Alchemist In The Apocalypse: Rise Of A Legend!

[Third Person POV],

Hearing the words and seeing the familiar face of Andrew Dawn, Ace was quite taken aback but remembering he had considered the emperor being the king Celeb was a subject to, he wasn't that affected.

In actuality, he adjusted to this rather quickly, but he was curious about something.

"Why did you attack me?" Ace inquired as he slowly stood up after Andrew Dawn relieved the pressure on his body.

"Why were you approaching us suspiciously while sneaking up on us?" Andrew Dawn questioned Ace as Ace was unable to respond for a while because he couldn't refute the fact that his actions were suspicious to anyone, especially to the victim.

"Fair enough," Ace replied as he gave Andrew Dawn the traditional greeting salute.

It was the customary greeting of placing one hand in the chest and one in the back along with a small bow of the head.

Ace was never particularly concerned with these matters, but they were customary before the apocalypse, and since the laws of the old world did not apply in the true world, he didn't have to worry about them much again.

This was how it was supposed to be, but Ace still greeted because, in addition to the fact that the man in front of him was his former emperor, the words that were on his head forced Ace to follow traditional procedures so he wouldn't unintentionally disrespect Andrew Dawn and pass away without realising it.

This was possible because the power he had seen from Andrew Dawn was not something a person of his level could match.

He didn't want to die because he didn't "greet" the emperor. After all, it wasn't just the emperor who was a rank 1 specie; all of his subjects, with the exception of Celeb, were evolved species as well. Who knows if one of them—or maybe even all of them—were zealots for the emperor?

He was the only person for himself, after all. The gryphon couldn't be included because it wasn't yet useful.

[Rank 1 Black Lightning Manipulator Level 41],

Mhmmm.

He couldn't possibly resist that.

The voice of Andrew Dawn interrupted Ace just as his thoughts started to stray.

"You don't have to do that, after all, I'm no longer your emperor," Andrew Dawn said, as Ace immediately replied, "ok," and Andrew Dawn and his men were taken aback by Ace's sudden response.

Andrew Dawn later grinned in response. He didn't take offence because he was aware of Ace's condition and some of his habits.

Since Ace was indeed no longer his subject and Andrew Dawn was someone who would never compel anyone to serve him simply because he had once been their emperor, there was no offence to even take.

After all, it was the end of the world; these things were irrelevant.

He still had subjects because it was their choice to follow him. The reason could be that they are loyal to him or that they rely on him; in any case, none of them were forced to serve him, so Ace's actions were not annoying and even likeable because he did not pretend or anything.

Andrew Dawn turned to Ace, who had just picked up the unconscious blue from the ground, as he remembered the Celed-related issue.

Blue was still breathing, so Ace knew that Andrew Dawn's attack was only intended to knock them out rather than kill them. Given that Dawn can knock people out quickly, his killing prowess should be equally impressive.

Andrew Dawn made the decision to first satiate his curiosity before engaging in the real conversation after observing that Ace had finished determining the strange creature's current state of health.

"What is this creature, and why are you carrying it?" Andrew Dawn inquired as Ace placed the unconscious blue on his back before responding.

"It's a gryphon, and it's also my pet," Ace replied, as Andrew Dawn nodded, his men looking curiously at the blue on Ace's back.

"Why are you here?" Andrew Dawn inquired as he was still curious as to why Ace was here.

Ace responded directly, "I also have business with the earth rat den," as he didn't think lying would be helpful in this situation and it's not like he could lie in the first place.

Andrew Dawn was conflicted when he heard this.

Even though he dared not claim to know Ace better than his own father, which was true, he was aware of Ace's personality. However, the truth is that the reason he even remained outside of the earth rat den was because he was talking with his men about how to keep people out.

His dragon heart was still there, after all. Although he was optimistic about Ace, he had to exercise caution because Axe might still oppose him.

Andrew Dawn pondered these issues and then posed another query.

"Then why were you hiding?" Andrew Dawn inquired, and Ace responded directly once more.

Ace explained, "I did it because I did not see the point in coming into contact with you people and just wanted to avoid interaction when I can go my own way but you people just had to be close to the den.

Even though the den had multiple entrances, it was still located in an open area, so no matter what Ace did, unless he was invisible, he would still be seen as he approached the den.

Hearing Ace's words, Andrew Dawn nodded, understanding Ace's reasoning since it was in line with the habits he knows about the boy but at the same time, he couldn't let anyone enter the earth rat den without permission. The situation was quite complicated, and he needed to think about how to proceed.

Ace was at this point contemplating whether he should have simply left the den and returned at a later time because the circumstances he was in did not appear favourable.

He didn't know for sure whether he would be released because it appeared the emperor wasn't done with him yet.

Andrew Dawn considered his options as Ace considered these things. He wasn't a domineering individual who would constantly obstruct others from conducting their business because of his objectives, but because the circumstances were quite different, he needed to consider them.

It was at this moment he suddenly remembered something that made him smile.