"You let Shadow Two escape?!"
Inside a mountain, in a rugged-looking hall, a man sitting on the main seat lashed out at the four people kneeling in front of him. The man was dressed up in blood-red clothing, which had a medium-sized demon embroidered on the chest area. And this man was one of the most revered and feared assassins in the continent, Master Crow!
Master Crow's skin looked shriveled and dry, to the point that it attached to his bones. But even looking like this, Crow didn't appear sickly or old. Instead, he looked young and exuded a sense of dark dominance that shook a person staring at him to the core. Crow was just an oddity, no matter how one looked at him. And nearly every one of his traits clashed against each other. Even his hair looked odd with it divided up, right in the middle, the right side ragged and white, and the left side lush and blond.
"Master Crow, please placate your anger. We didn't think that Shadow Two would dare run away while we were searching for Nick. He must have gotten scared that he would take the fall for this and receive punishment." Shadow One bowed deeply and apologized. He felt a deep sense of horror anytime he looked Master Crow in his eyes, so he usually spoke with his head bowed, as did the other Shadows. But even frightened as he was, Shadow One still tried his best to cover for his long-time quirky friend.
"Humph! Are you saying I would punish someone without them being at fault?! Is that what you think of me?! I never punish those that are undeserving of it, boy, that goes against my character! And who runs away and hides unless they did something wrong? I firmly believe Shadow Two was the reason you couldn't catch Nick today, so, go find him! Dead or alive! Preferably dead though!" Master Crow's voice alternated between shrill and deep as he spoke.
And Shadow One was about to reply when Shadow Three stepped in front of him and responded in his stead. "Yes, Master Crow! And I also agree with you, sir. I suspect Shadow Two has something to do with Nick escaping our grasp as well! Otherwise, why would he run away while knowing full well that you are a great judge of character?! Master, I urge you to send Shadow One to chase after that Nick bastard, and I will personally lead the rest to chase after that traitor Shadow Two!"
Shadow Three knew that at the end of the day one of them would have to take the fall for today's mishap. And he didn't want it to be any of them here. The four Shadows here was raised by Master Crow personally since childhood and had a very close bond with each other, yet Shadow Two had only joined them later on. And due to his exceptional intelligence, Master Crow had even placed him ahead of most of the others and named him Shadow Two.
But even after all that, Shadow Two wasn't satisfied or grateful. He did things that jeopardized their business and their identities multiple times, and he even tried to protest against their clothing, insisting that it should be white! Just imagine an assassin dressed in white trying to act stealthy, it would just be ridiculous!
So, Shadow Three wanted Shadow Two gone so that his family can regain the peaceful ambiance it used to have before he showed up. And since he knew that Shadow One was incapable of harming a friend, he had to go after Shadow Two personally!
Shadow One wasn't too happy with Shadow Three's actions or words, but he didn't voice it out since they were in front of their Master. And bickering in front of him would just be asking for a torture session.
"Good! Shadow Three, you have hit the nail right on the head! And I will heed your advice this time. Shadow One, go and find that little weasel Nick before Light Prince Immortal arrives! I don't want to have a conflict with him if I can help it. And the rest of you will track down and hunt Shadow Two, don't make me wait long!" Master Crow closed his eyes as soon as he finished speaking. But weirdly, the moment he did, his body kept phasing between dark mist and solid form, and even his appearance shifted constantly.
On a tree about a mile away from the mountain, stood a lone, heroic figure, staring directly at it! Of course, this figure was the little piggy.
Nick had brought Piggy, back out once he was far enough from the young lady who had bought her. The main reason Nick needed Piggy wasn't so she could get him out of the city, but to get him close to Master Crow's layer without being detected.
And after staring at the mountain for a while, Piggy memorized its direction and climbed back down the tree. This journey had turned into her biggest headache yet. Because she found out something scary once she entered this forest. She found out that she didn't know how to navigate through the forest! So, she would climb up a tree every hundred meters just so she could estimate the direction, and then climb back down and run towards it.
Nick stood in the Palace biting his nails in frustration. It was his first time seeing a beast that got lost so often, and to make matters worse, Piggy climbed up and down those trees terribly slow, so each time she got lost it would take a few minutes to find her way.
After Piggy climbed down the tree this time she ran with renewed confidence!
"Damn it! She's going the wrong way!" Nick couldn't believe it. How could someone lose their way that quickly?!
"I guess it's close enough for the plan to work anyway, so there's no point in getting any closer." Nick sighed heavily, and then he exited the palace before returning immediately with Piggy in tow.
Piggy looked a little unhappy to be brought back to the Palace. Why did this asshole stop her when she was finally going the right way?!
"Do you have your message memorized?!" Nick asked the limply laying Shadow Two.
"Yes, but are you sure about this?! First, I would have to get close to Master Crow's layer to send this message, and Master Crow will sense me a minute after I send this message! Also, this message you want me to send to Master Crow is a little…" Shadow Two looked a little uneasy by what he was asked to do. But one look at Silver and the large thing hanging under that beast and he was back on board with the plan.
"You leave all the other matters to me, and just focus on getting the message across. I promise to bring you back here safe and sound afterward." Nick lifted Shadow Two up by his neck and proceeded to exit the palace, but…he couldn't!
Ding! Giving the Prisoner the contract, please wait until he agrees and signs it!
"What is going on, Old geezer?!" Nick asked.
"Didn't I already tell you that those who enter the Palace unconscious will have to leave it the same way?! The reason for this is to keep the existence of this palace a secret! But since this man has seen the palace and the place it's situated in, then he can only leave after he signs the contract with the system! And until he agrees to the contract, he will be a prisoner in the palace!" The Old geezer explained. And with no snarky remarks for the first time.
Nick didn't say anything to convince Shadow Two, who seemed to be in the middle of getting the contract explained to him by the System.
And after a minute of contemplation and multiple glances at Nick, who seemed to be waiting for him to sign the contract confidently. Shadow Two signed the agreement. But he didn't feel too bad about signing the contract. At least now, Nick would feel at ease about him, and Nick wouldn't have a reason to kill him to keep him silent now!
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
The moment Shadow Two signed the contract, Nick took away the storage ring on the man's finger into his own, and then realigned his body back so that it could function properly again.
"Since you have signed the contract, I don't need to keep you a cripple either. But just know that serving me would be in your best interest. And I have a million ways to kill you if you act out! Now, get ready because we are about to go out to the real world. Make sure to send the message swiftly so we can return to this place before Master Crow tracks us down!" Nick warned.
Nick didn't say anything further and just exited the palace with Shadow Two, who was now capable of walking and moving properly.
"What is this?! How is this even possible?!" Shadow Two hadn't really believed Nick when he said the palace existed in a different time and space. But now that they appeared in the middle of the forest so close to Master Crow's layer, he had no other choice but to believe it.
"Focus! We don't have time for stray thoughts right now!" Nick snapped while turning on the Shadow Radio technique at the same time. He wanted to make sure Shadow Two got the message across, word for word.