KING Malik scrutinized the elf child and the human young boy, who looked terribly sick. He couldn’t care less, even if he died. He never felt even the slightest pity for them. They were just lowly peasants.
“What sorcery did you use to defeat my favorite executioner?” the king asked Izora.
The young elf gazed up and met the eyes of the king, yet she didn't say a word. As if completely unconcerned by the king's royal presence, Izora sneered.
King Malik raised his hand, and it landed on Izora’s cheek. “Insolence!”
The young elf lost her footing and immediately got up, but Thora grabbed Izora’s hair.
“How dare you look straight into the eyes of the king! Bow down!” The concubine forced the Izora to kneel.
The king turned to Ethros. “Who is this useless brat? If he can't mine, just throw him up to the wasteland for the azugaurs to feast on!”
Captain Revie crep
DAMIEN commanded his enormous falcon to land at a safe place on the outskirts of Ankhe City. It took him a while to reach Vatre because he had to take extra precautions. He made sure to arrive at the Nebe Festival while the aerial army patrolling the sky was smaller so he could sneak in. “These Vatreans are so careless as hell amid every festivity,” Damien said with a smug grin as he removed the green cloak covering his body. He pulled out a white handkerchief from his pocket and whispered a few spells to write a report about his arrival in the empire. “All right, Habicht, you can go now. Bring this to General Mord.” He tied the handkerchief in a knot on the side of the bird’s magic leash. Habicht squeaked before it flew back into the sky and disappeared. It was not long when four other men gathered, wearing the same green cloak with an embroidered crest on the chest. They were in the darkest part of an abandoned town near the border of Dezertus District. Damien breathed out. “
IN THE prison, Jie and Kafle pretended that their injuries were still fatal. Although their wounds had already healed, their bodies were still soaking up blood that had dried up. They quickly formulated a plan before Commander Revie reached their cell. The two were still lying on the cold surface.“Izora, no matter what happens, just stay behind me.” Kafle reminded her daughter. “It seemed they’re going to feed us their favorite beasts just like they always do.”Izora nodded. “Father, let me remind you that if you get severely injured again, I don’t have anything to help you unless I am free from the curse.”Kafle smiled. “I promise, I won’t. All we need is to get out of here. Thanks to the Pearl of Hanum, it regained my vitality.”“There are thousands of guards in this mine!” Izora protested.“We don’t need to neutralize them. A proper strategy is all we need.”Meanwhile, Jie didn’t know what to say because guilt had gathered inside his chest. It was his fault that these elves sacrif
THEY abandoned the ship on a nearby shore. The other prisoners who were with them took it to escape on their own after giving them a small boat to ride on.“Thanks, dark elf!” one of the prisoners waved at Kafle.Ethros was still unconscious that Kafle had to carry him. It was already past midnight, and Kafle circumnavigated to prevent the empire from finding them quickly.Kafle destroyed the signal orb inside the ship when they left the Dreqin Mines. A few Vatrean navy ships were patrolling; thankfully, they managed to cross the mainland safely. It was an arduous voyage.“This is Zummertien Village, just a few hours ride to Ankhe,” Kafle said upon recognizing the place. “We need a place to rest. They’ll surely find us soon.”“Yes, father!” Izora did not complain even though she was also exhausted.After Kafle left them to hide in a dark alley, he soon returned after finding a safe place to stay. It was a two-story inn located near the cliff.“His temperature kept rising.” Izora touch
THE headquarters of the Akatasuna Guild in Ankhe City was a vast estate. It was privately owned by the House of Vaughn, one of the powerful aristocrats in Vatre.The guild chamber was located underground because the place was always under the surveillance of the empire since they hated the insurgents’ guild.“Holy shit! You owned this estate?” Jie was too shocked to learn this. He was staring at the huge family portrait mounted on the great hall. It was Ryker along with his parents. “And you are the sole heir!”Ryker’s face darkened. “Nonsense! Continue walking.”“How come this place is not raided?” Jie asked after he finished his tour of the entire estate. Ryker was always with him to prevent him from escaping, which Jie had no plans of doing.Damien kept following them even though Ryker often showed disapproval of his presence, to which the former was unaffected. Jie was so
ANKHE City was so huge that Jie couldn’t check every place around the bottom layer within the day. They had to go back to Vaughn’s mansion since the charm was slowly wearing off.“I want to see the movement of people around here at night.” Jie insisted when Ryker was already mounted on his beast.“That's very risky. I should ask Winward to babysit you next time. I have a lot of important things to do, yet I am stuck here with you.” Ryker seemed filled with abhorrence.Jie exhaled sharply to control himself. Ryker’s tongue had always been sharp, and he better be careful not to trigger the assassin. What if Ryker suddenly decided to kill him?“Just teach me how to use the Imitation Charm, I can go on my own.” Jie pushed his luck to convince him.“No. Let's go home. You've already seen everything you need to see.”He jumped on his beast and followed Ryker. “Ho
THE force around the dungeon was so strong that even Ryker flew away. He had never imagined he’d seen Ethros this way. That he was capable of releasing this much energy without breaking his own body.“Calm down!” He tried to stop Ethros, but he could not go near him. It was the first time he witnessed such a kind of dark magic aside from their deputy chief. However, this one was raw and pure destruction.“If you don't control it, you'll annihilate the entire estate, and it will kill you!” Ryker kept warning, but Ethros seemed oblivious.“Snap out of it!” Ryker made several hand seals, creating a fire barrier to protect himself, when he realized that Ethros was already unstoppable.The dark clouds suddenly came to every orifice of Nahfu’s body. Then his flesh suddenly decayed until his skeleton remained. By the time the black smoke receded, the skeleton became brittle until it turned to ash.
THE Helios stormed off Vaughn’s estate with their disappointed faces. Ryker even accompanied them to the main gate. “I hope this will be the last you'll pry in my humble abode. Do I look that suspicious?” Ryker clicked his tongue. “By the way, whatever damages I have will be charged to you.” “My apologies, Lord Vaughn.” The red-haired soldier from earlier swallowed his pride when he got nothing despite checking every corner of the mansion. “I am a Vatrean aristocrat. Why would you doubt my allegiance to the empire?” Ryker lit a stick of cigarette. “We are going now. There must be some discrepancies with the report.” The soldier clenched his fists but kept his head up as he turned his back to the heir of the Vaughn Estate. He exhausted his magic earlier while searching, but he failed to find even the slightest evidence of his claim. Ryker sauntered back to the mansion while puffing smoke. He suddenly finds Damien at the entrance. “These lap dogs of the empire wouldn't let me
BEFORE the assassin could launch an attack. Izora shouted. “A portal led us here!” “A portal, you said?” The assassin took a deep breath. “How?” “Iridessa sent us here.” Kafle swiftly answered. He could still remember how this assassin knocked him down easily in just a split second. Knowing he couldn't fight him in his current condition, he questioned why all of the places they could be sent, but ended up here. “You’ve seen Iridessa?” The assassin seemed to doubt. “I didn't think she was the real deal. Only a few people know that the liberalist chief is a fae, and I'm one of them.” Kafle’s eyes were still fixed on the assassin's dagger. The usual cold face of the assassin seemed to soften. “My house is not an orphanage!” Kafle was confused, but he didn't say a word. Just in time, a huge shelf moved, and a doorway was shown. Two men came out. One of them was the person they'd been looking for. “Hey, Kafle?” “Ethros!” Izora ran toward him. “You’re alive!” “Grandma, it's