Shadow's expression went blank, Ashborn is Kouro's father? It was the least funny joke he had ever heard, he really didn't believe it.

But now he knew that it was not a joke but a real thing.

Various feelings from surprise, sadness, anger, etc. appeared in his heart making his mind chaotic.

But... Although Ashborn was Kouro's father, something felt off...

Firstly, Kouro had a clean background, the data about his birth and parents existed, so it seemed strange that Ashborn was Kouro's father.

Drawing a straight line with this fact, Ashborn should not be Kouro's biological father but his adoptive father, more precisely with his age that has exceeded 500 years, Ashborn can be called Kouro's great-grandfather.

Secondly, Dr. Mobius herself has confirmed that Kouro's blood has no 'KOURO' DNA at all so Ashborn cannot be Kouro's biological father.

After all as a MANTIS and a Clone of 'KOURO', Ashborn's children should have inherited one of the two above or even both, unfortunately Kouro inherited neither of those things at all... Perhaps.

Nonetheless, Shadow was honestly not sure if Kouro was an ordinary human.

Just imagine, Kouro who did not possess the power of the Stigmata and without the MANTIS gene was able to become stronger beyond the limits of an ordinary person, even on par with a Herrscher.

Moreover, from what he knew, Kouro as a child had experienced some kind of mysterious disease that made his body very weak, but then he suddenly recovered and was able to become stronger like now made him suspicious.

If someone told him that Kouro was an ordinary human without a MANTIS gene lineage or anything, he would definitely spit in that person's face.

Well... This was not wrong actually, as the main reason Kouro was able to become strong was the 'System' that allowed him to become stronger by adding status points similar to video games.

Shadow's eyes then narrowed as he saw how Kouro summoned creatures from his shadow and could condense weapons by manipulating shadows from thin air.

'Kouro... He's the Herrscher of Shadows?!'

His feeling of shock went beyond the fact that Ashborn was Kouro's father.

After all, from what he knew, it was impossible to become a Herrscher of Shadows without possessing the core power of the Previous Era's Herrscher of Shadows or not having KOURO DNA like himself and Ashborn.

Shadow then recalled that Kouro's father was actually a Pseudo-Herrscher and the only person who inherited the KOURO Signet.

'Hmm...? If what I think is correct... The main reason Kouro was able to become a Herrscher of Shadows must be directly related to his father.'

Unfortunately Kouro's father had died long time ago from the wounds he sustained after stealing the Herrscher of Shadows core and the Herrscher of the End core fragment.

Shadow shook his head speechlessly, he wondered if Kouro would antagonize the World Serpent after knowing this.

But right after that his eyes widened as if he realized something.

He stared at Kouro with bulging eyes or rather he stared at Kouro's chest.

'.. Wait! Don't tell me the Herrscher of Shadows core that the two of them stole back then was the main reason Kouro was able to recover from his illness... Because he has turned into a Herrscher?!'

Shadow looked at Kouro in a completely different way now, if the guess he made was indeed the truth, then that meant...

"Kouro is the Herrscher of Shadows of the Current Era... "

The true Herrscher of Shadows, not like him or Ashborn who did not even have half the power of the true Herrscher of Shadows.

'Then... The purple pillar of light over a year ago... Did it come from Kouro?'

Shadow now understood that with Dr. Mobius' actions being so concerned about Kouro, she had most likely learned the truth about Kouro's awakening.

Indeed, if Kouro had heard all of his deductions, then he would have cried out in amazement because almost all of his guesses were correct.

'The questionable thing is... Is Kouro the 'Hanagami Kouro' or is it a new consciousness created from the core of the Herrscher of Shadows?'

Well... That didn't really matter, what mattered now was how he could get Kouro to join the World Serpent.

This mission was really difficult, after all Kouro's father was indirectly killed by the World Serpent itself.

He now had to seriously think about each of his actions to be able to invite Kouro to join the World Serpent.

While he was thinking about this, Shadow could see the amazing battle between Ashborn and Kouro.

'I didn't expect Ashborn to have such great sword skills...' thought Shadow, seeing how Ashborn dodged all the attacks of Kouro's shadowy subordinates with minimal movement and defeated them with just one sword slash.

'They are... Absolutely amazing, but the best is Kouro. '

His eyes focused on Kouro who had the upper hand despite fighting Ashborn who had over 500 years of fighting experience.

Their battle had completely ravaged the empty city that was the stage for their battle, there were only ruins and the ground full of slash marks and destruction.

But then his expression changed as his intuition suddenly shouted loudly at him to immediately move away and take cover after Ashborn set up a fighting position.

Without a second thought he followed his instincts and sure enough...

Faster than the blink of an eye, Shadow had just blinked and realized...

The cloud-filled sky, the tall mountains around and the ocean-sized sea had been split in two.

He gaped at the sight before a second later a violent impact swept him away like a broken doll being blown away by a whirlwinds. 

"Argh!"

Shadow spit out blood and gritted his teeth before going into a full transformation, where his body sprouted dark purple scales, his hands had small wings and sharp claws, his face was covered by some kind of purple flames that formed a one-horned mask.

His current appearance is a clone of Ichor Kosma's Meta-Morph change which has a Vipralopra class gene with the codename 'Vishnu' that has the ability to be able to absorb the power of other Honkai Beasts.

Not only that, so that his body is still shaped like a humanoid, he imitates the Ichor Meta-Morph Kalpas.

Kalpas and Kosma are the strongest physical fighters after Kevin.

This was also one of his aces that even Ashborn himself didn't know about.

Shadow is able to mimic their physical strength and even MANTIS abilities by using the power of shadows.

Unfortunately, he could not use this form for too long because it was too taxing on the body.

He thrust his right hand into the ground to avoid being blown away by the impact of the wind and raised his left hand to shield his eyes from the dust.

His eyes that became purple flames looked at Kouro and Ashborn who were lying dying and narrowed his eyes.

'I should wait for an opportunity... Maybe I can find something useful to be able to invite Kouro to World Serpent using Ashborn. '

__

Time is now.

Kouro closed his eyes and rubbed his temples while digesting the information told by his father.

'Father's story almost matches what I thought about how I was able to be born in this world in place of 'Hanagami Kouro'.

He then opened his eyes slightly revealing his expression hardened by too much shocking information he had gotten.

Kouro summarized the information he had gotten into four parts.

In the first part, Father emphasized to him that a cosmic being was approaching Earth, this being was given the codename [Herrscher of Shadow].

The estimated arrival of the creature is two years from now.

This made Kouro worried and his desire to level up was triggered, he remembered the terrifying incident where he was stared at by a horrible entity.

Could it be the [Herrscher of Shadow]?

'Looks like I really have to apologize to Bronya later. ' Kouro thought with a helpless expression.

The second part, the Signets of Vacuity held by father have such extraordinary power that even Kouro believes those who can use the Signets' power to the fullest can become a complete [Higher Being].

From the Signets, father learned the cruel truth about the world or universe they lived in was just a game.

This also indicates that the creator of the Signets is an [Outlanders] who has become a [Higher Being].

The third part, information about [Outlanders], beings who come from other worlds, they are not bound by the universal causality of the universe and can have a more significant impact in the face of destiny.

This information made Kouro feel the contradiction of the otherworldly Ashborn's words regarding his true identity.

If Kouro is one of the consciousnesses of the core Herrscher of Shadows who was born in the body of 'Hanagami Kouro' does he belong to the [Outlanders]?

If not, then why does he have the power to significantly impact one's destiny?

'Whether I really am an [Outlanders] or not, it doesn't really matter...' Kouro thought suppressing his curiosity.

Then the fourth part, the mysterious figure who gave father the Signets of Vacuity because Sagaki remembered in detail that KOURO said that these Signets were entrusted to him by someone to give to father.

Who was that mysterious figure?

Kouro really didn't know, but he felt that Ashborn's appearance of white hair and a black eye patch referred to the mysterious figure's appearance...

'Wait... White hair?'

Kouro subconsciously touched his hair with a serious expression, although it was just a guess without evidence, having experienced traveling to another world, he knew that there were endless possibilities.

'Even so, I don't know if this figure is in favor of humanity or just like [Herrscher of Shadow]...'

"No, it's not the time to think about that, I have to hurry to help Mei and the others!" he said seriously.

But right after that, a communication interface appeared before him and showed Theresa wearing a panicked expression.

["Kouro! An emergency situation has occurred! Kiana... She... She has transformed into Herrscher and created a wave of fire that has currently reached a third of the European continent!"]

Kouro wore a serious expression before nodding his head.

["I know."]

["I-- You know? Then you'll-"]

["Don't worry, I'll be there soon. Rest assured, I can help Kiana. "] Kouro said with a smile before turning off the communication screen.

Kouro then turned to look at his father who was sitting on the ground before reluctantly binding him with shadow power, not only that, he told Beru to watch over his father here.

"Father, I've won, remove the seal you used to seal my abilities."

Ashborn shook his head and said, "Your ability is not sealed, but it is temporarily unusable, you can use it again after thirty minutes. "

Kouro glanced at his status or his SP which was really low, he couldn't fly using Dominator's Touch, using [Void]'s authority to open portals or even flying was too wasteful, so he didn't use it.

"That means... I'll inevitably have to swim across the ocean to get to the European continent... " Kouro muttered with a constipated expression.

Not that this was impossible, it was just too long, Kouro estimated that it would take him about 2 hours to get to his destination if  was required to swim.

"This means I'll inevitably have to use the authority I have to cross the continent... "

Kouro glanced at the authority status he had.

[Authority: Death and Life, Origin, Fire, Thunder, Void, Wind, Shadows.]

Kouro rubbed his chin while wearing a thoughtful expression before having an idea.

He rolled up his pants and took off his shoes, then put them into his inventory.

He then stretched before jumping high and just as he was about to fall to the ground, a burst of flame suddenly appeared from his feet and pushed him flying.

That's right, Kouro was currently mimicking the fire control ability of 'Shinra Kusakabe' from the Fire Force anime.

He flew while increasing his control just less than a few minutes before landing on the ground. 

Kouro saw that the SP used was not too wasteful, at least it was enough for him to get to Sapphire city in 20 minutes.

As Kouro was about to leave, the silent Ashborn looked at him then suddenly said.

"Do you really have to help them? "

Kouro's movements were slightly halted, he discovered the hidden meaning of those simple words.

If he continued to help Mei and the others like this it would make them dependent on him and eventually waste their potential.

They did train to be able to stand side by side with him, but it should be known that the best training is a life and death experience.

Therefore, this was actually the perfect opportunity for Mei and the others to develop their potential.

Moreover, if they developed, Kouro would have an ally to rely on against [Herrscher of Shadow] later.

Kouro thought about this for a moment before nodding his head to Ashborn.

"I will help them when they need it. "

Fortunately all of his shadow warriors in the city of Sapphire had evacuated and rescued the people who did not have time to evacuate.

Ashborn smiled slightly seeing that he understood what he wanted to say.

"Then go. "

"Um! I'm going. Beru, watch over my father seriously!"

Beru bowed his head respectfully to Kouro.

After that, Kouro ran to the nearest beach for just under a few minutes before jumping high into the ocean, he then used his [Fire] authority just as his feet touched the water.

He looked like he was skiing on the water with bare feet and being pushed by the ocean waves.

Kouro was using the principles of physics, basically he was using the hot steam generated by the fire under his feet as a foothold as well as a skateboard.

"Wait for me, all of you!"

...

Meanwhile on Ashborn's side.

At first he glanced at Beru who was standing still staring at him unblinkingly with curious eyes, but then he suddenly turned his head in a certain direction which made Beru follow the direction of his gaze.

"Come out, I know you've been watching long enough. "

Right after that, a burst of dark purple flames suddenly appeared and was about to hit him only to be parried by Beru.

"SHAA!!!" Beru roared raising his gleaming claws before running towards the source of the attack which was in the depths of the nearly collapsed buildings.

The current Ashborn although the wounds he suffered had disappeared, the energy he had was depleted, leaving him almost unable to move his body.

Even so, his honed senses still allowed him to envision the battle being waged by Beru and the intruders.

There were several fierce battles until it finally culminated in the building they were fighting in collapsing.

*Crack! *

But Ashborn instead raised his eyebrows and said in an unexpected tone.

"Mhn? That thing called Kouro... Has been defeated?"

He really didn't expect Beru to be defeated so quickly, after all he thought Beru could be on par with the Flame-Chaser.

Behind the ruins a gangly male humanoid creature covered with dark scales as armor and its face covered by flames that formed a one-horned mask could be seen.

"This aura... Feels familiar... Who are you?"

Ashborn felt he recognized the person in front of him but he did not remember it.

Shadow clenched his fists at his question before releasing his form to let Ashborn know who he was and sure enough, he saw Ashborn's eyes widen as he stared at him.

"No way!... You had a sex change operation, Shadow?"

A large blue tick appeared on Shadow's forehead upon hearing his shout.