The meeting ended, and the government stayed behind to weigh their options while Kiernan stepped out to the hallway.

He garnered a lot of curious eyes from the other people in the building, and they whispered, "That's Kiernan Hunter, isn't he…?" as news of his sudden reappearance had already spread across the building.

"Wait a moment, Kiernan!"

In that moment, a suit-wearing man jogged after Kiernan and quickly caught up to him with a smile on his face.

'I think he was inside the government meeting.'

Kiernan thought to himself casually, shook the man's hand, and asked, "What's going on?"

"My name is Lucky. I am the connection piece between humanity and elves. I have my very own embassy over in the Elf Kingdom, where I spend most of my time."

"…Alright."

Kiernan nodded.

He didn't really quite understand what he was getting at, but he felt like he was getting to that part really soon.

"I might not have a solution to your martial soul problem, but I think I might know who does. The elves have vastly more superior understanding of martial souls than us humans do.

"I've learned stuff about martial souls from the elves that I believe would take humans another three hundred years to realize."

Lucky said.

"Really?"

Kiernan said with great interest, but he was still skeptical, and he sighed before saying.

"I don't know. My martial soul is shattered. I did something that went against the rules of the heavens, poaching power that I had yet to earn.

"I don't think it will be easy… or even possible to recover it."

Kiernan said.

"If you change your mind and want to go visit the Elf Kingdom, give me a call. I'll find a way for you to enter their borders."

Lucky said and handed him his calling card before he headed back to the meeting.

Kiernan looked at the card and stored it inside his inventory and started making his way out of the building.

'Elf Kingdom, huh. I have always wanted to visit that place, but is it truly possible for them to resolve this issue with my martial soul? It won't hurt to try, but I need to talk to Aoi about it first.'

…

[BREAKING NEWS - Return of Kiernan Hunter]

On every television in the world, the report of Kiernan Hunter's return from the Dead World was broadcast.

It brought a wave of shock and disbelief among everyone, and at the same time, it ignited heated discussion.

It meant that Kiernan Hunter was in Dead World all this time, and that place actually wasn't as toxic as everyone believed!

However, why did it take this long for him to return?

"…The government is planning to have their own press conference later today to discuss more about details of Kiernan's sudden return."

The news reporters said.

…

In the cold streets of Irio, many citizens were stopped in their tracks in front of televisions shown inside local shops, shocked to the core.

"…He is alive…"

"…Oh my god!"

Breathing cold air, a well-dressed woman walked down the street with her hands tucked inside her coat pockets.

She was really beautiful, with striking features that turned heads as she passed by.

In that moment, she noticed the strangeness of all the people in the streets glued to the television screens.

'…What is going on?'

Julia wondered and stopped in front of one of the windows and looked at the television screen.

In that moment, she saw a picture of Kiernan Hunter on the television and heard the news reporter talk about his return.

"…What…"

Julia covered her mouth in shock, shed tears, and at that moment, her phone rang in her pocket.

She pulled out her phone with her trembling hand, saw that her father was calling, and quickly answered.

"…Julia, did you see the news?!"

Azer asked.

His voice was urgent but obviously very happy as well, and he was breathing heavily as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Y-Yes, Dad… He is alive…"

Julia said emotionally with happy tears falling from her eyes.

The entirety of Irio, and New Rakuya as well, mourned the death of Kiernan Hunter ten years ago.

They believed that he was destined for great things, so when the news of his death came, it all seemed like a terrible nightmare that they couldn't wake up from.

In respect of his achievements, Robert Masters, the Grand President of New Rakuya, named an entire month after him.

[Celebratory Month of Kiernan Hunter]

It was because everyone knew that he changed the trajectory of the entire country, and because of him, New Rakuya was currently a tier 3 country!

They were still making rapid progress toward becoming a tier 2 country, and that might happen in the next five years or so.

Meanwhile, in these past ten years, Karuza High has won four national championships and narrowly lost on six occasions.

In total, Karuza High had won seven national championships and had become one of the most successful high school teams in the history of New Rakuya.

"…I'll try to call him and check on him. Wanna come home, and you can also have a call with him?"

Her father asked.

"…Mmh, I am fine… You can call him…"

Julia said with a forced smile and, shortly after, ended the call, and she took one last look at Kiernan on the television.

They had already gone on different paths, and Kiernan was already married as well, so she wasn't even sure whether he even remembered her after all this time.

'…It has really been long…'

…

All around the world, old friends of Kiernan all stopped in front of television screens and looked at the news.

Nobody could believe their own eyes.

Some of them had always held on to the small hope that Kiernan might still be alive, as they had never seen the corpse, but it still felt unreal.

The Internet was also blowing up in shock at the news, and Animal Kingdom's part of the Internet was cursing.

To them, Kiernan was a great devil, and honestly, some of them actually celebrated his death—a minority of them.

"…"

Sitting at home, Beast Prince Arazimir looked at the breaking news.

"…Good."

Beast Prince Arazimir put the phone away, lay on the floor, and looked at the ceiling with an ever-so-growing smile.

After Kiernan's death, he actually lost his motivation for martial arts because he lost his greatest rival.

After the battle between humanity and the Animal Kingdom, he strove to get stronger to one day have his revenge.

The news didn't include the part about Kiernan's martial soul being destroyed, as the government wanted to keep it secret, so Beast Prince Arazimir didn't know about it.

Instead, a new fire was lit inside Beast Prince Arazimir, and he headed straight back to training with a grin on his face.

…

"Welcome back, master!"

After returning back to the Martial Redemption dojo, all of Kiernan's students immediately greeted him, and he nodded.

They excitedly swarmed him, asking more about Dead World, but in that moment, Aoi clapped her hands loudly.

"Alright, enough everyone, give him some room."

Aoi said with a wry smile.

With pouts on their faces, the students returned back to the training, and Kiernan went inside the dojo and hugged Aoi.

"…How was the meeting?"

Aoi asked as she pressed her head against his chest, listening to the calm heartbeat, and felt at peace.

"Good. I found out something interesting that we should discuss."

Kiernan said as he hugged her tightly against his chest, and she nodded, and they headed upstairs.

He looked around the dojo—as it had changed greatly—and then peeked inside his daughter's room.

It was like she could sense his gaze.

Ellie turned around to see him at the doorway—her face beamed with a smile—she ran to him and hugged him.

"Daddy, you are back!"

Aoi smiled sweetly at the sight of the heartwarming hug between daughter and father, which almost made her tear up.

Kiernan hugged her back, entered her room, and Ellie excitedly showed her favorite books to him while he stayed quiet and listened to her cute voice filled with enthusiasm.

This felt like a dream to him—and he was afraid to close his eyes and be back in that cold, dark prison cell.

"…What did you want to talk about, dear?"

Aoi asked curiously.

"Lucky, a member of the government, told me something interesting. He apparently has an embassy over in the Elf Kingdom, and he told me about their improved understanding of martial souls.

"If there is a way for me to recover my martial soul, it will be over in the Elf Kingdom, according to him, at least."

Kiernan said.

"That's really good news, then!"

Aoi beamed with a smile.

"…Does that mean you are again leaving?"

Ellie asked sadly.

Her mood dipped once again, but in that moment, Kiernan gently lifted her up from the floor and placed her on his lap.

"I thought we could go there together—as a family—as you don't get to go to Elf Kingdom very often."

Kiernan said.

"Really?!"

Ellie asked excitedly.

She had read a lot about Elf Kingdom and had dreamed of visiting that dreamy place that humans rarely get to visit.

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