Two guards hurriedly entered the demon lord's palace.
The demon lord was seated in his throne and those two men knelt about two meters away from him.
The two of them said at the same time, bowing their heads, "Greetings, my lord!"
"Speak," the demon lord commanded as they looked very nervous about something.
"My lord," one of the men began, having a pointed chin and a straight jaw, with his eyeballs red, "a report came from the Silver Land about an assassin murdering the Silver King. The identity of that assassin is still uncovered."
"An assassin?!"
The demon king rose from his seat in rage. His eyes looked serious.
He inquired harshly, "How is it possible for a random assassin to get into the palace and murder its king, without being noticed? There are thousands of soldiers in the palace, so how come?"
The other man, his face fiery and having red eyes as well, said, "The whole issue has not been made clear enough, as we received the report a couple of hours ago."
"Inform the demon general to march as many soldiers as possible over to the Silver Land and also to the demon realm's border. The assassin won't have been able to escape provided the time range. Make sure to find whoever the assassin is, whether at Silver Land or the demon realm's border! I want that person alive."
The men chorused again, "Yes, demon lord."
The demon general was informed promptly. Meanwhile, the demon princess, Amara volunteered to join the mission.
Therefore, the two of them and demon soldiers marched out of the palace.
The instruction by the general was to arrest anyone who felt suspicious. Those who would stay at the border were instructed to check everyone exiting the realm through the border thoroughly, whereas those assigned to the Silver Land should search every inch and corner of the realm, with the sole priority to capture the assassin.
***
Arion dashed out of the palace quickly after being given the skills' details, covering his face with the dark witch's scarf.
"The Dragon Fist is a technique that involves channeling energy into one's fist to create a dragon-shaped attack, delivering a powerful strike to the target."
"The Tri-Beam is a technique where the user focuses their energy into their hands, creating a powerful beam attack capable of immense destructive force."
Arion walked quickly away to prevent suspicion from anyone passing by.
He had secured the sword in his right palm by casting a very tough spell.
Upon walking to the middle of two houses, whose roofs created slight darkness in the middle that anyone passing by wouldn't see through, Arion quickly removed the scarf from his face.
"Ahh, I nearly forgot. It would be strange if I wear this blue cloth in this realm. I need a change of dress," he mumbled in silence.
Then he placed his hands over each other and, taking a deep sigh, he closed his eyes, illuminating his his hands with red fumes.
The fumes began to burn like a flame, and with another single incantation from his lips, the fumes spread all over his body.
It took up to ten seconds before the magic lifted away from his body and combined together in his hand.
Finally, Arion subsided his magic, and the red fumes went off.
He sighed, "That magic is expected to work, but I don't really trust it."
He knew he had to step out of the darkness to see what his dress had transformed into.
Upon getting away from the vast darkness, although the outside was also dark but to a minimal extent, Arion realized he was now in a black dress.
It was v-necked, having a long sleeve and long all over.
He believed one part of his problem had been solved. "It remains how I am going to teleport away from the border. Let's get to action." As he peeped to his left side when he heard noise, he realized a crowd of people was there, exchanging one thing for another.
That made him remember the day when he firstly came across Liora in a similar place. The remembrance made him smile.
"At least, I know now that a place where buying and selling occurs is a market, just like this."
Arion thought he should explore some things at the market, even when he wasn't going to buy anything.
He was penniless. He only ventured into the market to catch a glimpse of things.
But what he was seeing surpassed his usual expectations.
He didn't expect that kind of place to be beautiful; starry lights were hung around the walls, making the demon market a bit brighter than the other parts of the realm, balloons filled with lights hanging in front of each counter, and flowers were woven around the ground floor.
Seeing flowers made him stop in front of a counter, piquing his curiosity. "How could flowers grow in the demon realm?"
The situation was clear. There was no sunlight in the realm, and other climatic elements such as rainfall would also be absent. Even if there was rainfall, the volume would be slight, directed to the kings' palaces. How could flowers grow in the absence of light and rainfall?
"Mister, are you curious about something?" A man in front of whose counter Arion stood lingered in, his radiant smile shining at Arion's face that he couldn't ignore.
The man had curly hair and a long black cloth like the one Arion put on.
Arion said his curiosity lay in how flowers were able to grow in that realm.
The man replied, still smiling, "It is all thanks to Princess Amara; because of her magic, plants are able to grow in different places."
"So she's a good-hearted princess?" He remembered that the princess was also at the Bloodstream Cave. Then looking at the man's counter, he saw different kinds of jewelry, some of which were made of crystals.
A necklace, made of a jade pendant, overwhelmed him. He was strangely drawn to that object and began to crave it, even though he didn't have money. But he just asked the man, "Can you help me with that jade necklace?"
A hint of pleasure played on the man's face, and he quickly gave it to the young man. Arion looked at the necklace better.
The more he looked, the greater his desire to own it. The pendant was oval, and the jade was colored in blue.
Although he didn't have the money to pay for it, he believed his incredible ability would generate a medium of exchange for the necklace. He asked the man, holding the necklace up, "Do I get to have this for free if I perform an overwhelming magic for you?"
A hint of jest became evident on the man's face. He smirked, "Come off it, young man. Even a young child knows how to cast spells in this world, so what can be overwhelming about it? You've got to leave if you can't afford the price — forty thousand stones. The high price is because it is a soul necklace; as long as two people have it on, they can connect with each other and know each other's whereabouts. It is precious, so it cannot be given for free."
The man added seriously, "Life is all about give and take. If you don't give, there is no way you can take. Desire comes first but is surpassed by capability — one can desire something, but it depends on how capable one is to acquire what one desires. Wise note, young man."
Nevertheless, Arion's desire to get the necklace was still high.
He had never been drawn to something like that ever before. He thought, while looking at the necklace, "I have someone I can share it with. She's the only person that cares about my whereabouts."
Arion faced the man. Then he snapped his fingers, making time stop; all activities in the market paused as every person remained stagnant.
Air seized and even lightning froze in the sky.
"I have no other choice. Forgive me, old man," he said, then took another necklace with a red pendant.
He walked far away from the counter and afterwards, snapped his fingers again and time resumed.
The noise continued.
"Hey? Where's the young man that's just in front of me?"
Arion chuckled at the surprised expressions of the people who hadn't noticed the time stop. They believed they had merely lost a few seconds. However, the man who sold the necklace was still agitated.
"Everybody, freeze! Anyone that moves would be marked suspicious and be arrested. So comply with the instruction to stay in one place, as we are going to begin our inspection."
A masculine voice loudened in the entire market, and in the next second, soldiers circled the surroundings. No one was told to move, and the market became as silent as a graveyard thereafter.
"An assassin murdered the Silver King, and we believe the person is among all of us here," the general said, and noise continued again.
Everyone was shocked that the king was murdered, except one person.
The general continued, silence prevailed again, "It's advisable for you, who is the murderer, not to try to escape. However, whether you move or not, we are going to identify now, as a special artifact has been brought, and it will help in identifying you if you are stained by the king's blood."
Tension spread across the place. There were so many questions; one was "Who is the person amidst us?" Another was, "Would the assassin be killed right away after being identified?"
Arion glanced around and realized everyone was anticipating who the assassin would turn out to be. He felt heat envelope his body, and he gritted his teeth.
"I am personally grateful to the person who killed the Silver King," an old man using a walking support said, and Arion glanced in surprise at him. The man continued, "We have all been enslaved by him. Now, I am thankful that my children would live a better life under a better king. Young man, if you get the chance to get near the assassin before being executed, tell him some people appreciate him for what he has done."
Arion understood what the man meant. The man didn't mention that he would enjoy the reign of a new king because he knew his time was limited.
Arion imagined what the man would have done if he knew he was the assassin?
A golden metallic sculpture of a ball resting on a long stand was brought into view by the military.
The demon general activated a black magic in his palm, then transferred it to the golden artifact.
As the magic passed through the cores of the ball, the whole figure began to blaze with that power, and a tiger was formed at the front.
The tiger was like the black fumes created by the general and just formed the figure of a fierce creature.
Its eyes burned with pure flame, and its roar was as fierce as what a real tiger would produce. It seemed to have been in one position, glaring here and there at the people curled in fear, because the general had not fully dispelled his magic; upon the moment he released it, the tiger stumbled forward at a great speed.
It looked fiercely here and there, looking for a prey amidst the people standing before it.
"Look at those fiery eyes. I can't stand them!"
"Do you believe the king is truly dead, or this is a way of killing us all by using this godforsaken tiger?"
The nervous men and women shared different opinions, while the brave ones were silent, although afraid of the tiger as well.
Arion hid at the back of the old man. His eyes were set on the distant tiger illusion. His heart raced. He felt a great urge to leave the scene as soon as possible, but he couldn't, being aware of the consequences.
Then he shifted his gaze to his right side, noticing a woman looking at him. The woman seemed to belong to the easily-scared class as well as a talkative.
Despite the fact that their eyes met, the woman didn't shift her gaze.
"Why would you have hidden behind the man if you have no hidden motive?" The woman questioned Arion.
Without giving him a chance to talk, the woman screamed out loudly that she had identified the assassin, pointing at Arion. The tension in everyone's heart rose, and all eyes were on him.
People moved away from him, except for the old man who was nonchalant despite the awareness that the assassin was standing behind him.
Arion could have sworn his eyes locked with the tiger's, and he was able to sense the beast's next move.
"Move away from the front, old man! The beast would be heading this way very soon!" Arion pleaded with the man in a low tone.
But the man never replied.
The tiger saw a uniform color on every person it looked at, except for Arion. It saw a red color on him, unlike the white color on others.
That was how it identified the assassin, placing its legs at the front, it was on the get-go to descend on him.
Arion looked at the man in panic and urged him to move away, "The tiger would hurt you at this rate! You have to get away from my front!" But the man was still adamant.
In an instant, he heard the sound of swords, and he saw all the soldiers pointing their swords at him. Not only was the tiger a threat now, but also the soldiers.
"You may be mistaken as my accomplice!"
The man sighed and said, "This is the minimum I can do for my helper. I don't care why you had to get your hands in the death of the king; however, I am grateful to you. I will protect you."
Arion thought this old man was not in his right state anymore. How could he thank him for killing their king? Why was he ready to take the tiger attack for him? Why would he want to save an assassin?!
The demon general ordered the soldiers to prepare to attack the identified killer.
His heart raced, looking at the blood-craving swords in the soldiers' hands and the sharp fangs of the tiger. He believed he was caught up finally. He mumbled, "This is a pretty end for me! I can't escape it!"
In a sudden, the tiger jumped into the air and descended towards Arion. His heartbeat rose, and he felt a potential threat to his life.
He would be put in shackles for the rest of his life. He wouldn't have freedom of movement, his magic would probably be restricted, and he might never get to see the sun again.
Meanwhile, he realized the most important thing was to make the old man safe, so he gripped his shoulders and shifted him out of the front with great force, and the man fell on the ground, about three meters away from him.
Then he said, raising his gaze to the tiger descending from the thin air, "You can have me now. I don't have any regrets about what I did. I only got revenge for myself and innocent people."
His words got carried along by the breeze to eternal lifetime.
The tiger's claws were poised to strike, its fangs mere inches from Arion's face. He closed his eyes, accepting his fate with a deep sigh.
But then, out of nowhere, a blue magical mist, resembling water droplets, erupted in the sky above him.
Unbeknownst to Arion, this magical mist created a wide, watery portal where a hand gripped his shoulder and lifted him off the ground. The tiger lunged but found only thin air.
Arion gently opened his eyes as he felt the grip on his shoulders. He saw the man who had controlled the demon soldiers, the crowd stunned into silence.
He was high above the ground surface, held by a soft-textured hand extending from the portal at the tip of his head. Within moments, he was drawn into the portal, disappearing from the market as it closed.
"The assassination of the Silver King was well planned," the demon general said in astonishment. "This poses a great threat to the demon king himself."
A soldier whispered to the general, informing him that the demon princess was missing from the market.
The general grew suspicious and wondered where she could be.
Arion found himself on a rocky grassland, his body aching from the sudden drop. He quickly got to his feet, trying to make sense of his surroundings.
And then, to his amazement, he saw Liora, dressed in an armor-like attire.
"Liora?!" Arion exclaimed, shocked that she was the one who had saved him.
Hearing her name from his mouth sounded strange for a moment. Later, she realized it was because he had never addressed her by name before.
"How come you are...?" Arion was still in shock, wondering how Liora had been the one to rescue him, considering he was tagged as a murderer.
"Does that matter more than thanking me for saving your ass?" Liora responded, letting out a faint smile.
"Probably, you... found out about it? Why... I was surrounded by them?" Arion struggled to find the right words to express his situation. He hoped that Liora wasn't aware of his predicament.
"No," Liora shook her head, her joy evident as she gave him this assurance. Liora spoke in a friendly tone, "Pay me back, Arion," as she extended her hand toward him.
Arion, still somewhat suspicious of her sudden friendliness, asked, "What's with your friendly tone now?"
Liora shrugged and explained, "I just feel more comfortable this way. After all, I risked my life to save you, so it's only fair that I get something in return."
Arion smiled, understanding the significance of the jewelry seller's earlier statement about life being about give and take. He mumbled with a smile, "So life is truly about give and take?"
Arion then instructed Liora to close her eyes. She didn't expect him to take her request seriously, thinking it was just a joke. Curiosity brimming, she closed her eyes, awaiting what he had in mind.
Following her compliance, Arion used his magic to produce the soul jade necklaces. He then asked her to open her eyes, and her surprise was evident when she saw the necklaces.
"Don't tell me you bought these. The jade necklaces would be very expensive, and you didn't have any money on you. How did you manage to purchase them?" Liora inquired.
Arion, a bit embarrassed, replied, "I had my own way." He went on to explain, "These are soul jade necklaces. I got two because... initially, I was thinking of sharing....one with... you....you, yeah. I was told the necklace has the ability to connect the souls of two people, allowing them to find each other from anywhere."
Liora smiled inwardly, sensing his indirect message that she could use the necklace to find him anytime.
Arion continued, "We can have them one by one. I'll pick first."
He selected the one with a red pendant and held out the other necklace to Liora, who accepted it with a grin.
"Take the soul jade necklace... as my heartfelt gift," Arion said, though he felt a bit awkward, fearing she might misconstrue his intentions.
Liora chimed in, "Don't worry, Arion. I'll cherish it."
Just at that moment, Arion realized the gravity of his situation. Nevertheless, he had made up his mind to start enjoying life from this point on. He understood that his life was about to undergo a significant transformation, beginning with learning how to interact with people, and Liora was his starting point.
Arion, who had never taken the time to examine women, found himself dumbfounded by the beauty of the woman before him. He couldn't help but admire her curly long hair and the grace of her jawline.
Just as the moment took a romantic turn, the atmosphere shifted drastically.
The demon soldiers surrounded them, and the general appeared in the circle, his sword blazing with purple magic. Archers within the soldiers took the front row, preparing to shoot on command.
Meanwhile, Liora had wanted to tell Arion about having a dream of him confronting her father earlier. However, she just lost the chance.
"Kill them both!" The general commanded, and their lives hung in the balance.
"What the f*ck is this! How could they be so fast to catch up with us?!" Arion exclaimed inwardly.