Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

Though his movement didn't slow, Phueus was still stunned by Augusta's response. Of all the Sovereigns, it was no secret that the Chief Sovereign of Light was an arrogant tyrant on the best of days. Still, he had always known his limits.

His words just now signified he was willing to start a full-scale war between the Divine Planes of Darkness and Light, the likes of which had never seen before.

It was then that Phueus, still hurrying through space, erupted in boisterous laughter as a fearful killing intent shrouded him, one so potent even Ace felt a chill run down his spine.

Not only was Phueus a paragon of the laws of Darkness, but he was also an Apex Divine Beast. Still, aside from the Chief Sovereigns of the four edicts, Augusta was acknowledged to be the strongest Sovereign alive, despite the fact that not only was he not a heaven-defying Apex Divine Beast, but he wasn't even a paragon of his law.

The reason behind Augusta's power was simple. It was because, unlike most of the other Sovereigns who wielded Sovereign Artifacts, he had actually managed to get his hands on an Overgod Sword of the Edict of Fate.

Even though the sword didn't marry up to his personal element, the power of an Overgod Artifact was such that with it, he became something of an invincible figure to most Sovereigns, with there only being two other Sovereigns with Overgod Artifacts of their own, both of whom were the Chief Sovereigns of an Edict.

Still, it remained a fact that Phueus' personal power as a Chief Sovereign level Apex Divine Beast paragon made it so that, though still weaker, it wasn't by much at all. A fact that Phueus made sure to remind Augusta of.

In response, Augusta told him that ordinarily, he would be right. The difference in power between the Divine Plane of Darkness and Light is minuscule at best, but not if Lord Orloff joined the side of his Divine Plane of Light.

Phueus snorted and was just about to say that was impossible, as everyone knew that Orloff had no interest in the affairs of others, but then he remembered a rumour that Orloff, who was widely regarded as the strongest of all Sovereigns, for some reason owed Augusta a favour that Orloff was yet to cash in.

Phueus growled, asking if he was really willing to go so far for a mere deity. Augusta unhesitatingly replied, "Absolutely!"

Hearing that, Phueus hesitated. He may not fear Augusta, but Orloff was a different matter entirely. He had absolutely no confidence facing the Chief Sovereign of Fate, who, like him, was also a paragon but also had an Overgods Artifact of his own.

Just as he was trying to decide on what to do, the Godrealm of none other than Orloff spread over him.

Orloff, acting as the mediator, told Phueus that he had absolutely no desire to get involved in the disputes between the two Sovereigns, but due to the uncashed favour Augusta had, he would be forced to if asked, as such, it was within Phueus' best interest to let Ace go.

Phueus stopped and looked unwillingly at Ace. His eyes flickered between rage, unwillingness, and greed, but ultimately, he tossed Ace in the direction of Augusta, who was flying in their direction before snorting and going on his way.

After being caught by Augusta, Ace awkwardly thanked him for rescuing him. In response, Augusta merely glanced at him and snorted before flying back in the direction of the Celestial Realm.

As opposed to the caring grandfather-like figure he came across as before when chasing after Ace and Phueus, Augusta had now returned to his usual haughty and unrestrained personality. A fact that made Ace sigh helplessly as he had absolutely no idea what it meant for him, or his friends for that matter. Unfortunately, with things having played out the way they had, there was nothing he could say or do anymore.

Back in the Celestial Realm, at the site where Ace was adult-napped, Amira and Leona had just received a message from Ace via their bond telling them that he had been saved and that he was being brought back to the Celestial Realm.

Not long later, Killian and the others witnessed a hole being torn in space, and from it came a tall and strong man dressed in loose white robes with golden hair, and behind him was their captain.

But before they could greet him, Augusta moved like a flash of light appearing in front of Amira. As opposed to the indifference on his face when he looked at Ace, at that moment, Augusta was surprisingly radiating nothing but warmth and gentleness as he told her that she really did look exactly like her.

Without so much as a glance at anyone else present, he then told her to come with him as he clearly couldn't entrust her safety to anyone else.

It didn't take a genius to know he was referring to Ace. Still, that wasn't what Ace cared about. The only thing on his mind was the fact that Augusta was planning on taking his wife away from him.

His body seemed to move on its own as he moved to stand in front of his wife, but before he could move more than an inch, he was sent flying by an irresistible force before crashing into the ground dozens of miles away.

He had only just stood back to his feet when the sound of Augusta's disdain-filled snort entered his mind, causing blood to fall from each of his orifices. Augusta then told Ace that as he was currently, he was too weak to protect Amira, and he would rather die than entrust the only child of his only two friends to him, but he would give him a chance to prove him wrong.

Augusta explained that in another 500 years, the Planar Battlefield would open for the Planar Wars to commence, and the first battle would be between the Divine Planes of Light and Darkness.

As long as Ace could, without the support of his crew or his army of angels, lead the Divine Plane of Light to victory, he would allow Amira to rejoin him, but if he couldn't, he could forget about it until he became a paragon.

Then, just like that, without waiting for Ace's response, Augusta took Amira back with him, leaving Ace by himself, staring up blankly at the sky.

At the same time, Phueus had just returned to his personal residence back in the Divine Plane of Darkness, where Joleon and his father, Ballmer, were patiently waiting for their Sovereign's return.

As soon he did, though, both father and son looked at Phueus in disbelief. Though they didn't understand the reason, they knew how invested Phueus was in capturing those with the Vis Clan's bloodline, and with Phueus going in person, they had expected him to return triumphantly with Ace's defeated body over his shoulder.

Instead, not only was there no Ace in sight, but Phueus' expression was the very definition of foul.

Joleon hurriedly dropped to his knee feeling the Sovereign's cold gaze fall on him. Phueus didn't hurry to say anything, but when he did, all he said was that Ace was Augusta's Godson.

Joleon may not have been alive at the time when Amira's parents began their reign of dominance, but as the son of two of Phueus' more powerful emissaries, he knew far more about their connection to Augusta than Fu'Raz.

The moment Phueus' words came out, Joleon immediately understood the hidden implications.

Previously, as far as he was concerned, Ace and his crew were just a bunch of talents from a random lower world, but with this new information, it was all beginning to make sense.

A big part of the reason he had made it as far as he had was because of the resources he had available to him, thanks to his parents. He couldn't understand how someone from a lower material plane could compare to his upbringing, but if he was instead brought up by a Chief Sovereign, his loss wasn't unjust. At least, that's what he told himself to make himself feel better.

Ballmer sighed at his son's reaction. It was only now that he realised that even with all his son's talent, even if he hadn't lost his most powerful divine body, the chances of him ever becoming a paragon were virtually zero; he was too narrow-minded and weak-hearted. Still, now wasn't the time or the place for such thoughts.

Turning back to his Sovereign, he asked what that meant moving forward if they would have to forget about targeting Ace in the future.

Phueus didn't respond directly. Instead, he told them to go and get Lieat and tell him that both of them were to enter the upcoming Planar War between them and the Divine Plane of Light.

Ballmer stood, just about to lead his son out, when he stopped and hesitatingly asked what happened to his wife.

Not seeming to care about the reaction of his subordinate, Phueus told him that she was killed by Ace and his wife.

Ballmer felt his heart crack when he heard that. Unlike him and his son, his wife only had one body, so a death for her meant true death.

Still, as devastated as he was, he suppressed his turbulent emotions and left the Sovereign's residence.

Phueus truly couldn't be bothered to care about the life and death of a woman who had effectively screwed him over massively. Had she told him about Ace when he first appeared, he could've easily taken him without Augusta ever finding out.

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