Saruto suddenly realized he was no longer in the kingdom he knew. The land was unfamiliar, and the landmarks were no longer familiar. But he resolved not to succumb to confusion. He needed to ascertain his surroundings, determine where he had arrived, and find out if anyone could help him.
His body was exhausted from what had transpired within the gates, so he advanced cautiously, enveloped in the cloak of darkness he had fashioned from his own energy, concealing himself from all who might be watching him, allowing him to move freely.
After hours of walking, he reached a large, partially destroyed city, with ruins of buildings everywhere. He wandered the streets, finding every building deserted. He saw no sign of life until he raised his eyes and saw the vast kingdom he had seen before, the one shrouded in a dark, terrifying aura.
He decided to head towards it, but before moving, he felt utterly exhausted. He rested in an abandoned house, still concealed by his dark cloak. Then he heard voices. He approached cautiously and discovered two people talking, their voices muffled but clear. "I saw one of them, I'm sure of it! No doubt it was one of the rebels. He was wearing a cloak and trying to conceal himself."
The other replied sarcastically, "You must be out of your mind… We haven't seen anyone here for days. Let's return to the carriages and head to the Kingdom of Helles to report what's happening."
Saruto smiled silently and thought to himself, "So this kingdom is called Helles… and it seems its ruler is relentlessly pursuing the rebels."
He decided to use the coming day as an opportunity to sneak into the kingdom and find out what was going on, but first he needed to conceal his presence during the night. He entered a ruined house, closed his eyes, enveloped by the darkness, and fell asleep.
At sunrise, Saruto awoke and cautiously left the house. He suddenly felt intensely hungry and made his way toward the gathering of the people he had heard the night before. There were more of them than the night before, searching for any trace of the rebels. One of them pointed to the ground and said, "Look at these tracks!"
The other agreed, and they began searching. Saruto didn't appear, but he noticed they probably had food he could eat. He quietly approached one of their carts, took what he needed, and disappeared again, silently eating his meal.
Then he formed his wings and flew swiftly toward the Kingdom of Helles. After a few minutes, he was close to the kingdom's walls and concealed himself once more. He advanced toward the gate and noticed huge lines of people entering the kingdom, all from the Ten Kingdoms. At that moment, Saruto realized a shocking truth: "The Kingdom of Helles… is the same as the Dark Family's kingdom, his own!"
He paused, stunned, and said to himself, "What's going on here?"
He entered the kingdom in disguise, trying to understand the situation. He couldn't believe his eyes; the people were going about their lives normally. Then he saw a soldier forcibly pushing someone inside, shouting angrily, "Damn you! I'm your emperor!"
Saruto decided to intervene. He used his powers to create clothing similar to the kingdom's inhabitants and completely concealed himself. He approached the soldier calmly and asked sharply, "Soldier… what did this man do to deserve all this?"
The soldier trembled and said angrily, "What… have you forgotten? He's a rebel!"
Saruto smiled and said, "Well… what do these rebels do?"
The soldier replied, "There's no time for your explanation…!"
The soldier shoved Saruto, who fell to the ground, but as he fell, his face was revealed to everyone. The soldier froze for a moment, then quickly knelt, his voice trembling, "Your Majesty! Please… spare my life! I didn't know it was you!"
While everyone else remained silent, the other residents knelt in respect and reverence before Saruto. "What's going on here?" Saruto wondered to himself.
The rebel seized the opportunity and drew the soldier's sword, about to deliver a fatal blow to Saruto, shouting, "Damn you, Emperor!"
But Saruto acted with lightning speed, stopping the sword with a single finger. The soldier froze, stunned by the Emperor's power. He snatched the weapon from his hand, shouting angrily, "You bastard! How dare you try to kill the Emperor?"
There was a moment of terrifying silence. Then, with lightning speed, Saruto seized the rebel and flew off with him, leaving everyone stunned by the Emperor's incredible strength and speed.