"Begone... darkness."

A man’s voice thundered like a divine decree. At that moment, golden light burst forth, tearing through the darkness as it revealed Isolde holding onto Idris.

Her armour glowed with bright golden light and her crimson hair turned white. It waved like it had a life of its own while shimmering with white, almost celestial white.

Golden beams fell from the sky. The moment they struck the ground, the creeping darkness twisted and fled back as the light manifested into golden knights.

They activated Blinding Flash, thus all ten of them unleashed a light so bright, so intense and so blinding, it swept through a major section of the district and went beyond.

Screeches came from the darkness as it fled back, unleashing those who had just been consumed.

Floating above his brothers and sisters, Tempest stretched out his hand and an even brighter light blasted out of him like an explosion.

It swept through the city and beyond at the expense of five years’ worth of mana. A painful cost, even after the mana usage from the earlier battle, but compared to what was saved, that cost was little.

Idris blinked when the light grew dim. Those golden knights were like gods in his eyes. The light radiating from them, their towering heights, reflected like stars in his brown eyes.

Then, he turned to Isolde and saw her looking somewhere else. Idris followed her gaze, his eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed upon a being walking toward them.

He wore red armour with long tassets and a helmet whose visor only revealed two piercing golden eyes.

His pace was slow but haunting. That armour, it wasn’t anything like those golden armours, it had this oppressive effect that loomed over one.

Like an imperial might, unbothered by the thoughts and emotions of men.

When Godfrey got close enough, he took Isolde’s right hand, drew her toward him and embraced her.

"I love you." Isolde whispered into his ear. Her voice was soft, almost melting. Godfrey couldn’t remember when she last spoke with such a tone, but the emotions it conveyed were raw and unfiltered.

Like it came right from the depths of her soul. He knew her affection for him was almost unshakable, but these three words stirred something in him.

His eyes almost softened, but then he noticed Idris still looking at them. The boy’s eyes were definitely wider than usual.

’Heh, the boy has eyes for good things. It looks like he’s going to challenge you to a joust for what’s already yours.’ Immortal Armour snickered.

Godfrey scoffed.

"What is it saying?" Isolde’s soft voice flowed into his ear.

’He just saw his saviour has someone she also leans on. Your interpretation is just out of context.’ Godfrey replied to Immortal Armour while shaking his head to Isolde.

At that moment, Idris’s mother ran toward them and fell to her knees, embracing her child as tight as she could.

"Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much." She said with moist eyes while looking at the couple.

Godfrey dematerialized his Immortal Armour. He saw her freeze for a moment. Yes, his knights looked divine in their Golden Light State, with golden and white armour.

Their tiers increased by 2.0 points and although they couldn’t access Black-Out State in this form, they had new sets of skills like making their weapons out of light which had near the same durability.

The Golden Light State brought out their peak as Primal summons. The first part of their identity.

That aside, his own face didn’t change, so the man this mother was looking at was the Golden Armoured Devil.

’Golden Armoured’ because according to the propaganda from the authorities, all his so-called good deeds were personal agendas, with the major reason being to deceive the public.

And the ’Devil’ was his true identity, what he tried to hide behind his Golden Armour.

One thing was sure. The authorities knew how to craft stories and people knew how to eat it up because it sounded believable.

His opinion of the public wasn’t bright. Because they saw him from the wrong light, he also saw the side of the public that hated him and it made him dislike them.

So why save these people? Well, as a Chosen, he was tied to earth. If it failed, he would never achieve his goal. Deep within, the truth was the world seemed much worse when there was no one in it.

They might not be on the best terms but he still wanted to see people drive cars on the street, play in parks and just do their own stuff because it made everything look alive... at least... from a perspective.

Tears pooled in the woman’s eyes. Was it guilt, knowing she was one of those that threw spite at him and that same young man was the reason her son was alive?

"I’m sorry." She muttered, lowering her head. As she left, Idris turned to the young couple and looked at his mother. "Is he the one that summoned those angels?"

"What?" The woman blinked.

"I want angels."

Although Idris wasn’t that close, Isolde heard what he said. She chuckled.

Isaac ran toward them and jumped on Godfrey, who embraced him. After a while, Godfrey tapped his back.

"It’s okay, Isaac."

Isaac still didn’t let go.

"Isaac!"

Isaac remained stubborn. Godfrey had to peel him off using telekinesis.

"I thought it was over. Isolde vanished before my eyes." Isaac began rambling as he packed his hair, eyes wide. He was reliving the scene and was still terrified.

"You’re one stunning young man." Neila remarked with crossed arms as she locked eyes with Godfrey. Then, her gaze went to the woman who placed her hands on his shoulder and leaned on him.

She clicked her tongue.

The city faded and everyone found themselves in Staten Island, under the bright warm white light of street lamps and towering skyscrapers.

Unfortunately, lots of cars had slammed into each other, some into buildings, which meant half of the island would be needing lots of repairs.

Although a few thousand were lost in the darkness because they were absorbed much earlier, hundreds of thousands more were saved.

Godfrey saw people collapse and cry. Some tried consoling the others. Some people mourned those they lost, others cried in relief that they managed to survive.

But the fear of their encounter would become a trauma almost every citizen in Staten Island would share.

"We’ve dealt with our first Ruination dungeon. At least I lost no one." Godfrey muttered when all four of them returned to the Pendragon Mansion.

"Sunlight!" Isaac stretched his arms as he stood before the window.

Isolde and Neila stood side by side staring at the silent golden young man and the dramatic Isaac.

"He really came." Neila glanced at Isolde. "Where did you find that man?"

"In my dreams." Isolde replied.

***

Godfrey sat on a sofa and leaned back. Isolde’s scent made him blink and turn toward her as she sat beside him.

A soft smile graced his face as their eyes met.

"I know both of you are feeling quite sweet since we just narrowly escaped death but what we just faced is the first dungeon. There are many more and we don’t know if the next is what’s supposed to kill you, Godfrey."

Neila’s voice made Godfrey and Isolde turn toward her.

She stood before the table, her fingers pressing against it as she locked eyes with them.

"I thought you didn’t care as much. You were yawning so obviously the last time we spoke about it." Godfrey leaned forward.

Neila shrugged. "I know your worth right now. It would be crazy to let you die. If you die, I’m willing to bet my summoner over there can’t protect me for long. We’ll both die."

Isaac scowled like he was betrayed. His joy fizzled out and the glance Neila gave him made his face uglier.

Isolde rose to her feet, approached the table and looked at the large map of the world they placed on it. Staten Island was settled.

"I only saw the creeping darkness and Godfrey dying. I don’t know when and where it will happen." Isolde’s eyes flickered.

"We can’t handle all of them." Godfrey’s voice drew their attention to him. "But I was able to memorize the Tide, the Centipede Plague and the one that caused my death. I don’t know its location but I know..." He approached the table and pointed at Japan.

"That’s where the centipede dungeon will open. It will cause a plague that will wipe out Japan and spread to the neighbouring countries. I’m guessing global forces would have been sent if they weren’t dealing with their own problems."

Hearing what Godfrey said, Isaac frowned. "That sounds worse than the creeping darkness."

"It is worse. I did not see the boss responsible for this plague and I don’t know how it spreads but centipedes grow out of people, eating them and growing at a fast pace. It’s terrible." Godfrey said heavily.

"Then the tide...." His finger went to the United Kingdom. "It’s going to open up here in Scotland, dering woods. I know when this one is going to appear and it’s in a few days. A horde of strange stag-like monsters are going to charge out of that gate and wreck that city. If we can get there on time, your dragons can burn them all before they get out and enter cities."

He crossed his arms. "If they do, the UK will not recover. Like other nations, they have lasting wounds from the apocalypse. Once we clear it, we’ll have another core. We’ll gather as much as we can to strengthen ourselves."

"So the shadow club is dealing with global threats now." Isaac smirked.

"We’re talking about things that can kill us." Neila retorted.

"He makes a good point. We were once the shadow club." Isolde looked at Godfrey. "But out here in the real world, houses are what stand, not clubs. And since we can’t be a conventional family, how about we call ourselves the House of Order."

"Sounds good." Isaac turned to Godfrey, whose arms were still folded.

"I’ll have to admit. This world might not like you but after what you did in that dungeon, it’s just undeniable. Almost the entire island saw it for themselves and watched you leave without asking for a dime. I’d say it would take actual brainwashing to make them change their mind. So... I’m not against this house thing." Neila added, glancing at Godfrey who looked pensive.

"It’s just an idea. We’ll take time to think about it." Isolde came close and caressed his arm when his silence extended for too long.

"I’m tired. I just need to rest." Godfrey replied as he walked out of the room. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Isaac sighed. "Just like he rejected becoming Captain of the Sentinels."

Neila looked at Isolde. "I don’t think he understands that if he wants to bring change, he needs to look further than just having the physical strength. There are more aspects to all this and one is influence. His influence is quite bad right now and when it gets better, he does nothing about it."

"He’ll end up as the underdog even if he becomes the strongest person on earth." She added.

"She’s not wrong." Isaac replied as he switched on the television. They had to see what was going on in Staten Island.

The moment he switched to the news channel, the headlines caught their attention.

’Golden Armoured Devil or Staten’s Angel?’

Isaac went close to the screen and saw the news scrolling below.

"They want to honour Godfrey’s summon with a statue." He spun to face the girls. "It’s not even been a day and look what saving over half the population of an island is doing."

"He saw his father’s statue fall. I don’t think this is going to trigger any good emotions from him." Isolde bit her lower lip.