"Where did she go?"
Searching frantically, Sebastian noticed the phoenix hadn't been back to her nest for a few weeks. During his stay with the phoenix, he learned that she decided to take care of a couple orphan birds. Their parents had died fighting a beast to protect them and the phoenix admired that.
A few days ago, he noticed a cloud of smoke rising from the forest and didn't think much of it since it was a normal occurrence for beasts to fight each other. Overtime, he realized the fire hadn't been put out and that's when he figured something was wrong.
Arriving at the burning area, Sebastian saw multiple claw marks and arrows on the ground. Investigating the area, he found large chains and a large ballista bolt. He assumed the worst had happened since this wasn't the first time bandits came for the phoenix.
'Fire nullifying arrows… these people are either wealthy or well-funded. '
Following the tracks on the ground, Sebastian was able to tell that they were attacked during their transportation. Every beast came to respect the phoenix and when they noticed it was captured, they must've tried to help free it.
Four hours had passed since Sebastian followed the tracks and he arrived at a large camp filled with hundreds of people. Searching for the phoenix, he saw it chained down with special fire nullifying chains.
'That symbol…'
In the center of camp, a flag was raised high in the sky and on the flag was the Dark Guild's symbol. At least, Sebastian would be able to return back to the base but it still didn't sit right with him that his savior was gonna be imprisoned.
Donning his black armor, Sebastian started to walk toward the front gate and punched it down. Immediately, everyone ran toward the commotion and was ready to engage in combat until they saw him.
'They don't know me? They're imposter!'
Multiple throwing knives appeared in both of Sebastian's hands. Spreading his arms open quickly, he released the knives and only a few were killed from the surprise attack.
"Intruder!"
His anger and rage triggered something in his body as the green liquid started to increase his power. His body began to transform into a werewolf and the armor started to morph into the correct size of his werewolf form.
"Aaawhooo!"
By infusing his howl with his Emperor's Will, he was able to conceal the existence of the skill. If people came to know about the skill he wielded, he would be hunted down and killed.
Slowly walking up to each person, Sebastian pierced their heart with his claws. After killing nearly forty percent of them, the paralysis effect disappeared. Nearly most of them were hesitant to move because of Sebastian's display of power.
'I'm so glad that they think I'm C-Rank or higher.' Sebastian thought to himself.
Walking toward the phoenix's location, Sebastian noticed an incoming presence.
Bang!
The presence landed on the ground and a large dust cloud formed. Suddenly, the person rushed out of the dust cloud and wielded their weapon high in the sky. Swinging their weapon downward, Sebastian dodged the attack and quickly countered with his claws.
Stab!
Step backward, Sebastian noticed something about these people. They were unbelievably weak. The man's speed wasn't anything special as it was incomparable to his own speed. The man's strength couldn't be compared to his nor did it seem like the man was well into magic.
'I could probably grab the man's weapon and shatter… No, I'll just act weak so he'll think he's winning the fight.' Sebastian thought, deviously.
The man charged in again and swung horizontally. This time the attack landed as it sent Sebastian flying a few meters before recovering. Noticing this, the man became excited as he had thought Sebastian started to regret coming in the center of the camp.
"Ha! I thought werewolves were supposed to be stronger in their transformed state."
Hearing his words, Sebastian was triggered by it and with a silent step, he appeared beside the man. Unable to process Sebastian's speed, the man was killed without knowing it.
Splat!
Seeing their boss' death, each member started to regret joining him. They knew they were powerless against Sebastian. They only joined because they were weak and lacked the potential to become stronger. Their only way to make easy cash was to resort to violence and robbery.
Returning back to his human form, Sebastian put his hand on his Umbral Blade and began to infuse it with his spiritual energy. After charging it, Sebastian was about to release the attack to finish them all off but suddenly spike stabbed through his hand. He felt his blood being drained from his hand as the Umbral Blade began to drink his blood.
The blade's edge glowed red as it was full of blood. Upon feeling the additional strength, Sebastian released his attack horizontally and swiftly.
'It lacks speed and power.' Sebastian noticed, although it did get the job done.
Walking to the phoenix, he slammed his fist into the chain and shattered them. Being free, the phoenix flew back to the nest.
'I suppose I can find a way back to human territory, though my body is still damaged.'
While he stayed, he noticed his body and bones were still damaged and not fully healed. He didn't think much of it but thought it may have been the cost of using a skill that far exceeded his capabilities.
______
A Couple Days Later…
A city could be seen half a mile away and immediately, Sebastian rushed toward the entrance. Inspecting the front gate, he noticed that there were more guards and powerful individuals inside.
'This isn't any ordinary city.'
Sebastian was right, this city was a military city that solely built its military strength for the sole purpose of defending and attacking those that threaten humans. He could leave if he wanted to but that's when he noticed a green line leading inside.
'You've got to be joking… He wants me to assassinate a person that might be protected by powerful people!'
Walking away, Sebastian deemed the target unkillable. Why did Ragnar want him to kill someone higher ranked than him? It didn't make sense but it still left him confused.
Swoosh!
Not long after leaving, Sebastian was approached by multiple humans that had their weapons pointed at him. One thing he had forgotten while in human territory was the fact that other races faced discrimination.
"What business did you have staying around the gate?" Woman asked.
he thought about fighting them but realized they were A-Ranked and immediately shut down his plan. Putting his hands up, he didn't say anything and just watched the people.
"Answer the question!" A man beside the woman shouted.
'Finally! I found you.' A voice spoke in Sebastian's mind.
'Found me? Who are you?' Sebastian asked.
'The portal maker.'
Suddenly a portal opened beneath Sebastian sucked him inside. The guards couldn't do anything in time as it happened too fast for them to react.
High up in the sky, Sebastian was riding on a griffin. Beside him was the portal maker that had been assigned to bring Sebastian back to HQ.
"What are you doing out here? This place is full of high-ranking people." The man said.
Getting a bird's eye view of the location, he realized he was very far away from exiting human territory. If he had to guess, he was two hundred miles from exiting.
Screech!
A loud screech could be heard incoming and looking toward the noises, it was the phoenix. It was clear from the attack that the phoenix wasn't happy about something.
"Let go of the boy!" It shouted.
"Wait! I'm just leaving."
Hearing his words, the phoenix hovered in the air while staring at him and the man. Her anger slightly decreased but seeing them ride on a griffin wasn't something she liked.
The man was sweating profusely and nervous. A phoenix was a strong beast and its affinity toward fire related magic was abnormal.
'How the hell did you befriend a phoenix?!' The man spoke to Sebastian through telepathy.
Unfortunately, he couldn't hear the man as the phoenix was blocking his telepathy. Both the phoenix and Sebastian were already having a conversation via telepathy.
After a few exchanges of words, the phoenix left and the man sighed in relief. If the phoenix wanted to, it could've wiped them out.
An orange portal appeared in front of them and entering inside they were back at HQ. A huge crowd of people kneeling toward HQ and looking closer, Sebastian saw Ragnar and Bastian.
Upon feeling a familiar energy, they looked toward Sebastian and told the crowd of people to dismiss. They approached Sebastian and Bastian slammed his fist into his abdomen. Sebastian puked up his previous meal and saw both of them berating him but couldn't hear their voice.
'Finally… I'm back!'
_______
A few days had passed since he returned to HQ and he found out that his weapons were complete. When inspecting them, he noticed they were created out of beast materials and core but they somehow felt different.
When speaking to the dwarves, they said the weapons were enchanted with top-tier enchantments. Additional information was added when they were transferred to Sebastian. The dwarves had to put a limiter on the weapon and they would be unlocked once Sebastian had reached a specific threshold.
Still though, the weapons weren't by any means weak. He learned a few skills with them and managed to decimate the shadowy figures in the colosseum. His weapon count increased from just having three to having fifteen.
He was surprised by the amount of weapons he'd have to learn. His favorite weapon was the staff they made. The enchantment placed on the weapon relied on his own strength, which amplified the power behind each strike.
Another favorite would be the shield, which was able to reflect a powerful attack but as long as his strength was able to withstand the power of the attack.
After obtaining his weapons, he was prepared to go on another mission.
"I'd like to continue my mission of assassinations." Sebastian spoke to Ragnar.
"Unfortunately, that won't be possible. Ever since they found that cult, they've been removing nearly all of the cult so infiltration will be impossible for now.
I've selected a mission that will require you and your friends so be ready." Ragnar replied.
Several girls appeared behind Sebastian and kneeled. Turning around, he could feel that they've gotten slightly stronger.
"This mission will be taking place in werewolf territory. You will infiltrate and recover some documents. Additionally, one of our targets will be in the area so I want you to assassinate them."
A portal opened beside Sebastian and this time, the location wasn't high up in the sky. Noticing this, Sebastian was angered by this. In the past, he had to fall from the sky to reach his location but now that there were girls in the mission, the person chose to place the portal on the ground.
'The next time I run into him again, I will strangle him.'
Stepping through, he recognized the locations already. Jack took him and his friends to this forest for training.
"Our target is the upcoming star of the Vanguard Regime. He'll be a hard target to assassinate as intel suggests that he's accompanied by four guards and two assassins." Lilith said.
'Darius?' Sebastian thought.
Roar!
A beast came rushing toward the ground and lunged for Sebastian, who was still lost in his thoughts.
Slash!
Stab!
Bang!
Turning around to see the commotion, he saw a beast dead. Claws marks, a sword, and a massive fist were indented into the beast's body.
Lilith approached Sebastian and held her hand out. Holding his hand out, she dropped a beast core on his hand. They then proceeded to leave the forest and unbeknownst to them, they were being followed by some, who had noticed a sudden portal opening.