Lightning Is the Only Way

Gravis always felt nervous when he asked the question of how his kids were.

"They've become Kings about 50 years ago and are currently stationed at a defensive line," the Empress said, making Gravis release a gigantic sigh of relief. They were still alive. Also, they were already Kings? Well, they are over a century old, so that was probably to be expected.

"So, this means I'm a grandfather now?" Gravis asked.

Azure only nodded. "Yes."

Gravis had no idea how to feel about that. A massive mix of emotions appeared inside his mind as he made several decisions.

'I can't come into contact with my grandchildren,' Gravis thought. 'My three children are already binding me to this world, and feeling a strong attachment to them can't be helped. Yet, as soon as I start getting attached to my grandchildren, this world might become too attached to me to the point that I might not leave.'

Gravis felt guilty when he decided that. Grandchildren were obviously still family. Yet, due to his own selfish goal, he had to keep his love for them to himself, even though they fully deserved this love based on his outlook and morals.

'If I get too attached, I will end up like Orpheus. I can't allow that to happen,' Gravis thought.

After a while, he turned to Azure again. "Which defensive line? I want to see them," he asked.

The Empress remained silent. She was probably asking some random elder about the information. After some seconds, a map appeared in Gravis' mind with one spot marked. This was probably the defensive line they had been assigned to.

"Thank you, Empress," Gravis said. "I will go there now."

"Gravis," Azure said before Gravis left. "After you're done, return to me. I have a special task for you."

Gravis' eyes shone a bit. "Oh? Okay, I will return quickly. It shouldn't take me more than a week."

"That's fine," Azure said.

Gravis nodded one last time to Azure and then flew towards the east. By now, Gravis was no longer unknown in the land beasts' camp. Additionally, there were now also several other beasts that looked like him. Due to these reasons, he didn't require a guide or escort anymore.

It wouldn't take long for him to get to the marked defensive line, a day perhaps.

Yet…

"Aris! Today, you will die!"

Gravis got interrupted just a couple of hours after he set off. Apparently, he was being confused for his son again.

'Again? Really?' Gravis thought in surprise. 'Aris is really creating a lot of trouble, apparently.'

This time, it was a level four King. Additionally, Gravis felt that this level four King even understood a level two Law. That was quite impressive.

"I'm not Aris. I'm Gravis," Gravis said simply as he summoned some Punishment Lightning to prove his identity.

The King received a shock but quickly calmed down again. "Oh, ok," he said as he returned to the Empire again where he had come from. Convincing this one was way easier than the last one.

With that short interruption over, Gravis continued on his journey.

"You dare come back here, Aris!?"

And another beast interrupted Gravis' journey. 'Okay, this is becoming annoying.'

"I'm Gravis, not Aris!" Gravis shouted in annoyance as he demonstrated his Punishment Lightning again. This King also quickly returned to his Empire.

"Prepare for your death, Aris!"

And another one!

'Alright, seriously, what the fuck did you do, Aris!?' Gravis thought.

Starting at that point, Gravis only traveled as a lightning bolt. Like this, no one would confuse him with his son anymore.

Finally, he managed to reach the relevant defensive line. Gravis transformed back and flew straight towards the defensive line.

"Halt!" a huge, red fox shouted as she appeared in Gravis' path. Surprisingly, this one was a level four King.

Gravis stopped, and the red fox examined him with judging eyes. "I don't see a Commander of a Striking Squad or a recruiter beside you, so you can't be a new recruit to our defensive line. What's your business here?"

'Finally, someone that doesn't confuse me with Aris,' Gravis thought with a sigh. 

"Hello, I'm here to visit my children. They should be stationed in this defensive line," Gravis said.

First, the fox was confused, but then she narrowed her eyes. "Your children are not here," she said.

Now, it was Gravis' turn to become confused. "But the Empress said that they should be here."

"Which Empress?" the fox answered.

"The Empress of the Icy Pride Empire," he said.

For some reason, the fox fell into thought when she heard that. "That's weird. Yes, we have some beasts from the Icy Pride Empire here, but I don't know of any children of yours that are here. Maybe the Empress misunderstood you? Because at least one of your parents should be here."

Gravis blinked a couple of times in confusion. He kinda doubted that the Opposer or his wife would be here. But then, Gravis' eyes widened as he realized something.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. "Are there three of them, and do they look like me?" he asked.

The red fox nodded.

"Yeah, those are my children," Gravis said.

Now, it was the red fox's turn again to be shocked. "What? But your Realm is lower! How can they be your children?" she asked.

"Oh? They already became level four or level five Kings? That's great! Can I see them?" he asked.

Gravis' genuine reaction surprised the red fox, but based on his reaction, he was probably speaking the truth. How weird it was that the parent was weaker than their children. Wait, weaker?

Then, the red fox remembered who the father of her three comrades was. Gravis, weaker than a level five King? Then, she also realized why Gravis was still being a level three King. He was concentrating on understanding Laws now since he couldn't find any tempering anymore. So, it made no difference if he became a level four or level five King.

"You're Gravis, right?" the red fox asked.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself," Gravis said as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. When it concerned his children, Gravis acted like the usually embarrassed father instead of his normally cold self.

The red fox nodded. "Wait here, I'm going to inform them."

"Thank you," Gravis said, confusing the red fox a bit. Yet, the red fox left anyway.

After waiting for some minutes, Gravis saw his three kids enter his Spirit Sense. When he saw them, he felt incredibly proud.

All three of them had the aura of a level five King on them. His kids had already become so powerful.

Aris nearly looked identical to Gravis. The only difference was that his chest was even wider than Gravis' in relation to his size. That also explained why everyone was confusing Gravis for Aris. They simply looked too similar.

Cera looked very different from before. Her standing position had changed, and she now walked on four legs. She still had her hands, and her arms definitely looked different from her legs, but her arms had changed so that they could assist in running. On top of that, she had two additional long and thin claw-like arms growing out of her back.

Gravis saw the potential in this setup and nodded. Cera could run faster by using more limbs. Additionally, she could still grab her enemy with her arms. As soon as she grabbed them, she could use these flexible spikes on her back to attack them.

Yersi also looked very different. Her neck was several times longer, and Gravis could sense venomous fangs hiding inside her mouth. Her two hands had also transformed into spikes filled with venom. She was now basically a venomous snake with deadly limbs.

Gravis could see their fighting styles reflected in their appearances. Aris was still going for a dominating fighting style that he used to clash with his opponent openly. Cera's body was set up to come close to the opponent and keep raining attacks on them without a pause. She was basically a meat grinder. Yersi fell back into her one-shot-kill fighting style. With her body, she risked injuries, but she would only need one good hit to kill the opponent.

Gravis was so incredibly proud when he saw them. If he were still a level two King, one of them could have proved to be a real danger to him, well, as long as they wouldn't have the lightning element, at least.

The three arrived in front of Gravis. Gravis smiled at them happily.

Yet, his three children only looked at him with confusion and even a bit of disgust.