The Sealed Hero:Rise Of The Harem King

Support me on P @t r e o n it helps alot.

P @t r e o n.com/Darking099

For 30+ Advance Chapters

---

The desert sun bore down like a hammer as Rael and Kaya departed Nanohana. Their camels trudged steadily across shifting sands, leaving behind the market's noise and the watchful eyes that had followed them. A rough map guided them—a line drawn south, past Rainbase, into the Canyon of the Sunken Seal.

Kaya adjusted the scarf covering her face, her eyes hidden behind tinted goggles. Even with protection, the heat gnawed at her, and the dry wind sucked moisture from her lips.

"Are we sure this place even exists?" she asked, her voice muffled.

Rael, riding ahead in a black, wind-swept cloak, didn't turn. "No."

Kaya exhaled through her teeth. "Wonderful."

They pressed forward, the hours dragging. The world was a tapestry of beige dunes and distant mirages. No birds. No creatures. Nothing but the grind of camel hooves and the whisper of wind.

They stopped near sundown beneath a jagged outcrop of rock. Kaya slid off her camel and stretched, groaning.

"No offense, but I'm never riding one of those things again," she muttered.

Rael opened a waterskin and tossed it to her. "We rest for ten minutes. Then we move."

Kaya sipped and dropped onto a flat stone. Her body ached, but her thoughts were more restless than her muscles. "It's too quiet."

Rael didn't answer. His eyes scanned the horizon, then narrowed.

"We're being followed."

She stood sharply. "Baroque Works? Cipher Pol?"

"Doesn't matter. Stay behind me."

The sand exploded.

Figures cloaked in black burst from beneath the dunes, blades drawn. They moved fast—silent, trained. Assassins.

Rael was faster.

He twisted, catching the first attacker mid-leap and slamming him headfirst into the sand. Another came from his left. Rael ducked, swept the man's legs out from under him, and drove his boot into the man's stomach.

Kaya fired her flintlock, dropping one with a shot to the leg. Another lunged toward her. She ducked and smashed her canteen across his face, then scrambled back.

Rael was a blur. Fists. Elbows. Boots. Every strike dropped another enemy. They moved like ghosts, but he moved like death.

A blade sliced his arm. He barely flinched. He caught the attacker's wrist, snapped it, and used the man's own knife to bring him down.

Minutes later, the sand was littered with groaning bodies.

Rael yanked one to his feet by the collar. The man coughed, blood spattering the sand.

"Who sent you?"

"You walk toward death," the man hissed. "That place isn't meant for the living. Turn back, or be buried."

Rael let him fall.

"We keep moving."

By nightfall, the desert turned bitterly cold. They set up camp beneath the jagged rocks of a canyon's edge, shielding themselves from the wind. A small fire flickered between them, casting dancing shadows.

Kaya hugged her knees near the flames. "We should be frozen solid. The cold out here doesn't feel natural."

Rael tossed a dry branch into the fire. "Deserts are like that. Beautiful from afar. Brutal up close."

She looked across at him. "You believe what Miss Sunday told us, don't you? That the ruin is real."

"I do."

Kaya pulled out a map she'd copied from the coin engraving. "If we follow the ridge tomorrow, we should hit the ravine by sunrise. If the wind doesn't shift."

Rael didn't respond. His eyes were locked on the fire, distant.

She watched him for a while. His expression hadn't changed since the fight. Calm. Focused. But his jaw was tighter now, his shoulders coiled like springs.

"You expecting more of them?"

Rael finally nodded. "Always."

Unseen and silent, far above their camp, a small Den Den Mushi blinked quietly in a dark crevice.

A crackling voice came through: "Phase Two complete. The targets have entered the canyon route. Begin containment."

Another voice responded, curt. "Cipher Pol Team B en route."

In the capital, plans shifted behind closed doors. But out in the desert, the true test was only beginning.

Rael sat under the starlit sky, his cloak wrapped tight, listening to the wind.

He didn't sleep.

He was waiting.

---

Support me on P @t r e o n

join my patreon for more frequent upload.

P @t r e o n.com/Darking099

For 30+ Advance Chapters

---

GIVE ME 40 powerstones for extra chapter