364-376

Chapter 371 - 364: The Conclusion

After Aleen remembered her dead mother's last words, the air around her changed. The playfulness she had been displaying vanished without a trace.

Alex gulped; he decided to get serious; the reason he had not ended the fight the right way by using the black gun was that he wanted to fight against a strong opponent without relying too much on a sure kill method. To taste hardships, to further hone his fighting capability, his skills, his instincts, above everything else to be prepared for his next fights as he was bound to face Saint Realm expert again, so he must use this opportunity to know how to face them, although, everyone has their own way of fighting, the experience Alex would gain here could come in handy.

Suddenly, Alex's right eye throbbed; he immediately looked into the sky to see numerous red hands trying to approach him. Aleen used her Dominating Touch.

Alex snorted before raising his two guns and fired.

BANG BANG

The red hands that tried to get close to Alex's head failed to achieve their purpose and shattered like broken glass in the air by the lightning imbued bullets.

Aleen didn't expect her Dominating Touch to work on Alex; she had just used it to divert Alex's attention elsewhere as she prepared her next attack.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Clangs! BANG!

Alex blocked Aleen's sword strikes with a fake silver gun while with the real one, he diverted the blade to the side.

[Hell Blaze]

[Ice Bullet]

Aleen, who was close to Alex, tried to use her Hell Blaze; however, Alex counterattacked the moment the black flame appeared with one of few remaining ice bullets.

Kaboom!

A big explosion sent the two flying back; Alex didn't miss out on the opportunity to seriously injure Aleen. Still in the air, he aimed Silveria at the flying Aleen and shot a crimson bullet at her.

Aleen's pupils constricted; she could sense how dangerous this bullet was; without holding back, she shouted.

''Wind Barriers"

Eight wind shields were formed in front of Aleen; as if it was not enough, she put another shield before her; this one was made of Dark element, then she added another layer.

''Spider Queen Embrace.''

From Aleen's back, eight spider legs appeared and wrapped themselves around her as if to form a cocoon, then the crimson bullet struck.

Screech! Crack! Kaboom!

Whether it was Alex or Aleen, the two were sent flying; Alex vomited blood while all barriers summoned by Aleen were broken, even cracks appeared on the eight spider legs; Aleen grunted.

''Ugh! Damn you, human; I will kill you.'' Aleen bellowed before disappearing; she had used instant dash; she must finish this human and absorb him; he possessed too unusual abilities.

Aleen appeared above Alex, who was still struggling to stand up; three of the eight spider legs were thrust at Alex, two aimed at his heart while the last one was going straight toward his head, just as the spider legs were about to touch their target, Aleen head a clinking sound, Alex dropped a small vial, Aleen's instinct roared at that moment, it was then Aleen saw Alex that should be despairing smirk at her, she knew she had been fooled. It was already too late to turn back because the Death God had opened his mouth.

[Freeze]

Aleen froze with widened eyes; time stopped for the spider queen.

Alex placed Silveria on her right chest and fired.

[Phantom bullet]

BANG!

Because he was running low on MP, Alex could only use a Phantom bullet; using Freeze on a Saint Realm expert had drained most of his MP; if not, he would have used the crimson bullet to obliterated Aleen.

A big hole appeared on Aleen's right chest; she fell to the ground.

To fight against any unforeseen circumstances, Alex immediately drowned another Mana recovery potion, quickly half of his MP got filled.

Suddenly, there was a big explosion, Alex puked blood.

Eight spider legs pierced through his body, strangely his vitals were avoided. Blood splashed the ground, quickly dying it red.

''Fufufu! Once again, you surprised me.''

Aleen was back from the dead once again, the hole in her right chest was regenerating at fast speed, and soon it was back anew.

''Seriously, I would have died if my heart was located at the right,'' Aleen commented.

Alex almost shouted, where the hell is your heart then?; However, he controlled himself, now he must extricate himself from his current situation. Moving his right hand, Alex shot a Crimson bullet at the ground, at the place where the eight spider legs emerged from.

Kaboom!

There was a huge explosion that happened, breaking the eight spider bones and sending Alex flying.

Aleen quickly protected herself against the explosion. While rolling on the ground, Alex used his last Mana recovery potion; his injuries were healing fast.

''Wind Arrows.''

Tuck! Tuck! Boom!!!

Alex rolled on the ground to dodge the incoming arrows; at the same time, spider legs started coming out from the ground, trying to skewer him.

[Shadow Shift]

Alex shadow shifted with a broken tree to avoid the spider legs protruding from the ground; Alex's body momentarily stopped moving, his sixth sense ringed alarm bell, without thinking Alex aimed Silveria at the front, he widened his right eye, if he could see at the moment, he would be shocked to see something spin at fast speed inside his right eye. Thanks to this, Alex was able to see Aleen's blade that should have been invisible in normal circumstances. Her blade vanished; in reality, it elongated but using shadow to hide its presence.

[Phantom Bullet]

Screech!

The invisible bullet and Aleen's blade tip were stuck in a temporary stalemate before Aleen widrawed her sword and vanished; she became multiple, striking Alex from all directions.

Clangs !! Bang !!!

Even if Alex had six arms, he couldn't dodge everything, and soon small injuries started appearing all over his body. Aleen was vicious, she specifically targeted areas where Loki couldn't cover, and she was wary of Alex's Freeze.

Alex, who was suffering injury upon injury, entered a trance state, he questioned himself:

Kael, why not think about a method to reduce the consumption of Freeze? Why not create a derivative skill with the same ability but not quite the same? This will use less MP.

Then, it was born.

[Time Acceleration]

The sword coming toward Alex momentarily slowed down, Aleen widened her eyes. She tried to fall back, but Alex didn't give her the time.

''Time Acceleration,'' Alex mumbled; Aleen slowed down.

Time Acceleration is a skill that makes times flow quickly for Alex; everything except him will slow down.

''Y you l-liltle s-shit.''

Under the Time Acceleration, Aleen's words were slow, Alex ignored her, he let her sword pierce his chest to arrive before her, this time he placed Silveria neither on the left or right but in the middle; the moment he did this, he felt like he struck something, immediately he knew it was the right choice.

[Phantom Bullet] × [Snatch]

BANG!

Aleen's crystal (heart) was instantly crushed; her ability sucked. With a plop, Alex fell to the ground gasping for breath. It was a tough fight.

Chapter 372 - 365: Rank 11 And New Abilities

At the same time, when Alex just created a new technique, Nyx appeared near her sister and looked at Alex killed Aleen.

''Our master is sure interesting, to think that he would create technique out of the blue.''

''I agree, I used to look down on him at the start, but it was a grave mistake on my part. He is unique in his own way. This time I hope it will be the one; I'm tired, you know.'' Silveria said while looking at Alex sitting on the ground.

''I know. Please continue supporting I'm almost free from the shackles.'' Nyx said with the same cold expression she had since the beginning, and like usual, after saying what needed to be said, she vanished, leaving Silveria alone. Silveria, who had become accustomed to her sister's habits, could only sigh and continue observing Alex.

As for Alex, he was gasping for breath after successfully killing Aleen; if her heart were not located at the center of her chest, then he would have died; fortunately, her heart was right at the center of her chest; no wonder he had fallen the first two times.

''I guess I-"

Alex, who was trying to say something, immediately stopped and clutched his left eye, and grunted in pain.

''Ugh!"

He felt a searing pain in his left eye, almost as if his iris was being removed and replaced by a new one; it was a pain beyond words.

Alex closed his eyelids and, at the same time, bit his lower lip to endure the pain that lasted few seconds, but for Alex, it was like an eternity. Finally, the pain was gone as it had never existed; instead, there was a cooling sensation as if an ice cube had been put on his left eye.

Alex blinked his eyes few times to see if there was no problem with his eyes; fortunately, there aren't any, on the contrary, his sight had become better, probably because he acquired Aleen's third eye, the world in front of Alex was a sight to behold, the world was colored, mostly in gray color, sometimes in this gray world there was a mix of green, yellow and red, Alex wondered what these colors mean.

Just as he was wondering what those colors mean, Silveria's voice just happened to reach his ears, and she had the explanation of the phenomenon Alex was experiencing.

''What you are seeing is a world made of mana and elements.''

''World-made Mana and elements?" Alex was not surprised by Silveria's sudden entrance; he was well aware of her hobby to spectate everything from afar; what he was most interested in was her explanation about the phenomenon in front of him.

''Indeed, the gray color is Mana, normally Mana is colorless; however, it has been altered to suit this sealed dimension needs.'' Silveria briefly explained.

From Silveria's explanation, Alex learned a shocking truth; this is a sealed dimension; it didn't take a genius to understand who was the owner of this sealed dimension, as he started thinking recently, this is a prison for rearing monsters that would later serve as his sparring partners and booster at the same time. Alex had nothing to say about this; it is the fate of the defeated, strong will always eat the weak, to not suffer the same fate in the future, Alex ought to be stronger than anyone else, to stand at the top, to be the one to dictate the rules, only by doing this will he be exempt from the fate of becoming a slave.

Silveria observed Alex for a moment; she had inadvertently let slip the origin of this world, and smart as he is, he must have understood the implications of Aleen's words and what she said; it was to let him know what befell those with weak strength. It seemed that Alex got the message.

''Alright, I shall continue. Like I was saying, the gray color is Mana, while yellow goes for Earth element, green goes for the Wind element, and naturally Red goes for the Fire element.'' Silveria explained what the others colors except the gray color meant.

''I see. I see this because I got Aleen's third eye, is that right?"

Unaware that at the moment, his iris was glowing red instead of green, proof that the third eye was activated, Alex asked.

''Fufufu! Yeah, like her mother, she also has this eye.'' Silveria let slip another shocking truth.

''You fought her mother? In the final war?" Alex couldn't help but get curious after hearing Silveria's words.

''No, before that. We fought many wars before that. Well, the spider queen for the demon realm had submitted to the dark side, so naturally, we were bound to clash; the result she lost, her child captured and sealed to serve as a booster. This is the fate of the weak, even some of us from Divine Race were enslaved, turning into playing thing by the enemy, thankfully we succeed freeing them from their suffering in the end.''

Silveria was melancholic when she was telling Alex a part of their past; Alex could imagine how to feel falling from proud heaven race to mere playing; some must have gone crazy because of the humiliation.

Pan! Pan!

''Enough with depressing stuff. Who's level 2? Do you like it? I mean, the surprise I left here?" Silveria clapped twice to change the subject; the mood was becoming depressing. To change this, she switched to another subject.

''My honest opinion? I liked it, although it was a little hard; I died once; however, it was fun. I learned a lot and progressed a lot.'' Alex answered honestly.

''That's good. More surprise awaits you ahead.'' Silveria said.

Glancing at the tall tower in the distance, Alex asked.

''You are talking about the tower in the distance?"

Silveria nodded, and Alex raised another question.

''How is it called?"

Silveria's lips curved to form a beautiful smile.

''Tower of Self, Tower of Reflection.'' She said.

''I see.''

That was all Alex said; he didn't raise another question like what is the tower goal. Silveria nodded, pleased with Alex's action, she said.

''Time to check your status,'' Silveria suggested.

Alex glanced at her for a moment before proceeding to call out his status.

''Status.''

[Alexander Kael Touch]

Class: Magic Gunslinger

Age: 17

Male

Race: High Human

「 Rank 11]

Level 105

Experience Value (XP): 0/65900

Magic Power: 5700 (+70 (+30 BP) ➤ 5800/5800

Magic: None

Attack: 2100 (+ 70 (100 BP) ➤ 2270

Defense: 1770 (+70) ➤ 1840

Agility: 1910 (+70) ➤ 1980 (+200)

Intelligence: 1920 (+70 (10 BP) ➤2000

Luck: 1550 (+70) ➤1620

BP: 0

SP: 10

Gift: Death Guns

Skills: [Item box Level 4] [Swift Fingers Max] [Divine Sense Level 4] [Throwing knife Level 5] [Dark Vision Level 2] [Dual Wielding Level 2] [Accel Level 5] [Knife Art Level 4] [Link Level 4] [Gun Art Level Level 10] [High Regeneration Level 7] [Mana Recovery Level 7] [Synthesize Level 10 max] ➤ Crimson's Bullet [Shadow Shift Level 5] [Blade Dance Level 4]

Special Abilities: [Language Comprehension][Danger Sense] [Overdrive] [Death's Eye] [Envisage] {Erase} {Magic Bullet} {Snatch} [Hellsing] [Xerox] {Death Bullet (???)} [Time Stop] [Time Acceleration] (New) [Eye of Truth Level 1] (New)

Titles: [Otherworlder] [The one whose fingers are faster than Flash] [Goblin Slayer] [The Reborn] [Shadow Nemesis] [The Slaughterer] [The Destroyer] [Death Master]』

Alex immediately used his BP while he didn't touch his SP for now. He remembered the previous state he was in; the result of this enlightenment was the skill of Time Acceleration.

[Time Acceleration: Ability to makes time flow faster around the caster. Everything except the caster feels extremely slow.

5 MP per second. The stronger the opponent is; the more MP is consumed.]

''That is some nice ability,'' Alex muttered, happy to possess an ability that is almost like Time Stop but not quite likes it at the same time. What made Alex most happy is the low MP consumption; although this may change depends on the opponent, this is negligible.

''I agree, it's a nice ability. Now time to check the Eye of Truth, also known as Third Eye.''

Alex nodded at Silveria's words before reading the description of the Eye of Truth.

[Eye of Truth: Eye that transcends the concept of a normal eye, already in the supernatural category. It can see past almost everything, its eye that discerns truth from lies, see the world as it is.

Level 1: Can bypass most of the restrictions.

Consume 10 MP per second.

Special ability: Immune to illusion.]

''Wow! What incredible eye.'' Alex said before turning to face Silveria and mumbled.

''Eye of Truth.''

Alex's left eye changed from green to red and looked at Silveria; however, the result was disastrous as expected.

''Ugh!''

Alex grunted in pain and quickly shut his eyes.

Silveria laughed while asking, ''Master, do you like what you have seen?"

''Ugh! I didn't see anything. Only question marks and darkness when I looked at you.'' Alex answered while rubbing his eyes.

''It was to be expected, your Eye of Truth level is still low, you can't see everything. Well, even if it was high, there are some exceptions.'' Silveria explained the truth behind Alex's failure to see her status; at the same time, she also warned him that there are some exceptions, meaning people are immune against the Eye of Truth.

''I see. Also thought that. The reason behind my appraisal skill disappearance is related to the Eye of Truth, isn't it?" Alex understood Silveria's words; he then asked another question.

''Yeah, with the Eye of Truth, there is no need for Appraisal skill anymore,'' Silveria explained.

''I see, that is good. Ah!'' Alex stretched his body as he stood up, looking at the blue sky, he muttered.

''Time to head back.''

Silveria nodded before flicking her fingers; both disappeared at the same time.

Chapter 373 - 366: Toward Celesta

The following day, after freshening up, Alex stepped into the first floor for breakfast. There, Sakuya, disguised as Mio, and Lilith, disguised as Elsa, were sitting there waiting for him.

''Morning Leader.'' Mio greeted Sam (Alex) as soon he appeared; Elsa only nodded at him.

''Morning, girls. Let's eat our breakfast and leave.'' Sam said and sat in front of the girls.

Soon, the three finished their breakfast and left the Inn and board their magic carriage; Sam was the driver while the girls sat beside him.

''You have become stronger, Alex.''

As the carriage silently road toward Celesta, Lilith said, now there was no one beside them, she called him by his real name.

Lilith's words brought Sakuya's attention to Alex; when she looked at him, it was confirmed that Alex had become more robust.

''You are; he became stronger,'' Sakuya said.

Alex smiled, ''Well, I'm still weak; this is nothing compared to those monsters inside the empires.''

''You are right but compared to most people, you are strong enough. Well, that aside, I'm curious about how you suddenly became so strong. Yesterday, you were not that strong; what happened during the night for you to become so strong?'' Lilith tilted, Sakuya widened her eyes, like Lilith she was curious as well if she could learn what method Alex used this would significantly boost her strength, previously strength was not something she pursued; however, because surrounded by monsters, she couldn't help but want to gain strength not to be left behind.

Alex only chuckled in response; he didn't answer the girls; he focused his gaze ahead.

Seeing that Alex was unwilling to tell them how he had become so strong, the girls sighed and stopped asking him. Silence descended on the carriage; Alex continued to drive the carriage, and like this 4 four hours passed; they passed several small villages; however, because of their tight schedule, they didn't stop.

After passing the last village, the group continued; however, soon, they were forced to stop because there was a monster blocking the road, a lone orc.

''Let's me take care of it,'' Sakuya said before jumping out of the carriage.

The moment Sakuya jumped, the Orc saw her, his eyes shined with lust. When Alex saw this lone orc stand in the middle of the road as if he owned it, he almost asked him if the world had gone nuts for monsters to start acting like bandits; when he checked his surrounding, he spotted few monsters hiding.

''To think monsters would start acting like this,'' Alex mumbled while watching Sakuya move toward the orc.

''They must be lead by Rare species; you know how smart rare species are,'' Lilith responded while looking at her surrounding to see if she could detect where the leader was.

At the same time, the Orc moved, fluid flowed freely from its pig-nose, and it has sharpened teeth. His murderous aura toward Sakuya strengthened. At that moment, Sakuya increased her speed and ran toward it.

Kata-kata!

The ground flowed like water, the landscape of the forest passing in an instant. The wind ripped.

Sakuya had unsheathed her katana.

''Iaï Giri.'' (Iaï Slash)

Thud!

Its heavy body collapsed, colliding with the ground and causing it to shake. The orc had been cut into two by Sakuya katana. This must be a new move she created; it was fast. If it weren't for his heightened senses, Alex wouldn't have been able to trace Sakuya's sword. He used his Eye of Truth the moment she unsheathed her katana; he could see green color and a bit of black; this could mean that Sakuya was about to awaken her second element, the person in question seemed unaware of this time.

[Flying Slash !!]

Immediately after killing the Orc, Sakuya continued by sending two flying slashes toward the bush, the area where the other monsters were hiding.

''Uhi~''

The hiding orcs didn't get the time to scream before getting bisected; the lucky one only lost an arm while the unlucky one directly lost their lives.

Before Sakuya could kick the ground and finish the injured orcs, a huge dark horizontal blade bisected the monsters into two spilling blood and entrails on the ground; the ground green was immediately tainted red.

Sakuya stared at Lilith, the responsible for what happened; she smiled, Lilith smiled back. Alex chose not to comment as he could feel the explosive atmosphere around.

Suddenly, Alex remembered something, so he decided to check it.

''Eye of Truth.''

Secretly muttering this, Alex stared at Lilith. Simultaneously, Lilith felt an intense gaze penetrate her back, giving her chill, automatically, she moved her fingers in the air to create a rune, her fingers were fast, the created rune flew up and sank into her forehead, Alex who was checking her status was shocked to see, the information getting blurred, only showing question marks.

[Lilith ???? Asmodeus]

Class: ????????

Age: 19

Female

Race: Fallen Angel

「 Rank 11]

Level 106

Experience Value (XP): 56000/66000

Magic Power: ??????

Magic: Dark ??????????????

Attack: 2100

Defense: 2000

Agility: 2000

Intelligence: 2200

Luck: 1400

BP: 0

SP: 0

Gift: ????? (Incomplete)

Skills: ???????????

Special Abilities: ????????????????

Titles: ?????????????????????』

Lilith spun around and smirked at Alex as if to say, too bad, almost there. Alex became frustrated; he almost spent his SP on the Eye of Truth to see if he could bypass Lilith's restrictions on her status; however, considering what might happen, he decided to save up his SP for now.

At the current Sakuya level, it's 81; she was almost Rank 9.

[Sakuya Hishimiya]

Class: Magic Samurai

Age: 17

Female

Level 81

Experience Value:5600/37400

Magic Power: 3000

Magic: Wind, Dark (Not fully Awakened)

Attack: 1400

Defense: 900

Agility: 1200

Intelligence: 1100

Luck: 1070

BP: 0

SP: 0

Gift: Katana Kaze no Yoroichï

Skills: [Advanced Appraisal Level 8] [Language Comprehension] [Item box Level 6] [Kendo Level Max] [Swordsmanship Level Max] [Wind Slash] [Iaido Level 8] [Wind tornado Level 5] [Gale Slash Level 8] [Flying Slash Level 5]

Titles: [Otherworlder] [Kendo Master] [ Yamato Nadeshiko ] [Kendo Fanatic] [S Queen] [Slayer]

The moment Alex saw the S Queen title, he acted like he had not seen anything. The two girls joined Alex on the carriage after collecting the materials from the dead monsters.

''Not only you became stronger, you even acquired a strange skill that let you bypass items used to block peeping eyes. You almost got me.'' Lilith stared into Alex's eyes.

''Hahaha! Too bad, I still failed in the end.'' Alex responded while scratching his head.

''I must prepare some countermeasures against you. Because you will try again once your ability level becomes higher.'' Lilith commented; Alex could only sigh, to think she could even speculate to such extent.

Sakuya didn't participate in the conversation, she closed her eyes, she seemed immersed in her world, almost as if she got enlightenment, she could see a world made of two colors, one was vivid green, filled the majority of this world while the second color was a faint black, it was this black color Sakuya was trying to grab, to get connected to this color. Having seen this green color since the beginning of her journey (Since her reincarnation), Sakuya knew this color is related to the wind element, her principal element. It was just recently that she came into contact with this second color, meaning she was about to awaken her second element, and judging by the color, she could guess which element this color is, the Dark element.

Sakuya tried to get connected to the faint dark color; however, no matter how many she tried, it failed; she could only sigh, which means it was not the time, this left her frustrated.

Alex, who was observing her, passed a water bottle the moment she woke up and said.

''Don't be too hasty; take your time. Eventually, you will unlock it.''

Sakuya nodded; Lilith seemed to be sleeping as her eyes were closed. Sakuya didn't ask Alex how he knew that she was about to awaken a second element; this must be probably because of his new ability, the one Lilith talked about; although she was in meditation, she was still able to hear what her surrounding what saying.

''Let's me take over from here.'' Sakuya offered her help, and Alex didn't refuse; after leaving the magic carriage to Sakuya, Alex leaned back and closed his eyes to rest; it had been one day he was driving the carriage.

Looking at the sleeping Alex, Sakuya found him cute; something bubbled inside her. If it weren't because she controlled this urge at the last moment, she would have acted upon her instinct and probably regret it because Alex would dislike her if he knew this side of her; this is her biggest worry. What if Alex decided to throw her away after learning who she is? This would break her heart.

''Sigh!"

''Don't worry, we are what we are. If he loves you, he will accept you no matter what you are.'' Lilith said. Sakuya almost jumped from the carriage; she was too surprised by Lilith's voice; looking at her, she saw Lilith still had her eyes closed.

''You are an odd one,'' Sakuya commented.

''Say the girl with extreme sadistic tendencies,'' Lilith commented in turn.

''Ugh! Forget it.'' Sakuya decided not to comment further as she continued to drive the carriage through the night, like this the group their first night on the road toward Celesta.

Chapter 374 - 367: Celesta

Celesta, located on the southern side of the Drexia Empire, had a lot of people.

A large number of people come and go since morning to the town square, and merchants were shouting loudly to show their merchandise to the passers-by.

Normally, most of them are ordinary people; however, today, it has changed, adventurers and knights could be seen patrolling the town.

Alex's group entered the city after successfully passing the check-up.

〖This city will fall.〗Nyx suddenly said this.

Alex stopped.

''What is it?" The girls asked him; however, he had no time answering them.

〖My sister's intuition is always spot-on; better think of a countermeasure.〗Silveria suggested.

'I see.' Alex said before finally answering the girls.

''It's nothing; let's immediately go to the guild.''

They immediately head to the guild before searching for Inn.

The group rapidly arrived at the Celesta adventurer guild branch, a four-story building; they entered, they were greeted by the same usual scene; however, with more adventurers, there were so many adventurers present that the first-floor feel crowed.

After finding their way to one of the counters, Alex, under the disguise of Sam, approached the receptionist.

''I'm Sam, Leader of the Sky Wolf Group.'' He introduced himself.

The receptionist lady's eyes widened; it was like a fan seeing her idol for the first time; she was excited; however, she quickly calmed down her excitation and acted professionally.

''Welcome, Mr. Sam. I'm Chloe. Let's me update your guild card.''

Alex nodded and handed over his fake guild card; at the same time, he leaned against the counter to ask what was going on; the adventurers were so focused that not many looked in their way even though it was their first time coming here.

''Chloe, can you tell me the reason for so many adventurers to gather up here?"

''It's because the guild master has an announcement. It's an emergency quest.'' Chloe explained as she updated and checked the Sky Wolf Group ranking; after their last exploit in saving Elesim, their rank increased considerably, making them the most sought newcomer group. People would want them because of their reputation.

Alex and the girls exchanged gazes and immediately understood what was happening. Usually, Celesta would face monsters wave twice a year; however, now isn't the time for the second wave, and yet there is an emergency quest being triggered, which means the second wave was about to begin; this is not a natural one by man-made.

Most of the adventurers present here may not know the truth, but Alex and his group did; the ones behind this forced monsters wave is the same group that previously targeted Elesim for the magic core.

Suddenly, there was a commotion, a group of people descended from the upper floors, all adventurers eyes were gathered on this group.

A muscular man around fifty, silver eyes, silver hair, and silver bed, on his left, was an elf with glasses, while on this muscular man right was strangely someone Alex knew well, Conrad, the flame prince.

'Never thought I would encounter him here.' Alex mumbled. Strangely, Conrad happened to look at him at the exact moment; his eyes lingered for a second on him before he closed them again. For some reason, the young man with light blond hair seemed familiar; however, Conrad could swear to have never seen him before; how strange.

Alex smiled, seeing Conrad's reaction. Behind the three were two-man, twins to be exact.

The muscular man Alex judged to be the guild master stopped just before coming down; he observed the crowd of adventurers.

''Greetings everyone, I'm Silver, the acting guild master. The reason for your presence here today is because of an emergency. O know you all have work you were doing, but this is because of an emergency, and it's not like you're losing anything. As you know, Celesta repeatedly faces monsters wave because we face the Fog Forest, home of numerous monsters. We face monsters wave twice a year, normally it not the time for the second wave yet, however, somehow it changed.''

''What?''

''Why are there monsters wave at this time of the year? Weren't the last two months ago?"

''Maybe it's a bad omen.''

Adventurers started whispering the moment they heard Silver's words. He let them vent their frustrations a bit by whispering before he continued because he could guess what their question would be next.

''The reason for this sudden situation is unknown; normal animals have become restless, birds escape from the forest, merchant carriages getting repeatedly attacked. We sent a time of Rank 7 to investigate, but the result it's as you have heard it; they got wiped out, none managed to come back; however, they succeed sending a message: Prepare for the second wave. So, the message says.''

Gulp!

Most of the adventurers present are not even Rank 7 yet, hearing a group of veterans Rank 7 adventurers getting wiped made their gulp; however, although they were afraid, they were excited as well, if they performed well, they could calmly retire after facing this unusual second monsters wave.

Silver was happy to see that most adventurers didn't lose their courage learning what happened; it was now time to talk about rewards to firmly tied them down. If only they knew the truth, Silver sighed and momentarily closed his eyes, hardened his heart before announcing.

''Because it is a forced quest, I mean emergency quest every participant would be paid Five Gold coins. Almost materials harvested would be at full price.''

*Uproar

Another uproar was started; they were surprised by the generous offer this time; previously, they were paid around two gold coins. The guild would gain 20 percent of the collected materials; however, it almost doubled, and the monsters materials getting paid in full without a cut. It smells fishy but, they do not care.

''I'm in.''

It started with one voice, then it became two, three, four, and soon every adventurer on the first floor admitted their full support because this is a compulsory quest, meaning they have no right to refuse unless you want to see your adventurer license getting terminated you are forced to participate, however, being forced doesn't mean you must perform well, some did it halfheartedly, however, this time it was different because of the rewards.

''That is the spirit. I expect you all to perfect extremely well during this defensive battle not to let our beautiful city get tainted.'' Silver raised his voice.

'''''We will.''''

The adventurers responded louder.

''Good, go prepare. It might happen at any more but probably two days from now on.'' Silver said before dismissing the adventurers, and when Alex's group wanted to leave, they got called.

''Sky Wolf Group with me.''

Chapter 375 - 368: The Plan

''Sky Wolf Group with me.''

The leaving adventurers were surprised that a group, in particular, was called; however, this didn't stop them from continuing, they were more concerned about getting prepared for the defensive battle than trying to know the reason behind this group call, and like this Alex's group was not bothered they followed the guild master to the upper floors.

Soon, they arrived at the guild master's room; Conrad and the twins had left, leaving only the elf with glasses and Silver.

The moment they entered the room, Silver sat down; the Elf stood behind him and started giving him a shoulder massage.

''Please sit.''

''Y-yeah, just right there.'' Silver moaned.

The moment Alex and the girls sat, he raised a question.

''What do you want to tell us, Guild Master?"

''Ah! As Stella said, you're the straightforward type. I like that.'' Silver said and stopped the Elf.

''She also said you're too cunning, never take you lightly or else I will suffer. Although I want to know what you did for the stingy Stella to be wary of you, I won't ask as I believe we have more urgent things to talk about.''

Alex nodded.

Suddenly, the atmosphere around Silver changed, his expression turned severe, unconsciously he released a bit of his strength, Alex was able to know which Rank he was at, like him he is Rank 11, however, with higher level.

''You know the real reason behind this sudden unexpected second wave, don't you? I mean, smart as Stella portrayed you to be, you must have speculated. Am I wrong?" Silver asked; the Elf standing behind him gaze turned sharper; Alex was not shocked to see that she was stronger, a Rank 10; she is the Vice guild master after all.

''Yeah, it's because they want to use the monster's wave as cover to successfully complete their goal, which I bet is the same as at Elesim.''

Alex didn't hide his thoughts as he saw no need for that, saying this much would let him stay in a strategic position other than getting assigned to the frontline, the real stage is this city, inside the city because demons would try to infiltrate the city during the monsters wave, during this time most force assigned for the defensive battle would be stationed outside giving the culprit behind the forced monsters wave the time to execute their real goal.

''I see, you even though that far. This helps us a lot. I have talked with the City Lord, and he agreed with me that you will be stationed inside the city with the Flame Prince and the Tornado twins.'' Silver announced, although he was curious about why the twins he had seen are called Tornado twins, he stopped from asking, if he remembers correctly from their clothes he could tell they are mages, probably Wind element user, from there it's not hard to speculate why they are being called Tornado twins.

Alex threw those nonsensical thoughts to the back of his head and looked at Silver.

''I understand.'' He said he had no reason to refuse; however, he knew it was not the end. Silver still had something to say.

''Stella said your group is stronger as Rank 8. You will be stationed inside while your companions, Mio and Elsa, will be stationed outside.'' Silver said what Alex had expected.

Sakuya and Lilith acting as Mio and Elsa, respectively, didn't see anything wrong with this decision; they nodded.

''Great, let's talk about reward then.'' Silver clapped his hands.

Thirty minutes later, Alex's group could be seen leaving the guild; they were on their way to find an Inn to stay.

''Normally, the demons should have known that after falling last time, the empire will be prepared again for their next attempt. So, I don't understand why they would try attacking at this moment. If it were me, I would wait until things have calmed down before making a move.'' Sakuya exposed her confusion about the demon's move.

Lilith was the one to answer her, ''Normally yes, that would be the case. However, making a move now will let the other party think you are reckless. Let's say that all remaining five cities getting attacked at the same time; no matter how well prepared the empire is, there is bound to be a flaw somewhere, exploiting this flaw to complete their goal no matter what is the cost successfully is their goal. Be sure that among the five remaining cities, one might fall; it can be Celesta or Panam or another city.''

''What Lilith said is not wrong. I have the feeling that something bad will happen. If it's possible, I would like to go see the Duke and talk with him about countermeasures; however, I can't do that with my current appearance. If I were traveling as Alex, the honorary knight, it would be easy to have him listen to me; however, as an adventurer, even with our accomplishment, it won't be possible. I might even get detained as a spy for the demon.'' Alex said with a pensive look on his face.

''You have been acting strange since we enter Celesta. Better discuss with us your thoughts to see if we could offer any help as three brains are better than one.'' Sakuya, who had been watching Alex, couldn't help but say this; Lilith nodded her head to say she also does share the same feeling.

''Hahaha, you girls. Okay, I understand; let discuss once we find an Inn.'' Alex could only give in; the two girls smiled as if to celebrate a victory.

Soon, they found an Inn, Celestial Inn.

After booking two rooms on the upper floors of the Celestial Inn, the three joined for a meeting in Alex's chamber after eating dinner.

''So, it's how it is,'' Alex explained to them about his bad feeling the moment they entered; he didn't tell them that it was Nyx's warning; he just said it had something to do with his right eye.

''I see. If it's like that, we must think of a plan. Any idea?" Sakuya asked as she looked at the two.

Nobody said anything for a while before Alex stared at Lilith.

''Lilith, is there a way to use illusion with rune magic?'' He asked; he didn't forget what she did want; he was using the Eye of Truth on her; it was obviously rune magic.

Lilith was surprised as she could guess what Alex's plan was about.

''Yeah, it's possible.'' She responded.

''Great. I know what to do. Let's call Artemia to perfect the plan.'' Alex said with a smile; at the same time, he took out the communication stone to contact Artemia; although surprised, Sakuya decided to wait and see.

Chapter 376 - 369: Sakuya's Awakening 1

The following morning, the first rays of the sun had pierced the Sky.

The gentle rays of the rising sun peered their way through the light curtains and provided a serene light in the room.

Sakuya woke up, sliding the blanket off her naked body; she rose; the sunlight shone on her perfect, making it shines in all its glory. She loves to sleep naked. After freshening up, she got dressed. She didn't bother glancing at the bed beside her bed because Lilith was already out, as to where, Sakuya didn't know, nor that it matters.

Remembering last night's discussion, she smiled; Sakuya could say that Alex's plan was great, not flawless but great.

''He must be out now to see the city, Lord. I need to get stronger not to be a burden, and more importantly, if I'm stronger, I can let it loose.''

[Fufufu! Always faithful to her desire.]

A voice suddenly echoed in Sakuya's mind; she didn't mind as it was not the first she heard this voice; she was somewhat familiar with it. It's the voice of her Gift spirit.

'It was to be expected. If I'm not faithful to my desire, I won't be leaving any longer. Long time no see crazy girl.' Sakuya responded.

[Fufufu! Still ungrateful as always, crazy S Queen. I wonder if you can subdue him, or it will be the other way around.

I'm looking forward to it.] Yoroïchi said, teasing Sakuya, the latter chuckled.

''Statu,.'' Sakuya called out.

[Sakuya Hishimiya]

Class: Magic Samurai

Age: 17

Female

Rank 8

Level 81

Experience Value:5600/37400

Magic Power: 3000

Magic: Wind, Dark (Not fully Awakened)

Attack: 1400

Defense: 900

Agility: 1200

Intelligence: 1100

Luck: 1070

BP: 0

SP: 0

Gift: Katana Kaze no Yoroichï

Skills: [Advanced Appraisal Level 8] [Language Comprehension] [Item box Level 6] [Kendo Level Max] [Swordsmanship Level Max] [Wind Slash] [Iaido Level 8] [Wind tornado Level 5] [Gale Slash Level 8] [Flying Slash Level 5]

Titles: [Otherworlder] [Kendo Master] [ Yamato Nadeshiko ] [Kendo Fanatic] [S Queen] [Slayer]

''Ah! I don't know what to do to unlock my second element.'' Sakuya sighed.

[How boring] Yoroïchi sneered before asking.

[What do we excel at? What do we love the most?]

It didn't take Sakuya a second to answer this question.

''Battle.''

[Then you got your answer.] Yoroïchi said before going silent.

''Fufufu! I got it, time to head out.'' Sakuya said before leaving the Inn after taking her breakfast.

Celesta looks tense than usual; most shops were closed due to the incoming monster wave. Today there was more patrol, more adventurers. Just as Sakuya disguised as Mio walked out of the city, she was greeted by the sight of numerous adventurers standing guards outside.

Someone saw her and waved at her; it was Lilith disguised as Elsa; Sakuya walked toward Lilith.

''Hell,o Elsa. When I woke up, you were gone.'' Sakuya said.

''Yeah! I couldn't sleep, so I went out for some fresh air.'' Lilith responded those who wished to strike a conversation with the girls were forced to drop this thinking when Sakuya glared at them like they were annoying fly.

''What is the situation? No monster has come out yet?" Sakuya asked as she checked her surrounding; because adventurers surrounded her, her vision was narrowed, meaning she could see everything.

''Only a few monsters attacked thus far, the adventurers at the frontline took care of it.'' Lilith briefly explained what happened before Sakuya came.

''I see; let's move to the frontline,'' Sakuya suggested; there was no way she would stay here like a weakling; she ought to be at the frontline where there is action, where she could fight to her heart content instead of being stationed at the rear.

Lilith nodded; having spent few days with her adding the rumors, she could say what type of person Sakuya is; she loves a fight, she loves it.

It happened the moment the girls were pushing their way through the adventurers to go at the front, a commotion started.

''Prepare battle, another group of monsters are coming.''

Someone at the frontline shouted, Sakuya who heard this smiled before disappearing; she almost sent those beside her flying. Lilith could only sigh helplessly as she watched Sakuya disappeared; her destination was obvious; she wished to face the incoming monsters.

Those at the frontline were surprised to see a silhouette pass by; the next thing they saw was a girl facing a monster alone.

HAAAAA! !"

"Oi oi...does anything goes for her...."

Their faces cramped after they saw how Mio was fighting.

Sakuya acting as Mio, was fighting a pack of dark red wolves monsters called Bloodhound. Their number was more than thirty. They are monsters that hunt as a pack, and each has a rating of A-rank. As a pack of over thirty bloodhounds, they are troublesome monsters with the equivalent difficulty of AAA class.

However, Sakuya had no trouble dealing with them; she blocked the claw of one of the Bloodhounds and used the recoil to leave the encirclement; she didn't land on the ground but on top of another Bloodhound, the latter had its spine crushed because she was landing, an almost invisible green drill appeared on the sole of foot that pierced the monster's back, destroying its spine. When she landed, she spun, the blade in her hand danced; it was beautiful yet deadly as limps flee, blood splashed the ground, dying it in its color.

Sakuya was the Goddess of Wind; she moved unfettered, dispatching bloodhounds here and there as if they were a weak goblin.

Quickly, Sakuya eliminated all the bloodhounds in a matter of minutes and took out a crystal magic tool to record her result.

The result then immediately transmitted to the HQ in Celesta and be announced to the people. This is done to let people know that there's nothing to fear, to boost their morale.

The other adventurers didn't even get the opportunity to shine; they were feeling ashamed to be outdone by a young girl, a beautiful one at that; however, if there were in her place, they wouldn't have it so easy. As if trampling on their feeling, Sakuya happened to be saying at that moment.

''Too weak. I only level up once.''

Those adventurers almost vomited blood; Sakuya didn't heed them, Lilith rubbed her forehead. Just as one of the adventurers wanted to say something, the situation took an unexpected turn.

Chapter 377 - 370: Sakuya's Awakening 2

The ground is shaking.

The first person to notice this was Lilith.

"Don't tell me…..this is."

"Gregor! WHAT'S HAPPENING ! ?" Asked a panicked adventurer.

''It's a horde of monsters coming.'' Another one responded, he had faced a similar situation in the past; however, not this soon. No wonder the guild master said it unusual monster wave.

''Prepare for battle.'' the strongest adventurers present ordered, everyone readied their weapons. Preparations were ready.

Soon, monsters came into view; it was a mix of everything, goblin, hobgoblin, kobold, wind wolves, water monkey, orcs, and so on.

''Mage attack first, ready? Fire.'' The acting leader ordered, and the mages moved at once, firing their magic. Fire Mages fire first followed by Wind mage to increase the fire magic.

Boom! Boom!

Like firecrackers, magic rained down on the ground creating several explosions; things hadn't died down yet; the next attack followed, water mages fired, extinguished the previous flame, giving the monster a short moment of peace before hell was let loose by the fourth and last attack. Lightning rained down on the saturated monsters, Water+ Lightning; the result couldn't be more obvious.

Many monsters died electrocuted; the unluckiest had their heart burst as the lightning happened to land on their chest, their drenched chest where their heart was.

''That is a nice tactic, no wonder the guild master picked him to be the leader,'' Lilith commented when she saw the damage the mages had done; Sakuya didn't say anything; she was more eager to slay some monsters, this could be seen as how tightly she was holding her katana. Lilith quietly shook her head.

Suddenly, the acting leader raised his hand and let down.

''Oooooh!"

Some emitted battle cry as their charged at the frozen monsters; those behind started trampling on the slowest, the injured as if they were possessed; their earlier fear seemed to have vanished in thin air.

Swoosh!

Sakuya moved even faster; she passed a hobgoblin mage, the latter was trying to cast magic by raising his wand; unfortunately, the hands along with the wand got cut off, the monster had no time to cry before something pierced its brain from behind, it was an invisible wind arrow.

[Ïai Giri]!!!

Sakuya unleashed attack after attack, those who were slow saw themselves being bisected, the luckiest lost an arm at most, however, soon the grim reaper passed by, and the result, their lost their lives. Sakuya was dancing amidst monsters with a smile; she encountered almost no resistance; the other adventurers had gotten numb to this scene; they knew they'd from a heart attack if they kept getting surprised by everything this presumed Rank 7 could do.

However, soon they learned she wasn't the only abnormally. Finally, Lilith moved, she unsheathed her sword, lightning flashed, and thirty monsters were obliterated.

People froze, even the acting leader was momentarily surprised before smiling, for the remaining people they didn't get over their shock soon if she had killed thirty monsters in three attacks, they could still accept it, however, decimating thirty monsters with one attack, is absurd, they wondered if their leader said to be close to Rank 9 could do this. The answer is no, but he can kill ten monsters in one attack.

''Keep attacking.'' The acting leader roared, bringing them to their senses, they continued to push forward.

Soon, the horde of monsters was cleared; however, it was not the end of their trouble. Another horde of monsters soon followed; however, these monsters were different from the previous one; they were stronger, with the weakest being level 50, leading to two vampires flying using their bats like wings.

''Demon!"

Some of the adventurers became fearful; they hadn't heard anything about demons. Seeing humans fear them brought untold joy to the demon; the one at the back held a flute, this seemed to be the thing used to control the monster, the acting leader decided that there must retrieve this flute at any cost, and because he was the strongest here disregarding those two unusual girls, he must move it was time to move, so he moved closer to the mage and whispered something into their ears before unsheathing his sword.

''Weak humans, we have come to slaughter you lot. Obediently offer your life for us.'' The vampire at the front announced grandiosely. He cast charm magic on the adventurers; the weak-willed one had their will robed, they froze unable to do anything, even few among the mages fell under the vampire charm.

Sakuya snorted, ''Annoying fly.''

''What did you say, you damn human?" Asked the vampire at the front, what demon dislike the most, especially vampire is to be called fly.

''I said the annoying fly. Are you deaf on top of being a buzzing fly?" Sakuya asked without a care in the world, this annoyed the first vampire, even more, he wished more than nothing but to rip this human girl apart; however, he knew he must act rashly, they were waiting for a signal, and more importantly he wasn't the leader, glancing behind him he stared at the second vampire, the one that didn't talk, the latter nodded his head, the first vampire smiled.

''Attack.'' He ordered; the monsters charged toward the humans, the acting leader moved at that time, so is the mages (those still lucid); they attacked.

The first vampire eyes turned redder; his fangs grew, even more, his speed doubled; he appeared behind Sakuya; even though she had sensed his arrival, she couldn't move as she hoped.

''Take this.'' Shouted the vampire before unleashing devastating attacks.

Soon, injuries riddled her body; even so, she was smiling because she could feel that she was getting closer to the second element; the initial windshield surrounding her was slowly getting mixed with dark elements, strengthening it.

The vampire noticed something abnormal, so he decided to finish this human girl before anything unexpected happened.

Concentrating energy around his claw, the vampire accelerated even more and struck Sakuya in the chest; her shield was broken. She immediately crossed her arms in a defensive posture.

SCREECH~

"Cough!"

Sakuya coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her chest and hands ripped open, and hot blood splashed out.

She ignored the pain as the impact sent her flying. She put her feet on the ground forcefully and stopped herself from dragging back any further; at the same time that the vampire struck her, the power traveled to her body, wanting to destroy her hurt; however, a small black appeared and sucked the energy, at the same time something broke within her, and she knew what this meant.

''Hahahahaha!" Sakuya suddenly burst into laughter, drawing everyone's attention; the vampire walking toward her stopped and questioned.

''What is so funny? Have you gone nuts?"

''Hahaha, Cough! I'm laughing because you're already dead.'' Sakuya responded, her eyes turned sharper; the second vampire immediately got a bad feeling; he wanted to move; however, Lilith's eyes were locked on him like a hawk locking its prey.

The first vampire, not seeing the situation, sneered, ''Pathetic.'' He then launched himself on Sakuya, intending to bisect her.

Sakuya also moved, no her katana moved.

[Yami Maho Jigen Giri] (Dark Magic Dimensional Slash)

The world turned white, and black passed through it; when everything resumed, the vampire alongside every monster behind him was cut into two.

Silence descended on the battlefield until an acting leader moved to catch the falling Sakuya; she seemed to have lost consciousness.

''What a strange move, even I can't do anything about it.'' The acting leader said as he moved Sakuya to safety.

Chapter 378 - 371: On Alex's (Sam) Side

The second vampire eyes turned cold; he must kill this human girl, or else there will be no end to the number of troubles his side would face in the future.

The vampire sprung into action; however, before he could even get close to where Sakuya was, Lilith had moved; she crouched down and jumped into the sky as if to intercept the vampire; the latter smirked. However, his expression soon changed to bewilderment because Lilith in front of him suddenly vanished, and when she reappeared, she was already behind him, her sword thrust at him.

''Humans are still foolish.'' The vampire snorted and caught the tip of the sword with his nails; he didn't even turn around.

The reaction he had expected to come didn't happen; Lilith smiled, she only said a single word.

''Idiot.''

The vampire didn't get the chance to question what this meant before he was electrocuted by the black lightning that came out of the tip of the sword.

''Gigigi!''

The vampire temporarily lost the ability to fly; he also let go of the flute in his hand, he plummeted toward the ground.

Lilith (acting as Elsa) didn't pursue the vampire; she first destroyed the flute used to control the monster.

There was someone already waiting for him, the acting leader. As if he and Lilith had talked beforehand, he appeared under the falling vampire, and the latter was doing his utmost to undo the binding around his blood vessels; Lilith black lightning hadn't only electrocuted him, tiny black lightning snakes entered the vampire body through his pores to chain his blood vessels, making impossible for him to free himself quickly, nor use magic, it was curse especially tailored for him. So, he ended up in his current situation, and the acting leader would miss this opportunity.

[Water Dragon Slash]

The acting leader shouted as he unleashed a devastating attack; from the tip of his sword, an eastern water dragon was shot.

"Roar!"

The water dragon roared and pierced through the chest of the frozen vampire; at the last moment, the vampire changed the emplacement of his heart.

Boom!

The vampire was blasted into the sky with a large hole where his heart used to be; usually, humans should have died having their chest pierced like that; unfortunately, this isn't human but a demon, a vampire knew for their high vitality, high regenerative ability.

The acting leader could have loved to continue and finish the vampire, but he froze in place; a black shadow appeared from his shadow, his nails dug into his back, going straight for his heart.

''Cough!"

The acting leader coughed blood; he didn't want to die; he had been careless, to think he would have forgotten about vampire shadow; only royal vampires have this ability. The usage of this ability is simple, appear inside your opponent shadow in soul form, shadow form if you want. You can catch your opponent off guard; however, at the same time, it is a double-edged sword; you are more vulnerable. In this state, those who use do it through sneak attack and immediately retreat after attacking.

However, the vampire had made a fatal; he thought Lilith was still busy clearing the monsters attacking the other adventurers, the moment the vampire used his shadow ability and was about to crush the leader's heart, Lilith smirked.

Black lightning chains appeared under the two feet and wrapped around the vampire body, causing him extreme pain, the leader had momentarily relieved.

''Crouch down.'' Lilith toward the leader, the latter immediately ducked, a horizontal lightning slash passed above his head, bisecting the vampire shadow in two.

At the same, the real body of the vampire lying down on the other side burst into flame and vanished.

Lilith didn't say anything; she focused on clearing the remaining monster; simultaneously, she glanced at Celesta, wondering what was going over there.

•••••

Let's rewind time a bit. Alex disguised as Sam left the Inn early in the morning to head to the City Lord mansion; there, the Duke was waiting for him.

''Welcome, Sam; I heard from the princess what should be done. Please follow me; everything has been prepared.'' The Duke, a man in his early fifty, said the moment he saw Alex, his eyes were sharp, like the eyes of someone who has experienced many battles, Gray hair, brown eyes.

Alex nodded and followed the Duke inside the mansion; en route, he remembered yesterday's conversation. After getting confirmation from Lilith that it was possible to use rune magic to create an illusion, he contacted Artemia; the plan was, use rune magic to create a powerful illusion to fool the enemy; it won't be easy, the enemy might notice, it where his second plan come out, there will use the real core inside this illusion, just before this gets destroyed it will swap place with a fake. Alex and the girl had done few tests, and there was no problem; even Nyx found this plan realistic. Alex's plan could be put like this: Lure, fool, and seal.

Alex smiled at the prospect of catching big fish if his plan succeeded. His smile didn't go unnoticed; the Duke stopped and asked.

''Is there something funny?''

''No, I was thinking about something. Please don't mind me.'' Alex responded and immediately stopped smiling.

Although the Duke was skeptical about this adventurer present here, there was nothing he could do about orders come from above; he must follow this man's arrangements, he has full authority, and he mustn't question him. The Duke didn't dare to take the princess lightly when the emperor was backing her; she even had the emperor seal; it's like facing the emperor himself, the person who has this could act on the emperor's behalf and people must listen.

''We have arrived.'' The Duke announced and stopped in front medium size painting depicting a mother holding her newborn. Putting his hand on the painting, on the newborn to be exact, the painting shined, and Alex found himself underground, inside a bright room not different from what he experienced in Elesim, inside the hidden room.

''Come out.' Alex said, and two shadows came out, one woman and an old man.

They didn't bother with formalities; they immediately got to work, creating runes in the air; they are rune mages sent by Artemia. Using space magic (Spatial runes) to arrive at Celesta quickly.

''Impressive.''

The Duke was surprised at first; however, his surprise vanished to be replaced by awe; he watched the two rune masters perform illusion magic.

Boom!

The room shook, Alex and the Duke exchanged looks and saw the urgency in each other eyes.

''I shall leave first.'' The Duke said before transforming into the sand and vanished.

Alex glanced at the two runes masters, they could feel his gaze on their back, so they said, the old man said.

''We are almost done here. Go assist them; we know the way.''

Alex nodded before disappearing in turn; there was a smile on his face.

''Youngsters these days.'' Commented, the old man, the young girl beside him, didn't say anything as she knew he wouldn't stop talking if she ever made the mistake of answering.

The old man sighed; seeing the lack of reaction from the young girl, he focused on finishing the last step of the plan.

•••••

Outside, buildings were in rumble; two gigantic sandworms appeared above the ground destroying several buildings in the process; thankfully, these buildings didn't have people inside them; they had been evacuated because of the risk of getting swept in trouble, all buildings surrounding the Duke mansion were evacuated.

Alex stood atop a building watching the Tornado twins fight the two sandworms.

One of the sandworms spurt acid at the slender of the twin, the latter didn't even move, and the attack was canceled by the slight wind tornado surrounding him; the poison landed on a building nearby, instantly melting it. Just after the monster spurt poison, there was a momentarily stop.

Like a missile, that twin launched himself toward the sandworm that still had its mouth open after spitting poison. The twin that goes by way of Tim entered the monster's mouth, and shortly later, the monster burst into pieces, Tim after entering the monster belly, had used what he and his brother are good at, wind tornado. This destroyed the monster from the inside out.

Swoosh! Swoosh!!! Puh! Puh!!!

Alex launched knives at the monsters crawling from the holes left by the sandworms.

The knives pierced through the brain of those monsters, splashing brain and blood on the ground; however, this didn't stop more from coming out. Just as Alex was wondering what to do, he saw a giant fireball fall from the sky and crash against the swarm of monsters.

Boom!

Those monsters were instantly reduced to ashes; simultaneously, Tim assisted his brother Tom to finish the last sandworm; this was stronger than the one Tim faced.

Conrad appeared floating in the sky; he glanced at Alex for a moment before flying toward the hole where monsters were crawling from; suddenly, his expression changed, he immediately erected a flame shield around his body; even so, he was sent flying.

This shocked Alex and the twins.

''What just happened?" Tim asked confused.

It happened at that moment, Tom pushed his brother away and took his place, a black sword pierced through his chest, making him vomit blood.

''Tommmmm!" Tim shouted and tried to rush toward his brother.

Somehow, a man with a white mask appeared behind Tom; he was not there a moment ago, even Alex could not notice him until it was late.

''You fool,'' Alex shouted and kicked against the rooftop to intercept Tim before he got killed.

Chapter 379 - 372: Flame Emperor Vs Seven

Clangs!

Alex kicked the rooftop and blocked, the black sword aimed at Tim; at the same time he pushed Tim out of the way, he was sent flying, he crashed against a building nearby. Tim quickly stood up and dragged Tom to safety; he embraced his brother when sent flying.

Alex glared at the man wearing white with a red design on it; the latter glared back, silence descended upon the two, just as Alex was about to say something, there was a big explosion.

''Tch!"

The man wearing a white mask clicked his tongue before disappearing; Alex looked in the direction the sound came from for a moment before chasing after the man with a mask.

Conrad stood up; the flame was dancing around him; he glared at a man wearing a white robe with the red as the man with a mask.

''Hihihihi! As expected of the Flame Prince, you come unscathed from that attack.'' The man in white robe said, his laughter sounds creepy as his appearance, extremely white skin as if he painted his whole body white, spiky green hair and red eyes.

''Who are you? What organization do you belong to?" Conrad appeared while controlling the flame surrounding him.

''Hihihi~ My bad, where are my manners? I'm Seven, please to know you.'' Seven bowed before continuing.

''As for my organization, you are not qualified.''

Conrad frowned; he had expected to grind some information from the man before him; unfortunately, he failed.

''By the way, the Duke and the guild master, I believe it's Silver; the two are fighting Priscilla. Let's dance here.'' Seven announced and immediately attacked; he sent numerous skin threads toward Conrad.

If Gracier were present, she would have been surprised to find out that there exists someone else with the same ability as Maddog; however, Seven ability seemed more advanced; his skin threads were sharper, sturdier than Maddog's skin threads. It was what attacked Conrad earlier.

Simultaneously, as Seven shot skin threads at Conrad, he also unleashed his attack. The floor cracked apart as hundreds of flames vines charged through them, ready to pierce through Seven.

Conrad created seven flame shields in front of him, stopping the incoming skin threads.

''Cheap tricks.''

Seven snorted; he redirected some of the skin threads going in Conrad's direction to extinguished the flame vines; they were instantly extinguished because wrapped around the fine skin threads were mucus.

''Flame Lance.''

Behind the flame shields, Conrad had already prepared his next attack, a ten meters long flame spear was created and hurtled at Seven.

Swoosh!

Facing the incoming flame spear, Seven was calm; he stretched his arm, bone armor covered it before he crushed the flame spear.

This left Conrad with mouth agape; he couldn't believe they existed such abnormality in this world. First, he can control skin, and now he can control his bones.

Even though he was surprised, Conrad didn't let it get to his head; what he must do wasn't changed; he would deal with this man whose strength he couldn't see through.

Conrad unleashed his Gift, his red flaming sword before vanishing; the next moment, he was already before Seven.

''Continuous Slash !"

Conrad's red sword moved once; however, seven slashes were sent at Seven, the latter still had the same expression on his face, there was no surprise on his face, he sighed before one of his fingers on his left hand got turned into the bone nail, using this he blocked all the seven slashes.

Clangs! Clang! Clangs !!!

''Now it's my turn.'' Seven announced before his figure blurred, it was as if he was walking; however, his speed was breakneck, he appeared behind Conrad and attacked, the latter wanted to defend using his sword; however, the instinct he had honed through countless battles ringed alarm bell, and without hesitation, Conrad thrust his sword forward thus managing to block Seven unexpected attacks, there was another Seven that appeared before him. At the same time, the one behind him disappeared like a mirage.

''Not bad.'' Seven praised; rarely have someone been able to defend against his mirage steps for the first time.

Conrad didn't show any emotions after hearing Seven's praise; he unleashed a torrent of attacks on Seven; the latter effortlessly defended against those attacks before counterattacking; the two moved around destroying things as they fought to stablemate.

''This boring. Let's be serious.'' Seven said before a powerful aura burst from his body and rippled outward like a tsunami.

Facing the incoming aura, Conrad also unleashed his full aura.

Boom!

Flame erupted from his body before covering him like a mantle; Conrad's hair turned flaming red, the temperature around them turned hot, melting the hard floor under his found.

Boom!

The red wave crashed against the white wave; the two moved simultaneously.

Clangs!

Seven blocked Conrad's slash; he was smiling when suddenly, Conrad's sword extended like a whip. Seven widened his eyes, the tip reached his chest in an instant; however, before it could pierce through his chest, it was stopped by a thick bones breastplate armor.

As if he had anticipated this, Conrad announced.

''Blossom!"

From the tip of the sword, a small black lotus emerged. Seven widened his eyes for the second time.

Following Conrad's order, the small black lotus blossomed, instantly transforming into a giant fireball that engulfed Seven.

Boom!

There was a big explosion; Conrad put a distance between him and Seven. He readied his sword like he was about to execute a thrust.

''Roar Flame Dragon.''

Swoosh!

The red sword left Conrad's hand and was transformed into a flaming dragon that pounced on Seven still within the flame.

''Roarrrrr!"

The flame dragon roared and opened its enormous mouth and tried to swallow Seven whole; it was at that moment Seven moved, he stopped the dragon with only one hand, this hand was covered by bone armor, Seven appearances because visible, his body was wholly covered by bone armor, even his neck was covered as well.

There was a small black spot on the left side of the bone armor.

''Let's begin the second round, shall we?" Seven declared while inwardly thinking.

'I hope that brat Cain will succeed; if not, I will skin him alive.'

Chapter 380 - 373: That Night

While Conrad and Seven were fighting their first round, back on Lilith's and Sakuya's side, they successfully cleared the monsters; it became easier to kill them after the vampires were killed.

Sakuya had already woke up; she was drinking water and was looking at her status window.

[Sakuya Hishimiya]

Class: Magic Samurai

Age: 17

Female

Rank 9

Level 85

Experience Value: 35600/37800

Magic Power: 3040 (+80 BP) ➤ 3120/3120

Magic: Wind, Dark

Attack: 1440

Defense: 940

Agility: 1240

Intelligence: 1140

Luck: 1110

BP: 0

SP: 0

Gift: Katana Kaze no Yoroichï

Skills: [Advanced Appraisal Level 8] [Language Comprehension] [Item box Level 6] [Kendo Level Max] [Swordsmanship Level Max] [Wind Slash] [Iaido Level 8] [Wind tornado Level 5] [Gale Slash Level 8] [Flying Slash Level 5]

Special Ability: [Dimensional Slash]

Titles: [Otherworlder] [Kendo Master] [ Yamato Nadeshiko ] [Kendo Fanatic] [S Queen] [Slayer]

'I'm now Rank 9. This Dimensional Slash must be the one I used before passing out.' Sakuya thought, just as she was about to read about this ability, she was called.

''Mio, let's go.''

It was Lilith, Sakuya sighed before standing up and followed her; the two left, going inside the city at fast speed; they could hear the sound of battle from afar. The girls accelerated; suddenly, there was a voice that reached their ears.

''Go to the northern side see the situation. I have something to do here.''

It was Alex's voice; the girls didn't question Alex's order; they headed to the north, where the Duke and Silver were.

Back to Alex's location, he was inside the alleyway leading to the back of the Duke mansion; in front of him was the man with the white mask.

''Hahahaha! I never thought that I would encounter you here.'' Alex said and looked at the man in front of him.

''Me neither. Long time no see, Alexander.'' The man with the mask said before removing it, a young man with a handsome face, blonde hair, golden eyes appeared, astonishingly it was Leonardo under the mask.

''You look fine,'' Alex said while he undid his disguise, long black hair, handsome face coupled with heterochromia eyes.

When Leonardo heard that he looked fine, he unconsciously released killing intent; he clutched his right arm, he could feel it trembling. This brought him back to that night, the night everything changed.

~Flashback Begin

Leonardo was imprisoned after his participation in Gracier's kidnapping got revealed; he spent few days inside a prison when suddenly, one night, Alex visited him.

''Yo! Comfortable there?" Alex asked as he pushed the cell door open. Leonardo was chained against the wall.

''Fuck off. What do you want?" Leonardo spat, seeing his enemy; the reason for his presence in this cell made his blood boil. He had forgotten that he could only blame himself for what happened; Alex never provoked him; it was him that turned Alex into his enemy.

Ignoring the look of hatred Leonardo was giving him, Alex flicked his fingers; instantly, the chains binding Leonardo were removed.

Having regained his freedom after few days, Leonardo stood up and rubbed his sore wrists, he glared at Alex, eyes full of caution.

''What do you want?" He asked again.

Alex didn't immediately answer; he crushed a stone inside his hand, the seal put on his body, making him unable to call out his Gift was removed. Leonardo became more cautious; he didn't know what goal want to achieve by doing this; however, soon, he got the answer.

''Summon your sword and fight me with all you got. If you win, I will let you go.'' Alex declared, his voice was cold.

Leonardo summoned Excalibur. A majestic aura enveloped the prison, shaking it.

''Hah!"

Leonardo unleashed his strongest attack; however, Alex was faster; before the sword could descend, he was already behind Leonardo; he didn't even summon his gun; he only used Reaper, the knife Elseria (Leena at that time) gifted him.

Shaking the blood of the knife, Alex announced,

''You lost.''

At the same time, Leonardo dropped to the ground.

''Giahhhh! My arm, my arm, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

He clutched his right elbow; his arm got cut off, Excalibur dropped on the ground, still inside his right arm, twitching on the ground, splashing blood on the ground.

Alex mercilessly fired an ice bullet on the sliced arm, instantly freezing it, and as if it wasn't enough, he walked toward it and raised his foot; seeing this, Leonardo shouted.

''What are you trying to do? Ugh! Stop it.''

Alex's eyes were cold as he let his leg down and instantly reduced the frozen arm to piece; Leonardo's heart momentarily stopped moved, his eyes widened to their limit; he couldn't believe what just happened.

Not paying attention to him, Alex crouched down to pick Excalibur; the sword tried moving out of his hand. However, Alex snorted and tightly gripped the sword hilt; the sword vibrated and shone; even so, Alex refused to let go of it; one minute passed until the golden longsword lost its glow and stopped resisting, almost as if it had become a normal sword.

Leonardo came back at that moment; he was shocked not to sense any aura coming from his sword.

''Y-you bastard, what have you done?" He ignored the pain he was feeling; he used lightning to cauterize his injury; dragging his feet against the ground, he moved closer to Excalibur and picked it; even inside his hand, he couldn't feel any; it was like when the spirit inhabiting your weapon dies, you can't feel any.

''You bastard.''

Full of rage, Leonardo swung his sword with any skill behind it; it was easy to avoid it. Alex sidestepped to dodge the sword; he then moved forward and caught the remaining arm; he clutched it making Leonardo feel intense pain.

Alex leaned forward and whispered something into Leonardo's ears. First, Leonardo's eyes widened before his face turned red, veins popping out.

''You b-"

Alex didn't let Leonardo finish cursing at him before punched him hard in the stomach.

The punch tore through the air and struck Leonardo in the stomach, giving him no time to dodge. He was bent into a funny shape.

BANG

The impact sent him crashing on the other side of the prison cell. The wall caved in; he was embedded in it.

"Cough!"

Leonardo coughed up a mouthful of blood. His chest and hand ripped open, and hot blood splashed out.

Alex left the cell, only closing the cell door; the next day, he left to search for his sister, while a few days later, Leonardo mysteriously escaped.

~End of Flashback.

The present Leonardo glared at Alex; the latter smiled before they disappeared at the same time. For Leonardo, it is to get his revenge, while for Alex, well, beat the shit out of this asshole.

Chapter 381 - 374: Alex Vs Leonardo

Alex and Leonardo disappeared and clashed.

Clangs!

Their weapons clashed, creating a shriek that sent sparks flying into the air. Alex tried to kick Leonardo, but the latter stopped the blow with his knee before trying to headbutt Alex in retaliation; Alex dodged before putting some distance between them.

They both stared at each other as if to see through each other before they vanished again.

Leonardo appeared behind Alex and slashed downwards with the sword. Alex spun around and parried with one arm; using his free arm, he summoned Silveria and fired point-blank range.

BANG!

One should have expected Leonardo to be caught off guard by this sudden attack; however, it wasn't what happened; somehow, he spun his sword to block the bullet.

Alex smiled before silently muttered Time Acceleration; he saw his speed increase while Leonardo slowed.

Instinctively, Leonardo noticed that something was not right; however, he didn't have the time to ponder about this as Alex had already before him; somehow, his speed was godly; unknown to Leonardo, it was because he was under the effect of Alex's Time Acceleration.

Alex created another weapon using Xerox; he aimed the two silver guns that shined under the sun against Leonardo's chest; the latter could see the dire situation he was in, he tried to summon lightning armor; however, even this seemed almost impossible as the activation of this shield seemed extraordinarily long and Alex wasn't going to wait for him.

Bullets struck Leonardo in the chest; the lightning was halfway formed when the bullets struck; at the last moment, Leonardo managed to bring his arm forward.

BANG!

The impact sent Leon crashing against the building behind him; he passed through it, destroying another one behind this one. The floor caved in, and the glass panels exploded into tinkling shards.

SCREECH~

"Cough!"

Leonardo coughed up a mouthful of blood. His chest and hand (the one he used to defend against those bullets) ripped open, and hot blood splashed out.

He ignored the pain, and he put his feet on the ground forcefully and stopped himself from dragging back any further.

"This is so much fun; I expect no more from you!" Leonardo grinned as blood trickled down his lips, his expression was twisted, whatever he experienced during those few days he disappeared had wholly changed on into a battle crazy.

"But now is the time we bring this to an end!"

He lifted his bloody hand towards the crevice in the sky before abruptly bringing it down.

"Lightning Descent!"

Zila~

The sky above them darkened, black lightning appeared and struck Leonardo, his body shuddered; usually, he should have been burnt to a cinder; however, it wasn't what happened, on the contrary, he had an ecstatic expression on his face as if he had taken a hot bath during winter.

Leonardo took a quick-draw stance bending a little, legs spread wide, one hand holding the sword sheath and the other on the guard of the sword he said [DOOM], instantly an another Leonardo made of black lightning appeared having the same attacking stance as him.

When the real Leonardo unsheathed his sword, the lightning clone also did the same; they disappeared simultaneously.

Alex heightened his senses to the limit, his Divine Sense fully activated; he waited until the last moment before unleashing his attacks. His arms aimed left and right, he fired.

Bang!!!!!

Two gunshots, however, six bullets tore through the air and arrived before the two Leonardo; the two had a calm expression on their faces as they moved their sword, choosing the same stance.

Split!!

Calmly they split the bullets into two; the splits bullets continued on their destination, striking two pillars.

Boom!

Two large appeared on these pillars, almost destroying the structure of the building, making tilt forward.

Alex did a backflip to succeed in dodging two horizontal lightning slashes barely sent his way. He was still in the air when he aimed his two guns at the lightning clone and fired.

BANG!!!

Three bullets left the guns, one a millisecond less than the other, the first one speed through the air before the second arrived and struck him in the butt increased its speed to an astonishing level, and as if it wasn't enough, the third bullet struck the same support as the second bringing the first bullet speed close to March 2, lightning clone or not, he couldn't react in time before the super bullet struck him in the head, there was no sound only the lightning clone head behind pushed to an almost ridiculous degree before,

Boom!

Like a firecracker, it blossomed, creating a beautiful black and blue contrast.

Leonardo's expression didn't even change when his lightning clone was destroyed; on the contrary, he smiled, somehow; his speed doubled as if the destruction of his lightning clone boosted his speed.

Seeing this, Alex's eyes widened, Leonardo flashed next to him, his black sword moved, just some casual moves, yet the speed of his sword was dramatically increased to an astonishing level. Even so, Alex was not a pushover; he grinned, battle intent flashed through his heterochromia eyes accompanied by a crazy smile that seemed to indicate that he was enjoying this fight, a fight where the slightest lack of focus would result in a grave injury or worse a death, in a fight like these that you break your limit to grow stronger.

Alex surpassed his limit; he had to, green light covered his limit, his MP decreased at fast speed; even so, he didn't care, he moved his arms and fired.

Bang! Clangs!

Leonardo was shocked to see Alex being able to parry his sword using a bullet; he smiled, increased his speed to the limit that his body could handle. At this stage, it became impossible for naked eyes to follow them; the only thing visible was two lights moving, one black while the other blue followed these sounds.

Bang! Clangs! Bang! Clangs!

None of Leonardo's attacks managed to land on Alex as he could parry them at the last moment using his bullets; it was a godly move only he could accomplish.

Seeing none of them managed to have the ascendant on the other, they silently agreed to put a distance between them; they stared at each other, forgot about others, forgot about their goals, the only that remained was to trample on the other.

Chapter 382 - 375: Purgatory

Seeing none of them managed to have the ascendant on the other, they silently agreed to put a distance between them; they stared at each other, forgot about others, forgot about their goals, the only that remained was to trample on the other.

Strangely they have the same Rank; after joining the dark side, the unknown organization, Leonardo saw his level boosted catching up to his peers, his eternal rival, he even got a new power he would use on the man responsible for his downfall toward the dark side, all he wished for was to stand in the limelight, to receive all glory, to be the king enjoying all that comes with it; however, this was proven to be impossible as one said there couldn't be two captains inside the same cruise, even if Alex doesn't wish for it, he was bound to attract all attention, it was natural, so naturally for Leonardo who seeks attention he couldn't tolerate him, no matter what, therefore they would inadvertently clash at some point, it was what happened, if only Leonardo were not an attention seeker maybe these two would have become best friends, unfortunately, this was bound never to happen.

''Let's end this!'' Leonardo announced, and his speed increased to the limit; he was faster than before, it was almost impossible for Alex to detect him.

Everything was happening at a speed impossible to describe, with the exploding circle reaching Alex instantaneously. Despite this, he smiled and said,

"Your speed has indeed increased to an astonishing degree; if it increased more than that, I might have trouble keeping up, but not now."

Turning around in a flash, he fiercely his green the covered into the exploding circle.

BOOOOM

A world-ending blast occurred, turning into a gigantic mushroom cloud. Simultaneously, green light that transformed into wind flames rippled outwards as shockwaves.

The Leonardo staggered back, its eyes reflecting the incredible sight of Alex.

Alex wasn't done yet; he was rushing through the mushroom cloud, splitting the mushroom cloud!

"To be honest, if I want to overpower you, it would be difficult even for me because somehow you have become incredibly powerful to extend of three weeks ago you asked me I would have said it was impossible," Alex acknowledged with a pleasant smile.

"As for obliterating you, that would be next to impossible as well; you know what."

"?!"

Leonardo's expression darkened; he decided that it was time to use that technique, the technique he acquired after joining that side; he smiled, showing his white teeth.

Suddenly, Leonardo's smile made Alex feel as if this was some ominous premonition.

While trying to make sense of this, it swiftly raised its hands to protect its chest as Leonardo's sword seemed suddenly to have transcended space, instantly reaching his chest.

But then Alex surprised the corpse by stopping the hammer just a hairsbreadth away.

〖Master, the attention he was about to use a dangerous skill.〗Silveria suddenly warmed.

Leonardo's lips curved up, and he said, ''You push me into the pit of despair with no way out, I crawled back from hell, time to settle the score.''

As these words entered Alex's ears, it felt an intense sense of crisis coupled with Silveria's warning. This crisis reached its peak when it heard the concluding phrase.

"Purgatory."

Swoosh~!

Suddenly, the alleyway turned pin-drop silent and turned blinding dark. Every source of light lost its function.

A sense of helplessness gripped everything. It was a helplessness every blind man would know in a strange environment, but it was new to those in the mausoleum.

RIPPPPPPPP

In such an environment, just a mile behind the Alex, a slit violently ripped open. It was a gigantic eye.

The slit was not even as thick as a hair. Still, it was too bright, the radiating glow of countless colors swirling as if it was the insides of a kaleidoscope tube.

Alex hurriedly jerked its head at the slit. Memories that were suppressed in its brain awakened, and it realized where the slit led. It wasn't his memories; it came from Nyx; she identified the origin of this slit.

〖Purgatory…So, they are the ones behind this, the ones backing the unknown organization.〗Nyx's voice echoed inside Alex's brain, informing of the origin of this slit.

Whoosh!

Ghost-like and demon-like figures appeared in the swirling colors, their expressions filled with hunger. They were pitch black, malevolent.

Alex looked at them; his heart momentarily froze.

"Do you think now is the time to be distracted?"

Leonardo's voice rang in Alex's ears, bringing it back to reality.

It quickly turned its head.

But it was too late.

BANG!

By then, Leonardo's sword had brutally pounded onto its chest.

Its chest caved in, and its back arched out while its body slammed into the slit. The ghost-like figures smiled and tried grabbing Alex, then their ethereal hands turned into chains and tightened around Alex, trying to bring Alex dragged inside the slit.

It was at that moment, Alex's right eye throbbed, followed by a click sound; it was the sound of something being released. Alex saw a scene, the scene of him being tied up to a gigantic altar, chains pierced his body from all sides, these chains were burning hot meaning he was behind cooked alive, making matters worse, the altar on which he was being tied up was extremely cold, so he was feeling both burning and chilling sensation at the same time, numerous shadows and skeletons were crawling under his foot, wanting nothing more than swallowing it, it was eternal suffering.

Alex understood the future that awaited him if he were to enter that slit, so he mustered all his strength; his right eye shined icy blue, a large pupil appeared above the slit, instantly crushing it.

Bang!

Alex fell to the ground, Leonardo's chin almost fell to the fall, never would have he thought Alex was stopping him.

Just as he fell into the ground creating a small crater, Alex used Time Acceleration to appear before Leonardo; his head was throbbing, suddenly, he lost his balance and fell headfirst toward Leonardo, the latter finally reacted and thrust his sword forward, the black sword pierced Alex's chest before sending flying before he was sent flying Alex whispered something into Leonardo's ears, it was quick, nobody saw it.

BOOM!

Cough!"

Alex coughed up a mouthful of blood as he passed through several buildings before finally stopping at his fourth building. His chest and hands ripped open, and hot blood splashed out. His right arm was bent at an odd angle.

Leonardo looked in the direction Alex disappeared to before staring at the large scar on his chest; somehow, Alex managed to injure him; even with his strong vitality, the wound was closing at a plodding speed. Leonardo sighed before putting back his mask; this mask has a special function; it acts as GPS at the same time as a monitor.

''I will have another scar.''

Leonardo muttered and became Cain after putting on the white mask; his expression had passive; nobody knew what he was thinking, not even the Lord monitoring him; he didn't show any expression after beating his nemesis.

Leonardo (Cain) moved inside the Duke's mansion and arrived at the hidden room; he walked in and was about to destroy the magic core, simultaneously, Alex had reverted to Sam, he was lying on the ground, his injuries slowly recovering, there was a smile on his face, like Leonardo nobody knows what he was thinking.

Chapter 383 - 376: Ignorance Is Bliss

When Alex and Leonardo were fighting, and the fight was about to end, Sakuya and Lilith arrived at the location where the Duke and Silver were fighting against Camilla, the vampire. They watched the ongoing fight with enchanted eyes.

Long white hair curled at the end, crimson eyes, white skin coupled with a beautiful face, and this beauty named Camilla, the vampire duchess, was effortlessly fighting two Rank 11 (almost Rank 12).

Suddenly, Camilla dodged Silver spear even when she was being locked inside the Duke's gravity cage. She disappeared into a mist before reappearing before the Duke; the latter increased his gravity cage to a hundredfold; Camilla's feet sank into the concrete; it should have been at that moment Silver would attack because Camilla was trapped; unfortunately, this didn't happen, Camilla smiled.

''Darkness Rise.''

Then, the entire world before the Duke changed instantly!

The sky, earth, and everything from before disappeared. All of it was enveloped in pitch-black darkness, and only dots of starlight flickered around them. It seemed as though Camilla had thrown the Duke into outer space at this very instant. Upon realizing it, the Duke revealed a flustered and stunned expression. He realized that the power he counted on the most was slowly vanishing! he couldn't use his gravity properly, nor could he feel Silver's presence.

It was a moment, Camilla flashed next to him and smacked the Duke across the cheek, sending them spiraling across the air like twirling ballerinas. The Duke broke several buildings before coming to a stop; he wiped the blood falling from his mouth; he felt like all the bones inside his bones were broken.

Camilla didn't give chase; she became vigilant all of a sudden; she possessed extremely sharp sense, she had a bad feeling. Or maybe that should be called conviction. She felt a chill as if the hair on her back stood on end; this feeling originated from neither Silver nor the Duke, not from the two girls hiding.

Suddenly, Camilla raised her left arm; sharp nails appeared; she doesn't like to use weapons that often as she believes that the greatest weapon is one body; however, for the first time since her apparition, Camilla's frowned and looked at her arm on the ground, unexpectedly, it had been cut off, she didn't even notice it, staring at the man that somehow appeared not far from her, she signed and picked her severed arm.

''So, it's one of the Emperor Shadow, no wonder. I guess I should get serious.'' She said before huge amount of magic burst out from her body; it was crimson in color, the Duke was sent flying.

Sakuya and Lilith clutched a stone pillar not to be sent flying while one of the Emperor's Shadows, the one Alex encountered in Elesim, shielded Silver; his expression was calm, he yawned before glancing in Sakuya direction, his gaze lingered on her for a second, their eyes locked, Sakuya felt naked under the man gaze, so unconsciously she gulped, the man chuckled and silently moved his lips, reading it Sakuya was able to understand what the man meant to convey.

'Just watch.'

Then he moved, he simply lowered his center of gravity, putting one leg in front of the other, lowered his katana he unsheathed, and Sakuya saw it, the image got imprinted forever inside her brain, Camilla was cut into million pieces, it was the ultimate sword skill.

However, something even more astonishing happened, Camilla was back even after getting cut into million pieces, almost as if she could rewind time, there was no injury on her body, the only thing worth noticing was the fact that she became paler, she was panting, she glared at the man with katana and mumbled.

''Even that wasn't enough. I should use my weapon. Come forth I-"

Camilla stopped calling out her Gift; she stared in a specific direction before looking at the man with katana and smiled.

''We won.''

Following this announcement, there was a massive explosion in the Duke's mansion. A tremendous amount of magic exploded, soared, and bloomed in the sky like a firecracker; the Duke, Silver, had an ugly expression on their face.

''No good!"

They shouted before disappearing; they were going back to the Duke's mansion. They ignored Camilla, who became expressive suddenly, just because they succeeded in completing their goal.

''Hahahaha! I shall take my leave; we succeed in our goal. Until next time stay safe.'' Camilla said before transforming into countless small bats and disappeared.

Until the end, the man with the katana, who goes by the name of Kamishiro's expression, remained unchanged even after feeling the huge protect shield protecting Celesta vanish entirely after Leonardo broke the magic core. Camilla attributed this to the fact that the Emperor Shadows being formed not to have any emotions no matter the situation. If only she knew the truth; as one said, ignorance is bliss.

Kamihiro turned into Sakuya and Lilith's direction; the two came out, knowing better than anybody what was happening.

''You know, my previous emperor once said: Ignorance was actually a kind of happiness, just like how some people believed that they weren't brainwashed, but in fact, they were always accepting the intelligence of the brainwashing. Some people believed that they were the ones who controlled their fate but weren't aware that everything they did was predetermined in their lives. The more one knew, the more pain one would suffer from. But the problem was that almost no one knew whether they truly understood the truth of fate in this world. You know, just like who was standing at this place a moment ago, she thought that everything was under their control, that they were the ones playing the tune unaware that they are dancing on someone's else tune.'' Kamishiro said while staring at the sky; he stayed silent for a while before turning to face Sakuya.

''Lady Sakuya should one day visit the Far East, the Miko shine, I believe there is something worth there. Well, I wouldn't waste more of your time here I have to go. Good evening Demon princess. Please pass my thank to your man for having come up with such an interesting plan. See you.''