《Repeat》


 0. Prologue

    Apocalypse in not once. Apocalypse happens a lot of time. When one world destroyed, a new world created in its stead. The cycle has been occurring for only God knows how many times. In the current time, world inhabited by several main race. Angels, Demons, Humans, Fairies, Beastmen, and Undead.


    Angels and Demons keep the balance of the nature, whether it¡¯s real or ethereal. Most Angel don¡¯t really have any will of their own. They only do the jobs given to them by God or the Archangel. A perfect image of tyranny, and loyalty. Demon in the other hand, have their own will and don¡¯t really have any jobs given by the God. The ones who give them jobs is the Seven Deadly Sins led by Lucifer. A perfect image of democracy and freedom. Humans have several subspecies such as hobbit and dwarf. By physically power, Human is the weakest among all but they gifted by high intelligence. Sometimes too high. Fairies are the being that come from nature. Fairies given the power to control nature and have a high lifespan. Some even nearly have eternal life. Beastmen, half human and half beast. It is said beastmen created by the God to keep the human in check. Both human and beastmen have a high pride and despise each other so it is not unusual for them to wage a war. The last is Undead. A being that comes alive after one lives lost. Undead might born from magic, disease, wicked nature, curse of demon, or blessing of angel.


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    World divided by five main continent. Angel¡¯s realms and Demon¡¯s realm took a whole continent for themselves while Human, Beast men, and Fairies share the rest. These 3 races create some cities on it without any pattern. But what clear is the nearer the city with the main city, the bigger it is. A¡¯nnua is the biggest city of the fairy race. Samma is the biggest city of the Human race. Ul Thadur is the biggest city of the beast men. Undead don¡¯t have any central city like the other race.


    As time passes by, a desert known as Land of no Man is appeared. Basically it just a dessert with some oases. But what makes it a Land of no Man is because the creature living in it. All sorts of beasts and creatures can be found within. At first, it just a small desert but it became bigger and bigger. It¡¯s spreading fast. Because of this Land of no Man, the war getting more intense. On the other hand, because of it the biggest city of fairy race is safe. But it has it drawback which the fairies that lived in the human and beast men continent had a hard time to come to the capital. The mountain range that divide human and beast men is the only thing that keeps the war between them becoming all-out war.

 1. Just Like That

    ¡°Water. I need water.¡± I whisper to myself.


    A week ago, I entered this desert to search for an ancient relict with a band of mercenaries. It¡¯s not that I needed them to guard me, I just needed them to waste my time with joke and such.


    This place is just a normal desert, not the land of no man. But, apparently beast and monster also lives here.


    I thought this would become another easy journey, but three days ago a pair of monsters were fighting over territory and our caravan got dragged into it. Unfortunately, all of them died and I¡¯m the only survivor. I couldn¡¯t care less with them, but the monsters destroyed all of our food and water supply. And now, I¡¯m wandering in the middle of the desert. Hoping to find some water.


    ¡°Oh, God, I fucking hate you. Why can¡¯t I cast any magic?¡±


    I look at my right hand. A blue and red stripe ring on my middle finger is a mana storage ring. An empty mana ring. Unfortunately, this ring is just a low class mana ring. I got it when I was five as a birthday present. It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t have any money to buy a high class mana ring, it¡¯s just nobody has it.


    In this world, it¡¯s pretty rare for someone to be born without any affinity toward magic. And I¡¯m one of those rare people. If I can get this ancient relict this time, I will be able to create a high class mana ring.


    In the distance, I see rocks. A lot of rocks. But as the distance get closer, I can see it¡¯s not rocks. What I see is a lot of white clay houses. A typical house to be found in the desert.


    I hurry to the village but not much people is visible. Maybe because it¡¯s midday and it¡¯s hot as hell out here? I pass few houses and I found some house that looks bigger than any other house. I can hear a loud noise is coming from it and some long-legged lizard is tied outside of it.


    It must be a bar, or something like that.


    ~badump~


    I fall on my face right after I enter the place.


    All the noise I heard before has disappeared. I roll my body so I can see the ceiling.


    ¡°Wa, Wa,¡±


    I can feel the stare is stabbing me from every direction. I guess they¡¯re expecting something disastrous to happen like ¡°Help. Our caravan is under attack and I need a help¡±.


    ¡°Water.¡±


    As I finish my word, the loud noise instantly come back to the place. It seems they¡¯ve lost interest in me.


    ¡°Ah, mister, are you alright?¡±


    I hear a faint voice. I don¡¯t know. Is it the voice which is already faint or I¡¯m losing my hearing?


    ¡°Water¡± I beg one more time.


    ¡°Here mister, have a drink.¡±


    I can feel a cold water flow into my mouth. Filling my dry throat. It feels so nice. I¡¯m alive, again.


    ¡°Get lost mix-kid!¡±


    ¡°Ah¡±


    Suddenly, I can feel my face is being splashed by water. It seems the water that previously poured into my mouth had spilled all over my face.


    ¡°Ahh, so refreshing.¡±


    I sit and look at the kid in my left. A blue haired girl in some rag clothes. She has the same eyes color as her hair. I inspect her carefully and see a long hairy pointy ears pop out from her short hair. Other than that, a small fang on her teeth and a short furry tail.


    But for me, the most important thing is a cute little girl is right in front of me.


    ¡°How cute¡­¡±


    I simply hug her all to myself. Ah, I just love little kids. The innocent face and the inability to protect themselves makes you want to protect them. Even if I¡¯m not a father, I¡¯m pretty fond of little kid. No, pretty fond is an understatement. I love them, totally.


    I hug her and spin her around. Then, I take her to the closest empty seats as fast as a bullet and just looking at her.


    ¡°Hey, little girl, what¡¯s your name? Where do you live?¡±


    ¡°A, a, Mister,¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I tilt my head. Responding to her.


    ¡°Hey!¡± A hand lands on my right shoulder. As I look into my right, I see a big woman with your usual barkeeper outfit. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing to one of my waitresses, huh?¡±


    Crap, I can see a black aura is coming from her. She¡¯s so scary in so many levels.


    ¡°I, I¡¯d like to order something.¡± I stutter.


    She raises her eyebrow. ¡°Huh? Do you have money with you?¡±


    I put a small grin on my face.


    I touch my ring in my right pinky finger with my left hand. It¡¯s not the mana ring, it¡¯s a different ring. As I touch it, a small air in front of me is distorted. I put my hand in it and took a little leather bag.


    ¡°Is this enough?¡± I open the leather bag and show her a fist of pure shiny silver.


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    In a blink of an eye, the leather bag has already moved to her hand, and she¡¯s counting it. ¡°Ah yes. Of course. You can even take a room and this little girl to serve you for a few days.¡±


    The black aura from before suddenly vanishes and changes into sparkling light around her. Judging by her words, it seems like this place is also an inn.


    ¡°Good. Then, I¡¯ll take any food you can serve for now and a lot of drinks. Bring me all of it.¡±


    ¡°Just a moment, sir.¡± The big woman shout in the direction of the kitchen. ¡°Girls, get every available food on table 8.¡±


    A lot of food and drinks is being served in front of me. After three days with no food and no water, I can¡¯t hold my droll any longer.


    ¡°Thanks for the food.¡±


    I gulp all the food and the drink. At this moment, I can say I am the very embodiment of gluttony, and I can feel the whole place is stabbing me with their stare. I don¡¯t give a shit. I got all of this food and drink in front of me.


    ¡°Ah, mister, would you like some company?¡±


    I look into my left and see a woman in the same age as me, twenties, is sitting beside me. She¡¯s wearing a dancer outfit which practically the same as undergarment and showing her breast towards me.


    ¡°Fuck off! I don¡¯t want any old hag like you.¡±


    ¡°Old, old hag?¡±


    She¡¯s pissed and walks away from my table.


    I stop for a moment and look at the little girl in front of me. Her mouth is drooling like a river. When she notices I look at her drool, she wipes and tries to hide it. She must be thinking it¡¯s embarrassing. Looking at her shy face is so soothing.


    ¡°Eat up little girl. I¡¯m paying for you for the next few days so you need to eat something too.¡±


    ¡°Al, alright.¡±


    I look at her closely. Her hand is trembling. I look toward the kitchen and I see a lot of teenage human girl is staring sharply at her.


    I see, so that¡¯s how it is.


    ¡°Hey, little girl.¡±


    ¡°Ye, yes sir?¡± She¡¯s surprised and take her hand back.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Ah, Erfia.¡±


    ¡°Erfia, eat and drink to your heart content. I need you in my room, you hear me?¡±


    ~sqiusshhhh~


    I can hear a lot of people spurt their drink at the same time.


    ¡°Ah, in, in your room, mister?¡± Erfia¡¯s face became red.


    ¡°Yeah, so eat and drink to your heart content. I can see you¡¯re not eating enough. I need you to recover your energy as much as possible. You¡¯ll need it.¡±


    ¡°O, okay, then.¡±


    At that instant moment, she chows down a lot of food down to her mouth. On the outside, it looks like that we¡¯re having an eating contest right now.


    It¡¯s going just like that for some moment until finally some people decide to join my banquet.


    ¡°Hey, it seems you have a lot of money, why don¡¯t you share some with us?¡± one of those people is opening their filthy mouth.


    ¡°Be gone! I don¡¯t have any time to spare on little shit like you people.¡±


    ¡°Little shit, huh?¡±


    Blarr.


    At the spur of the moment, the table in front of me has already been split in two by some axe. I take Erfia to my left shoulder and some food in my right hand.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± I yell while chewing some food.


    ¡°You better give us all of your money or you¡¯ll be the next one.¡±


    I put Erfia down. She¡¯s not disturbed at all by this. She¡¯s still eating and eating.


    Looking at her stuffing her mouth even though it¡¯s already full is pretty cute in its own way.


    I took a battle stance with some bone in my right hand and so does the people around me with their weapon.


    ¡°NO FIGHTING IN MY PLACE!¡±


    Suddenly, a man flies towards the man that just split the table and take him down.


    I drop my jaw and just stand in awe. I look toward the direction the man coming from and I can see the big woman from before with her black aura filling the whole room.


    Her black aura is sending a shivering chill towards me. It seems not only for me, all the people in this room can feel it. All of them are sweating a lot and turning pale. Only Erfia is not affected and keep eating.


    ¡°Shit, I thought she¡¯s out shopping.¡± One of the people that surrounds me yell.


    ¡°YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU FIGHT AT MY PLACE AND YOU WON¡¯T GET OUT OF HERE ALIVE!¡±


    In that instant, all the people that previously surrounded me get back to their own seat and have a normal conversation with their own group like nothing ever happened.

 2. Simple Spell

    I took my lesson. I kept my food and water supply in my ¡°Keeper¡±. Keeper is a dimensional storage that has unlimited space. Every time I took something, the space in my hand will be distorted so that my hand could reach it.


    I spent the whole evening buy a new food and water supply. Of course, with Erfia as my guide. Now, the night has come and I rest in the Inn. This room is not too bad. A single bed, a desk, a shower, and a window. Through the windows you can see the night star and some drunk people walking on the road.


    ¡°Um, mister, may I ask what can I do for you?¡±


    I look back at Erfia who¡¯s standing in the door.


    ¡°What are you doing there? I need you in this room, not outside.¡±


    Erfia steps inside in a very slow motion. I can see her foot is shaking.


    Darn, I can¡¯t take it. She¡¯s too slow. I walk toward the door and close it while I grab her and put her on the bed.


    She¡¯s not moving at all on the bed. She closes her eyes so tight.


    Did I just make a wrong impression? Could be.


    I take my mana storage ring in my right middle finger. With her eyes is being closed, how can I give this ring to her?


    ¡°Hey, Erfia, open your eyes. I need you to open your eyes.¡±


    She¡¯s slowly opening her eyes. As she opens it, she should see the ring is hanging from my hand in front of her.


    ¡°Mister? What is this?¡±


    ¡°I need you to fill the mana inside the ring. I¡¯ll be taking shower while you¡¯re on it.¡±


    I drop my ring right into her hand and then go to the shower. Damn man, people these days easily get wrong ideas about things. But, it¡¯s not really my concern though. I take a shower for about a quarter hour and get out. Erfia is still closing her eyes with something is glowing out of her clasping hand. I guess it is my ring in her hand so I¡¯ll let her be.


    I walk toward the windows and open it to let some fresh air to enter. But, I¡¯m not doing it as I look at some drunk people are fighting each other on the alley.


    Now, what should I do? Normally it would take about an hour to fill that mana storage ring. Another thirty minutes. As I think about what to do, my stomach is grumbling.


    I walk toward the door and get out of the room. I lock the room from the outside to prevent any person breaking in. I walk downstairs, back to the bar.


    ¡°Get me some food and a beer.¡± I shout when I sit on the high chair.


    The current chair that I used is different from the one I used in the afternoon. The desk and the chair that I used in the afternoon are lower as it designed for group or a lot of food. But the high chair that I¡¯m using right now is facing right to the waiter behind the desk. It is designed for a light meal and a drink.


    ¡°So, how¡¯s the little girl? Is she good enough?¡±


    The big woman from the afternoon comes and serves my dish. Rice with some salad and a fried big lizard tail is ready with a glass of beer.


    ¡°She¡¯s good. Where did you find her?¡±


    I start to eat my food while trying to maintain the conversation.


    ¡°I bought her few months ago from a slave trader just for a couple hundreds of gold coin. Just a second rate gold though, unlike yours.¡±


    ¡°Insufficient workers?¡±


    ¡°Yes, something like that. I need a cheap worker, and it seems because she¡¯s a half elf and half beast man it makes her cheap.¡±


    I look in the kitchen and around the bar then stuff my mouth again, ¡°Say, I see you have a lot of workers and all of them are human. Nobody likes her right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, nobody likes her. But I don¡¯t care about it. I just need her to do dirty works like cleaning the vomit of some guest, washing the big long-legged lizard, or something like that.¡±


    So, that¡¯s how it is. I empty my food and starting to drink my beer. ¡°I need another set of dish sent to my room right now. Change the beer with some milk. Just put it in front of the door. I¡¯ll be taking it inside.¡±


    ¡°So, it seems you like that little girl. How about you buy it for a hundred of your shiny gold coins¡±?


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. I¡¯ll be back to my room for now.¡±


    The mana filling process should have done. I leave the bar and walk upstairs. As I reach my room, I see the food is already served in front of my door. I open the door and bring the food inside.


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    ¡°Ah, mister, welcome back. I¡¯ve filled the ring with mana.¡± Erfia is coming to me with my ring in her hand.


    ¡°Thank you. Close the door, please.¡±


    I walk and put the dish in the desk while Erfia close the door.


    ¡°Have a meal. I¡¯ll try the ring.¡±


    Erfia says nothing and takes her meal. Could it be she¡¯s scared? It seems it is not that easy to change one¡¯s perspective. I¡¯m afraid it will become worse by tonight. I¡¯ll worry about it later.


    I put my ring back on my middle finger and start to enchant some simple spell.


    ~By the will of wind and the earth, let these touches the greatness of your might. As I say, speed of wind~


    Enchanting a simple magic won¡¯t give you any big stress over your body. So, it is understandable if I can¡¯t feel any change in my body. But don¡¯t get it wrong, a well-trained body and knowledge of the science can change everything.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡±


    I open the windows and jump right out of it. In one jump, I can see those small people on this small place. This is definitely my favorite spell. The spell to lessen air and earth friction toward anything around me. This spell consumes fewer mana than speed increasing spell. But of course, it¡¯s harder to control because without the right knowledge of the science behind it, you could slide through everything until you hit a wall.


    By decreasing the air and ground friction at my will, I jump normally at the beginning but I instantly remove air friction so I can jump about 30 meters. But, jumping at that height could kill me the moment I land, so I always land on an angle. By the time I land, I decrease the land friction. So, instead of the land killing me, without the friction I just slide through the land and slowly increase the friction to make me stop.


    Now I¡¯m already standing at the outside of the village. It should be coming at any moment right now. As I wait, the land suddenly shakes and a pair of jaws are trying to eat me from my right and my left side. I jump back as far as I could and watch the jaw has been closed tight. The monster has finally appeared on the surface. A gigantic blue snake with four legs. It destroys everything in its way.


    I jump back a few times to return to my room.


    ¡°Mister, what¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°No time to explain, I¡¯ll tell you later.¡±


    I grab Erfia and run as fast as I can toward the bar. Everybody is panicking over the gigantic snake outside.


    ¡°Hey, mam, I¡¯ll buy this little girl.¡± I put my hand in the Keeper and take a pouch of pure shiny gold. ¡°Catch this.¡±


    ¡°Glad to do business with you.¡±


    As the big woman catch that pouch, I can see a magic contract in a form of thread connects me and Erfia. That big woman smiles and runs in a hurry. She runs outside where the gigantic snake is rampaging. I pull my hand and the pouch flies off her hand.


    Being distracted by the flying pouch, she doesn¡¯t realize the snake is coming at this place. The snake eats her, and I get my 100 pure shiny gold back.


    I take Erfia in my left hand while changing the pouch with a piece of shield in my right hand from the Keeper. I Jump toward the outside by breaking the glass on my shield and put Erfia down. Then, I move the shield from my right hand to my left hand. The space in my right hand is distorted and a big egg at the size of my head is already at my hand.


    The snake rampages as it sees the thing it''s been looking for. I throw the egg toward the snake, and it jumps to retrieve it. While its busy retrieving its egg, I hit it as hard as I can with my shield.


    ~clang~


    This shield is not a normal shield. Anything it touches lose its weight. By doing this I can easily bounce the gigantic snake and then remove the air and land friction of the snake for a period. I bounce the snake until I can¡¯t see it any more.


    A silent moment come right after I bounce the snake out of sight. Fortunately, nobody saw me toss that egg. Except for Erfia. I look at her and see her sight is empty. Her jaw is dropped to the point you can see her throat.


    ¡°Well, Erfia. You got two choices now. Come with me or become another person slave.¡±

 3. Lagging Agility

    It¡¯s been two days since I got Erfia as my slave. She¡¯s not talking at all unless I asked her or I needed a reply.


    Well, my plan worked perfectly. Even better than I thought. I hoped to get a slave which can use a magic so I can fill this mana storage ring easily. And by stole the egg of the monster that attacked our caravan a few days ago, the snake would follow me and destroyed everything around me. So, I could get a free slave as the owner died. But, if the snake came too soon, the owner could die before I bought the slave. If that happened, the slave would be free and it would be hard to own a free slave.


    The better part is, I got myself a half elf. A half elf is well known for their high affinity toward magic. Unlike human that needs a magical item or meditation to restore their mana when they run out, an elf can restore their mana by absorbs the mana in the nature. In other words, the life force of nature is at their disposal. However, it seems not everything worked just fine. Erfia is just a kid, so I need to protect her or my unlimited mana source will be gone.


    Right now, we¡¯re taking a rest at some oasis. She¡¯s asleep after had a dinner. It seems putting the food and water supply in the keeper is indeed the right decision. I take a roll of paper out of my trousers and open it. I trace back where we going for today. It seems, by the day after tomorrow, we can reach the relic.


    I need to go to sleep.


    ~~~


    ¡°Hey you! Wake up you bastard!¡±


    Huh? Who¡¯s there? I don¡¯t recall having another person other than Erfia. I open my eyes and see a shiny thing right in front of my eyes. A spear is ready to pierce my head any moment.


    Oh, finally, they appear. The desert bandits.


    I look around. About 15 people surround me. Four man are equipped with short range gun, two with a bow at a range about 50 meters, six with a sheathed sword, and three with spear around my head. One people with the sheathed sword are holding Erfia with him.


    ¡°Look what we¡¯ve got here. A traveler and a little girl. Let me guess, she¡¯s your daughter or something?¡±


    ¡°Nope, she¡¯s my slave.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The bandit in front of me narrows one of his eyes. It seems he doesn¡¯t believe in me.


    Well, looking at my age in my late twenties and Erfia at nine, it¡¯s not totally wrong to assume she¡¯s my daughter. And, as she¡¯s wearing normal clothes rather than a rag, nobody would have thought of her as my slave.


    ¡°Yeah right, like hell a slave has such a nice clothes on her.¡±


    I sigh.


    By the will of red blood, let this body of mine contain your whole might. As I say, blood transformation.


    A silent incantation. Well, it¡¯s silent because I said it in my mind. Unlike the spell of speed of wind which increases my speed by lowering the friction around me, this spell lets me gain a more agile body by making the blood run faster. It also increases my reflex and my sight. So, it¡¯s like looking through the world in slow motion. It is also another small mana spell. Normal spell increases the agility of its user by increasing the whole muscle power, blood circular, perception, and reflex of its owner. But as my spell only deal with the blood circular, it¡¯s only consume a quarter of a normal spell. But without a suitable body, it could destroy the whole body and takes one¡¯s life.


    I try to look at the distance to look their vehicle but I can see nothing. It seems they hide it somewhere. I¡¯ll let one live.


    I grab two spears in front of me and I push it with all my might. The spear is sliding through the holder¡¯s hands and piercing through their chest. Even the dull side of a spear could penetrate a flesh without an armor. A shoot is fired and I use two people at the end of the spear as my shield. While the man with the gun is reloading, the man with the spear behind me makes his move and tries to pierce my back.


    I let go two dead bodies in my hand and step backward with a little sidestep. The spear is sliding through my armpit and I take it from his hand. My hand is faster, and a lifeless head is rolling. A pair of arrows is coming through me. With my blood transformation spell, I see the arrow is moving in a slow pace. I deflect both arrow and start to run toward one of the six men that already unsheathe their sword.


    My agility is increased but my speed is not as fast as if I use the speed of wind. At least I can dodge their attack and kill them at ease. But you need to remember even if you see everything in slow motion and your agility and reflex is increasing, your mind processes thing even faster than all of it. And it feels like your body is lagging. So, avoiding a bullet shot by short range gun is a big no.


    Sword and gun user have been down. Apparently, the gunner is not a professional gunner. I can see it by the time they took to reload. In the distance, the two archers are trying to escape. A hover motorcycle is rising from the sand and they ride on it.


    Wait a minute, a hover motorcycle? How could they lay a hand on the angel¡¯s technology?


    ¡°Oh no, I won¡¯t let you!¡±


    I¡¯ll think about it later. I throw the spear in my hand like a javelin and it pierces one archer. The hover motorcycle remains on standby. The other hover motorcycle is starting to get away. I raise my right hand to the sky and the space is distorted around it. I take a longbow with a curve shape on the edge out of the Keeper. And then I take one of the spears in the dead body and aim with the spear as my arrow. This longbow is a very big one, even it nearly touches the ground as I¡¯m aiming with. I release the spear from my bow and it pierces through the air. In just a moment it¡¯s already going through the man¡¯s body.


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    ¡°The might of the red blood has emerged in victory.¡± Another incantation to dispel the blood transformation.


    Erfia just stand in silence. After all that killing, I¡¯m pretty sure she becomes more afraid of me.


    ¡°Erfia, come! We¡¯ll take the ride¡±


    Erfia just nod in silence. I put my longbow back to the Keeper. We walk toward the hover motorcycle. I check on it before riding on it. It had been tweaked so it can operate by using black water. Black water is a type of water that contains the essence of nature. So, it¡¯s like a magic fuel to inanimate things. I keep the other one in my Keeper for caution if this thing out of fuel. With this ride, we will reach our destination by dusk.


    But, I still wonder how could band of bandits got their hand on the angel technology. This dessert is located on the southern part of the Ma Continent, Human and Beastmen continent. The Angel¡¯s Realm located fifteen thousand kilometers away. Even Ul Thadur is closer than the Angel¡¯s Realm. I¡¯ll look into is after I get this relict.


    As I guessed, we arrive at our destination by the dusk. A ruin of a big city in the middle of desert.


    ¡°Erfia, can you guess what place is this?¡± I try to break the silence.


    I hate silence. But it¡¯s really tiring to start every conversation and you get a short answer out of it.


    ¡°A big city?¡±


    I smile faintly, ¡°It was a big city. In the past, this city was a capital of a very great kingdom known as Mestoah. By that time the land of no man is not yet exist. At its peak, this kingdom rulef everything at the east side of Ma Continent. But a couple generations after its peak, the royal family fought for the throne and it led to its destruction. After the fall, a lot of its treasure is raided and spread all over the world. Most of the treasure are wielding a magic on its own and have a very great power.¡±


    I can hear no reply coming from her. It seems I¡¯m talking to myself. But, nothing wrong with remembering the past glory. I can still feel it, the people walk around in the market, the sound of iron being forged in the blacksmith, the children run around playing.


    Finally, we¡¯ve arrived in the biggest building in this ruin. We get off the ride and start to walk.


    Erfia casts a spell to summon a ball of light so that we can see in the dark. She does it without my order.


    ¡°Um, mister.¡±


    Finally, Erfia has started to speak. Oh, Erfia, you don¡¯t know how much it means to me for you to be the one¡¯s starting to speak. Is it mean you have finally opened your heart to me?


    ¡°Call me Mada, it¡¯s my name.¡±


    I need to make her feels more comfortable to me. Even if she¡¯s my slave, I can¡¯t shake my fondness of cute little girl like her.


    ¡°Bu, but.¡±


    ¡°No but, call me Mada.¡±


    ¡°Al, alright then. Mada,¡± Erfia does it awkwardly. ¡°It might be a little bit too late for me to ask. But, what are we looking for in this ruin?¡±


    ¡°A last relict to make a new mana storage ring.¡±


    ¡°And Mada, I also wonder, are you one of those people who don¡¯t have any affinity towards magic?¡±


    ¡°You should have already known about it. That¡¯s the reason why I need you to fill this mana storage ring of mine every day.¡±


    ¡°How is it any different from your current mana storage ring?¡±


    ¡°Well, the current mana storage ring which is already an expensive item is a very low quality. It could only store mana for a day because it¡¯s leaking. The mana will deplete faster if being used. With all of the relict that I¡¯ve gathered, I will create a perfect mana storage ring which can be used for a whole month without being filled. Its perfection makes the mana won¡¯t leak so if it left being unused for decades, the mana is still intact inside of the ring.¡±


    Finally, we¡¯ve reached a big door that leads us to the room I¡¯ve been looking for.


    ¡°This door is not a normal door. The wood of the door is created by Nava Wood, the oldest wood in the world that contains a huge amount of mana, so it can withstand any magic or anything that trying to break in. At this time, this kind of wood only available in the A¡¯nnua, the capital of Elf. The lion ornament is not for show. It will come to life and tear apart anything that trying to break in. The red stain in the mouth indicates it has torn apart a lot of people before.¡± I explain the door to Erfia that¡¯s standing in front of me.


    Erfia looks back at me with a scared face. ¡°The, then, how can we enter?¡±


    I smile. ¡°It¡¯s easy, just say the right incantation and it will open by itself.¡±

 4. A New Slave

    ¡°Wait a minute Mada, how did you know the incantation?¡±


    Erfia asks me as we walk around in the room inside the door. We look around and look at all of the treasures inside the room. This room is the treasure room of the kingdom which explains a lot about all of the stuff. You can find a lot of gold coins, jewelry, gems, weapon, and relict, even some art like painting or statue that could give you a lot of money.


    ¡°I just know it.¡± I answer shortly. ¡°You can take anything from this place if you want to. It¡¯s ours after all.¡±


    ¡°Really? Thanks a lot Mada.¡±


    Erfia runs toward the weapon section of the room. It seems she¡¯s thinking of protecting herself. Or maybe she will try to break free from me? No, no, no. Well, I hope not.


    I go to relict section and look for the thing. After some time, I¡¯ve finally found it. I look at a small seed at the size of my pinky finger. The seed has a pink and blue color in it. It is the seed of Nava tree that bloomed from a thousand years old Nava tree. Nava tree is hard to grow because it sows its seeds only once in a thousand years, and it only lives for two thousand years. So, it only sows its seeds twice. And when people of the later generation found the tree, they don¡¯t know about its cycle and cut it down. That¡¯s the reason Nava tree only exists in Elf Capital.


    ¡°Erfia, have you found what you wanted?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I have.¡±


    I look back toward the voice. I am surprised at the sight in front of me that I nearly fall on my back. The sight of Erfia holding a lot of weapons in her little hand. A long bow, a short bow, a cross bow, a dagger, a twin blade, and a snake sword.


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s all? Don¡¯t you want some jewelry or some relict or some gold coins?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really like a jewelry, they attract too much attention. I have no knowledge of relict, and if it¡¯s about money, I think you have covered for it.¡±


    I take a silent moment after I heard her words.


    ¡°Are you sure about that? Because actually I-.¡±


    ¡°Since you took me in that village, I¡¯ve been thinking about it. What should I do? Should I just follow you or ask you to free me from being your slave. But both of my parents had been killed and I¡¯ve got nobody. Even if I¡¯m free, I don¡¯t know what or where should I go. So, I¡¯d like to ask you, would you please take me with you?¡±


    I¡¯m at loss of words. I¡¯ve got no idea she¡¯s been thinking about it all this time. So, I guess the moment she started to initiate the talk is the moment she¡¯s sure of it?


    ¡°But of course, I took all of these weapons so I could protect myself. I won¡¯t hinder you.¡±


    ¡°Haha, hahahahahaha.¡±


    I burst out a very big laugh. I guess I really can¡¯t say no to a cute little child like her. Well, maybe for normal people she¡¯s not cute because of her beast man feature. But I don¡¯t care about it and I need a person to fill this mana storage ring too.


    I walk toward her and pat her head. I can feel her hair is so soft but yet so silky. A mix of elf and beast men really is something.


    ¡°Tell me Erfia, how old are you?¡±


    ¡°9.¡± She replies shortly.


    Thank god she inherited the beast man aging process. If she inherited the elf aging process, she could be older than me at this time. Maybe it¡¯s the lifespan that she inherited from the elf.


    ¡°You should act more like a 9 years old girl you know. I won¡¯t forbid you to learn about weapon though.¡±


    Smile rise on her face. ¡°So it means you¡¯ll take me?¡±


    ¡°Sure. I need someone to fill the mana storage ring after all.¡± I reply. ¡°So, let me break the slave bind magic.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s okay, you don¡¯t have to break it. Actually, I don¡¯t want to break it.¡±


    ¡°Then how about change it into family bond magic?¡±


    ¡°Family bond magic?¡± Erfia tilts her head.


    ¡°Yeah, it similar to slave bind magic, but family bond magic needs both sides to agree unlike slave bind magic. By family bond magic, I also could detect your whereabouts in case if we¡¯re separated.¡±


    ¡°O, okay then.¡±


    ¡°Well, shall we start?¡±


    ~Oh god of the righteousness. The God of red string of fate. As our red string of fate has met, let us bond ourselves as a family. Do you, Erfia, take me as your family? ~


    ~I do~


    ~By the will of both side and the grace of the god of the righteousness, a new family bond has been made. ~


    I can see the slave bind magic that tie us has disappeared and it changes into some red string that connects both of our heart. I open my clothes to check where the red string ends and I see a pair of eye sign like a tattoo. Erfia also checks hers and I see a sign in a shape of oval and a swirl inside of it.


    ¡°So it means, the god acknowledges you as my parent?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is.¡± I answer with a smile on my face. ¡°As this day onward, your name is Erfia Arcaness. The daughter of Mada Arcaness.¡±


    Oval with a swirl inside of it indicates it¡¯s an unpolished diamond that can break free into any form. It is a symbol for a child. A pair of eyes is a symbol of the parent which will look at the growth of the unpolished diamond in front of it.


    ¡°For now, you decide one bow and one melee weapon to use, I¡¯ll store the rest in my Keeper.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    While I leave Erfia to choose her favorite weapon, I put the seed of the Nava three in a special place in my Keeper. After I put it, I open the Keeper and let the space around my hand distorts. By doing this, I only need to touch anything and it will automatically be kept inside the Keeper. I run around and take all of this treasure. It takes me about thirty minutes to take it all inside the keeper.


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    ¡°Have you decide?¡± I shout at Erfia.


    ¡°No, not yet.¡±


    I see all of her weapon is being put on the line on the floor while she¡¯s troubled. Apparently, if you didn¡¯t have any choice for a few years of your live, you became slow to make choice. Maybe that¡¯s what took her so long to choose whether to stay with me or leave.


    I look outside and see the sky has changed its color. It¡¯s nighttime already.


    ¡°I have decided, I¡¯ll take the crossbow and the snake sword.¡±


    ¡°Good, then I¡¯ll keep the others at the Keeper.¡±


    Erfia nods and gives me the other weapon. I store it in the Keeper and I make the distortion in my hand disappear.


    ¡°Wow, you really do take all of the treasures in this room.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t want other people to have it. And it will prevent further victim of the gate as the gate has opened when they came and see nothing inside of it. Or maybe, should I take the gate too? It¡¯s not every day I could get my hand on Nava wood.¡±


    ¡°You can take the gate too?¡±


    I touch the gate and let it be consumed by the distortion in my hand. As it enters my Keeper, the hinges is the only thing that left out of it.


    ¡°I can take anything, even I can put you inside of it if you want to.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, no thanks.¡± Erfia shows a disgust face when I say it. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine being inside of the Keeper.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, let¡¯s leave then.¡±


    We ride the hover motorcycle and let the lights of the motorcycle to illuminate our way. We leave this long perished kingdom with its treasure at our disposal. But, it seems it won¡¯t work as smooth as I thought. A big caravan has been waiting for us outside of this city border. I stop and look at them. I can spot least five flat bottomed wagon, twenty hover motorcycles, and at least fifty people in it.


    The flat bottom wagon is normally operated by magic. It traveled through the desert by sliding in the top of it. But what concern me is the long range and short range gun mounted on it. And some people also hold some bow. I think they use the bow to shoot some arrow with rope to hinder our movement.


    One person is coming and she¡¯s standing with the light as her background. A slender girl with short black hair is wearing a vest and tights under her pants. She¡¯s beautiful indeed. I think she¡¯s on her early twenties, maybe younger five years or so than me. She¡¯s also wearing thick gloves and a metal boots. The thick gloves and metal boot give me some vibe. I think it¡¯s some magical item.


    ¡°So, it seems you¡¯re the one who killed our comrades and took their hover motorcycles. Isn¡¯t it, Mada the Raider?¡±


    ¡°Ho, so it seems you know me. May I ask your name, the beautiful girl in front of me?¡±


    ¡°The name is Reis Waltz, one of the six desert masters.¡± She shouts in pride and gallantly. ¡°You came from the ruin right? Then, I can say you¡¯ve taken all of its treasure from the last treasure room.¡±


    Last treasure room? It seems the other treasure rooms had been raided beforehand. Well, I couldn¡¯t care less. All the other treasure room only had art, gold coins, and some middle class weapon.


    ¡°You know me well. So, what are you going to do?¡± I shout back at her.


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯re going to take it all from you.¡±


    ¡°Hahhh.¡± I sigh. ¡°Erfia, you could use a big amount of mana right?¡±


    I whisper to Erfia which sit in my back. I don¡¯t want to take care all of them at once. It¡¯s too troublesome.


    ¡°Ah, yes, I could use all of the mana that¡¯s flowing in this desert.¡± Erfia is startled a bit.


    ¡°Then follow my incantation, and you think the area on their ground as a big circle. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Hey, are you listening?¡± Reis shouts. She¡¯s pissed but I couldn¡¯t care less.


    ~By the blessing of north star and south star, the power of north sky and south sky, the divinities of the freezing sky and shattering land, and the abnormality of the demon words, I command you to obey the order of this great controller. Do as I say, the spiking ground.~


    As Erfia finishes with the incantation, a big circle appears below their caravan. That circle is letting out a cold smoke. At that moment, a big ice spike appears from the ground and traps all of the people inside of the circle. Apparently, Reis made it out of the circle in time.


    She''s shocked at the sight in front of her. I can see her body is trembling. She¡¯s trying to touch the ice. But, right before she¡¯s able to do it, the ice shatters. All of the people inside of it is dead. All of their limb is just a piece of frozen limb right now.


    Reis falls on her knee. She at loss of words.


    I ride my hover motorcycle in front of her and I can see her empty eyes. I put my right hand on her head and start to say the incantation for a slave bind magic. The remaining mana on my ring should be enough for this small magic.


    ~By the will of the human and demon, who gave the right to take others live and right, this being in front of me will lose all of her right. With this, I put you under my slavery contract and your life belongs to me.~


    As the incantation is complete, I can see a green string connects her heart to my hand. She¡¯s surprised and open her vest. I can see a picture of a chain in a shape of S in her chest. She¡¯s looking at me with a shocked expression.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re my slave now.¡±

 5. Master and Slave

    ¡°Erfia, how are you feeling?¡±


    ¡°I, I don¡¯t know, dad. I, I just can¡¯t stop shaking.¡±


    It¡¯s been a day since she used the ice magic to kill all of the desert bandit, but apparently the shock of taking lives of human is still intact. It may look cruel, but I need to make her learn how it feels to kill. To take lives.


    Right now we¡¯re in An Saia, the south most city in the Ma Continent and the closest city to Land of No Man. By the border, you can already see the Land of No Man. We¡¯re lodging in some inn in this city.


    ¡°Haha, what a great father, to make his own child kill at least sixty people in one night.¡± Reis talks to me in her usual sarcastic tone.


    If I remember correctly, she never shuts up since I took her as my slave. Apparently, it is not uncommon to hear her sarcastic tone.


    ¡°I think the stable is still available. Tell me, do you prefer a gryphon or snake horse?¡± I talk back at her with a serious tone.


    Reis changes her attitude in an instant and bows her head. ¡°I beg of you, please forgive me, oh my graceful master.¡±


    Of course it will freak her out. Everyone knows gryphon and snake horse is fast and reliable ride but they¡¯re a thirsty animal. What I mean by thirsty is they mate with every other living being. Whether it¡¯s another animal, elf, half beast, human, undead, anything. People with those ride usually bring a pack of animal to satisfy their thirst. I won¡¯t say lust because it¡¯s just in their instinct. If I throw her in a stable full of them, it¡¯s certain that not only one, but all of them in the stable will mate with her.


    It is not the time to mess with her, I¡¯ve got Erfia to handle. ¡°Erfia, I want you to remember this feeling. This is the feeling of taking one¡¯s life. It is important that you remember this feeling so that you won¡¯t kill anybody any more.¡±


    ¡°Ac, actually, dad, it is not the killing that makes me shaking. It is the drawback of the magic that I used.¡± She¡¯s stutter as she responds to me.


    ¡°Wait, what? Are you serious?¡± Reis responds to her right before I got my chance.


    Erfia just nods slowly.


    Wait, what? Okay, that¡¯s not normal. I¡¯ve been lying so many times in my lives starting from a little lie up to the political lie. I can hear she¡¯s stuttering, but I can see no lie in her words. It is the truth.


    ¡°My parents were killed about three years ago. I can still remember when I attacked the killer with a piece of glass. That¡¯s when I killed for the first time. But his friend was still there, and since then I¡¯ve became their slave. I don¡¯t know how many times I¡¯ve been changed to a different master as my master being killed is a normal thing. Even when dad killed the big woman at that inn, I felt nothing as seeing one¡¯s life being taken is a normal thing to me.¡±


    I never checked this but I¡¯ve got to make sure. I activate a spell by silent incantation.


    ~O the almighty watcher, I wish you to grant this selfish wish of mine and let me borrow those touches of yours, the hand of the creator.~


    This spell is another small mana spell. It increases my skin sensitivity by adding extra small electricity through my nerve. It might need a small mana to activate, but it took most of my mind to control. To be able to use this spell, the person needs the knowledge of human nerve system, the power of imagination, and a very great concentration. Without those three requirements, I can¡¯t fully control which nerve to electrify and I may put it in the wrong nerve. It will give me a sorrowful pain or even worse, I may get disabled.


    I hug Erfia in worry.


    ¡°Um, dad?¡±


    By hugging her, I can feel every inch of Erfia¡¯s body. I can feel her heartbeat like a drum being hit toward my body. By the heartbeat, I can feel the blood that circulate through her whole body and I can feel anything wrong with her body. I can feel few disorganized blood flow in her blood that was caused by being beaten in the past. I can also feel her right middle finger that¡¯s not normal anymore. It seems her middle finger had been broken once but she didn¡¯t get any treatment.


    I can also feel her mana flow, which circulates along the blood and nerve system, being disarrayed and moving at a fast pace. Mana point is a little bit similar to acupuncture. It seems some of her mana points is disrupted. It gives a great amount of drawback from a spell that should be only give a drawback as big as being bitten by an ant.


    But after my check, I don¡¯t feel anything wrong in her lower body. Thank god it seems she¡¯s still pure.


    I add some electricity toward her nerve system to slow down the blood and mana flow in her body. Other than add electricity on my body, I can also add some electricity toward another person¡¯s nerve system if I touch them.


    ¡°Are you feeling better?¡±


    ¡°Uh, uh yeah, I guess.¡±


    ~The Almighty Watcher is being too kind~


    I dispel the magic and return to my normal body. I let go of Erfia and sit beside her in the bed.


    ¡°It seems some of your mana points are being disrupted because of the beating you took in the past. I slow it down and make your body normal again. But if it¡¯s not treated, you won¡¯t be able to cast a magic by that scale any more or even bigger because it might kill you. Maybe that¡¯s the reason why the mana stored in my ring feel a little bit unstable too.¡±


    I got a silent treatment from my daughter and my slave. Did I just do something wrong?


    ¡°You can say all that from just one hug? How much of a pervert are you?¡± Reis throws a disgust look at me. She¡¯s even trying to cover her body with her hand.


    ¡°Dad, what magic did you use to know all about my body?¡± Unlike Reis which looks at me with disgust in her eye, Erfia looks at me with sparkling eyes like she¡¯s looking at magic for the first time.


    I happily answer to Erfia¡¯s question, ¡°It is a magic that lets me increase my sensitivity toward anything that touches me. By that magic, I can feel the blood circulation in your body and by my knowledge, I know if there¡¯s anything wrong with it.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± Her eyes is sparkling even more. ¡°Are all of your previous magic is similar? Can I use it?¡±


    ¡°I guess it will be hard to master as it needs a very good understanding of human body and some of those spells also needs a very good understanding of both human body and alchemy. I think it will be easier for you to cast a normal or large scale magic as you have enormous access to mana of nature.¡±


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    ¡°But, daddy, you said that I can¡¯t cast any big scale spell like last night.¡±


    Now she¡¯s sulking. Oww, looking at her sulking face makes me worry but she¡¯s also looks so cute.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll take you to one of my friends. She¡¯s a master of body recovery. She¡¯ll cure you in no time.¡±


    ¡°Ah, really? Yeay!¡±


    She jumps out of her bed. But right after she jumps out of bed, her body suddenly fall. I manage to catch her before she¡¯s hitting the floor.


    ¡°Okay, okay, you might be better for now but you still need some rest. Sleep for now and tomorrow we¡¯ll continue our journey.¡±


    Not so long after that, Erfia fall asleep in my lap. I slowly change my lap with a pillow and cover her with a blanket. I go to the other bed to take a sleep too and then I take my shirt off and throw it to Reis.


    ¡°Wha, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Reis is pissed and throws my shirt somewhere in the room.


    ¡°Nothing, I just feel like it.¡±


    She replies with nothing. A long and dreadful silent comes into the room.


    ¡°Hey, why did you kill all of my friends? Is it really necessary to kill them all?¡±


    So, she decides to take the initiative huh.


    ¡°Actually I planned to kill all of you. But it seemed luck was on your side. So, I decided to take you as my slave. I took you as my slave so that I got someone to do all of my order. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Is that all? So, you kill all of them for no reason?¡±


    I can feel her voice is trembling. It seems she¡¯s still can¡¯t accept that all of her friends died in just one night.


    ¡°If, I didn¡¯t kill all of you, would you let us go like nothing ever happened?¡± I raise my voice a little bit but I make it sure it won¡¯t wake Erfia from her sleep.


    ¡°Tha, that¡¯s,¡± no more words are coming of her mouth.


    ¡°If that¡¯s all, get to sleep. We¡¯ll be leaving tomorrow by the gate of world.¡± I put my back on the bed and the pillow on the back of my head.


    She¡¯s silently lie in the floor and try to close her eyes. I realize that I don¡¯t even use the blanket on my bed. Well, I never like to use a blanket when I sleep. I guess I¡¯m being graceful tonight.


    I throw my blanket at Reis. She just catches it without a word.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like using a blanket while I sleep. You can have it.¡±


    Still no reply. I guess she just goes to sleep by the blanket in her body. I¡¯ve got to get some sleep too. Good night world.


    ~~~


    It''s afternoon and we¡¯re lining up at the gate of the world. Gate of the world is a name for a device that¡¯s being used in this world to teleport to another gate. It can¡¯t teleport you to any gate as one gate can only connect to a certain amount of gate. A gate at a small city like this place usually can only connect to three gates at most. But the gate at the capital can connect to ten gates. The gate in this city only connects to two gates, at Avareel, a city in north of Ul Thadur, and Us¡¯a, a city in east coast of Alia Continent, the Continent of Elf. Our destination is Avareel as the person I will meet is living in the mountain range that separates the human and beast man capital.


    I hold Erfia''s hand so we won¡¯t be separated and let Reis stands beside me. Hoping they will think of us as a family. But, I¡¯m just fooling myself as Erfia is a half elf and half beastmen.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, but I can¡¯t let you pass.¡±


    Suddenly, a word from the guard stops me. There are two guards with halberd that stop us to reach the gate. I look around and see few guards near the gate is talking to each other. What¡¯s happening? Could it be they know who I am? No way, it should be only my name that¡¯s famous, not my face. But then I remembered when Reis knew my name just by looking at me two days ago. Could it be that my face really has been well known?


    ¡°And why is that?¡± I try to gather some information.


    ¡°It¡¯s because of her.¡± One of the guards point at Reis. ¡°She¡¯s Reis Waltz the six desert master.¡±


    Oh, so that¡¯s the real reason. It seems my identity as Mada the Raider still unknown to them.


    ¡°That¡¯s One of The Six Desert Master, not Six Desert Master.¡± Reis corrects them in a pissed tone.


    Seriously? That¡¯s what you¡¯re worrying about?


    ¡°She¡¯s a fugitive, so we have to arrest her.¡±


    ¡°What? You¡¯re worrying about me being a fugitive? Don¡¯t you know the man standing in front of you is Mada the Rai-¡°


    Okay, that¡¯s it. I won¡¯t let you reveal my identity right here and right now. I don¡¯t want to cross the Land of No Man by hover motorcycle or walking. So, I quickly grab her vest collar and put all of my might on it. On that moment, I tear her front side of the vest and showing her body to everybody at that place.


    ¡°Kyaahhh.¡±


    She drops on her knees and tries to cover her body by using both of her hand. I pull her hair and put her arm lows to show her chest to the guard.


    ¡°You see, she¡¯s my slave. By the law of slavery, no matter who or what the slave is, they fully belong to the master.¡± I speak to the guard like some arrogant bastard. ¡°She¡¯s no longer Six Desert Master. She¡¯s just a lowly slave by now.¡±


    I drop Reis back on the ground and she tries to cover her body. I look into her and I can see a tear is coming out of her eyes. Maybe I¡¯m going too far. But, it¡¯s your own fault.


    I pay attention to the other guards. They¡¯re still talking to each other. But, it¡¯s not a normal talk like before, more like, they¡¯re arguing now. Then, one of the guards near the gate comes closer and whispers something to the guard in front of us. The guard in front of us looks shocked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, I don¡¯t know that she¡¯s your slave now. Have a safe trip, Sir Mada Jeian of the Vorks.¡± The guard steps away and lets us pass through.


    It seems they discovered my other identity. One identity I always keep to make things go smoothly.


    I grab Erfia hand and we walk toward the gate. But unfortunately, Reis is unwilling to cooperate. I grab her arm and drag her along with us to the gate.


    Damn, could it be that taking her as a slave is a big mistake?

 6. A Mistake?

    ¡°ARE YOU FUCKING IDIOT!?¡± I slap Reis so hard she falls.


    Right now we¡¯re in a middle of a forest, north of Avareel. After we teleported to the gate in Avareel, all eyes were glaring at us. I kept my composure to show the people that Reis and Erfia are my slaves. Family image is out of question now. I¡¯ve got a name to keep after all. I just gave Reis a piece of cloth to cover her body and then we immediately headed out of town after I completed all the required administration.


    My stored mana is already empty and I couldn¡¯t make Erfia filled it as she¡¯s not in good condition, so I chose to buy a long legged lizard carriage. I decided to take a rest and set a camp in the middle of forest. Both of them got silent right after this afternoon incident.


    It is night and once Erfia asleep at the carriage, I took Reis a little bit further so that I wouldn¡¯t wake her up. Now, here we are, Reis fells on the ground with just a piece of cloth and the pissed me.


    ¡°It¡¯s lucky I stopped you right before you spilled the milk. If at that time they realized I¡¯m Mada the Raider, they would try to arrest us. If, we were lucky enough, we would never be able to use gate of the world anymore. I didn¡¯t want to cross the Land of No Man by vehicle or even walked!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your problem? I should be the angry one here. You showed my body to all of those people!¡± Reis defends herself as she tries to sit.


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t get it. As I say, we were lucky I managed to stop you. If you let the word out that I¡¯m Mada the Raider, I¡¯d say we were lucky if we managed to escape. Do you know what will happen if one word fugitive like me arrested?¡±


    Reis is silent for a moment. I can see her face is showing a disturbing expression. ¡°Execute you? Well, not that I know, I¡¯m just a six words fugitive.¡±


    Okay, I¡¯m pissed than before. She¡¯s saying it so easy like my life is just a trash. But, unfortunately that¡¯s not the reason I¡¯m pissed all this time.


    ¡°Execute me? That¡¯s the best thing could happen to a one word fugitive.¡±


    ¡°Hah?¡± and now Reis is surprised.


    ¡°Let me tell you what will happen to a one word fugitive like me if I got myself arrested. First, all document, story, anything that proves my existence will be lost.¡±


    ¡°What? That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my existence will be lost as it never exists to begin with. Not only my existence, but also all of the people that I ever interacted. A person that admits they ever see me will be killed on the spot and the people that knows me will be tortured to their death.¡±


    I close my distance toward Reis to give her more pressure about my current condition.


    ¡°My family, my friends back in the school day, and people that ever travelled with me like you and Erfia will be tortured at first. But then all of you people became a guinea pig for the government to test whatever they wanted to test. Let it be a weapon, drug, poison, anything, and some people will become their sex slave until they become bored and then they will be disposed of. The funny thing is, they got the best healer in the continent so they will always recover your body and mind repeatedly so they can observe your expression toward their test. Or merely enjoy your expression when they took your virginity over and over again.¡±


    ¡°And, and then, what¡¯s going to happen to you?¡± Reis asked with a frightened face.


    ¡°Me? Haha. That is the funniest thing actually. They will cut both of my arm and my leg and they make me watch all those torture and test they¡¯re experiencing on all of you. When they¡¯re out of people to show me, they simply cast some torture magic and healing magic towards me at the same time. I¡¯ll experience torture until the day I die of old age.¡±


    Reis can¡¯t say anything anymore. I watch as her face is turning pale. So pale that it resembles the face of the dead. I take a step back and put my right hand on the Keeper. I take out a curve sword and point it at her.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Reis only lets out a low voice of surprised. Apparently, the shock of hearing the story of one word fugitive is still remain.


    ¡°Taking you as a slave was a big mistake. I can¡¯t afford you to put Erfia in danger anymore. Be glad that I will free you from the slavery.¡±


    I take a stance and swing my sword toward her head. She¡¯s just closing her eyes, hoping it will end quickly.


    ¡°Stop it dad!¡±


    I stop the moment I hear Erfia screams at me. My sword stops right before it take Reis¡¯s head. The edge that already touches her skin lets out a drop of blood from her neck.


    Erfia rushes to our place and hugs Reis. ¡°Please forgive her dad, she didn¡¯t know of anything that dad mentions.¡±


    ¡°How, how long¨C¡°


    ¡°I heard it all, dad. Everything.¡± Erfia interrupts my question before I could finish it. ¡°When I wake and see both of you gone I thought both of you have made up. But when I heard your shout before, I rushed to this place and saw Reis already on the ground.¡±


    What? All of it? Damn! I¡¯ve told something that shouldn¡¯t be told in front of a little kid.


    I put some gap between my sword and Erfia, I don¡¯t want to hurt her. ¡°But¨C¡°


    ¡°I beg of you dad.¡± Erfia interrupts me once again. ¡°Look at her!¡±


    I look closely at Reis. Her face is still pale like a dead man. I see a tear is dropping from both of her eyes. But what I didn¡¯t realize is that she¡¯s muttering a word. Her voice is so low that I couldn¡¯t possibly hear it if we¡¯re in the middle of town.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Reis is muttering the exact same words over and over again.


    It seems she¡¯s not ready at all to know all that thing. I look back at Erfia, she¡¯s not budging from her spot to stop me. Huuhhh, it seems I got carried away. Apparently, long life doesn¡¯t guarantee that you won¡¯t get carried away. The gene is still there. I put my curve sword back to the Keeper and walk toward them.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll forgive her.¡±


    Erfia brightens up as she heard me. ¡°I love you dad.¡±


    Erfia hugs me to show her gratitude. The only thing I could do right now is smile at her cheerful expression.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get back. You¡¯ve got to sleep. Little kid shouldn¡¯t be awake at this time.¡±


    I carry Reis in front of me like they so called princess carry while Erfia walks beside me.


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    I can still hear Reiz muttering ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± over and over again.


    I move my head closer toward hers and whisper. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I forgive you.¡±


    Right after I whispered those words, the muttering finally stops and she falls asleep on me. She¡¯s still young indeed.


    After that, all of us are sleeping inside the carriage. Erfia refuses to use the pillow I give to her and instead, she chooses to use my body as a pillow. I can¡¯t say no to her request and so my right body become her pillow. After I change the piece of cloth that covering Reis body into a decent cloth like a normal villager, I let her sleep on my left side.


    ~~~


    I put my plate and spoon as I finish my breakfast. Because I¡¯m the only man in this place, I¡¯m the fastest one to finish the meal.


    ¡°So, now that we¡¯re relaxed and we¡¯re also not in a hurry, is there anything both of you want to say or ask?¡± I start the conversation to live up things. I¡¯m not really fond with silent after all.


    ¡°I, I¡¯m sorry about yesterday, I didn¡¯t know that the punishment for one word fugitive is so cruel. For so long, I just think that having a one word title is a cool and great thing. Thank you for not killing me.¡± Reis starts to talk while she¡¯s having her meal.


    ¡°Say your thanks to Erfia, she¡¯s the one stopped me from killing you. I forgive you with one condition, you will never ever mention my one word fugitive title. I don¡¯t care whoever it is. You will never tell it to anyone, okay?¡±


    Reis nods slowly.


    I look into Erfia. Erfia already heard anything so I guess it will be wise to make her promise about it.


    ¡°Okay dad.¡±


    Good, both of them agree. With this, I can minimize the risk of being arrested.


    ¡°Dad, I got a question, what is that one word fugitive or six words fugitive you¡¯re talking about last night?¡±


    Ah, great question.


    ¡°It is a title given to any individual that doesn¡¯t obey the law.¡±


    Reis took my spot to explain things. Ah well, I guess I¡¯ll let her have the spot for this one time.


    ¡°Normally, people will have a different title because law of each race is different. Takes example my tittle ¡®One of the Six Desert Master¡¯, if you count the words in it, it contains six words. This title is given by the Beast Man race.¡±


    ¡°And yesterday, apparently her title has been increased into three words tittle, Reis the Six Desert Master.¡± I add more explanation into it.


    ¡°Ahh, what is this number of six, three, and one?¡± Erfia scratches her head with the back of her spoon.


    ¡°The greater you are, or in this term the worse you are seen by the law, your title became shorter and shorter. The shorter the title the easier it is to remember. An amateur or small caliber fugitive like me, who only earn six words tittle, has a pretty hard to remember the title. How hard it is to remember makes it meaningless to remember meaning we are not a threat yet.¡±


    ¡°But one word fugitive like me, Mada the Raider, is very easy to remember. It shows that I¡¯m one of the worst threats ever to every race out there.¡± I add another explanation into Reis¡¯s explanation. ¡°My title is Raider. I got this title because when I rob some big place or treasure, I never left anything in that place.¡±


    ¡°Ahh.¡± Erfia confirms with a high tone. ¡°So, dad, you always empty the places like that time in the ruin?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, yeah, I¡¯ve got a lot of spaces in the Keeper after all. To add another thing, because the guards already took Reis as my slave yesterday, it means she¡¯s no longer has any title on her.¡± I add some for Reis too. ¡°So, is it enough to answer your question?¡±


    ¡°Yesss.¡± Erfia answers with a long tone. It seems she¡¯s having fun hearing our explanation.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m the one with the question, what is that Mada Jeian of the Vorks thing yesterday? Are you some kind of noble?¡± Reis asking me a question.


    ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯d like to know about it too.¡±


    It is understandable for her to ask about it. It is the reason they accepted her as my slave after all.


    ¡°It is my underground merchant name.¡±


    ¡°Underground merchant?¡± Reis and Erfia respond in sync.


    ¡°Yeah, basically I sell some of the thing I got and some of my customer is a government people so they know me as a merchant. If they arrest me for some simple case like having a small fugitive with me like yesterday, they¡¯ll rug it off as one of my businesses.¡±


    ¡°Then¨C¡°


    ¡°But,¡± I interrupt Reis words as I can see what she¡¯s going to ask. ¡°If they know that I¡¯m a one word fugitive, that thing can¡¯t protect me at all. So, anything else?¡±


    I wait for them to say anything or ask anything else. But as I wait, they just look at each other without saying anything.


    ¡°No? Then, let¡¯s go. If we go at this pace, we¡¯ll arrive in my friends place in a week. And¨C¡°


    ~Blarr blarr~


    Suddenly a sound of explosion interrupts me. I jump at Erfia to protect her from anything that could be flying towards us. The sound of explosions keeps and keeps ongoing.


    ¡°Shit, have the war reaches this place?¡± I darn to myself.


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Reis asks while trying to cover her head.


    I take Erfia and put her in the carriage as Reis follows me. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here! The explosion is coming from the west. We¡¯re going east then we¡¯re going north.¡±


    I put all our eating utensils in my Keeper and then back to the carriage.


    ¡°Erfia, I know you¡¯re not in your fit condition yet, but I need you to fill the mana ring.¡± I take my mana ring off and put it in my hand.


    ¡°Okay dad.¡± Erfia takes the ring from my hand and she¡¯s starting to fill it.


    I start to ride the carriage with three of us inside of it. I never thought the war will reach this place so fast. I should have look for information in Avareel.

 7. Pursuit

    We¡¯re going east as planned and we¡¯re able to avoid the warzone. Or so I wanted to be. But a band of cavalry from the human side is pursuing us as we try to run. Long legged lizard has more power and speed than normal horse so we¡¯re ahead of them. But the weight of the carriage slows us down to the point we¡¯re at the same speed. So far, we¡¯re lucky enough because the terrain is plain enough for our carriage to travel ahead. But, I don¡¯t think it will hold long enough.


    Even if they¡¯re human, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll just let us go. If, we get captured in this place they may think of us as a spy and torture us. Or maybe when they see Erfia they will think that we¡¯ve betrayed human race and join beast man race. Anyway, there is no option to be captured.


    ¡°Reis, how long has it been since Erfia fill my mana ring?¡±


    ¡°About forty minutes.¡±


    Another twenty minutes until it¡¯s fully filled eh. It seems I¡¯ve got no choice.


    ¡°Reis! I need you to take over the carriage.¡±


    ¡°Wha, what?¡±


    I give the leash to Reis as she come to my side. I put my hand on the Keeper and take a mask. A clown mask with a hole only for my eyes. On the right eye of the mask, it got another cut line so it makes like a plus (+) hole in it. I take another two clown mask and hand it to Reis and put it into Erfia by myself. It seems Erfia is concentrating hard enough as she¡¯s not bothered by me putting the mask.


    ¡°What¡¯s this mask for?¡± Reis asks me.


    ¡°Eyes on the front!¡± I shout as we nearly hit some little rock.


    Reis pulls the leash to the right and we manage to avoid hitting the rock. At this speed, even a little rock could be fatal.


    ¡°You¡¯re a slave of Mada the Raider now, I can¡¯t allow them to see your face.¡±


    I walk to the back of the carriage to face the band of cavalry. I take my long bow of the Keeper, the one I used on the desert, and then I take a spear out of the Keeper.


    When they see me take a bow and a spear out of nowhere, some of them shoot at me with a crossbow. I¡¯m lucky enough none of them is using a short range gun. I take a board under my feet to protect me. Without blood transformation spell, I¡¯ve got no chance to deflect all of the incoming arrows.


    I put down the board and then put the spear on the bow. This bow is a special long bow that only uses spear as its projectile. Doesn¡¯t matter whether it¡¯s a javelin, halberd, pole axe, or a simple spear. As long as it has a long handle and a pointing tip or blade in the end of it, like a spear normally do, then it will work as this long bow projectile. The name is Pointing Tip of Desperation.


    ¡°Hey, look, what¡¯s that? Is he using a spear as an arrow?¡±


    ¡°A long bow and spear as an arrow. Oh shit, he¡¯s Mada the Raider!¡±


    Took you long enough to recognize me. But unfortunately it¡¯s too late for you.


    I take the chance when they¡¯re reloading their crossbows and shoot my first arrow, or in this case my first spear. I¡¯m able to penetrate 3 cavalries and took another two as they hit the fallen one. This long bow that uses a spear as its projectile could produce a great amount of power as it being unleashed. I take another look through the hole in my mask. There¡¯re still fifteen of them. That¡¯s why I don¡¯t really like crossbow. They took too much time to reload.


    Five of them is putting some distance and then return to the warzone. I guess they¡¯re leaving to report about my whereabouts. But ,I don¡¯t want more trouble than this. I take a spear with some explosive stone on its tip and release another arrow to the retreating cavalry.


    ~boom~


    One big explosion confirms their death. The remaining cavalry is enraged and pursuing us faster than before. They become closer as I feel the terrain is starting to change into an uphill road. The remaining ten change their weapon to spear and sword. They¡¯re too close to the carriage so I can¡¯t use another explosive spear. I shoot another spear, but this time it only manages to hit one cavalry. They took their lesson and give some distance between them to avoid being penetrated at once or hit the fallen one.


    ¡°Dad! It¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡°Good, thanks.¡± I quickly take the ring and put it in my finger.


    ~By the will of red blood, let this body of mine contain your whole might. As I say, blood transformation.~


    With the blood transformation, I could get a better reflex and sight. I put the Pointing Tip of Desperation back into the Keeper and took a twin hooks. This twin hooks are yet another special weapon of mine. It has one meter of chain that connects both of it at the end of the handle. The chain is a special chain that could extend to twenty meters at most. The Snake Hook.


    I jump toward one cavalier. By my blood transformation, I can easily dodge the attack he launches. Of course, I can easily kill him and taking the horse with me. It¡¯s been so long since I ride a normal horse. I throw both of my twin hooks and it kills another two cavalier. I grab the chain and the twin hooks back to my hand. Only six left. I take another stance but suddenly all of them stopped the pursuit.


    ¡°Yay, dad, you¡¯re the best!¡± Erfia is yelling from the back of the carriage.


    No something is wrong. They just stopped? What¡¯s the meaning of this? I try to look into the warzone. But I see nothing from the warzone. It just another war. But then I look at the direction of the human race camp. A big ball of fire is flying towards us.


    Shit, how come they know we¡¯re here? Did the five cavalry that I shot with explosive spear still alive? No, no way. Then, how? But I¡¯ve got no time to think about it.


    ~By the will of wind and the earth, let these touches the greatness of your might. As I say, speed of wind~


    I put the Snake Hook back to the Keeper and I jump from the horse. I decrease air resistance toward my body into nothing. The target is the front of carriage through its inside. I quickly grab Erfia and Reis from the carriage. Now we¡¯re floating in front of the carriage.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ~Boom~


    The big ball of fire hits the carriage and destroys it into nothing. We got caught up in the blast and being sent flying to the cliff side of this hill.


    ¡°Hey Mada, we¡¯re falling!¡±


    ~By the will of the raging flesh, let this weak person get ahold of your power to strengthen this weak person. As I say, flesh of immortal.¡±


    By this spell, I could contract or reflexes my muscle to its maximum so it will harden or elastic as I prefer it. I put both Reis and Erfia in my hug. I increase the air friction so our fall speed will decrease as I hit the first tree by my right shoulder. Unfortunately, the speed of wind only controls the friction of air and ground. Other than that, I can¡¯t control it at all. So, I hit the tree at normal friction. By using flesh of immortal, I harden my muscle so it will prevent the bone from breaking.


    After hitting a few trees, we finally reach the ground. I slowly increase the ground friction so I could minimize the damage my body took. Finally, we stop at the ground.


    ¡°Dad, dad, are you okay?¡±


    Erfia puts off the mask and asks me in worry.


    I still can¡¯t feel the damage because the flesh of immortal is still intact. But I can guess the damage as I can¡¯t move my right hand.


    I look far into the hill. I see the cavalry is retreating. But I¡¯m sure they will come back with a search party.


    ~The might of the red blood has emerged in victory. The greatness of wind and earth has been proved. The power of the flesh has shown its strength.~


    I dispel all of the spell and finally I can tell the damage my body took. My right shoulder is dislocated and some bruises on my back and my left hand. Flesh of immortal indeed protect my bone from being broken, but it has a blowback which it will increase the damage received by the muscle. Nothing wrong with my leg fortunately. But I still feel the pain of the dislocated shoulder and the bruise.


    ¡°We need, to go! They¡¯ll come with a search party. Erfia, put your mask on.¡±


    Erfia put hers mask back on her face as she hears me.


    I force myself to stand and walk. We need to get out of here quickly. With my left hand trying to lift my right hand, I make the space distorted in front of my hand. I grab the side of the hover motorcycle which is inside the Keeper and make it appears in front of us. I take the one that''s haven¡¯t been used at all since I got it from the desert.


    ¡°Reis, you need to drive.¡±


    ~ba dump~


    I fall to my knee pretty hard. Shit, it seems my left leg took some damage that I didn¡¯t realize before. But at least it¡¯s not as bad as the bruise in my hand and back.


    ¡°You can¡¯t force yourself any further.¡±


    Reis and Erfia help me to get to the hover motorcycle. As the bruise in my back is pretty bad, I can¡¯t even hold my own body. Reis makes me lay on her back while she¡¯s starting the hover motorcycle. Erfia get on to the hover motorcycle in my back. She¡¯s making sure to put enough space between us so she won¡¯t touch my back and inflict more pain on me.


    Shit, if only I could use a magic like a normal person, I could just use fly magic to avoid the damage to my body. Oh God, you really like to toy with me, aren¡¯t you?


    We leave left the landing spot and heading north. If, the human race thinks that we¡¯re walking then they¡¯ll just send a small search party. But, if they report that the fleeing human is Mada the Raider, they will definitely send a big search party and widen the range of the search. Oh, beast man, I hope you win the battle so it won¡¯t happen.


    ¡°We need to get as far as we could.¡±


    Reis does as I say, and we¡¯re still going north.


    ¡°Mada, we need to stop and treat your wound.¡±


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t. They will send a big party to search for me as they realize that they¡¯re facing Mada the Raider. But, I can¡¯t figure how they were able to pinpoint our location without anyone reported.¡±


    We continue our journey without stopping.


    ¡°Reis, do me a favor, do you know a spell to detect anything that might follow us?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do. Do you want me to cast it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, please do.¡±


    ~Air is my ally, Earth is my ally, Tree is my ally, Animal is my ally. Please, I ask you to help this ally of yours to emerge. Alienated.~


    I can feel some sort of small blast wave t is spreading. It¡¯s so small that only people that train their body so well could feel it. It can¡¯t be detected by normal magic user.


    ¡°I see something strange. One bird is not responding to my call. I guess it¡¯s under control of a magic user.¡±


    A flying enemy eh. Shit, it¡¯s going to hurt. I take a rather big crossbow from the Keeper into my right hand. The crossbow is loaded and ready to shoot. I try to straighten my body so I can pass the crossbow into my left hand. It hurts as hell. I put my body back in the Reis back and take to the sky.


    ¡°Tell me, how is it look and where is it? The bird.¡±


    ¡°Oh, alright. It¡¯s an eagle. Small one. It¡¯s following us at the height approximately 50 meters and right behind us about 100 meters.¡±


    I imagine the eagle and its location. The crossbow might be a normal crossbow, but the arrow is a homing arrow that will chase everything I imagine. I shoot the arrow. After some distance in the air, the arrow turns by itself. I wait for a few seconds.


    ¡°How is it?¡± I ask Reis once more.


    ¡°Wait a second.¡± Reis casts the detection spell once again. ¡°It¡¯s gone, nothing follows us anymore.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then, we¡¯re not going to stop after we pass at least another four hill. Or else they might find us.¡±


    I lost all the energy left and let go of the crossbow. I don¡¯t care as I¡¯ve got plenty of those crossbows. Right now it is more important to get away.

 8. Reis the Six Desert Master

    It''s midnight right now. I had Reis fixed my dislocated shoulder by the old way. But, it will take several days for the pain to disappear completely. At least I can move it. Erfia fell asleep after I dictated her how to make herbs that will treat the bruises. Of course, I have the herbs ingredients in the Keeper. Now, we¡¯re staying in a small tent with a flame crystal for its warmth and light.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any elixir with you?¡± Reis asks me while she gently strokes Erfia¡¯s head which is asleep in her lap.


    ¡°Elixir works by increasing the life force, mana circulatory, or restore it to the previous state. Elixir won¡¯t work on people with no affection towards mana like me.¡± I explain to Reis with a plain tone.


    I take a piece of paper from the Keeper and open it. It¡¯s a map of the area around Avareel. I got it a long time ago.


    ¡°I need you to flow a bit of your mana in this map.¡±


    Reis does as I told and reach the paper with her hand. By doing it, the paper shows up a small red dot.


    ¡°Right now, we¡¯re about forty or fifty kilometers away from the mountain range. Normally, it would take four or five days with normal carriage. If the gas on the hover motorcycle hold to that distance, it will only take us another two days.¡±


    I put the map back to the Keeper. Now we know how long it will take us.


    ¡°Say, is this friend of yours really capable of restoring Erfia¡¯s mana point?¡±


    ¡°Of course. You¡¯ll know it once you see her. I also need her to create the new mana storage ring.¡±


    ¡°Mana storage ring?¡± Reis tilts her head as this is the first time I speak of it in front of her.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got all the ingredients needed. But to make it, I need an enormous amount of mana. At first, I thought I could use Erfia¡¯s help to make it as she¡¯s a half elf. But, after knowing her mana point is disrupted, I can¡¯t count on it.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, so that¡¯s how it¡¯s going.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a rest, you keep your eyes open for a few more hours. Wake me when it¡¯s my time to guard or when you feel something is not right.¡±


    I lay my body on the left side of the tent while Reis and Erfia took the right side. I hope some of this pain would subside after enough rest.


    ~~~


    ¡°Dad, wake up! It¡¯s morning already.¡±


    I slowly open my eyes to let the light reach my eyes. I saw a petite figure in top of me. Finally when I completely awake, I see Erfia¡¯s face right above my face.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± I scratch my hair.


    Wait, what? Morning? I look around and see the world already has already bathed in sunlight. I look into the other side of the tent and see no one. Where is she? She should wake me up a few hours ago to change guards.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Reis?¡± I ask Erfia.


    ¡°She¡¯s outside having a breakfast. She said she didn¡¯t want to wake you so she took the guard job all night.¡± Erfia explains with a rather cheerful tone.


    I palm my face hearing Erfia explanation. Damn, that girl. I hope she¡¯s not exhausted to ride the hover motorcycle. I walk outside without any clothes covering my upper body. Right when I got out, I see a little girl is cleaning her eating utensils. But, I remember nothing of bringing another little child with me.


    A moment of silent emerges.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Reis. You can¡¯t even recognize your own slave?¡± She¡¯s upset and yell at me.


    Wait what? I take a little more time to observe her. I recognize the clothes and the short black hair. But, how come?


    ¡°This is my recovery form.¡± Reis is starting to explain her form. ¡°It¡¯s a magic that devised by us, the six desert masters, to recover from fatigue and illness faster. In this form I only need 30 minutes sleep a day instead of 5 hours sleep.¡±


    Wow, that¡¯s a very convenient magic. But, something is tingling inside my head. Shit, my cute little girl radar is beeping at its most. No. No. I need to remember that she¡¯s at her twenties inside that little body. I sit at the rock close to the cooking. I need to calm my head down.


    ¡°Hey, are you feeling any better?¡±


    Suddenly, she¡¯s closing her face towards me and touch my bruises gently. That¡¯s it, I can¡¯t take it any longer. I quickly grab and hug her to all my heart content.


    ¡°Hey, hey, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    Reis yells as loud as she can. But I couldn¡¯t care less. Oh, what a cute little girl. I hug her and throw her in the air few times. She¡¯s really is cute when she¡¯s just a little child.


    ¡°Would you stop it already?¡±


    Reis hits my head when I suppose to catch her. I drop my face to the ground while she makes a perfect landing. I fix my posture and sit back on the rock near the cooking.


    ¡°Have some food first! Seriously? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Reis is ranting as she gives me my food.


    ¡°Hahaha, he also did the same thing the first time he saw me.¡±


    Erfia says it with a cheerful tone as she passes us towards some direction. I can hear the sound of a river at the direction she¡¯s heading.


    Could it be Erfia knows that I¡¯m going to act that way? Is that the reason she¡¯s been cheerful all this morning? Well, could be.


    ¡°Uahh, pedophile.¡± Reis glares at me with a disgusted look.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being pedophile.¡± I defend myself for being myself. ¡°If you agree to stay in that form, I might reconsider about breaking the slave bind magic.¡±


    ¡°No thanks, I don¡¯t really like this form because I can¡¯t fight in my full power at this form.¡±


    Now that you say it, I never actually saw you fight. If, the government has increased your title into three words fugitive, it means your threat is bad enough for them. Maybe, I¡¯ll let her take the fight for a few days when I¡¯m still on recovering process. Then, I see something that piques my interest.


    I look around and see Erfia is nowhere in sight.


    ¡°Say, your body is becoming that of a little child and smaller. But I see no difference in your breast and your butt.¡±


    Suddenly, I see a pot is flying towards my head. I have no time to avoid it as I¡¯m still having my meal. The pot hit my head and break. I can feel a little amount of blood is flowing from my head. What a slave.


    ¡°I¡¯m aware of that, you pervert! Hearing you say it made me more depressed even more!¡±


    I guess that¡¯s another reason why she doesn¡¯t like that form.


    Not so long after the pot break, Erfia back with a worry expression on her face.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Reis and I say it in sync.


    Reis says nothing anymore and she¡¯s starting to repair the pot. She puts all the pot parts together and then flow some mana into it. It¡¯s a simple repairing magic, but it needs all the broken parts. If, some parts are missing it can¡¯t be fixed anymore. In less than a minute, it back to the way it was.


    Not long after that, she¡¯s back into her normal twenties years old girl. Just as I thought, there¡¯s no difference in her breast and her butt. She realizes I take a look at her body and is pissed. I just smile and point at my right hand. She becomes more pissed as I remind her that she¡¯s my slave.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    We continue the journey with the hover motorcycle. I don¡¯t want to take any risks of being followed. For the whole two days, I make Reis drives while the sun is up and we¡¯re taking a turn to guard in the night. Erfia fills my mana storage ring every night in case we need to do a serious fight. Fortunately, that moment never come. Apparently, Reis¡¯s fighting capability is not so bad. She can easily beat down a mountain beast or five bandits at once.


    Finally, after two days of travelling north, we arrive at the designated place. We¡¯re in one of the mountains in the mountain range. We¡¯re not so high, so the snow is not yet to appear in this place. On the contrary, this place should feel warm enough in the day. But in the night, I can¡¯t count on it. There¡¯s a lot of big trees in this place.


    ¡°Are you sure this is the right place? I see no house or something like that.¡± Reis asks me in her usual sarcastic tone.


    ¡°Yes it is. All we have to do is defeat those golems and she will appear by herself.¡±


    As I say it, a pair of golems emerge from the ground. They have a body made of dirt that covered in mud. The blue eyes in it shows that they made of a water element magic. But, what shows the most is their size. I can say their height is at least half the height of the trees in this place. Maybe around twenty meters.


    I walk ahead and take the shield of nothingness from the Keeper. The shield that removes anything it touches into weightless.


    ¡°You just stay back and rest. We can¡¯t have you fight yet.¡± Reis suddenly stands in front of me with her back on me.


    ¡°I admit it you could defeat a few bandits at ease, but golems of their size is impossible for you.¡±


    ¡°Really? I haven¡¯t showed you the real fighting capability of Reis the Six Desert Master yet.¡± She answers me confidently.


    She really is fond of that title, eh. Well, if she says so, then I¡¯ll just back to Erfia¡¯s side in the hover motorcycle and stay alert. I recall she never brings any weapon with her since first I saw her. At first, I thought her weapon is destroyed along with the desert bandits. But, as I saw her fight this two days made me rethink about that. Against human and beast, she used iron skin as her defense and defeated her opponent with a martial arts technique. But, iron skin and martial arts won¡¯t work on giant opponents like these golems.


    ~The Earth is my ally. The tremendous sources it has is my ally. Lend me some of your source for this ally of yours. Iron Skin.~


    Just as I thought, she¡¯s using iron skin. Then, what?


    ~The Earth is my ally. Oh, the compassionate mother nature of the earth. This ally of yours is in a need of help to overwhelm the hardness he¡¯s facing. Let this ally or yours becomes one with you. The Earth Connection.~


    Now that¡¯s a rare magic. The last time I saw it was a very long time ago that I nearly forgot it ever existed. The Earth Connection is a magic that makes the body of the caster became one with the earth. So, the caster is like the earth¡¯s part that¡¯s sticking out.


    The golem sends its first punch and Reis also sends a punch into it. They stand on the same ground. By the earth connection, the force that is resulted from the golem¡¯s punch is distributed toward the earth directly. So, hitting her at this point is like hitting the ground. It¡¯s meaningless. She¡¯s using the iron skin so there¡¯s no additional damage she might have. She¡¯s able to hold all the attack from both golems. But, against a golem that is created from the ground or earth, it means they¡¯re the same. It won¡¯t bring you the victory.


    They¡¯re keep on hitting their fists until Reis deflects one of the golem¡¯s punch and it stuck to the ground. At that moment, she jumps into its hand and runs on it.


    ¡°Hey, your earth connection is worthless if you¡¯re not standing on the ground directly!¡± I yell at her.


    She keeps on running. I look into her face carefully and see a grin appear on her face.


    ~The fire is my ally. Fire keeps one¡¯s life, and it also takes one¡¯s life. Fire takes one¡¯s life to remind that he is an ally and yet an enemy. Let this ally of yours lend it to take one¡¯s life. The Pinpoint Explosion. ~


    She¡¯s moving fast and touch the golem at several places with her palm. Every place that she touches with her palm is shining red and showing a circle mark with a pattern inside of it. She moves so fast in a brief moment she has already put a lot of marks in one golem. She jumps and flicks her fingers. When she flicks her fingers, all the shining red marks on the golem are shining even brighter and let out explosions. All the explosions occur in the joints of the golem. Because of it, all of its body part is separated. She does the exact same thing to another golem, and the fight has ended.


    ¡°Yeay, Reis you¡¯re so great!¡± Erfia cheers for her.


    I imagine if she¡¯s using that magic against human. One mark is enough to incapacitate or even kill one person. Maybe that¡¯s the reason they increased her title into three words fugitive.


    ¡°You saw it? That¡¯s the fighting capability of Reis Waltz the Six Desert Master.¡± She says it in a rather arrogant tone.


    Unlike my magic that needs to be dispelled, all the magic that is used by Reis is a time based magic. It will dispel automatically when the time runs out.


    I show a smile to appreciate her effort. But not so long, I saw the second golem is still able to stand up. No, it¡¯s not the second golem. Both golems combine their body parts that¡¯s close to each other and create a new golem. The golem launches a punch into Reis.


    Oh no, iron skin and earth connection¡¯s effect should have been worn off.


    I spell a silent incantation.


    By the will of wind and the earth, let these touches the greatness of your might. As I say, speed of wind


    I jump quickly and stop between Reis and the golem. By using shield of nothingness, I stop the golem¡¯s punch. No matter how big or how strong an attack is, if it has no weight, it¡¯s the same as a feather tries to hit you.


    Normal people would think this shield is a perfect shield. Well, it is a perfect shield against direct attack, but it¡¯s meaningless against magic attack because it has no weight to start with.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s already enough? Ariana the Great Wizard?¡±


    I look into my hover motorcycle. At the side of Erfia, a woman is sitting on it. It¡¯s like she just appeared out of nowhere. She¡¯s wearing green clothes and a long skirt with frills on it which is a bit see through. Inside of it she wears a single clothes that cover her chest to her thigh. But the feature that sticks out the most is her yellow very long hair and her pointy ear.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right. That¡¯s enough fun for me.¡±

 9. Spending Time part 1

    ¡°So, what do you want? You¡¯re not coming all this way just to pay a visit, right?¡± Ariana asks me as she leads us inside her house.


    Ariana¡¯s house is inside one of the trees on this mountain. She¡¯s changing its growth rate since the seed and it creates such a big house like this one. This house, or this tree, has about 40 to 50 meters diameter and height about 60 to 70 meters. That¡¯s nearly as big as a building in the capital or in the Angel Realms.


    I walk behind her, and Erfia and Reis walk behind me. They¡¯re trying to hide in my back. Well, it¡¯s not uncommon to get this kind of reaction. That¡¯s because the interior of her house is kinda creepy. A lot of animal¡¯s dead body, skull, living animals inside cage, and potions in all colors. Simply say, it¡¯s like a witch lair. Well, she¡¯s a great wizard, so it¡¯s not so weird.


    ¡°I need you to fix my daughter¡¯s mana point and cure her body to its best while at it.¡± I reply to her as I stepped aside to show Erfia to Ariana.


    ¡°Hoo, so this is your daughter eh?¡±


    Ariana stops and stares at her closely. Her eyes that look so menacingly are scaring Erfia and make her hide behind me again.


    ¡°She¡¯s half elf and half beast man. I see none of any human feature on her. Did you kidnap her?¡± Ariana glares menacingly at me.


    I already used to her glare, so it¡¯s not affecting me. ¡°No, she¡¯s my foster daughter.¡±


    ¡°And her?¡± Ariana points at Reis which is also hiding in my back. ¡°Your woman?¡±


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s my slave.¡±


    Ariana takes another glance at us. After some time, she finally stops and walks to a room. We follow her into a room that looks like a living room. It has a pair of long chair that are separated by a table. In the table, a tea pot is already pouring tea into a few cups.


    Ariana sits on one chair and we sit on the other one. It feels a bit cramped with both of them sitting with me. To make thing easier, I put Erfia in my lap and Reis sits in my side. I take a sip of the tea. Erfia and Reis hesitate at first, but after Ariana and I drink it, they drink it too.


    ¡°So, what¡¯s with this request of yours? Restoring her mana point?¡±


    ¡°Yes, apparently before she became my child she had some bad time, and it¡¯s disrupting her mana point. Several days ago, her body won¡¯t stop shaking for two or three days after used spiking ground.¡±


    ¡°My,¡± Ariana shows a grin on her white face. ¡°So you still remember about that magic even though you can¡¯t use it, eh. As expected from my best pupil. Fine, I¡¯ll recover her mana point and her body.¡±


    Erfia and Reis that hear her words are showing a shiny expression. Both of them are looking at me.


    ¡°But, for the payment, what kind of ingredients you have for me this time? You know me well, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, of course. How about Nava wood from the treasury gate of Mestoah?¡±


    ¡°A Nava wood, eh. Very nice. That¡¯s something that you can¡¯t lay your hand unless you¡¯re part of elf royalty in this day and age. I¡¯ll take it. Anything else?¡± Ariana asks me. It¡¯s like she can see through me.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to use the crafting room, and I also need 20 drums of pure liquid mana.¡±


    ¡°What are you trying to make? Do you want to create a bomb to destroy a city or something?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing that grand. I want to make a high quality mana ring. Or should I say, the ancient Unuan mana storage ring.¡±


    ¡°Hooh, that¡¯s quite something. Okay, I¡¯ll allow it. In exchange for 40 years of your next life.¡±


    Finally, she brings it up. Starting from this point onward, only Ariana and I know about.


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s enough? I can¡¯t even guarantee you I¡¯ll be back in the next life. Or that the world is still exist.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll take the chance.¡±


    ¡°Well, then,¡± I put the tea cup back in the table and show her my sincerest smile. ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡±


    ~~~


    I stand silently in a room where Erfia is stripped naked as she enters a little pond that contains a greenish blue water in it. After the deal is made, Mada went downstairs and asked me to keep watch of Erfia. Ariana whispers something. I can¡¯t hear nor understand any words she¡¯s saying at all. Maybe it¡¯s in another language? Could be. Is it a spell incantation? It looks that way. After she¡¯s done with the incantation, the wood around the little pond closing its surface.


    ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± I panick as I ran towards Erfia that¡¯s being swallowed by the wood.


    But I¡¯m too late. She¡¯s already swallowed by the woods.


    ¡°Relax, she¡¯s still alive inside it. The water is a special water that let a person hibernate and breathe underwater. Adding my potion and my magic, her mana point will be restored. Even better than before. It will take another day or two. She feels nothing as she¡¯s asleep inside of it. It might take another day too for Mada to complete his crafting.¡±


    I breathe calmly after hear it. But, it means I need to spend a day with this witch with no one else? Oh no! I have a bad feeling about this.


    This night alone, she makes me do anything she says and help with anything. Starting from cleaning, cooking, feeding the animals and plants, and anything else. I never know a plant need to be feed. Feeding a long neck frog with some snake is something I¡¯ve never done in my life. I can handle a dead body far better than this.


    Finally, she gives me a rest. We¡¯re in a kitchen right now. Apparently, she has two kitchens on this house. A normal kitchen to cook for a food and another kitchen for, well, brewing or doing some witch thing. Soup and some rice have been prepared on the table. I remember cooking the rice but I don¡¯t remember about the soup. Maybe she made it. A big spoon is flying and put the rice and the soup in some plate and bowl. We¡¯re having a dinner right away.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°You keep on silent all this time, c¡¯mon, say something. I finally get some company in this lonely house of mine.¡± Ariana is ranting about me being silent all the time. She keeps on eating in the middle of those rant.


    ¡°We, well.¡± Uhh, it¡¯s so hard to start some conversation with a witch. I don¡¯t know what to say at all.


    ¡°Ahh,¡± Ariana sighs heavily, ¡°Let me ask you a question then. Have you fallen for him?¡±


    ¡°Ugh.¡± I choke my food as she asks it. I quickly grab a glass of water and gulp it.


    Oh, thank god I didn¡¯t die. What kind of question is that? Does she realize how many hardships I took because of him? I remember everything since I became his slave. All of my friends have been killed, I got threatened to sleep with a gryphon or snake horse, I got my body exposed to the public, he gave me big shock of one word fugitive punishment, nearly killed me, and a lot of other things that I can¡¯t mention. So, I can clearly say.


    ¡°Hell no!¡±


    ¡°Khuhuhu, not yet.¡± Ariana lets out a small laugh.


    ¡°There is no way I can fall for a guy like that. The only things that are keeping me are this slave bind magic and Erfia. Without these two things, I could have killed him already and left.¡±


    ¡°Really? Do you seriously think a mere three words fugitive like you can defeat one word fugitive? We¡¯re talking about Mada.¡±


    Ugh, she got me there. I nearly forget that I¡¯m just a three words fugitive while he¡¯s a one word fugitive. I continue my meal to take my mind away of being defeated by him.


    ¡°Really? What¡¯s so great about him? The last time we ran away, he nearly got himself killed by a fire ball and fell into a cliff.¡±


    ¡°I can guess it¡¯s because both of you are with him. Both of you dragged him down.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± I stop my meal for a moment. ¡°We dragged him down? Okay, that¡¯s pissing me off. Without me, he would have been killed by those mountain beasts and bandits we met on the way here. Lastly, without Erfia, he couldn¡¯t even use a single spell out there. We¡¯re the reason he¡¯s still alive.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not quite right. Did you know when the last time he got himself a company like this?¡±


    ¡°Always?¡± I respond instantly to her question.


    ¡°Never!¡±


    Huh?


    ¡°He never had a company before. Well, at least, not in this life of his. Usually, he keeps a company only for a few days and then he left or dispose them. Taking that little girl as a child and you as slave is not something he would do.¡±


    ¡°Then, it means we are proved to be useful for him, isn¡¯t it?¡± I try to correct her way of thinking.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. At one time he got himself another one word fugitive to accompany him. But, it only last few days. I think he sees something entirely different in both of you.¡±


    ¡°And, how do you know about all of it?¡± I hesitantly ask her.


    ¡°Just say I have my intel.¡± She¡¯s not answering my question. ¡°Anyway, if you think he¡¯s still alive because of both of you, then you¡¯re totally wrong. It¡¯s because both of you he got himself injured.¡±


    I stop my meal as it¡¯s already empty. But, I also stop because the shock she¡¯s giving me. Is it mean, without us, he will be fine?


    ¡°Do you know why his face is unknown even though his one word fugitive name has become so famous?¡±


    ¡°Because he was wearing a mask?¡± I recall he was wearing a mask when we were in pursuit few days ago. He even made me and Erfia wore the same mask.


    ¡°That¡¯s one thing. But the other thing is, he lets no one that chased him or saw his face as Mada the Raider lived. He killed every single one of them.¡±


    Now I remember. The rumor was spread even amongst us desert raider. That rumor was the only reason I figured my men were killed by Mada. No one of my men was alive after dealing with him. In other words, all of their death was my fault? Because I sent them to Mada and because I guessed correctly who he is?


    ¡°Let me tell you one story when he was still under me. Few years ago, when He tried to reach the ruin of Unuan, he got himself trapped in the middle of Human and Beast man war. But he didn¡¯t run away. He fought both sides only by himself. He succeeded at making both of them as his enemies. They called a truce to the fight and attack him. But in the end of day, He slaughtered both sides, and no one lived to tell the tale. This information spread because of the amount of body that were found and the report of both sides. He got no title beforehand. But because of that, he instantly got one word fugitive title.¡±


    I remember this rumor pretty well as it gave us six desert master, that previously known as the biggest raider, became nothing but a child play. It spread a few years ago when Human and Beast man. They called truce of their war for a few months to look for the one who slaughtered all their men. It was the moment a new title emerged, Mada the Raider. But, I always thought it was just an exaggerated rumor as there is no way a single man could do it. I never thought of it as real. But right now, I know it was real. It¡¯s so hard to believe.


    ¡°His title, Raider, is not only for his habit of taking every treasures so nothing left. But, it was also given to him because he also took every person life that ever saw or knew his face, his true identity.¡±

 10. Spending Time Part 2

    I have no words for that. Mada¡¯s fighting capability is nothing I could think of. If he¡¯s serious about killing me, he could have done it a long time ago. But, why he let me live and took me as his slave instead?


    I put my hand to hold my head. If that¡¯s the truth, then how can I tell this to Erfia? Or else, is it okay for me to know all of this?


    ¡°If you¡¯re thinking how to tell it to that little child, don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s already heard it.¡±


    Huh? ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I said it before that she feels nothing as she¡¯s sleeping inside of it, right? Well, her body is sleeping. But her consciousness is become one with this house. Or should I say, this tree. So, she can see and hear anything that¡¯s happening in this house except for the crafting room.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, I don¡¯t know if she can take this.¡± I¡¯m thinking about the consequence she might have. The last time I heard about the one word fugitive punishment, I lost my will and broke. Can she take it?


    ¡°Both of you need to know about it sooner or later. It is best for both of you to decide whether you¡¯re going with him or not.¡±


    What she said is the truth. We need to know about who he really is. If, we¡¯re going with him, it¡¯s possible it will make him faces much danger than before.


    ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. But, I have a question. How come someone with no affinity toward mana like Mada ended up as your pupil? One of ten greatest magician in the world?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been expecting you to ask about it. About twenty years ago, I found him while he was seven. He was walking in this mountain with no direction. He was alone. At that time, I got other pupils about his age, so I took him and raised him.¡±


    ¡°Is that it? It just like you found a lost kitten.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, yeah, I also thought of it that way. But, I was surprised when I knew that he has no affinity toward mana.¡±


    ¡°So, did he get bullied?¡±


    ¡°No, even if he has no affinity towards mana and can¡¯t use any magic unless he¡¯susing a mana storage ring, he discovered and created a new magic I¡¯ve never seen. He minimized the blowback received by the caster and even perfected some of my magic and taught the other kid how to use magic properly. In no time it¡¯s like he¡¯s my replacement as their instructor when I¡¯m gone.¡±


    Well, I can imagine he¡¯s doing all that. But I wonder how he did all that magic related things when he doesn¡¯t even have any affinity towards mana.


    ¡°You know, I also wondered how come he managed to do it.¡±


    What? Did she just read my mind?


    ¡°So I tried to enter his memory and dream when he was asleep. You won¡¯t believe what I got.¡±


    ¡°What is it? What is it?¡± I close my head to hear the truth about him.


    ¡°Apparently he was cursed in his previous life to keep on being reborn every time he died. And he was not allowed to forget a single thing he ever saw. Even the worst memory.¡±


    Wait, what? Now it all makes sense. That explains how he manages to create a magic and know all of those ruins place.


    ¡°Did he already tell you the punishment if one word fugitive like him got arrested?¡±


    I nod slowly.


    ¡°That¡¯s because he experienced it by himself in his previous life. When I looked into his memory, he was known as Kries the Creator. If I remember, Kries the Creator is one word fugitive that was labelled as heretics by all race because created a technology far surpassed of Angels Realms. The Angels didn¡¯t give a shit about it at all. But human, beast man, and elf felt a threat within. On one day his name disappeared from this world. I guessed that was when they captured him and did all those horrible things to him and everyone he knew.¡±


    He experienced it himself? What? I thought it¡¯s something that every one word fugitive knew. That¡¯s explained his reaction when I nearly mention his one word fugitive title. But, if his fighting capability really is that great, then there¡¯s a possibility that An Saia would be erased from the map to keep Erfia safe.


    ¡°Then, what¡¯s with the payment of forty years of his next life.¡± I wonder about the thing they talked.


    ¡°Ahh, about that. Actually, I¡¯ve fallen for him when he reached his early twenties. A lone woman in the middle of nowhere like me was charmed by how great he is. As a magic instructor, as creator, and as a man.¡±


    Wait a minute? As a man? Did she just mention as a man? Is that mean they have done it? No no no. It can¡¯t be. I think I guess it wrong.


    ¡°But unfortunately a year after that, he got his one word title and left. Not so long after he left, it was time for the other pupil to leave and faced the world. Since then, I¡¯ve been living alone in this place.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know anything about the others?¡±


    ¡°Well, some of them became titled heroes, some of them became titled nobody¨C¡±


    ¡°Ah yeah, I nearly forgot. Your title, the great wizard. Are you a fugitive, hero, or nobody?¡± I wonder about it.


    ¡°A nobody. Two words nobody title is the highest possible title by a nobody. You should have known it, right?¡±


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    Yes, it is. A nobody is somebody that¡¯s still abide the law but they¡¯re not helping the government. If a nobody wants to get a one word title, the only possible way is becoming one word hero or one word fugitive. Normal people would think becoming one word hero is the best thing could happen. But, if one word hero rebel, he will become one word fugitive in that instant and all of his family will be killed. So, becoming a one word hero is nothing but becoming government¡¯s lap dog.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s all I can tell you about his past. Find out by yourself if you really want to know it.¡± Ariana stands and leaves the table. ¡°It¡¯s midnight already, get some sleep. Maybe you¡¯ll get to know what I mean by his manly side.¡±


    She¡¯s yawning and leaves the room. The eating and cooking utensils floating by itself and wash themselves. What did she mean by know his manly side? Ah, I couldn¡¯t care less.


    I also leave the room and head into my room. She got me cleaned a room for three of us. But, I guess I can¡¯t stay calm and sleep in this room. This room has a lot of moving roots and even I feel like the animal skull ornament is looking at me. But, apparently my exhaustion is catching up and makes me ignore all of it and sleep.


    ~~~


    I slowly wake as I feel some movement in my bed. Wait, what? Did someone sneak into my bed? I wake at that moment and open the blanket that¡¯s covering me. What the hell? What is this man doing in my bed? Your bed is the other one. Not this one. I try to wake him but he strangles me. I can feel his hand inside my clothes and reaching some place.


    Wait, is this what she meant? No way? Am I going to be raped?


    ~~~


    It''s morning already and I go downstairs to get some explanation. I left Mada in my bed as I couldn¡¯t wake him. Not after what happened last night. I open the kitchen door and see Ariana is having her breakfast. I walk closer to her and put my face right in front of her face.


    ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± I ask her. No more chit chat. No more hitting the bush.


    ¡°Let me guess, he snuck in your bed and made you feel good only by using his hand, wasn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°You know about it?¡±


    ¡°Huhuhu.¡± Ariana chuckles a little. ¡°Of course I know. How do you think I know how good he is? Not only me. All the girls back then also felt it. That¡¯s a habit of him. He will sneak in some woman bed and do it when he¡¯s exhausted. Try imagine how good he is when he¡¯s already that good with his hand. I can say a paradise is within him.¡±


    ¡°No. No way. Does he know about it?¡±


    ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t. The boys back then couldn¡¯t say a word while the girl and I pretty much enjoyed it. We even often made him exhausted so we could get it.¡±


    ¡°Good morning.¡±


    Suddenly a familiar voice comes right to the kitchen. I see to it and see Mada is walking half asleep, trying to reach the table. Did he really not remember anything?


    ***


    I take some rice to my plate and pour some soup to my bowl. I¡¯m so sleepy right now but if I don¡¯t have my breakfast right now, Ariana won¡¯t make any food until lunch. So, I¡¯ll just eat as fast as possible and then I¡¯ll be back to my sleep. I look around and see Ariana with her special smile. It¡¯s special because it feels like she¡¯s teasing me and she only shows it when I¡¯m exhausted. I look at the side of the door and see Reis is standing.


    ¡°Oy, Reis. You better eat now or you won¡¯t get to eat anything until lunch.¡±


    Her face turns red. It¡¯s so red that even me that¡¯s half awake can see it. But if I take a better look, it¡¯s not that she¡¯s turning red. It¡¯s more like, she¡¯s blushing? What make her blush at this time in the morning? I couldn¡¯t care less and continue to eat.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, sit here and have a meal. You heard him.¡± Ariana persuades Reis to eat with us. But I can say from her tone that she¡¯s more like teasing her. Did something happen between them?


    Reis does as she says and have her breakfast with us. I¡¯d like to ask her what¡¯s happening but right now I¡¯m exhausted from the crafting.


    ¡°You¡¯re getting better, eh. I thought you¡¯ll finish it by tonight. But now you only need one night to finish it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I manage to get my hand on some relict and alchemy. It increases the process¡¯s speed by two times.¡± I let my mouth handle the answering and eating at the same time.


    I look into Reis and she¡¯s not saying anything. She¡¯s just eating.


    ¡°Say something Reis.¡± Arianna suddenly speaks to her. ¡°Your master is right here. Don¡¯t you want to say anything to him?¡±


    Reis is a bit shocked when she hears Arianna¡¯s words. Even I can see some of her body like jumped out of her.


    What¡¯s the matter Arianna? It¡¯s not like she has to say anything just because I¡¯m her master and she¡¯s my slave. It¡¯s not like you to be surprised just by her word, Reis. Something really is happening between them. Whatever, I don¡¯t care what happened between them.


    I¡¯ve finally done with my meal.


    ¡°I¡¯m done. Thanks for the food. I¡¯ll be back to my bed.¡±

 11. 1 VS 500

    ¡°Hey Reis! You¡¯ve been avoiding me since yesterday morning! If you don¡¯t mind, will you tell me the reason?¡± I¡¯m pressing my voice. Even if my word is asking it in a good way, I¡¯m not planning to.


    ¡°We, well. About that,¡± Reis is hesitating.


    Finally, I can¡¯t hold it anymore. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but she¡¯s been avoiding me since yesterday. Even when I asked Ariana about it, she just smiles and said nothing. This pissed me off.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to answer me. Don¡¯t blame me for using the slave bind magic to make you answer me.¡±


    Slave bind magic has a power to make the slave do anything the master desire. Even if it¡¯s against the will of the slave.


    ¡°No, Mada. You can¡¯t do it. You can¡¯t force a woman to answer such thing by force?¡± Ariana tries to stop me.


    ¡°Huh? She¡¯s my slave! I own her!¡±


    ¡°Ple, please, I¡¯ll answer it when I¡¯m ready. But I can¡¯t answer it now.¡± Reis answers me while she¡¯s trying to hide her face behind a cabinet.


    Ch, whatever.


    Suddenly a voice rises from outside and it startles us a bit because of its loud voice.


    ¡°Ariana the Great Wizard. Human has lost at the recent battle and we, beast man, has taken over Avareel. You get two choices, work for us or become a slave like every single human in Avarel.¡±


    Even though this house is a tree, Ariana made it so we can hear anything that¡¯s happening outside. It won¡¯t make us clueless about what might happen.


    ¡°Work for them or become a slave? What¡¯s the difference?¡± Ariana answers in sarcastic tone.


    It will take another two hours for Erfia to recover. I don¡¯t want those beast mans disturb her as I need her and her mana.


    I stand from the chair and walk toward outside. ¡°Reis, you stay here in case they infiltrate this place. I need you to protect Erfia before she comes out of that pond.¡±


    ¡°Wait. What are you going to do?¡± Reis stands and asks me.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I¡¯ll obliterate them. This going to become a slaughter house.¡± I answer her with a grin on my face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t make too much of a mess, okay?¡±


    Ariana, you¡¯re asking the impossible. You should have known I¡¯m not capable of doing that.


    I¡¯ll fight them as Mada Jeian of the Vorks, so I can¡¯t let them see the Keeper or they might realize that I¡¯m Mada the Raider. It¡¯s a luck for me because my parents gave me such a common name that nobody suspects both of them are the same person.


    I take a shield and some long weapon from the Keeper. The shield is a rectangle in shape but it curvy and rather pointy in the end of it. The long weapon is some kind of weapon that is the combination of a sword and a lance. Its handle is pretty long, maybe a meter and the sword itself is a double-edged sword with a length of one meter. Both the sword and the shield are connected by a 3 meters chain. Just like my other weapon, this weapon and shield also a special weapon. Every hit and attack that is received by this shield will be reduced to half of its real power. The other half is stored and it can be accumulated to release an air explosion by the sword. I call them the pair of dragon and phoenix. The lance sword is the dragon and the shield is the phoenix.


    I get out and close the door. Once the door is closed, the door just disappear into nothing. Now, I¡¯m standing in front of troops in the middle of nowhere. I observe them carefully. I can count about 500 beast man standing. So, it¡¯s just a party, not a whole army. I try to look everywhere to find the whereabouts of a long distance magic user.


    ¡°Huh, look what we¡¯ve got. Mada Jeian of the Vorks is here with Ariana the Great Wizard. What a lucky day this is.¡±


    One beast man is getting cocky and yell towards me.


    ¡°I¡¯m more than enough to take care all of you.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What¡¯s a single lowly human like you could do?¡±


    ¡°Agghhh¡±


    Suddenly I hear a scream from the back of their troops. I can see some root is spiking from the ground and stabbing some people.


    ¡°I¡¯ve taken care of the long distance magic user. Now you can fight without worry.¡± Ariana¡¯s voice is echoing in the air.


    ¡°Hehehe, thanks mam.¡±


    If the rest of them is just a short range magic user, then the possibility of me losing is nearly zero.


    ¡°THEN, SHALL WE START THE SLAUGHTER!¡± I yell at my lung capacity and march toward them.


    They are beast man. I¡¯m not allowed to put them on the same level as a human. A beast man wolf type can move 8 times faster than normal human and they are stronger up to 5 times than normal human. The beast man tiger and lion type can move 5 times faster than a normal human and 10 times stronger than a normal human. Other than those two types, they¡¯re just a small fry.


    But unfortunately for you, I¡¯m not a normal human. I remember the days I trained my body to the limit with no one knows about it. After became Mada the Raider, I got worse environment to live in that also took a role in my body training. Without any magic, my body could move at least 7 times faster than a normal human and my body is at least 10 times stronger than a normal human.


    I swing my lance sword toward them. I come too fast at them and they let their guard down. By these combinations, I cut at least 8 of them in one swing. At that moment, 8 bodies have become 16 as I cut them all in half. The other that see this can¡¯t stay calm anymore and swing their weapon at me. I spin and use my shield to deflect all of them. I jump and throw the lance sword to the ground.


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    ¡°BLOW!¡±


    By the voice command, the air around the lance sword explode and destroy anything, or in this case is anybody, within 20 meters radius. I hide behind my shield as I unleash the air explosion. The chain keeps me from flying and the shield keeps me safe while all the beast mans within 20 meters radius has been turned into minced meat.


    I land and take my lance sword.


    ¡°Lightning bolt.¡±


    I immediately look to the source of the voice and see a light. I¡¯m guessing where it¡¯s heading and hold it with my shield. Without letting me take a breath, some beast man that¡¯s in my back attack me with their claw. I jump beforehand and turn them into a sliced meat. Some beast man come too close. He¡¯s using his own bare hand too. It seems he thinks I won¡¯t have any time to swing my lance sword at short range. Well, he¡¯s not wrong. He just forgets something.


    I use my shield to tackle his neck and broke it. To be sure, I split his head with my lance sword. I throw my lance sword above and put my shield above me. A magic attack charges the air explosion much faster than a normal direct attack. So, by one magic attack, I could unleash one air explosion.


    ¡°BLOW!¡±


    Another air explosion is unleashed and turned everybody within 20 meters into a minced meat. Normal shield can¡¯t withstand it and it will be torn apart. Only some high quality or magical shield can withstand it.


    I catch my lance sword and look around. All of them take some distance from me. My vision is a little blurred as some of their blood splattered in my face. I think it¡¯s less than half right now. No, I can say only a quarter is left. I march to them and have another slaughter. All of them are fighting desperately. Some are using anything as their weapon, some are using their claw and fang to attack, and some are using close range magic. But, I deflect and defend all of their attack and let out another air explosion. Some that still survive is trying to run but Ariana lets no one leave. Anybody that tries to run is stabbed by a spiking root or spiking ground.


    Not so long after that, the battle is over. I emerge as the victor in this battle. Well, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m the only one fighting. If Ariana didn¡¯t wipe out the long range magic user, maybe it will take a longer time and a lot harder for me to win.


    I walk toward the missing door and yell. ¡°I¡¯m done, let me in.¡±


    No answer.


    I wait a bit. I watch the tree closely and finally realize a lot of roots have already surrounded me.


    ¡°Ah, Ariana, teacher, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡±


    ¡°You call me teacher now? Wow. That¡¯s something I haven¡¯t heard in a very long time. Anyway, I don¡¯t want any blood in my house. Prepare yourself to get cleansed.¡± Ariana¡¯s voice echoes in the air.


    Wait what? Cleansed? No, if I remember correctly, I never like the cleansing process. It hurts. But as I see the roots already surround me, I just stand tall and try to hold it all. Finally, all of those roots shoot a large amount of water into me. The power is something else. It feels like being hit by a carriage from all direction into every part of my body.


    ¡°That¡¯s hurt! Enough! Ariana, please stop it!¡±


    But it¡¯s not stopping. It¡¯s adding more power and more pain. I put the pair of dragon and phoenix down and try to protect myself. I can¡¯t run. If I try to run, these roots will chase me and when it catches me, I can¡¯t put any defensive position. After some time, finally the cleansing process is done, and the door is opened. I¡¯m soaking wet right now.


    I put the pair of dragon and phoenix back into the keeper and walk toward the inside of the house. This house has one extra bathroom near the door. This bathroom is used after the cleansing process is done. I enter it and take all of my clothes off. I put my wet clothes at sticking twig that is used to dry wet clothes and take another clothes from the Keeper. After I change my clothes, I walk into the living room and no one is there.


    Maybe it¡¯s already time for Erfia to come out? I walk toward the medicine room and see all of them inside it. Erfia has just come out and she¡¯s not wearing anything. Reis is lowering her body to put some clothes on her. I stand in silence by the door.


    Reis takes a look at me and she stops putting the clothes. ¡°You pervert. What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s my daughter. It¡¯s natural for a father to look at her little child changing.¡± I¡¯m defending myself.


    ¡°If a normal person, yes it does. But for a pedophile like you, it¡¯s not okay!¡±


    ¡°Just get it done already!¡±


    I say my point and Reis says no more. She keeps on putting Erfia¡¯s clothes. Sometimes, she looks into my direction with a disgust look while Erfia just smiles happily and pays me no mind. After Reis have done putting Erfia clothes, I come to Erfia and lower my body. I could see her happy face.


    ¡°So, how is it feels? Feels great right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, dad, I can feel like my body so light and a lot of energies running through me. I never felt this great before.¡± Erfia answer with a very happy tone. ¡°With this, I can finally help you by using a big magic and fill your mana ring faster than before.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my girl.¡± I pat her head and show her my smile.

 12. Objective

    ¡°So, what are we going to do?¡± Reis asks me while her mouth is stuffed.


    Right now we¡¯re having our last night in Ariana¡¯s place. As usual, I finished my meal earlier than the others. This night is the last night we spend the night in Ariana¡¯s place.


    My new mana ring had been filled by Erfia. This new mana ring replaces my old mana ring in my middle finger as the old mana ring is one of the needed ingredients. With this new mana ring, I can use 100 small mana magic or 2 grand kill magic like spiking ground. It has the same look as the same old red and blue stripe when it runs out of mana. But when it¡¯s full, like now, it changes its color into black and white stripes.


    Erfia with her recovered body could fill my mana ring way faster than before. She could fill it in only two hours even though its mana capacity should be 20 times of the former one. Tomorrow we have to get back to my main objective.


    ¡°Now that you mention it, I haven¡¯t mentioned my objective of becoming a raider, have I?¡±


    All three of them shake their head. Wait a minute, did Ariana shake her head too? Now that I remember it carefully, I never mentioned my objective to anyone in this life. It seems I¡¯ll have to tell them the truth.


    ¡°Before I tell you my real objective and my story, how much did you hear from her?¡± I point at Ariana.


    ¡°Nothing. Just the story of how you got your one word title, how your life when you¡¯re here, and,¡± Reis is silent for a moment. It seems she wants to say something but she hesitates.


    ¡°About dad¡¯s previous life, the curse of being reborn and keep every memory, and about makes¨C.¡±


    Reis and Ariana close Erfia¡¯s mouth in hurry. I wonder what it is about.


    ¡°Makes?¡± I ask them.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, the last one is trivial.¡± Ariana replies to my question, but it¡¯s not the answer I want to hear.


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Reis agrees with Ariana.


    Well, if you don¡¯t want to tell me. Then, so be it.


    ¡°And, let me guess, Ariana also said about how I defeat two side of human and beast man single handedly, and how she knew about my curse by reading my memories while I was asleep. Am I right?¡± I try to pique some information.


    All of them nod. I look into Ariana and she just smiles like nothing happened. She always spread that exaggerated rumor and makes my name became one of the most feared names. I always knew she read my memories when I was asleep. Basically, when you¡¯re having a nightmare, it means someone is trying to read your memories or try to enter your mind. And I really had some nightmare at that time.


    ¡°Well, it makes things easier for me. But before that, I¡¯d like to correct something. I didn¡¯t kill all those people single handedly when I try to reach ruin of Uruan. Well, technically I did it single handedly, but I did not fight them fair and square like I did today. I had already set a trap in all of that place to eradicate all of their long range magic caster beforehand. I also used the trap that exist in the ruin of Uruan on them. So, the amount of people that I defeated only a quarter them. The rest of them is died by trap.¡±


    ¡°But dad, you never say anything about their number. How much are they?¡± Erfia asks me with her usual cheerful tone. She asks me with her mouth full.


    ¡°Never talk when your mouth is full. Don¡¯t take after her, okay?¡± I need to correct Erfia before I answer her question.


    Erfia nods like a normal good child should be while Reis throw a pissed expression at me.


    ¡°Well, the numbers? Let¡¯s see.¡± I try to guess their number by my memories. I never know their true numbers. The only thing I got is my memories and the rumor. ¡°The human side is about 60,000 and the beast man side is about 40,000, total 100,000. So, I only killed 25,000 of them.¡±


    ¡°And how long did you take to kill them all?¡± Ariana asks with a grin in her face. I could sense some pride in her words like she¡¯s saying ¡®as expected of my pupil¡¯.


    ¡°Nearly one full day. I got pretty lucky the best they have is three words heroes.¡±


    A silent moment emerge.


    Hmm? What? What¡¯s with this silent?


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible in so many ways! There¡¯s no way you¡¯re that strong!¡± Reis stands from her chair and make a fist in her hand. She¡¯s so pissed.


    ¡°Yes, it is possible.¡± I stop her protest. ¡°To get a one word title, you can take so many paths. Starting by killing another one word title holder, selling country¡¯s secret, making your own advanced weapon, and so many more. One of those paths is to kill at least 10,000 people within one week.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± Reis tries to deny my words, ¡°Normally, people that kill at least 10,000 people within one week is doing it by destroying a city or by spreading some kind of disease. Killing all of them in a battle is unheard of.¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± I¡¯m adding more fact. ¡°There is at least 5 to 7 heroes capable of doing that in each race and at least one person capable of killing 100,000 people in a single day in each race.¡±


    Their power is too great to be handled by public so people normally just forget them or treat them as a legend or some myth. The truth is, people don¡¯t want to admit there¡¯s a person capable of killing 100,000 people in a day is exist. But, those people got a very high position in government and they only fight when their race is cornered. Their very existence in a battle can turn the tide of a war in an instant. That¡¯s another reason this war never ends.


    Reis backs to her seat after she hears my words and finishes her meal as fast as possible. Erfia just opens her mouth in awe while Ariana is still showing that ¡®as expected of my pupil¡¯ expression in her face.


    ¡°Okay, back to main topic. My true objective.¡± I set the train back on rail. ¡°Each race has 2 legendary items that its capability is transcending human understanding. It¡¯s called God Item. Each item is being kept or held by some one word hero. My objective is to get all those 12 God Items and remove my curse of being reborn when I die and keeping all of my memories. Currently I have two of the 12 God Items, 10 remaining. My previous objective of getting a new mana storage ring is to increase the possibility of success even if it¡¯s just by 10%.¡±


    ¡°Daddy, daddy, why do you want to forget all those memories. Isn¡¯t better to never forget?¡± Erfia asks after swallows her food.


    ¡°Well, something is meant to be forgotten.¡± I only answer it in a brief as I remember all of my memories when I answer it. Just by answering it, I could remember all of those sad and painful memories in the past. I wish it could just stop.


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    ¡°So, now I¡¯m asking both of you to think about this thing seriously. Are you going with me? I¡¯m telling you that my objective is the same as making the whole world as my enemies and of course, clash with one word heroes with a capability of killing 100,000 people in a day is unavoidable.¡±


    I wait for their reply. If any of them show even the slightest bit of hesitation, I¡¯ll leave them here. This is my objective, and they have nothing to do with it. Making the world as my enemies is something that I¡¯m ready to take. But, I can¡¯t let young people like them get mixed in it, especially Erfia. Even though I need her to fill my mana ring, I can¡¯t really let my only daughter in this world to get caught up in my mess. It seems my soft side for kids is something that I need to take for granted.


    ¡°So, daddy, where will we head tomorrow?¡± Erfia asks me as she already finished her meal.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± I¡¯m humming to her. Did I just hear it wrong?


    ¡°She¡¯s asking where we¡¯ll head tomorrow. Don¡¯t ask her back.¡±


    ¡°Umm, both of you, are you serious about coming with me?¡± I need to ask them once more time to make sure.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like I have any other person I could return to. And I don¡¯t want to stay here. It will bore me.¡± Erfia answers in her sincere and cheerful tone.


    ¡°And I¡¯m your slave, you know. It¡¯s not like I have another choice.¡± Reis answers me in a straight tone but she¡¯s not looking into my eyes.


    I can see no hesitation in their words and their body language. I can understand Erfia as she doesn¡¯t have any family left. But I still can¡¯t understand Reis¡¯s reason as I already killed all of her friends in the desert. But, I can¡¯t feel any hesitation either from her.


    I realize whatever I¡¯m trying to say will only get rejected by them. So, I put the probability of convincing them to stay out of my mind.


    ¡°Actually, I haven¡¯t thought about it. Is there any Idea?¡±


    ¡°Hah?¡± All of them are letting out a simple reaction to my question.


    ¡°Seriously? I can¡¯t believe you at all. You¡¯re making us think about taking the whole world as our enemies but you don¡¯t even know where those God Items are?¡±


    I finally let it out. ¡°I know the possible places of the God Items, it just that I don¡¯t know which one to after first.¡±


    ¡°Where are those places dad?¡±


    ¡°Each one in each capital or their most sacred place. The other one in a secluded place that¡¯s within another race territory. The one held by undead race are moving in random as they have no capital or sacred place.¡± I explain the possibility to them.


    ¡°How about going with the one in the Capital of Beast Man? Most of their army should be still in Avareel, so the problem should be not as much as usual.¡± Ariana gives her idea.


    That¡¯s not a bad idea. The beast mans must be having a party for the next few days. It¡¯s in their war culture. They have to hold a big party in every city and village when a battle is won and a city is seized while the human race will have their hands full to make a new troops placement and such.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a bad Idea.¡± Reis gives her opinion.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s a good idea too, dad.¡± Erfia also agree to Ariana¡¯s idea.


    ¡°Well, then, tomorrow we¡¯re heading to Ul Thadur. We¡¯re taking the God Item, Voice of Obedience.¡±


    ¡°YEAH!¡±


    Reis and Erfia stand and cheer on our new objective. While they talk to each other, I look into Ariana¡¯s eyes that shows me a pride and confident look. It seems she still believes in me, in her best pupil ever.


    ¡°By the way dad, could you show us those God Items you have?¡± Erfia comes and pulls my clothes.


    ¡°Sure, but to do it we need to head outside.¡±


    They follow me without any complains. We¡¯re heading out and I took one mask from the Keeper. Well, it¡¯s not really a mask as it only covers my right eyes with some gray skin mask and red eyes shape.


    ¡°This one that I currently wear is called the Shackle of the Dead. By using this,¡±


    I pause my words as I¡¯m waiting.


    ~whoosh whoosh whoosh~


    A wind is blowing so hard towards us.


    ¡°Wha, what¡¯s happening?¡± Reis yells as she feels the strong wind.


    The ground is shaking. By the time, it shakes so hard and feel as it moves. Suddenly, a lot of figures come out of the ground. They have a body that looks just being gathered and their flesh looks like it¡¯s been torn apart. A mass of dead beast man that I killed today just rise as a zombie.


    From above, suddenly a big figure is covering us from the light of the moon. Slowly, that big figure become bigger and bigger until finally it lands in some place behind me.


    ~rawwrrrrr~


    A zombie dragon is letting out its terrorizing voice as it lands.


    Three of them get their jaw open wide. They look so hard like their eyes could pop out any moment. I can see they¡¯re surprised and shocked.


    ¡°I could revive any dead being as my servant in radius of 10 kilometers. Hahahahaha¡± I speak to them in a very proud tone and a very nasty laughter.


    After they look closely into the zombies, I let go the control, and all of those zombies turned into a flesh and bone except for the dragon. The dragon turned into dirt and became one with earth once again. I take the mask of and hold it in my hand.


    ¡°This is one of two God Item of Undead. As you can see, just by using this God Item I could make an entire city full of zombie. And because it¡¯s the God Item of Undead, it consumes no mana from the user as undead don¡¯t have any affinity towards mana unlike other races. It takes the mana directly from the nature. But of course the mana can¡¯t be used for something else than reviving and controlling those zombies.¡±


    They come closer at me and take a closer look at the mask. As Reis try to touch it, I pull it away and put it in the Keeper.


    ¡°That God Item can only be used by Undead or people with no affinity toward mana like me. If a person with affinity toward mana touch it, their mana will be absorbed and completely dried out by this God Item.¡±


    ¡°Ohhh.¡±


    All of them open their mouth so wide, reacting to my explanation. Now, the other God Item.


    ¡°About the other God Item. Actually you already saw me use it countless time.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Countless time?¡± Erfia tilts her head.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I hold my right hand and show them the yellow ring with red line in the middle of it in my pinky finger. ¡°It¡¯s this ring, the Keeper. It¡¯s God Item of the Angels.¡±

 13. Raid on Avareel

    We left Ariana¡¯s house this morning for Avareel. We¡¯re going back to Avareel because if it¡¯s been conquered by beast man, they need to connect the gate to their capital to set a new city as their city. The capital itself located thousands of kilometers from this city. Even if we have enough black water for the hover motorcycle and going by inter-city road, we still need 100 hours or more non-stop driving. But, going by inter-city road is out of question since its beast man territory and we¡¯re human. We¡¯re going to be stopped. If we go by another road, it will take us double the time. But again, it¡¯s impossible without the black water.


    After going downhill by running, we use the hover motorcycle to reach Avareel. Reis just reminded me that in a terrain with no road, running would be much faster than riding a vehicle. As my injury is healed already, I used Speed of Wind to slide through the air and the ground. I carry Erfia by piggyback ride her. I don¡¯t know what Ariana had done to her body, but now she could fill my mana ring just by touching me which connect her and my ring.


    Reis used Earth Slide Magic to keep up with me. It¡¯s nearly same with my Speed of Wind in term of appearance, but it does things differently. It makes the caster can slide through the ground at ease by moving the user away from the ground. So, the user is like a doll that controlled from the ground. But the one controlling is the user itself.


    After running, or sliding through, downhill for 20 kilometers, we take another 50 to 60 kilometers to reach Avarel. We¡¯re riding the hover motorcycle right now. By using its full speed, we will reach it in less than one hour. If, I used this method instead of rode a carriage when we headed toward Ariana¡¯s house, maybe I wouldn¡¯t get all those injuries. But at least I got a glimpse of Reis¡¯s fighting capability.


    ¡°Let¡¯s review the plans all over again. I will create a diversion by wreaking havoc and releasing all those slaves. Both of you head for the Gate of the World to make sure it¡¯s ready to use. I¡¯ll head for the gate after two hours of wreaking havoc. Clear?¡± I tell the plan once again while I¡¯m driving the hover motorcycle.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Erfia and Reis answer me simultaneously.


    ¡°And don¡¯t forget to put your mask the whole time. We don¡¯t want them to discover your true identity.¡±


    I handed them the mask when we were on Ariana¡¯s house. Starting from now on, they need to hide their face when they¡¯re with Mada the Raider. That time is right now.


    We¡¯re just a kilometer away, and Reis jumps with Erfia with her. I take a look for a moment to confirm they¡¯re landing safely. After I confirm it, I slow down the hover motorcycle and stand in top of this motorcycle. I put my mask on. I take my long bow, Pointing Tip of Desperation, from the Keeper and shoot few explosive spears at the gate guards. Another few explosive spears to destroy the gate. Avareel is not a big city, so it only has a wooden gate as its gate. I put Pointing Tip of Desperation back in the Keeper and take the twin hook, Snake Hook, from it.


    ~By the will of red blood, let this body of mine contain your whole might. As I say, blood transformation. ~


    ~By the will of wind and the earth, let these touches the greatness of your might. As I say, speed of wind~


    With the new mana ring, I could use these two spells at the same time for at least 24 hours straight, unlike the previous one that only last one hour at most.


    Arrows are showering at me from the top of the gate. But by Blood Transformation, I can easily deflect all the arrow that¡¯s going to hit me. I jump from the motorcycle and let it pass through the damaged gate. I land at the top of the gate and jump to my left. With the Speed of Wind, I slide pass through them and kill everyone as I pass by. I do the same with the enemies on the right side. In just a moment, all the enemies in the gate are already annihilated.


    The party really took a toll on their defense. Normally, it would need more than that to breakthrough a city gate. Even I can see remnants of the party in this place like a pile of trash, beer drums, and some decorations.


    I take a look at the whole city for a moment. Even if they say it¡¯s a city, I say it just a small town. It only has 3000 hectares as its territory.


    With my blood transformation, I can look much further than normal eyes and I can roughly grasp the condition of this town. The Gate of The World is near its center, so I need to take their whole attention to the side of the town. This town only has 2 gates, north and south gate. Right now I¡¯m standing at the north gate.


    Their troop¡¯s main camp is in the center of the town, and the slave is in the west site. So, I¡¯ll head to their main camp and wreak havoc on anything between, after that I¡¯ll head to the south gate to do another wreak havoc. After I kill maybe half of the troop, I¡¯ll free the slave and make the slave running amok. At that moment, I must head to the Gate of the World where Reis and Erfia will wait. All of it need to be completed in less than two hours.


    I look at the town and see a lot of troops is heading this way. I jump and land on the hover motorcycle that stopped after hitting some wooden stand and put it back on the Keeper.


    ¡°HERE I COME!¡± I yell as I march forward with Snake Hook in my hand.


    ***


    It¡¯s been an hour since Mada started to wreak the town. I still can¡¯t comprehend how a single man is capable of doing such thing easily. I can see tons of dead bodies in the street around the north gate. It seems no one is around the gate anymore.


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    Erfia is a talented magic user. I¡¯ve just taught her Earth Slide less than an hour ago and now she¡¯s able to use it like a child¡¯s play. We slide through the north gate and enter an empty house. I look around to confirm that no one is around.


    ¡°Erfia, we¡¯ll head directly to the Gate. Tell me if you see someone, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    We¡¯re slowly sliding through the city. Earth slide is not only suitable for travel or fighting. It¡¯s also suitable for stealth mission like this as it creates no sound.


    I can see every houses are destroyed so bad. It seems the Beast Man was rampaging and took everyone as their slave.


    ¡°Reis, troops are coming from the east.¡±


    I listen to Erfia and we enter one house to hide. We wait inside the house until those troops pass us.


    ¡°It seems everything goes just like Dad¡¯s plan.¡± Erfia praises Mada with her cheerful voice.


    I wouldn¡¯t call it a real plan as the plan is only for him to wreak havoc and free the slave to create a diversion for us. It¡¯s so simple. But the main thing is it can only work with a capable man like him. If I¡¯m the one who creates the diversion, all I could do maybe run around and causing some small wreck along the way. There is no way I can face a thousand beast mans head on like him.


    ¡°Reis, come here!¡±


    Suddenly I hear Erfia¡¯s voice is coming from the back of the house. Wait, since when she¡¯s in that place? Did she just use earth slide in this house? But, earth slide can¡¯t be activated if you¡¯re not touching the ground and this house has a wood as its floor. Is that mean that I was too occupied with thinking Mada¡¯s capability? Damn, how come thing goes this way? It seems since Mada snuck in my bed a few days ago, I became softer to him. But it can wait.


    I walk silently toward Erfia. Erfia shows me the inside of a closet. There¡¯s a little boy lie down on it. He¡¯s still breathing but slowly. If I guess, maybe his parent was taken as a slave and they hid him here. I wonder how long since the last time he ate or drunk.


    ¡°Erfia, can you summon water for this boy to drink? I guess he needs water.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡±


    Erfia makes a motion with her hand and then water comes out of thin air. I put the boy¡¯s mouth right in the water and make him drink it. After a little time, he finally opens his eyes up and coughs. Too much water I guess? Even though he opens his eyes, I doubt he will be able to walk right away. But, at least it will do until Mada releases all the slaves.


    We make another move until finally we reach the Gate of the World. I can see everything around it is in a wreck. We come closer to the Gate of the World and I try to operate it by using the control panel on its side. It is rather easy to operate Gate of the World. All you need to do is choose the destination and it will open by itself.


    Normally a Gate of the World is locked with a password, but apparently the password has been removed and no password anymore. As expected from a beast man. They¡¯re relying on their power too much that they don¡¯t like complicated thing like giving these kinds of things a password. They usually put 5 to 10 guards around it. In normal circumstances, it is safe as no one would be able to pass 5 to 10 beast man guards with guns and weapons. But against one word fugitive like Mada, the conventional human way of giving it a password is much more secure.


    Mada should have been done by now and reaching this place at any moment. I¡¯ll just have to wait for him to arrive.


    ***


    Damn! Removing a slave bind magic of a hundred people took about half of the mana inside my mana ring. Its color is changing into red and blue stripes. While I was mass killing all those beast mans, the one hundred people removed the bind magic of the others. Not so long after that, all the slaves had been freed, and they fought back. A battle is emerged and everything went chaos. I took my chance and went straight to the Gate of the World.


    I slide through the air and ground toward the Gate of the World. But, suddenly a big armored beast man in blocking my way and swinging his axe. I dodge and stop a few steps behind him.


    ¡°Even if I can¡¯t kill you, at least I¡¯ll see the face behind that mask.¡±


    The beast man turns his body and shows me his face in his helmet. A rhino type beast man eh. It is said they have the same power as lion type but they¡¯re slower. Even though they¡¯re slower, they have a thicker and tougher skin compared to a lion. Even a normal arrow can¡¯t penetrate it. Adding those armor, there¡¯s no way a normal person could win against it.


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure you can do it!¡±


    Just a moment after I say it, blood is gushing from his neck and some other part of his body. I put some cut in his body the moment I passed him. Even if his skin is thick and adding those armor, there¡¯s no way he could escape some broken part and injured skin in a war. I simply cut all of those injured skin and make it worse. A lot worse. In less than a minute, he falls due to blood loss.


    I leave him and head for the Gate of the World. Finally, I reach it. Reis and Erfia are already on it and the Gate of the World will be opened in a short time.


    As the Gate of the World is activated, we¡¯re walking pass through it and we arrive right in the capital of the beast man race, Ul Thadur.


    ¡°STOP IT RIGHT THERE!¡±


    Apparently, a welcome party has been prepared for us on the other side of the gate. I look around and see an army has already surrounded us with their weapons pointing towards us.

 14. Escape

    This is bad. I¡¯ve used half of my mana energy, and if I fight them, there¡¯s a very low probability for us to get out of this unscathed. I look around to observe anything. Melee troops are not a trouble, what troubles me is behind those troops there''re at least 50 long range magic users. I need to think fast or we¡¯ll be finished right here and now.


    The Gate of the World in Ul Thadur is located in the highest place in the city. The placement itself makes it hard to escape. I look up and see the ceiling is about 7 meters height. Perfect height for long range magic user to attack.


    I push Erfia and Reis on my back. If they decide to attack, at least I¡¯ll be able to deflect some of their attack.


    ¡°Clown mask and some unknown weapon. I guess even Mada the Raider makes mistakes huh?¡± a single beast man comes forward and faces me. He¡¯s a lion type beast man.


    ¡°Of course I made mistakes, I¡¯m still human after all.¡± I answer him.


    I think I¡¯ve found a way to get out of this mess.


    ¡°Really? You¡¯re a human? Glad to know that Mada the Raider is human race. Knowing it makes it much easier to arrest you.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure I¡¯m a human? I could tell you any lie and you won¡¯t even know the truth right?¡± I try to provoke him.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. I¡¯d like to come to you and take that mask off from your face.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you do it?¡±


    That beast man smiles. ¡°I¡¯m not that stupid. I know well you full of trick. I¡¯ll take that mask off. After you die.¡±


    The beast man retreats and raises his hand.


    This is my only chance while he shows his back to me. I take a smoke bomb from the Keeper and throw it to the ground.


    ¡°Change your clothes in 5 minutes, it¡¯s the only time I could keep you inside the Keeper.¡± I whisper to Erfia as she¡¯s the closest to me


    Normally I only put inanimate object inside the Keeper, but I guess I¡¯ll make an exception. To put a living being in the Keeper is a trouble because if I stop imagining the air circulation inside of it, they won¡¯t be able to breathe. Adding the gravity, the force, and everything else.


    ¡°Attack! All mage, attack!¡± The beast man yells to signal the attack.


    While the smoke hides us, I quickly grab Erfia and Reis with my right hand and put them inside the Keeper. I quickly put the snake hook inside and go without any weapon. I jump to avoid their magic attack and land on the ceiling. By using the ceiling as my foothold, I propel myself out of the building.


    Yes! I manage to get out of the Gate of the World. Now, I need to escape from their pursuit. Jump as far as possible is out of the question as it will make me an easy target for their magic. Then, the only choice left is to get to the city and go to the underground. I land and slide as fast as possible.


    Ul Thadur is like an ancient Greek city if you look it at a glance. Unless all of the rock is a metal with a light blue line indicating electricity and you can see tree everywhere.


    I try to escape but some monkey type beast man is pretty fast in this capital full of trees. I stop and get to the inside one of the tree roots big enough to take few people inside. In this close confinement, I can easily defeat them with their own weapon, knife. I defeat 8 monkey beast mans and took their helmet and armor.


    That¡¯s it, I can¡¯t take it anymore.


    I put my right hand in front of me and take Erfia and Reis out of the Keeper. Reis has changed to some vest and short with a skintight suit beneath it. Erfia is wearing shorts and long sleeve clothes. They still wear their mask.


    ¡°Reis, explode every tree that we¡¯ll pass. Erfia, cast Spiking Ground to the nearest enemy behind us.¡±


    I don¡¯t give them any chance to answer me. I carry Erfia and throw Reis way ahead of us. Erfia is starting to enchant the spell while I see Reis is putting her Pinpoint Explosion in some trees.


    Erfia finishes her enchant and cast Spiking Ground behind us. I know it can¡¯t stop them, but at least it will buy us more time. I take Reis when I land in front of her and carry her.


    ¡°NOW! EXPLODE IT!¡±


    Reis flicks her finger, and those trees blown into bits.


    ~Blarr blarr~


    I don¡¯t care about the trees part. What I need is the fire that will burn all the trees. The most we get by burning the trees only 5 minutes. They knew trees are easily ignited in this place so they make a system that when trees are burned for 1 hectare radius, the water channel around it will shoot a watergun towards it.


    Even if beast man is stronger and faster than human, they still possess the basic animal instinct. They¡¯re afraid of fire. We take the chance to get away as far as possible. We enter some small building that looks like a house. When we come in, there¡¯s only 2 beast mans ready to attack us. I use my knife that I took before and kill them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll change my clothes, both of you stay alert.¡±


    I enter some room and take some clothes from the Keeper. I take a brown jacket with a shirt and some trousers. Then, I take the pair of lance sword and shield, Pair of Dragon and Phoenix. I put the lance sword into the shield. The shield has a small gap between the shield and the handhold to put the lance sword. I get out and now, and I¡¯m using the identity of Mada Jeian of the Vorks.


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    ~The might of the red blood has emerged in victory. The greatness of wind and earth has been proved.~


    I dispel my magic. I need to reserve the mana before Erfia fill it.


    This is my best bet. In human or elf race capital, there¡¯s no way this way could work. The beast man has a lower intelligence than the other race. I took a perfume out of the Keeper and spray it to me. I spray the perfume to Erfia and Reis too.


    ¡°With this perfume, they won¡¯t be able to smell our scent anymore.¡± I explain to them.


    ¡°Then, what is our next move?¡± Erfia asks me.


    ¡°Now we wait and please fill my mana ring while we¡¯re waiting.¡± I piggyback Erfia so she can fill my mana ring while I¡¯m wearing it.


    ¡°What are we waiting for?¡± Reis asks me.


    I¡¯m not answering it. I just stand in silence waiting for what may come out. They should come and get us. This is their best chance.


    A hole appears on the floor out of nowhere. A beast man type mole is coming out of it.


    ¡°Are you human that coming from the Gate of the World?¡± The beast man type mole asks me.


    ¡°Yes, we are.¡± I answer him with a flat and calm tone.


    ¡°Then come with me if you want to survive.¡±


    The mole man enters the hole and we follow him. The hole is about a meter in diameter and it only 5 or 6 meters deep. After that, we¡¯re walking through it. The mole man leads us with a glass filled with a fire spirit stone to illuminate the way.


    ¡°Did you plan this?¡± Reis asks me in a very low voice.


    ¡°Just see how it will roll. I¡¯m just planning 50% of it.¡± I answer her in the same low voice.


    We¡¯re walking through this tunnel for some time.


    ¡°Say, is Lihar still in charge?¡± I ask the mole man in front of me.


    ¡°So you really are a friend of mister Lihar.¡± The mole man answers me in awe tone. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s still in charge. When the words spread that a human just came from the Gate of the World, he commanded us all to search for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re an old friend. Ah, I¡¯m sorry, what¡¯s your name? My name is Mada, this little girl that I carry is Erfia and that woman is Reis.¡±


    ¡°Oh my, you have some respectable manner. My name is Kuan.¡± Kuan look at us for a moment. ¡°Both of them, your slave?¡±


    ¡°The woman is. But Erfia is my daughter.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re unusual. Normal human would have another human as friends and other race as slave.¡±


    ¡°Well, I never say I¡¯m normal.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re here.¡±


    Finally, we reach a bigger hole than before. Or should I say, a cave. Right now we¡¯re in the underground of the capital. Even its underground is still consisted of Greek building made of glowing iron. If I should say, this place is like an underground city.


    ¡°KUAN IS HERE! HE BRINGS THE HUMAN!¡±


    Somebody yelled at the distance. In this place, apparently, passing information through screaming is normal. Well, they have a loud voice so I guess they don¡¯t need a microphone or such.


    All the beast man is surrounding us as they hear it. I can feel Reis closing her distance with me right now. It seems she¡¯s kind of afraid of beast man that¡¯s surrounding him.


    ¡°Dad, have you ever been in this place?¡± Erfia asks me right to my ear.


    ¡°Yes, few times.¡±


    Finally, we reach the center of this place. The center of this place is also a high place, and stairs. We walk step by step through the stairs. Damn, I hate walking through stairs. I prefer to jump over it in one leap. But it¡¯s not a good time right now.


    We arrive at the top. Inside of it, a lot of beast mans is standing in line on both sides. In the end of it, a beast man type Lion is sitting in a throne.


    In that instant, the beast man type lion jumps towards us.


    ¡°Wha, what?¡± Reis is surprised by the lion man action.


    I also jump toward him. A pair of fist is clashing. He sends some few more punches, but I manage to stop it with my right hand punches. Finally we land on the floor and send one last punch. Our last punch meets once again and stops each other.


    ¡°You keep your promise huh? Mada Jeian of the Vorks.¡±


    ¡°Of course I will.¡± I lie.


    If Erfia and Reis didn¡¯t come up with the idea of coming to this city, it is certain that I¡¯ll be distracted and break it already.


    ¡°Um, I hate to break it. But, Mada, who is he?¡± Reis asks me.


    In just a short moment Reis already stands in my back. She¡¯s lifting her eyebrow showing her curiosity.


    ¡°Well, Erfia, Reis, let me introduce you to my old friend. His name is Lihar. The leader of the rebel army that¡¯s been opposing the government of Beast Man for the last few years.¡±

 15. Calm Before the Storm

    I wait for their planning meeting to end. As soon as we arrived, they held a meeting for the attack. They¡¯re planning to overtake the capital and all of its government while they¡¯re drunk in the victory of Avareel. Those people are the people that sick of war between race. They think that a peaceful life is possible if they willing to think of other races as equal and talk about it. The usual thinking. But ironically, it they have to overtake the government and with the current system, the only way is rebellion.


    We¡¯ve been given a room for the three of us. Actually, they wanted to give us one room for each person, but I couldn¡¯t take any risk of getting separated from Erfia and Reis. In this kind of rebellion, it is likely for a spy to infiltrate. If, they look Erfia or Reis as a possible bargaining chip, it will cause me another trouble.


    ¡°Daddy, how did you know each other?¡±


    Erfia have just filled my mana ring and now she¡¯s eating her dinner. Apparently, we¡¯re a VIP guest in this place so they got our food delivered right into our room.


    That¡¯s some story to be told. ¡°He hired me once to look for a lost relict. I took the job as Mada Jeian of the Vorks. It is a dangerous relict actually. It could manipulate everyone mana who¡¯s looking into it and creates chaos in their mana flows and their head for some time. Only people with a great mana control could handle it. So, I needed to put it in a box. When I tried to give it to him, in the highest place from before, he made a mistake. Just one very little mistake. His hand slipped, and the relict fell down to the floor. The relict exposed to everyone in the room, and you can guess what happened. Everyone was fighting each other. Some people even died. I took his wife and his boy out of the relict exposure and kept them in check while he kept everybody in that room. Since then he and I became a friend.¡±


    ¡°And, what¡¯s this promise he¡¯s talking about.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I promised him when I complete my quest of making this mana ring, I¡¯ll come to this place to help him overthrow the government. If the idea about attacking this city didn¡¯t not exist, maybe I¡¯ll be distracted to the other God Item. Haha,¡± I close my story with a simple laugh at my carelessness.


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re awful, you know that?¡± Reis butts in our conversation.


    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± I answer her easily.


    Finally, Erfia finish her meal, and I put it in the corner of the room. I¡¯ll take it to the cleaner later on. Then, someone knocks at our door. I realize this strength of knocking. He¡¯s just using his index finger, but it already packs some power to just knock a door.


    ¡°Come on in.¡± I yell at the door.


    The door is opened and shows Lihar with a little child on his shoulder. That kind of little child is something you rarely see in a capital. The little child is a human with a hairy ear and hand. He¡¯s a human and beast man child. It makes him look like a little human with a hairy body. Lihar let the child comes down of his shoulder and the kid runs towards me.


    ¡°Uncle Mada, long time no see.¡± The child greets me with the brightest smile he could give.


    ¡°Yeah, long time no see.¡± I pat his head gently. ¡°Erfia, Reis, meet Ado, he¡¯s Lihar child.¡±


    ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Ado!¡± He greets Reis and Erfia in another cheerful tone.


    ¡°Hi, hi,¡± Erfia greet him back from behind Reis¡¯s leg. It seems she¡¯s kind of afraid of him.


    ¡°Whoa, another half beast man! I¡¯m so lucky.¡±


    Unlike Erfia that shows her shyness, Ado is a cheerful and kind of aloof. He will be amazed by anything around him.


    ¡°Ado, would you please take Erfia for a trip around?¡± I ask Ado.


    ¡°Sure thing!¡± Ado runs toward Erfia and pulls her hand.


    Erfia is not moving. She¡¯s hesitating about coming with the boy. But Ado is a persistent kid and keeps on pulling her until she lets go of Reis leg.


    ¡°Reis, come with them.¡± I command Reis as Ado and Erfia reach the door. A three words fugitive should be enough for a bodyguard.


    Reis says no word and just gets out of the room to follow them. Now, I¡¯m alone with Lihar in this room. I sit at the bed while Lihar sits at the chair in front of me.


    ¡°So, you will attack the capital tomorrow? What are you going to do? Capture the king?¡± I bombard him with a question regarding the meeting.


    It¡¯s not that I wildly guess it. But on the way to this room, I realized every soldier was cleaning and preparing their weapons and guns. Some beast man was crying in front of his family. So, I concluded the attack will begin at a near time. Tomorrow.


    ¡°You know it well. Yes, we¡¯ll attack the capital tomorrow. We¡¯ll attack the Gate of the World and the Palace at the same time. We need to seal the quick escape route.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about all of that. You know the most dangerous thing is out there. Did you find the holder?¡± I cut to the chase.


    Lihar sighs. ¡°No, we couldn¡¯t. The only thing we know is her name, Therion, or known as Therion the Unknown. She¡¯s a one word hero. Only the king knows her whereabouts.¡±


    ¡°So, it means you¡¯ll attack the capital tomorrow but you have no idea where she is? How do you even know that she¡¯s not here already? Maybe she¡¯s disguising herself as one of the people here. Or even worse, as the main rebellion army. Do you even think about that?¡±


    Lihar says nothing. He just freezes when I mention it.


    ¡°You know pretty damn well her God Item. By using it, she can change into anyone and any race she wants. Let¡¯s just say she¡¯s a beast man type cat, she could change her appearance, her personality, her habit, and even her way of thinking when she¡¯s turning into another person. Do you realize it?¡±


    Apparently, he¡¯s not so smart for things like this. But, if this Therion is a beast man type cat, we¡¯re on a serious problem. Beast man type cat is the sliest beast man type ever exist. Unnecessary to be told, they have a lot higher intelligence than normal beast man. Even higher than the average human. Lion and tiger are just a big cat with a high power but less intelligent than cat.


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    Her God Item, the Perfect Role Play, is the worst thing to pair with a beast man type cat. As I said, the Perfect Role Play makes the holder able to change their appearance, personality, habit, and way of thinking. Even she can use it to change herself into an angel, human, elf, undead, or demon. It could even make her body specialty also changes. When she¡¯s turning into elf for example, her affinity toward mana is changed into one similar to elf. But her minimum ability is not changing. So, if she were to turn into a beast man type lion, she still inhabits her high intelligence plus the type lion power.


    It is a cheat. Well, all God Item is a cheat item.


    ¡°Cancel it!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Cancel it! Cancel your attack. Without you know anything about her whereabouts, it is too risky to attack. It¡¯s a suicide mission.¡± I try to corner him.


    Lihar stands up and walks around the room. I can see his face is kind of pale. He¡¯s trying to think about it. If he thinks about it logically, he will stop the attack and rethink about it.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± Lihar stops in front of me and makes his statement. ¡°We already planned this long before you came. Just because you think it¡¯s too risky doesn¡¯t change the fact that capital is at its weakest state. The attack will begin tomorrow and you can¡¯t do anything to stop it. We¡¯ll do it with or without you.¡±


    Just as I thought, he can¡¯t make a clear judgment. We¡¯re not on the same page here. I can feel his stare is not one that of a friendly stare.


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll do it without me. I¡¯ll just go around the capital, looking for her tomorrow. At least your attack provides enough diversion for me.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then can I entrust the role of looking for her to you?¡± He opens his hand to me. He¡¯s expecting me to shake his hand.


    What? Entrust me with the role of looking for her?


    ¡°Ha, hahahahahaha¡± I let out a burst of laughter.


    I put my palm in my face thinking his words. He really is an optimistic bastard. When I clearly said that I won¡¯t attack the capital with him. I just broke my promise. But it seems he thinks I worry and looking for this Therion woman is the right choice as it might endanger the attack. He really is something else. Now I see why he is chosen as the leader.


    ¡°Fine then. I¡¯ll take the mission of finding her.¡± I stand up and shake his hand.


    He trusts me too much if I could say. I can¡¯t really let a man that is not so smart to be disappointed toward me. Well, maybe I can.


    ¡°Excuse me, honey, are you inside?¡±


    Suddenly a knock on the door and a voice rises from outside the door. I recognize this voice. The voice is gallant yet so gentle.


    ¡°Yes, come on in.¡± Lihar says the person outside the door.


    The door is opened and shows the person. She¡¯s Lihar wife. Her name is Fiona. She¡¯s your average woman of human race. Long black hair, braided, white skin. She has this petite figure that makes her cute. She¡¯s using a red one piece long clothes like your usual Chinese clothes.


    ¡°Ah, Fiona. Long times no see.¡± I walk toward her and we hug each other.


    After a short time, we let go of the hug. The three of us are having a nice long conversation in the room until finally Ado, Erfia, and Reis come back.


    ¡°Hey, how¡¯s this place?¡± I ask Erfia which look way happier than before.


    ¡°It¡¯s great. I never see such a beautiful town. Even if this town is underground the light from the building and the iron is making it not too dark. Even the variation of the glow and the light make it more beautiful. And, and,¡±


    ¡°Take it easy Erfia. There¡¯s no need to hurry.¡± Reis pats her head to calm her head down.


    ¡°Yeah, okay then.¡±


    While listening to Erfia story, I suddenly put my eyes on Ado. He has something I didn¡¯t realize before.


    ¡°Hey, Ado, I wonder what that¡¯s ring in your right hand?¡± I ask him while pointing at her finger.


    ¡°Oh, this?¡± Ado lifts her right hand and point her ring finger with her left index finger.


    ¡°Yeah, I also wonder what ring is that.¡± Erfia also expresses her curiosity.


    A yellow ring with a red stone in the middle of it and blue stone in the right and left side of the red stone. But what¡¯s taking all the attention is not the stone, but the shape that looks like a crown.


    ¡°Looks great, isn¡¯t it? I found it a few months ago when I played in the mining area. I look like uncle Mada.¡± Ado answers with a very cheerful tone.


    I look into my right hand and look into my middle finger with the mana ring and my pinky finger with the Keeper.


    ¡°Yeah, he bragged it all along when he found it! He keeps on saying with that ring, he looks like you.¡± Fiona is adding Ado words.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s nice.¡± I praise him.


    Lihar look at the outside and see the light is getting dim. It seems it is time to part. In this place, the light in the iron is like a clock. When the light is strong and only letting small glow then it means is day, when it¡¯s brighter and letting a big glow then it''s night, but when the light is getting dim it is sleep time.


    ¡°It seems our time has ended. Time to call it a day.¡± Lihar stands and walks toward Ado with Fiona.


    ¡°Yeah, I wish you the best of luck for the attack.¡± I depart him with some pray.


    ¡°The same for you. I hope you could find her and ensure our win.¡± Lihar says his departing words.


    The three of them leave our room, and right now we¡¯re back to only three of us. But I have to say something to Erfia and Reis before they go to sleep.


    ¡°Erfia, Reis, We have a huge problem.¡±

 16. Infiltration

    The rebellion army already left the underground city for the attack an hour ago. Only children, woman, and some guards is staying. Good, he¡¯s doing exactly as I say. Therion infiltration is a sure thing. So, we need to take precautions if the government is expecting the attack and sends another troop to this place.


    Lihar is a two words fugitive, Lihar the Rebellion Seed. There should be few two words hero and one word hero guard the king. But, even if they get defeated, the king itself is a one word hero. Cana¡¯an the King. To be told, the rate of success of this mission, overtaking the city, is below 10 percent. But if I butt in as Mada the Raider, I can say it will increase into 50 percent. But it¡¯s not really my trouble. What I want is the God Item.


    I¡¯m walking through the stairs toward the main building with Pair of Dragon and Phoenix in my left hand. The lance sword is still inside the shield.


    Fiona and Ado should be there. Erfia and Reis are walking behind me with a gloomy face. They still can¡¯t believe what I told them. But, that¡¯s the truth. We reach the main building and see Fiona and Ado are playing around with at least 10 people are taking guard.


    ¡°Ah, Mada, are you about to leave for the surface?¡± Fiona stops playing with Ado and is coming at us.


    ¡°Well, actually about that, I can¡¯t leave yet.¡± I pull my lance sword from my shield and take a stance. I take a breath and let out a loud voice, ¡°Because, Therion the Unknown is right here in this place.¡±


    The moment I say it, all the guards are surprised and look at each other. They grow doubts toward everybody in that place. Fiona that hears this is shocked as well. She looks into Ado and feels a great threat.


    ¡°Please, Bill, could you take Ado to his room? This makes me worry.¡± Fiona prioritizes Ado safety over her own. What a mother.


    ¡°No! Stop! As I said before, Therion the Unknown is in this room. Both of you will be safe around me.¡± I walk a few steps and make her stands behind me.


    Fiona is becoming more and more panic. She looks into Ado and makes a hand gesture for Ado to come. Ado just obediently follows his mom wish and walks toward us. In that little time, I cast a silent incantation of Blood Transformation and Speed of Wind. This will make me ready for battle when she shows herself.


    When Ado walks beside me, I quickly swing my lance sword toward him.


    ~Clang~


    In that short moment, the iron in the floor is holding my lance sword. My lance sword is hitting the floor with the fallen Ado, just a single step in front of it.


    ¡°Mada, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Fiona is pissed and walks towards me.


    Reis and Erfia is trying to hold her away from me. All the guards are not moving at all. They can¡¯t move due to the shocking scene in front of them.


    Normal people would see it as Ado tripped because he scared and lucky. But, it was not a luck. I can saw it clearly, he purposely fell and avoided my swing. He had a high reaction speed. No normal people could avoid or dodge my swing.


    ¡°Hello Therion. Long time no see.¡± I talk to Ado with a menacing tone.


    ¡°Un, uncle what¡¯s wrong? My, my name is Ado, no, not Therion. Who¡¯s thi, this Therion person?¡± Ado tries to defend himself. His body is shaking so great that he can¡¯t speak clearly.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay if you want to die in that form. I couldn¡¯t care less.¡±


    I swing my lance sword once again. This time at full speed. If he is not Therion, he won¡¯t be able to dodge this. But at that moment, he jumps backwards and leaps a few meters in a single jump.


    ¡°Damn! How could you swing your weapon into an innocent looking child like him? Is there no hesitation when you swing your weapon? Even the slightest? You could have really killed him, you know?¡± Ado speaks in a very different tone. His way of talking is changed.


    ¡°I know for certain it¡¯s you. There¡¯s no room for hesitation when I¡¯m facing you or it might get me killed.¡±


    Ado whistles, ¡°You really are a merciless person just like the rumor says.¡±


    A thin light is covering Ado¡¯s body. Slowly, the light grows and shows an adult figure. As the light disappears, we can see the figure on it. A beast man type cat. Your usual cat girl with a bare minimum clothes of only covering her chest and her hip.


    ¡°So tell me, how did you know that he was fake?¡± Therion asks me with her long arrogant tone.


    ¡°Your God Item, the Perfect Role Play definitely won¡¯t let anybody know it. His own mother did not know it but I¡¯m certain she felt something a bit off.¡±


    I look into Fiona as she drops on her knees. I can see she can¡¯t take it. A mother and child bond is not something that could be erased that easily. Even if she¡¯s feeling something a bit off, she can¡¯t confirm it because The Perfect Role Play is a perfect item. She¡¯ll just take it as a normal change of behavior.


    ¡°But, the God Item is not something to use for some stealth mission. Your ring which is the God Item is too flashy and will catch everyone attention. All God Items are a flashy item.¡±


    ¡°Hehehe, so you know it by just taking a look into this ring? But then, how did you know that this ring is a God Item? This thing is a legendary item you know. Nobody knows its shape.¡± She shows a wide grin in her eyes. One grim grin.


    ¡°Heh,¡± I let out a simple laugh. ¡°Even if they say it¡¯s a legendary item, it¡¯s not even a hundred years since its creation. I even though the original twelve would have been passed it down to someone else. I never thought you¡¯re still holding of that item even after all this time.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed. You did your homework. So, you still haven¡¯t answered my question about how you know it.¡±


    I let out a big grin on my face. I feel so excited to see another one of the twelve God Item. ¡°It¡¯s simple. I made them. You people just took it from me and claim it as your own.¡±


    I say no more and march toward her. A light is covering her body and then she transformed into an angel.


    An angel is not a supernatural being in this world. They¡¯re more like an advanced human race. Way more advanced. She becomes an angel, still in bare minimum clothes. But the clothes are made of sheet metal and the clothes that cover her hip is longer to the point of touching the floor. There are 4 pairs of light wing in her back that¡¯s floating. She has more armor on her hand and her leg. A yellow sword on her right hand and a yellow shield in on her left hand as her weapon. She changes into a famous one word fugitive of the angel race, Evangeline.


    The Perfect Role Play is something similar to the Keeper. But the difference is the image of the person and the weapon have to be perfectly matched. In other words, she can only copy a weapon that is already an identity to some people. But the only way to do it is to kill the person. and let the Perfect Role Play keep all the memories of the person. So, it means she killed Evangeline.


    ~Clang~


    My lance sword is clashing with her sword. We trade some heavy blow each other, but both of us manage to deflect it or dodge it. I swing to side, she deflects it with her shield. She sees an opening, she thrusts with her sword but I deflect it with my shield. Our fight is evenly matched. I¡¯ve got no opening to let out air explosion. Finally, a big blow from both of our sword make us take a few steps back.


    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re good. I never thought there¡¯s someone who can match the technique and speed of Evangeline.¡± She lets out a praise for me.


    Huh, that¡¯s because I was the one who taught all those moves to Evangeline in the first place. Of course, I could match it. But, if I¡¯m not using Blood transformation and Speed of Wind there¡¯s no way I could follow all of her movement. With our movement, the guards can¡¯t even attack her.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my little boy? Where is he?¡± Fiona interrupts our fight.


    I look into her and can see a river of tear is flowing.


    ¡°Oh, you mean that little child? Of course, I already killed him. It¡¯s the only way for me to take his role after all. I can still hear his scream and as he called ¡®mommy, daddy, please help me¡¯. Hahaha. I really enjoyed it when I killed him slowly. He showed me a priceless face.¡± Therion answers her with a jubilant voice.


    I take another stance and prepare to attack.


    ¡°Oh, and for your information, I already let the King knew this place and the date of the attack.¡±


    Shit, just as I thought. The attack has been expected by the government. It means the success rate of the attack is becoming worse, and it just a matter of time before the government army attacks this place.


    ¡°Bad news, the army is coming this way and they will be coming in less than an hour!¡± A man is coming from the outside and scream to us the bad news.


    I take a deep breath and let out a loud voice. ¡°Guards, evacuate everybody into the center of the city and put some magic wall and fire at the border! Reis, you take Fiona and Erfia to a safe place! DO IT NOW!¡±


    Once I finish my order, everybody runs outside in hurry. Therion is not moving a single step and just watching them as they leave.


    ¡°It¡¯s futile. All the main rebellion army are on the capital. Even if somehow they win, they won¡¯t make it in time to come back, and their number would be lot less than before. This city and everyone in it is destined to be destroyed.¡±


    She really full of herself. Even without she¡¯s telling all of that, I already know about it. But yet she tells it to point it out.


    ¡°And you, are you planning to keep me accompany? Do you think you could do it? What¡¯s the best of two words nobody like you, Mada the Black Dealer, against me one word hero?¡±


    Yes, when I¡¯m using the identity of Mada Jeian of the Vorks I¡¯m only got two words nobody title. Apparently, she¡¯s thinking I¡¯m not capable of it.


    ¡°Well, you should know that two words title is the best title a nobody could get. So, it is possible that actually I¡¯m standing on the same level as you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s possible.¡± She smirks a little. I can see she¡¯s not fully believe me.


    ¡°Well, maybe this will change your mind.¡± I raise my right hand and show her my ring. ¡°With Evangeline eyes, you should be able to see the ring in my pinky finger right? You should know this ring.¡±


    She¡¯s focusing on my hand and then after that, her eyes are wide open. I can see she can¡¯t fully believe it.


    ¡°If you still can¡¯t believe it, then let me show you some demo.¡±


    As nobody is left in this building, I could use the Keeper without worrying somebody unveils my real identity. I let the space in my right hand distorted just to show it to her.


    ¡°How is it? You like it?¡± I try to put some pressure on her. But it seems it¡¯s not working at all.


    ¡°Ohh, that¡¯s great. If you got the Keeper, then it means we really are standing on the same level.¡± Therion let out an excited voice. ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s your one word fugitive title?¡±


    ¡°My one word fugitive title is Raider. I¡¯m Mada the Raider.¡±

 17. Defending the Underground City.

    We need to hurry. I don¡¯t know about the order to evacuate the people to the center of the city. I¡¯ve got to believe in Mada. But, my concern right now is not the town, it¡¯s Fiona. She broke as she heard that Ado had been killed by that woman. The closest person I ever had are the people of the desert. But, we were just playing around and did nothing so we were not so close. I didn¡¯t really know about such bond. I¡¯m starting to think about the current life I have. If I were to lose Mada and Erfia, am I going to be okay? Well, maybe I still if it Mada but I can¡¯t really picture it if I lose Erfia.


    Most people that stay in the city are non-combatant. If they get captured, only god knows what will happen to them. Sometimes, I try to look into the direction of the main building where Mada and Therion fight. But there¡¯s nothing that can be seen from out here. Almost thirty minutes since Mada and Therion fights, only another thirty minutes until the army of the government come. At the current pace, it will need another 15 minutes to completely evacuate the people to the center of the city.


    While the people are being evacuated, the guards try to make a fire and enchant a defensive magic. But, apparently none of them is good enough at using magic. All their effort is gone in less than a minute.


    ¡°Erfia, we need your help. We need to make a wall made of rock around the city to hindrance the enemy movement. Follow my incantation and then imagine a rock reaching out from the ground around the city. Alright?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Erfia nods her head as she answers me.


    ~The Earth is my ally. This ally of yours is truly in need of help. Lend this ally of yours to defend herself. Wall of Petra~


    As soon as Erfia has done with her incantation. A wall of rock rises around the city border. This way, it will buy us some time. The guards also prepared all sorts of long range weapon such as gun, arrow, and explosive spear.


    ~Blarr~


    What the? What¡¯s happening?


    Everybody that hear the sound, look at the source which is the main building in the center of the city. The building is collapsing, and some dust is raising to the side of the city. We can see something come out of the dust fast and let us see none of the figures.


    ~Blarr blarr~


    The sound of explosions and collapsing buildings is getting worse. Their fight cause that damage? Now I see why Mada wanted us to evacuate the people to the center of the city. So, he can fight with nothing holding him back.


    ¡°Wow, dad is great. He manages to push the dragon girl to the corner.¡±


    Wait, what? It seems Erfia can see their fight even though I can¡¯t. Even she manages to catch the figure of Therion which may be transformed into a beast man type dragon. Beast man type dragon should be the strongest and mightiest beast man ever exists. They have power, speed, intelligence, and even elemental attack.


    I want to see it. I want to see their fight. You don¡¯t see a battle between one word titled every day. But, then I try to hold myself. Even if you can¡¯t see it every day, with Mada around I¡¯ll be sure to see it another time.


    ***


    ¡°HAHAHAHA, IS THAT THE BEST YOU¡¯VE GOT?¡± I let out a burst of laugh as I parry her attack and send a lot of attack.


    She stops in some building and takes a breather. She¡¯s breathing so fast. ¡°You bastard!¡±


    ¡°JUST GIVE UP ALREADY!¡± I yell at her. ¡°Your resistance is futile.¡±


    ¡°NO! I WON¡¯T GIVE UP! I NEED TO ERADICATE THE REBELLION OR I¡¯LL NEVER GET TO THE TOP!¡±


    As expected, by revealing my true identity, she¡¯s not focusing enough to fight. I can guess she doesn¡¯t even realize that she¡¯s a bit scared or nervous. It seems she killed Evangeline and the other form she has by a sneak attack. That¡¯s a beast man type cat specialty. But, they¡¯re not too good at one-on-one fight. That¡¯s why I made all the people evacuate to the center of the city. To prevent her from taking other form and hide.


    She¡¯s scared and nervous. Even if it¡¯s just a little, it created a small opening in her move. By that opening, I could let out an air explosion. My air explosion didn¡¯t get to instant-kill her but at least it made Evangeline form couldn¡¯t be used anymore. Since I defeated her Evangeline form, she couldn¡¯t put up a meaningful fight. Even I don¡¯t have to change into another weapon. I¡¯m still using the same Pair of Dragon and Phoenix. Right now she¡¯s using beast man type dragon to fight against me. Unfortunately, that¡¯s not so effective. It seems Evangeline is her strongest form. She must be exhausted from using the Perfect Role Play too much by now.


    Well, few of the God Items is not using any mana but they take a lot of concentration and thinking. Take The Keeper for an example. Every time I take anything or put anything inside it, I need to picture the whole place as a big castle that each section has their own place. With the perfect memory curse, I do this easily. But if I intend to put living being inside of it, it is totally differen. That¡¯s why, I only manage to put Erfia and Reis for 5 minutes inside of it.


    The Perfect Role Play needs its user to visualize the image of herself becoming another person and the ring took the rest of it. But still, it¡¯s not that easy to imagine yourself as another person and fighting as them. That¡¯s the most exhausting part. Of course, this will make the movement became less efficient and waste a lot of energies.


    ¡°I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY ANOTHER ONE WORD TITLED!¡±


    She¡¯s a persistent bitch.


    ¡°I¡¯m still fighting as Mada Jeian of the Vorks, Mada the Black Dealer. If you can¡¯t even defeat me while I¡¯m still on my two words nobody, how do you expect to fight one word fugitive, Mada the Raider?¡±


    I try to destroy her hope of defeating me, and it¡¯s pretty effective. She lets go of her weapon and down on her knee. I can see her face show nothing anymore. She¡¯s in despair.


    ¡°Then, let me show you the full power of the Perfect Role Play.¡±


    Suddenly, a pillar of light is emerging from her body. The pillar emerges to the point of touching the ceiling of this underground city.


    Finally, she¡¯s using it. The next level of the Perfect Role Play is to combine anything the ring has. In other word, a chimera. Finally, the light is dispersed and I can see, I don¡¯t know, I can¡¯t describe it. A four pairs of light wing, the hand of a beast man type lion, the human face, demon horn, elf ear, torso of undead, leg of a beast man type cheetah.


    ¡°With this, I¡¯ll kill you at ease.¡±


    Therion talks and then attacks me. Normally, a beast man type cheetah has a very high speed. But with that huge and heavy body, it¡¯s not working at all. Her attack is so slow, even if I dispel the Blood Transformation I can still avoid it. But, the power of the beast man type lion is still intact, so I can¡¯t be too careless and let myself get a hit.


    I jump back few steps to make a gap between us.


    A lightning is appearing on her demon horn. With the feature of an elf, even only its ear, she can draw mana from nature like any other elf. She shoots the lightning and I avoid it. Even if I can hold it with my shield, the shock of the electricity could disable some of my movement. The human face is the only thing that has no use. I leap toward her and swing my sword lance. But with her angel wing, she¡¯s flying and leave me in the ground.


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s it. I¡¯m putting this to an end.¡±


    I put the power in my body to focus on my foot and propel myself toward her. With Speed of Wind, I eradicate every friction in my way and reach her. I hit her with my shield and take her to the air. In that short moment, I cut her left hand and her left leg. Finally, when we stop in the air, I hit her right body with my shield and make her turn back. I slash her back and the light wing disappears.


    Angel light wing is connected directly to their back. So, if you hurt the back, their light wing will become less or disappear.


    As she lose her ability to fly, we¡¯re falling to the ground. Her body is slowly being consumed by light and then she¡¯s back to her real body. A cat girl without left hand and left leg. I take her in my shield, and I¡¯m slowing our fall by adding the air friction to the max and lessen the ground friction to make us slide a little. We land harmless. I put her on the ground and point my sword lance to her face.


    ¡°Ple, please. Have mercy.¡±


    ¡°Mercy? Did you show any to the little child you killed to infiltrate this place? Did you show any to any living being you killed to take their form? I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    But the decision is not in me. I put my sword lance on my shield and take a fire stone from the keeper. It¡¯s hot so I just take it and put it on the ground.


    ¡°AHHHH!!!!¡± She screams as loud as she can.


    I put the fire stone to her hand and her feet that I cut to stop the bleeding. If not, she¡¯ll be dead by blood loss in no time. I lower my body and take the Perfect Role Play and put it in my ring finger. The moment I put it on my finger I can see all the memories of the form this ring took. All of it is pouring into my head.


    Now my right hand has 3 rings on it, mana storage ring, the Perfect Role Play, and the Keeper. I put my right hand on her head and cast a spell.


    ~By the will of the human and demon, who gave the right to take others live and right, this being in front of me will lose all of her right. With this, I put you under my slavery contract and your life belongs to me.~


    She¡¯s my slave now. But I have no intention of taking her as my slave. I just need it to conceal her power. When someone becomes your slave, you¡¯ve got the power to make that person submit to you completely. So, if I want to, I can make her kill herself or conceal her power just by willing it. I don¡¯t really like making someone submits to me by using slave magic. I lost all the joy if I did it. So, if I want to kill them, I¡¯d like to kill them with my own hand. I rarely have someone as my slave, so I often forgot I could make them shut up and just use my hand to do it like what happen to Reis in An Saia.


    I put the Pair of Dragon and Phoenix back in the Keeper and took my favorite longbow, the Pointing Tip of Desperation. There¡¯s no way out of this mess if I¡¯m not using my armament as Mada the Raider. I put the fire stone back to the Keeper and then I take Therion in my left shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m not the one who¡¯s going to decide your fate.¡±


    I need to go to the center of the city. Just in 5 jumps, I manage to reach the center of the city where the people have been evacuated. When I arrive, Reis and Erfia welcome me.


    ¡°Dad, are you okay?¡± Erfia asks me with a worry face.


    Even if she¡¯s worry, I can see a little of joy in her face.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m okay.¡± I turn my gaze toward Reis, ¡°Reis, where¡¯s Fiona?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here.¡±


    A voice emerges from the crowd. I can see Fiona walks slowly with a pale face. I can¡¯t blame her. She just found that her little boy had been killed for some time. I throw Therion in front of her and I move the slave bind magic toward her. When I move the slave bind magic, I can see the thread in my right hand is gone and it appears in Fiona¡¯s hand. Moving it is a simple task, I just wish it and then it will move by itself. Making and moving a slave bind magic consumes a small amount of mana but removing it by force took about five times more mana.


    Therion can¡¯t move at all, her body is just shaking. Neither does Fiona. She¡¯s just standing. Doing nothing. Her eyes only have Therion in it. It¡¯s normal if she wants a revenge, and now she¡¯s given the chance to do it.


    ¡°She¡¯s all yours. Do what you want.¡±


    I turn my back and Erfia and Reis follow me. ¡°Now we have to defeat the army that¡¯s approaching this place.¡±


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°There¡¯s about five thousand peoples coming. 2,000 from the north tunnel and 1,000 each from west, south, and east.¡± Erfia lets out some information at me.


    I just stand there with my mouth open wide. It¡¯s no different for Reis. Both of us simply surprised.


    I lower my body and look into Erfia. I can see she¡¯s confident enough with her statement. ¡°How did you know about it?¡±


    ¡°By using the rock wall that Erfia created, Erfia used another spell taught by Aunt Arianna. By this spell Erfia can detect any movement within 2 kilometers radius from the rock wall that Erfia summoned.¡±


    Wow, what did Arianna taught to this little girl? Maybe putting her in Ariana care will make her the strongest magician ever. But, I can¡¯t really put Erfia in her care since I¡¯m her father. If that¡¯s the case, I need a magician in this party to teach her magic. But it can wait.


    Right now I have this very important info in my hand. Five thousand people, that¡¯s not too much. But the main problem is they¡¯re coming from 4 different directions. Even if I kill the 2000 people, the other 3000 will reach this place and destroy everything.


    I stand and take a deep breath to let out a loud voice. ¡°ALL GUARDS, ASSEMBLE!¡±


    In just a short moment, all the guards already stand in front of me. Only 50 guards left. So, the remaining 10 thousand on the surface? They didn¡¯t think of losing, did they?


    ¡°Tell me, how much explosive spear and arrow do you have left?¡± I ask them.


    ¡°There¡¯s a hundred explosive spear and at least two hundred explosive arrows left. The rest of it is just a normal spear and arrow and close range gun.¡± One guard answer me.


    So there are 300 explosive projectiles. There are only ten beast mans type tiger and lion. They can throw a spear up to a kilometer at most. Five beast mans type wolf with 500 meters at most. The rest is just a mole, hyena, dog, and normal beast man with the reach of 200 to 400 meters at most. My Pointing Tip of Desperation could manage 3 kilometers. Then, about the arrow. With a beast man strength, they could reach 700 to 1000 meters.


    The city is about 7 km in diameter at most. It is only 1/20 of the capital¡¯s total area.


    I turn and lower my body.


    ¡°Erfia, how much times left before they arrived?¡±


    ¡°About ten minutes.¡±


    I stand back and face them.


    ¡°You heard her, 10 minutes remaining. Tiger and Lion beast man type, use explosive spear and throw it into the enemy at the east tunnel. The rest take explosive arrow and divide into two groups, attack the enemy in the south and west tunnel. Take everything else to anticipate close range battle. I¡¯ll take the north tunnel. Attack when the enemies at sight. No question asked! DO IT NOW!¡±


    They quickly disperse and go to their designated area. It seems they have no question about my capability after all I¡¯ve done since I came to this city a few years ago. We¡¯re pretty lucky to have the tunnel as the entrance. The biggest tunnel in the north only 50 meters wide and the other only 30 meters. The narrow tunnel won¡¯t let them move as they pleased.


    ¡°Reis, you stay here in case some of the enemies pass the border.¡±


    The enemy is a beast man, not a human. With their speed and agility, there¡¯s always a possibility for them to pass. I try to look back into Fiona. She¡¯s still standing with no movement. It seems she¡¯s having some kind of fight inside her head.


    I put my head close to Reis to whisper something, ¡°If Fiona tries to kill her, kill Therion beforehand. It seems she¡¯s not ready to kill someone.¡±


    I put a distance between us so I can see her face.


    Reis nods slowly.


    ¡°Erfia, remove the rock barrier in the north gate so I can defeat them earlier.¡±


    ¡°Okay dad.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m off.¡±


    I jump and leap through the buildings. I need to go to the border of the city which takes me about 10 jumps. When I arrive at the north side, the rock wall has already gone and it¡¯s showing me a tunnel. I take one explosive spear from the Keeper and take aim.


    I¡¯m waiting.


    Finally, when the banner of the enemy is in sight, I unleash the first explosive spear.


    ~Blarr~


    ¡°AHHH¡±


    An explosion is heard, so does a scream of the army. The tunnel has been reinforced with metal so it won¡¯t collapse just by that one explosion. But, I¡¯m not so sure if I shoot continuously. I take another explosive spear and continue to shoot. I see nothing but explosions in my sight. Few minutes have passed and I stop shooting. At least 70 explosive spears have been shot. I take another explosive spear and prepare another shoot.


    I¡¯m waiting.


    No response or anything. I hold my spear for normal use and I run toward them. I see nothing but burned corpses. It seems nothing left. But, I see something disturbing. Their armor is not the government armor. It¡¯s the rebellion armor. The flag, it¡¯s also the rebellion. But the weapon they were using is not the rebellion''s, it¡¯s the government.


    Oh no, it can¡¯t be. I hurry and run back to the center of the city. Some of the rebellion army have been killed by these armies. The government took their banner and armor so they can reach the border closer. It is too late if the guards realize it by their weapon. The enemy is too close, and they won¡¯t be able to use an explosive spear.


    ~Blarr blarr~


    The first explosion comes from the south gate but it comes from inside the border. It means they managed to cross the border by using this strategy. I look far ahead with my blood transformation. The battle has been changed into close range battle rather than destroying them with explosive projectile. I stand in the center of the city. I take another aim to the south gate. The enemy has breached for about a kilometer, it means the distance from this place is 2.5 kilometers. I can take them.


    I shoot my first arrow and one explosion appears in the rear of the army. Few more shoots and explosions are heard. I take another aim. But the rest of the army is fighting with the guards. There¡¯s no way I can kill the enemy without killing the guards. Using a normal spear can only kill 3 people at most with one shot. It¡¯s not effective at all.


    ~Blarr blarr~


    Finally another explosion heard from the west and east gate. The explosion in the east occurred outside of the border so I can assume the trick is failed. But the explosion in the west occurred inside of the border. Now there are two places with the enemy inside the border.


    I take another aim to the west. But before I could shoot into the enemy, a big fireball has been shot into the center of the city. I have no choice but to shoot it. My explosive spear and the fireball collide in the air and create an explosion. I take no time to stop and keep on shooting. The rear army of the west is destroyed, but just like the south, the remaining is too close to the rebel army. I take a look into the east and see nothing left of the enemies. The beast man type lion and tiger in the east are dividing themselves into two, south and west.


    ¡°GO TO THE SOUTH! I¡¯LL TAKE CARE OF THE WEST!¡±


    They stop for a moment and then reunite to the south. Now, I need to annihilate the enemies in the west. I put my Pointing Tip of Desperation back to the Keeper and take two swords from it. I put the swords in my right and left hand.


    These two swords are nothing like a twin sword or some pair swords. The sword in my right hand is the burning sword. It has a length of one meter and has two sides. The halt has some red gem on it. Just like the names, it creates a burn injury to anything it touches. While the sword in my left hand is the razor wind. It has shorter length, 80 cm, also two sided sword. The halt is created from some animal skin and swamp green color. The razor wind creates additional wind slash around it.


    I took a goggles from the Keeper and wear it.


    ~By the will of air, let these feet of mine lay upon your great power. As I say, air barrier.~


    I jump back and step on the air. Air Barrier magic allows me to make the air beneath my feet let out a small air explosion that sends me forwards. It¡¯s like, I¡¯m bouncing in the air. With a normal shoes, I can only manage a tiny air explosion. But, with a combination of Blood Transformation and Speed of Wind that¡¯s enough to send me from 0 to 100 km per hour in less than 10 seconds. In just a few seconds I reach the west side.


    I bounce to every direction and slash any enemy in sight. One bounce for one enemy. The burning sword makes the enemy burn because of their fur. The razor wind simply lets out a random air slash and kills the enemy with it. It took me about five minutes to kill every remaining enemy. I finally stop in one building and look into the remaining rebellion army. Five people are still standing. If I take two kills for each second, at least I kill 600 enemies in that five minutes.


    I¡¯m not really fond of this spell. Air Barrier is nice for a quick and deadly finishing move. But to use it continuously like this is another different matter. It made me exhausted. I bounce back to the center of the city and see the rebel army of the south and east has been eradicated. About 500 people remaining.


    ~The barrier has been recovered~


    I dispel the air barrier and put the Burning Sword and Razor Wind back to the Keeper. I take the Pointing Tip of Desperation and shoot explosive spear to the enemies. Now that the rebel army has been eradicated, I have no worries about friendly fire. I shoot rapidly to any enemies in sight. I even shoot a building to destroy the enemies hiding inside. In just a few minutes, only a hundred live. The remaining is trying to run, but I¡¯m not letting them. I shoot them all until no one is left.


    The problem is the people on the surface. It¡¯s been more than 3 hours since their departure. If the government already knew about the attack, I doubt they still stand and fight. I put the Pointing Tip of Desperation back to the Keeper.


    I jump back to the people and see Fiona is still standing, making no movement. Therion just closes her eyes without showing any intention of resisting. People are not cheering my coming or celebrate. Well, I get it. The lost is bigger than the gain. I try to walk toward Reis and the others, but apparently my body can¡¯t keep up anymore, so I fall flat on my back.


    I try to move my body but it won¡¯t move. But, at least I¡¯m facing the sky, in this case the ceiling of the underground city. I didn¡¯t realize it before but the injury I took from fighting Therion became worse because I used Air Barrier. I can feel the cut that should be small has become somehow bigger and let out an amount of blood. Moving from 0 to 100 km/hour in less than ten seconds is giving a huge blowback to the body.


    ¡°Mada, are you okay?¡±


    I can see Reis¡¯s face.


    ¡°Please wait dad, I¡¯ll heal you.¡±


    I turn my head to the side to see Erfia. A blue light is covering my entire body. She¡¯s healing me with the same healing spell Ariana used to me when I was in her care. It¡¯s a magic to increase the body metabolism speed. By using it, my body will heal faster but the effect is I¡¯ll be starving when it¡¯s done.


    The Defending Battle of Underground Rebel City. Starting from the battle with Therion the Unknown, it took for about 2 hours. The remaining army of the government, 0. Therion the Unknown in no condition to fight anymore. The remaining army of the rebellion, 5. The casualties of the non-combatant, 0. The outsider, 3. The battle has been won by the rebellion army.

 18. The Fall of Ul Thadur

    ¡°Shit, it seems what Mada said is true.¡±


    Capital.


    The rebellion army is nearly wiped out. Only few survive. The leader of the rebellion, Lihar the Rebellion Seed is trying his best to put up a fight. But in front of him, 5 two words hero and 2 one word hero are standing. Even Cana¡¯an the King takes up the fight. It is only a matter of time before they completely wiped out.


    ¡°Your resistance is futile. Even the people in your underground city should have been killed already by my 5000 army.¡± Cana¡¯an says it in a confident voice.


    Cana¡¯an is a beast man type tiger. Unnecessary to say, normally he¡¯s as strong as Lihar. But the one word title he acquired is not a child play. He¡¯s fighting in a blue Chinese traditional clothes for man. His weapon is a pair of iron gauntlet.


    ¡°Heh, only five thousand? You should have sent more.¡± Lihar tries to provoke Cana¡¯an.


    ¡°Hmm? What do you mean?¡± Cana¡¯an is interested in his words.


    ¡°Today is not your lucky day because right now, my old friend is visiting. You may know him as Mada the Raider. The one that killed all of your people in the Unuan Ruin.¡±


    Cana¡¯an¡¯s eyes are opened up like it¡¯s going to pop out. ¡°No way.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and it just a matter of time before he comes here and ends this tyranny of yours.¡±


    ¡°KILL THEM NOW. WE¡¯RE GOING TO HAVE A PROBLEM IF WHAT HE¡¯S SAYING IS TRUE.¡±


    At that moment, all the enemies are attacking. The rebellion put up a flame around them to repel the enemy. They try to buy some time. Fire is more effective to buy times than explosion but it¡¯s not so effective as a killing machine.


    ~~~


    ¡°Sorry Mada, I still can¡¯t gather enough courage to kill her.¡± Fiona finally makes her decision.


    She falls on her knees. Crying. Hating herself for not able to avenge the death of her son. Other people are also crying as they know their family, most of the guards, has been killed. I can¡¯t imagine their reaction if they know the rebellion has failed. Suddenly, I can see the string is back on my hand. Apparently Therion is back as my slave. I¡¯m not so sure about making her as a bargaining chip as the God Item she has is mine now.


    It¡¯s been thirty minutes since Erfia started to heal me. I should have regained some of my stamina and power. I sit and take a look around. Near the center of the city, not much damage. But if I see further, I can see the damage is pretty intense.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Erfia. I have enough power for now.¡± I stop Erfia from using her magic anymore.


    Even if an elf or any half-blood elf could take the mana from the nature without any limit, their physique is affected and it will make them exhausted.


    I stand and pat Erfia on the head. If I¡¯m not doing this, I¡¯m not so sure she will stop the healing. I¡¯m starting to walk toward the north tunnel.


    ¡°Hey, Mada, what are you doing? You¡¯re not recovered yet.¡± Reis stands in front of me stop me.


    ¡°The fight is not over.¡±


    ¡°No, our fight is over. You¡¯ve got the God Item. We¡¯ve got what we¡¯re coming for. There¡¯s no need for us to continue the fight. From this point onward, it¡¯s their fight. Not our fight anymore.¡± Reis tries to argue with me.


    I can see her reasoning is correct. Normally, I would do just what she said. I push her aside and try to walk. But Erfia holds my left hand.


    I look into her eyes.


    ¡°Please dad, stop it. You could die.¡± Erfia sobs.


    ¡°But I need the king to tell me the location of the other God Item. Or else I¡¯ll be looking it blindly.¡± I let out a reason.


    Both of them say nothing anymore. Just a silent is the answer I need.


    ¡°Did you forget that I still have another God Item in the Keeper?¡±


    I take the Shackle of the Dead out of the Keeper and show it to them. ¡°With this, I could make any dead being out there as my army and I could easily take over the kingdom. It¡¯s that easy.¡±


    ¡°Do you think you can fool us?¡± Reis yells at me. ¡°We already know the consequence of using the Shackle of the Dead. Ariana told us the night before we left. It will drain your life and change you into undead, right?¡±


    Oh, Arianna. What have you done? Couldn¡¯t you shut that mouth of yours? Yes, it¡¯s right. Well, it won¡¯t take my life. It just turns me into an undead. Normally I¡¯ll be able to use it for 20 minutes. But in my current condition, I can¡¯t manage it that long.


    ¡°One minute. I¡¯ll just use it for one minute. That¡¯s the time limits I could use before it changes me into an undead.¡±


    If my guess is right, by only using stamina alone, I might able to use the Shackle of the Dead for a minute at most. More than that and I¡¯ll kiss ass goodbye to this life.


    ¡°But dad,¡± Erfia starts to cry.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I pat her head. I hope this can at least calm her. ¡°I¡¯ve got no intention of becoming undead.¡±


    Being undead is nearly the same as being an immortal. You can¡¯t die as you¡¯re already dead. For human, the most painful part is to lose all of your emotion and any attachment to anything. I¡¯ll lose the desire of removing this curse as I don¡¯t understand the meaning of painful memories.


    Finally, Erfia calms down and stops crying. Suddenly, I feel my body is being lifted and leaned into something. Reis is taking me on her back.


    ¡°What are you doing? Let me down. It¡¯s embarrassing.¡±


    ¡°No complain. Reserve your stamina if you want to use the Shackle of the Dead! I¡¯m not letting you walk and waste that stamina of yours. If you want to use it, then deal with it.¡±


    Reis is not showing her face at all. In front of her, Erfia is also getting ready. Well, I guess I can¡¯t say no.


    ¡°Mada,¡±


    Suddenly a voice is calling out my name. Reis turns around so we can see the person calling us, Fiona. I can still see her teary eyes but she¡¯s trying her best not to show it.


    ¡°Can I ask you to save my husband? He¡¯s the only thing I had right now.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t promise. But I¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please.¡±


    Reis turns and now we¡¯re ready to go. Reis activates the Earth Slide, and now we¡¯re sliding through the tunnel. Even if this tunnel is like a labyrinth, with Erfia¡¯s spell and navigation, we easily get outside of the tunnel. It took us not too long.


    When we arrive at the surface, everything has been razed down. Neither the rebellion nor government army could get out of this unscathed.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go to the palace. It¡¯s the second highest place in the east of Gate of the World.¡±


    As she hears my words, we slide through the city. Nothing left. Nearly every building is razed. It seemed the rebellion took the building as their protection and the government couldn¡¯t care less with the building so they simply razed it. I hate to say it but the weak has no place in the beast man territory. That¡¯s their law. The people are like an expendable pawn in the eyes of the government.


    It seems something is happening near the palace as it¡¯s crumbling into nothing. We¡¯re still too far to see anything. I still hold the Shackle of the Dead in my right hand. I¡¯ll use it as I see the titled heroes. But, something is definitely amiss. Even if I saw a lot of dead bodies, did the government army really this weak? Or did the remaining army are still in Avareel? I can¡¯t really understand it.


    ¡°Reis, could you stop at one dead man for a moment? I¡¯d like to see what¡¯s happening here.¡±


    ¡°All right.¡±


    Reis stops us at some nearest body. A beast man type rhino. I take a look at the body. The body is not heavily injured or damaged. There¡¯s no visible fatal wound on the body. Then, I take a look at their mouth. The mouth is letting out a huge amount of blood. That¡¯s weird. Normally a dead man is not letting out a blood anymore. But it¡¯s still coming out like he¡¯s still alive. I take a look at another body which is not too far. All of them are letting out a huge amount of blood. It seems like a poison. But it could be something else.


    ¡°We have to hurry and end this fight. C¡¯mon Reis. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Reis and Erfia slide through the city. The amount of bodies is too much. It¡¯s like the road itself is made of dead bodies.


    Finally, we catch the glimpse of the heroes. Lihar is still fighting with 3 other beast man. Eight people on the government side. Cana¡¯an is with them with another one word hero. Zur and Xis. The others are not one word hero, so I don¡¯t know them.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be using the Shackle of the Dead.¡±


    ¡°Remember, only one minute.¡± Reis reminds me.


    I just smile and nod.


    ¡°Erfia, hold on tight on Reis! Make sure the undead don¡¯t bring you along.¡±


    Erfia does as I told her.


    I put the Shackle of the Dead in my right eye. The vision in my right eye is changed into a dark vision. It shows a purple smoke in a place of a dead body and this place is full of it. It¡¯s like I¡¯m in the middle of a purple fog. The purple fog is something that¡¯s called as dark soul. It¡¯s coming out from a dead body that didn¡¯t get any proper burial and any pray. That¡¯s the thing that makes the undead. The dark soul is like a soul that will enter and makes the body move.


    ¡°Rise, dead ones, and serve me.¡± The Shackle of the Dead need no incantation to use it like any other God Item but I say it anyway. At least, it gives me a little joy.


    At that moment, the purple fog is entering all the dead bodies. The dead bodies start to move and rise. They stand up without any thinking nor feeling. I can feel at least 20 to 30 thousand dead bodies are reacting to the Shackle of the Dead. They are just a doll that¡¯s being moved by me. I spend no more time and make them attack all the heroes in our sight. The rebels also surprised and make a defending formation.


    ¡°Thirty seconds.¡± Reis mark the time.


    The undead army catches them by surprise and easily defeats them. I have no business with the two word heroes so the undead army killed them. But, the main trouble is the one word heroes. If they¡¯re not exhausted enough, the undead army are just like a toy waiting to be destroyed. But, apparently they¡¯re exhausted. They put some fight at first but when they¡¯re swarmed, they can¡¯t do anything. I order the undead army to make them unable to move, so the undead simply bite or break their hand and leg. The same thing is also happening to Cana¡¯an. Even if he¡¯s the best heroes on this place, every living being has their limit. In no time, the undead army finally manage to make him unable to move too.


    ¡°Times up.¡±


    I take off the Shackle of the Dead quickly and put it inside the Keeper. The moment I put it off, all the undead stop moving and became a simple dead bodies once again. The king and the others one word hero is being buried in the middle of dead bodies.


    ¡°Are you alright? Your body heat dropped so bad. I nearly thought that you¡¯ve turned into an undead.¡±


    Reis must have felt it when my body heat dropped. To change into an undead, I need to die first and the most significant change is the body heat. I didn¡¯t feel it when I¡¯m using it but right now I can feel my body heat is returning to normal.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m good. Now we need to get to the Lihar and make sure he doesn¡¯t kill the king. I need them to tell me the whereabouts of the other God Item beast man possess.¡±


    By today, the rebellion has won the battle of the capital and claims the throne and the government. The king, Cana¡¯an, and the other one word heroes is imprisoned with their ability to move is taken away.


    ***


    Two nights after the fall of capital. In the prison where Cana¡¯an is being imprisoned. Cana¡¯an has both of his hands being nailed in the wall and both of his legs crushed. Even after going through all of it, Cana¡¯an is still awake. Accumulating his anger and hatred toward the rebellion force.


    ¡°Ugh.¡±


    A voice is heard from the alley. From the sound of it, it seems like someone knock the guards down.


    ¡°Cana¡¯an, is that you?¡± a woman voice is heard through the door with a little hole and bar in it.


    ¡°Therion, are you alive?¡± Cana¡¯an looks happy when he hears Therion voice.


    Therion opens the door and shows a figure of a cat girl. Her short black hair and her black fur are nearly invisible in the night. Therion walks toward Cana¡¯an and tries to pull the nail in Cana¡¯an hands.


    ¡°I thought Mada the Raider has already killed you.¡± Cana¡¯an looks glad.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t defeat him. Thank god the 5000 army you sent created a diversion for me to run.¡± Therion manage to pull one nail in Cana¡¯an¡¯s right hand.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Therion catches Cana¡¯an as he half falls. Then, Therion pull the other nail and catch him completely.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, as long as you¡¯re alive and the God Item is not taken by the enemy.¡±


    ¡°Now we need to get away as far as possible.¡±


    Therion takes Cana¡¯an on her back. They slip pass the guards. Therion takes Evangeline form, and they manage to get out of the city. Therion returns to her cat body and runs free in the forest outside the city border. They¡¯re heading north through the dark of the night.


    ¡°Now what? We¡¯re going to wage another war?¡± Therion asks Cana¡¯an.


    ¡°Yes, but we will need the help of Cirion. His God Item, the Voice of Obedience, will be needed the most when we take over the capital.¡± Cana¡¯an answers Therion¡¯s question.


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll have to meet him right? Is he going to be back once he hears the news of the Capital has fallen?¡± Therion asks another question.


    ¡°No, he won¡¯t. I¡¯ve used the Voice of Obedience to make him take the God Item to the Demon¡¯s Realm and never come back unless I come to him personally.¡±


    ¡°Good, then we can meet him at once.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. We still need to find him because not even I know where he live.¡± Cana¡¯an clicks his tongue. ¡°Say, you¡¯re being pretty talkative right now. It¡¯s unlike you at all.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Therion lets out a tempting voice.


    ¡°Yeah, are you sure you¡¯re okay?¡±


    Therion stops in the middle of the forest. At that moment, Therion throws Cana¡¯an off her back and turns toward him.


    ¡°Therion, what are you doing?¡± Cana¡¯an is full of questions right now. He doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s happening.


    At that moment, a light is covering Therion body. After a short moment, the light disappear and shows a man figure. The man uses a cream outdoor trousers with a long sleeve clothes and some unzipped jacked.


    ***


    ¡°Mada, what the. What have you done to Therion?¡± Cana¡¯an yells at me with all of his might.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I haven¡¯t killed her yet. I can take her form because she¡¯s the previous user of this ring. You know, the Perfect Role Play has one weakness for its owner. It will store the form of its previous owner. So, if someone is using this ring after I used it, they can transform themselves into me.¡± I explained some details to him.


    ¡°What, what do you want? Are you not satisfied by the capital and the Perfect Role Play?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not. Because you know, my true objective is to reclaim all the God Items. I couldn¡¯t care less with the capital.¡±


    ¡°Reclaim? What are you talking about? It¡¯s belong to each race to begin with.¡± Cana¡¯an speaks slowly.


    ¡°Cana¡¯an, you are the son of Carian, the previous beast man King and you don¡¯t even know about this? Poor you.¡± I lower my body to face him directly. ¡°Or maybe, this will make you get some clue?¡±


    I concentrate and let the light consume me. Even if the light consumes me, I can still see the outside world like nothing happens to me. The light is fading and I show him my previous form. A man in a blue suit. I can feel my hair is being rather long again and my cheek is bigger than before. It¡¯s been some time since I feel this form.


    Cana¡¯an drops his jaw. ¡°No way, dad made sure the record about that person should not exist anymore. He¡¯s not exist. How can you know that form?¡±


    ¡°You know, even if the world record has been gone completely, unfortunately, this ring still holds a record of its first user. Or should I say, its creator.¡±


    ¡°Creator, what, what are you talking about?¡±


    I show him a wide grin. I always love to explain this. ¡°You think the twelve legendary items, the God Items, was created by each race to defend against another God Items? No, it¡¯s not. All the God Items was created by me, Kries the Creator. Even the Angels that seemed show no interest were sending their spies. You know, that was the first time all the higher ups in each race were trying to achieve one goal. To take the God Items from me.¡±


    ¡°No, no way.¡± Cana¡¯an tries to deny it.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. So, I¡¯ll reclaim all of it and fulfill my real objective with it.¡±


    ¡°And that is?¡±


    I smile. ¡°Sorry, but that¡¯s a secret.¡±


    I pull my hands backward and then thrust his chest with it. I take his heart out of his body and feel his heart is still beating in my hand. But, it¡¯s slowly becoming weaker and weaker. Cana¡¯an tries to reach his heart in my hand. I squish the heart into nothing. As the heart is destroyed the body fell without any life left. When I kill him with my own hand, the Perfect Role Play will absorb and retain his form in it including habit, secret, and all of his memory. Even if I could get the info about the other God Item by simply kill him, I like to do it the old way. Make him spill the bean and I can enjoy his surprised face.


    Now, I need to get back to the capital to take care of another thing.


    ~~~


    ¡°Ah, finally, you¡¯re back.¡± Reis welcomes me with a disturbed face. ¡°What are you planning by taking this cat girl as a slave?¡±


    I look into the bed where Therion is unconscious. Yeah, normal people will just see her as a useless after I cut her left arm and left leg. But, I might need her in the future. Erfia is just looking at her in the side of the bed. It seems she¡¯s kinda curious about her. I don¡¯t know what makes her curious thought. A little kid has a different way of thinking.


    ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re leaving tonight. We can¡¯t stay any longer.¡±


    Suddenly our door is being knocked by someone. I took a little knife for a precaution.


    ¡°Mada, it¡¯s me.¡± Fiona raises her voice for me to let her open the door. ¡°I¡¯m alone.¡±


    I¡¯m not yet convinced about she¡¯s being alone, so I keep the knife ready. I open the door and look outside for any possible other person.


    ¡°Come.¡±


    Fiona comes as I told her, and I close the door and lock it.


    ¡°Mada, what is this all about? Why are you acting like that?¡± Reis asks me with some pissed tone.


    ¡°No, he¡¯s acting like that is the right reaction.¡± Fiona defends me.


    Once Fiona sees Therion, I can see her whole body is shaking. I grab her before she lose her power and fall.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Stay calm.¡±


    Fiona takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself. After some time, the shaking is stopped, and she¡¯s starting to talk.


    ¡°All of you need to leave this place tonight.¡±


    Reis is surprised as she hears the same thing from Fiona and me. ¡°Wait. At least one of you explain why we¡¯re leaving tonight?¡±


    ¡°The people of the rebellion think that they need God Item in order to defend against the human attack. So, they¡¯re planning to take all the God Item held by Mada and they said they will remove Mada¡¯s one word fugitive title and change it into one word hero if he cooperates.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? What do you mean? Where¡¯s all that peace talk gone?¡± Reis becomes seriously pissed.


    I¡¯m adding more explanation, ¡°To talk about peace, both countries need to be standing on equal ground. Right now the human has two God Items at their disposal and can be used anytime while the beast man has none.¡±


    ¡°How about the one word heroes that could kill 100 thousand people in a day? Where are they?¡± Erfia suddenly butt in our conversation.


    ¡°Cana¡¯an is one of two one word heroes that could do it.¡± Fiona answers Erfia¡¯s question.


    ¡°You might think that he¡¯s weak because I could defeat him easily with the Shackle of the Dead. But, I managed to defeat him under a minute was simply because he was getting old, getting cocky, and he was exhausted at that time. He was also not ready for an army of undead, so we got the surprise element.¡±


    ¡°The other one word heroes are not in the capital.¡± Fiona adds some more explanation, ¡°But this country just had a coup d¡¯¨¦tat, so I doubt he will help us.¡±


    I stand and walk toward Reis. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is. We¡¯re leaving now.¡±


    ¡°But, you have just save those people from being massacred. Is that really how they repay you?¡±


    I can see Reis is definitely seriously pissed. I¡¯m not blaming her for being that way. Normal people will be pissed too. But, that¡¯s how society, or should I say a country, works. They don¡¯t give a shit about their heroes or anybody that saved them in the past. They are more interested in gaining power for the future. Even if the people care, the government would not. It will never change, and the people are too afraid to act by their own.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fret it. We¡¯re titled fugitives, right? We have no right to expect something nice in return.¡± I try to cheer her up a little.


    ¡°But, but, you¡¯ve¨C¡±


    I pat Reis¡¯s head and interrupt her words.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I have no trouble. But could you please not embarrass yourself in front of Erfia?¡±


    Reis takes a glance to Erfia that¡¯s looking into us with a curious eyes. Reis finally stops her rant and takes a deep breath to clear her head.


    I let out a smile as she¡¯s got her head clear. ¡°Good, now you take Therion and I¡¯ll take Erfia. We¡¯re leaving.¡±


    Reis and Erfia nod their head. I take Erfia on my back and Reis takes Therion with her.


    ¡°Come with me, I¡¯ve prepared the vehicle.¡±


    Fiona is leading us going through the capital. We¡¯re walking through the night and finally we reach some razed house. As we come, Lihar is already waiting for us with a mana carriage. This carriage is moved with a mana as the fuel.


    ¡°Reis, it¡¯s already Erfia¡¯s sleep time. It means, you drive.¡± I talk to Reis.


    ¡°But dad,¡±


    ¡°No but, it¡¯s your sleep time.¡± I talk to Erfia which is in my back.


    Erfia is kind of pissed as she swells her cheeks. I put Erfia inside and Reis goes to the driver seat after she puts Therion inside.


    ¡°We¡¯ve just met and now you¡¯re leaving. Fate is such a cruel thing, eh.¡± Lihar talks to me which is still outside of the carriage.


    ¡°Well, indeed it is. So, how many people that will pursue us?¡± I ask Lihar with a sharp look into his eyes.


    ¡°What, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Fiona is surprised and asks Lihar about it.


    ¡°Actually, in order not to let them lost their faith in us, I told them we¡¯re luring Mada into a trap. So, some people should have been ready to pursue them.¡± Lihar answer while he looks away from Fiona. ¡°Please don¡¯t be too hard on them, they¡¯re just a soldier with an order.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill them.¡± I said it to him with an easy tone.


    ¡°Thanks,¡±


    I stick my hand so he could shake it. But suddenly he grabs me and hugs me.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t do more than this.¡± Lihar is sobbing a little.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You¡¯ve done your job, and I got what I came for.¡± I let go of Lihar hug and show him the Perfect Role Play in my right ring finger.


    ¡°Hey, Mada, where are we heading?¡± Reis asks me from the driver seat.


    I let out a smile to Lihar and Fiona, then I jump into the top of the carriage.


    ¡°North, we need to get to the High Port. Our next destination is Demon¡¯s Realm.¡±


    ¡°All right then.¡± Reis starts to imbue her mana into the driver bracelet. ¡°Don¡¯t let yourself fall, all right?¡±


    ¡°Well, then, Lihar, Fiona, we¡¯re going.¡± I wave my hand to Lihar and Fiona which also wave their hand to us.


    We¡¯re leaving Lihar and Fiona with a high speed. We need to travel 60 kilometers while trying to escape the army that will try to stop us. In this mana carriage, it might take us at least 2 hours to get out of the city.


    While Reis is driving this carriage, I try to repel all the attacker. It seems Lihar fore sawed this pursuit and prioritized the cleaning of the road. It makes us easier to run away. I¡¯m still using my favorite Pointing Tip of Desperation with a low explosive spear to shoot any building and put a hindrance on the enemies. When they get close, I simply tackle them with Shield of Nothingness. We¡¯re doing this for the next two hours.


    I thought that I¡¯ll have to explode the gate with a lot of explosive spears, but the gate is opened and it¡¯s showing no signs of closing. As we pass the gate, I can see the gate has been damaged in the hinge. It looks like a small damage caused by some weapon. I take a look into the building around the gate and see the remnants of the guard when the underground city is attacked. I smile and show them a thumb up. Finally, the pursuit has stopped and we¡¯re leaving Ul Thadur.

 Map for Arc 2, Demon Realm Arc

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    the map will be explained through the chapters

 19. Dance Session

    It¡¯s been four days since we left Ul Thadur. After the fall of Ul Thadur, all gate of the world in the beast man region has been closed to prevent another sneak attack like what I did. So, we have no choice but to travel on road.


    By using the mana carriage, we can travel 8 hours per day at most. Reis drives for 3 hours and Erfia drive for 5 hours. So, in a day we travel about 240 kilometers. Apparently Therion is not of use for this thing. Beast man only have a little amount of mana than elf and human after all.


    After going north, we¡¯re going east to reach Grouse Port. To reach it, we have to travel for about three thousand kilometers. We need another nine days to reach it.


    Fortunately, I have an artificial leg and arm in the Keeper. So, by now Therion is adjusting herself with the artificial leg and arm. It was created by one of my elf friends. I created the concept and designed it while he made it. It is made of a metal for the bone and the skin for protection and a wood for the flesh. By just putting it into her arm, it will become one with the body automatically. The concept is unusual. So, right now he¡¯s as rich as hell because of it.


    Talking about Therion, I never thought she¡¯s an obedient type. I thought she will be another hard person like Reis but she¡¯s not. She obey anything I order her without any complaint, not even an escape attempt. Well, even if she escapes, I can make her come back by using the slave bind magic. Maybe, she realizes it. Or maybe because of her past? Well, if it is because of her past, I surely know why as I already held all of her memories that being kept by the Perfect Role Play.


    We travel by 4 hours travel, one hour break, and 4 hours travel. Erfia handles the first 2 hours. Reis the next 3 hours, and Erfia the next 3 hours. By the break time, like now, Reis and Therion is preparing the meal while I train Erfia how to use the crossbow and the snake sword she chose back in the Mestoah ruin.


    ¡°Erfia, you¡¯re doing it wrong.¡± I interrupt Erfia¡¯s movement.


    I decided to train her how to shoot the crossbow at first and then the snake sword. She mastered the basic use of crossbow by three days and she practiced too at dawn and dusk. By adding her magic to feel the presence of enemies and see the flow of air, she managed to shoot accurately at 100 meters range. She¡¯s just a beast man fox type, so her power is the same as human. Using a crossbow is a perfect fit for her.


    Today, she¡¯s training with the snake swords. I put a hard clay in the sharp edge to prevent fatal injury. But she¡¯s having a trouble with snake swords.


    ¡°Uh, daddy, it¡¯s so difficult.¡± Erfia complaints.


    Finally she admits it. I take the snake sword from her hand and put it back in the Keeper. ¡°Now that you know how hard it is, do you still want to continue?¡±


    Erfia nods.


    ¡°Then, don¡¯t complain about how hard it is, okay?¡±


    Erfia nods.


    ¡°Good. Then, that¡¯s it for today, we¡¯ll continue it by the dusk. I¡¯ll show the trick to master it in easy way.¡±


    ¡°Really? Is there really an easy way to do it?¡± Erfia asks with a bright face.


    ¡°Of course,¡± I answer her with a smile. ¡°Now, we¡¯ll have our lunch.¡±


    We¡¯re back to the carriage where Reis and Therion are waiting for us. The meal for this afternoon is a smoked fish that caught in the river near our place. We start to take our meal. It¡¯s been like this for the past four days.


    ¡°Therion, how¡¯s your new arm and leg? Is it good?¡± I try to break the ice. I don¡¯t really like a silent moment like this.


    ¡°Ye, yeah, thanks master. I could move it pretty easy now.¡± Therion answers me in a flat tone.


    ¡°Good, I don¡¯t want you to become a hindrance.¡±


    ¡°Hey Mada, it¡¯s already time you tell us why you take her with us.¡± Reis interrupts my meal.


    ¡°Ye,yeah master, why? I thought you would kill me the moment she let go of me.¡± Therion implies to Fiona.


    I look into Erfia and she¡¯s also looking at me with her mouth full. She also wants to know about it but it seems after what I told her another day, she¡¯s waiting for the food in her mouth to be chewed completely and swallowed.


    ¡°I told you, I¡¯m not the one to decide your fate. Fiona is.¡± I answer their question after I swallow my food. ¡°If she decided to kill you, then I will kill you without a doubt. But she didn¡¯t kill you, so it means you live. It¡¯s that simple.¡±


    ¡°No other purpose?¡± Reis ask me with her left eye being narrowed.


    ¡°Well, I have something else in my mind. But it can wait.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not answering my question.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha,¡± I let out a laugh.


    After the meal, we continue our journey till dusk. A party consist of human, beast man, and half breed is unusual and I also don¡¯t want to get into another trouble, so we avoid the cities.


    As the dusk comes by, we stop and stay another night in the middle of nowhere. As I promised Erfia, I will show her the trick of mastering the snake sword.


    ¡°Okay, so right now I¡¯ll show you the easy way to master the snake swords.¡±


    ¡°Yay!¡± Erfia cheers as she heard me.


    ¡°Um, are we really needed here?¡± Reis asks me.


    Unlike the afternoon, I take Reis and Therion with me to train her this time.


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    ¡°I need both of you because it will be easier for her to learn how to dance with another girl.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± all of them tilt their head at the same time.


    ¡°Yeah, DANCE.¡± I put a pressure on the dance part. ¡°Snake sword is a unique sword. In order to master it, you need a different method than a normal swordsmanship. A snake sword movement is affected by body movement. The more fluid your body moves, the better it will move. I¡¯ll show you.¡±


    I take another snake sword from the Keeper. As a note, I have a spare of 26 snake swords.


    I¡¯m starting to dance with the snake sword in my hand.


    I move while explaining, ¡°The basics of mastering a snake sword is to imagine your hand and your sword as one long whip. Every movement will affect the movement of the sword.¡±


    I move my right hand while moving my entire shoulder and torso to attack one tree. The attack makes the tree crack so bad.


    ¡°A half body movement will create enough force to crack a tree. When you want the sword to extend, you push the halt with your finger. If you want it to retract, simply let go of the halt.¡±


    I jump and spin in the air to let out another attack on another tree. This time the attack not only cracks the tree, but it broke the trunk and makes the tree fall. Both of the tree have the size of an adult tight. If the attack hit a person, it could kill him. In this afternoon lesson, I only look into Erfia swinging it as she can¡¯t even make it extend or retract.


    ¡°The more body part involved in the movement the greater the strength. But it will lessen the strength if the movement is not good enough.¡±


    I stop my dance movement and swing the sword like a normal sword into a tree, ¡°As you can see, when retracted, this sword is the same as a normal sword. So, it¡¯s pretty great for a close and mid-range combat.¡±


    I hear nothing. No reply, no question, just a silence. I look into them and see all their jaw is dropped.


    ¡°So, any question?¡±


    ¡°HOW?¡± all of them ask me in in the same time.


    ¡°First of all, I can¡¯t dance.¡± Reis gives me the first statement.


    ¡°Second, master, even if I can dance, I can¡¯t use a snake sword without the Perfect Role Play.¡± Therion gives her statement.


    ¡°Is it really a dance?¡± Erfia close both of their statement with a question.


    ¡°First, Reis, you will accompany Erfia in the dance session so she won¡¯t get lonely. Second, Therion, the snake sword part is trivial for now. You¡¯ll just use a piece of cloth for now. Last, yes, it is a dance. Any other questions?¡± I answer them and give them a chance to ask another thing.


    Nobody asks. Just a silent


    ¡°No? Then, start your dance session. Therion,¡± I pause for a moment. ¡°Can I call you Eri, it¡¯s a pain to call you Therion all the time?¡±


    ¡°Ye, yes, it¡¯s all right master.¡± Eri answer me.


    ¡°Okay, Eri, starting from today you teach them how to dance. When you deem they¡¯re good enough at dancing, then I¡¯ll take over with the snake sword lesson. Understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes master.¡±


    ¡°Good. Stop calling me master. I don¡¯t like it. Just call me Mada.¡±


    ¡°But mas¨C¡°


    ¡°No but,¡± I stop her midway. ¡°Just call me Mada. No master, no tittle. Okay? One more thing. Never call me Mada the Raider. If you have to call me or make a reservation using my name, use Mada Jeian of the Vorks.¡±


    I need to prevent so incident in An Saia won¡¯t be repeated.


    ¡°Yes, master,¡±


    I glare at her.


    ¡°Yes, Mada,¡±


    I regain Eri¡¯s memories when I put the Perfect Role Play, so I know it she was good at dancing. I¡¯m good at dancing too, but I¡¯m not cut out for these kind of things. It needs a gentleness and delicacy.


    ¡°Okay, start your dance lesson. I¡¯ll be making the food starting from today.¡±


    I leave them and head for the carriage as I can see Eri¡¯s starting to teach them while Reis and Erfia obediently do as she says. Erfia has become a slave for a few years and Reis is currently my slave and was my enemy, so it seems they won¡¯t make a fuzz about Eri being our enemy in Ul Thadur.


    After the meal is ready, I stop the dance lesson and make them eat with me. Now they could make a conversation better than before. Mainly, they¡¯re talking about the dance lessons. But now I need to ask one thing that¡¯s been bothering me since I met Eri.


    ¡°Eri, may I ask you a question?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mada, what is it?¡± Eri answer me with better and more relaxes tone than before.


    ¡°From the info I gathered. The God Item in the capital, Ul Thadur, should be the Voice of Obedience. But on the contrary, I met you with the Perfect Role Play. Do you know anything about this?¡±


    I need to make this clear as this will decide the course of our next journey.


    ¡°Yes, actually, that was a fake rumor the king spread. So, your info is not wrong, it simply fake. I don¡¯t know about the other race thought.¡± Eri answers me.


    Yeah, the rumor is a fake. I knew it was possible to be fake. It that so, the only thing I could believe from the rumor is only their location, not their God Item. I just hope the location is not a fake rumor too.


    But at least, this party won¡¯t be silent and boring anymore.

 20. Pride

    Another days pass by and luckily we met nothing pretty dangerous in our way. We¡¯re entering the 13th day and yet apparently Eri hasn¡¯t deemed Erfia is good enough in the dance session. This is the 9th day I¡¯m making the meal while they¡¯re training to dance. Sometimes, I wonder about their training and I can see why Eri hasn¡¯t deemed them good enough. Well, I couldn¡¯t really blame them. Normally it would need months to dance. It is possible they¡¯re still training in the dance session while we reached the Demon¡¯s Realm.


    We reached the Grouse Port by evening but we need to take another night. Since the fall of Ul Thadur, yet again, the port only lets the ship sail in the morning and afternoon. I¡¯m starting to think it is a bad idea to help the rebellion overtook the capital. I just hope today we will meet no other hindrance.


    ¡°Reis and Eri, both of you get us some inn while I¡¯m shopping with Erfia.¡±


    Reis and Eri obey me and get into the inn. I need to go shopping for food supplies. Spending time in the Grous Port is deemed better than Loos Port. It¡¯s cheaper and has more variety. After we buy the food supplies, we take a stroll in this place. Even in the night, the market is still active and selling.


    After we had enough stroll, we decided to get back to the inn.


    ¡°Daddy, what kind of shop is this?¡± Erfia call me while pointing into one store.


    The store looks normal at first glance. Some kind of house with a pair of windows on the left and the right of the door. But if you take a better look, it has a darker window, and the inside is not visible from the outside. It seems it¡¯s not darker, it¡¯s being blocked by something.


    ¡°Want to take a look?¡± I offer Erfia.


    ¡°Uhuh,¡± Erfia nods.


    We enter the shady shop and look at a shelf of books and a lot of some weird things. It is the book shelf that blocks the window. I could say this shop is not a normal shop by the items. It is a pawn shop. If this place really is a pawn shop, then we might find something nice in this place.


    Erfia walked around the shop and me too. I look into any item that could be a diamond in the rough. I see a lot of things starting from dragon scale ring, tiger eye ring, pendulum of karma, and any other things. But all of it requires a big mana to use it so I don¡¯t really have any use of it. Erfia is not fit for it either as the thing she needs right now is a training to increase her body stamina to maximize the taking of mana from the nature.


    ¡°What do you need sir?¡±


    A voice rose from the corner of the room. I look into it and see a man in his thirty with a moustache and long beard. But the most notable thing about him is his long fang that stick out of his mouth and long ear.


    ¡°We¡¯re just looking around.¡± I answer him. ¡°Sorry I ask this, but, are you a beast man? Or a demon?¡±


    ¡°Huhuhu,¡± The man let out a simple and soft laugh. ¡°I see you wonder about it. I¡¯m a beast man, mister. It¡¯s just my type is one of the legendary animal types. Ever heard of yeti?¡±


    ¡°Yeti? Wow? That¡¯s surprising. I never thought I¡¯ll be able to meet the beast man type yeti.¡± I¡¯m shocked and let out a praise.


    ¡°Huhuhu, by the way, my name is Kurua, what¡¯s your name mister?¡±


    ¡°Mada, a pawn shop owner like you should know me by¨C¡°


    ¡°Mada Jeian of the Vorks. Mada the Black Trader. Of course. Every pawn shop owner knows you.¡±


    ¡°Daddy, Daddy, look what I found.¡± Erfia comes at me and showed me a book.


    The book has a purple cover with a chain and skin motive. For normal people, it¡¯s just a normal motive on the cover but it¡¯s not.


    ¡°Huhuhu, you have a keen eye, little girl. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Erfia,¡± Erfia answers him.


    ¡°That¡¯s some serious thing you got.¡± I smile and lower myself to face Erfia. ¡°Erfia, do you want it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I want it.¡±


    For her to find that book is something I can¡¯t overlook.


    ¡°Tell me, how much for it?¡± I¡¯ll buy the book.


    ¡°Do you know what book is that?¡± Kurua asks me. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s asking me or just testing me.


    ¡°Of course I do. I¡¯m Mada Jeian of the Vorks, the Black Trader.¡±


    ¡°Huhuhu, then give me 300 white gold coins and I¡¯ll let it go.¡± Kurua opens the price.


    ¡°What? I could buy a city with that much money. Five white gold coins.¡± I start the bargaining process.


    ¡°Sir, are you robbing me? Two hundreds and seventy white gold coins.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the one trying to rob me. ten white gold coins.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sir, you know well what kind of book is that. How do you expect it to buy it cheap? Two hundreds and fifty white gold coins.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and you should have known what it means for the book to be found by my daughter. Twenty five white gold coins.¡±


    Both of us fall silent. Nobody wants to lose.


    ¡°Daddy, it¡¯s okay if it¡¯s too much. I don¡¯t want it.¡±


    Aw! I forgot that Erfia is here. It¡¯s not about the money anymore actually, the pawn shop owner like him and a trader like me have our own pride. As a pawn shop owner, he needs to sell the goods in his store as expensive as possible. A trader like me, in contrary, needs to buy things as cheap as possible. It¡¯s our pride and our reputation.


    ¡°Then, how about a trade?¡± Kurua proposes a solution for us. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the book for 30 white gold coins and Therion.¡±


    I jump back and take Erfia with me the moment I heard he said it.


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    The only person knows about Therion with me are Fiona and Lihar. Nobody else knows it. I¡¯ve spread the rumor that Therion has been killed by Mada the Raider.


    ¡°Huhuhu, no need to be alarmed. I don¡¯t want to cause any ruckus now.¡±


    ¡°Could it be, you¡¯re Kurua the Goliath?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°Hoo, so you know my name eh? Mada the Black Trader, or should I call you Mada the Raider?¡±


    He knows my true identity, so it¡¯s not a small matter anymore. I put Erfia and take the Burning Sword and Razor Wind.


    Kurua the Goliath. The one word hero of beast man capable of killing 100 thousand people in a day other than Cana¡¯an. His face is nearly unknown. Rather than one word hero, he¡¯s more like one more fugitive in that aspect and just like me, he hides in the common name.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ve got three options? Pay full, pay cheap with Therion, or fight you right here right now?¡± I try to point our condition.


    ¡°Fight? You killed 100 thousand people in the Ruin of Unuan, you defeated Therion the Unknown and Cana¡¯an the King, and you got three God Items. If, we fight all out, we will destroy Grouse Port in no time. You realize it, don¡¯t you?¡±


    I can¡¯t say I only kill 25 thousand people at the Ruin of Unuan but it¡¯s not any different about the effect to the town.


    ¡°Daddy, who is he? What does he want from Eri?¡± Erfia asks me from behind.


    ¡°He¡¯s Kurua the Goliath. Strongest one word hero of the beast man.¡± I answer Erfia as I put back the Burning Sword and the Razor Wind in the Keeper.


    I¡¯m not letting my guard down even if he implies he doesn¡¯t have any intention of fighting me.


    ¡°If you really want the money, then I¡¯ll give you your 250 white gold coins. But, I think you simply lure me to the condition of Eri, I mean Therion, right?¡± I try to make him spill the bean.


    ¡°Before I answer it, what¡¯s this Eri thing?¡± Kura ask me with a narrow right eye.


    ¡°That¡¯s what we called her. It¡¯s a pain to call her Therion every time.¡± I answer him in a flat plain tone.


    ¡°Umm, could you take me to her? Maybe I¡¯ll consider the price.¡±


    Still with our pride, eh? It seems he¡¯s a pawn shop owner before the Goliath. I can¡¯t deny it at times like these I feel like I¡¯m a trader before the Raider.


    ¡°Just follow us if you want to meet her.¡± I walk toward the door.


    ¡°Um, mister, the book.¡± Erfia hesitantly gives Kurua the book she held.


    ¡°Just hold it for now. It seems he really wants to buy it for you.¡±


    ~~~


    ¡°We¡¯re back.¡± I enter the room with Reis and Eri inside of it.


    We¡¯re making a reservation for two rooms. Erfia stays with me while Reis with Eri. Our room is at each other and connected by a balcony.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, we¡¯re already hungry waiting for you to come.¡± Reis complains to me from the bed.


    ¡°Yeah, we can¡¯t eat anything since you¡¯re holding all the ingredients and all the money.¡± Eri puts another complaint while leaning on a chair.


    They sure relaxed for a pair of slaves.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I admit it. It¡¯s my fault. ¡°By the way, Eri, someone is looking for you.¡±


    ¡°Looking for me? Who?¡±


    I stepped aside and let Kurua walks in. The moment Kurua walks in, the room became silent. Eri can¡¯t say anything about it. She just froze.


    ¡°Oh, teacher, thanks God you¡¯re alive.¡± Kurua falls on his knees and cries.


    ¡°Uh, um, please, Kurua, stand up! You¡¯re embarrassing me.¡± Eri stands and comes closer to Kurua.


    Wait a minute, Kurua, her pupil? Let me remember all the Eri¡¯s memory within my head. After some time searching for it, finally I found some clue about Kurua.


    ¡°Wait a minute, he¡¯s the little Kurua that always cries? The one gets bullied by the kids?¡± I ask Eri for a clarification.


    ¡°Yes, he is the little Kurua. Well, even if I remember his long fang and ear, I won¡¯t be able to recognize him if he¡¯s not crying like that.¡±


    ¡°Wow, such a big crybaby.¡± Reis adds the mock.


    ¡°What are you doing here? How did you manage to find me? And where have you been all this time?¡± Eri asks Kurua.


    ¡°Well, I''ve been living in this Grouse Port for a few years now. I work as a pawn store owner.¡± Kurua explain his occupation. ¡°I feel so sad and desperate few days ago when I heard that you¡¯ve been killed by Mada the Raider. So, I look into information about Mada the Raider to avenge you. When I meet him, Mada Jeian of the Vorks, I took the chance of guessing he¡¯s Mada the Raider. If he¡¯s not reacting to your name, I would never know.¡±


    Ah, so I overreacted. That¡¯s one thing I hate from this body. It seems this body of mine inherits my parent behavior which is easily overreacted to something.


    ¡°What happen to your arm and your leg?¡± Kurua asks as he touches Eri left hand.


    ¡°Ah, this. Mada cut my hand when we fought so he gave me an artificial limb to replace it.¡±


    ¡°So, now what?¡± I hate to do it but I have to break their little reunion. ¡°I can¡¯t afford you take her as I need her to teach Erfia how to dance. So, it seems I¡¯ll buy the book. Mention your price!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can take the book with you with one price.¡±


    ¡°And that is¡­¡± I wait for his reply.


    ¡°Let me join your party. I want to go where Therion goes.¡±

 21. Sailing Ship

    Sorry for the long delay. I''ve been sent to some job without internet for the last month.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    I look into the blue sky with no cloud in sight. Just some birds are passing us by. By now, we¡¯re sailing on the ships. We¡¯ll reach Loos Port in 5 hours. By the meantime, salt water in sight.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve told you don¡¯t cling on me!¡± Reis yells at Eri.


    ¡°No way, I don¡¯t like ships. I might fall into the sea.¡± Eri won¡¯t let go of Reis.


    ¡°So you don¡¯t like ships?¡± Erfia asks Eri.


    ¡°Huhuhu, no, it¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t like ships. She just afraid of water.¡± Kurua answers Erfia¡¯s question.


    ¡°I¡¯m not afraid! I just hate them!¡± Eri responds to Kurua answers. Trying to act all high and might.


    ¡°Then, how do you take a bath?¡±


    Ahh, now our party became noisier than before. At first, Eri is a silent and obedient type. But as she adapted to our condition, she became easy going and cozy.


    We¡¯ve got ourselves a new man in our party. The strongest beast man out there is now in our party. By his coming, our fighting capabilities are doubled. At least one of us will be able to protect Erfia and the others while the other one fight to repel the enemies. All of it for a single magic book or grimoire in Erfia¡¯s neck. The book became smaller into a size of a palm and I made it into a pendant.


    He doesn¡¯t want me to revoke the slave bind magic. He says it¡¯s necessary to keep her in check. Well, I won¡¯t argue with that.


    But, it sure is noisy.


    ¡°Huh.¡± I let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Kurua, I¡¯ll take a stroll in this ship. You take care of them.¡±


    They don¡¯t hear me and just continue with their useless yet cheerful argument. I don¡¯t hate it, it just, this change is a bit too sudden for me and I need some time for myself. I bundle the Pair of Dragon and Phoenix with a cloth and bring it with me. Right now I¡¯m travelling as Mada Jeian of the Vorks, so I need it ready without taking it from the Keeper.


    This ship is a 5 level ship. The bottom level is a place for any vehicle and animal. As I put our mana carriage in the Keeper, we¡¯re not putting it on the bottom level. The fourth level is the cheapest level. It is the most crowded as a lot of trader that don¡¯t want to spend a lot of money stay in this level. The third level is the level of normal people. They travel to reach the Sairkhan or the Demon¡¯s Realms. They don¡¯t cost too much so a lot of people can afford it. The second level is a bit expensive, but it has a lot of spaces and no fix seat. So, we can just stroll around or looking into the sky. This second level is the one we¡¯re in. and the last is the first and the topmost level. It¡¯s reserved to VIP like the noble or a very rich trader. Well, even if I¡¯m a first rate trader, I don¡¯t feel like staying on the first level. This ship itself is a immense ship made of metal with two funnels. It travels at the speed around 40 km/hour.


    Finally I reached the stair to the first level. In front of it, standing a pair of bodyguards with a white robe. That¡¯s unusual. White robe bodyguards only used for a religious passenger type like the great priest or something like that. But I couldn¡¯t care less. I just walk past it trying to enjoy these moments.


    ¡°Excuse me sir, do you happen to know a man named Mada?¡±


    Suddenly someone asks me from my back. I turned around and see a figure of a short man in an imperial uniform. A blue and yellow line. He held a sheathed saber in his right hand. He has a pair of dog ears popping out of his golden hair. The imperial uniform of blue and yellow line is the imperial uniform of Sairkhan. Sairkhan is indeed part of beast man territory, but it also holds a special place in the beast man territory as it has its own king.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you be more specific? Mada is a common name, you know?¡± I ask him back.


    ¡°Ah, sorry about that sir. I¡¯m looking for Mada Annaress. I¡¯ve been told by my master to look for him.¡± The man replies.


    ¡°Mada Annaress? No, don¡¯t know him.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. Thank you. Sorry for disturbing you walk.¡±


    The man left me after he bowed down. I look into him as he left me. He stops people and asks them the same question. Did he plan to ask everybody in this ship?


    But, this name, Mada Annaress. It nearly the same as my name, Mada Arcaness. Could it be he¡¯s looking for me? Ah, no way. My identity as Mada Arcaness is just a simple traveler without any title or anything notable. There¡¯s no way he¡¯s looking for me.


    I continue my stroll. The passengers of this ship is dominated by a beast man race. You can find some humans, demons, or such if you look hard enough.


    I go to the third level and see a lot of passengers are sitting in their designated seat. Only some people walk around and see to the ocean like what I did. They did look at me with a curious face, but it¡¯s not so long because a human sailing to the demon realm is not something new.


    The only thing to cautious is the pirate. The sailing in this world is not much, so a pirate is focused on those few places. In 5 hours of sailing from Grouse Port to Loos Port, normally there would be at least 3 to 4 pirate attempts. The pirate already knows the interior of this ship, so they would target the bottom level as all the people¡¯s belonging is there.


    ¡°Pirate!!¡±


    Finally it¡¯s time for the first attempt. I walk back to the second level to get a better view of the pirate process. The platform is becoming smaller the higher it is, so looking it from the upper level is good enough.


    The pirates board the ship and go directly to the trader¡¯s carriage. But few guards come and manage to repel them and throw them to the sea. It¡¯s not really a fight as the pirates don¡¯t have a decent weapon, just some knife and small sword while the guards in full armor and they equip a halberd in their hand and a sword sheathed in their hip.


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    I can see on the other side of the ship Kurua is explaining the pirates and their attempt to Erfia and the others.


    Another hour passes us by and another pirate boards and tries to do the same. The second one is also a failure for the pirates.


    I take another stroll and meet with the dog man in the imperial uniform from before.


    ¡°How is it? Did you find him?¡± I ask him to show some courtesy.


    ¡°Not yet, sir. Maybe he¡¯s not boarding this ship.¡± The man answer in a low voice.


    I can see he¡¯s starting to lose his spirit. ¡°Do you have any picture? Maybe I¡¯ve seen him in the lower level.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I have.¡±


    The dog man take a piece of paper and show it to me. The man is having a short black hair with a small face and jaw. He¡¯s in his early twenties.


    ¡°To tell you the truth, he seems familiar.¡±


    ¡°Really? Did you meet him somewhere sir?¡±


    I try to remember all the people that I saw in this ship. I can¡¯t find him in this ship.


    ¡°I saw him, but not in this ship.¡±


    As I tell him that words, he lost all of his interest and will.


    ¡°Oh, okay, thanks for your assistance sir.¡±


    I roll the paper and give it to him. But before I give it to him, I look into the letters in its back.


    ¡°Say, what is this letter?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s the person¡¯s name. The person asked me to find him write it in the back in case I forgot the name.¡± The dog man answer with a straight face.


    I rotate the paper and try to read it.


    ¡°It¡¯s not Mada Annaress, it''s spelled Mada Arcaness. You read it wrong the entire time.¡± I try to correct his mistakes.


    ¡°Oh, really? Thanks for the help. It will help me in case the real person shows up.¡±


    I give the paper back to him and he put it back to his pocket.


    ¡°Shiba, did you find him?¡±


    Suddenly, a voice of a woman appeared from my back. I recognized this voice. I turn my back and look into her. A human woman in an all white and yellow clothes is appearing in front of me. You can show her green eyes and the white skin of her face. It¡¯s the only thing you can see from her as she¡¯s wearing a veil covering her hair. One more thing. She got a big breast.


    I let out a voice to call her. ¡°Nevi? Nevi Frendezcht?¡±


    ¡°Mada? Mada Arcaness? Wow finally I could meet you.¡±


    She hug me out of nowhere and nearly made me fall. You can feel her breast is rubbing against you.


    She¡¯s another Ariana¡¯s pupil. My friend when I¡¯m still in her care.


    ¡°Wow! I never thought I¡¯ll meet you in this place.¡± I try to let go of her hug.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been expecting you since the fall of Ul Thadur.¡± Nevi let go of her hug but she¡¯s not letting go of her hand in my neck.


    ¡°You, what?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been expecting you since the fall of Ul Thadur. I made Shiba come all the way here from Sairkhan to look for you everyday. Today I have a day off so I want to come here too.¡±


    Since the fall of Ul Thadur? She¡¯s been expecting me for 14 days?


    ¡°Ah, Madam, I¡¯m sorry, but could you at least show some restraint? You¡¯re the high priest for god sake.¡± Shiba interrupts us. He¡¯s trying to separate us but he has no courage to touch her.


    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re the high priest?¡± I ask her.


    ¡°Yes I am.¡± Nevi turn her face toward Shiba. ¡°Oh, c¡¯mon. He¡¯s the man we¡¯re looking for. Can¡¯t you see the face?¡±


    Nevi tries to explain it to Shiba without letting go of her hands off me.


    ¡°Sir, are you Mada Arcaness?¡± Shiba still can¡¯t believe it.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Mada Arcaness. The picture she gave you was the picture of me a few years ago.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re lying when you said he¡¯s not in this ship?¡± Shiba narrows his right eye.


    ¡°Well, technically, few years ago I¡¯m not in this ship. So, no.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re just playing with words. Just like the old time.¡± Nevi take me closer to her face.


    I try to keep my balance and keep a distance between our face.


    ¡°And you¡¯re still like to cling on me. Just like the old time.¡± I try to let go of her hug. ¡°Well, okay, you¡¯re looking for me. But, what for?¡±


    ¡°Well, then, let¡¯s head to a more private place. Let¡¯s go to the first level.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Wow, the second pirate is no different from the first pirate. They¡¯re a bunch of fool.¡± I mumble to myself.


    It¡¯s been a few hours since we set sail and Mada left me with Erfia and the others. The existence of Eri and Kurua sure bring a lot of noises in this place. At first, I thought she¡¯s the sadist and rebel type when we first met her in the capital. But Mada tell me apparently it¡¯s not her real self. The Perfect Role Play changed her personality because she¡¯s using it too long. So, as the Perfect Role Play is being used by Mada, she¡¯s back to the way she was, easygoing and kind of aloof.


    ¡°Hey, Reis, where¡¯s daddy go? And who¡¯s that woman with him?¡± Erfia tucks my vest while points into a direction.


    I look into the direction and see Mada is walking with a woman into the first level. A woman in white and yellow line clothes like a priest. But, she¡¯s clinging to Mada.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t care. Let¡¯s just stay here until we reach Loos Port.¡± I don¡¯t know why but it¡¯s pissing me off.

 22. A Quest

    ¡°I¡¯ve got tons of questions. But before that, could you please get off me?¡±


    ¡°But we used to do this way back then.¡±


    I try to release from Nevi¡¯s cling. But it¡¯s no use, she¡¯s clinging on me showing no signs of letting go. I can totally feel her breast rubbing against my left hand while holding the Pair of Dragon and Phoenix in my right hand.


    Right now we¡¯re on the first level. Usually this room is reserved for few high class traders. This place looks like a castle with a veranda in all four directions.


    ¡°So, do you like them?¡±


    ¡°Uhh, what do you mean?¡± I try to avoid the question.


    ¡°You always prefer them big, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­.., I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Ehem.¡± Shiba tries to imitate a cough to let Nevi knows his presence.


    I look into him awkwardly. He just stares at me like I¡¯m an enemy or such. Well, judging by how he looks at me, there are two possibilities. One, he¡¯s jealous of Nevi and Me. Two, he hates me for being the reason the high priest act so low.


    I pull my hand and jump a few steps to the side. With my speed and power, I could easily get out of her hand. But in an instant, Nevi appears again on my hand in clinging position.


    I let out a sigh, ¡°Okay, I give up. Just tell me what you want from me!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you right, I¡¯ve been expecting you and I wanted to meet you.¡± Nevi answer me showing no doubts.


    ¡°No, she¡¯s lying. She¡¯s also lying about waiting you since the fall of Ul Thadur and come all the way here to look for you.¡± Shiba deny all of her words.


    ¡°So?¡± I ask him. He¡¯s look more reliable than Nevi.


    ¡°We¡¯re simply back from Ul Thadur to talk about the future of this country and our kingdom. Nevi is the negotiator. But in the journey back, we got attacked by a numerous band of bandits and only me and two more standing in the stairs is left. We asked the captain about the list of people in this ship to look for guards. She wants you when she reads your name on the list.¡±


    Okay, something is wrong. I put my name as Mada Jeian of the Vorks in the registration, but yet they¡¯re looking for Mada Arcaness, my real name.


    ¡°If you¡¯re wondering how, I simply know it.¡± Nevi says to me like she¡¯s able to read my mind.


    She¡¯s as ambiguous as ever.


    ¡°So, are you willing to take this job?¡± Shiba asks me.


    ¡°Before we continue, I¡¯d like you to let my party come upstairs. It seems they¡¯re already standing in front of your guard downstairs.¡±


    ¡°Your party?¡± Shiba raises his voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s allright. Let them in.¡± Nevi make the order to Shiba while she¡¯s still clinging on me.


    Shiba just let out a sigh and walk towards the stairs. I put my Pair of Dragon and Phoenix on the floor and try to stand.


    ¡°Daddy¡­..¡± Erfia yells at me while running.


    ¡°Daddy?¡±


    When Erfia calls me, I can feel Nevi¡¯s hold is becoming loose. Loose enough for me to escape. I walk towards Erfia and I carry her. I can see Erfia is curious why I act that way as she tilts hear head without saying any words. Reis, Eri, and Kurua walk behind her without showing anything. They just look around this level. Except for Reis. I can see she¡¯s a little pissed at something.


    ¡°Let me introduce you to my party. This is my child, Erfia. The cat girl is Eri. The man is Kurua. And the girl with some pissed expression on her face is Reis.¡±


    Reis became more pissed than before and she won¡¯t look at me.


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Shiba and this lady here is Nevi.¡± Shiba tries to show a courtesy. ¡°May I say something?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± I nod.


    ¡°You got yourself an unusual party. A party comprises of human, beast man, and a mix blood is not something you found everyday.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, I got that a lot.¡± I answer him with a chuckles. ¡°You¡¯re the last person I¡¯d want to hear that though. A kingdom that has a beast man as their king, a human as high priest, and some demons in the government.¡±


    ¡°Well, you got that right.¡± Shiba agrees with me. ¡°Well, shall we continue?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I walk while carrying Erfia with me.


    Shiba sit on his chair so does Nevi. I sit and put Erfia on my lap. Nevi became more silent since Erfia and the others come. I know letting Erfia come is a good idea to constrain her. The others take a chair for their own and then sit beside me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain the details,¡± Shiba speaks up. ¡°We¡¯re looking for a man to guard us in our way to Sairkhan. We¡¯re hoping that you would take this job. Of course, you will be rewarded when the job is finished.¡±


    ¡°Before we take it, who we¡¯re facing?¡± Kurua suddenly speaks what I want to ask.


    ¡°The Raider. They¡¯re a gang of raider consists of two words fugitive and three words fugitive led by Mada the Great Raider.¡±


    ¡°Umm, Mada the Great Raider?¡± I try to gain more info.


    ¡°Yes, he claimed as Mada the Raider pupil and always puts a clown mask like he did. He put up a band of raider few months ago and raid every caravan that travel from Loos Port to Sairkhan.¡±


    Okay, so basically some me wannabe appeared, and he declared that he was my pupil? What the hell is that? I look around and realize everybody is looking at me with a suspicious look. Well, we just met like a couple months ago, so I can¡¯t really blame them.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°So, are you willing to take the job?¡± Shiba asks me.


    ¡°Sure, I guess I¡¯ll take it.¡± I need to clear things up.


    ¡°Really? Thank you very much. You will be rewarded handsomely. Surely.¡± Shiba stands and shakes my hand.


    I look into everybody and see there¡¯s no objection in their face. Except for Reis, she¡¯s still not willing to look at me.


    ¡°Say, Mada, I see no human figure on her. Is she really our child? Or did you kidnap her?¡± Nevi asks me. It seems she¡¯s focusing on Erfia all this time.


    I chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re saying the exact same thing as Ariana.¡±


    ¡°Huhuhu, I suppose it¡¯s a normal thing to ask you.¡±


    Yeah, I agree. ¡°She¡¯s my foster daughter. I¡¯m not married yet.¡±


    ¡°Hah, that¡¯s a relief.¡± Nevi let out a sigh.


    ¡°What do you even care about him being married or not?¡± Reis suddenly let out a burst of her opinion.


    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯ve been expecting him to live with me since at Ariana¡¯s place.¡± Nevi jumps to me but I manage to hold her with my left hand.


    ¡°Hey, get off of him. You¡¯re way to close.¡± Reis shouts at us.


    ¡°PIRATES!!!!¡±


    Finally the last pirates attack for the day. We only have another 30 minutes before we arrive at the Loose Port, so yeah, I could say this is the last pirates attack.


    ¡°Umm, mister Mada, actually,¡± Shiba tries to tell me something but I can see he¡¯s being too hesitant.


    ¡°Even if you believed in her words, you still worry about my capability, aren¡¯t you?¡± I try to complete his words.


    Shiba hesitantly nod his heads. Apparently doubting Nevi¡¯s words or trust is something hard for him to do.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, that¡¯s perfectly normal. Actually, I¡¯m glad you don¡¯t follow her words blindly.¡± I let out a praise for Shiba. Then, I try to make another deal. ¡°Then, while the guards are busy defeating the pirates aboard, let me sink every ship in sight.¡±


    I put Erfia down and take the Pair of Dragon and Phoenix with me.


    ~By the will of wind and the earth, let these touches the greatness of your might. As I say, speed of wind~


    Without waiting for any signal or permission, I run and jump toward the vast ocean. I manage to reach the ocean in a single leap.


    ~By the will of the vast ocean, let these step and walk free on your territory. As I say, ocean¡¯s will~


    Ocean¡¯s will is a magic to manipulate the water¡¯s surface in contact with my foot to make it splash slower. I won¡¯t drown as long as I step on the water in less than a second. So, I have to jump or run in the ocean¡¯s surface. If I stay, the water will let me drown.


    I make another jump while opening the cloth that¡¯s covering the Pair of Dragon and Phoenix. The final attack involved at least 5 different ships. The pirates that¡¯s trying to reach the ship is not too much so the guards will likely to defeat easily.


    I finally reached the first ship in the west of the ship. As I land, all the pirates aboard the ship point their weapon at me. I put the strength in my foot and propel myself into the horde with my shield as my weapon. By doing this, I manage to charge the air explosion at the same time I attack them. I stop and put the lance sword into the deck.


    ¡°BLOW¡±


    By a voice command, I activate the main feature of the Dragon, the air explosion. That single air explosion changes the ship interior into nothing and makes a big hole in it. I leave the ship as it¡¯s sinking. It takes me another few jumps to reach another ship. But I think landing on the deck is taking too much time, so I run toward the ship¡¯s side and slash it open with my lance sword. A lot of slashes on it will create a big hole that will lead it to sink.


    Two ships down, three to go. Without any hindrance, I manage to bring down another two ships by wrecking the side of the ships. Finally only one ship left. When I jump toward it, I could see a big arrow of water and lightning is being cast at its top. But before it completes and comes at me, suddenly the big arrow of water and lightning disappeared.


    So, Nevi is using her power to cancel it. Thanks a lot. Without any hindrance, thanks to Nevi, I sink the last ship by opening a big hole in its side. As I have done with my task, I jump back toward the ship and land safely on the first level.


    ~The greatness of wind and earth has been proved. The territory of the ocean has been explored.~


    As I back, I got greeted with a welcome hug from Nevi.


    ¡°I know you can do it easily. I love you¡­..¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. I get it.¡± I put the pair of Dragon and Phoenix on the floor and try to run from her hug. ¡°Anyway, thanks for helping me out there.¡±


    ¡°Anything for my beloved Mada.¡± Nevi hugs harder than before and try to kiss me.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Reis suddenly appears and separates us without a hunch.


    Thanks Reis. But I see her face is pissed. Maybe I¡¯m getting into another problem here.

 23. Anti Magic

    ¡°Nevi, stop staring at me. I know we were close but I¡¯ve got to keep an eye on my daughter¡¯s dance lesson.¡± I try to stop Nevi which is staring at me from my back.


    ¡°Hehe, no, I won¡¯t.¡±


    It¡¯s the second night since I take the job to guard Nevi. We¡¯re going with their big carriage that looks like a bus. Unlike our carriage that¡¯s moved by mana, their caravan is moved by energy crystal. Energy crystal is another source of fuel other than black water. It is a rare kind of fuel that¡¯s only exist on Demon¡¯s realm and it is similar with my mana storage ring. It¡¯s storing the mana from the nature before being mined. But it¡¯s not too popular outside the demon¡¯s realm.


    My job of making the meal is taken over by Shiba. He said it was always his job to prepare the meal because Nevi has some prohibitions of the food she ate since she¡¯s a high priest. Even I know what the prohibitions is, I let him take care of it so I can look into Erfia¡¯s dance training. Kurua is helping him as he doesn¡¯t want to eat anything without doing any work.


    I can see Erfia¡¯s movement has improved a lot since I made her learn how to dance. Eri is a good teacher too. Reis is still bad at it. I can¡¯t expect much from a bandit in her twenties. I just need her as companion for Erfia¡¯s lesson.


    ¡°How long are we going to take to reach Sairkhan?¡± I ask Nevi without looking back.


    ¡°Well, at this pace, we¡¯ll reach it in less than a week.¡±


    I can feel Nevi¡¯s voice is coming closer. I jump to the side to avoid her. Just as I thought, she¡¯s already jump at me.


    Three thousand kilometers in less than a week. That¡¯s fast. It raises the speed of the travel by twice. If we¡¯re still going with our mana carriage, we¡¯ll reach it two weeks.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you please stop it? I don¡¯t want to disturb Erfia¡¯s concentration.¡±


    ¡°Uh, we¡¯ve been separated for a few years and all you¡¯ve been talking about is just your daughter. It¡¯s not fair.¡± Nevi¡¯s complaining to me.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. She¡¯s my daughter. She¡¯s my first priority.¡±


    ¡°You put her on your first priority just because she¡¯s still a child, aren¡¯t you? You pedophile!¡±


    Ah, umm. I can¡¯t say a clear answer or reply to it.


    ¡°The dinner is ready.¡± Kurua calls to us.


    I jump toward Erfia and the others without giving any reply to Nevi¡¯s words. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s it for today.¡±


    ¡°Yeay, dinner time.¡± Erfia¡¯s running toward Kurua¡¯s voice.


    Eri runs following Erfia with the same aloof face. I don¡¯t know whether she¡¯s using a magic device or some potion to keep her appearance, but it sure works perfectly. For a supposedly 90 years old woman, she looks just like 30 years old woman. Even by now, Kurua which is her pupil looks older than her.


    ¡°So, having another sweet time with Nevi?¡± Reis asks me with a pissed tone.


    ¡°Oh. C¡¯mon. Stop it already, would you?¡±


    Reis says nothing and left me.


    I know since we met Nevi, Reis¡¯s reaction has become more violent than ever. It¡¯s like she¡¯s back on being a desert bandit. I¡¯m not some insensitive guy so I know she¡¯s jealous of me and Nevi. It¡¯s just she doesn¡¯t seem to realize it yet. But I can¡¯t say it to her. If I say it to her, I¡¯ll make her more pissed and it will complicate things.


    I return to the carriage to have my dinner. But apparently the conditions are not so good. Reis and Nevi are competing in getting Erfia¡¯s hearts. They offer to feed Erfia or give her their portion. This is not good. I throw a look into Eri but she ignores me. I try my luck with Kurua. Thanks God Kurua nod to me and take Erfia with him.


    This journey to Sairkhan will become a long journey for me.


    I look into the other two guards that¡¯s still alive. Both of them are a woman. Frea is a half demon and half human being. The distinct feature of her body that indicate it is her pointy tail and slit eyes. She¡¯s wearing heavy armor covered with a white robe. The other one, Bura, is a beast man type mole. She¡¯s wearing a minimalist clothes like Eri added the white robe.


    ¡°Say, what kind of grimoire that little girl has?¡± Shiba ask me about the grimoire in Erfia¡¯s neck.


    ¡°Huh, you won¡¯t believe it.¡± I try to boast about the grimoire.


    ¡°It is the book of creation and destruction. It¡¯s the greatest grimoire ever existed.¡± Kurua adds my words.


    When we said it, everybody just silent and dropped their jaws. Nobody expects it at all.


    ¡°Wait, are you serious? Do you seriously put that kind of book in her possession?¡± Nevi questions my decision.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t. The book did.¡± I answer Nevi¡¯s question after gulp my food. ¡°You see, this book is one of those items with their own will. It can¡¯t be found by anybody if it doesn¡¯t want to. Even if I put it in my pocket, I won¡¯t ever find it in my pocket again. But if Erfia look into my pocket, she will find it there.¡±


    ¡°Even all this time, I¡¯ve been looking for it in my shop but no luck at all. I started to think that grimoire never existed in my shop. Until she brings it to me.¡±


    Just as I thought, even Kurua the strongest beast man is not able to find it. That reason is also why I didn¡¯t put it in the Keeper. It might lose for eternity.


    ¡°Then why is she still learns how to dance?¡± Shiba asks me.


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t need to study magic at all.¡± Reis takes on Shiba question. ¡°She¡¯s one talented girl. Just show some spell to her and she can master it in one go. What she needs right now is a way to defend herself if the enemy manages to come close and a fit body to manipulate more mana.¡±


    ¡°Wow, is that mean she can also master the art of anti-magic?¡± Nevis asks while looking so intense at Erfia.


    ¡°Sure thing.¡± Reis and I answer her at the same time.


    ¡°Anti-magic? So, the rumor of high priest of Sairkhan being the anti-magic magician is true?¡± Eri asks Nevi and the others.


    It normal for her to be surprised.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know her? Her title is the same as her magic, Anti Magic. Nevi the Anti Magic.¡± I tell Eri¡¯s and the other. ¡°Apparently, your name is not famous. Hahaha.¡±


    ¡°Well, a high priest is a nobody. So, her title as two words nobody is not as famous as one word fugitive or one word hero.¡± Shiba defends her infamousness.


    ¡°Umm, dad, she¡¯s a magician. But what¡¯s with the anti-magic title?¡± Erfia curious about the title.


    ¡°Let me answer it,¡± Nevi takes the chance to raise her status in Erfia¡¯s eyes. ¡°My magic, the art of anti-magic, is a new type of magic that we, Mada and I, created when we were still in Ariana¡¯s place. With it, I can read and know every magic that¡¯s being casted or activated.


    ¡°Take a simple example. To cast a magic, the magician needs to spell the incantation perfectly without any wrong words. If I face with such magic, I simply add some random words into their magic incantation and the incantation is cancelled immediately. But if it¡¯s something like body enhancement magic like the one Mada used, I read his magic and then dispel it by spelling the incantation.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Is it means the magic is talking to you how to cancel it?¡± Erfia asks Nevi.


    ¡°Yeah. Exactly. Just like that.¡± Nevi praises Erfia¡¯s guess. ¡°So, do you want to learn it?¡±


    ¡°I do, I do.¡± Erfia answer it without a further thinking.


    Nevi¡¯s magic, anti-magic, is something that we created when we¡¯re still in Ariana¡¯s care. But it¡¯s relatively new and none manage to master it but Nevi. It needs a high sensitivity towards the nature and opponents gesture. If Erfia wants to learn it, I could say she¡¯s suitable for it. She managed to shoot a crossbow accurately in 100 meters distance which normally only accurate for 50 meters by reading the wind flow.


    ¡°Mada, is it okay?¡± Nevi asks me.


    ¡°Sure thing. Now that she doesn¡¯t have to drive the carriage, she has a lot of free time.¡° I answer Nevi¡¯s question. ¡±I¡¯ll adjust her magic later.¡±


    ¡°Mada, Nevi and you are the ones created it. Why can¡¯t you teach her yourself?¡± Reis asks my decision. ¡°Even Ariana told me that you¡¯re a very great teacher back then.¡±


    ¡°I might be a good teacher, but I had a very limited amount of mana I could use. So, the best I can do is an assistant.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Reis asks me again.


    ¡°For a magician to learn something, the best way is to see the magic directly while it¡¯s being casted.¡± I started to explain things to Reis and everybody in this place. ¡°Let¡¯s take some example. The spiking ground she used at the desert when we met you is not perfect. Why? Because I simply told her to imagine a circle on the ground. The magic take form by itself. The perfect spiking ground will create a lot of circles and spike an ice to every single person in the sight. That¡¯s why you¡¯re still alive. As I said, you¡¯re lucky.


    ¡°A complicated magic needs a great visualization of the caster, without it, the magic will take form by itself and who knows what the magic¡¯s form going to take. That¡¯s why the best I can do is teaching the theory and adjusting the magic incantation to reduce the mana consumption and the blowback to its user.¡±


    All of them fell into a silence. Erfia and Nevi are the only ones that still eat like nothing happened.


    ~~~


    Another three days passed without any signs of this me wannabe. At this pace, we¡¯ll reach Sairkhan in a couple days.


    We just finished our lunch. Nevi is teaching Erfia for the last time. She should have mastered it by now.


    ¡°Now for the final lesson. We will combine all of the lesson for the past few days. Okay?¡± Nevi says it to Erfia with a proud voice.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Erfia nods.


    ¡°Okay, Mada, do it!¡±


    Here I am, standing on top of the carriage as the training subject. I do as Nevi says and cast a silent incantation of blood transformation. It is necessary to cast it in silent so Erfia doesn¡¯t know what magic I use.


    ¡°Remember, always spell the incantation inside your head by imagining the words floating in the air.¡± Nevi starts the final lesson. ¡°First, by using the nature eye spell, read the flow of nature. See the disruption of nature in the opponent¡¯s body or area around the opponent¡¯s.¡±


    Erfia nods obediently.


    ¡°Good, observe the disruption carefully. Because you¡¯re an elf, you can see the disruption as words or letters easily without translation magic. Imagine the letters and the words to stay put and scatter them. You will see a very thin and nearly invisible thread connecting one letter and the others. Make the thread connect one another in a line.¡±


    ¡°All right. It¡¯s done.¡± Erfia responds to Nevi¡¯s guidance.


    ¡°By now, it should have created a words floating in the air. The line in the top is the spell incantation to cast it, the line in the bottom is the incantation to dispel it. By using voice of none, dispel his magic by doing a silent incantation of his magic.¡±


    I can see Erfia¡¯s muttering the words in her words. As she''s done with the muttering, I can feel my blood transformation is being dispelled and my body return to normal.


    ¡°Good, now let¡¯s try the magic cancellation. Reis, now¡¯s your turn.¡±


    Reis is standing beside me and does just as she said to. I can see she doesn¡¯t like to do as she told, but apparently she doesn¡¯t want to hindrance Erfia¡¯s training to. Reis is starting to spell a long incantation and the ground around us is starting to shake.


    ¡°If you look at it. You can see words is floating around her. The highlighted words are the one she has spelled and the dark ones hasn¡¯t. By using voice of none, say a random words in your mind and imagine the words appear right after the highlighted words.¡±


    At that moment, the ground is stopped shaking. It seems she manages to cancel Reis¡¯s magic incantation.


    ¡°Good!¡± Nevi¡¯s burst in excitement. ¡°Now simply dispel your magic one by one. Remember, the order is reversed. So, dispel it starting from the last one you cast.¡±


    Erfia muttering again and dispels all of the magic she cast. For a first timer, I can see every single incantation she spelled out of her mouth. In no time, she could do it without muttering at all.


    ¡°Yeay, you made it. You just mastered the anti-magic magic.¡± Nevi grabs and hug Erfia. She looks so happy.


    Nevi is not the only one happy. Erfia also happy as she mastered it. She really is a prodigy. It took several months for us to create it. I think her being half elf and half beast man is one of the main reasons she¡¯s a prodigy. Elf is known for their ability of talking with the nature and beast man also known for their compatibility with nature. Maybe having both of their race makes it easier for her to understand the flow of nature.


    ¡°Bad news! Bad news!¡± Frea runs toward us in hurry.


    This is not good. I run at my best and grab Frea. I catch an arrow before it hit her right behind her.


    ¡°You¡¯re great. I admit it.¡±


    A voice rises out of nowhere. At that moment, at least a hundred men appeared around us. I couldn¡¯t sense them, so it means they used stealth magic. But of all, only one person is wearing a mask. Another clown mask with a tear picture below the right eye and a star picture in the left eye.


    I jump back at Erfia and Nevi¡¯s place and put Frea down. I take my Pair of Dragon and Phoenix near Nevi¡¯s place and take off the cloth covering it.


    ~By the will of wind and the earth, let these touches the greatness of your might. As I say, speed of wind~


    I prepared for battle.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Bura?¡± Nevi asks Frea.


    ¡°Are you looking for this girl?¡± the same voice rises.


    Judging by the direction, we conclude the source is the masked man. He throws Bura¡¯s body to the ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s not dead yet. But if you¨C¡°


    ~Clang~


    In just short moment, I manage to unsheathe my lance sword, reach him, and swing it toward him. He¡¯s holding my lance sword just in time.


    ¡°I¡¯m not done yet.¡±


    ¡°Just shut up! You imposter!¡±

 24. Mada vs Mada

    Mada fights Mada the Great Raider after he passes Bura to us with his leg like a ball. While he fights the other Mada, the other bandits simply let them fight and attack us. It seems their real objective is Nevi. We need to defend ourselves against the hundred people left.


    ¡°What¡¯s with him? He just marches on alone and left us with all of these problems.¡± I complain as I fight the incoming bandits.


    All of them are two words and three words fugitive while I¡¯m just mere three words fugitive. I hate to admit it but I have a hard time handling these bandits.


    Eri suddenly appears in front of me and takes care few of the bandits at once. Her right hand is covered with a dim light that forms a shape of a claw so does her right leg. The only thing I could do is defends against their blunt weapon or raw power attack with Earth Connection. Every time I try to put pinpoint explosion on their body, they manage to avoid it or throw any clothes that I touched.


    ¡°Stay back, Reis. You just mere three words.¡± Eri told me to back off. ¡°Even without the Perfect Role Play, I¡¯m still a two words nobody.¡±


    ¡°What? I thought you¡¯re the sly type that never fight anybody.¡± I can¡¯t help but ask it.


    ¡°Huhuhu, she was the founder and the trainer of dojo of ki manipulation.¡± Kurua answers me while he fends off any enemies coming for him without dropping a sweat. ¡°She could defeat two words titled easily. But yes, she had a hard time of fighting one word titled. So, as long as the enemies are not one word titled, she could defeat them.¡±


    Okay, that¡¯s new for me. Why Mada didn¡¯t tell me about it? Kurua even manage to defeat them without using any weapon or any ki manipulation like Eri does. Is that mean his raw power is more than enough?


    While we fend off any enemies that¡¯s coming, Erfia and Nevi cancel any magic that¡¯s being cast or dispel any magic that¡¯s being used by the enemies.


    I look into Mada. I can see he¡¯s watching the other Mada¡¯s movement, technique, style, and weapon. He¡¯s not serious at all.


    ¡°MADA! FINISH IT QUICKLY!¡± I yell at my lung capacity.


    ***


    It seems Reis knows that I¡¯m not serious and just playing around with this person. I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s a woman from her movement. But I can¡¯t really sure as she wears layers of clothes and armor and it seems the mask has a voice changer magic. But yes, I¡¯m 80% sure she¡¯s a woman.


    With a buckler on her left hand and a cutlass on her right hand, she manages to deflect my attacks and match my normal movement.


    ¡°You¡¯re good enough for someone acting as Mada¡¯s pupil.¡± I try to talk to her while sending attacks and parry her attacks.


    ¡°I¡¯m not acting, I am his pupil. Why you¡¯re so insist that I¡¯m just acting?¡±


    ¡°Because I know him good.¡±


    I swing my lance sword so hard she takes a step back to minimize the damage.


    ¡°And who are you?¡± She asks me with a pissed tone.


    ¡°You really are just a mere bandit to not know me.¡± I stand tall and put my lance sword in my shoulder. ¡°Let me introduce you, my name is Mada Jeian of the Vorks, I¡¯m Mada the Black Trader. And Mada the Raider is my regular client.¡±


    ¡°So? Just because he¡¯s your regular client, doesn¡¯t mean you know everything about him.¡± She points her cutlass to me. ¡°I know your name, and I don¡¯t like you. A mere trader like you are not worth for him.¡±


    Did she seriously think like that? What kind of delusion she got into? But I can¡¯t deny the way she moves resemble my movement. If she paid enough attention, she could tell that our movement is nearly same. But, apparently she¡¯s not that good.


    She dropped her cutlass and her buckler. I take a stance as I see it. She¡¯s being dead serious right now. I can see it that she¡¯s not trying her best previously.


    She takes a few steps back and takes something from the ground.


    I¡¯m waiting. I¡¯d like to know her fighting capability.


    As I look carefully, she¡¯s taking a big chunk of iron. She draws some symbol on the iron with her right hand and then the iron is deforming. In just a short moment, the iron has changed into a long bow. Wait a minute, I recognize the shape. It¡¯s resembling the Pointing Tip of Desperation. She put her finger in the end of the arrow and a string of ray is formed. It¡¯s a magic.


    A woman using alchemy to change an iron into a bow and a using a magic as its string. I think I know this person. Now that I know who this person might be, I¡¯d like to see how good she is at imitating me.


    ~Power Boost~


    She cast a body enhancement spell to boost her power. She¡¯s stepping on some box and few spears spiking out in front of her. One spear is shot at me. I deflect it with my shield. I can say the power is not as strong as my shoot but I can say she¡¯s at least 4 times stronger than a normal person right now.


    She takes another spear and cast something on its end. An explosion spear, eh. She shot it and I avoided it. The area behind me exploded as it lands.


    ¡°You¡¯re great for an illegitimate pupil.¡± I try to mock her. ¡°But Mada¡¯s distinguishing mark is not only his long bow that shoots spears.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡±


    ~Speed Boost~


    ~Agility Boost~


    ~Air Jump~


    She cast another three magic simultaneously and charge at me. She shot one spear and I deflected it. In that short time, she changes her long bow into a pair of swords. One sword is covered in fire and the other is covered in raging wind. She cast a magic at both of the swords. She¡¯s trying to imitate me when I used Burning Sword and Razor Wind.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I put my lance sword back into the sheath inside the shield and defend against her attack. I pass the shield from my right hand to my left hand and vice versa to compete her speed as she¡¯s jumping around in the air try to attack me. Burning Sword and Razor Wind has one weakness, its effect can¡¯t get through an object. So, it¡¯s only burning my shield and the wind is only attacking my shield.


    I keep on defending until a minute pass and she¡¯s stopping. She¡¯s breathing fast.


    ¡°Even Mada can only manage that attack for 10 minutes non-stop. I guess you¡¯re not so bad.¡± I praise her.


    ¡°How? How can you manage to defend against all of my attack? And how did you know it?¡±


    I show her some smile and then stick my Pair of Dragon and Phoenix in the ground.


    ~The greatness of wind and earth has been proved.~


    I dispel the Wind of Speed and take a stance. My palm opened forward and I lower my body. I put my right hand facing forward while my left hand below it and a bit closer to my chest.


    ~O the almighty watcher, I wish you to grant this selfish wish of mine and let me borrow those touches of yours, the hand of the creator.~


    ~By the will of red blood, let this body of mine contain your whole might. As I say, blood transformation.~


    I let out the incantation out loud so she could hear me. But at that time I cast all of my magic in silent incantation, so I¡¯m sure she didn¡¯t know about my magic or incantation.


    ¡°I¡¯ll defeat you in the next attack. You better prepare yourself.¡± I provoke her.


    She¡¯s pissed as she charges towards me. She jumps around so fast. If I¡¯m not using my blood transformation, I won¡¯t be able to see her movement. She¡¯s using air jump to put some air barrier that she can step on so she can move around easily.


    She comes with both of her swords make an x slash. By using the blood transformation, I could see her movement and adding hand of the creator I could feel her movement is changing the flow of wind. By using both of these things, I could see where her attack will likely to come. I take a step to the side and lower my body to avoid it. Her eyes wide open when I avoid her attack. I hold her lower body with my left hand while my right hand touches her back.


    I flow some electricity to her nervous system in her back when I touch her and I press her to the ground. The dirt around us are flying in the air creates some dust covering both of us.


    ¡°AGGHHH!¡± She lets out a sound of pain.


    ~The Almighty Watcher is being too kind. The might of the red blood has emerged in victory~


    I dispel both of my magic and the dust has disappeared.


    ¡°What, what did you do to my body? I can¡¯t move it!¡±


    ¡°I disable your hands and legs movement. It will heal by itself for the next two days.¡±


    I disarmed both of her swords and make her lay on her back. I put my hand on her mask and take it off. A short black hair with a yellow eyes like a snake eyes. When I took the mask off, the ear is changed into a pointy ear of elf. The last distinguishing feature of her is that pair of horn above her eyes. It¡¯s just a tiny horn so the mask managed to cover it. She¡¯s a half blood of Demon and Elf.


    ¡°Just as I thought, Xiel.¡± I talk to her while looking into her face.


    ¡°Wait, how do you know my name?¡±


    Now that her mask is off, I can clearly hear her girl voice.


    ¡°Before I answer your question, let me praise you for being so great even when I never taught you anything. You manage to imitate it just by seeing it for one time.¡± I let out some proud voice. ¡°But unfortunately you¡¯re totally wrong.


    ¡°Mada didn¡¯t use a speed enhancement magic, he¡¯s using a magic to manipulate air and ground. Second, Mada didn¡¯t use an agility enhancement magic, he¡¯s using it to increase his reflex and mind processing time. Third, Mada never use a power enhancement magic, it¡¯s his body¡¯s power. Get it? The final form is almost the same but unfortunately the basic and the processes is totally different. But the final mistake is, he never raids some caravan with a group of bandits to get some money or food. He only raids something worth enough like a relict.¡±


    ¡°Ho, how did you know?¡± she¡¯s more calm than before now.


    I look around and see the others are pretty far from us. I lower my body and put my right hand in between us. The space in my right hand is distorted and I take my clown mask out of the Keeper. I can see her eyes are focusing on my hand.


    ¡°No, no way.¡± Xiel opened her eyes wide.


    ¡°Yes, I am Mada the Raider.¡± I said it to her as I put my mask.


    ¡°HEY MADA! WE MANAGE TO CAPTURE SOME OF THEM! WE¡±LL TAKE THEM FOR INTERROGATION!¡± Reis yells at me.


    I put my mask back on the Keeper and stand. I take a deep breath and let out a loud voice. ¡°I¡¯ll also take this Mada the Great Raider.¡±


    ¡°Just kill me already? Aren¡¯t you always kill everybody that knows your identity?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m considering.¡±

 25. Sairkhan

    ¡°Look! It¡¯s the high priest!¡±


    ¡°Long live high priest!¡±


    ¡°May God Bless you!¡±


    A lot of voices rise from the crowd as they make a way for the high priest, Nevi. It looks like we¡¯re in a middle of a parade and the carriage is the caravan. The carriage walks slowly in the front with Nevi standing on top of it. Waving her hand and smiling. I walk behind the carriage with a metal string tied every bandit we caught in my left hand and my right hand shouldering the Pair of Dragon and Phoenix.


    It¡¯s much more complex when we entered the gate. When we¡¯re in the middle of our journey, we simply tied all the bandits in top of the carriage. But when we almost reach the gate, they have to walk and I keep them tied in front of them.


    In the front most of the bandits, Xiel is walking while staring hard at me. For the past few days, she didn¡¯t let out a single word out of her except if I talk to her. Even if this convenient as she won¡¯t unveil my identity, but on the other hand it¡¯s such a pain as Reis and Nevi thought I¡¯ve fallen for her.


    We reach the palace while the army take control of the bandits and bring them to the prison.


    ¡°Please, come. The king has been waiting for you.¡± A woman human welcome us.


    We walk following Nevi in front of us. This palace is not the highest place apparently. Some building is higher.


    ¡°Mada, we¡¯re greeting the king. I¡¯d like you to behave.¡± Nevi talks to me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡±


    I¡¯ve only set my foot in this place one time one year ago to do some business. Other than that, never.


    We reach the palace. You can see a lot of knights standing in line at the left and the right of the hall. In front of us, a red carpet has been set to welcome the high priest. I look into the throne and see a beast man type dragon sitting. In his right side, a woman beast man also type dragon is sitting. Judging from the crown, the man is the king and the woman beside him is the queen. They look so bright with the stained glass behind them let the light from the outside to come in.


    We walk inside and not so far from the throne, we kneel and give our respect to the king.


    ¡°Long live Your Highness. High priest Nevi came from the negotiation with the new government of Ul Thadur with some companion.¡± Nevi greet the king.


    I manage to guide Erfia how to do it while putting my Pair of Dragon and Phoenix in the ground. I put my left hand on her head to show her that we¡¯re not allowed to stand or stop bowing before the king allows us.


    ¡°Stand, high priest Nevi and the companion.¡± The king finally allows us to stand.


    ¡°Thank you, your highness.¡± Nevi respond to the king¡¯s words.


    I let go of my hand from Erfia¡¯s head and all of us stand. I grab the Pair of Dragon and Phoenix back in my right hand.


    ¡°Nevi, may I know who¡¯s the leader of your companion?¡±


    ¡°Yes your highness. His name is Mada Jeian of the Vorks. Also known as Mada the Black Trader.¡± Nevi introduces me while I take a step to stand beside her. ¡°He¡¯s an old friend of mine and he¡¯s also the one that captured Mada the Great Raider.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, so Nevi is befriended Mada the Black Trader? That¡¯s something I didn¡¯t expect.¡± The king stroke his long beard below his long mouth. ¡°Tell me, Mada the Black Trader. What kind of item do you sell?¡±


    ¡°Anything, my lord. Just say it with an appropriate price and I¡¯ll get it for you.¡± I answer the king easily.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you bring any of your goods?¡± The queen enters the conversation.


    ¡°Unfortunately, I never bring it. I do my trade by order. I did it to avoid any unnecessary battle or raid along the way.¡±


    ¡°Hooh, that¡¯s unusual. So, Mada, you¡¯ve got some interesting party right there. A party consists of human, beast man, and a half elf half beast man. You¡¯ll fit perfectly in my kingdom. Tell me, would you like to stay at my kingdom as my security supervisor? It will suite you perfectly as you have proven yourself by capturing Mada the Great Raider. I could even change your title from two words nobody into one word hero.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t take your humble offer, my lord. Right now we¡¯re on a journey to the Demon¡¯s Realm to look for our old friend. I deeply sorry, my lord.¡± I lower my head as I reject his offer.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a friends in Demon¡¯s Realm? Tell me, is that person a demon or from another race?¡± The king puts interest on me.


    ¡°The person we¡¯re looking for is a beast man, and the other one is a demon, my lord.¡±


    Okay, I¡¯m tired will all of these formalities. Can we end it as soon as possible?


    ¡°Hooh, that¡¯s something you rarely see.¡± King let out a praise to me. ¡°Shiba, Frea, make sure our guest got the best service when he¡¯s staying in my kingdom and reward him with a few thousand gold coins.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± Shiba and Frea answer the king at the same time.


    ¡°Good. You may leave.¡±


    ¡°Thank you your highness.¡± All of us respond to the king at the same time


    ~~~


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a look at Xiel. Something¡¯s bothering me.¡± I tell everybody in the room right after Nevi and her guards left.


    ¡°So, you feel it too?¡± Eri responds to my words.


    ¡°What? What do you mean?¡± Reis asks me.


    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure. That¡¯s why I¡¯ll check it out.¡± I walk toward the door and open it. ¡°And, don¡¯t abandon the dance lesson. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± Erfia, Reis, and Eri answer me.


    I left the inn and take a walk.


    First, I¡¯m still thinking about the king offer this afternoon. It¡¯s so strange to offer some unknown person like me a high position like the security supervisor. Second, I see no despise in the people¡¯s eyes when they see the bandit. Normally people that see a band of bandit would scream at them and even throw something at them.


    I need to get some information. The only person I know is Nevi and Xiel. Nevi is out of question since she¡¯s already part of this place. It left me with Xiel. I ask anybody I met on the street about the location of the prison. But no one knows where is it. That¡¯s weird. I try to look the city guards or some soldier, but I can¡¯t seem to find one. Something really is strange about this place.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Finally I decide to search for the cathedral to find Nevi. I manage to find the cathedral easily. But when I found it, I¡¯m not sure I want to enter it. My instinct tells me some kind of magic barrier has been placed around the cathedral. If I enter it carelessly, I feel like someone or something will appear out of nowhere.


    I walk back and left the cathedral. I walk into the alley around the cathedral to find out some way in. But as I look around, I can¡¯t seem to find one. One more thing, this kingdom should be a big and crowded place, but I just realized the area around the cathedral unusually quiet. Very quiet.


    It seems I¡¯ve got no choice but to enter the cathedral. I take a robe out of the Keeper and put it. This robe is a special robe that allows me to enter any magic barrier without being detected. I hate this robe because the size is way too big and too long. When I wear it, it¡¯s like I¡¯m a woman bride of some wedding. I coil it around my body and my face so it won¡¯t hindrance my movement and cover my face.


    I jump to the cathedral roof from the nearby building. Fortunately the window is not locked, and it manages to let me in. It seems they have put it all in the magic barrier. As I enter the cathedral, I¡¯ve seen nothing but empty seats and some statue in front of it. I land and take a better look into the statue. Suddenly I see a movement on the statue. The statue is moving to the side. It is a door.


    I¡¯m looking for a place to hide but I can¡¯t find it anywhere. Then, I have to enter it. I lower my body in front of the statue, trying to hide my body by using the statue figure. A couple of guards is coming out of the statue and walk to the right of the statue. I quickly go to the left of the statue, behind of them. Before they turn their back and the statue move back into its place, I enter it. I can hear the statue slam the wall showing that it has been closed completely.


    I enter a room of darkness. Total darkness.


    ~O the almighty watcher, I wish you to grant this selfish wish of mine and let me borrow those touches of yours, the hand of the creator.~


    By using the hand of the creator, I manage to feel the air pressure, flow, and temperature around my body. By using the hand of creator like this, I feel like I¡¯m some kind of sonar. The difference is I¡¯m not emitting the signal, I only accept the air pressure and flow and it lets me picture the room I¡¯m in.


    Right now I¡¯m walking in some corridor with a stair went down. I take the stairs and step down. I walk by only using my toe to ensure no sound is coming from my steps. After a few minutes of walking down the stairs, finally I reached some underground dungeon. As this place has a torch along the way, I dispel my hand of the creator.


    ~The Almighty Watcher is being too kind.~


    At a glance, this place looks like your typical dungeon with a prison. But as I walk through it, I know this not your typical dungeon at all. Behind the bar, I can see a body without leg and arm is being bounded by some kind of root. The root is growing out of their body. It is not a normal root, the root is full of thorn and I can see some kind of liquid is coming out of the thorn. It¡¯s a poison. Around the body, I can see a magic sigil is drawn. The magic is a healing magic that will activate forever. It¡¯s a dark healing magic. The magic being fueled by the pain felt by the body. It will only stop when the body stops feeling pain. In other words, death.


    Even if my place was rather different, but I can recognize this place very well. This place is a place to torture the arrested one word fugitive. But I recognize none of the people in this place. I take a closer look into the bar and find something written on the ground.


    Hoan the Soul Mage


    Wait a minute, this person is just a two words titled? This is totally wrong.


    I continue to walk to the end of the hall. In the end of it, I find a door leads to another room. I put my ear on it and I could hear a voice of a woman. Screaming in pain.


    I¡¯ve got no use of some stealth anymore, so I put the magic robe back to the Keeper and put my mask on. I take a pair of iron gauntlets out of the Keeper and wear it. It¡¯s been a long time since I take this weapon of mine. I pull a long weapon out of the Keeper. A halberd with a length of 2 meters. It got a blue feather on its blade. The blade is made of ornament of a tiger head with a gold line. The Roaring Tiger.


    I swing the halberd to the door and break through. As I enter the room, I can see the place is full of torch and a lot of people wearing a white cloth covering their whole body but their head. The screaming woman is in the middle of the room being swarmed by thorny root that¡¯s trying to enter her body. I can clearly the see woman is Xiel.


    I swing my halberd to the ground and it makes the ground shaking. As the ground shaking, the people in white can¡¯t get their balance. I cut the root that¡¯s trying to enter the woman body and took her with me. I look into her and let out a little of relief breath as her leg and hand is still intact.


    ¡°This is going to hurt.¡± I whisper to Xiel.


    ¡°AAHHHHHH¡±


    I pull all of the poisonous thorny root out of her body. She¡¯s screaming harder than before when I do it. The iron gauntlet I wear is preventing my hand from touching it. I did it so fast, I¡¯m sure she felt a lot more pain than before. But after I did it, she¡¯s becoming unconscious. I take a stance with Xiel in my left hand and Roaring Tiger in my right hand.


    ¡°Oh, Mada, why would you do that?¡±

 26. Proposal

    ¡°Oh, c¡¯mon Mada, let¡¯s play again.¡± Nevi begs me while tucking my shirt.


    ¡°I¡¯ll play with you.¡± I try to release Nevi¡¯s hand from my shirt. ¡°But after you¡¯ve done your homework.¡±


    ¡°Nooo, you¡¯re no fun.¡± Nevi cries as she falls on her knee.


    Ahh, I can¡¯t seem to win against Nevi.


    Nevi is three years younger than me. Now she¡¯s 8. Ariana has left us for one week counting today. Before leaving us, she left us some homework for us to do. Of all kid in this place, Nevi is the most pampered one. When she cries like this, nobody wants to deal with her and simply left her to me.


    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll play with you.¡± I pat Nevi¡¯s head to calm her down. ¡°But you¡¯ve got to do your homework after I play with you. Deal?¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡± Nevi shows a wide smile on her face.


    Her favorite play is just a simple house play where I play as the father, she¡¯s the mother, and some doll as our children. Sometimes I¡¯m thinking this kind of life is not too bad.


    ¡°Mada, when we grow up, would you marry me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll consider it.¡±


    ~~~


    ¡°Oh, Mada, why would you do that?¡±


    No. No way. All my gut is trying to deny this voice. The voice of a kid that¡¯s always clinging to me in the past. The voice of pampered kid that cries every time I didn¡¯t want to play with her. But yet, deep inside my heart, I know this might be happen.


    ¡°Nevi, why?¡±


    In the dark, a figure of a woman in a veil come forward and shows her face, illuminated by the torch. Nevi is standing in front of me with a big smile on her face.


    ¡°I can¡¯t really answer your question if you ask me so vaguely.¡±


    I¡¯m speechless. I don¡¯t know what to say. A lot of questions pop inside my mind. But yet I can¡¯t seem to ask any of it. My mouth won¡¯t move.


    ¡°Have you really fallen for her?¡±


    ¡°She has nothing to do with all of these!¡± I shout in reflex of her words. ¡°Why a mere two words fugitive got a treatment of one word fugitive!?¡±


    ¡°Ah, so you already know the punishment of one word fugitive. Then, it will be easier for me to explain it.¡± Nevi walks in a circle around me. ¡°You know, this kingdom was just a small kingdom with no true power whatsoever before I came. But yet, how do you think this city manages to became one of the biggest and strongest kingdom in the beast man territory? If, you¡¯re thinking because it didn¡¯t discriminate against any race then you¡¯re totally wrong.


    ¡°The king offer me the position of high priest because at that time, this kingdom is in riot and demanded a change of king and such. You know, the classic situation. Even religion couldn¡¯t keep them in check anymore.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°So, we needed something to keep them in check. We needed to take all of their negative emotion. Did you know that extracted pain and fear, mixed with some magic, could take all negative emotion surrounding it? By using this room, we extracted the pain and fear as much as possible and use it to take all negative emotion in this kingdom. That¡¯s why people only welcome me without even take a look at the bandits when we came. Without this place, the kingdom would collapse in just a single day.¡±


    Nevi stops in front of me.


    ¡°But, why? You¡¯re not this kind of girl. You¨C¡°


    ¡°I¡¯m not the same little kid that used to tuck your shirt.¡± Nevi interrupts me. ¡°I¡¯m not that kid anymore. Right now, I¡¯m Nevi Frendezcht, Nevi the Anti Magic, the high priest of Sairkhan. To tell you the truth, I hoped you would take the king¡¯s offer and come to our side or at least you stayed away from this place.¡±


    ¡°And, now what?¡± I ask her.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve seen this place, the only path left for you is to die.¡±


    A pair of sword suddenly flying towards me. I deflect them by using Roaring Tiger and then I swing it to the ground. The floor in front of me is opened and create a fissure. She jumps to the side and sends out another swords flying towards me. I deflect them and take a step back.


    ¡°Please, Nevi. Can¡¯t we talk about it?¡±


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t.¡±


    Another swords flying toward me. I swing my sword and make it deflect back to Nevi. She grabs a pair of flying swords and deflects them. She¡¯s the kind of lazy type that prefer to use swords as projectile but she¡¯s also a master at swordsmanship.


    She runs at me and thrusts her sword. I let go of Xiel and bow back to avoid it. She takes a chance of my weakness of holding Xiel. I spin and send out a kick to her hand. My kick made her let go of her swords. But as the swords are flying in the air, they fly back to me. I use kick her shoulder and use it as a foothold to jump. I avoid it and she holds the sword again.


    As I realized, a lot of swords have already surrounded me like a dome. The swords are spinning around. Ready to move.


    I look into Xiel and make sure she lies low.


    ¡°Please, Nevi, you¡¯re the last person I want to fight.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got no choice!¡±


    She raises her hand and the swords stop spinning.


    ~By the will of red blood, let this body of mine contain your whole might. As I say, blood transformation.~


    All the swords thrust toward me. All at the same time. I spin my halberd fast and pass it by my left hand and right hand. I deflect all the swords and make them hit one each other. She covers the weakness of possibility of me breaking through one point if she sends the swords one by one. But by sending all the swords at the same time, it gives the chance of the swords hitting one each other.


    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Finally, I deflected all the swords. By the end of it, everybody in this room has died. Stabbed by flying swords I deflected. The only one standing other than me is Nevi on the other side of the room. I look back into the Xiel and let out a relief breath as I see she¡¯s unharmed.


    ¡°You really have fallen for her, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± I deny her statement again. ¡°She¡¯s my pupil.¡±


    ¡°So, it is true when she claims that she¡¯s an apprentice of Mada the Raider?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, umm, not entirely. Just say she¡¯s an illegitimate pupil of mine.¡± I answer her words. ¡°Enough of her. I need you to stop. We¡¯ve got no reason to fight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll stop if you agree to take the security supervisor and left your party.¡±


    I¡¯m not letting out any answer.


    ¡°See, the answer is clear. We¡¯re not on the same page anymore.¡±


    ¡°Please, I beg of you.¡±


    ~illumination~


    Nevi cast out a magic spell and the torch light up the whole room. I can see a sword in every inch of the wall. If she makes those swords come at me, I¡¯m not sure I can get out of this thing unscathed.


    At that time, I can feel my body is back to normal. She has dispelled my blood transformation magic. Just as I thought, using magic against her is no use.


    ~The almighty time is no ally to you. You stand on your own feet without the time. Oh, I yearn those powers of yours. As I say, the eternity.~


    The eternity is not a combat magic like any other magic I normally used. The eternity is a spell for increasing the blood circular speed, relaxing the muscle, and increase my nervous system. So, it¡¯s like a combination of blood transformation, flesh of immortal, and hand of creator. The main different is it¡¯s not affecting my body movement as it can¡¯t stand it, but my mind is the target. While my body can¡¯t move, my mind processing things way faster than before. it¡¯s like time is nearly stop for me to think everything through without my body acting at all.


    I look into everything we¡¯ve been through for the past few days. She still acts like the same old Nevi in the journey but yet she¡¯s claiming she¡¯s not the same child back then. She says she has to kill me because I know this place but yet she¡¯s still expecting me to take the security supervisor position. But the way she told me, it¡¯s like she knows me all along that I¡¯ll never take the jobs. She teaches Erfia the anti-magic. It¡¯s a normal thing for a teacher to want a disciple to continue the teach or magic. But a young girl like her, especially a pampered girl like her shouldn¡¯t have to think about it yet. If my guess is right, she¡¯s preparing herself to die in near future.


    I look into the freezing body of Nevi. As I look through her eyes, I could see a killing intent toward me. But the killing intent is not the usual pure killing intent. It¡¯s like the real killing intent is meant for someone else. But yet, there¡¯s something else I can feel from her eyes. A wavering will and an expectation. Both of it mixed in one thing as sadness. In other words, she expecting something entirely different from me.


    ~Time is ally to none.~


    As I dispel my magic, everything moved normal again. I take a stance with both my hand spins Roaring Tiger above my head.


    ¡°Nevi, I¡¯ll try to fulfill your expectation.¡± I whisper to myself.


    I stop my swing and swing my halberd into the ground. As the tip hit the ground, it let out a shockwave of sound and breaking the ground apart. All the swords that are flying to me deflected by the shockwave. Nevi take a few steps back trying to stay out of the breaking ground. I put the Roaring Tiger back to the keeper and jump. I take Xiel with me and closing in to Nevi. I take one sword and approach her. I throw Xiel at her and she dodges her. She¡¯s letting her guard down.


    ¡°You finally made it.¡± Nevi let out a smile. A nice and warm smile.


    I stand low my left leg kneel. My right hand is holding a sword while I hug her with my left hand. I can feel Nevi¡¯s warm body that¡¯s sticking to me. She¡¯s kneeling with a smile. She¡¯s trying to tell me not to think about the sword that¡¯s sticking out of her back.


    I let go of the sword and take off my mask. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry.¡± I keep on ranting. Without realizing it, I dropped a river of tears.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re not at fault. I¡¯m the one at fault.¡± Nevi put both of her hands in my body to give me a hug. One last hug. ¡°We¡¯re an adult now. Would you marry me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I would.¡±


    I hug her with both of my hand. Our face is closer and she closes her eyes. As our lips about to meet, right at that moment, I can feel her lips is avoiding me. Her body becomes so heavy. Both of her hand slip through me. I hold her and slowly put her on the ground.


    ¡°Nevi, Rest in Peace,¡± as I give her our first and last kiss.

 27. Nevi Frendezcht part I

    I was 5. My parent sold me to become a slave. But I got lucky as the one bought me is Ariana. At first, I got scared as I am being bought by a wizard. I thought I¡¯ll become one of her experiments or something like that. But the moment I got there, it¡¯s totally unexpected. There are another children like me. Including me, there are 8 children in that place. I was the youngest one and I¡¯m still the youngest one.


    ¡°What, you brought a new kid?¡± a boy asked Ariana.


    ¡°Yes, poor little kid. Her own parent sold her to get some money.¡± Ariana answered the boy. ¡°All of you, please take care of her.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± all the kids answer her in unison.


    This place consists of three girls, including me, and five boys. Burue is the leading boy. He got some nice blue hair and green eyes. He¡¯s an elf. Firn is the bookworm boy. Just like normal bookworm, he got a pair of glasses on him. He got a normal dark brown eyes and dark brown hair. He¡¯s a beastman. Euca is the boy with a dream of becoming a demon king. You can¡¯t miss the pair of goat horn and the slithered yellow eyes. He¡¯s a pure demon, so it¡¯s not so weird for him. Nois is the easygoing kid. He has typical dark brown hair and eyes. He¡¯s a human just like me. And the last human is Mada. He¡¯s the silent and thinking type but he also does something stupid at times. He took responsibility and took care of us when Ariana is not around.


    The girl consists of Nil, Sei, and me. Nil is the leader of the girls. Her brown hair is the same as her hair. She likes to imitate Ariana as she¡¯s a half elf half human, so Ariana is the closest being to her. Sei is the bookworm girl. Her white hair and blue eyes distinguish her from us. She¡¯s an angel. She¡¯s thrown away by the Angels because she had her own will. Unlike any other angel.


    ¡°Uwahh, Nevi is crying again!¡± Burue shouted. ¡°Someone, get Mada or Sei quick!¡±


    I cried and cried as I saw my favorite hairpin has been broken. It was just a fluke, we play dogdeball and I tripped. But as I was a crybaby back then, I simply cried and cried.


    ¡°Bad news! Mada left a note. He and Sei left to gather some food and will be back for another hour.¡± Euca came with the news.


    ¡°What? Both of them?!¡± Nois shouted.


    ¡°Nil, you¡¯re the girl¡¯s boss. Can¡¯t you do something about it?¡± Burue talked to Nil.


    ¡°Even if you say it. The only ones could handle her is only Mada and Sei.¡± Nil answered Burue.


    Euca nod. When I heard it, I didn¡¯t know why but I let my cries even louder than before. For another hour, they tried everything to calm me down but nothing worked. Another hour passed by and the promised time had come. Mada and Seis open the door and look into the mess in this place.


    ¡°What the? What¡¯s happening?¡± Sei surprised by the condition.


    ¡°Let me guess. Nevi starts to cry, you guys tried to calm her down by bringing everything you thought could calm her out of the house. Am I wrong?¡± Mada made an exact guess.


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± Firn answered from one of the piles of stuff.


    ¡°Even Firn came out? Just how useless is all of you?¡± Mada said another word as he walks to me.


    Mada lowers his body and looks into my hairpin. He already guessed the reason I cried.


    ¡°Whaa, it¡¯s in a worse condition than I thought. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t fix it.¡±


    I let out a louder cry when I heard it. Suddenly I felt my body being lifted up. When I realized it, Mada already carried me. He¡¯s 3 years older from me so it looks like a big brother carrying his little sister.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll create you a new one. I¡¯ll create it if you promise to stop cry.¡± He patted me in the head and rubbed it.


    I can feel such a gentle stroke out of his hand that calmed me down. I don¡¯t know why but it feels so different. It¡¯s like bundled with a love and kindness of a father toward his child. A stroke I can¡¯t even remember being given by my parents.


    Not long after he carries me, I finally stopped crying.


    ¡°Starting from now on, one of you should stay behind.¡± Nil said to them with exhausted voice.


    ¡°Seriously? Did you even tried?¡± Sei puffed her cheeks as she looked into the kids.


    Our life was a simple life. Even I didn¡¯t know the reason I stopped crying only in their hand, Mada and Sei. But yes, I loved my life. When everybody busy with their own stuff, Mada is the only one keep me accompany.


    ¡°Mada, when we grow up, would you marry me?¡± was my favorite question. But everytime I asked it, Mada always answer. ¡°I¡¯ll consider it.¡±


    When we reach our teen, some things change. The boys started to show some affection towards the girl. Everyone but Mada. He focused on reading, studying, and training. He tries a lot of new magic since Ariana gave him the mana ring as his birthday present when he reached 15, a year ago.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Finally the boys have slept. So, tell me. Nevi, Sei, which one do you prefer?¡± Nil opens a conversation.


    We¡¯re in the middle of the night. We¡¯ve been in the same room since I came, so it¡¯s not so strange for Nil to wake us to chat. The room consists of three beds with a big window at the end of the head side of the bed.


    ¡°Nobody. I see everybody is the same.¡± Sei answers in flat tone.


    ¡°Uhh, you¡¯re no fun.¡± Nil boo-ed at Sei. ¡°C¡¯mon is there no one in the boys that catch your attention at all?¡±


    ¡°We, well.¡± Sei blushed and covered half of her face in the blanket.


    ¡°I can guess who he is.¡± Nil smirked. ¡°Well, it means both of you need to fight to get him.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Sei and I responded in unison.


    ¡°Oh, c¡¯mon. I can see it. Both of you have fallen for Mada, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    No answer. Just a silence.


    ¡°I know at some nights, both of you spent time together. Alone when nobody else notices.¡± Nil came closer to Sei.


    Nil came closer to me. ¡°And, Nevi, It¡¯s perfectly normal for you to fall for him since he¡¯s the one taking care of you since you came. I can see you always look into him when he¡¯s reading, study, or train. You simply can¡¯t take your eyes off him.¡±


    Sei and I looked at each other. We realized both of us blushed and try to cover it with a blanket.


    ¡°Hahaha, I feel pity for the other boys as they have no hope towards both of you.¡±


    ¡°The, then, how about you? You always look into Burue with sparkling eyes.¡± I tried to pin her back.


    ¡°Ye, yeah. Nevi¡¯s right. You, yourself is the same.¡± Sei backed me up.


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t deny that I looked into him with sparkling eyes. But it¡¯s nothing more than admiration toward his greatness in magic. But,¡± Nil paused for a moment and look into the windows. ¡°If I have to say about fascination, hmm, I guess I need to correct myself. Three of us have to fight to get him.¡±


    ¡°HAH?!¡± Sei and I responded in unison once again.


    ¡°I mean, who will dislike him? He¡¯s so strong, mature, great at martial arts, he can cook and do house chore, he¡¯s great at magic even only in theory, and he¡¯s so cool. I can imagine when he grows up and cooking for me while I¡¯m on bed pregnant with our child.¡±


    When she said it, a picture of Mada with an apron while cooking in the kitchen appeared in my mind.


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t!¡± Sei suddenly raised her voice a little.


    ¡°Uh, it seems Sei the calm one finally lost her composure.¡± Nil teased Sei with a smile. ¡°Oh, Mada is so cruel. He made three maidens fallen for him but yet he didn¡¯t show any affection towards us.¡±


    ¡°We, well. That¡¯s because¡­.¡± Sei didn¡¯t finish her words.


    ¡°Because?¡± I wondered what she wanted to tell.


    ~knock knock~


    ¡°Hey, girls, can you please not so loud?¡±


    Suddenly Mada¡¯s voice heard from the door after the knock. Three of us panicked and looked at each other.


    ¡°Ma, Mada, haven¡¯t you slept?¡± I asked Mada from my place.


    ¡°I just came back from my train. How about you girls?¡±


    ¡°We, well. We¡¯re having a girls talk.¡± Sei answered Mada.


    ¡°Ssstttt.¡± Nil and I put our index finger in our mouth. It is not good if Mada knows Sei still wake up.


    ¡°Sei, is that you? It¡¯s unusual for you to awake at his hour.¡±


    ¡°We, well. There¡¯s only three girls in this place. We would feel bad if we left Sei.¡± Nil answers Mada stuttered.


    ¡°Well, okay then. If you girls still planning on continuing your girls talk, at least lower your voice. You don¡¯t want to wake the others.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡± three of us answered him in unison.


    After that, we could hear his footsteps getting further.


    ¡°Hahh, finally he¡¯s gone.¡± Nill let out a relieved breath.


    ¡°He¡¯s right. We¡¯re too noisy. I¡¯ll go to sleep.¡± Sei pulled her blanket and left us.


    ¡°Ye yeah, I guess I¡¯ll get to sleep too.¡± I also pulled my blanket and tried to sleep.


    ¡°What? Buu, both of you no fun.¡±


    I can imagine Nil puffed her cheeks. But as I couldn¡¯t hear any words from her, I guessed she¡¯s also tried to sleep.


    If I have to rate it, Sei is above us. She¡¯s been in good relationship with Mada since I can remember. They often spent time together to work on some new spell or to study together. On the other hand, I bet Mada only sees me as a little sister figure. Uhh, thinking about it just made me depressed. I just left it and gone to sleep.

 28. Nevi Frendezcht part II

    ¡°Mada, can you teach me a new magic?¡± I ask Mada.


    He¡¯s reading a book in tree.


    ¡°You can ask the others if it¡¯s about magic. You know I got very limited amount of mana.¡± Mada shouts without looking at me. ¡°And you''re already good enough with the flying swords.¡±


    ¡°But Mada, I want my own magic.¡± I whine to him. ¡°I want a magic that only I can use it or teach it.¡±


    ¡°And, what for?¡±


    ¡°We, well.¡±


    I can¡¯t say I wanted it because if I have my own magic with his guidance, it feels like our own child. No. I definitely can¡¯t say it.


    ¡°A, Anyway, I want my own magic. And I need your knowledge of magic to do it.¡± I shout back at him.


    Mada lets out a heavy sigh. He closes the book and jumps from the tree.


    ¡°So, what kind of magic do you want?¡± Mada asks me.


    ¡°I want a magic that will make me the strongest mage!¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­..¡± Mada says nothing else. His face looks like it has been punched on the left side. ¡°Then, how about a magic that nullifies another magic?¡±


    ¡°A magic that nullifies another magic. Hmmm,¡±


    I think for a while. Even if I don¡¯t care what magic we might create, but thinking about it won¡¯t hurt. If I can master this magic, I can defeat any magician that¡¯s not trained well. It¡¯s like using a magic against normal human.


    ¡°Yes, I want it. I want it.¡± I grab Mada¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Mada tries to escape from me but I still grab him tight. ¡°But let me warn you, after I found it, it possible it won¡¯t be easy to master it. Are you okay with that?¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m okay. If, it¡¯s easy to master it won¡¯t be special anymore.¡±


    ¡°Then first, you think of any magic to read opponent magic while I create the sequence.¡±


    I run and left Mada with a happy expression. I¡¯m so happy that I forgot to ask what he meant by a magic to read opponent magic. Nil, I need her. After some time of looking, finally I found her in the kitchen with Sei. I forgot it¡¯s her turn to cook today.


    ¡°Nil, finally I found you.¡±


    ¡°What? What do you want?¡±


    I walk closer to Nil and grab her hand. ¡°Teach me a magic to read opponent¡¯s magic.¡±


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean a magic to read opponent¡¯s magic?¡±


    ¡°You know, a magic to find out what magic the opponent uses.¡±


    Nil let out a heavy sigh. ¡°If such magic exist, I can easily learn any magic without the need of a book.¡±


    ¡°Uh, so, it¡¯s not exist?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you want something to read another person¡¯s magic, you can do it with my creation.¡±


    Sei suddenly butt in our conversation while putting the plate on the table.


    ¡°But Mada said I need a magic, not a tool.¡±


    ¡°Then I can¡¯t help you.¡± Sei coldly turn me down.


    My body feels so heavy as I heard it.


    ¡°Now, now, how about you tell us the whole story while we prepare the lunch?¡±


    I nod in response of her words.


    While we prepare the food, I tell them the story of me want a magic of my own and Mada¡¯s idea of magic that nullify magic.


    ¡°Hmm, if my ear is not fooling me, it seems he wanted you to create it by yourself.¡± Sei sounds her opinion.


    ¡°Yeah, I agree with her. You need to create it by yourself. And from the sound of it, I think it is possible it is only the beginning, he might ask you to create another magic. After this magic is complete.¡±


    Ahh, I guess it is impossible for a magic of my own. Why would Mada made me do the creation? He knows the best I¡¯m bad at modifying or even magic creation. Even Nil the most talented mage of all needs a few months to create one low tier magic.


    ¡°Then how about creating something similar with Sei¡¯s tool?¡± Nil gives her idea.


    ¡°Huh?¡± I just responded out of reflex.


    ¡°Sei, how your tool works?¡±


    ¡°Well, basically magic is something that disrupts nature''s balance. So, my device is designed to read those disruptions. The disruption will show me what kind of magic they use. But it still simple so all it can do is knowing the magnitude of the magic.¡±


    ¡°Wow, did you create it by yourself?¡± I¡¯m amazed at how it works.


    ¡°Well, I just try something on the book. The book states that disruption caused by magic is connected by some string-like thing. It¡¯s because the relation of magic and the nature is¨C¡°


    ¡°I get it, it¡¯s from the book.¡± I interrupt her before she could finish it. ¡°So, how can that thing helped me?¡±


    ¡°If I guess it right, you need to come up with a spell to read the nature''s disruption created by magic.¡±


    ¡°Ah, ung, Is such magic exists?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. How about you look into the library and try making it? It¡¯s as easy as cooking.¡± Nil encourages me.


    ¡°But I hate books!¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to create it, then you can say goodbye to that magic that Mada create. Maybe, he will give it to Nil instead.¡±


    When I hear it, I run to the library to look for it. It¡¯s pretty hard to create even if you can read the book. But as it¡¯s written in some ancient language, I use a translation magic to read it. By the end of the month, I manage to create a simple spell out of it. But my term of simple spell is a real simple spell, unlike Mada¡¯s simple spell that needs a lot of concentrations and knowledge. I simply make my eyes more sensitive towards nature¡¯s flow like heat, light, wind, humidity, anything and change its color.


    ¡°Have you done your homework?¡± Mada asks me.


    ¡°Yes, I have.¡± I answer him with a smile on my face.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.¡°Good, now for the sequence. Just do your spell and then cast a translation magic to translate the nature¡¯s flow into words you can understand. After that just use voice of none to dispel by saying the incantation. And if your opponent is still saying the incantation, just add some random word by voice of none right after their words. Got it?¡±


    ¡°Ahh, umm, I can¡¯t really understand what you are talking about.¡±


    ¡°Hah,¡± Mada put his palm on his face. ¡°We need to practice.¡±


    We get out of the house and see Burue and Nois are sparring.


    ¡°Cast your magic to see the magic they¡¯re using.¡±


    I obediently follow Mada¡¯s order and activate my first own spell, nature eye.


    ¡°Tell me what you see!¡±


    ¡°Ahh, umm. I can see Nois¡¯s body is covered with a lot of distortions while a new distortion is flowing like a river around Burue¡¯s body.¡±


    ¡°Good, then the next step is adding a translation magic to read those distortions.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Nature is alive. They¡¯re talking in their own language. We cast a magic by using incantation. Those incantations are the embodiment of nature''s language. So, if you can read and understand the nature¡¯s language, then you will be able to read the enemy¡¯s magic. Get it?¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah, more or less.¡±


    ¡°Then, your next homework is to create a translation magic of nature''s language. I¡¯ll see you again when you¡¯re done with it.¡±


    And yet, Mada left me with another hard task. As I ask Nil, Burue, or Ariana about it, they can¡¯t help me at all. It is given an elf or half elf understands the language of nature. Nois and Euca never bother with such thing. Firn recommends me some book about it but, I can¡¯t read it at all. No, I can read it but I can¡¯t understand it.


    As I ask Sei about it, she also takes an interest and we study about it together. It took us a month to understand the pattern of nature''s language and another month for me to create the translation magic by Nil¡¯s help while Sei create a translation device for it.


    I let Mada know about it and we test it with Nil as our subject.


    ¡°Okay, Nil, cast out a body enhancement magic!¡± Mada shouts at Nils which stands afar. ¡°Now, do it like before and then add the translation magic.¡±


    I do as he says. I activate the nature eyes and then activate the translation magic.


    ¡°Tell me what you see.¡±


    ¡°The distortion changed into another form. It¡¯s starting to form into jumbled words. A lot of words are floating in the air.¡± I answer Mada in awe of this magic.


    ¡°Good, by the end of each words, no, each letter, you can see a very thin thread connecting all of them. Imagine it being arranged to create a word. The translation magic should assist you in arranging them.¡±


    I concentrate and make sure the words are arranged properly.


    ¡°If you have arranged it, then you should see about two lines or few lines of words. The upper one is the incantation to cast it, the lower one is the incantation to dispel it. By using voice of none, spell the incantation in the lower part.¡±


    Thank god I don¡¯t need to create voice of none as it¡¯s a normal magic. I finished the incantation. But I see no different. Nothing changed.


    ¡°Did the words disappear?¡± Mada asks me.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not. It¡¯s still there.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re failed. The problem lies in your translation magic or you arranged it in wrong order.¡±


    After hearing Mada¡¯s words, I get back to Sei to ask about the possibility of my magic is the trouble. Apparently when Sei ask out her creation to Ariana, she said it¡¯s not entirely wrong, but more like it¡¯s on a different scale. She said nature words that we analyze is the words of normal conversation. But a magic incantation is like a poem. So, it follows an entirely different pattern. Ariana recommend us to read a lot of poems and then try to make tons of it. She said we could understand the pattern if we could create one beautiful poem.


    Apparently nobody in this place is willing to learn poetry. Ariana herself can only understand it but she can¡¯t create any. Sei has given up when she learns about poetry. But yet another surprising event is happening. Mada is capable of understanding and creating a beautiful poem. When I said it to him, he willing to teach me about poetry. It became another beautiful memory for me only consist of us. At nights, we¡¯re saying poem to each other like it¡¯s a normal conversation. It feels so beautiful.


    Finally, I mastered the art of poetry and I manage to complete it. The magic to nullify another magic.


    ¡°Finally, the magic is ready for you to use. But you still need a lot of training before you could use it at ease.¡± Mada praises me with a pat in my head.


    I enjoy this pat so much. I can see Nil and Sei are jealous of me in the other side of this place.


    ¡°Thank you Mada, without you I¡¯ll never get this magic. But say, Mada, are you probably already know about the nature disruption spell and how to read nature language?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve known all about it.¡±


    ¡°Then, isn¡¯t it easier and faster if you simply teach me the spell to see the disruption and the translation?¡±


    Mada smiles. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not important. What matter is, if I just teach you all about it, then it will just feel like another magic of mine that you mastered. But this way, it feels like we gave birth to this magic together. Don¡¯t you think so?¡±


    At that moment, I can see the time is slowing down. It feels like a minute even though it just a second. I can see Mada¡¯s bright and warm smile.

 29. Nevi Frendezcht part III

    ¡°Ohh, Mada, where are you? I miss you so much. Please come back to me. And make me feel good with those hands of yours.¡±


    I can hear Nil¡¯s voice right behind me.


    ¡°Can you stop it? It¡¯s annoying!¡± I push her away from me.


    ¡°Ahh, she¡¯s mad at me.¡±


    ¡°Nil, stop teasing her and help me prepare the dish.¡± Ariana yells at Nil.


    ¡°Okayyy¡­..¡±


    About five months ago, Mada left for ruin of Unuan. He didn¡¯t tell any of us about his objective. Well, maybe Ariana and Sei are the only ones know about it. Until this moment, I still can¡¯t figure out why Mada talks so much to Sei. Is it mean that Mada believe in her more than me? Is it mean I¡¯ve got no hope of being with him?


    Sometimes a letter came for us when we celebrate our birthday. Even in my eighteen birthday one month ago, he still didn¡¯t come. Well, apparently he sees me no different from the others.


    ¡°EVERYBODY! BAD NEWS! BAD NEWS!¡± Suddenly Euca open the door and scream at us. He breathes so fast.


    ¡°What is it honey? It¡¯s so unlike you to panic.¡±


    ¡°Just like usual, I chat with Ogla after I sold him my hunt. Then, I take this one page from his newspaper.¡° Euca come to the room and put a piece of paper in the table.


    Euca opens it and shows a picture of a man in a clown mask. But what take most of our attention is the headline of the newspaper. ¡°NEW ONE WORD FUGITIVE TITLED: MADA THE RAIDER¡±


    ¡°Wait, you can¡¯t be serious. It¡¯s not our Mada, right? I mean, Mada is a common name. Right?¡± Burue tries to deny it.


    ¡°Nobody sure of it. As you can read, his identity is unknown because of that clown mask.¡± Euca points to the picture in the paper.


    ¡°For what reason they give the title?¡± Firn asks himself as he tries to read the paper.


    ¡°Read it out loud Firn! I¡¯d like to hear it too.¡± Nil asks Firn.


    Firn moves his eyes so fast. ¡°I¡¯ll summarize it.¡±


    ¡°Two weeks ago, beast man and human set out for another battle. The battle was in west of Ul Thadur, in the forest of Krull. Another week passes but no news heard about the winner. Later, it is discovered that both parties consist of total 100,000 soldiers have completely been annihilated without leaving a single living being. All of their weapon, artillery, armor, gold coins, anything has vanished into thin air. The nearby ruin, known by ruin of Unuan, also found empty. All the place that previously locked and no archeologist could open it has been opened and nothing left inside of it. As such, the title of Raider given to this person. The name Mada is nothing but a name given to identify him. It is not the real identity.¡±


    The whole room falls empty. No one speaks a word.


    I can¡¯t imagine Mada really did that. Even if his identity is still unknown, the fact that it happened near the ruin of Unuan makes us sure it is our Mada. Mada Arcaness, he annihilated 100,000 soldiers singlehandedly. That¡¯s, I, I don¡¯t know. Everything is messed up. I can¡¯t think of anything else.


    Firn adds another words. ¡°This newspaper is today¡¯s newspaper. I can imagine the government tried to capture him in the past two weeks and have the headline as ¡®a criminal has been capture¡¯ or such. But as their effort seems futile, they finally announced it officially.¡±


    ¡°Firn, it¡¯s okay. We don¡¯t need to hear it for now.¡± Ariana stops him. ¡°Let¡¯s have our lunch and then take some rest.¡±


    We do as Ariana told us. We had our lunch. That lunch is the worst lunch I¡¯ve ever had. I bet everybody felt the same. The air feels so heavy. Nobody wants to speak a words. No conversation. Nothing. We just finished and then we go to our own room. In our room, I¡¯m the only one taking a rest. Nil decided to train outside to fresh her mind while Sei still need to clean the dishes. I can feel my eyes so heavy and finally close it


    ~~~


    I realized I¡¯ve dozed off and take a nap. How long did I take a nap? I take a look outside but it seemed not too long as I see the sun is still up. I take a look outside and let my eyes wander. By using Eagle Vision, I manage to look better and further. Nil is still on her martial arts training out in the forest. Burue, Euca, and Nois is fishing in the river. They seem to talk about something. I can¡¯t see Firn everywhere. I guess he¡¯s in the library as usual. My eyes wander into another direction and see Sei and Ariana in the woods. But what surprised me the most is the person standing in front of them. Mada has come. But it seems the others haven¡¯t realized it yet.


    ~Speed boost~


    I jump from the windows and run towards them. But before I reached them, Mada bows down and left already. Sei and Ariana didn¡¯t say a word or try to stop him. I don¡¯t care. I¡¯ve got tons of questions for him. Thank god he doesn¡¯t use any spell so I can catch up to him. Even without a body enhancement spell, it still took me some time to catch up to him.


    ¡°MADA!¡± I shout at my lung content.


    As he hears my shout, he stops and waits for me. Finally I manage to reach him. I stop and bow down for a moment to take a breather. But even after all those running and jumping, I¡¯m not seeing him out of breath at all.


    I stand, ¡°Ma¨C¡°


    Before I finished it, suddenly he hug me out of nowhere. I can feel his usual warmth envelop me. Yes, this is the Mada that I know.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I have to leave.¡± Mada tells me in a sad tone.


    ¡°But, but why?¡±


    ¡°I have something I need to do.¡±


    ¡°The, then take me with you. I beg you. Please take me.¡±


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±


    Does he mean the news about him being the one word fugitive is right?


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about it. You see me all this time right? You should know that I¡¯m useful if you against a mage.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re safe here.¡±


    At that moment, I suddenly lost my consciousness. Damn, it seems he did something to make me unconscious.


    ~~~


    ¡°MADA!¡±


    I yell at my lung content. But when I look around I see nobody else. I¡¯m back in my bed with my blanket.


    ¡°Finally you awake.¡±


    I hear Sei¡¯s voice in the door and take a look at her.


    ¡°What happened? Where¡¯s Mada?¡±


    ¡°He already left. We heard his shout at the forest, but we only found you.¡±


    I see. He really has gone.


    ¡°Can you walk? Everybody is downstairs. We¡¯re waiting for you to wake to tell about Mada.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    I set aside my blanket and walk towards the door. Sei walks in front of me leading me downstairs. The room is unusually empty.


    ¡°Alright, now that everyone is here. I¡¯ll say it clearly that Mada has decided to leave. He needs to go on a journey to collect some items.¡± Ariana explains things vaguely.


    ¡°But, what those items actually?¡± Burue asks a question. He seemed pissed. ¡°To leave us without any note or even saying goodbye. Is it really that important? He even just left Nevi in the forest.¡±


    ¡°Bu¨C¡°


    ¡°If,¡± Sei interrupts me. ¡°You know what item he wants, what would you do? Would you beg to tag along with him? Or what?¡±


    ¡°No, I just,¡± Burue doesn¡¯t finish his words. He just look away.


    You¡¯re just pissed. That¡¯s all.


    ¡°Ariana, Sei, can¡¯t you let out some more details?¡± Nil asks for an explanation. ¡°At least it might help us to understand the reason he left.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to tell it. It¡¯s just,¡± Sei fall silent. She can¡¯t continue her words. No. she doesn¡¯t want to.


    ¡°Then, let me ask another question.¡± Firn comes with another question. ¡°Is he Mada the Raider?¡±


    The room falls silent. Sei and Ariana both looked away. They seem to know the answer to it but they¡¯re hesitating. I can see it in their eyes.


    Firn tilts his body forward. ¡°I conclude he said nothing about it. And by your silent answer, I say both of you also realize that the possibility of him being Mada the Raider is high enough. But, both of you still hesitant about it. Am I correct?¡± Firn tells all of his thinking.


    Ariana and Sei just silently nod to his words.


    ¡°Then. I guess it¡¯s time for me to leave too. It is time for me to see the world by myself.¡±


    Suddenly Firn said something unexpected. All of us turn our head to him.


    ¡°Firn, what are you saying?¡± Euca asks him.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? It is time for me to leave too. I mean, we¡¯re boys. It is normal for us to leave and see the world with our own eyes. Don¡¯t worry though, I¡¯ll say my goodbye properly.¡±


    ¡°Firn, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s the wrong time to say it?¡±


    ¡°No, I think what Firn says is right.¡± Ariana speaks. ¡°It is time for you all of you to go out and see the world. I got so happy with this family that I forgot that in the end, all of you need to go and leave me alone.¡±


    ¡°But, Ariana,¡± Nil still can¡¯t accept the change.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Each one of you can think about it. Think what you want the most. I will stay here to hear your answer.¡±


    ~~~


    What Firn said is right. Sooner or later we will have to leave this place. Mada opened our eyes. And I want to see the world. I want to see the world where Mada goes. If I can¡¯t do this, I will never be able to stand beside Mada as the same. He will look at me as a little sister figure forever. This way, I might have the chance.


    ¡°Nevi, are you awake?¡±


    I turn my head to the left and see Sei is looking at me. Half of her body came out of the blanket showing her slender body.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m awake.¡±


    ¡°So, where are you heading?¡±


    It seems Sei already that I will leave this place too.


    ¡°I want to go to the Sairkhan. I want to check out my hometown before I go somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°Coming home, eh. That sounds nice.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not so sure. I just want to see it. The town where my parents and I lived. That¡¯s it. Nothing else.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, then, should I go to En¡¯ia? I wonder if my old orphanage is still intact.¡± Suddenly Nil takes part in our conversation.


    Nil is an orphan that left by her parents when she was a baby. She said she lost when she played and then she got taken by a pirate. Ariana found her when she goes to Us¡¯a. A lot has happened but the point is she got her from the pirate.


    ¡°Then, how about you Sei?¡± I ask Sei.


    ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ve always wanted to explore the land of no man.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? The land of no man? Are you serious?¡± Nil asks her.


    ¡°Yeah, I always wonder about them. Like why it¡¯s getting bigger, why beast and monster mostly habit that place, all of it. I want to know it.¡±


    I take a look at her with a discouraged face. I knew Sei is special but this is beyond my imagination.


    In the next morning, apparently everybody decided to leave. We throw a party before we left. Mada¡¯s leaving is the trigger to all of us. We have a party for a whole day then we spent the night having a nice long chat. By the morning, we left Ariana place. Toward our own adventure.

 30. Nevi Frendezcht part IV

    I begin my journey with only 10 gold coins, some spare clothes, a pair of short sword, and one long sword. Some hooded clothes and trousers are the only spare clothes I bring. I put them in a small bag in my left shoulder and I put the swords in a long box with its halt sticking out in my waist. The short sword is ready to take whenever I want. But to take the long sword I need to press something on the box and the middle of the box opened. That way I could take the long sword. I left the rest in my room.


    Before leaving, Ariana gave us some medicine. She said we need to take it in case we need to kill somebody so our mind and our body won¡¯t go in a state of shock. But it seemed all of us thought the same thing. We took our medicine right at that time because we could never know when we need to kill somebody.


    Unfortunately, Avareel¡¯s gate of the world is not connected to Sairkhan. As I¡¯m a human, from Avareel I need to travel through the coastline to get to Grouse Port. I join some human party to get to the Grouse Port. Nothing important happened on the way. We depart in the Grouse Port as my destination is Sairkhan.


    I don¡¯t have much money so I stay on the fourth level. When pirates attack, I get down to the fifth level and fight them. To tell the truth, they¡¯re a bunch of weakling. I don¡¯t even need to use my magic. From Loos Port to Sairkhan, I can¡¯t find any caravan on the first day, so I decided to stay in some inn.


    ¡°How much for the rent?¡± I ask the man standing behind the desk.


    ¡°One gold coin.¡±


    Uwa, that¡¯s expensive. Even the in the Avareel the Inn only cost 100 silver coins. The only money left in my bag is 10 gold coins.


    ¡°Um, excuse me.¡± a voice of a woman rises up behind me.


    I turn around and see a girl dressed in black cloth. But not one single black cloth. Layers of black cloth. And on the outside, some light armor covers her shoulder, her hand, and her torso. She brings a big iron box half or her size in her back. When I look into her little horn and pointy ear, I could guess she¡¯s a mix blood of a demon and an elf. From her face and height, I guess she¡¯s a few years younger than me.


    ¡°Um, would, would you share the room with me? I¡¯ll pay 600 silver coins.¡± She frequently looks into another direction. Trying not to make eye contact.


    I take a better look at her. Both of her hand met in front of her. And she tries her hard to face into me. What a shy girl!


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll pay 500.¡±


    ¡°Ah, really?¡± her face brighten.


    ¡°Sure.¡± I let out a smile to her.


    ¡°Thank you. Thank you very much.¡± She takes my hand and shakes it so hard. ¡°My name is Ling Xiel. You can call me Xiel. It¡¯s my given name.¡±


    Ling Xiel. Xiel. A person with a family name in the front, eh.


    ¡°My name is Nevi Frendezcht. You can call me by Nevi. It¡¯s also my given name.¡±


    She already allowed me to call her by her given name. It will be rude for me to not give her my given name.


    As we spend the night together, I realized everything in this place is a lot more expensive than in Avareel or Grouse Port. If the stuff in Sairkhan more expensive than this place, then I won¡¯t stay at all in Sairkhan. She¡¯s heading to Demon¡¯s Realm, so I decide to join her until midway. On the next day, there¡¯s a caravan near our inn looking for a guards. They¡¯re heading for Demon¡¯s Realm.


    One bald person is sitting behind some wooden box. It seems he¡¯s using the box as a table as I see a piece of paper on top of it.


    ¡°Excuse me, is it possible to guard only halfway to the Sairkhan?¡± I ask the bald man.


    ¡°Sure, we can look for another person in Sairkhan.¡± The bald man answer.


    ¡°Then, can we register ourselves too?¡± I step aside to let him take a look at Xiel that¡¯s hiding behind me.


    The bald man raises his left eyebrow. I can see he¡¯s inspecting me. He focused on my body and the box in my waist.


    ¡°Okay, the pay is 1 gold per day for each person. You don¡¯t need to worry about the food. We¡¯ll give it to you. How about it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll take it.¡±


    We encountered numerous bandits on the way to Sairkhan. At first, I only fight them with my swordsmanship. But as the number keeps increasing, I take the spare swords in the caravan and use my flying swords magic. When the opponent uses a magic, I dispel the magic with my anti magic. At the time, I can finally see Xiel ability too. She transformed the iron box she brings using alchemy into another weapon. She¡¯s pretty great at using weapons. All kinds of weapons.


    If my memory serves me right, I remember seeing Euca also did some kind of alchemy. Mada could also do it but he said if he wanted to master the art of alchemy, he needed to go somewhere else.


    We have been traveling for 5 days. It will take us another week to reach Sairkhan. But yet, only half of the guards remain. The rest has already fallen due to the bandits attack. As such, the master of the caravan raises our pay and they keep the swords in the caravan for me to use. We manage to pass the rest of the journey without any loss.


    Stolen story; please report.


    We finally reached Sairkhan. It¡¯s already night so we¡¯re staying at an inn. I got 30 gold coins including some bonus. I take it even though I¡¯m considering to continue this guard place. This place has changed so much.


    I left the inn and head to another other place. My former house. After I walked down for half an hour, finally I reached my destination. Deep inside my heart, I knew this might happen. The house has gone and been replaced with something else. A store. Well, at least I know it¡¯s not standing anymore.


    I head back to the inn to find the caravan has completely been raided. I run inside the inn. Everything has been destroyed. The inn that¡¯s previously neat has been changed into something like a warehouse.


    ¡°Ughh.¡± A voice emerges from the rubble.


    I run and take the rubble off. ¡°Hey, baldy. What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°We let our guard down. People suddenly raided our belongings and kill everyone. Your friend managed to escape.¡±


    I run outside and look into every direction. Something is not right. The silent town suddenly bursts out in flame. Riot erupts everywhere.


    ~night is the silencer of the day and everything between. The one envelopes things in its cold and dark aura. The night watcher~


    By using night watcher, I can see everything in range of a few kilometers. Just a kilometer in the north, I can see a crowd going after Xiel.


    ~Speed boost~


    I get to the caravan, but all the swords already missing. The only weapon I got is the ones on my waist.


    I need to reach her as soon as possible. I¡¯m not dispelling the night watcher so I could see my surroundings better.


    What is wrong with this city? It was a silent and nice one but in just a moment it changes into something completely different.


    I push the button on my box and take my long sword while running towards her. It seems she¡¯s not using a body enhancement magic at all as I see her speed is nearly the same as the crowd.


    I cut through everybody coming at me and kill them on the spot. It doesn¡¯t matter whether that person is a man, woman, or old person. They all are crazy. Crazy enough even to kill a little kid as I see a lot of kid corpses.


    The crowd that¡¯s chasing Xiel is in front of me.


    ~let your iron shine through the dark night. Through the cold and the heart of the dark night. Oh, let your cold steel feel the flesh of the living. Show them your true might. Nobody is allowed to question your might. The flying swords~


    I put both of my short sword under the flying swords magic. They¡¯re flying in my side and I make them spinning fast.


    ¡°XIEL! GET DOWN!¡± I scream as hard as possible.


    I let my short swords fly into the crowds and cut everything in their way. Blood and flesh are splattered in the way to Xiel. Xiel made it in time so the swords passing her by.


    ¡°C¡¯mon! We need to run fast!¡±


    I take Xiel¡¯s hand and take her with me.


    ¡°Use a body enhancement magic! Concentrate the mana in your foot and cast the spell ¡®speed boost¡¯.¡±


    Xiel do as I told her and now she¡¯s using a speed boost magic. But her magic is far from perfect. Her speed only increases a bit. It seems this is the first time she¡¯s using speed boost.


    I sent my swords to cut any enemies in sight. If they got too far while the enemies came close, I cut their body with my long sword. We keep on running until finally we reach the gate. I look into the top of the gate and see a couple of guards.


    ¡°HEY! LET US OUT! THIS CITY IS CRAZY!¡± I shout at them.


    At that moment, they shoot an arrow at us. Thanks to my reflex and my swordsmanship, I manage to deflect them.


    ¡°Nobody is allowed to leave. You are here to stay.¡±


    Fuck! Are they trying to kill us? I turn around and see the crowd is getting closer. I could use air jump to jump out of this place at ease. But my mana reserves won¡¯t be enough to take both of us out of here. I can feel Xiel¡¯s hand is shaking so great. Apparently, there¡¯s no other way around.


    ¡°Xiel, I¡¯m sorry. And thank you for accompanying me this last few weeks.¡±


    ¡°Huh, what are you saying?¡±


    I send my short swords flying towards Xiel. I make sure the short swords won¡¯t hit her vital organ. Thanks to her layers of clothes, it¡¯s easier. My swords take her flying outside of the gate. I feel the weight of the swords is gone not far after they pass the gate.


    ¡°RUN!¡± I yell as hard as I can. Hoping she could hear it and run for it.


    ¡°NEVI!¡±


    ¡°RUN! YOU DISTURB MY CONCENTRATION HERE!¡±


    ¡°Quick! Shoot her! She¡¯s getting away.¡±


    I can hear one of the guards voice.


    Oh, no you don¡¯t. I make my short swords fly back and a pair of head is rolling by my side. As my mana reserves have been dried out, both of my short swords fall to the ground.


    It seems it was too soon for me for an adventure. I¡¯m sorry Mada. It seems I can¡¯t catch up with you.

 31. Nevi Frendezcht part V

    It¡¯s been a week since they captured me.


    When the crowd almost reached me, they suddenly stop and became the nice people like before. Even with the sword in my hand, they didn¡¯t surround me or capture me. They just let me go like nothing ever happened. Even some of them offered a place for me to stay. But in the end, the city guards came and captured me. Since then, I¡¯ve been held in this underground prison.


    In this one week time, I didn¡¯t hear any words about Xiel or anything else. I hope she made it.


    This prison is a weird one. It only got some torch for illumination. I can¡¯t even see or hear any other person in this place. Sometimes the guards brought a new prisoner and took them to the room at the end of the alley. But other than that, I see no more.


    ¡°Now, show me the person who managed to stay alive in this city at that time!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. She¡¯s right here.¡±


    I look through the bar and see a big person wearing a big clothes and a cape covering his whole body. The only part shown are his head and his big belly that sticking out of his cape. He has a wide jaw. Very wide I could say it¡¯s not of human. He has a very big eyes but a small nose. I can¡¯t see his ear as it covered by long wavy hair. His pair of wavy long horn is sticking out of the hair in back of his head.


    Wait a minute. I think I saw his face somewhere before. Is it in the book? Or somewhere else?


    ¡°Tell me, little girl. What¡¯s your name?¡± a heavy voice is coming out of her mouth.


    ¡°Nevi Frendezcht.¡± I answer him while trying to find out where I¡¯ve seen his face. ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll answer it as you will remember it forever.¡± He shows a very wide grin. ¡°I am Mammon the Greed. One of the great Seven Deadly Sins.¡±


    Oh my God? Am I dreaming? Mammon the one titled hero is standing in front of me? What for? This place is not the Demon¡¯s Realm.


    Suddenly I can hear he¡¯s mumbling. I can¡¯t hear it clearly as he speaks so soft. I try to activate my anti magic, but suddenly I can feel something is holding my neck and my arms. My hand and neck are being held by something invisible. I can feel it but yet I can¡¯t see anything. It could be a magic. My hands take me in the air and makes me floating.


    I look into his spell incantation but it¡¯s moving so fast and it¡¯s a very long incantation. I can¡¯t even keep up with his cast.


    ~By this moment, I decree you as my eternal slave. You are not allowed to disobey me as your body is mine.~


    He shouts out the final incantation. As the incantation is complete, I can feel my hands and my neck is burning. It¡¯s burning hot even though there¡¯s no flame in it. Finally the burn sensation is gone and my body back to the ground.


    ¡°What, what the-¡°


    I hate to admit it, but the last lines of his spell makes me certain that he¡¯s using the most powerful slave bind magic ever exist. It¡¯s a very hard spell as it needs an exact incantation and even the person needs to apply the right high or low tone in the incantation. It¡¯s like a music being sang in a very low voice.


    I try my anti magic to dispel this slave bind magic. But as I did it, my body suddenly feels so hot and it makes me lose my concentration.


    ¡°It¡¯s futile. Any attempts to dispel it will result in your body feel as it being burned. It won¡¯t kill you but it¡¯s enough to stop any resistance.¡± Mammon opens the bar door. ¡°Now, come on out.¡±


    Even if I don¡¯t want to, my body moves on its own. I can¡¯t even control my body right now.


    ¡°Now, you are the high priest of Sairkhan, Nevi Frendezcht. My first command is kill this man.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what sir?¡± the person showing me asks Mammon.


    ¡°Yes, master.¡± My mouth moves on its own.


    At that moment, my hand grabs his choke. I try to command my hand to stop but it won¡¯t listen to me anymore. It keeps on choking him. Even it adds more strength and breaks his neck.


    A dead body falls from my hand.


    No! I can¡¯t even control my body anymore.


    ¡°That¡¯s the price for your failure last week. Mr former high priest.¡± Mammon pats my head. ¡°Now, miss new high priest. You¡¯ve got a very important task. You need to keep this place running. You may never speak about me and you have to obey the king as he¡¯s another one of my servants.¡±


    ¡°Yes, master.¡± My mouth moves on its own again.


    ¡°Now, you need a title. When I put you under the slave bind magic what are you trying to do?¡±


    ¡°I try to use my anti magic to dispel it.¡±


    ¡°Anti magic? That¡¯s a new magic isn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Yes master, I created it few years ago.¡±


    ¡°Then, starting from today, You are Nevi the Anti magic.¡±


    Since that day, I lost control of my own body. I only gain control of it in the night when there¡¯s nothing the high priest could do. But the king place another restriction upon me as I¡¯m not allowed to leave my room unless he says so. If some another kingdom delegation come and asks me about my position, all I need to answer is that I¡¯m necessary for this kingdom to maintain the people¡¯s faith.


    This city is a rotten city. It¡¯s extracting pain and fear of any titled fugitive into a crystal to gather the negative emotion on the surface. Pain and fear are working like a gravity. The bigger and denser one will pull the smaller one and it will leave the people on the surface with only positive emotion. And all of those crystal is sent to Markozias, Demon¡¯s Realm.


    The reason people suddenly turned hostile is that the former high priest made a mistake. One of the crystals broke and all of the negative emotion it held being released. A hand of crystal amount hundred people¡¯s negative emotion for a whole month. The riot in the city subsided after its being mended into another crystal. By looking at it, I can conclude the people were rioting already when this method is implemented. If, this place is destroyed, every negative emotion will return to their original body. A burst of negative emotion will result in something that far worse than that night.


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    Seven years past is like an eternity for me. I cried every night when can control my body. I can¡¯t take it. I can¡¯t torture someone everyday like it¡¯s nothing. All this time I feel like I¡¯m only some person watching a movie which is me. It¡¯s killing me inside. Slowly. Day by day.


    Sometimes Xiel come to me without anyone notices. But as this slave bind magic controls my body, my body keeps on saying nothing is wrong. I wanted to apologize for being that way to her but when she¡¯s here, I can¡¯t even control my body. I try to kill myself countless times but my body keeps on preventing it from happening.


    Suddenly, out of nowhere a gang of bandit appears in the route between Sairkhan and Loos Port. A band of bandit lead by Mada the Great Raider. This person is claiming as Mada the Raider pupil. From the information the intel gathered, I can guess it¡¯s Xiel. It¡¯s clear from the report that¡¯s saying Mada the Great Raider fight by changing some iron into a bow, sword, or any other weapon. My body also realizes it and tells everything to the king. But she¡¯s too strong for this city heroes to handle. I¡¯m glad that these people are not competent at all. At first, the king thought about sending me to handle her but apparently Shiba insist that she might break the spell or somehow kidnap me.


    Few months pass after the appearance of Mada the Great Raider and another big news coming up. Ul Thadur has fallen to the revolutionary army. The King sent me to the capital to negotiate about Sairkhan position. He wants Sairkhan position as an independent kingdom stay the same. And if I could, he wants me to hire some mercenary along the way to capture Xiel.


    In the capital, some nice rumor reached my ear. One person that said is the key to the Fall of Ul Thadur. Mada the Raider. My feeling of happy and uneasy mix inside my heart. On one side, I¡¯m ashamed of what I¡¯ve become. But on the other side, I truly wish for him to end this living hell of Mine.


    When I try to look for him, apparently he already long gone. At the way back to Sairkhan, our party got attacked by bandits. They attack us by surprise. Their attack proved to be successful as the only ones left Shiba and another two guards.


    We take the ship to Loos Port and at that time. I execute the king¡¯s order to hire a mercenary to capture Xiel. Shiba and I ask the captain of the ship to show us the list of the passengers. On that list, at least there''re 5 different people with the name of Mada. Apparently my body is thinking about the same thing with me. We need Mada. Even it¡¯s for a different reasons. My body makes an image by magic and order Shiba to look for him by the name of Mada Arcaness, his real name.


    I express my most gratitude toward God as I meet Mada in the ships. My body reacting the way it used to be towards Mada. In the way to Sairkhan, my body is trying to charm Mada by teaching his daughter the anti magic. I don¡¯t know. Something is wrong with my body. It¡¯s not acting as usual. It¡¯s like Mada is the reason it¡¯s acting unusual. I guess even my body can¡¯t deny it that I fall in love in Mada. And yes, I¡¯m happy. I¡¯m glad our child, anti magic, will be mastered by none other than his daughter. With this, our child will keep on living on her.


    When Erfia master the anti magic, it seems she can see the slave bind magic on me. But once again, my body acting unusual and asks her to stay quiet about it. Saying it is the best for Mada not to know about it.


    When Mada capture Xiel, I got myself worry to the dead. She will become a material for gathering pain and fear. I can only pray for you to stop me before it happens. I was afraid you won¡¯t make it as these people start to chant a root of torture toward her body. But you won¡¯t let me down and save her at the right time. And, I hope you will fulfill my final wish. Please, kill me.


    As expected of Mada, he manages to counter my flying swords and even kills everybody in this room but Xiel and me in the process. Apparently, fighting him makes my body let out a tear. It seems like it can¡¯t take it anymore when it has to fight Mada. When my body launches its final attack, Mada does something totally unexpected by breaking the ground apart and come at me. I can feel cold steel going through my stomach. At that moment, I can feel I¡¯m in control of my body again.


    ¡°You finally made it.¡± I try my best to show him a smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    No, please don¡¯t say it. You fulfill my wish. I don¡¯t want to make you feel sad. Please, don¡¯t say it. I beg of you.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you¡¯re not at fault. I¡¯m the one at fault.¡± I try to lighten up his burden even if just a little.


    I look closely into his brown eyes that''re in tone with his short black hair. Those eyes of yours never fail to charm me. I can see the reflection of me in it. On his beautiful eyes. A river of tears flowing from your eyes it¡¯s dripping into my face.


    Please, don¡¯t cry Mada. It¡¯s the best thing you could do. Thank you for fulfilling my wish.


    I put all the strength left within my body to reach him. To give him this one last hug. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ve got another wish. A wish that I¡¯ve always wanted longing since we were kids.


    ¡°We¡¯re an adult now.¡± I try my hard to let out this words. The words I always said to him when we were kid. ¡°Would you marry me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I would.¡±


    That answer is the best possible thing I could ever hope in this life. Thank you Mada. I love you.

 32. Acceptance

    ¡°Mammon, you¡¯re dead!¡±


    Right after I killed Nevi, by the power of the Perfect Role Play, I had all of her memories. Not only her memories, all of her feelings too.


    Now, Nevi, the pampered little girl lie down lifeless. I can only hug her lifeless body.


    ¡°Mada, actually,¡±


    I hear Xiel¡¯s voice afar. It seems she regained her consciousness.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I know it. She¡¯s been controlled all these years.¡± I stop her midway. ¡°And I can guess you claimed as my pupil to get me here and stop her right?¡±


    ¡°Ye, yeah. But I didn¡¯t know Nevi and you were close. I, I¡¯m sor,¡±


    ¡°Stop it!¡± I stop her words again. ¡°You don¡¯t need to sorry. I should thank you instead for taking me to her. Without you, she¡¯d still under Mammon control. She also wanted to tell her gratitude to you. Thank you for being there by her side when I can¡¯t.¡±


    Nevi never talked about me when she traveled with Xiel, so it is normal if she doesn¡¯t know about our relationship. I understand how she might feel guilty about it. But without her claim as my pupil, the king won¡¯t make Nevi look for mercenary to take her. So, I should feel gratitude toward her.


    ¡°Xiel, what kind of iron are you using to create those bow?¡±


    ¡°Just a normal iron would do. Why do you ask?¡±


    I spread my right hand and make the space in front of it distorted. From the distortion came out a lot of weapons. Swords, lance, mace, anything.


    ¡°Can you use these weapons to make the bow?¡±


    ¡°Ye, yes, sure.¡± Xiel answer me hesitantly.


    ¡°Then use all of it to create the bow. I got a favor to ask you.¡±


    Xiel is not saying a word.


    ¡°Destroy this whole dungeon. Then, wait for me in the north gate.¡±


    ¡°O, okay. I¡¯ll just do that.¡±


    I can feel her hesitation toward my favor. It is normal for her to hesitate. After all, if this place is destroyed, this city will be in ruin. Everybody will turn hostile and only people that just came not affected. But of course, it will endanger us as well.


    I take nevi with me and stand. I carry her with both of my hand.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go Nevi, let¡¯s leave this rotten place.¡± I whisper into Nevi¡¯s ear.


    ~~~


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with all those people? They suddenly turn hostile and attack each other?¡± I shout as I look into by the window.


    It¡¯s nearly dusk right now but I guess this place won¡¯t be seeing a dark and silent night. I don¡¯t know. The people suddenly changed. Even few people already tried to enter this room but Eri and Kurua defeated them at ease.


    ¡°Kurua, can you feel it?¡± Eri asks Kurua.


    ¡°Yeah, burst of negative energy suddenly appeared out of nowhere and it¡¯s increasing as the time ticking.¡±


    What? Something big happened?


    And where¡¯s Mada? He¡¯s gone right we need him the most.


    ¡°Kurua? Anybody still there?¡±


    That sound caught us off guard. But in the same time we feel relieved to hear it. Kurua walks toward the door and opens it. As the door opened, a figure of a person is standing. It¡¯s Mada. But what gave us a shock is not him, but what he¡¯s holding onto. He¡¯s holding Nevi.


    But, something is not right. I can see a red stain on both of them. But the worst one came from Nevi. As I look closer into her face, I feel something strange. She¡¯s smiling but yet she¡¯s not moving at all. Even I¡¯m not seeing her chest moving.


    ¡°Ma, Mada, what¡¯s wrong with her?¡± I step forward to him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell the whole story later. Right now we need to get to the north gate.¡± Mada answers me. ¡°Kurua, please take care of Erfia.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened but I guess it can wait.¡±


    Kurua walks toward Erfia and carry her.


    Mada runs toward the windows and jumped out. I look into the window as he lands perfectly. Kurua and Eri follow him. I guess jump out of the windows is the only way. I also jump and land right after them.


    From afar, I can see a mass of people coming at us.


    ¡°The distance to the north gate is about 20 kilometers. We can¡¯t use any vehicle as it can¡¯t move pass the crowd.¡± Mada tells us as nothing happened. ¡°So the only way to get there is by running. And while we¡¯re at it. We have to kill anybody comes into our way.¡±


    Mada runs and slides by the ground. It seems he¡¯s using the usual magic. Now that I take a better look, he¡¯s not wearing his normal shoes. He¡¯s wearing an oversized leg armor. I guess it¡¯s another one of his weapons.


    I activate earth slide to catch up with him while Kurua and Eri jump. When Mada come close to the crowd, he kicks the ground. His kick destroys the rock pavement and they fly towards the crowd. The rocks kill the people in its way. It¡¯s unusual for him to kill people while we run. Normally he will just leave them be and only kills them when they corner him. It¡¯s like he¡¯s pissed.


    ¡°Kurua, I guess it¡¯s time for you to show your power.¡± Mada shouts toward Kurua. ¡°It will take a long time for me to take them without using my hand.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess you¡¯re right.¡± Kurua responds to his request without any complains.


    ¡°Watch closely, Reis. You will see the power of Kurua the Goliath. The strongest one word hero of beast man.¡± Eri speaks to me with a proud voice.


    I can see where her proudness come from. He¡¯s her pupil after all. It¡¯s normal for her to feel that way.


    I take a better look at Kurua. His blue eyes is glowing. And suddenly, there¡¯s this blue thing come out of his back. It¡¯s a blue aura. It¡¯s making a form of a giant beast without leg as its lower body is sticking from Kurua¡¯s body. With a single swing, every person in the way sends out flying with their body torn apart.


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    ¡°Great, isn¡¯t it?¡± Eri speaks to me. ¡°But that¡¯s not even a quarter of his full power.¡±


    Wow, that¡¯s, that¡¯s. I don¡¯t know what to say. Basically, with that kind of power it will be easy for him to take out 100.000 people in single day.


    With Kurua and Mada lead the way, we manage to reach the north gate in less than half an hour. When we reach the north gate, the guards already killed and single person is standing on the gate. We stopped as we figure it¡¯s Xiel. But Mada¡¯s not stopping and pass by the gate.


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Mada shouts at us.


    Kurua, Eri, and I look each other. None of us get a clue of what¡¯s happening. But in the end we follow him and reach the gate. All of us finally got out of the gate.


    ~~~


    ¡°Xiel, please hold her for a moment.¡± I pass Nevi which in my hand into Xiel.


    Xiel take Nevi¡¯s body and then take a step back. I look into everybody that confused with the situation.


    ¡°You can trust her. She¡¯s my pupil and Nevi¡¯s friend.¡± I say to them.


    I walk toward the gate and touch it with my right hand. This city is done for. With the dungeon and the crystals destroyed, the people are being consumed by its overwhelming negative emotion. But, this city that makes Nevi suffer for years deserves it. I observed the guards on the gate and they appear to be immune to the effect of the negative emotion. I can guess Mammon gave something to them so they won¡¯t be affected in case a leak happened.


    ¡°Guys, look closely as you will see the true power of God Item.¡± I shout to them.


    Nobody responded to my words.


    I concentrate and imagine a whole new place aside from my personal space that I used to store everything. A land of barren desert looks good enough. I concentrate and open the space distortion. But, the distortion I create is nothing of the sort. It¡¯s way bigger than before. The last time I create a space distortion this big is when I put my castle inside of it. Finally the distortion is big enough to cover the whole city. The distortion finally disappeared along with the city and the people. The only one left in front of me right now is just an empty crater. A huge empty crater with a diameter about 50 km.


    ¡°Mada, did you just,¡± Reis can¡¯t finish her words. She¡¯s shocked to the scene right in front of her.


    I look into Kurua and the others. They let their jaw wide open. Not believing what¡¯s in front of them.


    ¡°That¡¯s some terrifying power you got.¡± Kurua says.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t use it one me when we fought.¡± Eri whispers.


    I take a distance of them and draw a very big symbol on the ground.


    ~I marvel the tainted water. The formless and the formed. Such strength to create a formless. Such strength to create a form. The tainted form.


    By using tainted form, I can change the tattoo ink on my body which is hidden. I¡¯m moving it from my tights to my right hand and create another symbol with it. I put my hand in the symbol on the ground and the ground is shining. After the ground stops shining, the ground already changed into a round stone with iron line. The iron line creates a new symbol. I look into my mana ring and see the color is starting to change. I say it¡¯s about three fourth mana left.


    ~O the vast sky. The one illuminates by the bright of the day. The one illuminates by the dim of the night. Let this beggar ask a favor of you. Let this beggar illuminate the sky with your might. The pillar of light.~


    A light emerges from the sky and coming down right into the round stone with Nevi in it. As the light touch the round rock and the symbol created from light, another light emerges from the iron line create another pillar of light. The symbol made by the line is a symbol of light. It¡¯s an alchemy that normally used to create a blinding light by using the sunlight as the main ingredients. But as now is night, I need to summon the light out of the sky to do it.


    This is a trick Nil, Euca, and I created long time ago to notify Ariana. But we never really try to use it as theoretically this light is so bright in even at day and it emerges to the sky. So high and so bright it could be seen by people on the same side of this planet. This place is about 7000 km away from Avareel so this place is about 8 hours ahead. It¡¯s still morning in Avareel but I hope she can see it.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can stop the light.¡± A voice rises behind me.


    One voice that I hope the most to come finally appears.


    ~This beggar thanks the vast sky for the help.~


    I dispel the pillar of light and the light disappears. The dark night has come back.


    I look into my mana ring and it nearly changed into red and blue stripes color. It¡¯s nearly empty. This is a very special magic so I never use it in normal circumstance.


    ¡°A, Ariana, Ne, Nevi,¡±


    I turn back and try to talk to her. Nevertheless, as I try to speak, words won¡¯t come out properly from my mouth. I just can¡¯t.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay. Calm yourselves.¡±


    Ariana hug and embrace me in her body. Suddenly I let out a tears and cry. Being embraced by her makes me realize I still can¡¯t accept the outcome. Even if my soul is a very old soul, but this body of mine is still on its late 20. Even if my soul take it as acceptable, this body won¡¯t admit it. This body of mine doesn¡¯t want to take Nevi¡¯s death as the outcome. I don¡¯t want to accept it.

 33. Discussion

    That was the first time I saw Mada cried. It seems the loss of Nevi was a shock to him.


    After Ariana came, she put Mada into sleep by a magic. She made some little house out of the wood in the forest for us to stay the night. She also put Nevi¡¯s body inside some kind of little pool like in her house in a different room. Mada also sleeps in a different room with Erfia accompanies him. The rest of us gather in the main room consist of a fireplace and three long comfy chairs. Ariana sits in the middle chair facing the fireplace. Eri and Kurua sit in the chair in her right in front of Xiel and Me.


    We heard the whole story from Xiel with some tea to drink. Apparently she¡¯s Nevi¡¯s friend and some sort of Mada¡¯s pupil. Mada saved her when she was being attacked by bandits in High Port. I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s not so long after she parts way with Nevi. Xiel said that time Mada just appeared out of nowhere and then he¡¯s gone after gave her some weapon.


    ¡°Mada¡¯s reaction was to be expected. Nevi was so close to him. He¡¯s the one taking care of her since she came to our place.¡± Ariana tells us.


    ¡°You know, I knew Mada is Kries the Creator. So, I thought his old mind could take the pain of losing someone.¡± Eri comments on Ariana¡¯s words.


    ¡°Well, his soul and his mind is the oldest thing I know. But yet his body is just on its 29. His body can¡¯t take it. That makes him react accordingly.¡± Ariana says.


    ¡°So, what do you think he will do? He just wiped out an entire city. That¡¯s, that¡¯s,¡± I can¡¯t really express my though.


    ¡°That¡¯s crazy.¡± Kurua finally finish my words. ¡°I can guess he will go to Mammon for a revenge. He could also put the whole city inside the Keeper if he can¡¯t find him.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a possibility.¡± Ariana takes a sip of her Tea. ¡°Truth to be told, I also want to take revenge on this Mammon but it might be hard.¡±


    ¡°Is he that strong?¡± I ask her.


    ¡°Mammon is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. He¡¯s one of the strongest seven in the Demon¡¯s Realm. One of them is comparable to me or Cana¡¯an.¡± Kurua explains the condition. ¡°The rumor said the current generation of Seven Deadly Sins is the most powerful ever. Adding he¡¯s governing Markozias. If we attack him, it is likely that the other six will come to help him.¡±


    Wow, so Demon¡¯s realm has seven people like Cana¡¯an and Kurua. That can¡¯t be good. Even if Ariana, one of ten greatest wizard, joins us we still lack the numbers. They have seven while we only have three. And against one word titled, Eri, Xiel, and I have no chances at all.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is just a coincidence or what. It¡¯s happening right when we¡¯re heading to the demon¡¯s realm.¡± I speak my mind.


    ¡°I can¡¯t really say it¡¯s a coincidence.¡± Xiel replies to me. ¡°This has happened for seven years. It is inevitable sooner or later.¡±


    Well, she got that right. But still. I can¡¯t take it off of my mind. A possibility of fighting the Seven Deadly Sins. It¡¯s like fighting seven Mada or Seven Kurua. That¡¯s freaking impossible.


    ¡°I wonder if the others saw the signal.¡± Ariana speaks.


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± Eri asks her.


    ¡°That light is a signal they created. It must not be used unless something extremely urgent. That¡¯s the reason I use my displacement magic when I saw it.¡±


    Yeah, she suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I don¡¯t know such magic exists. The only instant displacement I know is by using gate of the world.


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s take a rest for now.¡± Ariana closes our conversation. ¡°It won¡¯t do us anything by staying late.¡±


    Yeah, she¡¯s right. We need to take a rest. Maybe tomorrow we can decide things better.


    The only ones got a room are Mada and Erfia. The rest of us sleep in the main room.


    ~~~


    Ahh, what happened?


    I wake as the light touch my face. I look around and see I¡¯m in a bed with Erfia sleeping beside me. Ah, I remember. When Ariana came I cried on her and then I couldn¡¯t remember anything else after. I guess she put me to sleep by some magic.


    A house. I guess Ariana made it with her magic.


    I slowly get out of the bed. Making sure I¡¯m not waking Erfia. I walk to the door and open it. Everybody still asleep. Xiel, Eri, and Reis is sleeping on the chair while Kurua is sleeping in the ground. I walk slowly and head outside.


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re awake. How is it feels?¡±


    As I come out of the house, Ariana greets me while she¡¯s stirring a big pot on a fire below it with a big wooden spoon. Just like a witch cooking something. I can guess she¡¯s making a breakfast.


    ¡°Close the door slowly. Better not wake them up.¡±


    I do as Ariana told and then walk to her. I sit in a little chair near the pot.


    ¡°So, what are you going to do?¡± Ariana asks me.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? I¡¯ll get that Mammon bastard. He will regret making Nevi as his slave.¡± I answer her. ¡°By the way, where did you put her body?¡±


    ¡°I put it inside the preserving pool. Next to your room. We better give her a proper burial before we get to him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. It would be nice if we could bury her in your place.¡± I sound my opinion.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do just that. In the meantime, you go to the Demon¡¯s Realm and get the other God Item. It will increase our chance of winning against them.¡±


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    Wa, wait. What? I think I just notice something. ¡°Did I hear it wrong? Did you say we?¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± Ariana answers me. ¡°They played around with my child. Do you think I¡¯ll let them go? Hell no!¡±


    ¡°But, if you do that your two words title will change into one word title. And that¡¯s one word fugitive for you. Are you-¡°


    ¡°Shut up already!¡± Ariana cut me in. ¡°The others will do the same thing. If they find out about Nevi¡¯s death and her being enslaved by Mammon, they will run amok too.¡±


    Yeah, I can imagine it. ¡°But, I am the one who killed her. I-¡°


    I can¡¯t continue my words. My body is shaking. It still can¡¯t react normally.


    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t. You freed her out of her misery.¡± Ariana stops stirring the pot and came to me. ¡°For that, I thank you.¡±


    She kisses my forehead. I can feel a warmth of a mother¡¯s love on it. A genuine and pure gratitude.


    Even if my soul knows about it already, but it seems she¡¯s doing it to calm my body. And thankfully it works. I can feel my body is getting calm.


    ¡°Then, it¡¯s a war.¡±


    Suddenly another voice rose from the house. Both of us look into it and see Kurua is standing in the door. He closes the door slowly and then walks to us.


    ¡°In our side,¡± Kurua continues his words. ¡°There¡¯s me, Kurua the Goliath, Mada the Raider, and Ariana the Great Wizard. I kind of wonder what kind of title she will get¡±


    ¡°Hey, hey, don¡¯t talk like it¡¯s got nothing to do with you. You might become one word fugitive yourselves.¡± I try to put some sense to him.


    ¡°Huhuhu, a tittle is nothing but an accessory to my name. I couldn¡¯t care less about being one word hero or one word fugitive.¡±


    There he goes letting his weird soft laugh. ¡°Besides, the only person in my entire life is Therion. I got no other people to worry about.¡±


    Well, if Eri is the only person knows him and the other way around, it is definitely the best thing could happen. But then, how about Ariana?


    I look into her. She realizes my glare at her and lets out a smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve cut my ties with this world a long time ago. The only ties I got with this world is you kids.¡± Ariana answers with a confident tone.


    Uh, typical of a wizard. But I can¡¯t complain.


    If I reveal my face and my name, hell will break loose for the people that know me. As the punishment for one word title is unknown to public, some of them will tell the government that they knew me hoping for a reward. But instead they will be killed. And also, I can never enter another town easily. If Kurua¡¯s identity also changed into one word fugitive, we will have a new trouble.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I can give my identity yet. Neither you Kurua.¡± I tell them my mind. ¡°That will create more problem for us in the future.¡±


    ¡°Now that you said it,¡± Kurua mumbles.


    His identity as Kurua the Goliath is not something that well known. I think it¡¯s safe enough to put him in an armor.


    ¡°So, we will make it like this.¡± I tell them my plan. ¡°Ariana wants to revenge her pupil, Nevi, so she attack Mammon. She hires me, Mada the Raider, and some unknown soldier in armor.¡±


    Kurua nod his head as he hears me. It seems my idea of putting him in an armor is not bothering him.


    ¡°That¡¯s good enough. But we got another problem,¡± Ariana comments. ¡°What are we going to do about them?¡±


    Ariana turn her head into the house. In the door, we see Reis and the other half awake.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s another problem.¡± I cover my head with my palm. ¡°Let¡¯s stop for now and have some breakfast.¡±


    We stop the discussion and have our breakfast. The breakfast went pretty quiet. It¡¯s so different from few days ago when Reis and Nevi had a fight over trivial things. Ahh, thing changed so fast. When we finish the meal, I start the discussion again. We tell them about the discussion that happened before we had our meal.


    ¡°So, what do you think?¡± I ask them.


    Nobody answers me at that time. All of them took some time thinking about it until finally Xiel speaks.


    ¡°What do you think the best for us to do?¡±


    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not so sure.¡± I answer her. ¡°The best for all of you are to stay. But it¡¯s not that easy. Without Erfia, I won¡¯t be able to fill my mana ring. But If I take her, then it means I need someone to guard her while we fight. But again, it will put you all in danger.¡±


    ¡°This fight, or should I say war, is the worst one could happen.¡± Kurua adds explanation. ¡°Seven one titled against three one titled is not something ever happened before.¡±


    He already put Ariana as one word titled, eh.


    Well, the words title system is being used less than 300 years so I would say it¡¯s the worst one in the last 300 years. This war will raze anything around it. If we fight in a city, the least it will do is raze the city.


    ¡°Before we jump to conclusions,¡± Reis speaks. ¡°Can¡¯t you just kidnap this Mammon person and do it without fighting all out? Or at least let¡¯s go to Markozias, then we will decide the plan after we see the condition in that place. How about that?¡±

 34. Welcome to Demon鈥檚 Realm

    It would be nice if you would point out the mistakes. Thanks


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    We ended up with Reis¡¯s plan. Now that I think about it, her plan is not so bad. I guess Ariana and I was too eager to take revenge and Kurua also too eager to fight. Ariana took Nevi back to her place to give her a proper burial.


    She can¡¯t take all of us with her because a displacement magic is one of the highest magic a wizard could master. Gate of the world is a machine created by using the displacement magic as the base. The one came with gate of the world is the angels. They said it¡¯s a gift for the world. Yeah, right. Gift for the world my ass. They wanted to show the world that they could make a machine at par with the highest displacement magic. They wanted the world to see that they could mass produce it anytime. So, a high grand kill magic machine is nothing for them to create.


    It¡¯s been a week since we left Sairkhan and right now, we¡¯ve arrived at High Port. By using the Keeper and the Perfect Role Play, I could easily get the picture of the whole city. As all of them died inside the Keeper, the Perfect Role Play takes me as the killer. So, all of their memories are flowing endlessly into me. By using their memory, especially the memory of the king¡¯s man, I get the inside of the castle picture. By that, I could locate all of their treasure, weapon, vehicle, etc. I moved everything that I deemed as useful to my castle and left the rest in the city. I did all of it inside the Keeper. By using my curse of perfect memory, this is just a child play for me.


    We travelled by using the carriage that we used from the Loos Port then we changed into our mana carriage. When we arrived, we got checked by the High Port security. Apparently, news of the missing Sairkhan has reached this place. Fortunately, we changed the carriage with our mana carriage way before we reached the city, so their suspicious toward us is not at troublesome level.


    To put the suspicion level as low as possible, we decided not to take out any weapon. As Reis, Eri, and Kurua fight barehanded and Xiel can transform anything into her weapon, the only one that really goes without a weapon is me. If we get caught in a mess, I have to improvise somehow to make sure my identity not being found out.


    Nothing troublesome in our way to this place. Erfia, Eri, and Reis continued their dance lesson. I taught some new trick, magic, and weapon use to Xiel. It will help her to guard Erfia for a while. Kurua took the job for preparing the meal. Sometimes, we got ambushed by bandits but when Xiel put her mask and mention she¡¯s Mada the Great Raider, the bandits let us go.


    The ship used from High Port to Sil¡¯an Port is not too different from the one used in Grouse Port. We reached Sil¡¯an port in a few hours. No pirates in this strait as the government of Demon¡¯s Realm do a frequent sweep.


    ¡°Dad, what is this place?¡± Erfia asked in awe as we reach Sil¡¯an Port.


    ¡°Wow, that¡¯s something entirely different.¡± Reis also comments about the place.


    As the others react normally, I can guess Erfia and Reis are the only ones that just see this place.


    ¡°Welcome to Demon¡¯s Realm. The house of alchemy and steam powered engines.¡± I say to them.


    This place is rather different from Ma Continent and Alia Continent. While both continents are pretty much like some hi-tech medieval age, this place more like a steampunk continent. All the cities in the Demon¡¯s Realm are like this.


    You can see smokes is rising out of some tower. A high tower with a big clock in standing in the middle of the city. The building is using a shining metal for its material like in the Ul Thadur. Not much of a car because the government of Demon¡¯s Realm forbid the use of a private vehicle. As such, they will force the visitor that came from outside of Demon¡¯s Realm to sell their vehicle with reasonable price. My mana carriage was no exception. If you look into the sky, you can see one or two airships. An airship only used for VIP.


    Sil¡¯an Port is also a city, and it¡¯s governed by Leviathan the Envy. It is better for us to avoid attention starting from now.


    An airship on the sky is not something usual. It¡¯s only happen in a very important occasion. We better leave this city immediately.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, we need to get to the train.¡± I take them with me.


    I¡¯ve come a few times to Demon¡¯s Realm to gather some info about relict and God Items. So, I know this place well. All of them follow me in silence. Fortunately the train station and the harbor are not so far. They made it so that it is easier to move the goods from the ship to the trains.


    I¡¯ve taken some pouch of diamond chips since we¡¯re on the ship. Normally, people trade with gold or silver coin. But Demon¡¯s Realm and Angel¡¯s Realm is different. Demon¡¯s Realm trade with diamond chips Angel¡¯s Realm trade with light matter. But that¡¯s not too important as I got tons of diamond chips in the Keeper.


    Reis and Erfia is keep looking at every place. Even they¡¯re looking at me while I buy us some ticket for us to ride the train.


    ¡°What is it you¡¯re buying?¡± Reis asks me.


    ¡°Are you new to this thing?¡± the attendant ask her.


    The attendant is a demon with red gleam eyes, long hand, and some fang coming out of his mouth. He¡¯s still wearing uniform despite his appearance.


    ¡°Yeah, this is their first time coming to Demon¡¯s Realm.¡± I answer his question.


    ¡°Ow, then welcome to Demon¡¯s Realm. We hope you enjoy your trip and have a nice business.¡± The attendant smile and wave as we left.


    I entered this place by using a business reason. They thought I¡¯m the buyer since I got no goods with me but got tons of diamond chips.


    We ride the train that heading directly to Markozias. I bought us some ticket for 2 bedrooms. Each room for three persons. Erfia and Reis with me. We can see the mountain in the windows in the west of this train. The room itself has a small table in the middle of it with 2 bunk beds on each side. The table has some teapot with small heater below it. There''re some tea, coffee, sugar, and cream in the table too. The heater turned on by flowing small amount of mana into it. And then the heater will stay hot without the necessity of continuous mana supply.


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    The train is also a steam powered train. But their steam machine is a lot more efficient than on earth. They used mana crystals to create the fire. Mana inside the crystal ignited by using magic. Demons used the mana to create heat out of the crystal and it acts as the heater. Mana is an all purpose energy, so demons used it in different ways. And unlike conventional carriage, this train travels a lot faster. The distance between Sil¡¯an Port and Markozias is nearly twice the distance of Sairkhan to High Port. But by using train, we only travel for 4 days.


    I explain all of those things to Erfia and Reis.


    ¡°But dad, if they¡¯re using the mana crystal, then it means people in this place are like you? They have no mana?¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re not like me. Alchemy is another form of magic. Alchemy uses a lot of symbols to transform things into another things. It¡¯s similar to magic circle or sigil. But alchemy adds more science than normal magic which mostly uses the person¡¯s imagination. And also, alchemy doesn¡¯t need an incantation.¡±


    ¡°So, are you saying people in Demon¡¯s Realms think more logically?¡± Reis adds another question.


    ¡°Yes, demon race are talented at those things. And they create a much more efficient magic and some better quality goods.¡± I add another explanation. ¡°Say, people that change iron into weapon by using magic normally just use their imagination. This thing makes the quality of the goods varies according to the creator imagination. So, normal people would go with manually hand forged weapon. But demons know the right chemistry, composition, heat needed, etc. They could change the iron into a better weapon and the quality mostly depend on the ingredients. Some tweak in the process could change the quality too but in this place, ingredients are the most important thing.¡±


    As I said, the demon are talented at these things. When a person like Xiel exists, half elf and half demon, that person could create the best and the most efficient magic. She could be the best sage or the best blacksmith in the world.


    ~knock knock~


    ¡°Excuse me, we¡¯re from the government official would like to do some routine check.¡± A voice rises from the door.


    The voice makes Reis on her guard. I stick my hand to her. Giving her a signal to calm down.


    I stand and open the door. Three men demons are standing in front of the door. They had red skin with some of their cheek bone coming out of their flesh and yellow eyes likes a snake. They wear a uniform of military jacket and long pants of red with black color. Each of them holds a gun and a sword in their waist.


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± I greet them. ¡°This is our tickets and ID cards. The little girl has no ID card yet as she¡¯s still 9.¡±


    I give them the ID card I created on the way from Sairkhan to High Port. I give Kurua theirs and I got mine and Reis¡¯s. Therion need a new name as her name is pretty specific name. I gave her Eri as her ID card name.


    They look into Erfia and then looked into me and Reis.


    ¡°Say, both of you are not husband and wife right?¡± The officer asks me.


    ¡°No, we¡¯re not. The little girl is my foster daughter by the way.¡±


    After I said it, the officer gives me back our ID card.


    ¡°Thank you for your cooperation. We¡¯re sorry for disturbing you. Have a nice trip.¡±


    The officers walk away after he said those words. As our room is checked after Kurua¡¯s room, I can guess it goes smoothly for them too. I close the door and lock it.


    ¡°Demon¡¯s Realm choose to use the train rather than the gate of the world because the security is better. Just like that, they will check every passenger everyday. And if something off, they could easily capture the suspicious person. The train also acts as an isolation device. You can¡¯t escape from this train without being heavily injured or even die. In each train, there at least six officers like them with three words title and one two word title as their leader.¡± I add another reason. ¡°And also, they don¡¯t like to use something of Angel¡¯s invention.¡±


    Reis and Erfia nod in unison. I take off my jacket and put it in the hanger behind the door.


    ¡°I put our ID cards in this pocket in case they come while I¡¯m not around. Okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Erfia and Reis answer me in unison.


    They really like to do it, eh.


    ~~~


    It¡¯s been 2 days since we board the train. In a few moments, we should pass at Aeshma. Aeshma is one of the two biggest cities in the Demon¡¯s Realm. It¡¯s governed by Satan the Wrath.


    Now we¡¯re having breakfast in the dine section of this train. All six of us sit in two tables. Unlike in the main continent, Demon¡¯s Realm don¡¯t have any discrimination of race. That¡¯s because they simply think they¡¯re better than another race and think of us as lower being or some animal. But they¡¯re not so stupid to treat the other race badly. They still hold the principle even lower being could bring misfortune if they act badly toward them. Well, simply said it¡¯s like they¡¯re human and we¡¯re wild animal. They won¡¯t treat us badly but they think lower of us. But sure, some scum still exist out there.


    ¡°Dear passenger, we¡¯re sorry to inform you that currently the railway to Markozias is unable to use due to unforeseen circumstance until further notice. For the inconvenience, we will provide you with a hotel to stay at night.¡±


    As the speaker announces it, a lot of people complains even some stands and ask the attendant about it.


    ¡°Mada, is this normal?¡± Kurua asks me from my behind.


    Both of us sit back to back and I can feel he talks to me without turning his back to me.


    ¡°No,¡± I answer him. ¡°Unforeseen circumstance is not something that this place would say. Normally they would say about rail trouble, locomotive trouble, or something else. But for unforeseen circumstance,¡±


    ¡°It seems he¡¯s already aware of us.¡±

 35. Small Information

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    ¡°We¡¯ve got ourselves some trouble. Tons of it.¡± I tell Kurua.


    Now we¡¯re in a shopping mall in Aeshma. Just like Sil¡¯an Port, this city is also operating on mana crystals and steam powered electricity. The mall has a high palisade glass in the side that shows 3 lowermost floors while the 4th and 5th floor is covered by small windows on its side. Yellowish light illuminates the whole floor. If you see the outside, you can see the smoke from any steam engine out there is condensing the rain. It¡¯s been a few months since I last meet a rain.


    We¡¯re in the clothes section. With Reis and the others walk around look for a clothes, it also provides us with a reason to leave the hotel. The room inside the hotel at least has 5 alchemy symbols to record and transmit every voice inside of it. I bet the whole hotel is one big alchemy symbol designed to hear everything inside of it. So, I decided we need to get out of there and talk about it. But we can¡¯t let our guard down either. The worst scenario is the whole city is designed to record anything the people talk about. And it is not impossible to track our voice as we just arrived in this city. The possibility of me being paranoid about the whole city is also existed, but we can¡¯t be too careful.


    ¡°Yeah, I know. I saw it too.¡±


    It is fortunate Kurua was a pawn shop owner, so he knows some about alchemy a bit.


    ¡°I guess it is better for us to enjoy our time for a while.¡±


    I mean to say ¡°It is better to stay low for a while.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it is not a bad idea. Hopefully it won¡¯t hinder our business.¡±


    I catch his words as ¡°Yeah, it is better that way. Hopefully they will take their suspicion quickly.¡±


    Both of us are a trader and a pawn shop owner, so we know how to say something that means entirely different from what it sounds. By adding a few winks, jaw movement, and unique lips gesture we send the real meaning of our conversation. Normally we don¡¯t use it on the same gender as this method looks like we¡¯re flirting. But desperate condition calls for desperate measures.


    I¡¯ve told the others not to talk about our real objective as long as we¡¯re in Aeshma. I planted to them our objective is to do business in Markozias. They¡¯re just tagging along and if anyone whether it''s officer or shop attendant asks, they have to tell the person to ask me directly.


    ¡°I¡¯m bored. I¡¯ll go to the bar on the 5th floor. You take care of them. Just buy whatever they want.¡±


    I mean to say ¡°I¡¯ll look for some information in the bar. Take care of things in this place.¡±


    I take another pouch of diamond chips and throw it to Kurua. The amount of diamond chips inside that pouch could buy one restaurant.


    ~~~


    I enter the bar and look around. The bar has a long design with a lot of framed pictures of the previous seven deadly sins. You can see some ornament on the ceiling. In the middle of it you can see a bartender making some drink. On the side of this place few brown couch with a small table for people in a group. As I come alone, I sit in the high chair in front of the bartender.


    ¡°Give me Wiers, add six spoons of Zune and stir it. Stir, not shake.¡± I tell the bartender as place my order.


    In a moment, the bartender put my drinks in front of me. I empty it in a single drink and order another one.


    ¡°Wow, someone had a bad day, eh?¡±


    A man in my side talks to me. A demon with no skin in dark blue. He has two pairs of eyes that stacked in his head. You can see some spike pop out of his back neck. He¡¯s wearing a long brown coat with some suit underneath it.


    ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡± I answer him.


    Another drink come to me and I empty it in a single drink again.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind. Would tell me what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    He seems interested in me. He might be a spy from the government or some honest man. But anyway, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that our conversation is being transmitted and heard somewhere else in this city.


    I order another drink. ¡°Well, I was on a business trip to Markozias. My appointment with the supplier should be the day after tomorrow but as the train stopped for unforeseen circumstances, it won¡¯t be possible to meet with him. The deal will be called off.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re the third person I met this night with the same reason.¡± He showed some sympathy. ¡°Do you work for someone?¡±


    ¡°No, I work for myself. But this might break my reputation.¡± I complain to him.


    ¡°Well. I guess it can¡¯t be helped. Unforeseen circumstance is not something you see everyday.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on actually?¡±


    ¡°Well, about that,¡±


    He stops for a moment. From the way he acts, he looks more like an info dealer than a spy. But I can¡¯t be too careful. I take some diamond chips out of my pocket and put it inside his coat pocket. He looks into it and then looks at me.


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    ¡°Well, actually.¡± The man comes closer to me and whisper in my ear. ¡°I hear the government is sending someone word titled from Markozias to Ef¡¯reet. So, they will take the whole railroad from Markozias to Ef¡¯reet to ensure his safety. He should pass this city tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°One word titled? Why don¡¯t they use the airship?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°That¡¯s what interesting is. It seems the transported person is one word titled from the Ul Thadur. So, this person is not a VIP.¡±


    When he mentions Ul Thadur, I try my best not to show my surprised expression. I just show him my drunk expression. ¡°Ul Thadur?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you know, beast man country has just fallen, the new government asks the Seven Deadly Sins to look for him and deport him as soon as possible. That¡¯s all I know.¡± The man put some distance again between us. ¡°Hope that information could make your business partner comprehends your situation.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, sure. Thanks for the info.¡±


    I empty the last drink in front of me and left some money for the drink. I left the bar as I can see both the bartender and the man is looking at me. In this place, it¡¯s easier to get info by pretending you¡¯re drunk man in a desperate situation. And it is normal for the business in this place to get hold when the government has some urgent matter. IF, I really am in a business that info is enough to make the business partner to understand the situation and will forgive about the appointment not being held. And I guess they know about it already.


    What disturb me is the fact that government of beast man asks Demon¡¯s Realm government to look for a person. It is possible after they can¡¯t get their hands on my God Items, they need the only God items available for them. Only some people in the Ul Thadur know about the location of it but that¡¯s not important. Right now if the one word titled being transported is Cirion then it means they will transport him back to Ul Thadur.


    Damn it. I got myself with two big choices right now. Continue with the revenge or take a look at this transported person. Ah well, whatever. I¡¯ll think about it as soon as I get back.


    I back to the hotel room. We¡¯ve given two rooms with the same arrangement like on the train. The hotel itself is a nice one. Two big beds in brown color. You can see some framed picture of the city in the old time. In side of the room, there¡¯s a pair of sofa and long table with some stained glass vase and a small globe. Near the sofa there¡¯s a door lead to the bathroom.


    Erfia and Reis already sleep in the same bed near the sofa. It left me with one empty bed. As I enter the room, I realize I reek of alcohol. I enter the bathroom to clean myself. Unlike the bedroom that has nice wood ornament as the ceiling, you can see the bathroom ceiling is decorated with steel and some steel pipe when you lay down in its square bathtub.


    I think about the current condition once again. Right now we¡¯re being under surveillance. I got some info which probably being leaked by government. If the info is correct, then Cirion is being transported from Markozias to Ef¡¯reet. If I could attack him and take his God Items when he passes this place, it would be nice. But I guess the security must be tight as hell. If I use the Perfect Role Play, the government that watches me will surely announce a missing person and I¡¯ll be treated as suspicious person.


    If I pass this chance and go to Markozias to take my revenge, there¡¯s no guarantee I¡¯ll ever get the chance to take the Voice of Obedience. Ahh, things not so good. And what¡¯s wrong with Cirion? I thought he had been given order not to back to Ul Thadur ever again and yet right now he¡¯s being transported for deportation.


    ~click~


    Suddenly the door¡¯s knob is rotating and I see Reis is coming in while wiping his eyes. She closes the door again and then lock it. She doesn¡¯t realize I¡¯m here. It seems she¡¯s half awake.


    ¡°Hey, Reis. I¡¯m here.¡±


    Reis answers me half awake. ¡°Yeah, yeah, Mada. You¡¯re here. You,¡±


    Finally she awake and looks at me having my bath in the bathtub. She takes a moment to realize what¡¯s happening.


    ¡°A-¡°


    I jump out of the bathtub and shut her mouth with my hand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t scream or you¡¯ll give us trouble in the middle of the night.¡±


    I can feel Reis¡¯s mouth is no longer trying to let out a scream. She¡¯s trying her best not to avert her eyes from my eyes.


    ¡°Now, you better slowly walk out and don¡¯t make any noise. If you want to use the bathroom, wait outside while I dry myself and put some clothes one. Okay?¡±


    Reis nods slowly. Finally she came out of the bathroom. I¡¯ve been using the bathroom for so long. I didn¡¯t lock the door because I didn¡¯t think anyone will awake. It seems I was lost in my thought.


    I put some clothes on and get out of the bathroom. ¡°Okay, you can use it now.¡±


    ¡°You pervert.¡±


    At that moment, I can see something flying towards my cheek.

 36. Government鈥檚 Plot

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    ¡°Daddy, there¡¯s something on your cheek.¡± Erfia points to my left cheek.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s okay. I tripped myself at the bathroom last night.¡± I answer her with lie.


    I look at Reis. She¡¯s still avoiding eye contact with me. When I see the others, they seem to hold their laugh.


    Right now we¡¯re waiting in line at the train station. Just as the info said, this morning we got noticed that today we could continue our trip to Markozias. The whole train station is still closed for the transportation of this one person, so all passengers are standing outside the train station.


    ¡°It would be nice if we could reach Markozias as soon as possible.¡± Kurua talks to me. No hidden words or meaning.


    I¡¯m not sure about that as I look into the clear blue sky. No airship flies in the sky anymore unlike yesterday. It annoys me to see one special small airship that supposed to stand by on the top of the highest building is gone. Only Satan allowed to use it. If she¡¯s gone, it means something very urgent is occurring somewhere in this Demon¡¯s Realm. It makes me worry if Mammon also left Markozias.


    The current Satan is named Lilith. When the next head is a man he will be named Satan but Lilith if she¡¯s a woman. But it doesn¡¯t change tittle of Satan the Wrath as it acts as family name, and unfortunately I¡¯ve got no connection with the last 2 generations of Seven Deadly Sins.


    At last we could hear sound of a train is coming. But it¡¯s not passing the train station. It¡¯s stopping in the train station. That¡¯s weird. We passengers could only guess by the sound it makes. Suddenly I could see a small static electric appears in the wall.


    ¡°GET BACK!¡± I yell.


    I take Reis and Erfia with me and jump back as far as I could. Kurua, Eri, and Xiel follow me. Some people also follow us to jump back but most of them didn¡¯t have enough time or not capable of far leap like us. A lot of spikes pop out of the train station wall and kill everyone near it.


    What the hell? A small static electric is a sign of alchemy. It means the one attacking is demon. I look around and see some people survive.


    The train station¡¯s door is opened and showed a lot of officers standing in line. They spit some blood and then create a symbol on the ground. Another static appears on the ground below us.


    ¡°JUMP TO THE HIGH PLACE!¡±


    We jump quickly to reach any high place nearby. A lot of spikes pop out of the ground we stood before. I land at a canopy of pedestrian bridge while Kurua and Xiel land on the top of some public bus and Eri land on a roof of a small store.


    Judging the spikes, they only aim to kill. If their aim is to capture us, they would create something box like. But then I take a better look at them and see something I don¡¯t like at all. All of them have small slit on their front neck that glows red. The glow is so dim that normally on a day like this no one would notice. But I notice it because I know what it is. It¡¯s a signature they¡¯re under orders from the Voice of Obedience.


    The power of the Voice of Obedience is to make anybody that heard or even reads the lip movement of the holder to obey anything the holder wants. The slit will appear in the one being ordered as a sign they¡¯re under order of the Voice of Obedience. It¡¯s one weakness I created for the Voice of Obedience. It means the one being transported really is Cirion.


    At that moment, I manage to spot some people watching us from the shadow of buildings. So, that¡¯s how it is. The government leaks the info about the transported person to make some people like us aware. People with pure business purpose won¡¯t wary of the situation and mostly should have been killed by the first attack. But people that are aware like us is the ones the government needs to take precaution. People that still alive after the attack definitely suspicious. And they got it right. We still alive after two attacks. Fortunately our party is not the only one that survives. There¡¯s still many people that still alive. I say about 40 out of 700.


    It is possible Cirion is working with them and if we attack the officers, the government will arrest us. What¡¯s his motive? Damn, we¡¯re in a pinch. Kurua and the others see me and I show no sign of fighting back. I hope they get my act. The red slit will disappear once the person no longer under order of the Voice of Obedience. If I attack them, I can¡¯t use it as a defense. And nobody should know about it but the holder and some people that have seen it being used few times. So, telling them about it will put me in more bind.


    The only choice left for us is to move away from the officers until the government takes it by themselves. But, the government is pretty reckless if I have to say. They killed a lot of innocent people just to capture a group of attacker. Or maybe there¡¯s something else? Well, that possibility always exists.


    ¡°mommy¡­..¡±


    Suddenly I hear a voice of a little kid. I take a look and see a little demon boy is crying. He resembles human so much. The only thing that¡¯s off from human is his little one horn in his forehead.


    ¡°Reis, take care of Erfia!¡±


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    I pass Erfia at her and jump toward that little boy. As I land and get the boy, the ground below us shows some electric static. Shit, I won¡¯t make it.


    At that time, the ground below me glows red. I can see the light is not some random light. I bet if I see it from the top it makes a symbol. The electric static disappears and so does the glow. The ground is not letting out any spikes.


    ¡°Are you alright, human?¡±


    This voice. No. It can¡¯t be. But this voice definitely belongs to her. I turn my face and see a long haired blonde woman is walking to me. She wears a long robe which closes her whole body but her head. Such a beautiful green eyes just like the old time. You will mistake her as a human if you don¡¯t look at her pointy black tail that¡¯s only showing a little below that robe. She¡¯s Lucifer the Pride the first. The First Lucifer that fell from the heaven.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m alright.¡±


    ¡°Stand aside! I¡¯ll take care of this.¡± She walks pass me.


    She raises her right hand and a line of light is appearing from her shadow. The line of light is travelling the ground, branching into few lines of light, and make a symbol in each of the officers ground. In a blink of an eye, the ground is letting out an electric static and create some chair which tie them so tight. Now that their movement has been sealed, they can¡¯t do anything anymore.


    ¡°Watch out! The real culprit might be still hiding on the train!¡± I shout at her.


    ¡°No need to tell me that.¡±


    Another line of light appears from her shadow. Rather than branching like before, this line of light is creating a big symbol encircling the whole train station. The light shines so bright and a big electric static appears.


    ~clang clang clang clang~


    I can hear the sound of metal being hit one another for some time and then it stops. I can guess she does something about the train with her power. She uses a high level magic to create an alchemy symbol on the ground. I can see she¡¯s not changed.


    She turns her body and walks to me.


    She stops in front of me. ¡°You got balls to come down and protect some little kid you don¡¯t even know.¡±


    ¡°This boy can¡¯t be some little kid. He resembles human so much. He must be from the noble family.¡± I answer her.


    ¡°Heh, you know your stuff eh.¡± She reacts to my words.


    I let out a simple smile. Then suddenly I saw something fly so fast toward her. I let go of the boy and jump to her back. A harpoon almost pierce her head. I look at the direction of this harpoon came from. Some officers still manage to create a symbol by using blood in his hand. He starts to draw another symbol.


    ¡°No you won¡¯t!¡±


    A line of light passes me so fast and heading toward the officer. The light circling the chair and something came out of the chair. A long stick that clamps the officer¡¯s fingers and break them.


    ¡°Ah, that settles it.¡±


    I turn around and see a barrel of handgun is already in front of my face.


    ¡°Now, stay still and don¡¯t move!¡±


    ¡°My, my. Is this the treatment you give to someone that saved you?¡± I speak sarcastically to her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need you to save me. Everything is under control.¡±


    Yeah, she¡¯s right on that. Even If I don¡¯t stop that harpoon, it won¡¯t kill her.


    I look around and see a lot of demons already surround everybody that survives the attack. They point their gun at us survivors. One part I hate about this place, they¡¯re so efficient they prefer using a gun than a magic. If this were in Ma or Alia continent, I can simply defeat them all before they complete their spell. But I can¡¯t really go head to head against a gun.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, your majesty Satan. Everything is fine.¡±


    I can see another demon woman in maid clothes come closer to us. Or rather, the boy. But I guess I¡¯m little surprised when the woman called the boy as Satan. So, he¡¯s Lilith child. The maid takes the little boy away from us.


    ¡°So, who are you and what are you up to?¡± Lucifer asks me.


    ¡°I¡¯m just a businessman on his business trip to Markozias. People calls me Mada Jeian of the Vorks.¡±


    ¡°Heh, Mada the Black Trader, eh?¡± She lets out a sarcastic tone.


    ¡°Mister, you¡¯re under arrest for suspicious acts. It is better for you to remain silent.¡±


    Few people come at me and put me on a handcuff. I look at the others and they¡¯re also under arrest.


    ¡°Thanks for the help Ma¡¯am. Without you, we can¡¯t capture these suspects at ease.¡± One officer salutes her.


    ¡°I just happen to pass by.¡± She answers the officers.


    ¡°Can you please keep the handcuff off for my daughter? She¡¯s just an innocent kid, okay?¡± I talk to them


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take care of your daughter. Which one is she?¡± Lucifer takes my request.


    ¡°The half beast man half elf. She¡¯s my foster daughter.¡± I talk to her.


    ¡°You can count on me to look after her. Even if they find you guilty I¡¯ll still take care of her.¡± She walks toward Erfia¡¯s direction and left me.


    ¡°Yeah, thanks a lot. My light-sweet Lucy.¡±


    She stops and looks at me. ¡°No. It can¡¯t be. How did you know that name?¡°

 37. Interrogation, Not Really

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    ¡°I told you already, I don¡¯t know anything. As you can see, I¡¯m just his slave.¡±


    I answer the red demon in front of me. He lifts up his showing he¡¯s looking down on me.


    It¡¯s been a couple days since we got captured. I answered any tricky question by using ¡°I¡¯m just a slave¡±. They still asking us with no clear direction or clear aim. I think it means the other¡¯s investigation is not too troublesome.


    But still, I worry about Erfia. Suddenly this blonde woman came at me and took Erfia with her. Mada said it¡¯s okay. He just asks Erfia to hold for a few days without us on her place. Who is that woman? Is it someone he knew too? Ah, it¡¯s pissing me off.


    ¡°That¡¯s it for now. I¡¯ll come back later.¡±


    The red demon stands and leaves me alone in this room. A small box room with cold metal as its wall and some mirror on its side. There¡¯s only one lamp in the ceiling of this room. What a weird room. They don¡¯t seem to put any bar or something like that. But, something in this room prevents me from using magic at all. I¡¯ve tried small magic even a grand kill magic but it¡¯s not working at all.


    Mada, I don¡¯t know how you will do it but get us out of here quickly.


    ***


    So far I could trick them all. I just hope the others did the same.


    When they walked us inside this building, I observed the building. They¡¯re using a special metal as floor line on the lobby. I¡¯m guessing the floor above it is the same. But when we went underground, the special metal is being used as a wall. These special metal are called orociana. It¡¯s a special metal developed by police in the Demon¡¯s Realm to handle criminals from outside. It will disrupt the mana flow in the person¡¯s body so they can¡¯t control their mana well.


    Normally the police will use it as a baton stick, whip, or bullet. But they just use it as a coating as a measure so the person can¡¯t control their mana well. It will help for arresting them. But if they¡¯re using it as a wall like this room, then no mage is capable of cast any magic. Even inner energy user like Kurua and Eri won¡¯t be able to use their power as inner energy is another form of mana manipulation.


    I look into the mirror at my left. ¡°Hey, is there no one coming in? If you got no more questions can you let us out? I got business to run you know.¡±


    I don¡¯t know whether there¡¯s a person by the other side of the mirror or not. They might be on break or they¡¯re listening to me from another room. I see at least 3 voice transmissions in this room. This city is the worst one on this planet. Can¡¯t they leave us for some privacy? Damn that Lilith.


    ~clack~


    The door handle move and shows me a figure of a long haired blonde woman comes in. Uahh, the last person I¡¯d like to see right now is coming in.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming in.¡± She says as she closes the door.


    ¡°Ah, c¡¯mon. This is your fucking place.¡±


    She just smiles. She has changed her outfit. Now she¡¯s wearing a casual white jacket with a jean and boots. Jean is pretty rare in this planet as it gets heavy when drenched in water. But the noble of this nation got some extra power of controlling heat around their body. When their jeans got drenched in water, they simply make it hot enough to make it dry. So, it¡¯s only used by the noble of this nation.


    If you look at her closely, you won¡¯t believe she¡¯s an old hag that¡¯s been live for centuries. That¡¯s normal as she stopped aging at age of 33.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, isn¡¯t it?¡± She opens the conversation.


    She walks to the corner of the room and creates a new symbol atop the current transmission symbol.


    ¡°With this, they won¡¯t be able to hear us.¡± She smiles and sits in front of me.


    ¡°Oy, are you sure about this? You are the first Lucifer the Pride.¡±


    ¡°Of course. It will be a pain in the ass if they listen to our conversation and shower me with question later.¡± She answers me. ¡°Now, tell me your plan!¡±


    I sigh. ¡°Before I start. I¡¯d like to ask where did you keep my daughter?¡±


    ¡°Ah, it seems your disease is not cured yet. You pedophile.¡±


    I ignore her words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s safe in my own house in the side of the city. I¡¯ve got a lot of houses at each city you know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, at least 93 houses.¡± I play along with her. ¡°Or should I say, a mansion or a castle?¡±


    Telling her place a house is a kind of understatement. Each of her places is at least 10,000 square meters and has at least 3 floors exclude the basement. That¡¯s just the house. If you include the garden, the swimming pool, and anything in her property, you could tell her place is the definition of luxury and noble. Well, at least Erfia is safe. As far as I know, her butler, maid, and servant are a bunch of loyal people. They¡¯re loyal to Lucifer of the first generation, not the Lucifer family.


    ¡°How about this?¡± She proposed an idea. ¡°I tell you everything I know about you and then, you tell me the rest of it.¡±


    I hate to say it, but lying to thousands years old lady won¡¯t take me anywhere. So, I nod at her.


    ¡°Mada Jeian of the Vorks, real name Mada Arcaness, Alias Mada the Raider.¡±


    Damn, just as I thought, she knew.


    ¡°You got your first God item few years ago, the Keeper.¡± She looks at my right hand. ¡°and since you hold the Perfect Role Play, I guess the info of you¡¯re the one behind the Fall of Ul Thadur is correct. So you come to this nation of mine to take the God Items held by the demon race and the one held by that beast man on the train two days ago, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    I clicked my tongue. ¡°So, the immortality didn¡¯t so useless after all. Did you use that underground sect of yours?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am. But still, I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re Mada the Raider, sweetie.¡±


    I scratch my head. ¡°It seems you still can¡¯t decide what you would call me.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s important you know. We are a lover after all.¡±


    ¡°Were.¡± I correct her. ¡°We were a lover.¡±


    ¡°Okay, back to the main topic. Is there something missing from my explanation?¡±


    I silent for a moment. Now that since she knows about my identity, it¡¯s no surprise if she knew about Sairkhan and Mammon. But, I need to make sure.


    ¡°Before I fill you, tell me. What do you know of Sairkhan and Mammon?¡±


    ¡°Mmm, Sairkhan and Mammon? You mean how Mammon been harvesting pain and fear and use it to develop Markozias all these times and hoping the other Seven Deadly Sins won¡¯t figure it out?¡± She answers me without showing any surprised face at all.


    ¡°So all of you know eh.¡±


    ¡°Well, the previous generation knows. But the current ones know nothing of it.¡±


    ¡°So it means he harvested pain and fear since the last generation?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right.¡± She agrees with me. ¡°You know, Mammon is the weakest of all Seven Deadly Sins. Their family is also not so bright so Markozias has fell into bankruptcy few times in the past. The other Deadly Sins feel he¡¯s just a hindrance and didn¡¯t give a shit. That¡¯s where he got those methods. For demons, extracted pain and fear are working like an ecstasy. By using it, he takes some investor and businessman to that city of his.¡±


    ¡°So, basically that city is den of wolf.¡± I simplify her words.


    ¡°Yes that¡¯s right. The other Deadly Sins and I can¡¯t bring the illegal business down. But,¡±


    ¡°But after the disappearance of Sairkhan, the city is in turmoil. The extracted pain and fear no longer come to his town. He needs to find another city for a harvest or the business will go down.¡±


    ¡°Yup, that¡¯s right. And then also the rumor of the one person responsible for the disappearance of Sairkhan is coming for him.¡±


    ¡°And somehow, he got his hand on Cirion and need to take measure to get this person. And do this to capture that person. I¡¯m surprised Lilith is willing to cooperate.¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t want to. But she has no choice. If Markozias fall, the economy in the Demon¡¯s Realm will go down as well. The people from the Markozias will spread all over the Demon¡¯s Realm. That might lead to a bigger population in each city, but less works for them. It will increase the number of poverty and it might lead to a revolt. The people will say the Seven Deadly Sins already failed to do their job and seek a new government. They can¡¯t have it happen.¡±


    ¡°Then, what about you?¡± I ask her. ¡°Are you alright with this?¡±


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m not. How could I¡¯m alright when I see the nation that I build fall apart. But,¡±


    I continue her words. ¡°But it will be a different story if one word fugitive come and takes him out. The new leader can be controlled by someone to make it a better city and a more cooperative toward another city while shut down the current business. So, people won¡¯t riot as they got a replacement job.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, you catch on quick.¡±


    ¡°So your sect makes it so that this city is looking for that fugitive, then somehow let him escape, tear Mammon apart, and then blame it on that fugitive. That¡¯s neat. But you¡¯re missing one thing. How would you convince this fugitive to do it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give one weapon of cala-¡°


    ¡°Not interested.¡± I cut her.


    ¡°Hear me out before you say it.¡± She whines to me.


    She really not any different from time to time. Well, I can¡¯t really blame her. Her body is just that of 33 years so it¡¯s normal for her to act that way.


    ¡°One weapon of calamity to fight Cirion in a place we arranged. And then info of Mammon¡¯s whereabouts. How about that?¡±


    I stay silent for a moment. This deal is not so bad. Getting info about Mammon whereabouts is a hard one. In fact, this deal is too generous. There must be some catch behind it. Restoring Markozias is one reason, but there has to be another reason.


    ¡°So, how is it?¡±


    ¡°Before I answer, let me say my opinion.¡± I start to talk. ¡°First of, when you said about Mammon¡¯s whereabouts, I can see he¡¯s not in Markozias anymore just like Lilith not in this city anymore. As the airship is moving west, I can say they¡¯re on the other island. Second, your deal is too generous. It¡¯s like you¡¯re giving me a gift. There must be some catch behind it. Another aim aside from recreating Markozias.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you got it all right.¡± She agrees with me. ¡°Well, about that,¡±


    She looks away. Both of her hands meet below the table, and she constantly moving her shoulder. I know it better when she does this. She¡¯s hiding something and afraid of my reaction if I find out about it.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll think of the catch later. Right now, I¡¯ll take that deal.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± She brightens up as she hears me.


    ¡°But, I got additional conditions.¡±

 38. Mada Vs Cirion

    Sorry for the late post. I got in an accident and bedridden on the hospital for days without my laptop.


    It would be nice if you would point out the mistakes. Thanks


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    ¡°You didn¡¯t neglect your dance training, right?¡± Eri asks Erfia.


    Erfia shakes her head. ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°Then, show me how far you have improved. I¡¯m thinking of telling Mada you¡¯re ready for the snake swords.¡±


    ¡°Yeay.¡± Erfia yells.


    Now, we¡¯re in a very big house. Or should I say, it¡¯s more like a small castle with no defense wall. This place got everything. Swimming pool, garden, stables, farm, maid, butler, and a lot of things. This house is more like an orphanage. A lot of children with no parent are taken care of.


    We are gathering in the garden with a big spare room. In front of us, there''re 3 square image projections showing Mada. It seems Mada asks her to bail us out and watch his fight with Cirion. I don¡¯t know where he is right now. But all I can see is a wasteland in his back.


    ¡°What? Surprised with this image projection?¡± Lucifer asks me as she takes a seat.


    We are having the seat with a mat placed on the garden. Some kids also come with us to watch him.


    ¡°Ye, yeah.¡± I nod. ¡°I thought only some skillful wizards able to do it.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, no it¡¯s not.¡± Lucifer answers me. ¡°It is you people from the new continent that depend on the mana too much. People of the old continent like us, demons and angels, rely on the technology more. So, these kind of things could be easily mass produced.¡±


    ¡°I guess so.¡± Kurua agrees with her.


    Yeah I also agree with her. People of the new continent still depend on the mana too much. If there¡¯s some great technology exist, they only use it for a public purpose where the government can watch over them. Like the gate of the world. If normal people want to buy it, they have to buy it directly from the angels. But that gate of the world will be considered illegal gate so the government will arrest that person.


    As the value of someone is measured by their mana reserves, the nobility which has high mana reserve, don¡¯t want normal people climb to the top by using technology. So basically, it just so the nobility could be the ruler.


    ¡°By the way, I have a question for you.¡± I ask Lucifer.


    ¡°Yes, what is it?¡±


    ¡°What is your relationship with Mada?¡±


    She looks at me. She glares so intensely. I could sense some chill into my nerve. But then she¡¯s laughing. All those chill instantly gone.


    ¡°Hahaha, well, normally people would be angry at you for talking to me casually. But as you¡¯re Mada¡¯s company, I can¡¯t have that.¡± She pauses for a moment and lean her body forward. ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s see. We¡¯re a lover.¡±


    Uh, what? Did I hear it wrong? Yes. I think I hear it wrong.


    ¡°I was his first love, and he was my first love. It¡¯s that simple.¡± Lucifer continues her words.


    Ah, ah. I think, I didn¡¯t hear it wrong. It seems my ear didn¡¯t deceive me.


    ¡°A, anyway. What¡¯s with that big gold sword in Mada¡¯s hand?¡± I try to change the course of the topic.


    I ask her about Mada¡¯s weapon. He¡¯s holding a big black sword with a gold ornament lining in the middle and its halt. I can say at least the sword length is 1.8 meters. That¡¯s a very big sword.


    ¡°Ah, that. I gave it to him to face Cirion. The Arbiter. A Weapon of Calamity.¡±


    ¡°A Weapon of Calamity?¡± I got a little shocked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Lucifer answers me. ¡°Before the God Items came into existence, Weapon of Calamity was the top most precious things in the word.¡±


    ¡°I thought it¡¯s only a fairy tale.¡± I comment at her words.


    ¡°Well,¡± Kurua adds an explanation. ¡°That¡¯s because only few people can withhold its power. If the holder is not good enough, the holder will run berserk and destroy everything around him. And by the time, fewer people are able to use it, creating more berserk people. As it stands, the government around the world limit it only to selected few.¡±


    ¡°And because of that, fewer blacksmith is able to create it. And the material needed is no longer known.¡± Lucifer adds another. ¡°Currently, there¡¯s no blacksmith capable of creating Weapon of Calamity. It is said at the current moment the amount of Weapon of Calamity is less than 200 in the whole world.¡±


    Lucifer turns her eyes to us. ¡°Didn¡¯t you people fought Cana¡¯an in Ul Thadur? He possessed The Mighty Fist, right?¡±


    It seems she already knew about our role in the Fall of Ul Thadur. Did Mada tell her or she already knew about it beforehand?


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t give him the chance to use it. So, they don¡¯t know its true power.¡±


    Suddenly Mada¡¯s voice appear out of thin air. I look around but I can¡¯t see him. Then, I look into the speaker that placed a little far from us.


    ¡°You hear our conversation, eh?¡± Lucifer talks to him.


    I look into the image transmission and see Mada is holding her left hand to his ear.


    ¡°Yeah. Stop teasing her, Lucy.¡±


    I fell silent for a moment. I feel so awkward toward him even though I only hear his voice. It means he heard my first question to her.


    ¡°Ah, c¡¯mon. I just want to play a bit.¡±


    So, she did in purpose? Damn! I got tricked.


    ¡°Yeah, whatever. By the way, is it alright if I break this thing when I fight?¡±


    ¡°Well, no normal people could break it. But knowing you, it is very possible.¡± Lucifer responds to Mada.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ll see how I break it. By the way, how my little girl doing? She¡¯s not abandoning her dance lesson, is she?¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t worry.¡± I answer him. ¡°Even at the current moment, Eri is teaching her.¡±


    ¡°Good. Watch closely. As you are going to see what might happen when two one word title in hold of Weapon of Calamity fight.¡±


    Two? Wait? Is that mean Cirion also has a Weapon of Calamity other than his God Item?


    The vision of the image is becoming further and shows us an image of a train being moved. The train itself is being held by a lot of metal. It is moved by a sliding earth with a lot of symbols on the ground. I didn¡¯t know they could use alchemy this way. Finally the train stopped and all the metal holding the train is gone. As the metal gone, the train¡¯s door flying to the horizon.


    In its door. A beast man of gorilla type is coming out. He holds a big war axe in his back. But we can¡¯t see his face as the image is being blurred around his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I have to blur out his face and cut all any other sound other than Mada¡¯s. If we can hear or read his lip movement, we will be under his God Item power.¡±


    Wow, so the Voice of Obedience hold such power. Mada, you have to defeat him.


    ***


    Finally, he came. A gorilla man with height of at least 2.5 meters. He didn¡¯t wear any armor or shirt. All he wears are long pants with a pair of boots. It shows all of his scars. Damn. You¡¯re just an exhibitionist.  But at least it lets me see the Voice of Obedience. A small white crystal with some silver ornament. I designed it as an earring but he adds silky long metal to make it into a necklace. So he found out that to use God Items, the holder doesn¡¯t need to use the way it designed. As long as he wears it as anything in his body, it is usable.


    But Voice of Obedience is not a problem right now. The real problem is his war axe. The Devil¡¯s Blow. It has the appearance of one side axe like a tomahawk with a long and big blade. It has a gray color with a red line. Like my pair of Dragon and Phoenix, it can let out an air blow. But, it has 100 times more power than my pair of Dragon and Phoenix. And what¡¯s more, he only needs to swing it following some fight pattern to let it out. The Devil¡¯s Blow air explosion will only out toward the front of its swing Unlike Dragon and Phoenix which blow to every direction. When he swings it toward my face, his body won¡¯t get an effect of the air explosion.


    I look into my mana ring. Lucy has filled it so I can use it to my heart content.


    ¡°You, I command you to tell me what is going on.¡± He talks as he walks closer to me.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡± I answer him. ¡°My name is Mada. Lucifer asks me to fight you and put you under arrest.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, so that¡¯s how it is.¡± He stops in front of me. ¡°What a nice weapon you got there. I want it. Give it to me!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    As I answer him, I swing this big sword as fast as I can. Unfortunately he catches on quick and jumps back a few steps. He¡¯s fast, as expected from one word hero.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t realize I¡¯m not under Voice of Obedience¡¯s power? Didn¡¯t you realize it when I tell you my name? You didn¡¯t even ask for it!¡± I get back to my stance.


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t fall under my power. It means you got God Item with you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s skip the chit-chat. I¡¯ll get every information out of your head right after I kill you.¡± I walk to him while dragging the Arbiter.


    It¡¯s not like I¡¯m not strong enough to hold the Arbiter. By dragging it, it seems like I¡¯m some kind of psycho that only wants a fight. By doing this, he will look down on me.


    ¡°Every info out of my head, eh? I can guess you got the Perfect Role Play. What a useless bitch!¡±


    Without further ado, I run and swing this big sword toward him. He blocks it with his side of the axe. As our weapon of calamity clash, the air around us is explodes. Some of my shirt and skin are shredded as well as his skin and pants.


    He sends out a kick. I jump to avoid it. By using his axe as the support, I send out a kick to his face. Without moving his arm, he lowers his body and avoids it. I spin in his axe and jump back to put some distance between us.


    So, even if he¡¯s using a big war axe and got a big body, he still got a high agility. And on top of that, it seems he got an extraordinary sense of balance. He can lower his body without moving his hand at all.


    ¡°Are you done? Now, my turn!¡±


    Cirion run towards me. He¡¯s fast. In just a moment, he¡¯s already standing in front of me and swinging his axe from his upper right. I take a step back and swing my big sword. I manage to repel his attack and his axe is being deflected. Just like before, the air explodes as our weapon of calamity clash. But he doesn¡¯t stop. He spins his body and send another swing to my right. I hold it by using this big sword. The axe continues its track to my left by grazing this sword. Another air explosion comes.


    I pass the sword to my left hand and make a spin. I swing the sword to his left. Aiming for his head. He¡¯s not slow at all. In that brief moment, his axe already holds my sword. Normal person would be deaf already when they have a clashing weapon of calamity near their head. But people capable of holding a weapon of calamity is granted by resistance of it. That¡¯s why only our clothes and skin shredded, not our flesh.


    ¡°Heh, you¡¯re not bad for a human.¡±


    ¡°Whatever!¡±


    I take back my sword and swing it again. I put my full strength in this blow. He realizes if he holds it his arm may break, so he jumps to his right side to avoid it. I missed.


    ¡°You do realize that if I hit you, not only your weapon but this weapon will also break right?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°Of course I do. If this weapon breaks, how can I manage to fight another person like you?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to think about it.¡±


    I leap forward and pierce through the air. He uses his axe to change my attack direction. He lets out a fist at me at the same time the air explodes. I hold my sword in my right hand and hold his fist with my left hand.


    I continue my words. ¡°You won¡¯t have any chance to live on after all.¡±


    I let go of my sword and slam him in the ground. As I let out a punch, he pulls his axe and uses its side as a shield. My hand hit the axe hard.


    Damn, that¡¯s hurt.


    He kicks me in the gut and sends me flying back. I land and take my sword back. He comes at me and unleashes a few attacks. His attacks are not the same as before. It lacks the power. One side slash, two high slashes, one low slash, and another side slash. Needless to say I deflect all of them.


    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re dead!¡± He yells at me.


    He takes few steps back and swings his axe downward. At that moment, I could see the air explodes toward me. Those powerless attack are the pattern. In that short moment, I swing my sword to my right side. I can feel the air explosion is destroying anything in my side.


    The explosion would create some crater-like hole in the ground. The Devil¡¯s Blow air explosion has the range of 1 kilometer. If this battle takes place in the city, the city would have been destroyed completely from our weapon clashes and the air explosion. And most of one word title possess a weapon of calamity. That¡¯s why sane people like me, Kurua, and Lucy avoid the city to be our battleground.


    ¡°Do you seriously think I''ve got no idea of your attack? Unfortunately, for you, I know it.¡± I act high and might. ¡°Let me tell you. This weapon of calamity, the Arbiter¡¯s, one and only power is to copy and neutralize any attack another weapon of calamity unleashed. So, in the face of this weapon, all weapon of calamity has been rendered into normal weapon.¡±


    Well, it might look cool and overpower and all. However, the weakness of the arbiter is it can only use as a defense. It needs the opponent to let out its power for the arbiter to copy. Without a good reflex, my body would have been destroyed before I could counter his air explosion.


    As I say the arbiter¡¯s power, I can see he¡¯s shaken for a moment. This is my chance. I throw my sword at him. He lets his guard down and uses the axe as a shield. I held back to make sure both of our weapons not break. He¡¯s knocked back. I jump and take my snake hook out of the Keeper. I cut his hand that holds the axe and land a few meters from him. As I land, I extend my snake hook and pull his axe to me. Now his axe is in my possession.


    ¡°Now that your axe is in my possession and Voice of Obedience is useless against me, you have no chance of victory anymore.¡±


    I throw his hand and take the axe as he¡¯s groveling in the ground.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. You¡¯re going to regret this.¡± Cirion speaks in a loud voice.


    I can feel the air is changing. The air is flowing toward his body from every direction. I feel something strange. I jump to the arbiter and take it. At that moment, I see he¡¯s growing into a bigger gorilla. A giant gorilla. I take a look into his necklace and see its silky metal became big too. I guess it¡¯s a special metal that will expand when he transforms.


    ¡°Hahaha, you¡¯re the first person ever to make me show this form. Carve this sight into your memories as I send you to hell.¡±


    ¡°Hah,¡± I sigh.


    I jump back as he attacks me. He might be stronger, but he became a bit slower. I jump to give us some distance. I put the arbiter and the snake hook back into the Keeper and take the pointing tip of desperation. By now, in my right hand I hold the axe and in my left hand I hold a longbow.


    ¡°Lucy, Reis, and everybody. You will see the true power of this longbow. Pointing tip of desperation.¡±


    I hold my longbow and hit it with the axe as hard as I can. Instead of the longbow break, the axe is breaking.


    ¡°You might not know this, but pointing tip of desperation is also a weapon of calamity. If I break another weapon of calamity against it like this, it will show its true form.¡±


    The wooden longbow is glowing and then it changes into a metal long bow. It has a black color with blue lining. In its bow attached two spears.


    He attacks me and I jump to his head. Using his head as a step, I jump to his back and run further.


    ¡°When it shows its true form, it will give two spears as a projectile. A black spear and a blue spear. In this case, I will use the black spear.¡±


    I stop and see at the distance I¡¯ve put between us. After I make sure our distance is more than 500 meters, I put the black spear into the longbow and take aim. It seems he¡¯s angry and jumps to me.


    ¡°Hahaha, such spear will only scratch me. It won¡¯t kill me.¡± He yells.


    What a jump. It¡¯s so high. But as long our distance is more than 500 meters, it doesn¡¯t matter to me. I shoot the black spear, and it hits his chest. As he said, it only scratches him. If, it only a spear.


    Blarr


    The air blast hit me hard. At that moment, a big explosion came out of the spear. A big fireball appears in the air. Engulf anything around it.


    I manage to stand still.


    ¡°It is a high explosive spear that will destroy anything in a radius of 500 meters. This long bow will deploy an invisible barrier that will protect me from the air blast. So, I can enjoy this magnificent view without being afraid of the air blast.¡± I continue my explanation.

 39. Forgiveness

    It would be nice if you would point out the mistakes. Thanks


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    ¡°So, how is it?¡± Lucy asks me.


    We¡¯re gathering in her garden after I killed Cirion and took Voice of Obedience. As usual, I took all of his memories because I killed him while wearing Perfect Role Play. God Items are indestructible unless by using another God Item so a little explosion won¡¯t destroy it.  I put Voice of Obedience in the Keeper because I don¡¯t need it right now.


    We¡¯re in a round table with all of my party. Lucy with some of her demon maid and human butler. We¡¯re having some cake and tea while we¡¯re talking.


    ¡°Just as you suspected,¡± I pause and put my cup on the table. ¡°Mammon did contact Cirion. The train station attack also planned by Mammon. He¡¯s hoping for me being killed by the attack or at least arrested by Aeshma officials. But, they didn¡¯t expect you. If you didn¡¯t come, they¡¯ve already sent us to Markozias for a further interrogation.¡±


    When I said interrogation, I meant torture. Needless to say all of them know what I meant.


    ¡°Then, how about that document?¡± Lucy asks me concerning the document she gave to me.


    This document contains a numbers of cases which Mammon might be involved. Most of it is an attack on some village or another terrorist-like attack like the one in the train station.


    ¡°I can only confirm half of it. The other half doesn¡¯t involve Cirion at all. Judging by the date, perhaps, it¡¯s done by the former holder of Voice of Obedience. It all happen before Mammon made a contact with Cirion.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, So the previous Mammon already had contacted with the holder of Voice of Obedience.¡± Lucy scratches her hair.


    ¡°So,¡± Kurua comes in. ¡°He controls people belief with the terrorist-like attack. Proving how great he is at defending the city. When a group of rebellion is rising, he used Cirion to put it off.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s as Kurua says.¡± I agree with him. ¡°Truth to be told. I¡¯m surprised you can¡¯t reveal it until now.¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s not an easy task at all.¡± Lucy answers me. ¡°Cirion had Voice of Obedience. Mammon has this slave magic that can¡¯t be broken unless the slave dies. Both of them are a pain in the ass.¡±


    Yeah, those things are troubling. Mammon¡¯s slave magic is an ancient magic. It¡¯s only known by some. It¡¯s not being used anymore as the incantation is too hard. The caster needed to spell it along with the tone and the sigil need to be tattooed on the body of the caster. Even a lot of practices won¡¯t do. A talent is also needed. I can guess Mammon¡¯s family is talented for it.


    ¡°So, now,¡± I stop the Mammon-Cirion talks. ¡°Give us the Mammon¡¯s location.¡±


    At that moment, I can feel the air became hard to breathe. Yes, I can say it. Everyone stares at Lucy. Even her maid and butler stare at her.


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Lucy lets out an easy tone. She tries to make the air lighter. ¡°He¡¯s in Ef¡¯reet. He¡¯s been there for a few days and will stay for another week.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t he in Markozias?¡± Reis asks her.


    ¡°No, he¡¯s not.¡± Lucy answers Reis. ¡°To tell you the truth, this is the worst time to carry out your revenge. He¡¯s on an urgent conference with another Deadly Sins.¡±


    ¡°Urgent conference?¡± Eri asks her.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lucy confirms Eri. ¡°As Sairkhan has gone, Markozias¡¯s economy is collapsing. The other Deadly Sins thought this is the best time to take over Markozias and rebuild it. So, they arranged this urgent conference to talk about that.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure he will give Markozias easily.¡± Kurua tells his opinion.


    ¡°He won¡¯t, but it will happen. Markozias will be rebuilt.¡± Lucy break Kurua¡¯s opinion.


    ¡°But, if that happens, isn¡¯t that mean he will no longer a ruler?¡± Xiel asks. ¡°It will be easier to take him right?¡±


    ¡°No, it won¡¯t be any easier.¡± I shatter Xiel¡¯s hope. ¡°When the other Deadly Sins take over Markozias, they have to provide him an asylum. He will be sent to another continent. If that were to happen, we have to start from square one.¡±


    ¡°I, I see.¡± Xiel tone down.


    ¡°So, in the end, we will use your plan? Attack them head on?¡± Reis asks us.


    I look at the girls. Their head is facing down. As the original plan came, they realize that they can do nothing to help. I know their frustration. Especially Xiel since she was the closest to Nevi. But she¡¯s only two words fugitive. She doesn¡¯t stand a chance against one word hero. Eri is the best of them as she¡¯s two words nobody. In her normal state she might come handful. But she just lost her arm and leg. She can¡¯t fight the way she used to be. Reis and Erfia are out of question.


    I guess it¡¯s time to call it a day.


    ***


    The night is not so cold in this place if it doesn¡¯t rain. But this place¡¯s sky is not as clear as the new continent.  This place might be placed outside the city, but the high building and the lights from the town make it hard to look at the stars.


    I¡¯m thinking back about the plan. Things are not so smooth as we wanted to be. I take another sip of my tea. Now I¡¯m sitting in the garden with nothing but the grass as the mat. Before coming here, I asked the maid to make me some tea at a pot with a glass. I don¡¯t know how they make it but the tea at this house is one of the best teas I have ever had.


    ¡°Can¡¯t sleep?¡±


    I turn my head as I hear her voice. I let out a faint smile and take another sip.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just thinking about the plan.¡±


    Lucy sits beside me, ¡°Has your child sleep?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she has. I had Reis accompany her.¡± I give her my cup, ¡°Want some?¡±


    She gracefully takes it from my hand. ¡°Sure. Thanks.¡±


    I look into her as she sips the tea. She¡¯s in her sleeping clothes that nearly look through. Showing a faint look of her underwear.


    ¡°So, are you serious about the war? You realize 2 vs 7 is one of the best scenarios, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, of course I know. Every Deadly Sins has at least three elite guards with them. A one word hero and a pair of two words hero. If I count them, it¡¯s likely to be 2 vs 28.¡±


    ¡°And as of now, there¡¯s a conference, the security is at its best. It¡¯s more like 2 vs Demon¡¯s Realms.¡±


    I sigh and lay myself on the ground. ¡°Ahh, the odds keep getting worse. So much for a single revenge.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, apparently.¡±


    I can hear the wind blows gently on my skin.


    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s a lot easier way to do it.¡± I break the silence. ¡°I could just put the whole Ef¡¯reet inside the Keeper just like I did it with Sairkhan.¡±


    ¡°Wha,¡±


    I interrupt her before she talks. ¡°But, it will cause too many collateral damages. I won¡¯t do it.¡±


    She lets out a deep breath. It seems she doesn¡¯t want too many casualties in the demon¡¯s side too.


    ¡°Hahaha,¡± I let out a small laugh. ¡°No, really. If I use Voice of Obedience, I could easily make them not to attack me.¡±


    ¡°Now that you said it. It is way easier.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that left me with the God Items holder.¡± I pause for a moment, look into her. ¡°Tell me, who¡¯s the current holder?¡±


    ¡°Mmmm,¡± Lucy falls silent. Her mouth is willing to say something, but it doesn¡¯t look so sure.


    ¡°You won¡¯t tell me?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Lucy answers me instantaneously. ¡°It¡¯s not that I won¡¯t tell you. It just, I don¡¯t even know the current holder. Normally, the God Items are being passed from one Deadly Sins to another Deadly Sins. But in a conference like now, two God Items of demons are gathered and can be used by any Deadly Sins if it needed to be. So,¡±


    Hmmm, unlike the other races, demons use my God Items as a passable item. It can be used by anyone when they need it. Also, both of them are coming. I didn¡¯t think about Weapon of Calamity as a bother at all. They¡¯re much inferior compared to God Items. Their holder still falls under Voice of Obedience effect. As Lucy didn¡¯t talk about it, I can guess she already knew about it.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°But, I can¡¯t really use Voice of Obedience, can I?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you can¡¯t.¡± Lucy answers me. ¡°If the Deadly Sins is unable to fight you just because of a single item, the people will lose their faith in the current government. It might lead to another revolution.¡±


    ¡°You know what? I think the people of this nation are having too little faith in their own government.¡±


    ¡°Haha, I know it. But what can I do? That¡¯s how the demons made. Blame Him if you want to.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, yeah. He¡¯s the one to blame.¡±


    I keep my mouth shut for a while. One God Item is the Philosopher. In term of alchemy, Philosopher is like an unlimited mana of magic. Normal alchemy requires the correct ingredients to be done. By using Philosopher, the creator only needs to know what ingredients needed and the symbol or the sigil to create it. The ingredients are no longer required.


    The other God Item is the Breaker. Breaker is the real version of the anti-magic. Unlike the downgrade version of Nevi¡¯s anti-magic, it doesn¡¯t need any complicate process. All the process has been taken by Breaker. The user simply wishes to cancel one magic, and it¡¯s done. Its effect has the radius of the holder¡¯s sight. It also won¡¯t allow the user being in control of another person magic like mind control magic or such. The person even can break or destroy any magic that already unleashed. Say, if a fireball already approaching the holder, the holder simply wants it to disappear and it will.


    By adding these two God Items, I can¡¯t imagine how hard this revenge going to be. Well, if you¡¯re an optimist, you will say it¡¯s a good opportunity to get two God Item at the same time. But I¡¯m more of a realist. Yeah, it will cut me a lot of time, but I¡¯m not sure I can get both of them at once. I guess I¡¯ll fight using underhanded trick as usual.


    ¡°It means the additional condition applies.¡± I remind her of the additional condition I mentioned before.


    Lucy nod.


    I look at her. It seems she¡¯s thinking about something. I can see it from her furrowed eyebrow.


    ¡°So, is there something you want to talk? Just say it.¡±


    ¡°Actually,¡± She pauses for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s about your previous life.¡±


    My previous life? Is she talking about Kries?


    ¡°Do you know who I was?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but it was already too late.¡±


    When she said it, I recall the day I was captured. I hate to admit I remember very well the person leading my arrest. It was Lucy.


    ¡°When did you realize that I was Kries?¡± I look at her.


    She still holds her head down. Unwilling to look at me. ¡°The moment I arrested you. I just knew it¡¯s you when you looked at me.  I can¡¯t forget the way you looked at me that time.¡±


    How I look at her, eh? I don¡¯t really know how I look at that time. The only thing I know is I really shocked, pissed, and disappointed when I look at her at that time. For me, with the perfect memory, it is normal to remember it. But Lucy has a normal memory even if she¡¯s immortal. Forgetting things are completely natural for her. If she still remembers how I look at her, which was nearly 100 years ago, it meant I showed a very nasty expression on my face.


    ¡°I can¡¯t even fathom your disappointment and anger at that time. I, I,¡± She stutters. She can¡¯t finish her words.


    I stand and then sit at her back. I embrace her body from behind and pat her head. As I embrace her body, I can feel her body is shaking. It seems she¡¯s still feeling guilty. I just sit there and embrace her. Without telling a word at all.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s the real reason you did all of this?¡±


    Lucy nods slowly.


    I see. Now it all makes sense. She did all of it to seek my forgiveness.


    I remember when we¡¯re together in our past life. I can still remember it clearly when she said she will offer the world to me if it¡¯s possible. She doesn¡¯t change at all since the first moment I met her.


    ¡°It¡¯s all in the past. I already forgive you.¡±


    ***


    ¡°So, this thing will take us to O¡¯oni Port and Ef¡¯reet?¡± I show Lucy the card she gave us this morning.


    ¡°Yes. It is proof you are an important guest of this nation. You will get one car for all of you. The security won¡¯t do their frequent check on you too.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I look at the card.


    ¡°Mada, where is our seat?¡± Reis yells at me.


    I turn my back to her. Everybody is standing near the train while I¡¯m still near the gate with Lucy and her human butler.


    ¡°Car numbers two from the locomotive. The whole car is ours.¡± I yell back at her.


    As I say it, they walk toward the locomotive. I turn to Lucy again. Lucy wears her usual jeans and jacket outfit. I kind of wonder how her tail roaming free thought. Is there a hole in her jeans or what?


    ¡°Have a safe trip. And please don¡¯t be too harsh on them.¡± Lucy smiles. She meant the current Seven Deadly Sins.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too harsh? It is likely they¡¯re the one who will get harsh on me.¡±


    ¡°Dad! The train is going to leave!¡±


    I look back and see Erfia yells from the window.


    ¡°I suppose it is time. Are you sure it¡¯s alright?¡±


    I didn¡¯t ask for this card. If they investigate it, they might know Lucy is connected to us, a soon going to be terrorist.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve got it under control.¡±


    ¡°Well, okay then.¡±


    I step forward and hug her. I embrace her in my hand. Both of us take some space and let our lips meet. I can feel her all of her feeling and guilt through this one kiss. Time feels so slow when we kiss. After a moment, we stopped and part.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be going.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, be careful.¡±


    I walk and leave them. As I get into the car, I see a car complete with bathroom, beds, and tables. I open the window and look at Lucy and her butler. The locomotive lets out a sound of steam. The train is leaving the station.


    I yell outside the window. ¡°Tell the others I said hi, grandchild of Bern.¡±


    As I say it, I could definitely see both of them widen their eyes. I guess it gives them a little surprise.


    You¡¯ve been taking all those guilty feelings and burden it all by yourself. It is time for you to let go of it.


    ~~~


    I stand as I see the train leaving the station. The train leaves with my lover and his new friends along. Nevertheless, his last words give me some comfort in my heart. I thought when he told me he forgave me, it just a figure of speech.


    ¡°So, it seems he already knew.¡± Gii speaks to me.


    ¡°Yes, apparently.¡±


    I remember the day when I arrest him. I can never forget how he looked at me at that time.


    It is pretty lucky to me his people just surrendered without any resistance. I made a replica of them by using clay doll and make it live with expressions and all. The same way God creates human but without a soul. I gave the doll to the government and changed all his people''s name and face. As the doll being tortured, the real people are under my protection as my worker. As I am the first Lucifer, nobody asked me about the new worker as long as I didn¡¯t disturb the government. But I can¡¯t do anything about him. He tortured to the death.


    And yes, I did all of it to seek his forgiveness.


    ¡°Gii, let¡¯s go back. We have to tell the others he said hi.¡±


    ¡°Yes Madam.¡±

 40. Terrorists

    It would be nice if you would point out the mistakes. Thanks


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    ¡°Hey, are you sure about this?¡± Xiel asks me.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure of it. Don¡¯t you want to see Mammon¡¯s death?¡±


    ¡°We, well. I do. But,¡± Xiel can¡¯t make up her mind.


    After Mada and Kurua get off at Ef¡¯reet, Xiel and I also get off without them noticed. Eri and Erfia are heading to O¡¯oni Port. Eri realize Erfia will definitely take Mada¡¯s attention, so she decided to go with the original plan. She went to take care of her.


    Yeah, I said I wanted to see. But, looking for two people in the biggest city of Demon¡¯s Realm is not easy at all. Right now, we¡¯re at the highest tower in Ef¡¯reet. Thank God the highest tower is a tourist spot so we can look at every direction easily. I can see the lights decorate the city. I¡¯ve never seen so much light in my life before. The light illuminates some light grey smoke in the sky, showing a translucent sky. Just when I admire the city light, a pillar of light emanates from the distant.


    ¡°Reis, is that,¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Mada is calling Ariana.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Eri! Eri! Look at that?¡±


    I call Eri to the left side window. Eri comes to my side and look outside. The pillar of light that daddy used in the Sairkhan is appearing.


    ¡°So, they¡¯re doing it tomorrow then.¡±


    When I see the light from the distant, it looks so beautiful. The light is not blinding at all. It gives a warm feeling.


    I look back to our room. It is big and empty. Nobody but Eri and me. It¡¯s just a few months since dad adopted me. I¡¯ve been alone all these years before I met Dad, but why I feel so lonely without him now? Daddy, please come back quickly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Eri pats my head. ¡°I¡¯m here with you. We¡¯ll wait for your father.¡±


    It seems Eri saw through my loneliness.


    I smile. ¡°Yes.¡±


    ***


    As the light pierce through the sky, everyone on the conference building, Niest Tower, is in awe. The main room of the surveillance which consists of people in their work desk and giant monitors, only stares to the light through the monitors.


    ¡°What are you standing still for?! I want a report on what¡¯s happening! Send people to the light source!¡±


    A single man with a long and standing pair of horn is entering the room and gives out an order. The man is on his early twenties. He¡¯s wearing a red shirt with brown waistcoat and a brown jeans. A long yellow ribbon tie covers his chest. He has a slit eyes of a snake and a reddish skin.


    ¡°Yes sir.¡± All of them answer in unison.


    ¡°Jaha, what¡¯s the current condition?¡±


    A white man with a single horn on his forehead comes to Lucifer. Jaha is the main guard of Lucifer. A one word hero. He¡¯s wearing an untucked black suit with a waistcoat and black trousers. Underneath his black suit, he wears a white skintight suit.


    ¡°The light appeared a few minutes ago. It should have gone any time now if we look at the past data.¡±


    As Jaha says it, the light is fading. In just a few seconds, the light has completely gone and lets the dark return to the sky.


    ¡°Approximate distance is 120 kilometers. Our men will reach it in less than 2 hours.¡± Jaha explains to Lucifer. ¡°I doubt it we will find someone or something.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right about that.¡± Lucifer agrees. ¡°But, it¡¯s okay to check it out.¡±


    ¡°Are you thinking the man behind the disappearance of Sairkhan is here?¡±


    ¡°Are there any other possibilities?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Jaha answers with a flat tone.


    ¡°Maximize the security. Nobody allowed to enter the city without getting their face scanned and checked.¡± Lucifer yells at everybody.


    ***


    I look at the sun. It should be around 10 o¡¯clock. Ariana will start the broadcast and the plan would have started. I¡¯ve cast every simple magic to enhance my movement. New reinforced mask embedded with Shackle of Dead is covering my face. I also equip Voice of Obedience as an earring to take caution.


    An image appears in the sky. It¡¯s like Ariana is becoming a giant. That¡¯s some magic she got there.


    ¡°People of Ef¡¯reet and Seven Deadly Sins. As you had seen last night, the pillar or light has appeared outside your city. And yes, it is the same light that appeared on the day Sairkhan is missing.¡±


    By using blood transformation, I could see the people are panicking in the distant.


    Right now, I¡¯m standing at the one part of the city that I¡¯ve emptied by using Voice of Obedience before. I¡¯m on the highest building which is 10 floor. Even if they have maximized the security, by using Perfect Role Play, infiltrating this city is a piece of cake.


    ¡°I won¡¯t destroy Ef¡¯reet like I did to Sairkhan. But in return, give me Mammon. I want him to pay for making my child as his slave and torture her for these last seven years. Negotiation is not accepted.¡±


    Nice speech. I could see the people are becoming more afraid. But if they afraid of that, they will be terrified of the things I¡¯m going to do.


    ¡°I know some of you must doubt me when I said I¡¯m the person behind the missing of Sairkhan. So, I¡¯ll bring you Sairkhan to this place.¡±


    That¡¯s the signal. I reach the sky with my right hand. I concentrate and make the sky distorted. The distortion is becoming bigger and bigger until it got as big as Sairkhan, radius of 20 kilometers. Compared to Ef¡¯reet with 70 kilometers radius, Sairkhan is not even 10 percent of it.


    ¡°Watch as Sairkhan befalls your beloved city.¡±


    I open the space and from the sky, shambles of Sairkhan and all of its dead people, is pouring. The sky becomes dark in an instant, covered by Sairkhan. It¡¯s like the time is so slow, letting me see the destroyed Sairkhan destroys the city part of this biggest city in the Demon¡¯s Realm. The building of Sairkhan is hitting the building of Ef¡¯reet. The dust and the wind are blowing so hard as Sairkhan has completely razed this part of city.


    I make sure Sairkhan building won¡¯t hit me so I don¡¯t have to move at all.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for Mammon at north west of this city. Just come and we will find you.¡±


    Ariana¡¯s image disappears from the sky.


    I look into the razed city. The blood of Sairkhan¡¯s people is not too much. The color of the razed city is not red at all. It seems their blood is less fluid after days of being dead. Now, I need to get out of here as soon as possible.


    ***


    Just as planned, the Seven Deadly Sins won¡¯t give Mammon. They went to the designated direction. And, they¡¯re not alone. Their personal guards and an army are following them from behind. As expected from the army of Demons Realm. They brought guns and even tanks with them. I won¡¯t say it like your normal tanks. It¡¯s huge. More likes five or six tanks became one with 3 double barrels on its head and its side. You can see steam is getting out of its side.  The soldiers are heavily armored except for the personal guards. I guess the personal guards prefer to rely on their agility and speed.


    I run as fast as possible and jump at their top.


    ¡°STOP!¡±


    As I command them, all the guards, army, and the tanks stop. I only said to Lucy I won¡¯t use Voice of Obedience towards Seven Deadly Sins, but I never said anything about their guards and the army.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    I land in front of them, then I turned back and look at them. Even in their completely body sealed armor, I can see their eyes through this mask of mine. Fear of unable to do anything to defy me. At this moment, they realize their life is in my hand. I walk closer to the personal guards of the Deadly Sins. Twenty-one of them, so it will be 3 vs seven, eh?


    ¡°I thought the woman already said it clearly she only wants Mammon. Not a horde of army.¡± I speak to them.


    I let my hand roam free at one of the personal guards. A red haired woman with a blue body tight suit. A mini skirt and a black jacket are the only thing cover her body. She got a pair of handguns on her waist. As I touch her face, I can see the fear is consuming her. She wants to move or at least shiver, but the Voice of Obedience won¡¯t let her.


    ¡°Now that you have disobeyed her wish, I don¡¯t have any obligation to keep you alive.¡± I take a step back. ¡°Take your gun and point it at your head.¡±


    The woman takes the gun out and points it at her head as I said.


    ¡°Now,¡±


    ¡°I WON¡¯T LET YOU!¡±


    Before I complete my command, a loud voice is approaching fast. In just a second, a figure of a man in red appeared in my left with a gun in his hand.


    Blamm.


    I dodged it right on time and take a few steps back. That gun is not a normal gun. A big fireball like a cannonball just comes out of that thing''s barrel. Even my new reinforced mask won¡¯t be able to withstand it. Only items at Weapon of Calamity level or higher could withstand it.


    I look into his eyes. The current Lucifer. You can¡¯t compare him with Lucy. Lucy is the closest being to human form. He still got his horn, snake eye, and reddish skin. He wears a chain necklace with a peer shaped ruby on its end, the Philosopher.


    ¡°Just as I thought, only God Item could put such horrible sight at the city.¡±


    Lucifer swings his gun and transmutes into a long gun sword. With Philosopher, he could make anything he wanted. And that long gun sword might as well could let out a big fireball just like the previous gun. Even if he tries to hide it, I can see the fury in his eyes. It seems he¡¯s the type that couldn¡¯t let other people toys around with her men. And when he yelled previously when he attacked me, it proves he lost some of his composure.


    ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s your relationship with Ariana the Great Wizard?¡±


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s hiring me to help her. To take revenge on Mammon.¡± I answer her with a flat tone. Trying to provoke him.


    ¡°How much did she pay you? I¡¯ll double it. No, I¡¯ll triple it.¡±


    He¡¯s making a negotiation? Wait a minute? Am I hearing it wrong? Lucifer the Pride making a negotiation? Something is definitely not right here. There¡¯s a reason why Lucifer got Pride as their title. They have a high pride that won¡¯t allow them to negotiate because it will hurt their pride. They see everything else as lesser being and not worthy of it. The only Lucifer I know managed to get out of that Pride title is Lucy as she¡¯s immortal. But no demons are immortal other than Lucy. So, Lucifer throws his pride and tries to make a negotiation is not something you could see everyday.


    ¡°Snap out of it!¡±


    Suddenly a man appeared behind him and hit his head hard. An old man with long beard and long ear. Unlike Lucifer with their pointy tail, he got a hairy tail and a pair of long wavy horn in the top of his ear. And he¡¯s bald up there. He wears layers of gray clothes that seem hard. I¡¯m guessing he imbued some magic or alchemy or simply put some metal on it. As I said, layers. It¡¯s like he¡¯s wearing a t-shirt, plus shirt, plus a waistcoat, plus a coat, and his robe. The other distinguishing thing from him is his slanting and long eyes with long nose. He doesn¡¯t really look like a human unlike Lucifer. He is Belphegor the Sloth, one of Seven Deadly Sins.


    ¡°But, he nearly killed my personal guards.¡± Lucifer whines at him.


    ¡°SHUT UP!¡± Belphegor yells. ¡°Didn¡¯t you realize he tries to provoke you? I bet after you make the negotiation, he will kill them all so you will lose your cool and lose against him.¡±


    Damn, he got me. I can see the current Lucifer is just a newbie. He lost his cool easily. But, to get out of his family main traits, pride, it means he¡¯s something entirely different. He¡¯s a gifted one.


    ¡°Remember, you are Lucifer the Pride. And it is against our pride to negotiate with terrorist.¡± Belphegor puts a fighting stance.


    When I see at Belphegor fighting stance, I can see some defensive martial arts like Aikido or Kempo or Wushu. That martial arts really fit a person with the title of Sloth. Doing maximum damage with minimum effort. As he put the fighting stance, I could feel all my body enhancement magic has been dispelled. From his hand, I see a pure black metal bangle with a blue line in the middle of it. The Breaker.


    ¡°Two God Items come to face me? You sure show no mercy.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to show any on you, Mada the Raider.¡± Belphegor responds at my words. ¡°I can see you have four God Items with you. Showing any mercy will only result to our death and the loss of our God Items.¡±


    ¡°Wait, WHAT? FOUR?¡± Lucifer screams. He¡¯s surprised.


    ¡°For a sloth, you sure think a lot.¡± I praise Belphegor a bit. ¡°And for you. Are you sure that you¡¯re Lucifer? This is the first time I see Lucifer acts that way.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. He¡¯s still young.¡± Belphegor aids Lucifer. ¡°Moreover, what¡¯s the other reason? Mada the Raider is not someone easily hired without a good reason.¡±


    ¡°Hoh, okay, you¡¯re great.¡± I accept his question. ¡°You know the high priest of Sairkhan?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s with her?¡± Belphegor asks me again.


    ¡°Mammon made her as his slave seven years ago. She had her freedom taken from her. As you already know, she is Ariana¡¯s child. But, the other thing is, she¡¯s a dear person to me. I was her childhood friend. So, yeah. Revenge is also on my table.¡±


    ¡°You see? His motive is revenge. You won¡¯t be able to negotiate things through him.¡± Belphegor says it to Lucifer.


    Lucifer takes a stance with his blade gun. ¡°Yeah? It means we just need to kill him right?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I know your feeling. But, we have our own duty as Seven Deadly Sins.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to kill you right here and now and carry on our revenge.¡±


    One alchemist with martial arts and one alchemist with creation ability. This is going to be hard. I take a pair of silver katar with a shield on its back to protect my arm. Against them, I couldn¡¯t spare anything. I use Weapon of Calamity right off the bat. This katar¡¯s ability is the almighty weapon. It can render any non-physical attack into nothing when the attack touches the back shield. So, a big fireball like before won¡¯t be a trouble to me.


    ¡°But, before that.¡± Lucifer mumbles.


    Lucifer stabs the blade gun to the land and a sigil appeared below the army. The land moved them far away from us. Back to the city.


    ¡°Are you sure about it? They won¡¯t be able to move for the rest of their life you know?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°At least their safety is guaranteed for now. After I take your God Item, I won¡¯t have any trouble restoring them.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah? We¡¯ll see about it.¡±


    Lucifer charges at me and I prepare to take his attack.

 41. Backfired

    Just as planned, only 5 of them remain. It seems the two that hold the God Items are facing Mada right now. Two women and three men standing in front of us. At distant I can see some car. Mada only tell me about the most distinguishing feature of each of them.


    From the right, a woman in her twenties in a long blue trench coat. She only tucked the coat on the chest part, the rest is untucked and showed a purple skinny jeans with a pair of saber and handgun. A long pointy tail is getting out of her coat. She reminds me of Lucifer in the Aeshma. Except for her reddish skin and a pair of lamb horn is popping out of her short blonde hair. I guess she¡¯s Satan the Wrath, or Lilith. Mada said that her forte are metal and heat alchemy, the same as Lucifer.


    On her side is another woman in her thirties, wears a brown duffle coat. Underneath her duffle, you can see a light gray ribbon tie on her neck and a purple shirt showing a bit from the bottom of her untucked coat. She wears black jeans. Unlike the others with a pair of horn, she only has one horn on her forehead popping out of her long blue hair. Also reddish skin but I see no tail. Her face is somewhat, different. She has no nose and slanting eyes. Mada said the only person with blue hair is Leviathan the Envy, so I guess that¡¯s her. Water alchemy is her forte.


    In the middle, a big person wearing big clothes and a cape covering his whole body. The only shown parts are his gray skinned head and his big belly that¡¯s sticking out of his cape. He has a wide jaw. Very wide. He has very big eyes but a small nose. I can¡¯t see his ear as it covered by long wavy hair. His pair of wavy long horn is sticking out of the hair in back of his head. He¡¯s the one we wanted, Mammon the Greed. He doesn¡¯t have any forte, but he excels at all kinds of alchemy.


    Next to him is a young man in his teen. He has a burning red skin with a pair of long horn curved to the back. He has black eyes with yellow lens. A pair of fangs is coming out of his mouth. He¡¯s the only person who only wears jeans with no top. Only a big cape on his shoulder, showing his well-built body. On his back, there¡¯s a short hairy tail. As I recalled, the man in the full red and long curved horn is Asmodeus the Lust. His forte is earth based alchemy, similar to earth magic user.


    And the last, a man about the same age as Mada. He resembles human so much. The things that show he¡¯s not human are his antenna in the middle of his eyebrows, his ash colored skin, and his bat-like wing. He wears a white shirt and gray waistcoat. His robe is different. His robe only covers his shoulder and some upper part of his body. He¡¯s the last, Beelzebub the Gluttony. Mada said Beelzebub forte is different each generation, so he doesn¡¯t know what his forte at this time.


    Mada gave me a full body armor. He said it¡¯s made of special metal that will decrease any physical attack power, but it won¡¯t work for non-physical attack like fire or such. But as I don¡¯t like wearing a helmet, he gave me an iron mask that¡¯s thick on the check and forehead and has two parallelogram holes for my eyes to see.


    Unlike me, Ariana is coming without armor at all. She said such thing will only hinder her movement. If I remember correctly, Mada and Nevi are a great martial artist. I can guess she also fights by combining martial arts and magic. She wears one piece long green cloth with a yellow line in its side. Underneath it she wears some tight yellow translucent fabric.


    ¡°I only want Mammon, I don¡¯t have any business with the rest of you.¡±


    ¡°You want me? Then, you have to take us on.¡± Mammon answers Ariana.


    ¡°Shut up you lowly demon.¡± Lilith shouts to him.


    Mammon backs off a bit when she shouts.


    ¡°Ariana the Great Wizard, would you tell us the reason you want him?¡± She talks to Ariana.


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you. He took my child freedom as his slave for the past seven years.¡±


    ¡°And, this child of yours is?¡±


    ¡°High Priest of Sairkhan, Nevi Frendezcht.¡±


    As Ariana said it, I can see their eyes are widening. It seems no one knew about it.


    ¡°My, what a trouble you have caused us Mammon. You took the child of one of Ten Greatest Wizard as your slave?¡± Leviathan responds to Ariana¡¯s words. ¡°To tell you the truth, I vote to hand him over to her.¡±


    ¡°He, hey, what do you mean?¡± Mammon is panicking.


    ¡°I mean, this is all your problem. You reap what you sow.¡± Leviathan answers him.


    ¡°To tell you the truth, I also want to hand him over.¡± Beelzebub adds. ¡°But, if we just hand him over, people will start to question our power. So, that¡¯s unlikely to happen.¡±


    Mammon lets out a glad sigh.


    ¡°So, as he said. It is not a matter of wanting to hand him over. It is entirely different trouble for us if we hand him over just like that.¡± Lilith says again. ¡°And we can¡¯t lose in purpose too.¡±


    One person is missing from their group. Suddenly a figure of a young man appeared in front of us. In a very short moment, a big hand is formed in his right hand. He¡¯s sending a punch. But the big hand destroyed in a blink of an eye and he¡¯s being sent back to their group. His skin already has a lot of cut. I can see at that short moment a magic circle appeared in front of him and let out an air slice towards him. Destroying the big hand. If he didn¡¯t jump backward quickly, he¡¯s already became slices of flesh. Such a short incantation and such power. Just what you expect from one of ten Greatest Wizard.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to give him to me, then I¡¯ll simply obliterate all of you.¡±


    A lot of red magic circle appear on the surrounding sky. The magic circle is not staying at one place. They¡¯re moving in circle. We jump back and tons of red-hot stone are making their way. I once saw the fastest gun in the world, but this speed is something else. It¡¯s like a lot of enhanced canon is firing at them from every direction. Explosion by explosion is appearing. Showing no sign of stopping.


    The land beneath us is spiking, but it destroyed before it touched us. I can feel something else is coming. Asmodeus comes out of the ground and attack us with a spear. I move at him and stop the spear. When I stop the spear, a pair of giant hands made out of rock is ready to squash me. I unleash my power. A giant figure made out of a mana is formed out of my body. Goliath is a giant formed beast in armor. Goliath destroys the rock hand with ease while I attack Asmodeus.


    He¡¯s a tricky one. When my attack was about to hit him, he let go of the spear and jump backward. I look back and see the firing is not one sided anymore. A pair of metals are sticking out of the ground and shoots at every direction. The metals are also rotating and match the speed of Ariana¡¯s spell. Lilith matches Ariana¡¯s power.


    ¡°Kurua, get Asmodeus. He¡¯s unpredictable.¡±


    I nod and charge to Asmodeus. Goliath sends a punch into him. He made a giant wall made of rock to hold it. But unfortunately, those things won¡¯t work. There¡¯s a reason why I got my one word title. Goliath punches through the rock wall. But before Goliath destroyed him, I saw a figure is flying and took him.


    ¡°You¡¯re an idiot if you think your wall could withstand it.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t think he would be that strong. Thanks Beel.¡±


    Beelzebub takes him to the sky and then dropped him somewhere. Beelzebub made a bow and an arrow out of black sand on the beach. He shoots the arrow to the sky, and it¡¯s spreading into a thousand of small projectile. I use Goliath to protect me and nothing went through.


    Just as I saw the beach, I can see the water in the sea is rising to the level twenty floors building. Will it attack us? But in just a matter of time a lot of magic circles appear in the wave and it froze in an instant. I look back into Ariana but she¡¯s having a hand combat against Lilith that¡¯s using her saber. She froze the wave while fighting Lilith? All the projectiles are still coming to their bodies but they¡¯re still fighting like the projectile is not there. One small mistake and it will result in death.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Wahahaha, you can just die.¡±


    Suddenly a big tank rises up from the black sand. When I take a better look, the black sand has gone and changed into white sand. By the voice, I guess it¡¯s Mammon inside. Goliath takes the stone from the destroyed wall and throws it at the tank. But before it hit the tank, a rock emerged and protects it.


    A shot is fired. I use Goliath to protect me but I didn¡¯t think about it carefully. The tank bullet went through Goliath. Goliath is not strong enough and got destroyed. The bullet hit me directly. I can feel an explosion burst out and sent me flying. My back hit the stone wall. Before I could rise, the earth already rises and sends out a landslide to me.


    ¡°Avalokitesvara.¡±


    As I say it, I create another giant with my mana. This giant is different from Goliath. Its body is more slender but bigger. It has four pairs of arm. Avalokitesvara, or I call Avalo for the short, is the true form of Goliath. Avalo charges at the landslide and makes it disappear. While four hands are busy removing the landslide, the other four take giant rocks and throw it at the tank. The rock rises once again but as Avalo throws it repeatedly, the rock can¡¯t keep up and it hit the tank. The tank destroyed but Mammon managed to get away before that happens.


    ¡°It seems this fight won¡¯t end anytime soon.¡± I mumble to myself.


    ***


    ¡°Wow, that giant wave must be Levi¡¯s doing.¡± Lucifer speaks in awe.


    ¡°And, the one froze it must be Ariana.¡± I say to him.


    We still manage to make a conversation despite we¡¯re having a death fight. He¡¯s using two gun blades and I use both of my katars. This happens once I get close enough. Both of us are trading blows and avoid being hit by any attacks. Belphegor uses the small time when I attack Lucifer to come between us. He redirects my attack back to me. When he does it, I have to make different movement to cancel his counter which usually ends up with me being thrown away. At that time, Lucifer will make some artillery and shoot at me. I endlessly change from my katar to my shield of nothingness to deal physical attack and the non-physical attack simultaneously.


    ¡°Just as I thought, Mada the Raider is no small deal. You could match both of us when you¡¯re alone.¡± Belphegor praises me.


    I land and equip my katar again. ¡°Thanks for the praises. It would be easier for me if both of you are attackers though.¡±


    Yeah, if Belphegor is attacker too, I could easily attack them without any hesitation. In this situatio, if I attack carelessly Belphegor will redirect my attack back at me.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect I will use this. It¡¯s not tested yet. This is the first time I ever use this in actual combat.¡± Lucifer speaks so loud.


    Lucifer jumps so high. I can see a line is being formed from his necklace, the Philosopher, into his right hand. He makes a hand gesture and a giant sigil appears in the end of his palm. Part by part, something is appearing in the air. In just a few seconds, a big barrel of cannon has appeared. Aimed at me. I never thought he could use it to this extent. At this extent, Philosopher is superior to Keeper. It can create anything from nothing.


    ¡°FIRE!¡± Lucifer shouts.


    A big fireball is being shot at me. Not, it¡¯s not a fireball. More like a meteor is falling.


    When it comes to creation, the Keeper might be inferior. But in sense of usefulness, I don¡¯t think so. I jump towards the meteor and concentrate. I extend my right hand and a distortion is starting to show. Belphegor suddenly appears in front of me.


    Shit. I let my guard down. He got hold of my right hand and throws me. As my hand moved before the distortion completed, it got cancelled and closed. As I look, the meteor is already close. I won¡¯t have enough time to open another space distortion to take it.


    I take Shield of Nothingness and try to hold it. But, it seems weight is not the main source of its power. It¡¯s keep pushing me to the ground. I guess there¡¯s something else inside that cannon. I use my katar on my right hand and make the fire disappear.


    Blarr.


    No smoke is rising. Just a dust. I manage to destroy the fire and make the explosion effect decreased. And as the weight is gone, I managed to alter its path a little. So, it¡¯s not a direct hit. But even so, the damage I took is way too much. The shield of nothingness crumbles and my left hand is nowhere near fine. Hell. I can¡¯t even move it anymore.


    Lucifer lands beside Belphegor. ¡°Wow, when I tested it, a ruin is completely destroyed yet you¡¯re still standing.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± Belphegor adds. ¡°Now you lost your left arm. There is no chance you could win against-¡±


    Belphegor stops his words when his feet grabbed. A figure is emerging from the ground. An undead. But not one. An army of undead is rising from the ground. They let their guard down when they saw my left hand is wounded. I took the chance to make the army of undead grab them.


    They¡¯re trying to repel all the undead but the undead is sticking to their skin. It will keep them occupied for a bit of time. I jump and take my longbow, Pointing Tip of Desperation, from the Keeper. Pointing Tip of Desperation still in its Weapon of Calamity mode with the blue spear. I pull the spear by using my right hand and keep the bow by my feet.


    I shoot the spear to the sky. As the spear arrow has been shot, Pointing Tip of Desperation is back to the old curved wooden longbow and I put it back to the Keeper. The spear reaches some altitude then it stops and change into a single ball of ray. I jump back as far as I could from the undead army.


    The blue spear of is not a big explosive spear like the black one. The blue spear is a single ray that will shoot a thousand explosive arrows continuously to the designated target. The target is, Lucifer and Belphegor.


    Blam blam blam blam


    Explosion by explosion is appearing in the place where Lucifer and Belphegor stand. Lots of explosive projectile are coming to them from the ray like a rain. Both of them are trying to make or trans mutate something, but they got no chance as the explosion is keep on coming and my army of undead is keeping them occupied.


    It seems they use their mana to make a body layer so it won¡¯t kill them. From the explosion and the horde, something is flying. A necklace, the philosopher, is in the air. I jump as fast as possible and grab it. The order I gave to the army of undead is grab and hold them and try to throw the Philosopher to me when it¡¯s possible.


    But as I grab it, my leg is being grabbed. I look into my leg and see Lucifer also jump. He takes a hold of my leg with tons of undead cling into his body.


    ¡°You won¡¯t get the Philosopher.¡±


    Lucifer drags me to the horde of explosions.


    Shit.


    <hr />


    To Dovahsebrom question, you can say in the previous chapter that Mada need some little time to open the Keeper. Also, the bigger the space opened, you can see Mada need some additional time to concentrate. So, a fast moving opponent with pretty big body compared to weapon is surely hard to put in the Keeper.

 42. Different Scenario

    It would be nice if you would show the mistakes. Thanks


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    ¡°Mada! Mada!¡±


    What? Someone is calling me? I couldn¡¯t really know who¡¯s calling me. It seems the explosions also affect my hearing. I try my best to open my eyes. Slowly the light is coming back to me.


    ¡°Mada! Are you alive?¡±


    As I get a better look, I see a pair of figures wearing a mask. Both of them are looking at me. From their mask, I could tell they¡¯re Xiel and Reis.


    ¡°I¡¯m alive.¡± I answer them. I don¡¯t know who¡¯s asking me though. ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    Nobody answers me.


    I try to move my body but it won¡¯t. My whole body is done for. I wonder how bad my body got damaged. It seems I¡¯m out of this war. But, at least I could feel the Philosopher in my right hand.


    ¡°How are Lucifer and Belphegor? Are they able to move?¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re not conscious.¡±


    As both of them are wearing a mask and I have trouble on my hearing, I can''t figure out who¡¯s answering.


    ¡°Good,¡± I let some steam loose. ¡°Xiel, please cut Belphegor right hand and take the bangle. It won¡¯t come off unless the holder¡¯s hand is being cut, or the holder takes it off by himself.¡±


    As I say it, Xiel is leaving us.


    ¡°Reis, listen to me, I couldn¡¯t move a single muscle right now. So, it is best for you to leave. It is possible the fight will come this way. I can¡¯t to protect any of you.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying? We won¡¯t leave you here.¡±


    ¡°Mada, here¡¯s the bangle.¡±


    ¡°Good, put it in my left hand.¡± I ignore Reis.


    Xiel do as I say and put it into my left hand. When Breaker is not on anyone¡¯s hand, its size will become bigger. However,, as it feels my hand, it¡¯s shrinking and made itself fit into my hand. Good. Now the Philosopher and the Breaker are in my hand. What to do now? I couldn¡¯t join the battle any more. I¡¯ve got no stamina left in me to use any of the God Items. Change of plans.


    ¡°Reis, Xiel, you need to leave, and take three of us with you. They might come in handy.¡±


    Both of them nod in unison.


    ~The Earth is my ally. Oh, the compassionate mother nature of the earth. This ally of yours is in need. Allow us to travel through you at ease. By your blessing, the traveler.~


    I know this kind of magic. It¡¯s Reis. I can feel the land is moving, taking us further from the fight. Hopefully.


    ***


    This is not getting easy at all. Deadly Sins keep on fighting without showing any signs of stopping. After the big explosion and a lot of explosions came up in the distance, all of us are getting more and more savage. This place has been, I don¡¯t know. Everything is devastated to the point of being unrecognizable. Even the sea has been turned into mountains of ice and shattered into bits.


    Ariana capable of creating a flying projectile made of ice shards, burning stone, and even air. She makes a layer of mana around her body to fight a saber and deflect a bullet. On the other hand, Lilith is able to make some heat layer around her body that melts any flying projectile. Ariana is the only one that could reach her. Leviathan, on the other hand, is not a close combatant. She¡¯s casting spells from a distance. Some of the broken ices and water are being used again by Leviathan but Ariana is not letting her do as she please. She¡¯s countering every magic Leviathan used while fighting against Lilith.


    Me, on the other hand, have it pretty easy. Asmodeus is just a kid with the talent for combat without any experience. Mammon is pretty weak. He depends on machineries too much and keeps on creating a new one. The most problematic opponent is Beelzebub. His bow and arrow are something else. His arrow could make a turn, going to some designated trail, and even following me. To add, each arrow is an explosive arrow. Even when I tried to engage him in close combat, he dodged every attack and released some arrow at that short time. Those arrows will turn to me and makes me go on defense.


    But of all things, nobody dares to make a grand kill magic. Leviathan was the only one using a grand kill magic. But after seeing how Ariana react, she didn¡¯t cast any grand kill magic any more. It seems she realized it could backfire and harm Lilith instead. But, at this point, this fight is just a matter of time. Waiting for one side to lose its stamina. It¡¯s definitely Ariana and I.


    ¡°Hey, can we stop this meaningless fight?!¡± Beelzebub yells while in the sky.


    ¡°What are you saying? I¡¯m having fun right now!¡± Asmodeus answers him.


    ¡°I SAID,¡± Beelzebub makes a different arrow and aim it to the sky. ¡°STOP FIGHTING AND LISTEN TO ME!¡±


    At that time, that one arrow is spreading into several small projectiles. They¡¯re flying right into our place and explode. He caught us all off guards. Asmodeus and I stop the fight and go full defense. Other Deadly Sins also stop.


    ¡°Geez.¡± Beelzebub slowly descends from the sky and lands. ¡°I give up. I¡¯ll leave and you can take Mammon with you.¡±


    ¡°WHAT? WHAT THE!¡± Mammon yells.


    ¡°Hey, Beel, why are you stopping?¡± Asmodeus acts like a pampered child.


    ¡°Lucifer and Belphegor have been defeated.¡±


    Every Deadly Sin is widening their eyes. Nobody expects that words.


    ¡°At first I thought we might end this quickly and grab them, but it seems you guys still got more person.¡± Beelzebub speaks. ¡°And now that Mada the Raider got his hand on Philosopher and Breaker, he got six God Items with him. To add, he got Lucifer and Belphegor as hostages. If we don¡¯t stop, we will lose three Deadly Sins. Losing one is much more than enough.¡±


    It seems Beelzebub has a very different sight from the rest of us. He can see Mada¡¯s fight even though it happened far away.


    I can guess Reis or Xiel or both of them are coming to see us. In a normal circumstance, I will say that¡¯s a good thing. But this time, it¡¯s not a very good thing.


    ¡°What are you saying? Are you saying it¡¯s okay for the people to lose faith in us?!¡± Lilith shouts to Beelzebub.


    ¡°The people won¡¯t lose faith in us!¡± Beelzebub shouts back. ¡°Well, at least not my people. But, I can¡¯t say the same for people of Ef¡¯reet or Leiak.¡±


    Lucifer governs Ef¡¯reet and Belphegor governs Leiak. So yeah, it is inconvenient for them as they had been beaten by Mada.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m leaving.¡±


    Beelzebub flies and left. However,, before Beelzebub manages to leave us, a big metal ball engulfed in fire is flying towards him out of nowhere. He dodged it, but now it¡¯s coming for us. Asmodeus puts his hand on the ground and a giant wall of rock emerges from the ground. The wall is ruined, and the fireball is still heading toward us.


    ¡°Damn! Old man, can you protect us using that lots hand beast of yours?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    A single giant spear emerges from the ground and stab the fireball. I look back and see Lilith draws a sigil on the ground continuously. Ariana lifts her hands, and a giant red magic circle appears in the sky. A giant meteor is coming out of the magic circle. It will fall in the fireball. No. The explosion might kill us all. But, before the meteor hits the fireball, the frozen sea is changed back into water and coming. As the meteor hits the fireball, the seawater drowns them. Before the water drowns us too, it freezes. Showing a meteor hitting a stabbed big metal ball.


    As the fireball has been stopped, Mammon is nowhere to see.


    ¡°The ultimate weapon of Ef¡¯reet has been shot. It seems Mammon is thinking of killing us. It means he left Seven Deadly Sins voluntarily.¡± Lilith speaks.


    I don¡¯t know when, but Lilith, Ariana, and Leviathan has already stood in our back.


    ¡°It means that we have no more reason to fight you.¡± Leviathan adds.


    ¡°Heh, glad to hear it.¡± Ariana answers their words.


    Asmodeus and I just stare at them without saying a single word. Both of us had a hard time dealing with the giant fireball. Nonetheless, these three women easily stopped it and still made a normal conversation.


    ¡°Man, of all people, I will never want to deal with them.¡± Asmodeus says.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m with you on it.¡± Wait a minute. ¡°Aren¡¯t you having any trouble with the way things are?¡±


    ¡°No. I don¡¯t care at all. I just want to fight and have fun. That¡¯s all.¡±


    ***


    That fireball must be coming out of Descender, the ultimate weapon of Ef¡¯reet. But, Lucifer should be the only one allowed to shoot it. It means Ef¡¯reet¡¯s security has been compromised.


    Blarr blarr blarr


    Explosions came at us out of nowhere. Xiel and Reis managed to take three of us out of the explosions. From Reis¡¯s shoulder, I try to look for the source. It got me surprised when I look at the source. It¡¯s coming from Ef¡¯reet wall.


    Lucifer and Belphegor are here. Are they planning to get rid of both of them too?


    Blarr blarr blarr


    Another explosion come and we don¡¯t make it right on time. All of us scattered on the ground. Ef¡¯reet¡¯s security really has been compromised. The only person I could think of is Mammon. His enslavement magic really is a pain in the ass.


    ¡°Mada, something is coming from the other direction.¡±


    I look the other way and see a tank is approaching us fast. I can guess it¡¯s Mammon. Even if Mammon is the weakest among the Seven Deadly Sins, he¡¯s still one word hero. Xiel and Reis have no chance of fighting him. I can¡¯t do anything in my current state. There is only one way.


    ***


    I try to stand. Nobody but me is standing. Xiel can¡¯t stand any more as her leg is injured. I¡¯d like to do something, but standing is the only thing I could do right now. Shit. In the end, I¡¯m useless after all.


    Few smokes rise from the Ef¡¯reet border. I close my eyes.


    Blarr blarr blarr


    Few explosions came. But, I feel no tremor or anything. I slowly open my eyes to see what happens. In front of us, a wall of undead army has emerged to protect us.


    No. No way.


    ¡°MADA!¡±


    I shout and look at Mada¡¯s location. However, it¡¯s too late.


    Mada is standing firmly without showing any signs of exhaustion. He extends his right arm and a giant sigil appears on it. An artillery consisted of 10 barrels appears out of thin air. Mada takes a big mana crystal out of the Keeper and puts it in the artillery.


    ¡°FIRE!¡±


    A word is yelled. A big shock wave comes from the artillery and hits me hard. At that moment, the gate and the weapon of Ef¡¯reet have been destroyed in an instant. He turns back and walks toward the coming tank. I can see his ruined body is showing no signs of stopping. The blood stopped spilling as it¡¯s froze.


    ¡°Stay here and don¡¯t move.¡±


    After Mada say it, he jumps so high toward the tanks. This is the first time that I see Mada jumps that high. Another big sigil appears in his right hand. A giant sword appears. Mada takes a stance and throw it like a javelin. In a short moment, before the giant sword stab the tank, a figure came out and get blown away by the explosion.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    It¡¯s Mammon. He¡¯s the person inside the tank. Before he could stand, Mada comes to him and stab few swords into his hands and legs.


    ¡°AAHH!!!!!¡± Mammon screams so loud. I can feel his pain through the air.


    The battle has been won.


    ~~~


    I just sit near Xiel, Lucifer, and Belphegor that¡¯s lying unconscious. What should I do? I don¡¯t know what to do. I can¡¯t face Erfia like this. If only Xiel and I didn¡¯t come, maybe Mada still unconscious with Lucifer and Belphegor. Then, Ariana and Kurua will come after they won and Mada still human. No. This is my fault. If only. If only I didn¡¯t come. Everything maybe better right now.


    ¡°Hey, Mada, what¡¯s the situation?¡±


    Ariana, Kurua, and four people are coming. When they saw the nailed Mammon, they say nothing. But what makes them more surprised is the fact that Mada is not injured at all. In fact, his body is perfect. They would think he made it out unscathed. But no. The truth is nothing as good as that. He used Shackle of Dead to recover his body. So, his body right now is the result of combination of few undead.


    ¡°Did you really win? And no injury at all?¡± Kurua asks Mada.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool. There¡¯s no way I win unscathed.¡± Mada answer him in a flat tone.


    Yes, the usual monotonous tone. Nevertheless, that flat tone feels empty. At least for me. Usually, I could sense some sarcastic in his monotonous tone.


    ¡°Mada, don¡¯t tell me you¡­¡±


    Ariana can¡¯t finish her words. I can assume that she knew what happened.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m an undead now.¡± Mada answers her.


    You can see he¡¯s still showing some expression on his body. I can¡¯t really tell about his face as his face is still covered in mask. But you can feel all of it is just an empty gesture. Beneath that body is an expressionless and emotionless person that only thinks with logic.


    ¡°That¡¯s not significant for now.¡± Mada walks to Mammon. ¡°You do what you want to do with this guy. As I am an undead now, I got no sense of revenge any more.¡±


    Ariana drops to her knees. She can¡¯t take it. Kurua is just silent. Speechless.


    ¡°So, what are you intending to do with Lucifer and Belphego?.¡± A blonde woman asks Mada.


    ¡°As I¡¯ve got my hand on demon¡¯s God Items, I got no business with this nation any more. You can have them.¡± Mada answers her.


    ¡°And, what makes you think that we¡¯ll let you go with our God Items?¡± Blue haired woman adds.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tempt me!¡± Mada makes his point. ¡°The only reason I become undead is because I let my feeling get in the way. If I wanted to, I could make Ef¡¯reet disappear last night just like Sairkhan, then I take your God Items. All of you and people of Ef¡¯reet would be gone by now.¡±


    All of us surprised when we said it. I look into Mada closely. He really has turned into a heartless person.


    ¡°But now that I¡¯m an undead, I got no such thing as emotion or felling.¡± Mada continues his words. ¡°If you really want to deal with me, I¡¯ll take all of you right here right now. Don¡¯t blame me if Demon¡¯s Realms fall into chaos after the Seven Deadly Sins gone.¡±


    No, this is not the Mada I knew. Mada is not like that. Not only me, Mada¡¯s word make everyone in this place fall into silence. They say nothing. Such words are a depressing word for everybody.


    ¡°So, what are you going to do now?¡± Kurua asks Mada.


    ¡°Originally, I¡¯d like to torture Mammon and exact my revenge. But now, as my sense of revenge has gone, I¡¯ll be back to my original aim. Reclaim my God Items. And turn my body back into a human while on it.¡±


    Turn his body back? Is it possible?


    Mada steps away and, with Philosopher, he creates an airship. Now that he has the Philosopher and the Keeper, I don¡¯t think anything would be capable of stop him. Yeah, the only logical reason is he ditch us and goes to reclaim God Items by himself. It¡¯s much more efficient that way. I can feel it coming.


    ¡°Ariana, do you need some help with Mammon?¡± Mada asks her.


    ¡°No,¡± Ariana answers quickly. ¡°I think I¡¯ll extract my revenge and let out some steam on him.¡±


    As Ariana said it, she and Mammon suddenly disappear from our sight. I don''t know if she makes herself invisible, or it¡¯s a transportation magic. Anyway, there¡¯s no footprint or anything seen.


    Mada walks to my direction. Did he want to say it? Is he going to ditch us? I don¡¯t think I can see him on the eyes any more.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Reis, Kurua. We¡¯re going.¡±


    Mada carry Xiel and walks toward the airship. I look at Kurua. Hoping he will show some gesture or some expression. But I nearly forget that all of us are wearing a mask, so I can¡¯t really say Kurua expression right now. Kurua and I just silently follow his words.


    Before we come in the airship, Mada makes another thing. A big black speaker. It¡¯s directed toward Ef¡¯reet.


    ¡°Close you ear tight.¡± Mada takes a breath. ¡°All of you people. I release you from my command.¡±


    We shut our ears as he said it. I could see the airship, the sand, and the rock is shaking when he said it. Even the glass in the airship is breaking. I might say he could break our eardrums if he didn¡¯t warn us.


    After that, the black speaker is being disintegrated back into nothing.


    ¡°I¡¯ve released anybody under my Voice of Obedience. But I can¡¯t take off Mammon¡¯s enslavement magic. You need to find out for yourself how to free them.¡±


    Mada enters the airship followed by Kurua and I. Mada put his hand and another sigil appears. Fixing the broken windows.


    The inside of the airship is pretty much the same as the train car. After closing the door, Mada put Xiel on the couch on the right side of the airship and takes the wheel that¡¯s similar to a ship¡¯s wheel. Kurua and I take a seat on a long couch on the left side of the airship. It has a little table in front of it and one small couch next to the table.


    I see outside, through the windows in my back, as the airship slowly ascends toward the sky. They show no signs of chasing us. After some time, I can¡¯t see them any more.


    The airship enters a certain altitude and becomes stable. As it¡¯s becoming stable, Mada presses something on the wheel, and it¡¯s locked.


    ¡°So, our next destination?¡± Kurua asks as he takes off his mask. Showing a white yet dirty fur.


    ¡°We need to get the Reviver. It¡¯s the only way to turn me back into a human.¡±


    Mada takes a seat in the small couch near us.


    ¡°So, you really will return into a human?¡± I need to ensure.


    ¡°Yeah, I will. Reviver, is a God Item I created for the undead. It can make the undead return to their original form whether it¡¯s an angel, demon, or anything.¡± Mada answers me while taking his masks of. ¡°But, the main problem is no one knows exactly where it is. It is the God Items of undead. You know that they made no nation like the other races.¡±


    ¡°Did Lucifer or the Deadly Sins know nothing about it as well?¡± Kurua asks.


    ¡°Lucy was keeping a tab on it. However, few months ago it suddenly disappeared. She stated that it was last seen on Un City, the Nea Continent.¡±


    What? Un City? I never heard such a city in the Nea Continent.


    ¡°Un City? The recently built city? The one and the only city of undead?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that one.¡± Mada takes a roll of paper out of Keeper and opens it on the table. ¡°This is Un city.¡±


    I get a better look at the paper which is a map. Mada points at one city on the left bottom of the map. But, I can¡¯t believe my eyes for seeing it.


    ¡°Mada, are you sure there¡¯s a city in this place?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°Yes, I made this maps myself. So, I know where it is.¡±


    I take another look into the map. I don¡¯t want to believe this. A city in the middle of Land of No Man?


    ¡°But, before going to that place, I need both of you do me a favor.¡±


    Kurua and I stop looking at the map and turn our face towards Mada.


    ¡°Keep Erfia away from me.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± I yell as hard as I can.


    I act out of reflex. I think this is the only normal reaction.


    But, why? Did he afraid Erfia will only come in his way?


    ¡°Tell us the reason.¡± Kurua acts calm. He tries to find an explanation.


    ¡°As an undead, I have no such thing as emotion, or feeling. The only thing within me right now is nothing more than a logic. I might tell something that might hurt her and I couldn¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°But, but you promised to teach her how to use the snake blade after dealing with Mammon, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I promised.¡± Mada takes a deep breath. ¡°But, at this moment, it is not the best time for me to teach her. It will lead to her being hurt.¡±


    I hate to admit it, but if he said it himself, then it is likely to be true.


    ¡°I understand. We¡¯ll figure out a way to keep her away from you.¡± Kurua accepts his request.


    ¡°Good, thanks.¡± Mada stands up and lies on the couch that¡¯s on the other side of the airship. ¡°And Reis, this might be painful for you to listen. You have a duty to obey my order. Only the strong permitted to disobey an order. You do realize I turned into undead is partly your fault, don¡¯t you?¡±


    I said nothing. Silence is my answer. I knew it all this time and I could guess Mada was holding it in. But now that Mada has no feeling, it is normal for him to say what¡¯s on his mind.


    ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯ll get stronger.¡± I mumble at myself


    ~~~


    After Mada put the airship in the Keeper, we walk to the O¡¯oni port. We walk for few kilometers while Kurua carry Xiel with him. We reach the city in an hour. We go to the appointed hotel as before. A small hotel near the harbor. It has less than 10 rooms. As we come, it is a coincidence that Erfia and Eri are watching the news from an image projection inside a box.


    ¡°Ah, Daddy.¡±


    Erfia runs to us as soon as she saw us. But, she stops before she reaches him. She takes a step back. I could see her feet is shaking a bit. Mada does nothing. He¡¯s just standing before her.


    I can¡¯t take it any more. I rush to Erfia and hug her.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Get me a room, and another two rooms for them.¡±


    I can hear Mada walks and put a pouch at the receptionist. The receptionist takes the money and gives him a key. Mada leaves us without saying any word.


    ¡°Hey, Reis, that¡¯s dad right?¡±


    I nod slowly. I don¡¯t know what to tell.


    Her body is shaking. It seems she can feel it. She¡¯s a half elf, of course she can tell the difference of a living being and a dead being.


    ¡°But, but, dad¡¯s weird. Usually he will come and hug me.¡± Erfia¡¯s voice is shaking. ¡°But, but, now. I don¡¯t feel anything from dad. It scares me. Reis. What happened? I¡¯m scared.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Erfia. Your dad has,¡± I paused for a moment. I don¡¯t know if this is the right thing to tell. But Erfia already feel it. It would be useless to hide it from her. ¡°He¡¯s an undead now.¡±


    <hr />


    And this chapter concludes the end of the Demon''s Realm Arc.


    See you in the next arc.

 43. Flying Serpent

    I am so sorry for not updating for so long. I''ve been having a very hard time as my company where I worked for has been shut down. Now that my life is a little bit better, I can start to write again. But right now I can only write a chapter a week. I am so sorry that I left it unattended for months.


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    The journey became so different than before.


    Right now, we¡¯re riding some big airship with spacious room for us. The airship consists of lots of room starting from bedroom, shower, main room. Even Mada made some special room for Erfia to improve her magic. The special room had some rock and land on it.


    But, Mada himself is secluding himself in the bridge. He¡¯s been inside of it for four days without showing any signs of coming out. I know an undead doesn¡¯t need a food or drink to survive and he also doesn¡¯t want to hurt Erfia. So, logically, his decision is the best. But, logic is just a logic. It¡¯s hurting Erfia. Knowing her father is in this same airship but yet he won¡¯t meet her at all.


    All of us try our best to comfort her. At noon, we try to avert her by doing some magic training. As her only teacher at magic training, Xiel and I, it seems like we¡¯re not giving her a challenge at all. She manages to master all of my earth magic in just a couple of days. Xiel is not any better. Erfia masters her body and weapon enhancement magic in just a single day.  But, at night, it¡¯s hurting us to see her cry in her sleep.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we make him meet her, even just once?¡± I ask everybody.


    It is midnight now. After sending Erfia to sleep, we gather in the main room. The main room looks like a normal lobby in some inn. Except, there¡¯s this one big dome with a map of the world in the center. It¡¯s showing our location.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good thing.¡± Kurua answers me. ¡°You saw her reaction when she saw Mada for the first time in O¡¯oni Port right?¡±


    Yeah, I remember it, shocked and afraid. It seems like she was seeing a corpse of her father.


    ¡°I hate to say it,¡± Eri adds. ¡°But the best thing we could do is find the Reviver as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Erfia¡¯s asleep already, right?¡±


    Suddenly, a familiar voice came up. All of us look into the door and see Mada is standing.


    ¡°Ye, yeah, She¡¯s asleep.¡± Xiel answers him.


    ¡°Good,¡± Mada walks into the dome in the middle of the room. ¡°Tomorrow, we will enter Land of No Man. And I tell you, monsters in the Land of No Man is not only land monster, but also sky monster.¡±


    ¡°You mean like those monsters around An Saia?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°No, those monsters are just a normal monster. The monsters in the Land of No Man is much bigger and dangerous. The smallest monster in the Land of No Man is ten times bigger than those normal monsters.¡±


    ¡°Mada is right.¡± Kurua adds. ¡°You may not know this, but there is another way for a single person to get their one word title. That is, to slain 5 monsters of Land of No Man in a day.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    I yell without realizing it. I look into Kurua and Mada eyes and it seems they¡¯re not lying. I look into Eri and she doesn¡¯t flinch at all. She also knew about it too.


    ¡°Xiel, do you know about it?¡± I ask her.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m just a two words tittle. So I don¡¯t really know about it.¡± Xiel answer me stuttered.


    Wait a minute. I try to calculate it. Five monsters in a day. Normally, a person need to slain 10 thousands people in a week to get that tittle. It means,


    ¡°It means, a single monster in that place is worth more than 200 people or soldier.¡± Mada speaks my mind out loud.


    ¡°Normal one word titled will have a trouble dealing with one of those monsters.¡± Eri adds. ¡°And weak one word titled like I was, stand no chance of fighting it one on one.¡±


    Upon hearing it, I can feel my body trembles. I look into my feet as they¡¯re not as firm as before. This, this is the first time I ever felt this way. I¡¯ve met Seven Deadly Sins but yet this is the first time I got cold feet.


    ¡°Uh, um, Mada,¡± I try to get his attention.


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s safe in this airship right?¡±


    ¡°Well, I can say it¡¯s relatively safer than in the ground. But it¡¯s not safe 100 percent. I just hope we don¡¯t meet with Quetzal along the way.¡±


    ¡°Qu, Quetzal?¡± I ask again.


    ¡°Yeah, Quetzal. A flying serpent. The dominator of sky. At child, it spans for a hundred meters. But the adult ones¡¯ spans to a few kilometers. Not to mention its size. The adult ones are capable of swallow this whole airship in a single gulp.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m pretty sure you know this already. But,¡± Xiel butt in. ¡°To be honest, it seems like we¡¯re walking into a den of monsters. And there is only two people capable of fighting them in this ship. Are you sure it¡¯s going to be okay?¡±


    ¡°No, not really.¡± Kurua answers her. ¡°But I hear if those monsters eat us, we can still live inside its stomach for a few days before getting digested.¡±


    ¡°That if we¡¯re not being chewed.¡± Mada adds. ¡°Anyway, tomorrow we¡¯re entering Nea Continent. I want all of you to stay in this room.¡±


    Mada pulls something out of his jacket. ¡°And put these earrings. It¡¯s a device I made so I could search for you. Okay?¡±


    Mada gives a piece of earring to each of us. An earring made of metal and silver with small ruby on it. I can guess the ruby is some crystal mana. I don¡¯t know how this thing works but at least it gave me a little bit of ease.


    ¡°Get a nice sleep tonight. Because starting from tomorrow, you guys will take turn.¡±


    ~~~


    ¡°Reis, are you alright?¡± Erfia worries about me.


    ¡°Yeah, just some sleep deprived.¡±


    In the end, I couldn¡¯t get any sleep at all last night. I got scared and at some point I started to think about the worst possible outcome. Fuck. I hope we¡¯re alright.


    But it seems, the sky is not too friendly today. I look into the windows and see nothing but clouds. I don¡¯t know. The clouds are giving me a bad chill. I can¡¯t stand firm at all. At this rate, I might collapse at any time.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Finally, the clouds disappear. Truthfully, I hope the clouds still there.


    I can¡¯t believe my eyes at all. I see an eye. A very big eye just outside the windows. I don¡¯t know what that is but it can¡¯t be good.


    ¡°Hey, is it only me, or the eye is getting bigger?¡± I speak my mind out loud.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s coming closer!¡± Kurua yells.


    As he shouts, the eye hit our airship and made us all fall. The airship is shaken so bad. The eye is getting smaller. Thank God the window is not breaking or else, we¡¯ve been dead already.


    Suddenly Mada come into the room and locked the door.


    ¡°ERFIA, REPEAT AFTER ME AND IMAGINE A FOG COVERS THIS ROOM!¡±


    ¡°Ye, yes dad.¡± Erfia answers in reflects.


    ~O the great one, the mighty, and the creator. Fulfill this call and accept it. As the sky descends, none stays the same. But this rebel asks for an exception. Room~


    After Erfia said it, a magic circle appears on the floor. I don¡¯t know what that magic for.


    ¡°WE¡¯RE OUT OF HERE!¡±


    Mada press something on the dome and all of us is flying toward the ceiling. Even the eye is going higher than before. No, it¡¯s not us that¡¯s flying into the ceiling. This room is falling.


    ¡°MADA! WHAT¡¯S HAPPENING?!¡± Kurua yells to make sure his voice reaches him.


    ¡°I DETACHTED THE ROOM AND NOW WE¡¯RE FALLING!¡±


    As I look outside one more time, the eye is coming. It hit us harder than before. Then from another direction, another eye is hitting us.


    ¡°SHIT! THEY¡¯RE USING US LIKE A PLAYBALL!¡±


    As the eyes is playing with us, I can see some crack is appearing in the room. This room won¡¯t hold for too long. And yeah, it finally happened. The room is destroyed and now we¡¯re falling on the sky. As the room is gone, now I can see the true form of the eye. It¡¯s a very long serpent. Very long is an understatement as I can¡¯t even see its tail. A pair of wing is coming out of its back. A brown long serpent with some shell protecting its head. Is that a quetzal?


    The eye is getting closer to us. I look at Mada and see he¡¯s making something out of Philosopher. A very big pile of iron. As the quetzal is getting closer, Mada make it so both of their bodies is hitting it. Leaving us unharmed.


    Both of the quetzals suddenly stopped and leave us.


    ¡°WHY ARE THOSE MONSTERS LEAVING?¡± I shout at Mada.


    ¡°IT MEANS WE¡¯RE LESS THAN A KILOMETER OFF THE GROUND.¡± Mada answers me. ¡°ERFIA, KEEP IMAGINE THE FOG! NOW REPEAT THIS SPELL AND IMAGINE YOU¡¯RE SLOWING DOWN!¡±


    ¡°YE, YES DAD!¡±


    I didn¡¯t realize it but even after the room is destroyed, the magic circle that appeared in the bottom of the room is still here. Is it the thing that keep us from the air pressure?


    ~O the great sky, I envy your vast blue beautiful form. But your beautiful blue form can¡¯t save us from the cold and cruel land. Please, save us from the cold and cruel land. Let these admirers of yours stay alive to admire your beautiful form more. Descender.~


    As Erfia said it, I can feel our body is slowing down. Not faster like before. We can feel the air is not so harsh any more.


    ¡°DAD!¡±


    Huh? What? As I see to Mada¡¯s place, he¡¯s still falling fast. Even faster. Oh no, I forgot he¡¯s an undead now. Any non-destructive or non-physical magic won¡¯t affect him. He¡¯s going to hit the ground hard.


    ¡°DON¡¯T WORRY ABOUT HIM. HE¡¯S AN UNDEAD AND WITH SHACKLES OF DEAD, HE¡¯S PRACTICALY IMMORTAL.¡± Kurua yells at Erfia.


    Even after hearing Kurua¡¯s words, I can see uneasiness within Erfia¡¯s eyes. But yet, that uneasiness become worse as we¡¯re closer to the land. In the land, we see a giant worm with its mouth opened. Ready to take us as its breakfast.


    ¡°DAD? WHERE ARE YOU?!¡±


    Erfia look everywhere for Mada. I did the same but yet, I couldn¡¯t find him. Could it be that he¡¯s being eaten by that giant worm?


    As we¡¯re slowly descend into its mouth, suddenly its mouth is closing and it come back to the ground. Wha, what¡¯s happening?


    Finally, we landed safely in the ground. In front of us, a figure fully covered by clothes is standing. The figure has the same height as me. He¡¯s fully covered whether it¡¯s his body or his head. Even he wears some dark googles that makes me unable to see his eyes.


    ¡°We need to get out of here as fast as possible before another thing come.¡±


    The figure is starting up some hover motorcycle and let it wander into a direction.


    ¡°Follow me, that motorcycle will create some diversion for us.¡±


    He runs toward the opposite direction of the hover motorcycle. He runs fast even in this desert. I take Erfia with me and use earth slide to catch up to him. Xiel use a body enhancement magic while Eri and Kurua activates their mana layer. I look into the hover motorcycle. It¡¯s being chased by something on the sand. I don¡¯t really know what that is as the only thing I can see is something moving underneath it. Suddenly a worm come out of the sand and eat the motorcycle. From the moving sand, I can see some big creature like a fish with a hard jaw is coming out and fights the worm.


    After some time, we arrived in some old city. Yes, I say it¡¯s an old city because it still looks like a normal city in the new continent but it has been abandoned. Leaving a lot of building and houses. We¡¯re going to the biggest building which is in the center of the city. After getting in, he¡¯s taking us to the upper floor. I look into Kurua and he nods. It seems we don¡¯t have any choice right now.


    We follow him to the upper floor. Finally, we stopped at the highest floor. To the side, I can see the full landscape of the city through its windowless hole.


    ¡°Welcome to Sammera. Is what I¡¯d like to say. But before that,¡± the figure taking of the cloth covering his head and face and also the googles. ¡°What are you doing in Land of No Man?¡±


    Uncovered by the cloth, I see a wide beautiful blue eyes combined with a white short hair. A very white pale skin is covering her body. He¡¯s not a man. The person leading us is a woman. She¡¯s an angel.