"You were too reckless!" scolded Lilia, her brow furrowed into a frown. "What would you have done if something happened to Cedrix?" she added.
"Calm down, I could have blinked and appeared before the creature, stopping it before—"
"Still! You shouldn't divert your attention from your enemy!" exclaimed Lilia.
"Okay, okay, you are right, but you truly don't have to worry, I had the situation in control!"
Alex approached Lilia and, with his fingers, gently lifted the corners of her mouth into a smile. "Don't frown too much; otherwise, you might get wrinkles before your time."
She slapped his hand away. "Be serious."
Although she said this, the corners of her mouth were still raised into a smile.
Meanwhile, Amelia and Anna approached the once-masked man whose body lay on the ground with blood oozing out of his mouth.
They crouched next to him and observed his face.
"He is really ugly," commented Amelia while poking the man's face with a stick.
Anna nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he looks more like a pig than a human."
'Bitches!' shouted the man in his head.
Contrary to what they thought, the man was actually awake and aware of everything happening around him.
He had awakened a few minutes ago and had been biding his time, waiting for the right moment to escape. That right moment had come when the creature was about to kill the old man, and Alex's attention was on it.
However, just as he was about to stand up and run, those women had to come out of the carriage and save the old man! This action had spoiled all his plans. They had spoiled all his plans, and like it wasn't enough, they were now calling him ugly?
'Bitches, I will get back at you!' he vowed in his heart.
Noticing something weird, Anna tilted her head until she came face to face with the man.
"Hey, you. You're awake, right?"
The man's back and forehead immediately got covered in cold sweat.
'How did she know?!' he wondered, his back quickly becoming drenched.
However, he still pretended to be unconscious.
'I'm certain she is just bluffi—'
"Hey, guys, this one is awake!" shouted Anna to Alex and Lilia.
'The bitch!'
Having no choice, the man decided that it was better to stop feigning unconsciousness and act to escape.
'I will be taking her as a hostage. She is mere level 3 anyway—'
Before he could even finish his thought process, vines appeared from the ground, coiling around the man like serpents seeking to claim their prey.
'Sh*t.'
The instant the vines wrapped around his body, the man became aware that he was completely and utterly screwed.
"Oh, is he awake?"
The instant he heard that voice that seemed like the devil's, the man's body began involuntarily shaking from fright.
"From how you are shaking, it's clear that you are awake. Open your eyes!" commanded Alex.
Against his better judgment, the man refused to comply. He knew that he should obey since it was already clear that he had awakened, but the thought of coming eye to eye with Alex flooded him with dread. The least one could say is that Alex has traumatized him.
"If you don't open your eyes within the next three seconds, I'll pierce them, ensuring they never open again."
"One, two—"
"Wait, wait, wait, please have mercy!" exclaimed the man, his eyes fully opened.
"You see, when you want to, it wasn't that difficult," Alex smiled in satisfaction.
Encountering those gray eyes sent a shiver down the man's spine.
"Name?" inquired Alex, his expression turning stern.
"Bogre."
"So, Bogre, do you know what that thing is?" Alex pointed to the creature that the tattooed man has become. "Don't try to lie; I would know," he added.
Bogre carefully observed the creature, then shook his head. "I don't know. The only time I have seen something similar was when one of the five heads turned into one."
"Five heads? Who are they?"
"It refers to the five people who lead the underworld," answered Bogre.
"What happened then?"
"I'm not sure. The five heads were in a meeting when suddenly one of them burst out from the meeting room, and an instant later, he began transforming into something similar to that thing."
"Hmm, what is your link with the five heads? I mean, what were you doing in a meeting of the ruler of the underworld? You don't seem like someone that useful," commented Alex.
Bogre gritted his teeth and responded, "Contrary to what you might be thinking, I have a good standing since I am one of the third head guards."
"Is that so?"
"Absolutely, which is why you need to think twice before you do anything to me. You might-"
Alex smacked Bogre on the head.
Alex smacked Bogre on the head.
"Shut it, I'm thinking."
As Alex pondered how to capitalize on his newfound knowledge, he caught sight of Starx approaching the creature with a sword in hand from the corner of his eye.
"What do you think you are doing, kid?"
Starx flinched.
"Uh, I-I'm..." he stammered, not knowing what to say.
Alex's brows furrowed into a frown, having a strange suspicion.
'Don't tell me he is trying to erase the evidence.'
Was he wrong about the young man?
Just as Alex started wondering this, Starx, understanding what Alex was thinking, waved his hands in denial.
"It's not what you think," he said with a bitter smile.
"Then why are you trying to kill him?"
The young man fell silent, seemingly thinking about something.
Alex didn't rush him and instead turned towards Bogre and asked him a few questions.
A moment later, Starx sighed.
"He sold my mother and sister," he said, his face contorted in rage.
"Hmm?" Alex turned and stared at the young man.
"One year ago, my village was attacked by a group of bandits. A group of bandits led by this bastard!" Starx pointed at the creature, his face filled with hatred.
"Since there were no warriors among the villagers, it didn't take them long to completely loot our village. We thought that they would leave after that, but instead, those bastards decided to turn our village into their base."
"During that time, they started persecuting the villagers, and before long, they began selling the villagers as slaves. Among those they decided to sell were my mother and sister." At that point, Starx's eyes were practically red from anger, his hands balled into fists.
"When I thought everything was over, this bastard approached me, saying that if I accept working for them for a year or two, they would release my mother and sister. Obviously, I accepted his offer and began working for them. Each time we encountered a group like yours, I was charged to present them as adventurers because, as they said, 'people are more receptive when the one speaking to them is handsome/beautiful.'"
"The entire time I was working for them, we were traveling, so I didn't know the situation of my family. But since I had a deal with them, I wasn't worried about their safety." Starx's fists were clenched so tightly that they began drawing blood.
"I worked for them for a year before learning that these sons of b*ches haven't kept their end of the bargain. They sold my mother and sister the same day we made the deal!"
Starx suddenly dropped to his knees in front of Alex, his forehead touching the ground.
"Please, don't stop from killing this bastard!" he pleaded.
Looking at the kneeling young man, Alex didn't know what to do. The reason he didn't kill the creature in the first place was that he was certain Scarlett would want to study it, and he was also curious about the creature.
'But can I deny the kid his revenge because of that?' he wondered.
He wasn't sure what to do, so he looked toward the person to whom he always turned when he wasn't certain what to do.
Lilia nodded at him, "allow the kid his revenge. Plus, we can't carry this thing with us if it's alive anyway."
Alex sighed.
"You can do whatever you want with it," he said to the young man.
Curiously, despite him allowing Starx his request, the young man didn't make a move and was still in his position.
"Didn't you hear me? I said that you can do what you want with it," repeated Alex.
"I heard you, sir. It's just that I have another request."
Alex suddenly felt a headache coming his way, but he still asked Starx what his second request was.
"BECOME MY MASTER!"