The Last Paragon in the Apocalypse

The atmosphere, which was supposed to be filled with relief and shared interest, was now shrouded in tension, one born from fear and loyalty.

Kaden had just revealed his desire to kill Lord Arshan, and as loyal aides of such a respected ruler, General Nura and her teammates grew tense, ready to kill.

To them, Lord Arshan was their saviour and protector. They were cast out to this dreadful place not because they were guilty of the worst crime known to humanity—well, some were—but not all of them.

General Nura herself was betrayed by a friend, leading to her being sent to this place. Betrayal brought her here, so she wouldn’t turn a blind eye to such a plain and unfiltered threat from someone who had managed to wound an Elder.

Kaden looked calm, a smile on his face, but the five teammates knew he was damn serious. Naturally, Kaden’s pals also seemed to have a good read on the moment, so the instant General Nura and her team started reaching for their weapons, they also became alert.

Luckily, the danger didn’t reach its peak since, before things could escalate, Pickle Berry stepped in...

”Relax, everyone...” She stood between Kaden and General Nura, showing she had no intention of watching them gut each other.

If they were to fight now, the beautiful world inside the Demon Bead would be destroyed, something Pickle Berry would hate to see happen.

While she would not stop Kaden from killing Lord Arshan, she also could not allow such a beautiful world to burn. More importantly, she could not let their only chance to learn about her family slip away.

At least later, when they were done with everything, revenge could then proceed.

”From how I see it, we are outside the Primus Universe, so maybe whatever animosity there is that happened there should remain there.

This is a new realm where nobody really knows what comes next, so maybe rather than becoming enemies, we can find a middle ground where death won’t dictate the way forward.”

Her words seemed to resonate with everyone, instantly bringing the tension in the air down a peg. Seeing she had made headway, Pickle Berry pressed forward.

”Great. Now, I will start again and please, let’s try to be civil,” she turned to Kaden, who nodded with a smirk. He knew he had to hold back his hatred for now since Pickle Berry’s family was more important.

”So my name is Pickle Berry. However, a very long time ago, I was called Ythogha, daughter of Lord Xzeth, ruler of the Dual Elemental Serpent Race. Pleasure meeting you all,”

Aside from Kaden, none of the people present knew that Pickle Berry had a different name. Kaden knew because during his 8th Incarnation, he had lived with her his entire life, so he knew more about her than most.

Back then, when he found her, or more like they found each other, he named her Pickle Berry simply because that was his favourite fruit his mother used to buy him. Perhaps he missed her too much, so he went ahead and gave her that name.

Now that she had revealed her true name, Franklina, who was basically obsessed with Pickle Berry’s family simply because she was on the side of the Allied Forces that stood against the previous Elemental Empress, widened her eyes.

She had her suspicions, but never in her wildest dreams did she think the daughter whom many thought had died all those years ago was still alive.

More importantly, she isn’t Elementalless as many claimed. She is one impressive young lady with a good head on her shoulders and overwhelming power at her disposal.

But aside from her, the five teammates who came from Gaukin City now stared at Pickle Berry with widened and stunned expressions.

”From the looks on your faces, I can tell you know who I am talking about,” Pickle Berry asked, looking at General Nura.

”Who doesn’t know Lord Xzeth? He is someone everyone respects, everyone, including me.”

Kaden could see a sigh escape Pickle Berry, her shoulders dropping in a gesture of relief. Clearly, she was already happy to have learned that her father was alive and, from the look of things, doing rather well for himself.

The question now was, were her siblings and mother also alive?

So she didn’t hesitate to ask...

”Where is he, and most importantly, are his children and wife still alive?”

”Of course. The last I heard, General Thokk and the twins, General Xexaria and Namariona, had returned from the Undying Garden after slaying one of the Undead Monarchs. As for Lady Harxix, she is still alive and radiant as ever.”

For a moment, Kaden wondered if the five people before him had forgotten he had threatened their master. They seemed happy talking about Pickle Berry’s family. Their reverence even told Kaden that they might have preferred to be under the rule of Lord Xzeth rather than Lord Arshan.

But who could blame them?

Most of them were here because of the previous Elemental Empress, so learning that the one who killed such a bitch was Lord Xzeth, even at the expense of him and his family getting dragged here, they all respected him, his family, and everyone who was dragged here with them.

To them, Lord Xzeth had avenged them.

So, tension or not, they wouldn’t hold back any information, especially from the daughter of their Lord...

Pickle Berry was visibly relaxed and happy now. Jane, her best friend, took her hand, happy for her.

Kaden even seemed to have forgotten about his threat and became happy for his friend and sister. Pickle Berry meant more to him than anyone could imagine, so seeing her happy put him in a good mood, too.

”So where can we find them?” Franklina asked, having already prepared mentally for when they met Pickle Berry’s family.

”Lord Xzeth rules Dunsil City, which is due west of here. But you would have to traverse the Ant Desert, and without a map, I doubt you could get to Dunsil City in one piece.”

Kaden stared at General Nura for a few moments, then asked, ”But I suppose you know a way we can get there with less danger.”

”Of course. However, I need something in return before giving out such information.”

Kaden scoffed. ”Saving your lives should be more than enough to cover whatever you have to say, but I will indulge you. What do you want in return for the information?”

”Swear a blood oath that you won’t point your weapon at Lord Arshan as long as he remains here. If you break your oath, your soul will be split in half, and you will die. In return, Lord Arshan will also not point his weapon at you.

I am one of his most trusted Generals, so I can take the oath on his behalf.”

Kaden narrowed his eyes at General Nura for a few more tense seconds, then he smirked.

”Pickle Berry’s happiness is more important than that bastard’s life, so fine, I will take the oath. But be sure to tell him that I, the Paragon, said hi and that he should be glad I met you five before him.”

The tense atmosphere returned, but only for a few seconds. As Kaden said, Pickle Berry was more important to him than anything, so he would compromise.