Sleeping on the couch was certainly not a pleasant experience. Wooden frame with thin cushions are a lot to be desired. Still, beats sleeping on solid ground indefinitely. The amount of times I had to sleep on the ground with nothing but grasses and stones is not something I wished to relive again. It hurts my back after a couple of times.
It was close to dawn now and I was partially asleep. Think of it as though your eyes are closed, your brain is still aware of the things happening around you. I heard someone opening a door and was walking about. Maybe one of them wanted a glass of water or something. I'll just keep my eyes shut and perhaps get some more proper sleep. But something unexpected happened. I felt the cushions around me getting depressed. Is— someone creeping on the cushions that I am sleeping on? Is it Lily? I told her we shouldn't be doing anything naughty after that one time. I really want to focus on settling my problem before engaging in any relationship or one-night stands.
I opened my eyes and was expecting to push Lily away but I was shocked by who it was. In front of me was Rose staring at me directly. Is she— wearing glasses?! And what the hell is she wearing?? Her matured body with those sexy clothings and long hair are definitely making my little brother react. Calm down you moron, CALM DOWN!
"Rose, what are you doing? Why are you wearing glasses and— those clothes?" I asked her softly so as to not raise a ruckus.
"It is one of your fetish, isn't it? You told me that you loved me before you left the city. But then you went and slept with Lily after that. And now you told me that you love both of us. What are you trying to do to me, Onii-chan?" she whispered to me.
"What do you mean? I really do love you, Rose. But now is not the right time to be dating with either of you," I said softly.
"That's not fair to me or Lily. We can't be waiting for you forever. I had turned down so many other guys that approached me because I told myself that you will might come back for me. Yet— you went and sleet with her. Why am I such a fool? Why did I fool myself that I stood a chance?" tears started flowing from her eyes.
I used my fingers to wipe her tears and placed my hand on her left cheek.
"You're right. I am selfish indeed. I should had stopped it from happening. I am so sorry, Rose. I really am," I apologised to her.
"No— you're not. You had your fun and yet you still didn't have the guts to choose her. I had already resigned to the fact that you will choose her over me. Yet you remained indecisive even after four years!" she shouted.
She was getting louder now. I placed my finger on her lips to remind her to be quiet. Out of nowhere, she started to lick my finger. What the hell is she doing?!
"Rose, stop that," I pulled my finger away.
"No, I won't. Lily had her fun, I want mine too. Give me something for making me wait so long," she pouted.
"You— want me to sleep with you? Are you for real?" my mouth flung opened.
"Maybe not to that extend. Maybe— just.. a kiss" she moved her face closer as she finished her sentence.
I never thought there would be a day that I would kiss my own little sister. I'm sure you would be screaming 'INCEST!' but we're not blood-related in any way possible. She was just a little girl that I happened to save that fateful night.
We moved our way to her room where we did a little bit more than kissing but I stopped myself from going too far. Perhaps Rose was wanting for more but I didn't wish to repeat what had happened with Lily. I'm so glad Rose did not forcefully jumped on me, unlike Lily.
I gave her another passionate kiss before I headed out of her room. I'll be cooking breakfast for today as I'm fairly confident with my cooking skills now. A proper meal is sorely needed before heading off to an important guild council meeting that will be held later.
***
I cooked a decent meal for breakfast. Lily was never an early riser which I only found out after being with her for two years. She came out of my room with messy hair and sleepy eyes. It was not until Rose pointed out to her that she fully realised she was awake and rushed into the washroom to get herself ready.
I sat on the couch as we waited for Lily to get to get herself done. Rose was sitting on the dining chair playing with her long hair. I'm surprised that she was willing to outgrow her hair as she had always kept it at shoulder length. Perhaps she wanted to look more matured by keeping it longer.
Q appeared from the floor to deliver the papers. How long has it been since I last saw him. Ever since I left City Of Pines, he had been delivering them to Rose instead. Time to give him a belly rub after such a long time. Rose came over to take the papers while I was busy giving Q his belly rub. So soft and chubby~
"Rose, when are you going to remove your glasses. I think you had your fun by now?" I asked her.
"If it bothers you that much then how about you remove them yourself?" she replied. What the? Is she being spoiled right now? Someone is in need for some little spanking.
I approached her as she pointed her face at me. As I removed her glasses, her eyes was practically sparkling staring at me. I knew what that meant. I moved closer but gave her a peck on her cheek instead. No reward for spoiled brat.
Just then, Lily came out of the washroom after putting her face on. It's always amazing what females can do with time and some makeup. As I was planning to set the table seeing that Lily was done, Rose yanked my hand, grab my cheeks and kissed me directly on the lips.
I was caught unaware and it took me a few seconds for my brain to register before I pushed her back with a "What the hell?!". She then turned her gaze to Lily and said "Now we're even". Lily just sighed. What the hell is going on with these two?
I squinted as I alternated my gaze between both of them. I need to set some ground rules moving forward.
"No more kissing or doing anything naughty with me until I resolved everything that needs to be done," I announced to both of them.
"Bold of you to assume that we're part of your harem, Onii-chan," she flipped her hair.
"Who was the bloody one who kissed me out of the blue a few seconds ago?" I squinted at her.
"Alright, you two naughty siblings, let's eat," sighed Lily. I was surprised she was acting so calmly. Almost like a mother. Wait, she's not, is she?
We finally sat down and ate our breakfast. It was surreal that I received praise for the meal I cooked. According to Rose, it was a huge improvement from what she ate last time. I certainly had been polishing my cooking skills during my time with the elves and at the Eastern continent. Lily had been eating my cooked meals for two years so all she said was "it's good as always". She was lucky that she wasn't my guinea pig in the early days.
I took the opportunity to tutor them about what Peter Borage had taught me about the effects of using different State of Minds. It would appear that Sladar had merely just glanced over that topic. Focused State of Mind AKA Concentrationincreases one's spell intensity. It also increases all your stats by about five to ten depending on how efficient you use it. This is what they call as the imperfect version.
The perfect version, on the other hand, is where you are able to force an enemy to target specifically you. It is similar to the Taunt spell but that one is short-ranged and targets the enemies around you making them lose control over themselves. The perfect version, sadly gives you less stats and spell intensity in exchange for forcing an enemy to target you. It's not foolproof though as enemies with stronger minds can counteract that effect. The beauty about Concentration is that it only affects one target and not your immediate surrounding, unlike using Higher or Absolute State of Mind. While you canconstantly alternate your Concentration between a few targets, at that point it would be better to just use the imperfect version when fighting against a crowd of enemies so as to maximise your stats.
Moving on to Higher State of Mind. Similar to using Concentration, both aggressive and passive path increases the spell's power intensity and stats to a higher degree. However, Bloodlust negatively impacts your surrounding enemies, causing them to enter a frenzy state. Focused Meditation, on other hand, affects the surrounding allies by calming their minds. While it doesn't really sound like much, a calm mind is actually more effective in combat over a rash one. Unless you're a demon.
Lastly, and perhaps the most unexplored one, is Absolute State of Mind. According to Peter, if it wasn't for Ivy Moonshine fighting alongside the opposing force, everyone would had been succumbed to the Demon King's Blood Rage. That state drastically increases the intensity of frenzy while also giving a minor Bloodlust effect to other demons. Such is the intensity of his Blood Rage to even affect two members of the Four Great Powers. From what Ivy explained to him, Effortless Meditation does indeed calm the minds of all the allies but with an extra twist, any surrounding allies receives a buff that is similar to using imperfect Concentration. This gives the opposing forces some extra edge in winning the war. She had spent centuries perfecting her Effortless Meditation that she can constantly use it without straining her mind. Think of it as though her body is so adapted to combat that it moves automatically without even needing to think.
Everything explained thus far can be countered, if you have stronger willpower and mental fortitude. Easier said than done but that's just the way it is. Which is why I am thankful that Peter was willingly teach me on how to use both perfect and imperfect version of Concentration. Sadly though, I'm still not able to use any Higher State of Mind. Peter was indeed surprised that I'm able to use both path. It was certainly unheard of but he was willing to teach me on how both ways worked. All that's left is how I unlock it myself.
Rose took over and told her side of the story. She mentioned that she had been trying to learn it on her own but was unsuccessful. She didn't have any tutor to guide her on how to even begin. Lily, on the other hand, had only managed to learn the imperfect version during the time we spent in the elven forest. Strangely though, she had never managed to defeat me in sparring combat even though both of us were using imperfect Concentration. She said that my speed was ridiculously too fast for her to follow. She regretted in not being able to follow me to the East but she had things she needed to do in the City Of Pines. A certain someone had tasked her with a couple of important errands to set things in motion for my plans. I made sure to thank her properly for it.
Rose wanted to ask what the plan was but I told her that since the discussion will be held later, there was not point in discussing it twice. Well, guess it's time for us to depart. It meeting place was located in a hidden basement in one of the West building at the edge close to the wall. This secret hideout had been serving all the guilds whenever there were— questionable things to discuss.
***
We arrived at the hideout as we hid our identities. Rose and Lily was covering themselves with a normal leather cloak while I had my beautiful red dragonhide cloak that was gifted to me by none other than Peter himself. Soaked in black, of course. He was absolutely fond of my parents and cared for me like his own child. Warm, loving and caring is what I would describe Peter as, despite him being number three in the Four Great Powers.
Come to think of it, I still have my green dragonhide cloak with me. Perhaps I should give it to Lily or Rose after deciding who I wished to date. Provided any of them still wishes to date me after I'm done with my revenge plot.
No wait, hang on a minute, I should pass it to Lily instead as she always wear that ridiculous outfit that exposes her belly and thighs. She said that it provides her with better mobility and less movement restriction but I told her that it exposes her to fatal injuries as well. Will have to find the right opportunity to pass it to her, without Rose knowing.
"Brother, it's been a while," said John as he gave me a bro hug.
"Awfully fit now, aren't you, brother? What crazy workout did you undergo to achieve this?" I asked as I returned his hug.
"The brutal kind, I assure you. Not to mention it was absolutely necessary if I wished to use Bloodlust properly. I cannot even begin to tell you how hard it is to control that amount of power and ensuring that you don't enrage your allies instead. Humans are not meant to have such power I tell ya," he explained to me.
I gave him a pat him in the back and told him that he's the strongest among us now. He denied it and said that I'm still the owner of that title. Even using Bloodlust, he was still not strong enough to break through the Underwater Dragon King's scales. I'm still the only one who could actually do it.
Perhaps his new axe will change that for him. His axe is one of the few legendary weapons that he had the privilege of choosing from the Viking's secret vault. Surprisingly, he opted for a one-handed axe unlike his previous two-handed one. But his new axe is certainly something to envy about. Covered with shiny gold and silver plate and forged using the scales of a legendary sea-serpent. That weapon is certainly a sight to behold. I asked John the name of his new weapon and he mentioned that it's called the Colossal Axe. Hm, I wonder if it has the same capabilities of a certain flying hammer.
"You're here, Zen. Let us begin. I am certainly intrigued by what you had done so far with your plans," said the Dark Lord.
I walked up to him and gave him an unsuspected hug. He was taken aback by my sudden action but returned a couple of pats on my back. Despite his scary look, this man was the sole reason as to why and how we managed to escape from the castle so easily on that fateful night. He was the one whole initiated the escape plans in the event that my last name was ever exposed. With all the help from the other guildmasters, he personally handpicked the best members to sneak into the castle and which route was the best to escape from.
It certainly took me some time to finally figure out who it was who planned it but to think that he's the one who made those plans. Didn't even realised he cared about me so much.
"I've read what you showed us thus far. I'll say, this is a very interesting report that you had showed us. Glad to see that you didn't let your feelings cloud your judgments," said the Paladin Lord.
All the guildmasters are here, save for one. The one who had the highest possibility in exposing my family name to the Queen. The Dragon Lord, who suspiciously started serving under the Queen a few days right after my name was exposed. According to the other guildmasters, the Dragon Lord had never showed any interest in serving the Queen before. Some foul play must be at work for such a drastic change in the Dragon Lord. Thankfully, for some reason he did not exposed the escape plan to the Queen which doesn't seems to make sense.
There were plenty of lookouts and guards surrounding this building to ensure that the Dragon Lord does not invade or place his spies in this secret meeting. Only trusted members are allowed to even enter here.
I spent the last four years in uncovering everything that I needed to know. From the histories on what the Hawthorn bloodlines did before, to the reasons as to why the Queen hated the Hawthorns in the first place. Was there some sort of trigger or turning point that caused all these to happen?
My enquiries about my bloodline went from the elves to the Eastern continent. Was there any atrocities the Hawthorns did that could incur the Queen to take such drastic measures in the first place. None of them had the answers for it. Even Peter himself was furious about the Queen's sudden verdict and action to commit genocide on the Hawthorn bloodline.
The Queen had planned everything ahead while keeping her agenda a secret. On the day of the announcement, many Hawthorn families were dead before the news even reached the Eastern continent. As the Hawthorns were mostly nobles, most of them lived inside the city. Only those who lived outside managed to escape, but there was too little of them. Today, only a handful of Hawthorn family remained in the Eastern continent. And by handful, it can be counted with a single hand in total.
When the news first came, he immediately ordered his men to rescue as many Hawthorn families as he could. Sadly, most of them lived on the Western continent. When the order was executed, there was nothing much Peter could do when he was in the other continent. It was a complete unexpected news when he heard of a Hawthorn still alive years after that incident, he was amazed at the fact that I managed to keep myself alive and kicking without getting caught. Not to mention the son of the war hero himself.
Furious by such a world changing event, Peter personally marched to the castle and demanded to know why the Hawthorns deserved such a verdict when they were heroes in everyone's eyes. The Queen said that the Hawthorn bloodline had long been doing corruptions and atrocities to other families. In order to celebrate a new era after the war ended where there is only joy and happiness, bad weeds must be exterminated. She also pointed out that the only deserving hero in the Hawthorn family was Jack while the others are schemers, rapists or criminal masterminds. In order to ensure that Jack's glory is retained throughout history instead of being overwritten by any criminal acts from the other family members, it would be better to eliminate them before that occurs.
Peter was taken aback by such a verdict. While it was true that the Hawthorn families were not exactly perfect and some of her accusations were not without its merit; but to execute an order on the entire extermination of the Hawthorn bloodline is just unthinkable.
Peter very nearly declared war with the Queen that day but his advisors stopped him from doing so. To incite another war right after the Demon War will not only incur more deaths but both cities will never be able to find peace and will forever be at odds with each other.
So, what am I suppose to do with all these information? So far, what I know is that the Queen had committed genocide based on a rash decision. There must be more to this story than meets the eye. Peter thought the same and did some investigation on why the Queen behaved this way. She had never ordered her soldiers to commit such a drastic massacre in her entire life, nor did any of her predecessors for that matter. The Queen had always been known for her kind and gentle nature but immediately after the Demon War, her attitude turned a 180.
There can be only one thing, an impostor had replaced the Queen. Such atrocity should be ejected into the void. But no matter how much investigation he conducted, there was no evidence that she had been replaced or anything. Even an "accident" in spilling a face removal solution on her face yielded no result.
But one strange information was that the Queen never seemed to age at all. She revealed to the public that she had elven blood running in her veins. This aroused suspicion as there was no evidence or record that her family bloodline had married or had any relationship with the elves. The royal bloodline had always been pure and only pure human royalties can even dream of asking a hand in marriage with the princesses. Can the Queen be the result of a hush-hush relationship between the previous King and an elf?
Either way, Peter is certainly willing to wage war with the Queen seeing as the hero's son was almost killed by her orders. This completely contradicts her remark that Jack was supposedly the hero in her eyes. Here is the direct bloodline of Jack himself, yet she still declared me as a traitor. But that's not the sole reason as to why Peter wishes to overthrow the Queen of City Of Pines.
The city had always been a thorn in the City of Heliotrope Ixia. Always demanding for unreasonable trading prices, secretly ordering bandits to intercept high value commodities or people and demanding ransom from City of Heliotrope Ixia. While this does not mean that the Queen is involved, the odds of normal bandits or thieves knowing the exact location and day of those events taking place are just too low. Yet, it has been happening too frequently for the past couple of years. All these events adds up and the city's economy has been going downhill due to the unreasonable demands from the West.
The Eastern continent does not have fertile lands hence it was extremely dependent on the West for a lot of their food supplies. What they do have are minerals or valuable materials that can be used for trading. It used to be sufficient enough as the City Of Pines was never as demanding before. It had always been fair trade since the founding of both continents. Imagine a ship full of fresh goods and only costing a barrel of valuable minerals. Now, it requires up to five barrels just to have a ship with half of fresh goods. It is certainly not inflation but downright greed. City of Heliotrope Ixia would not last another decade if this goes on.
Alright, so I have the entire might of City of Heliotrope Ixia behind my back. Who else can I depend on for backup if we were wage war with the City Of Pines?
Peter and Lily requested an audience to meet with the elves. Ivy Moonshine to be specific. However, she was not in this realm. Another high ranking Moonshine took upon her role to discuss the possibility of going to war with the City Of Pines.
The elves were not keen in waging war with the humans. Elves had always preferred peace over conflict. But after days of discussion and persuasion, a few of the elven families were willing to help out. Peter was disappointed that the elves were not willing to provide more help. If Ivy was here, she would had said yes immediately. The bond between the Three Great Powers were thicker than blood. The three of them fought together for many years whenever there was a threat too great for anyone else to handle.
Alright, seems like I have enough fighting force to wage war. But I needed something more. Some kind of damning evidence that is deserving to wage war with the Queen and not just based on a grudge. While what she did to the Hawthorn bloodline was downright terrible, I was not there to experience it. I am not so noble as to declare war just because I am a Hawthorn myself. The only thing she did was kicked me out of City Of Pines and exiled me. I shouldn't declare war just because of that, right? People's lives will be at stake.
I discussed with Peter about the possibility that the Queen might not be who she seemed. Can it be some mythical being or something had replaced the Queen after the Demon War? I brought up the idea that the Underwater Dragon King was capable of shapeshifting into a human. Peter seemed intrigued by the idea. But it would be much harder for us to uncover such a secret as opposed to a face mask. Years of planning and insider information is sorely needed to uncover it.
We don't have years to dig out such a possibility. I need to find a way to gather information quickly. Not sure why, but I had a hunch that Sladar might know something. One thing I know about Sladar is that he's ridiculously resourceful and his information gathering are second to none. A letter was sent to the Northern continent to request for Sladar to visit the East for a meeting. Within a week, Sladar arrived.
I was genuinely surprised when the both of them gave each other a bro hug after they were away from prying eyes. Seems like the only outcast within the Four Great Powers is the Fourth member. Perhaps if I'm able to kill Tom then I'll be able to take over his title. One can only dream.
***
Our conversation started by asking Sladar on whether he had heard or happened to uncover any secrets about the City Of Pines. Surprisingly, he brought up an incident that stuck in his head for a long time. While it was common for the West to do some trading with the two towns of the Northern continent, however, both towns was located on south east and west of the continent. Once in a blue moon, a ship from the West would sail to the northern part of the Northern continent. There is absolutely nothing noteworthy there for the ship to set sail there, except for demons. Sladar once tracked that ship and was surprised to see a few reptilians disembarking from the ship.
He tried to tail them but they disappeared without a trace. He waited for them to return but it was demons who boarded the ship instead. How strange as the ship was supposed to be heading back to the West directly. There is no way those demons will survive upon disembarking at the port. There are elite soldiers and adventurers stationed 24/7 there. Unless, they had figured the ability to shape-shift.
That would be grave news indeed if that was the case. Not only will that be a wake-up call to all the continents, you cannot even distinguish who is a demon in disguise. Sadly though, there is not enough solid evidence to support this theory. But the fact remains that demons are sailing towards an unknown destination.
Peter was surprised at the fact that Sladar did not informed anyone about this. This would have warrant a major investigation from all the major continents if they were capable of shape-shifting. However, Sladar had no evidence to support this. It is just his theory and nothing else.
Alright, how do we go about to investigate this? Simple, we assign someone at either ports in the Western continent and monitor it for any unusual departure. Mainly reptilians that are going towards the Northern continent. Highly doubt anyone will be able to use the elven port located at the elven forest when only elves uses it. After that is done, send a ship that is built for fast sailing towards the Northern continent town and release a firework to warn Sladar that a ship will be going towards the northern side. Sladar will then confront the reptilians and question them on why they chose to disembark in the middle of nowhere. What Sladar chooses to do after that, I'll leave it to him.
The plan took almost no time at all to sort out. The problem was waiting for that secret ship. A slip of the tongue from anyone can cause the whole plan to fail or perhaps, that ship no longer existed. We were all waiting for the plan to fail at a moment's notice. Days turned to weeks and eventually months. I was closed to calling off the plan as more than half a year had passed without any news whatsoever. So much for looking for solid evidence.
With a stroke of luck, news finally came eight months after the plan first initiated. Sladar came to deliver the news himself. He informed us on his shocking discovery. Upon confronting the reptilians on that mysterious ship, they immediately attacked him. They rushed at him with the intend to kill. He had no choice but to eliminate all of them even though it left a horrible feeling for him. He had never killed a member of his own race before. However, upon the death of the reptilians, their bodies started to morph into the shape of a demon. A very unusual demons, he highlighted. Never before had he seen such slim looking demons that does not have wings nor elongated arms, but have twisted face and flexible bodies.
He scoured the ship for any information whatsoever but there was barely any paperwork or records on-board, save for one. The scroll was written in a foreign language that even Sladar didn't understand. However, one thing was clear. At the bottom of the scroll was the signature and stamp of the Queen.
Finally! A fucking jackpot that I've been looking for. An evidence that proofed the Queen is in cahoots with the demons in some way. Whether she's a demon in disguise or serving them, we will only know after we confronted her.
I handed the scroll in question to all the guildmasters in the room and all of them inspected it. The reports they were reading was from Peter Borage himself. Now we have an evidence from Sladar l in our hands. Two of the Four Great Powers have vouched on this along with their signatures.
Under normal circumstances, we would had brought this to the board of councils as evidence that the Queen is in cohort with the demons. However, we do not even know who are in disguised in the first place. The diplomatic way will not bring us the results that we desire.
Assuming we were to approach the peaceful proper route, perhaps the Queen might be arrested. But there is a high possibility that the Queen can just end up morphing into someone else and escape. Perhaps the guard that arrests her are demons themselves. Too many possibilities of her escaping which we cannot afford. Declaring war ensures that she will remain in power until her defeat.
What we will be doing is to declare war with the Queen first. This is after we bribe or 'persuade' some soldiers to leave the city or abandon their post. These soldiers will be tasked with helping civilians to flee the city instead. Those that remained loyal to the Queen, we will have to consider them as casualties of war. The guilds will also be doing their best to lead civilians to safety.
We are certain any demons in disguised will protect the Queen so as to not foil their long term plan, whatever that may be. We will also assign spies to ensure the Queen does not escape during the midst of war. Perhaps some demons mightescape but those cowards will be slain by their own Demon brethren in the end. Cowardice is never something tolerated by the demon race.
All of these will be taking place on the same day. This is to minimise any of the potential disguised soldiers from informing the Queen in advance. I will be personally declare war with the Queen myself while the others will handle the tasks assigned to them. By doing this, I will paint myself as the main instigator for this war. I do not want the City of Heliotrope Ixia or the elves to be blamed for this war. Everything is in place now. No turning back now.
"Your plan seems solid. But there's one thing, how are you going to escape from the castle? I doubt you can pull off the same stunt that the Dark Lord had planned before. You will need to find a way to escape on your own. Are you able to do that? Do not forget, you are the one pulling all the strings for this war. It would be for naught if you end up getting caught so early," explained the Elementalist.
"Yes, I am aware of the dangers but I am no longer the same Shadow Knight that you once knew. I am fairly certain that I'll be able to escape the castle. You don't have to worry about that," I said to him.
"Very well, I hope your confidence will be reflected in all of us. I'm in favour of this plan. While inciting a war is notsomething that us guildmasters should be doing, I certainly do not wish to serve under a Queen who could potentially be a demon, or serving under them," the Elementalist said.
"Count me in, I've never liked the Queen anyway. I'll consider this an opportunity for me to have some fun trashing the throne room," John shrugged.
"I'm in favour as well. I suspected something was wrong when the Queen acted so differently right after the war. To think she might actually be a demon in disguise. What say you Dark Lord? Your most favourite member is about to start a war. Do you wish to support him?" asked the Paladin Lord.
"If I'm not then I won't be in this meeting. Zen Hawthorn, you are the mastermind in this war. All the potential deaths and suffering will lie in your hands. Act wisely and make the Dark Guild proud. Make me proud," said the Dark Lord after he gave some thought.
I felt touched upon hearing his words. I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. I bowed and saluted him with all my respect.
"Thank you, all of you for your support. I will forever be grateful for all your help. With this, let us commence with the potential second Demon War. I hope everyone is ready," I smirked.