seeing their lord's gratitude, the gatekeepers' fighting spirit was aroused and they immediately roared towards the Awakened until their life was exhausted. 

....... 

"Fuu—, that was tiring."

"Pant—, pant—, I thought we could kill them easily." 

"Miguel, are you alright!? How is your hand?" 

"I'm fine. It's just a hand, no need to fuss about it. It'll regenerate tomorrow."

"Sigh, thank goodness."

The Awakened wobbled around as they tried to keep their balance. They looked towards the distance where Hans and Urs were resting. Without wasting any time, they immediately rushed towards them.

"Urs, can you hear us?" Miguel asked in concern. They met 3 years ago back at the Gathering that was hosted by Egypt. As he was arrogant to the core, he challenged the necromancer only to be bodied by one of his summons. 

Miguel glanced at Freya as if asking for help. Urs body is slowly getting pale. From head to toe, he was covered in this back hue seemingly draining his mana until nothing was left. 

Freya crouched and grabbed Urs arms, attempting to check his inner condition. She closed her eyes and probed the activities of Urs' mana inside his body. 

'His core is being sucked out!!' 

It was common knowledge that an Awakened couldn't keep his powers once his core was destroyed. In Urs' case, all of his accumulated power and mana were being stripped from his body. 

It would have been better if it was just that, but she also saw the state of Urs body system. His organs were corrupted, while his heart was on the brink of collapse. Freya attempted to keep it pumping but unfortunately, her skills are not enough to heal those. 

As her mind went back to her body, Freya flopped to the ground with hopeless eyes. 

"Freya, how is he?" 

Freya shook her head and muttered, "It's too late. His internal system was already collapsing. It won't be long till he dies."

The Awakened present couldn't believe what they heard. 

"N-no way!" 

"Y-you're joking right!? How is this…" 

The blood-red world gradually vanished. From afar the sun was already rising. The battle lasted for a full night until the morning dawn. 

Suddenly, Urs opened his eyes and stared at the people looking at him with a sad and regretful look. Despite the difficulty in breathing, he managed to speak. 

"What's the day today?" 

"August 28." Miguel replied with a hoarse voice. 

"I see…" Urs smiled before sweeping his gaze towards the others, "Before I go… let's talk first."

Urs leaned on the boulder weakly, watching everyone's reaction to his fading life. His eyes suddenly softened before he gently muttered. 

"Don't be sad." 

After the Hell's Carnage, he was able to redeem himself and became one of Egypt's heroes. As he roamed around the world, he met various kinds of people. Although they only met for a short time, for him, the SS-Class Awakened were like acquaintances. 

Hearing his words, everyone stared at Urs who was looking at them tenderly. 

"It won't be the end of the world if I die. Those monsters wouldn't act as long as all of you were still alive."

Next, Urs' gentle expression suddenly became serious as he explained what transpired earlier until… 

"After a short time, I was able to break the limit of the SS-Class potential."

Hearing his words, the six' heart became restless. No doubt, Urs' words shook them to the bone. 

"I know it wasn't because I borrowed power. In my heart, I know that I break it myself." After a brief pause, he continued, "That's why I believe that you can do it too."

Time passed by. The sun greeted them with morning sunshine. As the heat hugged his body, Urs skin suddenly gleamed. 

He was slowly turning into dust. 

Seeing his condition, everyone was lost, anxious and wanted Freya to continue casting the healing spell but a hand denied them from resuming. 

"That's enough." Urs shook his head. There was no fear in his eyes as he calmly whispered, "I'm running out of time… please let me say a few words to my… summon." 

Urs looked at Hans who was donned in broken gears and a mask. Understanding his words, the Awakened left them two. 

"They are already far, come here Hans."

Although it was covered by the mask, his tears couldn't be hidden. Hans walked towards Urs obediently. 

"After I die, go to my residence in Egypt. My aura will guide you there. I left some items inside that could be of use for you." 

"..."

Urs looked directly at Hans' misty eyes and smiled softly, "Don't cry because I die, if it's the other Awakened, of course, they would also choose to protect humans even at the cost of their lives."

"Urs…" 

"Always hold your head high so no one can mock you. I see that you are doing well and you only need experience to be able to stand firm. I… I believe in you."

It was the last straw that made Hans weep. He couldn't understand why his heart was so soft. 

Urs was rapidly turning into black small particles. 

"Before I go, can you tell me your real name?" 

"Hans… Hans Luther."

Silence filled the two before Urs whispered. 

"I see… I will leave the rest to you."

After saying those words, Urs finally closed his eyes. However, he seemed to see familiar faces, prompting him to open his eyes that were about to close. 

A woman with a faint glow appeared together with a man wearing a cheerful smile. The wind trailed around their backs. Urs immediately recognized their faces. 

"L-Layla! D-Dar— Father!! I-I'm sorry!!" 

Tears streamed down his eyes. 

"I'm sorry, I couldn't save you!!!" 

All of his regrets poured down his eyes. However, Darius and Layla did not have a trace of blame but instead, just smiled tenderly.

"Father, I finally saved someone. Did I do it right? I didn't mess up, right?" 

At this moment, Urs is like a child asking his father nervously and expectantly if he had lived up to his expectations. 

The man's eyes were full of pride and he nodded with a smile, "You made me proud… Horus."

Hearing the affirmation from his father, Urs' anxiety finally went down. His heart was completely relieved. He smiled happily and then slowly lowered his head. 

The melody of the air rang in grief. 

Beneath the cool breeze… 

Under the warm rays of sunshine… 

Horus Hassan left with a smile.