Death... and me

Suddenly, Rean received a message from Sevinia. Or, to be more precise, from Qia, who was still there to help exchange information in an instant. 'Wait...what?! Fikin is dead?!' Rean, of course, was shocked by the news. 'Alright, I'll tell everyone.'

Naturally, Phex, Frin, and Xaon were just as surprised.

Rean then looked at Phex's group as he asked, "Was it any of you? Perhaps...it might be Darian?"

They immediately shook their heads vigorously as Phex replied, "We don't even know where he went, so how could we have done it? Unless...he suddenly died from the injuries he sustained during our battle. As for Darian, he's busy with the Sea Demon Beasts' territory. It would be even more impossible for him."

Roan doubted that as well, saying, "I don't think he would die from injuries."

"We also thought the same thing," Phex and the others said in unison. "But then again, who could have killed him?"

It was then that they thought of a possibility. "Could it be that guy named Duran?" Of course, even though they mentioned him, there was no way to check it.

Roan then decided to simply ignore it, saying, "Forget about it. The point is that Fikin is dead, so the Hafel Clan will find it much easier to have one of their ancestors become the next leader. We just need to wait and see what happens."

With the demon beasts' objectives concluded, no more territorial conquests happened after that. Of course, many small battles continued to happen around the world, but nothing that could change the outcome of the war that much.

In the end, out of the world's 37 continents, the demon beasts took control of 20, leaving the Zasfins with 17. The reason was the same one as mentioned before. The Zasfins were present in almost every continent except the Demon Beast Continent in the past. Once they were driven out, the Zasfins' forces gathered.

With fewer territories to defend, the forces present in each of them were more concentrated. Taking their territories would need tremendous effort and even more battles from the Transition and Stage Nine experts and demon beasts. Neither side wanted to continue that anymore. Besides, even though the demon beasts had the advantage, they didn't want to turn out like the Zasfins, weak due to the lack of a common enemy.

Of the world's 37 continents, 15 of them were considered to be of high quality. They were located in the best areas and had the best concentration of Spiritual Energy overall. For example, Aite, Humk, Freten, Gargoc, and Wesdin just so happened to be located inside these continents.

Nine of them ended up in the demon beasts' hands while the other six stayed with the Zasfins. Naturally, these six continents were mostly located in the northern hemisphere, which was also where the Soul Rulers' headquarters was located. The Demon Beast Continent had always been in the south, so it made sense that almost all their nine high-quality continents were located around there.

A week quickly went by as the flames of war disappeared. However, the work was far from over. Be it the demon beasts or the Zasfins, both of them had a lot of things to do.

Back in the Soul Rulers' headquarters, all the ancestors were gathered in a big hall, together with other important members, to decide the Soul Rulers' future. Vance and Sevinia Hafel were obviously there as well.

Pankun, one of the Transition Realm experts of the organization, was at the center as he was chosen to start the discussion. There wasn't really much meaning in him being selected since all the Ancestors held similar positions regarding their power in the organization. It's just that Pankun was used to do those things.

"Now then, we simply couldn't find out where Fikin died. We just know that none of us knew about his spatial equipment that allowed him to flee from the demon beasts. Because of that, we have no idea where he was sent to, nor how he died. Nevertheless, the fact still stands that he's definitely dead. That's for sure. The Soul Flame Jar is more than enough proof of his passing." Pankun talked with conviction, making sure that everyone was listening.

"However, our Soul Rulers organization can't go without a leader. It had always been like that, and it should continue like that. Otherwise, we might fall apart. If that happens, we'll really be doomed to fall under the hands of the demon beasts. I believe no one here wishes for that to happen, right?"

Sure enough, everyone in the room nodded. Even without the Soul Control Formations, the Soul Rulers had gathered enough strength to be the leader of the Zasfins of the world. Well, half of the world wasn't theirs anymore, though.

"Very well. When it comes to strength alone, Fikin was above us all. However, the rest of us aren't that much different. It all falls into who has the best affinity against the other. That being said, we can't use these criteria to choose the next leader. Instead, I would like to call for a voting session."

Immediately, the room went alive as everyone displayed their concerns for that method. After all, it was a fact that some clans had more members than others, so they would stand a higher chance of being selected.

"Silence! This is the best method. Even if some clans have more members, it's not like they're the only ones. I'm sure quite a lot of you have your own opinion as to who should be the next leader, and it might not even be someone from the same background as you. Unless someone has a better idea, we will proceed with voting. Now, who wants to participate? The only requisite is to be above the Elemental Transformation Realm."

Suddenly, a voice echoed in the entire hall as it said, "I recommend Vance Hafel for the position. I hope everyone will give your vote to him."

There wasn't anything wrong with that request since the leader was going to be chosen by vote. However, the problem was that no one knew who the man that talked was.

Pankun narrowed his eyes in response as he asked, "Who are you?"

The old man smiled before answering, "I'm Fikin's best friend, Duran Hafel."