Several years ago, a boy was born into a side branch of the Solgrave family, a lineage of mages who wielded a rare and coveted divine power capable of rivaling the legendary sun god, Sol.

  In his family, there was a form of discrimination against the side branch. They were often labeled as weak and destined to live in the shadows of the main branch.

  Throughout history, every time a sun god slayer was born, he or she always came from the main branch. Upon birth, the child would possess glowing white hair that symbolized the blessing of aether.

  An energy referred to as the very air the gods breathed. A next level for mana users.

  Their hair color would then change shortly after birth until they awakened their divine powers themselves.

  The boy's birth stunned the members of the main branch who were present. The divine glow that surrounded him as he emerged from his mother's womb caused an uproar in the main branch.

  His mother, Elise, was a kind and gentle woman who loved him dearly. She had been abandoned by her husband after being rejected by her family because he had neither a mana core nor the ability to manipulate ki.

  The main branch of the family scorned and ostracized her, labeling her as a weak and unworthy bearer of a child possessing divine magic.

  They made countless attempts at manipulating her to hand over her son to them, but she refused. She raised him alone, teaching him the basics of their family's magic and instilling in him a sense of justice and compassion.

  The boy grew up to be a cheerful and strong young man, who admired his mother and dreamed of becoming a hero like her.

  He enrolled in an academy for training Sentinels, where he quickly made friends and impressed his teachers with his talent and charisma.

  He was especially close to Leo, a fire mage who shared his passion and ideals. Together, they formed a team of promising young mages who took on various missions and quests to help people in need.

  The boy's life seemed perfect, until one day, when he was 15 years old, he came back home, from school, and found his mother bleeding heavily as she drew her last breaths.

  A group of assassins had attacked her. There was no evidence, but he knew the assassins were sent by the main branch of their family, who wanted to eliminate any potential threat to their supremacy. He ran to her and held her in his arms.

  "You're here?" she caressed his face with her hands. The boy looked at her, his eyes filled with tears waiting to burst out.

  "Don't cry..." she comforted him. "Because of you, I had the chance to gain my freedom. I had the chance to live a normal life, and I'm grateful for that."

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  "I'm sorry, but from here on out, Mama's going to have to leave you."

  Tears began to slowly roll down the boy's cheeks as he felt his mother's life slipping away.

  "You're stronger than others. You're special. Use that power to protect the weak and those dear to you."

  "And one day, find yourself a beautiful girl you'll be with and protect her with that amazing strength of yours," she added, while wearing a faint smile.

  She wiped the tears rolling down his cheeks with her palm and uttered her last words, "I love you."

  This marked the turning point of the life of this boy, as well as the rise of a Hero that would come to be known as the King of Hell.

  ***

  Layla approached Levi and his friends slowly recovering from the mental exhaustion she incurred. They all shifted their gaze to her, taking note of her torn clothes.

  "Must've been one hell of a fight she was involved in," Levi murmured. "And did I just hear Grade 1?"

  He turned to Kyle and Violet. "I thought you guys said Garrion was a 2A—"

  He paused seeing the shocked looks on his friend's faces.

  "What's wrong?" He asked sharply, his voice colored with worry.

  But none of them responded.

  "P... Principal Layla, are you alright?" Lian asked, a hint of worry showing in her voice.

  "I'm fine, there's no need to worry about me," Layla replied. "I should be the one worried about you and Riley."

  "What's the status right now?"

  "Aside from the students he's bringing in, Riley and I are just Mildly injured," Lian replied.

  "He?" Levi looked at Layla.

  As Layla was about to provide an answer to Ryder's question, the heat at the island's coast increased. Everyone felt his presence. They all shifted their gaze to look at the man standing in front of Layla.

  Levi's eyes widened with surprise. His friend's turned to the man's direction sharply.

  They didn't notice it earlier. They were all too occupied with surviving to think of the rest. Even when they saw everyone else, the thought never crossed their mind. They never realized someone was missing. Someone who didn't engage in the fight happening.

  And as for his friends, they couldn't remember due to the identity seal placed on him. But the moment the seal was lifted, their memories returned. And now as he stood before them all they realized.

  The Grade 1 A ranked Sentinel Layla spoke of was the King of Hell Kyle and Violet had spoken of earlier.

  It was someone no one had ever thought of.

  Reinhart.

  The jacket of his suit and his shirt were torn and burnt off, leaving his chest bare, revealing his slightly muscular build. And he wasn't wearing his glasses, but they could recognize him.

  The brown hair, and the facial expression was something they could never mistake.

  "No freaking way..." Kyle said in disbelief. "It's actually him..."

  He grabbed Levi's shoulders gently. "He was actually the King of Hell."

  "We're freaking saved!" Violet yelled in excitement.

  Levi on the other hand had his gaze fixated on Reinhart. He seemed so different he actually doubted.

  "Is that really him?" Levi asked himself in disbelief.

  His looks were not the only thing that had experienced change. He wasn't like the homeroom teacher they all knew. In addition to his usual calm and stern demeanor, he had a commanding aura surrounding him. Like a General.

  "I've brought in all the students," Reinhart said, approaching Layla.

  Their eyes immediately darted to the area where the students were and they noticed their numbers had doubled.

  "Watch over them, and make sure no one gets hurt again."

  As he turned his back to dive back into the forest, his movement was halted by a sudden call from Lian. "Reinhart, wait..."

  "This guy..." Lian said, with a look of concern on her face. "He's strong..."

  Reinhart's stern expression remained unchanged. "I know."