Minato bit his lips as he stared at his cute spirit sleeping soundly in his arms. He wanted to be assistance or at least damage the monsters from his own world, yet all he did was buy some time.
It hurt his pride and self-esteem, but the Overlord Pillar strangely didn't go down, nor did it become weaker.
Minato didn't pay attention to it.
Those were his genuine feelings. He never wanted to rely on others but to overcome problems alongside them.
"Please, don't look down, Your Majesty," An unknown voice rang out in Minato's head.
It didn't alert Minato at all. Besides, the person behind that voice was clearly wounded or exhausted.
That much Minato inferred.
He looked around and found no one, though.
Minato once again heard the voice within his mind, "Come to your world tree, Your Majesty. I don't have much time, but I have a few things to talk to you about."
"Take care of Aya, please. I need to check something," Minato passed Aya to Yuna's hands.
The moment Aya felt a different warmth, her hands clutched Yuna's clothes, and her snoring stopped.
Minato smiled faintly, then ran toward his world tree.
-
"You awakened Aya, didn't you?" Minato immediately asked after arriving atop the world tree.
Before his eyes, a man with blonde hair and sunglasses lied. No strength was in his body as he lay on his back. However, he tried to stand up countless times. He trembled no end, so Minato stopped him from moving.
"Sunglasses?" he replied with a question, wearing a faint smile.
Minato nodded.
"We had two suns... One of them was the sun that lit up the whole universe... The other was my sister... Sunglasses were damn life-saver..." the blonde-haired man reminisced for a second, then coughed another mouthful of blood.
He dropped all reminiscing and whispered to Minato, "Don't go to your current wife's world... Don't... unless Your Majesty gets back his physique."
"What do you mean by that? Why shouldn't I go here? I want Yuna's father to accept me-" Minato questioned instantly after the guy begged him to not go to Yuna's home.
The moment Minato voiced one of his goals, the blonde-haired man convulsed, not believing his ears.
He then extended his hand and clutched Minato's clothes, "Don't go... here... Your Majesty will waste this only chance..."
"Are you saying that... Yuna's father works with Ravash?" Minato whispered, not believing his words.
He always felt repulsion toward Ravash's hatred. That man was an existence that every Overlord or at least a few ones hated.
Minato deemed himself as one of them.
But Yuna and Bei told him that their world also had Ravash's hatred. That their world was haunted by that energy...
That energy also enslaved many races... It was not a good existence, and Minato knew he would confront it at some point.
The blonde-haired guy closed his eyes, seeming fine with that development.
"What about my physique? How do I learn about my Overlord's physique?" Minato asked another critical question.
"Overlord... Physique... That is nothing but a false power... In the past, there were four Overlords... The real Overlords, not those fake rulers that just own a mere world. Each owned one part of the universe, but only one truly owned its part..."
"This is false power?" Minato was shocked beyond belief.
The guy chuckled, letting out a stream of blood from the corner of his lips, "Your Majesty's Power is hidden within the Overlord Pillar... Behind that false appearance, your true power lies... Scratch all Overlords' parts and reject their power... Only then will you gain your authentic strength, Your Majesty."
The best example was the Snake Concubine here.
She had found Overlord Kai's part in Minato's Overlord Pillar, and she aimed at him. Many other powers lay in Minato's Overlord Pillar and different newbies or old Overlords. They all would fight Overlord Enemies and use their blood to get powers from Overlord Pillar.
Minato received a blessing from the Snake Concubine instead, but it seemed like he would need to scratch it and find his true power.
And he had many other parts within his body!
Minato bit his lips, "I am concerned about Yuna's father-"
"Overlord Enemies... shouldn't die from your hands, Your Majesty. They aren't your enemies, but Ravash... This whole Overlord Rune's fiasco is all his doings... Don't kill them and try to find their master. Ravash hurt more than just one person."
The blonde-haired guy noticed Minato's worry within his eyes.
He lifted his hand weakly, then tried to grasp Minato's hand, "I beg you... Don't go to your current wife's home... I beg-"
"I understand," Minato nodded.
"Thank you... Lastly, I want to apologize... It was me who allowed Cerber to be this rampant... The seal broke at an unexpected moment... Forgive me..." Tears flowed down the guy's eyes, his golden eyes losing their luster. His vision dimmed, "I no longer need sunglasses... Strange... I felt warmth... and saw a bright future... Haha..."
He weakly whispered, then died within Minato's hands.
After the guy died, Minato took him to the world's tree garden. He decided to give this man's body a rest in the best forest possible and under the legendary tree.
Ingrid prepared the grave, then Minato put sunglasses on it, "What are the losses?"
"That monster killed... many..." Ingrid didn't want to state the exact numbers as she was still overwhelmed by the sudden and unexpected deaths.
Minato nodded, "We all need time... I will talk with everyone in due time..."
"Yes, Minato..." Ingrid nodded.
Minato climbed his way to the world tree.
It was already clean as the tree took care of itself, absorbing the blood and tears.
Minato didn't know, but the world tree wouldn't waste those resources coming straight from the blonde-haired man.
He took a seat on the balcony.
On his right, Yuna clenched his clothes and slept soundlessly.
Bei was the same on his left.
He stared at the barren land, thinking about the new information he had received. Fear and disbelief often flashed in Minato's mind.
At last, Aya woke up, "Husbando Overlord! Is everything solved?!"
Minato put the finger on his lips, "Shhh... It's solved."
Aya noticed two sleeping beauties and went, "Ah!"
She then skipped her way to Husbando Overlord and took a seat on his lap, "My powers awakened, right?! Did I help?"
"Yes... How much do you remember?" Minato asked nicely, patting his spirit.
Aya pondered loudly, "I just know that my memories awakened! I remember looking at Vulgar Princess face to face, so I surely got my peak form! Hehe! How was I, Husbando Overlord?"
"Very cute," Minato smiled widely.
"I also remember a dream! In that dream, I adventured with an unknown man. I don't remember his face, but I always followed his back. He always told me to look at everything and remember much tiring stuff. He taught me some cool magic circles too!
He was so nice to me! Really nice! I once called him father, and he nearly choked on his drink! Haha!" Aya happily chirped.
That man was undoubtedly the man who had died in Minato's arms. A wave of sadness washed over Minato, and he did his best to not show anything on his face.
He smiled despite the sudden weight on his heart, "I will introduce you to someone... No, I guess it will be another reunion... I hope you will visit his grave with me every year from now on."
"Grave?" Aya tilted her head.
"Yes," Minato closed his eyes, then drew Aya closer to his chest.
He stroked her hair slowly, making her sleep again.
He stared at the starry sky in his own world with half-closed eyes, "I lost... someone important... Didn't I?"
His heart clenched.
Minato gently excused himself from his sleeping beauties. He brought Aya back to the bed, planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, then wrapped her in a warm blanket. He draped it on his beloveds as well, then made his way down to the Overlord Pillar.
Facing a false power, Minato extended his hand and touched it.
"Scratch all Overlord's parts... I might face Overlord Enemies and Overlord Families and their descendants... There are a lot of enemies lined up..." Minato whispered, then tried to probe into the Overlord Pillar.
His vision suddenly brightened, and he felt like he saw the sun!
"Eh? You have already learned magic circles?! This is my only forte! No! I refuse! I refuse it!" Sweet voice assailed Minato's mind despite the unwilling emotions behind it.
Minato widely opened his eyes, tears going down his face, "Who?"