"Thank you, Lux, for everything." Great General Watson shook Lux's hand after the Half-Elf finished picking the four Pseudo-Legendary Items he wanted from their list.

"May these items serve you well," Great General Sherlock added as he handed Lux a storage ring containing all the equipment that he had asked for.

The Half-Elf took the ring gratefully and also shook the Gnome's hand before thanking them as well.

At that moment, General Carran patted Lux's shoulder, making the latter look at the General who had fought alongside him during the previous battles in the Glouswell Forest.

"I hate Necromancers to this day, and I still do," General Carran stated. "In the future, if we meet again, but you are standing against the Yelan Kingdom, I swear to finish what General Revon failed to do and kill you."

General Carran's rugged hand rested on Lux's shoulder, but he didn't hold the Half-Elf in a firm grip. It simply rested there, as if implying that, for now, they were still not enemies.

"I, too, hope that there will not come a day when I will stand opposite the Yelan Kingdom," Lux replied. "I'm sure that fighting against you guys will leave a bitter taste in my mouth if that were to happen."

General Carran snorted before taking his hand away from the Half-Elf's shoulder.

"Are you all leaving now?" Great General Watson asked.

Lux nodded. "We have other battles to fight."

The Half-Elf didn't mention that there was a countdown timer that was ticking in front of him, and a glance was enough to tell him that they had only twenty more minutes before they were forcefully kicked out of the Gate of Conquest.

After bidding their final goodbyes, Lux and his team summoned their mounts and left the Yelan Army.

The soldiers who watched them leave all cheered, viewing them as heroes.

The friendly Eiko waved back at them, and told them, "Bye Bye!"

Everyone, including Malcolm, had smiles on their faces as they left the Yelan Camp and headed in the direction of the mountains.

When the countdown timer was up, all of them turned into particles of light and were teleported back to the entrance of the Gate of Conquest, which now had their names in it, written in bold letters to signify that they were the first ones to clear the dungeon in Hell Mode, which countless had failed.

Henrietta and Malcolm both received a notice that they were now able to enter the Domain of the Fallen anytime they wanted, and they were also allowed to bring five people inside the Domain with them.

This piece of good news made the two quite happy Having more quotas meant that they could now bring a bigger party to conquer the Fourth Gate, which in turn would help unlock the Fifth Gate that required all the other four Gates conquered.

"Let's go back," Lux said with a smile. "I want to take a month or two vacation from all of these Dungeon expeditions."

Everyone glanced at the Half-Elf because they understood that this was his subtle way of telling them that he didn't plan on returning to the Domain of the Fallen anytime soon.

"Sounds good," Cai commented. "I also have many other things to do. But before that, I'll go drop by Barbatos Academy to see Iris. Xander, you tell gramps that I'll be back after a week, okay?"

Xander nodded his head in understanding. Cai's words were as good as their Chief's words, and the only one that could overturn them was Maximilian, who was almost finished with the experiments he was doing for the time being.

Lux then glanced at Malcolm, who was also looking at him with a serious expression on his face.

"We might have started on the wrong foot, but this time, allow me to thank you for everything," Malcolm stated. "I don't know what the future has in store for the both of us, but I hope that even when we face each other on opposing sides, make sure to take it easy on me, okay?"

Malcolm was a lot stronger than Lux, and he used to think that he could easily defeat the Half-Elf if they fought one-on-one.

But, now, he wouldn't be challenging Lux to a duel anytime soon.

The reason was simple.

Necromancers didn't do one-on-one battles, and he didn't want to suffer a one-sided beating from the Half-Elf's Undead Army, which had now become stronger than ever.

Lux smirked after hearing Malcolm's words. "I'll think about it."

Just like Malcolm, he didn't know if he would stand against the Vahan Empire and the Skystead Alliance in the future.

After what had happened in the Vahan Empire, the Half-Elf had a very bad impression of Emperor Andreas and his right-hand man, Aron. If possible, he didn't want to deal with them anytime soon.

'I'll wait until I become a Ranker,' Lux thought as he scanned the faces of everyone around him before giving all of them a thumbs up. "Let's go home."

---------

In front of the Gate of the Domain of the Fallen

Several flashes of light illuminated the gate of the Domain of the Fallen, and from that light, the victors of the Gate of Conquest appeared in front of everyone, who were waiting for their return.

"You did well, Lux," Gerald said as he happily patted the Half-Elf's shoulder before guiding him straight to where Natasha and Rainer were.

The Commander of the Wildgarde Stronghold knew that the other factions held a grudge against the Half-Elf, so in order to keep the Half-Elf out of harm's way, he immediately dragged Lux to their faction, preventing the others from calling out to him.

Cai and Keane followed behind because the Rowan Tribe's Faction stood next to the Wildgarde Stronghold's Faction.

Only Malcolm returned to the Skystead Alliance victorious, and the other representatives gazed at him with envy and jealousy, contrary to Aron, the right-hand man of Emperor Andreas, who patted his shoulder and praised him for making their Empire proud.

"You did well, Malcolm," Aron said as he looked at the last remaining representative of the Skystead Alliance who managed to clear the Gate of Conquest. "I'm sure our Emperor and your Father will be very proud of your achievements."

"Thank you, Your Excellency," Malcolm replied with a smile.

Aron then glanced in the direction of the Wildgarde Stronghold Faction. His gaze lingered on Lux for a while before he shifted it to Nero, who was still unconscious.

A few seconds later, Aron made a gesture for everyone belonging to his Faction to follow him.

"Let's go back to the Vahan Empire," Aron ordered. "We still have many things to do, and so little time to accomplish them."

He still needed to make a complete report of what happened inside the Gate of Conquest to his Emperor and ask Malcolm if he received a key after clearing the Dungeon.

A key that would allow them to realize their Empire's long cherished wish to expand their borders and make others submit to their rule.

Lux stared at Aron's retreating back from a distance and clenched his fist tightly.

He had sensed Aron's gaze upon him, and for a brief moment, he had felt the High-Ranker's killing intent.

'It seems that I really can't lower my guard against the Vahan Empire,' Lux thought. 'I better hurry up and become stronger. The sooner, the better.'