I shake my head as I quickly bring myself back, only to see the black lizard before me, staring at me. I glance at the general before nodding my head towards him, "Guard him."
Before the general can react, the alligator is already beside him, as if a massive log resting next to a sapling. I stand up as I ask, "Where is your kingdom?"
The general looks up at me for a few seconds, as if about to say something, but instead gets up, "I'll take you there myself." He dusts his legs off as he turns in a certain direction, "Is that alright?"
I take a minute to think it over before nodding, "Yes, but if you try to lie, I will kill you."
He nervously gulps as he begins to walk into the forest, past large areas of destroyed brush and trees.
I slowly follow the man, the large alligator crawling past trees and over bushes to follow. As we are walking, minutes become hours as we travel through the terrain which slowly becomes thicker.
Suddenly, the leaves ahead of us rustle for a moment and I swiftly whip out my scythe, ready for whatever it is. But I quickly sheath it as I realize what it is.
A few moments later, a group of black shadows leave the brush, calmly walking past the general and kneeling before me. I don't waste a moment as I ask, "Did you find their kingdom?"
The leading soldier nods, a second one coming up from behind in different garb to nod as well. The other guard is probably the one that was sent by the Alpha Pillar.
"Where is it?" I ask casually.
The group of soldiers stand up and turn around, walking towards brush. I look over at the general before following the guards, the general's thoughts readable on his face, 'You had soldiers searching for our castle during combat?!'
And then it clicked, how he would know if he was lying. Luckily, he didn't dare have the guts to or else the black soldiers would give it away and he would be lying dead on the ground.
Without saying a word, the general begins to follow our group of shadows. With the loud noises of a school bus sized alligator navigating the forest, we walk towards the castle, reaching our targeted location after a few hours.
While walking, I had stopped by a lake washed off the blood from my body and suit. I have dealt with pain from a loop of hell, but I will wash myself of blood if I get the chance. Probably wouldn't get a disease but who knows.
As we approach the castle, I feel a hand grab my shoulder. I come to a halt and turn my head, the shadow soldiers stopping along with me. The general stands beside me, his hand resting on my shoulder, "Please wait a moment, if we continue following this path, we will hit the front entrance directly, I know a hidden passageway into the castle."
I smirk as I hear his suggestion, "Good thinking…you have become very cooperative. Why is that exactly?"
He quickly takes his hand away and begins to explain, "You were able to wipe out an army of 50,000 in less than an hour, not including the demons that were summoned as well. I can already tell that you possess power beyond my imagination. And that summoning Magic you used is incomprehensibly different to ours, you barely required time to cast it, unlike ours which takes quite a bit of time to cast." He says as a tinge of jealousy creeps into his voice.
"Going against you would be suicide, and if you truly are able to destroy this kingdom, I have to not only take my life into consideration, but my children's as well." He says in a solid voice, as if his mind was made.
I nod, "Alright, that is reasonable. But I don't need to use the hidden pathway, just get your kids and get out."
He has a look of confusion on his face before quickly coming up with a reasonable conclusion.
'He was able to wipe out our soldiers by seemingly teleporting magic or something similar, perhaps he can use that to get in.' He guesses, which would rationally exclude the need for any secret paths.
This assumption isn't entirely false as Kurayami had used a combination of his Continental Class strength and his ability Shadow Transportation. This allowed him to cross the battlefield in moments and disrupt anyone that he chose.
I turn around to face the general, "I want you to come back to this spot after you grab your kids and any other loved ones. I'm sending the massive alligator into your shadow so it can come out at a moment's notice if someone tries to attack you. But this is also to make sure you don't go against your word. So keep that in mind, it's not a friend, but an ally."
As I speak, the massive alligator liquifies before slinking into his shadow. The general shivers but quickly nods, showing his understanding. I turn around as the shadows enter my shadow, the smirk on my face still stuck solid.
'Let's go!' I hear Sky shout in excitement, and with one swift movement, I launch forward. I disappear into the woods for a few moments before springing into a massive clearing. My eyes go wide as a kingdom that could rival 2 put together stands before my eyes. But the most eye attracting sight is the massive castle in the middle, reigning over the rest of the castle.
The castle glows brightly in the night, fires and illuminated windows burning brightly. I waste no more time as I see one of the castle windows open, no light inside. I activate Shadow Transportation and fall into my shadow, my vision going black before filling with light again. I quietly land on my feet, finally entering the headquarters. I quickly open my interface and notice that the rating has went up from D+ to C+.
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"New Quest."
"Royal Problems (Chain Quest)."
"When two nations are at war, there can always be ulterior motives. Whether someone disagrees at a meeting or with a decision, to just using situations to advantages. But now that you have killed a side's ally, you have chosen you stance."
New Goal: Help protect the mysterious princesses and end the war
Reward: New Mission (An item will be given at the end of the mission chain depending on your performance which will be rated from E-S)
Current Rank: C+
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