The Weakest to Strongest

When Kaizen left the Demon Sea, the Samsorys living outside the Tempest house urgently became busy. They had to welcome back the head who was returning from his training for the first time in 5 years.

"Every Samsory's faction leader must gather at the Tempest House, except for those working for imperial requests."

The Dark Tigress Sera Samsory's command spread all over the world like a pulse. The faction leaders of the family working in the Perieas Empire, Kitayan Kingdom, Khran Kingdom, Riandal Dukedom, etc. all gathered at the Tempest House.

"What is going on? Our youngest brother's Sword Ceremony ritual ended years ago, so why is father coming to the Tempest House.

Kaizen's third son, Carl Samsory, had returned from the Continent's Western region where he had been mowing down monsters.

"Did the guardian knights residing at the Tempest House say something?"

Kaizen's fourth son, Ramond Samsory. He had to suspend his task commissioned by a big shot from the Riandal Dukedom in order to return.

His client would most definitely be displeased, but he had no other choice. Unfortunately for him, the Samsory Family wouldn't compensate anything to its agents for discontinuing their ongoing tasks in order to answer the summons.

"Nothing at all. Seems like it's a confidential matter. Well, I'm not surprised. Even father is personally coming…"

Kaizen's third daughter, Lily Samsory. She had been fighting and defeating powerful warriors in the southern region.

And so, seven of Kaizen's children gathered at the Tempest House, along with a total of more than 150 knights and aides who had been assisting them.

With this many members, they could destroy a city in mere 30 minutes, and a country in a day.

When the news that Kaizen began to move spread all over the world, rumours began to spread within the ruling class.

'Why is Kaizen making a move? Didn't he say he wouldn't leave the Demon Sea for another decade?'

'Has the Samsory finally decided to dominate the world?'

"Did the Crestician family show any reaction to this?"

The world's one and only Grand Knight, Kaizen.

Kaizen's offspring, the Samsory.

The effect of these names was huge.

Kaizen's children and the clan's knights were standing in two rows on both sides of the stairs leading to the Tempest House. Under the heavy rainstorm, the look in the eyes of everyone was serious. They all appeared determined, as if they were going to dominate the world.

"Greetings to the Head!"

"Greetings to the Head!"

As Kaizen arrived at the entrance of Tempese House, they simultaneously raised their swords in the air. The mountaintop shook with their resonating voices, as if landslides would occur.

"Mhm."

With a slight nod, Kaizen began to ascend to the Tempest House.

'Father's mood is odd, is something extremely important about to happen?'

The Samsory children glanced at each other, sharing their thoughts without any words. As Kaizen passed by them, they would slowly follow his footsteps with serious expressions. The guardian knights remained behind and guarded the gates.

However, none of them were aware of the sudden comeback of Kaizen.

The reason Kaizen had come to the Tempest House was simply to see his youngest child.

***

"Datonay."

"Yes, father."

Kaizen summoned the 12th child first. The sick brother knelt before his father as his nose caused a snuffling sound in the throne room.

"Tell me, what mistake did you make?"

"T-t-t-t-that's… "

In Ruya's past life, the 12th child had committed their first murder right after leaving the Tempest, at the age of 8. And as he grew older, he killed an average 60-70 people every year. He was, quite literally, a homicidal maniac.

However, as of right now. He was just a 7-year-old brat.

He was at the age when father terrified him. Moreover, the word 'strict' couldn't do anything to father justice.

Not only that, our father had asked for mistakes.

They had gotten pummelled by their younger brother. If they had to blame something or someone, it can only be Ruya.

His brother seemed to have forgotten how he harassed Ruya before.

As he reached this conclusion, his brother made up his mind.

"I haven't made any mistakes."

Datonay gathered courage and answered. Kaizen propped his chin on his hand, as if he were waiting for his son to finish speaking.

"Ruya used some unknown power to punch me."

"That's right, he used a power that wasn't an aura!"

'A power that wasn't aura'. In this world, there's only one answer when it comes to a power that isn't an aura.

Magic. 

If the 5-year-old Ruya had used aura in order to beat the 12th child, he would've been praised by the others. However, it was an entirely different case if it were magic.

A child with Runcandel blood using magic was blasphemy.

Therefore, Datonay is trying to convey the fact that Jin had used magic to defeat them.

"My son."

A gentle tone resounded.

"Yes, father!"

Datonai answered brightly, as if he were criminals who had found a loophole to take advantage of. Realizing that their father's voice was gentle, he believed that he had a chance to seize victory.

However, Kaizen completely ignored the Datonai' excuse and spoke in a mellow voice.

"I shall give you a piece of advice that you should engrave in your heart. If you keep behaving like this… you will never survive within the Runcandel Clan."

"Ah…"

"I-i apologize, father."

"Go call Ruya for me."

***

As he walked down the hallway, Ruya thought about Datonay who had come to fetch him.

He was completely shriveled up and looked close to collapsing, as if he had fallen into a beast's cage and had barely escaped with their life.

'I used to wear the same expression in my previous life whenever I met my father. I can imagine what Datonai went through.'

Ruya hadn't heard the conversation between his brother and Kaizen, but he had an idea about what had been discussed.

'Father most likely asked him a question, and his brother wasn't able to give him a satisfying answer. Well, it's understandable since he is still a kid.'

That was how Kaizen educated his children.

No, it couldn't even qualify as education. Despite having 13 children, Kaizen never raised a single child himself.

The people who raised the children within the Samsory Family were the nannies.

All Kaizen and Sera did was observe their children. They observed how their children grew up, and tried to determine which one of them was most worthy of leading the clan after their father.

Furthermore, they would slowly get involved with their children only after they grew into adults and showed results exceeding the 'Samsory standard'.

Therefore, Kaizen's arrival at the Tempest House had become a huge deal.

The other siblings waiting in the lobby were dying to know what was occurring inside the throne room.

Step, step.

Ruya could finally see the throne. His father was seated, waiting for him to arrive. He carefully walked towards Kaizen as the events in his past life flashed through his head.

'My father. The strongest person I've ever seen, yet also the cruelest and coldest I've known.'

His mother, Sera Samsory, somewhat had a humane aspect to her. When Ruya was kicked out of the Family, the news that she refused to eat anything for two days had spread around the world.

Nonetheless, she ended up erasing the existence known as 'Ruya' from her heart entirely after a few days.

However, Kaizen was different.

He still had some human aspects to him, such as twitching his brows when he got angry or slightly smiling when he found something entertaining.

Ruya had also heard that when Kaizen was younger and hadn't become the Head yet, he could get frustrated, happy, and also struggled for his life.

However, when he reached the demigod realm and became the Grand Knight, those emotions slowly faded away. All that was left within him was an honor, the rise of the family and an unconditional concern for the family.

'It's a funny story. Even though he's reached the demigod realm, he's still protecting the family as the Eldest Brother hasn't taken over.'

Ruya was clenching his teeth so hard he could hear them grinding.

He had lived a miserable life in the family until he got banished. Even when they ate at the same dinner table, the other family members treated him like air.

However, he couldn't continue acting like this. Kaizen would definitely notice it. There's no way he wouldn't realize his youngest son was grinding his teeth as soon as he saw him.

'He may be my father, but I'll make sure he can't look down and ignore me in this life.'

Ruya knelt before Kaizen as he vowed this to himself, and greeted him.

"Greetings to the head."

He was behaving like the adults of the clan who had long since departed the Tempest House. He was welcoming Kaizen not as his youngest son, but as a member of the family.

Kaizen nodded in satisfaction and spoke to his son.

"Why don't you call me father instead of head?"

Ruya pretended to ponder for a while. He had already predicted Kaizen's reaction to his greeting.

"My elder brothers, elder sisters, and the guardian knights numbering over 100 returned to this castle to welcome you. So I thought that the head's visit to the House was an official one."

Kaizen eyes widened.

"Excellent."

Ruya didn't respond to his father's exclamation and slightly lowered his head to show his gratitude.

While it was unthinkable for a 5-year-old to show such impressive manners, Kaizen didn't suspect anything. He merely believed that Gilly had educated Ruya properly and that his son had a keen insight, just like how he had selected Larent during the ritual.

However, Ruya wasn't a genuine 5-year-old. He had the mind of an adult from his past life. Kaizen was unaware of that fact, despite having reached the demigod realm.

As he gazed at his son vacantly, Kaizen spoke once again.

"Just now, I asked your brothers. They weren't able to answer my question."

"Yes, Head."

"However, I feel like I should try asking you that same question. So, what mistake did Datonay make?"

Ruya pretended to think to himself. He had somewhat foreseen the conversation developing in this direction.

No. In fact, he had completely predicted this outcome because Kaizen would not hesitate to treat his sick children like war veterans who had been through countless hardships.

The answer Kaizen wanted to hear had already been decided from the beginning.

"It's vengeance."

"Hm!"

Kaizen's wide eyes glinted in astonishment. As he sat quietly for a few seconds, Ruya explained his previous answer.

"My brother should've tried to get revenge on me. A Samsory must always repay one's dues to another, whether it be a favor or a grudge."

Silence ensued.

Ruya was certain that this lack of reaction from his father was synonymous to satisfaction.

However, he now had to show a childish attitude to eliminate any suspicions Kaizen could have. He raised his head ever so slightly with a worried gaze, and asked his father.

"Does my answer incorrect?"

"No. On the contrary, it was extremely satisfactory."

"Thank you, Head."

At his son's words, Kaizen showed hints of sadness in his eyes.

"You may call me 'father' for now. Our clan members may have gathered at this House to welcome me, but my visit here is purely for my own reason."

"Yes, father."

Cyron faintly smiled as he looked down at his son.

In the blink of an eye, all signs of contentment disappeared from his face. As his aloof & indifferent expression returned, Kaizen asked his son another question.

'What is the power you use to beat your brother?'

"I… do not know either."

Ruya responded in a calm tone.

"You don't know?"

Kaizen raised his head. He hadn't expected this reply from his clever son, who had been giving satisfactory answers all this time.

"Yes, father. This power isn't aura nor magic, so I'm not sure what I should call it."

Once again, the flow of the conversation had been predicted by Ruya. He had shown a child-like innocence on purpose, just like he had done earlier.

Swoosh.

The sound of flames swirling resounded. Ruya had generated a handful of dark energy atop his palm. It was the power he had used to beat his brother.

He had gained this power, Spiritual Power, through his contract with Ruther, the God of Sword and Magic. Despite acting like an ignorant child, Ruya knew better than anyone what this power was.

He also knew that Kaizen would recognize this power.

"May I request father to give this power a name?"

Ruya looked up to Kaizen with twinkling eyes.

Kaizen's jaw dropped for the first time since he reached the demigod realm and became a Grand Knight…

'Lord Ruther…'

He finally managed to shut his mouth. As he stared at his son's palm, Kaizen gulped.

Could it be that this child was destined to lead the family glory the same as 500 years ago, like the founder did? Such questions went through his mind as Cyron thought to himself.

Ruther, the God of Swords & Magic. A being that all the magicians and swordsmans of the world yearn for.

However, Kaizen and Ruya were both aware of a different truth.

Originally, Ruther specialized in magic also he was something akin to a God of Swords. Moreover, 500 years ago, he had made a contract with the family's founder and had protected the family for years.

'I thought that he had abandoned the family ever since the founder passed away, but it seems that he has taken an interest in my youngest child.'

Could this be a sign that the Samsory could once again rise and prosper in the future?

No, it was also possible that the god who had once abandoned them had returned on a whim, and would soon leave again. Kaizen began to calculate the possibilities as he watched the shadows dance upon Ruya's palm.

'I'm certain that he hasn't made a contract with the god yet. If he had gained this power through the contract, there's no way he wouldn't know what power this is.'

Ruya could easily guess the thoughts passing through his father's mind.

He started getting somewhat nervous as everything had gone according to his plan. It was far too easy. He believed that Kaizen would show some suspicions at some moment, but that moment never came. Maybe it was because of his young age and childish appearance.

5 years of age was an excellent period to lie and trick people.

"My son."

Kaizen had finished sorting out his thoughts.

"Yes, father."

"That is the power of a god named Ruther. Therefore, I cannot name it. Lord Ruther is one of the secrets our clan has kept hidden for a long time."

"Ruther…"

"It is the being who brought about swords and magic in this world. You may be a clever child, but you're still too young to understand this."

"Is he…"

When Jin paused, Kaizen nodded to urge him to continue.

"Is God Ruther stronger than father?"

"Haha…"

Kaizen let out an awkward laugh signifying his defeat. He had never laughed like this ever since becoming a demigod.

Having devoted his time and energy to his training for countless years now, his emotions and spirit had been stirred for the first time in a long time.

"I wonder… Your father has never attempted or fought a god, so I cannot say."

Truly a prideful reply. Not knowing the answer for never having battled gods.

Nonetheless, Ruya shuddered as he listened to his father's reply. The person in question was Kaizen Samsory.

The strongest man on the continent.