I Enslaved The Goddess Who Summoned Me

Chapter 650: The Hero of Darkness’s arrival to the Kastoria Capital

Upon hearing the urgent announcement that the Hero of Darkness had arrived in the capital and was currently somewhere within or near the castle grounds, there were multiple distinct reactions rippling through the assembled Heroes of Kastoria.

Shock and surprise came first, naturally—the sudden appearance of someone they hadn’t seen in two years, arriving without warning or advance notice at this politically volatile moment.

But closely following that initial surprise came other, darker emotions that had been simmering beneath the surface for those two long years.

Bitterness. Resentment. Barely suppressed anger.

They couldn’t forget the profound humiliation of that encounter two years ago when Nathan had arrived on his golden dragon and systematically, effortlessly defeated their entire group. They’d been so certain of their growing strength, so confident in their abilities as divinely summoned Heroes.

And he’d torn through them like they were children playing at war.

Worse than just the defeat—though that alone had been devastating enough to their pride—Nathan had also killed one of their own. Taketa, one of their classmates who’d sat beside them in boring lectures back in Japan, who’d been summoned alongside them to this strange world.

Dead. Gone permanently. His life ended in seconds and easily.

After that catastrophic confrontation, a fragile peace and formal truce had been established between Kastoria and Tenebria. But everyone understood the truth behind those diplomatic words: it was a forced arrangement made from a position of weakness after they’d been comprehensively defeated.

Since that treaty signing, they actually hadn’t seen Nathan again in person. There had been rumors and reports that he’d visited Kastoria a few times for diplomatic purposes, but those visits had apparently been brief and conducted entirely through official channels with Kaguya and the royal administrators. The Heroes themselves had never encountered him during those alleged visits.

So they couldn’t even confirm if he’d really come or if those were just unfounded rumors.

Regardless of uncertainty about his recent movements, the mutual feelings about Nathan among most of the Heroes remained decidedly, intensely negative.

Ryuuki’s expression was particularly complicated as he processed the news, multiple conflicting emotions warring across his normally confident features.

He was fundamentally a kind person at heart, naturally inclined toward forgiveness and seeing the best in people. That generous nature had made him an effective leader for their often fractious group. But even Ryuuki couldn’t entirely forget or easily forgive that Nathan had deliberately killed one of his classmates—one of the people Ryuuki felt personally responsible for protecting.

At the same time, Ryuuki’s rational mind understood that what happened had been combat, had been war. They had been the aggressors in that encounter, attacking Nathan’s forces first based on incomplete intelligence and political pressures from Kastoria’s military advisors.

Could he really blame Nathan for fighting back when they’d started the conflict? For defending himself and his allies with lethal force when attacked?

But what upset Ryuuki most profoundly was the knowledge that Nathan was also originally from Earth, just like them. They shared the same modern, peaceful world as their origin. Their moral frameworks should have been aligned—shaped by the same culture that valued human life, that viewed killing as an absolute last resort.

Yet Nathan had killed Taketa without apparent hesitation or remorse, as casually as swatting an insect. That cold willingness to take a life, especially the life of someone who should have felt like a fellow displaced person from their shared world, disturbed Ryuuki on a fundamental level.

What had changed Nathan so drastically? Or had he always carried that capacity for casual violence beneath whatever mask he’d worn in their previous world?

"Wait just a minute!" Teiji suddenly burst out, his voice rising with panic and breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the group. "That monster is actually here?! Right now?! In our capital?!"

His face had gone pale, fear naked and undisguised in his expression.

"Shut up, Teiji," Ayaka snapped immediately, glaring at him with sharp intensity.

"What the hell?! Why are you suddenly dissing me for being reasonably concerned?!" Teiji asked, genuinely dumbfounded by her harsh reaction. He hadn’t said anything unreasonable—they should all be concerned!

Realizing her mistake—that she’d reacted too defensively, too protectively of Nathan in a way that might raise questions—Ayaka quickly tried to recover with a dismissive shrug.

"You’re being scared over nothing," she said with forced casualness. "Try to grow a backbone instead of panicking like a child."

"A backbone?!" Teiji’s voice rose higher with indignation and genuine fear. "Are you all seriously forgetting what happened two years ago?! That guy showed up on a giant dragon and utterly destroyed all of us—including Ryuuki, who’s supposed to be the strongest! He killed Taketa without even slowing down! Or have you all conveniently forgotten that already?!"

His words hung in the air, forcing everyone to confront memories they’d been trying to suppress or rationalize away.

Several Heroes looked down or away, uncomfortable expressions crossing their faces as they remembered their helplessness, the terror of facing someone so far beyond their level.

"Nobody has forgotten about it, Teiji-kun," Yumiko said with strained patience, shooting him a glare that clearly communicated he should stop talking. "Now can you please shut up and stop making everything worse?"

He was dredging up painful memories and creating more fear and tension when they needed to present a united, confident front. His panic was contagious, and they couldn’t afford that right now.

"It’s not like anyone here is actually missing that guy anyway," Rena suddenly interjected with her characteristic bluntness, shrugging with complete indifference.

She received multiple dumbfounded, shocked gazes from the assembled Heroes. The casual dismissal of their dead classmate was startling even by Rena’s normally harsh standards.

"Rena-san, he was still our classmate," Ryuuki pointed out quietly, his tone carrying gentle reproach. "We grew up together. We should honor his memory even if—"

"Since when does being classmates make people family?" Rena interrupted coldly, one eyebrow raised in challenge. "We barely knew each other beyond sitting in the same room. And let’s be honest—Taketa wouldn’t have mourned any of you either if the roles were reversed and you’d died instead of him. He was selfish and cowardly. Try to grow up already instead of pretending we were all close friends."

Her brutally pragmatic assessment was met with several angry glares and expressions of disgust at her callousness.

But Rena, as always, couldn’t have cared less what others thought of her honesty. She simply turned on her heel and walked calmly out of the dining hall without another word, her posture radiating aristocratic indifference to their judgment.

After she departed, another heavy, uncomfortable silence fell over the remaining Heroes. Complicated emotions swirled through the group—anger at Rena’s harsh words, reluctant acknowledgment that she might have a point, lingering fear of Nathan, uncertainty about how to handle this situation.

Then suddenly, without warning or explanation, both Ayaka and Akane stood up simultaneously and began walking briskly toward the exit as well.

"Where are you two going?" Yumiko called after them, confused by their abrupt departure.

"We’re not going to cower here like frightened children while you all work yourselves into a panic," Ayaka replied sharply without turning around, her tone carrying disdain. "Some of us have actual courage."

But obviously that wasn’t the real reason she was hurrying out so urgently, though the excuse sounded plausible enough.

Her stepbrother was back after months of separation, and she desperately wanted to see him. The same overwhelming need drove Akane, whose normally serene expression had cracked to show rare visible eagerness.

They were both practically holding themselves back from just breaking into a full sprint, maintaining walking pace only through supreme effort. Every instinct screamed at them to run, to find Nathan immediately, to confirm he was really here.

He was their only real family in this entire world, after all. The only connection to their previous life that genuinely mattered. Everything else—their classmates, their obligations as Heroes, the politics of Kastoria—paled in comparison to that fundamental bond.

After a brief, uncomfortable silence where multiple Heroes exchanged uncertain glances, Kazuto spoke up with his characteristic analytical tone.

"They’re actually right—we genuinely cannot afford to cower here like frightened children," he said, pushing his glasses up with one finger in his habitual gesture. "Besides, we need to remember that currently we are in an official truce with Tenebria. It’s even been strongly hinted through diplomatic channels that a formal alliance might be under consideration. So technically, the Hero of Darkness is also our ally now, regardless of past conflicts."

His logical framing was meant to help the group see the situation more rationally rather than through the lens of old trauma.

"That monster being our ally? That’s genuinely scary~" one of the Heroes muttered nervously.

"Yeah... I’m honestly terrified just thinking about being in the same room with him again..." another admitted quietly.

"Even though we’re all supposedly from Earth, that guy is fundamentally different from us," someone else added with conviction. "He was probably a serial killer back on Earth or something. You don’t develop that kind of casual attitude toward killing without practice."

"Well, he’s from one of those European countries or America, so what did you honestly expect?" another Hero said with an uncomfortable laugh. "Different cultures, different values about violence—"

"That’s literally racist," Yumiko interrupted sharply, glaring at the speaker. "His nationality has nothing to do with his actions here. Plenty of violent people come from Japan too. Stop making ignorant generalizations."

"Everyone, please," Haruka interjected firmly, having remained diplomatically silent until this point. Her voice carried authority that immediately quieted the increasingly fractious debate.

She shifted baby Ryuuji slightly in her arms, meeting the eyes of various Heroes around her.

"I understand completely that you don’t trust the Hero of Darkness," Haruka continued with empathy. "I can appreciate your perspective and the trauma many of you experienced during that encounter two years ago. Those wounds don’t heal quickly or easily."

She paused for emphasis.

"But in our current political circumstances, having Tenebria formally allied with us is genuinely a good thing—potentially a crucial thing," Haruka said seriously. "The support we need to counter my brother’s faction requires every advantage we can secure."

Everyone fell into contemplative silence, understanding the unspoken implications behind her words.

The fragile truce between Kastoria and Tenebria had been carefully negotiated by Kaguya through Haruka specifically so that Tenebria—and by extension its powerful Lord Commander—could serve as supporters of Haruka’s claim to the throne and her son’s future succession.

With Takehiko backed by Susanoo and commanding the loyalty of most samurai clans, they needed every possible ally. Tenebria’s military strength and the Hero of Darkness’s personal influence could potentially tip the balance in a conflict that might otherwise be unwinnable.

Ryuuki, recognizing the political reality even as it conflicted with his personal feelings, nodded his agreement.

"She’s absolutely right, everyone," he said with reluctant acceptance. "We have to move forward rather than remaining paralyzed by the past. Whatever happened before, we need to face this situation professionally. Let’s go meet him together."

Everyone still seemed deeply uneasy about the prospect, shifting weight nervously and exchanging worried glances. But in the end, they all nodded their acceptance and began following Ryuuki and Haruka as the group moved through the castle corridors toward the throne hall.

The walk felt longer than it actually was, tension building with each step. Several Heroes’ hands drifted unconsciously toward their weapons, seeking comfort in the familiar weight of swords or the tingle of magical energy at their fingertips.

When they finally arrived at the throne hall’s massive ornate doors, they found Ayaka and Akane already standing there, positioned directly in front of the entrance but making no move to enter.

"What are you two waiting for?" Yumiko asked with confusion. "Why haven’t you gone in already if you were so eager to confront him?"

"The doors are sealed," Ayaka replied tersely, her arms crossed and her expression unreadable. "We tried opening them, but there’s some kind of magical barrier preventing entry. We heard from a passing guard that he went straight to the throne hall immediately upon arrival to speak privately with Princess Kaguya."

"Sealed?" Ryuuki approached the doors with a frown, placing both hands against the ornate wood and pushing experimentally.

The doors didn’t budge even slightly. It felt less like they were locked and more like they’d been fused into the wall—an immovable barrier rather than a functional entrance.

Some kind of magical seal had definitely been placed, presumably by Kaguya herself to ensure privacy for whatever conversation was occurring inside.

Ryuuki pushed harder, channeling his divine-blessed strength into the effort. The doors groaned slightly but still didn’t move. Then he began actively channeling his magic, golden energy flowing through his arms and into the barrier, seeking weak points in the enchantment.

With a sudden sharp crack like breaking ice, whatever seal had been holding the doors gave way. Ryuuki pushed forward with significantly more force, and the massive doors swung open dramatically, their heavy weight making them crash against the interior walls with a booming sound that echoed through the vast throne hall.

The scene that greeted them made everyone freeze in complete shock.

Princess Kaguya stood near the center of the throne hall, shown in elegant profile as she spoke with a white-haired man positioned close to her—closer than anyone was normally permitted to stand near the untouchable divine princess.

But what truly stunned everyone into immobility was the expression on Kaguya’s face.

She was smiling. Genuinely, warmly smiling with an expression of such authentic happiness and affection that it seemed to transform her entire being.

They had only seen Kaguya smile perhaps three or four times in the entire three years since being summoned. Her normal demeanor was serene but emotionally distant, beautiful but cold as a statue. She maintained perfect composure at all times, showing virtually no emotional reaction to anything.

But the smile on her face right now was completely different from those rare, polite expressions she’d shown before. This was real—unguarded joy and warmth that made her divine beauty even more breathtaking because it was finally animated by genuine emotion.

And she was directing that precious, rare smile toward the man standing with her.

As for the person receiving that smile...

The Heroes could only see his back initially—snow-white hair falling to his shoulders, broad-shouldered frame draped in dark clothing that seemed to absorb light, an aura of contained power radiating from him even from behind.

He was speaking to Kaguya in low tones they couldn’t quite hear, and she was listening with rapt attention, that genuine smile never faltering.

But hearing the doors crash open so forcefully, the white-haired figure stopped mid-sentence and began turning around slowly.

As Nathan rotated to face the intruders, his golden demonic eyes locked onto the assembled Heroes.

The moment his gaze fell upon them, every single Hero froze completely on the spot as though turned to stone.