Ascension Of The Blood Supreme

Southern Continent.

Eldorath Empire.

Hessington State.

Derulo City.

Derulo International Airport.

Several individuals moved in and out of the airport. Some of them carried travel bags. Others carried nothing. Those who carried nothing were warriors who had storage bags to keep their things in.

Children clutched the hands of their parents. Couples walked past.

People held signboards with the names of their loved ones on them, waiting for them.

Currently, a brown-haired, tall, handsome young man with black eyes, clad in a casual hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, had just stepped out of a vehicle.

He was currently surrounded by a group of middle-aged people and young adults. All of them had smiley poses on their faces.

Yes... they were all taking a picture. Thanks to Seraphina.

Since Aiden was heading to the military, she insisted that the group take a picture with him for the sake of memories.

Desmonda had already taken a couple of pictures with Aiden when they were in his villa before they stepped out.

But the others didn’t have any pictures with him.

Because of this, they all agreed to take the pictures.

Asmodeus and Luke were making weird poses, like sticking out their tongues and all that.

Aiden found the sight really funny. But, he felt warm inside.

This doesn’t feel so bad, Aiden thought.

He wanted to protect moments like this.

Aiden pursued personal eternal autonomy through power. But he also wanted that autonomy to extend to the people he cared about. He wanted to be strong enough so that no one would have to force their ideals on not just him, but them. He wanted to be powerful enough so that these people he had intentionally come to consider family would not have to bend for anyone. He wanted them to be in a place where they could be free to live their lives how they wanted to.

Of course, Aiden did not think they were a burden to him, or a group of weaklings he had to protect. They were all powerhouses in their own right, and they had to cultivate their own strengths. But that didn’t mean that if he were to be in a more powerful position than any of them, and he could use his power to ward off anyone that tried to force their ideals on them, he would sit by and do nothing.

The group finished taking the pictures.

Aiden gave his five friends a hug.

As for Angela, she cupped Aiden’s cheeks. "Take care of yourself, okay? Also, how was it?"

She winked at Aiden and Desmonda.

"Mum!" Desmonda stomped her leg on the floor.

"What? You think we didn’t notice you two glowing as you came out?" Genjis clicked his tongue.

These kids thought they were smart.

"Ohhh..." Wilson realised what had happened. "Not bad, Aiden... to think you’d pop my daughter’s cherry soon. Or did she pop your cherry?"

"We both popped each other’s cherry, old man," Aiden grinned. This old man wanted to intimidate him? Heh....

"Wow... didn’t know you had it in you to be this shameless, Aiden. You have a very tough skin," Asmodeus whistled what everyone was thinking.

"Yeah. I thought you said you’d go to Asmodeus for tips when you were ready? What happened, downloaded Kamasutra online?" Candice chimed in.

Before Aiden or Desmonda could reply, Sanderson chimed in, "You guys should stop teasing the kids. They are adults now."

"Oh, let them, uncle." Desmonda walked up to Aiden. She planted a kiss on his lips in front of everyone. She turned to look at them. "Happy now?"

Everyone was quite flabbergasted. Desmonda could be quite dense at times, but they had forgotten there were some moments where she was quite... unbridled.

No one knew what to say to tease them anymore.

"Smart move, babe," Aiden said.

"Thanks, babe," Desmonda replied smoothly.

The group sighed and chuckled. They were happy that Aiden and Desmonda were happy. Desmonda’s parents especially were already starting to see Aiden as their son-in-law they were very proud of. They were also proud of their daughter for bagging such a remarkable young man.

Despite the fact that he had very bad and toxic parents who eventually committed suicide because they could not live with the consequences of their actions, he turned out very well.

"Anyway, Aiden, my granduncle, the admiral I told you about, Rio Marcus... he has unfortunately passed away. He was assassinated last night. He was one of the admirals that managed Base C322," Chromium said.

Everyone was surprised. A legendary rank 3 warrior, an admiral, was assassinated at the Frontlines? How was that even possible?

There was only one reason why something like that was possible.

"Someone high up is behind this," Eleanor said.

Everyone, including Aiden, nodded.

"They were able to connect the dots that Uncle Chromium would pull some strings and have someone he knows in the military back me.

After finding out that I’ve been posted to C322, it was obvious that Rio Marcus was the admiral that could openly shield me and stand in their way, since he was one of the admirals that managed Base C322. So, they got rid of him," Aiden connected the dots quickly.

Everyone had similar thoughts.

Could this have been the work of one of the industries that wanted him dead?

No. Aiden didn’t think so. An assassination that serious was not something those people could or would dare to pull off. They were logical to try and kill him because of how his connection to the parents of his friends would cause the industries of his friends’ parents to soar over theirs in the future. But they were not stupid enough to try and get an admiral killed. The consequence of being caught for something like that was unimaginable.

Someone high up was behind this. Whoever they were, they were on the side of the Paranormal Liberation Order. This was the conclusion Aiden came to.

He sighed deeply and calmed down.

It seems Ashbourne Cane’s speculation was spot on. The Order saw him as a threat.

Aiden didn’t panic. He already planned on getting rid of the Paranormal Liberation Order because their ideals clashed with his mindset to pursue autonomy. No one had the right to decide whether he or anyone he cared about lived or died because of their ideals.

He simply made a mental note to be more careful in the military.

Aiden looked at his friends and their parents. They were all worried about him.

"We are worried because we care about you. But we know you will turn the lion’s den you are entering into your hunting ground," Desmonda said.

"Yeah. She took the words right out of our mouths."

"Absolutely."

Everyone nodded.

"You guys..." Aiden felt very warm inside. Instead of panicking and being all emotional, they decided to trust him. To Aiden, this said more about their loyalty and character than anything to him.

[Flight 6 headed to Toothill City, departing in a few minutes. All booked passengers report to the front now. I repeat...]

The voice of the announcer rang throughout the airport.

"My plane is leaving in a bit, guys. Thank you for seeing me off. Uncles and aunties, thank you for everything," Aiden said.

He looked at his friends: Desmonda, Luke, Asmodeus, Seraphina, and Candice.

"I’ll be placing bets on you guys being in the top ten of the Nationals. Also, see you in the military soon," Aiden added one last time before he turned around and walked off.

"Were you trying to act cool by not waiting for us to reply before you walked off?" Asmodeus shouted.

"Kinda." Aiden raised his hand and turned around with a grin.

"Well, that was lame as fuck," Seraphina replied.

"Really? I didn’t think as much. Luke is tearing up. Doesn’t that mean my dramatic departure resonated with him emotionally?" Aiden replied.

The group stared at his departing back and stared at Luke.

He was wiping a tear from his eyes.

This guy was too sensitive.

Even Desmonda, who knew she would miss Aiden more than everyone, shook her head at Luke’s sudden outburst.

Luke found out everyone was looking at him. "Ahem... I have allergies..."

Everyone: "....."