Martial Arts Worlds

Knock! Knock!

Loud knocking came from the door.

"…They must be here."

Kiernan stood up from the couch, walked to the door, and opened it with a strong pull. On the other side, two wide-eyed people stood, stunned as they looked at him.

"Kiernan!"

With a cry of happiness, Aoi ran towards him and enveloped him in a tight hug.

Her whole body was shaking, and while her tight hug could've crushed any ordinary person, Kiernan simply stood there, soaking in the warmth of her embrace.

With a warm smile, Kiernan patted her on the head and saw his father looking at him, relieved to see him in one piece.

Karma walked to him and gave him a strong pat on the shoulder.

After a tearful reunion, they sat down on the couch, and Aoi didn't let go of Kiernan's hand even for a moment, scared that he might disappear like a ghost.

"Yip!"

In that moment, Fen came from the back, wagging his tail excitedly at the sight of two familiar people.

"Fen is here as well!"

Aoi said with a bright smile.

"Son… Where have you two been? We've been looking for you everywhere, and you were just gone."

Karma said with a serious look.

While he didn't like to lie to the two people closest to him, there was no other way, as he couldn't expose the system like that.

"…When I left Irio, there was someone waiting for me. I think he called himself Dark Warlock, or someone, I don't know, but it sounded ominous, to say the least.

"He attacked me, and I fought back. It was pretty even, I'd like to say, but maybe it was just my imagination.

"In the end, he trapped me in some kind of prison and sent me to some other dimension, I think. It was a dimension made of mirrors."

Kiernan said.

"…Dark Warlock."

Karma narrowed his eyes.

"You were trapped there for six months?"

Aoi said with a horrified look, and she couldn't even imagine that. It must've been horrible. Especially if he couldn't drink or eat there.

With his Martial King physique, he didn't need food or water as sustenance of life anymore and could live with only the energy from his surroundings.

"That's the thing. It wasn't six months for me. It was one minute, and when I broke free from the prison, I was here, in Montrael, and six months had passed."

Kiernan scratched the back of his head.

"That explains your sudden disappearance. What a terrifying power. If you'd been there much longer, fifty years might've passed!

"You're extremely lucky that you managed to break through that prison so quickly."

Karma said with a sigh of relief.

"Fifty years…"

Aoi whispered with a stunned look.

…

In a few hours following their reunion, the news of Kiernan's reappearance spread like wildfire through the world.

It came suddenly like thunder, and while many people were curious about where he was all these months, it stayed a mystery, as nobody really knew.

The tension that was brewing between humans and the Animal Kingdom slowly subdued as the news broke out that they actually had nothing to do with his disappearance.

It made many people sigh with relief, as the war could've started in the following months or if Kiernan's corpse resurfaced somewhere.

The world turned calm once again.

…

Walking down the streets of Montrael, Kiernan walked with his back straight and garnered a lot of gazes from the people in the streets.

It was because some people recognized him as Kiernan Hunter and because of the beautiful black-haired woman beside her.

With full and red lips, her short black hair framed her soft and round face perfectly. She was a striking sight to behold.

She was Bella, the real mother of Kiernan, and she finally arrived in Montrael after forcing the battleship to sail all day and all night at full speed.

"…Dark Warlocks. How bold of them, but I am not surprised; they do not abide by human laws, and they are pretty much doing whatever the hell they want.

"They are powerful, so I am glad that you survived, but it sounded like they didn't intend to kill you. Maybe they wanted you to be stuck in a time prison for a longer time.

"I don't think they expected you to break out so soon."

Bella said, her lips slightly curving into a smile, proud of her son breaking out of that time prison so quickly.

"I am worried that they might come after you again. Maybe you should come live with me in Nightingale, where I can keep you safe."

She said with a warm and soft-sounding voice.

"…I don't think playing it safe is the move. Risks are part of a martial artist's life, and I need to thrive in those risks."

Kiernan said.

Bella smiled sweetly at her son and agreed with him, but she was also worried, and she had also noticed that her son was stronger than during the tournament.

'…Middle Stage already. How wonderful. Most people who reach Martial King usually start slowing down, but not him; he is still keeping up his insane speed of progress.'

"What are you planning to do from now on, my son?"

She asked.

"…I am not quite sure."

Kiernan said.

In that moment, they arrived at Battle District. It was where most of Montrael's thousand dojos were located.

Everywhere they looked, there were people walking in their dojo's uniforms, repping the colors of their respective dojos, and there were students of those dojos practicing their martial arts techniques in the streets.

Some of them were just showcasing the techniques of their martial arts styles to those who might be willing to join.

A few dojos were just shouting recruitment slang to attract new members.

"What if I start my own dojo here to teach my martial arts?"

Kiernan asked.

"You? dojo master? Giggle~ I think that path is a little too early for you. Those who can't do anymore or have reached the end of their Martial Arts Path usually start teaching instead.

"You are far from reaching that point in your journey."

Bella said with a giggle, clearly amused by his words, but she didn't think badly of it and thought that her son would do great as a teacher.

However, she wanted him to keep on focusing on training himself and not others.

"Hmm, maybe true. I just thought it would be interesting. I am just a young kid, eighteen years old, and I probably can't even get a single student, no matter my fame.

"Young people tend to trust older fellows to teach them, and I will be an outcast. Other dojo masters will think badly of him and will probably try to discourage me from teaching, saying stuff like I am still wet behind my ears.

"I am just thinking that Celine is a tier 1 country. The air here is extremely rich. I will most likely find plenty of competition here, and I get to fight against many different kinds of martial arts.

"I can't think of a better place to push myself even further."

Kiernan said with a smile.

"Oh~"

Bella exclaimed and then pushed her lips together before smiling. She caressed her son's gray hair and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"You do what you want. You already got this far all by yourself. If your instincts tell you that this is the best path, then go for it!"