2025-02-14 05:52:14Before he could process what was happening, several women ran in his direction. He was rooted to the spot, startled when one of them grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the scene.
"Move! The Black Wing Tribe is coming!" she gasped. Her face was pale, her breathing ragged. He could feel the cold tremble in her hands. "They’re all dead! There's nothing left for you there!" He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her words. He hadn’t come to that settlement looking for family. Still, he let her pull him along. So that she wouldn’t fall behind, he took hold of her arm instead and ran at the front of the group. He heard her sharp intake of breath but noticed she didn’t complain—she simply ran, trying to keep up with him. Alkan's ears had perked up at what the woman had said. The Black Wing Tribe is coming? Did that mean they were the ones responsible for the burning village? He glanced at the woman beside him. He couldn't tell which tribe she belonged to, but she didn’t seem like a vampire from the Black Wing Tribe. If they had destroyed her home, then she was either from the White Wing Tribe or a tribe that refused to ally with either side. He took a deep breath. He needed to find out why the Black Wing Tribe had attacked the settlement and why this woman had pulled him away. Did she not realize he was human? Before long, the group reached a cave several kilometers from the village. It was well-hidden behind wild, waist-high foliage, making the entrance hard to spot at first glance. The opening was about the height of a woman, forcing Alkan to duck slightly to enter. Among the group, only he and a few young boys were the last to enter. He let the boys go first and carefully repositioned the wild grass to conceal the entrance. Quickly, he ducked inside. He hadn’t expected the cave to be so spacious. He no longer had to crouch, and the space was roughly the size of three basketball courts. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of crying. He stiffened and glanced around. Moments ago, the women had been running, but now that they had reached safety, they could no longer hold back their grief. The entire group mourned the loss of their tribe and their loved ones. Only the woman who had pulled him along wasn’t crying. Instead, she caught her breath in a corner before walking toward the entrance. She stared outside, where only wild plants were visible, then pushed a large, round boulder toward the opening. Alkan immediately understood her intention. He stepped forward to help her push. But before they could fully block the entrance, the sound of footsteps echoed outside. The women fell silent, hastily quieting the babies in their arms. The woman and Alkan both stopped pushing the boulder, waiting to see who the footsteps belonged to. Moments later, three men suddenly entered through the half-covered opening. The women gasped. "Yuan! Ping! Restor!" one of them cried out. She ran toward them. "What happened? Has the tribe been completely wiped out?" Her voice trembled, and a bead of sweat trailed down her forehead. The three men exchanged glances before nodding, their expressions grim. The man on the left answered, "The Black Wing Tribe killed almost half of the men. A few managed to survive. We are among the lucky ones. The others are hiding however they can. We ran here to ensure you all made it safely to the cave." The women gasped again. Alkan frowned and couldn’t help but ask, "Were you followed?" The three men turned to him, surprise flashing across their faces. But in the next instant, they lunged at him. He couldn't dodge in time and was sent flying several meters back. Blood dripped from his lips as he coughed. He wiped it away and looked up at the three men standing in front of him. "Who are you? You’re not one of us! What do you want?" the man in the middle shouted. His face was red with anger, but he clenched his fists, restraining himself from attacking again until they got an answer. From the corner of his eye, Alkan saw the woman who had pulled him earlier. Her eyes widened slightly in shock as she looked at him, a question lingering in them. He swallowed and steadied himself. Looking down at the three men—since he was a head taller than them—he spoke. "I'm Alkan. I mean no harm to the women of your tribe. I was merely passing through when I saw the village burning. When the women ran in my direction, I had no choice but to follow. I saw one of them falling behind, so I grabbed her and made sure she caught up with the group." He glanced at the woman who had pulled him. "Isn’t that right?" A flicker of emotion passed through her eyes before she quickly averted her gaze. She nodded without saying a word. Alkan let out a quiet sigh of relief. He didn’t want to get her involved. The moment he saw her surprised expression upon learning he wasn’t one of them, he knew she had assumed he was part of her tribe. That was why she had pulled him along into safety without hesitation. That thought warmed Alkan’s heart a little. She had a kind soul. And if the others found out she was the one who brought him to the cave, they would see her as a traitor. It was better if he took all the blame. Besides, he was grateful for what she had done. If she hadn’t pulled him away, he didn’t know what would have happened. If the Black Wing Tribe had found him there, they likely would have killed him on sight. "We can't say whether you're an enemy or not. But now that we're here, you can leave this cave," said the man. Silence reigned for a few minutes before Alkan glanced around. In the corner, he saw a woman holding a baby in her arms. But what made him stop in his tracks was the light surrounding the infant. His eyes widened slightly, and he quickly looked away to avoid letting the three men notice his shock. A light surrounded the baby. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he had seen that light before. When he remembered it, he froze. Alkan recalled the glow that once surrounded Daniella, the woman he had courted before. She had a light in her that kept the shadows at bay. But after a few weeks of staying by Daniella’s side, her light gradually dimmed. That was when he realized she was being influenced by his bad habits—lying, cursing, and drinking alcohol. She also developed a liking for parties. Before he could stop her, the light surrounding her had completely faded. He himself had witnessed how the shadows drew closer to Daniella back then. Ever since she left him, he had never seen that kind of light again—until now. That was why he was unsure of what to do. Should he take the baby so the shadows wouldn’t come near him? "Hey! I'm asking you a question!" the man on the left shouted.
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Alkan flinched and quickly looked ahead. The three men were already frowning at him. But because of the light he had seen, his earlier plan to leave now seemed unlikely. He needed to find out which tribe the child belonged to and why it was surrounded by light. He cleared his throat. "What tribe are you from?" The three men narrowed their eyes at him and slightly lowered their heads into a stance ready to attack. A chill ran down his spine, and he quickly raised his hands. "I mean no harm. I just want to know if you're allied with the White Wing Tribe and if that’s the reason the Black Wing Tribe attacked you." At the mention of the White Wing Tribe, the tension in the air slightly eased. He couldn’t quite read the three men’s expressions, but he noticed the women averting their gazes. Soon, the man in the middle straightened his stance. He looked Alkan over from head to toe. "We are not allies of the White Wing Tribe, but neither are we enemies of the white sawikin. We have li
Overlord of the Four Powers Chapter 13: Ester
Yes, there were times when he could control the shadow without knowing that it had a mind of its own because of Ambong. But now, Ambong was no longer inside his body, so he didn’t know how to summon the shadow. "I am not part of the witch's lineage. There was someone who taught me how to manipulate it..." His lips pressed into a thin line. "Besides, if the black sawikin had sent me here, the women would have already been lying lifeless on the ground." "Then show me your ability!" the man demanded. With no other choice, Alkan closed his eyes. He focused on himself until he felt the creeping cold from his soles, rising up his legs, arms, neck, and finally to his face. His muscles shivered with dread. This was the familiar sensation whenever the shadow touched his body. And it seemed his suspicion was right when he heard a woman scream. Footsteps followed, scurrying away from him. He knew the women had taken refuge in a corner. When he opened his eyes, even he was taken aback.
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The woman glanced at the child and shook her head. "When the baby was born, a light surrounded it. After that, we didn’t see anything strange—except for the fact that Ester’s child is incredibly beautiful." Alkan’s gaze deepened. His suspicions were correct. The tribe couldn’t see the white light wrapped around the infant. This would make capturing the child much easier. However, he was growing concerned about Ester. If he couldn’t take the baby, he might have to abduct Ester instead.Alkan spent several days in the cave with the tribe of priests. In the past few days, he had been trying to push away his thoughts of abducting the baby, constantly reminding himself that it was not yet the right time. His patience seemed to pay off when Ester called him over and had him sit in front of her. The woman smiled at him. “This is my daughter, Wakin,” she said, revealing the face of a young girl. Alkan’s gaze deepened as he looked at the child. At last, Ester herself had introduced her da
Overlord of the Four Powers Chapter 15: Silent River
The women roared in unison. Even the exorcists were taken aback. They were no longer the weak, weeping women from before. They were resolute, determined to fight. Seizing the opportunity, Alkan grabbed the baby and fled through a hole in the cave wall, running without looking back. He didn’t know how long he had been running. He only knew that the sun was setting when he left the cave with the baby. Darkness had swallowed the surroundings, and the wind had turned cold. The only sounds he could hear were the chirping of crickets. Panting, he stopped running. His eyes had already adjusted to the darkness, so he knew he was standing under the shade of a large tree. He lowered his gaze to the baby, still surrounded by a white glow. He smiled. He hadn’t seen any shadows earlier, so he knew he had made the right decision. Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound not far away. Alkan became alert. Holding his breath, he turned toward the source of the noise, but he saw no movement in that
Overlord of the Four Powers Chapter 16: The meeting of land and water
The mermaid laughed at what the female exorcist said. She looked at the woman from head to toe and smiled. "An exorcist tribe?" Her smile widened. "It's been centuries since I last saw one of your kind, woman. But I won’t deny that you are strong." The mermaid pointed at Alkan. "I was the first to find him, so he belongs to me," she declared. The female exorcist raised an eyebrow. "Are you unaware of the White Palace’s decree? The man named Alkan Buena must be taken to the palace." She crossed her arms. "Did no one inform you, or... are you planning to defy the order?" The mermaid pursed her lips and scoffed. "I just want to take him on a tour of the mermaid kingdom. What’s wrong with that? I’ll return him after our little trip!" The female exorcist smirked. "We came all the way south to find that man. If you think we’ll just let you mermaids take him sightseeing, you're mistaken. Now that we’ve found him, we’re leaving for the palace!" "No way!" the mermaid shouted. The e
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If it weren’t for the group of black sawikin heading toward the river, she would never have given Alkan to the siren. Even though she could have taken Alkan away at that moment, she worried that the black sawikin would realize that three exorcists had come to the river. They might also catch the scent of the infant Irwin had been holding earlier. If that happened, the Black Palace would immediately know that the rumor about the child of prophecy being from the priestly tribe was a lie. She hadn’t gone far from the river when she heard the faint whistling of wings. Looking up at the sky, she saw a group of black sawikin passing through. Her jaw tightened, and she raised her hand. Dark light shone from her palms as she ran faster. The rustling of leaves and the crunch of her footsteps against the dry foliage echoed in the air. She sensed the sawikin hesitate before turning their attention toward her. The exorcist grinned widely and sped up. In no time, she felt the black sawikin p
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The sawikin grinned. "Why don’t we find out?" He opened his mouth, about to shout. Without thinking, she removed her claws from his throat and leaned down—pressing her lips against his. Her expression darkened. She couldn’t believe it. She had just kissed a sawikin. His lips curved against hers. And before she could pull away, his hand slid behind her, pressing her even closer. She inhaled sharply, eyes widening. She struggled to move, but his grip was like stone. He deepened the kiss. And to her horror—he was enjoying it. Damn it. This was not part of the plan. She let the sawikin kiss her, and several minutes passed before he finally released her. Only then did she push herself up from where she had been pinned down. She shot the sawikin a glare, but it only responded with a mischievous smile. Despite the anger simmering inside her, she refused to use magic for revenge. If she did, its companions would immediately sense an exorcist’s presence. Taking a deep bre
Overlord of the Four Powers Chapter 19: A necromancer's magic
She stood frozen as countless skeletal figures dragged themselves toward her. What kind of creatures were these? There's no records in history that mentioned skeletons rising from the ground. "My lady, this is not the time to be surprised," the black sawikin said, sounding mildly disgusted as it eyed the approaching skeletons. "If you don’t move, you’ll be their dinner." Snapping back to reality, she took a deep breath and raised her hand. Wind gathered in her palm, forming a small whirlwind. She unleashed it at the cluster of skeletons nearer to her. The force shattered them, but they kept crawling toward her, undeterred. Her lips pressed into a thin line. She summoned another whirlwind, but it still wasn’t enough to diminish their numbers. The black sawikin frowned. "You might need fire to get rid of them completely." She turned to him with a glare. "If you're not going to help, just shut up!" she snapped, focusing on summoning another whirlwind. Relief washed over h
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Alkan let out a deep sigh. The mermaids were currently troubled by the sudden increase of sawikin on the river's surface. They were worried that if they went out, the sawikin would capture them. The mermaids needed to go to land to gather food for Alkan. Since he was a mortal and had different dietary needs, a group of mermaids would travel to land once a month to collect food. However, two months had passed, and they still couldn't leave due to the growing number of sawikin on the river’s surface."B-But—""The king will not go to—""I will go," he interrupted the silver-haired mermaid. The six mermaids turned to him, so he smiled. "Where is the council chamber? I'll follow you," he said to the attendant.If it weren’t for the food problem, he wouldn’t have gone. Besides, something was urging him to go. He had a feeling that food wasn’t the only issue—it was also about the sawikin on the river’s surface. Something bad was about to happen, and he
Chapter 25: To dream
Alkan stayed beneath the river for several more weeks. Selena announced that she was carrying an heir in her womb. That night, the tribe held a feast, and even though Alkan was the center of attention, some could not help but indulge in their excitement. They were eager to share a bed with him.He was gloomy. He had no intention of building a harem, yet it was as if he were the protagonist of a story filled with beautiful women longing for him.Moments later, Selena turned to him and once again introduced him to the entire tribe as the king of the merfolk. He let out a breath and stood up. As he scanned the crowd of guests, he realized that despite the population having remained stagnant for centuries, the number of merfolk was still overwhelming.Two attendants approached him and placed a golden crown on his head. They smiled at him, and he responded with a nod. He was eager to return to his chamber to rest.Eventually, the feast came to an end.
Chapter 24: Body and Conscience
In the blink of an eye, all the sirens in the room disappeared—except for Selena. She continued to stare at Alkan, her eyes holding an emotion he couldn't quite decipher. How many centuries had it been since a sawikin last set foot beneath the river? Selena still remembered how her mother had forbidden her from venturing onto land because of the winged beings that ruled the skies. They were a different kind, not their equals, her mother had said. The creatures called sawikin were dangerous, and if she ever encountered one, she must never approach it—she must flee at once. For those who could swim and those who could fly would never see eye to eye. But Selena had always been stubborn as a child. Instead of running from the sawikin she saw by the riverbank, her curiosity led her closer. She introduced herself to the sawikin. For years, they secretly met, and when she became the leader of the siren tribe, she invited the sawikin to visit the depths of the river. He agreed, though
Chapter 23: One long night
Selena secretly laughed, but there was no mockery in her expression. Only a smile and laughter appeared on her face. These were the habits she had developed ever since she became the leader of the siren tribe. She had never revealed her true self to anyone. Only she knew what lay behind her cheerful and kind expression. Alkan glanced at the siren woman. He studied her face carefully and could see the hidden mockery in her eyes. Hah. He knew Selena was lying. It wasn’t a secret among creatures that he had the ability to read and understand emotions. This was called human psychology. And because the beings in Tribal never studied such things, they were unaware that he could read expressions. That’s why he could easily tell who was lying—just like Selena. It was obvious she had no intention of letting him go. The intense hatred in her eyes made it clear she wouldn’t simply free someone who had a good relationship with her enemy. He also knew that the only reason Selena hadn’t kille
Chapter 22: Estranged relationship
He was silent for a few minutes after hearing what Selena said. He avoided her gaze and fell into deep thought. If he could use the mermaid tribe, rescuing Valeria would be much easier. But his conscience couldn't bear the thought of embracing another woman.Besides, wasn't the mermaid tribe under the rule of the White Palace? If he could gain the White Palace's support, he wouldn't have to sleep beside a mermaid. Yes. He still had a choice."No," he firmly rejected Selena's offer. "The mermaid tribe is under the White Palace's rule. So if I manage to ask for the White Palace’s help, your tribe will also aid in rescuing Valeria."Selena rested her chin on her hand and watched him with a smile. His lips twitched. He was uncomfortable with her mocking gaze."Did you know that the mermaid tribe has a saying? 'An enemy of one is an enemy of all. A single fight means a lifetime of separation.' Do you understand what that means?" Selena asked.He shook his head. The mermaid's eyes narrowed
Chapter 21: Sit on the throne
He couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry at what the woman had said. Pregnant? Intercourse? He had no intention of doing everything she was ordering him to do! He loved Valeria, and he couldn’t bear the thought of sleeping with another woman. Besides, he came here to save his wife... not to fulfill whatever desires these women had. His fists clenched. Was this the exorcist woman’s plan to torment him? His jaw tightened at the thought. “Come. The leader is calling for you,” the woman said before walking away. But Alkan remained where he stood. His lips pressed into a firm line as he watched the siren walk further away. After a moment, she stopped and turned to him, her forehead creased. “Why are you still not following?” she asked. He swallowed before speaking. “I won’t meet with the leader. Tell them to send me back to the White Palace.” The woman’s eyes widened slightly as she stared at him, then looked away with a sigh. “Aren’t you hungry? The leader has been waiting at the
Chapter 20: Under the river
The black sawikin sighed. "Because I have a fairy blood, I can recognize the energy of every tribe belonging to the five pillars of Tribal." She fell silent. She had forgotten. That must have been why he warned her earlier. He must have sensed something strange in the area. A few minutes later, as they continued flying through the air, she became alert when she sensed a group of black sawikin a hundred meters away. She quickly grabbed the arm of the sawikin holding her. "Put me down, quickly! Your companions are here!" But the sawikin didn't listen to her. ... As the female exorcist desperately tried to escape the persistent black sawikin, the mermaid carried Alkan’s body into the depths of the river. Alkan was unconscious as the mermaid held him. His head was encased in a bubble the mermaid had created to keep him from drowning. At that moment, the only thing he could remember was the occasional singing of the mermaid, lulling him into a sense of peace. He couldn't fig
Chapter 19: A necromancer's magic
She stood frozen as countless skeletal figures dragged themselves toward her. What kind of creatures were these? There's no records in history that mentioned skeletons rising from the ground. "My lady, this is not the time to be surprised," the black sawikin said, sounding mildly disgusted as it eyed the approaching skeletons. "If you don’t move, you’ll be their dinner." Snapping back to reality, she took a deep breath and raised her hand. Wind gathered in her palm, forming a small whirlwind. She unleashed it at the cluster of skeletons nearer to her. The force shattered them, but they kept crawling toward her, undeterred. Her lips pressed into a thin line. She summoned another whirlwind, but it still wasn’t enough to diminish their numbers. The black sawikin frowned. "You might need fire to get rid of them completely." She turned to him with a glare. "If you're not going to help, just shut up!" she snapped, focusing on summoning another whirlwind. Relief washed over h
Chapter 18: Under the balete tree (2)
The sawikin grinned. "Why don’t we find out?" He opened his mouth, about to shout. Without thinking, she removed her claws from his throat and leaned down—pressing her lips against his. Her expression darkened. She couldn’t believe it. She had just kissed a sawikin. His lips curved against hers. And before she could pull away, his hand slid behind her, pressing her even closer. She inhaled sharply, eyes widening. She struggled to move, but his grip was like stone. He deepened the kiss. And to her horror—he was enjoying it. Damn it. This was not part of the plan. She let the sawikin kiss her, and several minutes passed before he finally released her. Only then did she push herself up from where she had been pinned down. She shot the sawikin a glare, but it only responded with a mischievous smile. Despite the anger simmering inside her, she refused to use magic for revenge. If she did, its companions would immediately sense an exorcist’s presence. Taking a deep bre
