Chapter 718 - Return of the King! (1/2)

Glory and sorrow, renown and regret… all sorts of complicated emotions intertwined, reflected in the expressions of every person’s eyes.

None of them expected so many comrades to turn up.

A feeling of longing and nostalgia welled up in their hearts.

Everyone watched as Black Hell slowly walked up to the center of the square, their vision growing blurry with tears. Brother, what a familiar term of address. Even after such a long time, the word still remained deeply etched in their minds. At this moment, no one saw Black Hell; they saw their guild leader—Invincible!

Many races were gathered in the square. Humans, elves, orcs, giants, dwarves, they had all come together for one person.

Seeing all these passionate people, a thought surface in Nie Yan’s mind. If I were to disappear one day, only to show back up several years later, how many would heed my call? Could I just be like Black Hell?

Nie Yan didn’t know the answer. To be able to engrave yourself in the hearts of so many people, Black Hell—no, it was better to say Invincible—had a place he belonged.

Even more players came pouring in from all over after receiving word of Invincible’s return. Nie Yan roughly estimated there were at least 300,000 players here. Imagine if all these people were brought together under a single banner. It would be the inception of a powerful guild no weaker than the likes of God Executioner Sword and Divine Protectors. If Black Hell still had the heart of a conqueror, he would become one of Asskickers United’s greatest rivals.

However, Nie Yan knew Black Hell wouldn’t become his enemy. This sort of trust came from the bottom of his heart.

Black Hell, Black Heaven, and Nie Yan arrived at the center of the square.

“Brothers, long time no see,” Black Hell said, choking up with emotion. The memories of old resurfaced in his mind.

“B-boss… Invincible, is it really you?”

“Hehe, the boss changed his name,” a player said, wiping the tears from their eyes.

“Boss! It’s really great to have you back. Y-you don’t know half how much we missed you...!”

…

The crowd in the central square stirred with emotion.

The 20 players who’d kept an open space in the center of the square rushed over to Black Hell.

“Boss, i-it’s me, Requiem...!” Dark Requiem exclaimed. He tried to force back his urge to cry, but the trembling in his voice betrayed his emotions.

All of them were overwhelmed with joy. After Invincible disappeared, they had never stopped searching for him. Outsiders couldn’t possibly understand this feeling.

“Boss! It’s me, Street Vulture,” an elven Elementalist said, choked up with tears. He was the sole Magister here.

“Big Bro, it’s me, Netherluna!”

“Boss, do you remember me? I’m Canon.”

...

Black Hell swept his eyes over everyone. Even though their appearances were somewhat different, he still recognized every single one of them. All sorts of emotions welled up from the bottom of his heart, closeness and familiarity as well as sorrow and guilt.

Black Hell engraved the figures of every person here into his mind. “Have you all been well...?”

“Y-yeah. Same as always. Just living,” Dark Requiem replied. His light words carried a hint of bitterness and pain.

“Fire Dragon isn’t here? Sky Master too. Is that guy still pulling everyone into his tricks?” Black Hell noticed there were still a few people missing.

Everyone became silent.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Black Hell noticed the strange atmosphere.

“The last time we heard from Fire Dragon was over three months ago. We haven’t been able to get in touch with him since,” Dark Requiem explained before breaking out into sobs.

Black Hell was dumbstruck. A figure slowly surfaced in his mind. Fire Dragon was a simple-minded fellow who liked to tease the girls in the guild. Yet he could also light up the darkest room with his big grin that was always plastered on his face. When they ran dungeons together, he would often charge ahead before the Mages were even ready, hollering like Leeroy Jenkins with his greatshield raised. However, his recklessness was backed up by skill, not to mention his stupid luck, miraculously getting out more scared than hurt.

“Then what about Sky Master?”

“Sky Master doesn’t play Conviction. We haven’t been in touch since the game’s release…”

“Up until the very end, Fire Dragon always believed in you. He would always say you would come back, and we would rebuild Dark Hero together.”

Of those former brothers in arms, some had scattered to a faraway place, impossible to find ever again; others had moved to another planet; and still others had changed their names and could no longer be reached. Only about a quarter to a third of them still remained behind. It was to be expected. But because of his willfulness, he couldn’t be there with Fire Dragon in his final moments. Black Hell was wracked with remorse, the guilt stabbing at his heart like steak knives.

“Boss... let’s rebuild Dark Hero.”

“Yeah, Boss, we can all start over again!”