The Hero's Party Assembles
While Kyle Tenant, forcibly transformed into a woman, was being violated by Mastema, leader of the Fallen Angels—
"Kyle von Tenant has vanished."
As a powerhouse worthy of the ancient Hero, Ji-ho quickly grasped that Kyle had disappeared from the Valois Kingdom, and his face twisted into a frown.
At present he was in the middle of summoning his wives from Earth. Calling his family from Earth as well was still too dangerous, so he had put that off—but he needed his wives at his side if they were going to fight together.
Armed with sacred armaments and the Archangels' blades, he was several times stronger than before. Even so, he still fell short of Jae-hyun, who held the Holy Sword.
And Jae-hyun wielded the Demonic Sword as well.
Jae-hyun's power was terrifying beyond measure—yet in Ji-ho's judgment, defeating him was not impossible.
He's only been the Demon King for ten years.
A mere decade had passed. That meant there was still time to deal with him. The longer they waited beyond that, the harder Jae-hyun would become to face, until at last he would turn into an enemy no one could ever defeat.
Ji-ho knew full well how quickly Jae-hyun grew stronger. He himself was growing stronger at a rapid pace, after all.
Even so, time favored Jae-hyun. Ji-ho might grow swiftly, but his wives and companions had limits to how fast they could advance. As the days piled up, the gap between everyone but Ji-ho and Jae-hyun would stretch beyond any comparison—and once that happened, none of his companions would be of any use.
And he could not beat Jae-hyun alone. He had to hurry while his companions could still help.
Barely twenty days had passed since Jae-hyun descended upon the Intermediate World—sixteen days, to be exact—and already he had broadcast across the entire continent the cruel torture of House Grey, the sworn enemies of his subordinates, and spread word that anyone hungering for revenge need only swear loyalty to him and he would make that revenge real.
With every day that passed, more humans would turn to the forces of darkness. The Demon King's power would swell further still, and his faction would grow overwhelming.
That was why he had to bring his wives over at once and strike the Demon King's Castle without delay.
Kyle Tenant's abduction by Demon King Kim Jae-hyun in particular had put Ji-ho on high alert. A cold fear had taken root in him—that his companions might be dragged away one by one until he alone was left to face the Demon King.
I meant to wait about ten days, but that won't do.
He would have to speak with Gabriel and launch an all-out assault, leading nearly a hundred million of the heavenly host together with every Archangel.
Thinking as much, Ji-ho continued his preparations to summon his wives.
The dimensions were already linked, so the summoning worked by calling them through that connection. It did not demand the monstrous surge of power that had been needed to forcibly summon him—the ancient Hero—when no link between worlds had existed at all.
In particular, summoning Ji-ho, the ancient Hero, by means of a trace left 8,123 years earlier had required an enormous quantity of energy. Without the heart of Demon King Laylana, there would have been no way to call him at all.
But with the dimensions already connected, there was no obstacle to summoning his wives.
It would consume more energy than summoning someone within the same dimension, yet for a being who possessed the colossal mana of the ancient Hero, the cost was hardly a burden.
All it took was time—drawing a single-use magic circle in the air by tracing the flow of the array.
"Summon."
Having at last finished a magic circle broad enough for five people to stand upon—a circular base etched with intricate patterns—Ji-ho attempted to call his wives.
Shuuuu—!
The circle drawn in empty air began to glow with a phosphorescent green light, then settled onto the floor and erupted in a fierce radiance that swallowed everything around it.
Moments later the light receded, and where the magic circle had been, four women stood.
Every one of them was a beauty of startling loveliness—women he had been aching to see, even though they had been apart for less than two weeks.
They were his wives, after all.
Rachel—a beauty of 170 centimeters, golden hair falling to her waist, green eyes.
Ruina—a beauty of 165 centimeters, brown hair to her waist, brown eyes.
Silvia—a beauty of 168 centimeters, blue-silver hair to her waist, blue eyes.
Kim Da-gyeom—a beauty of 166 centimeters, black hair to the middle of her back, black eyes, the only one among them with East Asian features.
All of them were beauties of the highest caliber. Rachel, Ruina, and Silvia in particular had been counted among the most beautiful women on the continent in the age when this world was still the past of 8,123 years ago.
"Honey!"
"Ji-ho!"
Rachel, Ruina, Silvia, and Kim Da-gyeom all rushed to him at once and threw themselves into his arms. Catching all four of his wives together, Ji-ho answered them with equal warmth.
"Rachel, Ruina, Silvia, Da-gyeom… I missed you so much. I really missed you."
The soft, springy feel of their bodies, the sweet scent rising from their skin, and the simple fact that he had his beloved wives back again—all of it filled him with joy.
When the five of them finally ended their marital embrace and drew apart, Kim Da-gyeom was the first to speak.
"Ji-ho, what on earth is going on? Is this that other world you told me about?"
Alone among them in having lived only on Earth, Kim Da-gyeom had never set foot in another world. She wanted to know whether this truly was the realm where Ji-ho had fought as a Hero, slain the Demon King, and been hailed as a legend.
Summoned straight from Earth, she still wore the denim hot pants and airy white blouse she had had on there. Curiosity brightened her eyes as she looked up at him. Finding the sight adorable, Ji-ho gave a small laugh and nodded.
"That's right. Though 8,123 years have gone by since then."
"E-eight thousand one hundred and twenty-three years?"
"Good heavens!"
At those words, it was not only Kim Da-gyeom who reeled. Rachel, Ruina, and Silvia were just as stunned.
Rachel had once been the daughter of a noble count's house; Ruina and Silvia had each been princesses.
Silvia, princess of the Medeos Kingdom.
Ruina, princess of the Neylon Kingdom.
Rachel, daughter of House Race of the Primigenus Empire.
Once they understood that this was the world they had once lived in, they must have harbored quiet hopes—hopes of reuniting with the countless people they had bid farewell to when they chose to follow their husband, Ji-ho.
But 8,123 years was an abyss of time in which countless nations could rise, fall, and rise again. The countries of their birth had vanished so long ago that scarcely any record of them remained.
How else could it be that even the existence of Ji-ho—the otherworldly Hero who had slain the Demon King—had only come to light through stone tablets after Demon King Laylana's descent?
They must be heartbroken.
Without a word, Ji-ho drew Rachel, Ruina, and Silvia into his arms at once and held them, stroking their backs. He burned with fierce desire for their beauty and their bodies—and yet the love he felt for them was genuine.
How could he not love women who had loved him enough to sever every bond of one lifetime and follow him here? And when every one of those women was a peerless beauty, all the more so!
Eleven days without a woman had left Ji-ho's lust piled high; the way he looked at his wives was stickier than usual.
And they felt the same. Now that the Earth of his era and this world were linked, time flowed the same in both—much as time ran alike in Heaven, the Demon World, and the Intermediate World.
Ji-ho let his gaze travel over Rachel, Ruina, and Silvia's figures. All three boasted exquisite S-line curves that bordered on the fantastical. Confident in their bodies, they had always favored clothes that flattered their lines for his pleasure—outfits with generous exposure, skirts and pants cut short.
Every one of them stood before him now in hot pants or a miniskirt. Eleven days without sex had left Ji-ho's desire swollen to the brim. Looking from Kim Da-gyeom to the others, he swallowed hard and spoke.
"First, let's go to the bedroom."
Before assembling a Hero's party to slay the Demon King, the Hero had a more urgent backlog of lust to clear.
After a thoroughly enjoyable stretch of time with his four beautiful wives, Ji-ho had cast off his stress and, face relaxed and mood high, summoned his companions.
Emperor Ferdinand was not to be a member of the Hero's party now forming—he had an empire to move—but he attended in his capacity as emperor. All four Archangels appeared as well.
Archangel Michael—a beautiful man with six golden wings, golden hair to his waist, golden eyes, and pure-white ceremonial robes.
Archangel Raphael—a powerfully built, formidable-looking man with six green wings, short-cropped green hair, green eyes, and pure-white martial garb.
Archangel Uriel—a man of scholarly, intellectual features with six brown wings, short brown hair, brown eyes, and pure-white vestments.
And Archangel Gabriel—a beautiful woman with six blue wings, blue hair falling to her waist, blue eyes, and a pure-white dress.
Of the four Archangels, Gabriel was the only woman.
Jason Light, who had scarcely stirred from the Minoa Kingdom, was present as well.
A handsome middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes, he sat beside Griffith with a grave expression. For all that he was called the Great Mage of Flame, his temperament was not the hot-blooded one people might expect—he was calm, as befit a mage.
Folk assumed that anyone who wielded fire must be passionate by nature, but that was mere prejudice. Jason Light was living proof of how wrong that prejudice was.
The Dragon Lord was in attendance too, and Ji-ho and his wives were all gathered, so the Hero's party was complete at last.
The eyes of the humans present—Ferdinand, Griffith, Jason, and the rest—were drawn inevitably to Ji-ho's wives. All four possessed truly startling beauty. They did not quite reach Irene, and they fell short of Lucretia as well, yet they were more than lovely enough to be called peerless beauties, the kind of faces that pulled every gaze regardless of age or sex.
And they were not merely beautiful. Each of them ranked among the strong in her own right.
For the legendary armaments Ji-ho had bestowed upon them rested in their hands.
Centered on Hero Ji-ho, the party's roster was finally complete.
"From this moment on, we must join our strength to bring down Demon King Kim Jae-hyun. I ask you all to lend me your power."
As the Hero, Ji-ho called on them to unite against Demon King Kim Jae-hyun—
"We shall do so."
"I will lend every ounce of strength I can."
Angel, dragon, and human alike—his companions, without regard to race, accepted his call for cooperation.