I started leaving Rose plants in specific areas around the capital, since in this way we would detect the demons, demonic slaves, working as an information network facilitating our continuous travel around the empire.
It has been about 3 weeks since I freed Celeste from the demons, she has practically had to do many administrative tasks with her officials, 3 times a week she is made to change into Linda to have fun with me, Ruby, Moly, Celeste around the empire. Currently by absorbing Rose's elixirs I have increased my levels from 15 to 20, making me look like a 15 year old boy of 180cm tall, 85 kilograms of perfectly defined muscles.
When we went out, Moly and Ruby, who looked the age corresponding to our age, caused some discomfort when people saw us walking around. Celeste wore a mask that we took from the demons to camouflage herself since she was a well-known figure. We had a few love sections in those days before sending her home exchanging her for Linda.
Due to all the massive robberies we did to criminal organizations, I ended up investing everything in Devora which made many territories in the city where certain mafias or clandestine businesses were, belong to them, turning them into commercial areas that would generate income for me in the future. The work of eliminating criminals and demons was wonderful in rewards.
-------------------------
I was drinking latte, listening to rock music and reading the available World Hunter quests from the inn. In these months, my combat experiences and application of [Shadow Mastery], [Sublime Strengthening] and [Abyss] mainly improved. In a certain sense, it is not bad at all, especially Rose would evolve in a few months into Devouring Queen, a 7-star humanoid monster, gold class.
But I feel that I have been stuck personally as a hunter, as I usually say, I found people weaker than me, which I appreciate in order to lighten my work. But developing as a hunter to intimidate the weak was not something that provoked me. That empress taught me directly how easily she could finish me off with a simple, direct and clear movement of her finger. That feeling of helplessness, weakness and misery that someone so powerful generates is so repugnant to me, that I do not want to repeat it. I want to defeat that kind of people to prevent them from hurting me and my loved ones.
-Dante Black-
A kind of uniformed knight appeared before me.
-What's wrong with you?
-My mistress wishes to see you-
-Who is your mistress?
-The Empress Felicia Ferres-
Tich. Well, it's a chance to try out a variation of [Shadow Mastery - Shadow Clones] It consisted of creating an entire divine system and filling it with shadows and spiritual energy to control them over long distances.
-Lead the way-
------------------
In the imperial palace with that woman on her high throne in military clothes crossing her legs.
-Dante Black, welcome back to my palace-
-Hmmp-
I remain expressionless, looking down, feeling disgusted and repulsed in many ways. I only apply the knowledge of a book, keeping you submissive and servile, although I feel like I'm tearing myself apart inside.
-Dante invited you because I was interested in why you left those rare flowers around the empire-
-Looking for demons that could enter the capital-
-I'm sure it's not something more dangerous and questionable that can kill many in the process-
-I'm not interested in having a bounty on my head for causing genocides, only demons will have itching, allergic reactions and weakening due to pollen, after that it would only be actively hunting them-
-I understand, I'm going to have a party for my twins' 9th birthday, I would like you to be able to identify some demons among my guests in 5 days, for the party to take place-
-Ok, should I go as a guest or just observe from a distance? -
-You're cute in appearance, you can come as a guest; just buy yourself a suit; and just make sure to let me know who the demons or slaves are-
-Ok, I'll come in 5 days. Is there anything else you want to discuss or can I leave?
-I would like to know something-
-If I have the ability to answer you,
-Why did you send a shadow and not come personally?
-How did you find out?
-My senses are quite powerful-
-I know I have quite stealthy natural characteristics. How could you perceive it? I'm curious if you'd be so kind as to answer-
-When you reach a rank similar to mine, diamond, your perspectives of energy and the world are different. Perhaps you can deceive those who have ranks and levels close to yours, but it will be more difficult for you to escape the perception of higher ranks-
I'll keep that in mind-
-Answer my question: why did you send a shadow and not come personally?
-I was going to work as a hunter when the gentleman came to meet you; it would take away my morning travel time to get to the mission area, so I only sent the clone to find out the reasons for his call and go to work-
-Do you treat the call of the highest authority without so much respect or importance? That could offend me. The empress released pressure.
-Should I try to escape from the empire and leave her with the uncertainty that she has demons among her nobles?
She left the pressure looking at me.
-You are threatening me-
-No, I do not have that ability; not even if I fought, could I touch her, and she would only eliminate me with a breath. But I am not a cowardly, fearful, timid person, I suffer anxiety and nerves if I feel pressured by a figure like you, Escape is the best option, and decide to live abroad, looking for another identity where your influence cannot reach and your movement is limited, If it offends, you should bear it for the greater good and not a momentary whim.
-These rude brats, by chance, if I kill you, does it hurt you?
-It hurts me because I am connected to the shadow-
The empress lights her finger.
-Next time, learn to behave and respect authority-
-It really is a pain to deal with people of your caliber,I said, bored.
A ray of light flies through the brain. I was on a train heading to a rural town territory that was destroyed by a horde of rats and I received the painful mental shock of losing control of my shadow clone. It has a certain autonomy and a relatively long range until the divine energy in it runs out. However, I could use all my divine abilities on it, and under certain numerical conditions or relatively powerful enemies, it could be maintained for an acceptable period.
-Damn old woman, with how difficult and time it takes to make a damn clone, it's 30 damn days of hard work-
-The nobles are quite sensitive, master-Linda
-I don't doubt it-
Being close to that woman is quite annoying.
--------------
I arrived near the mission territory, getting off the train several kilometers before arriving. The rural community became desert hectares full of holes 1 to 2 meters in diameter that were connected to tunnels filled with thousands of giant field rats. Similar to those in the sewers, they are only less disgusting and edible because they are a relatively healthy product due to their organic diet and not garbage. Analyzing all the rats, there were about 10,000.
How do they maintain such a large number? -Cute
eating each other using cannibalism-
-Terrifying-
The field rats were a relatively terrifying horde; although they were 1 star monsters, levels ranging from 1 to 3 and bronze classes, practically their terrifying number is the problem capable of hunting powerful monsters and being a serious threat.
This mission has not been completed because it was relatively far from any civilization, The rats cannibalized each other; if that were not enough, the reward was miserable and it would take a specialized team of high-ranking hunters or a relatively large group to remove it. The community died as for someone to insist on completing it.
-Well, let's proceed to complete it-
The procedure was to cover the holes with a variant of [Shadow Mastery-Elemental Mastery], which consists of taking advantage of the properties of the darkness element to accumulate the elemental particles of a specific element to use its powers. It is a method that allows me to use other elements, partially limited to the absorbed particles, with only with 50% extra effort.
In that sense, I only created stone plugs that absorbed a high amount of these particles, leaving them around the 200 rat holes that were scattered around the field. Later, I leave a plug with a small gap.
-Dark, take charge of getting them out at a controlled level-
grooving Dark into the depths of the mine.
Dark grew his maximum size with each level he had; currently, he was about 20 m long and 5 m thick, He was a damn terrifying machine of fear with teeth, claws, and sharp horns with the presence of an emperor of monsters. All the rats were paralyzed without being able to move and Dark only had to growl a little, making the rats go to the only available exit.
-KIKIKI-
The earth trembled with the army of rats coming at maximum speed, Coming out of the small plug was only easy prey for me, and with my current power, it was possible to defeat it with a well-placed blow in a vital area. As the rats were leaving, a pile of corpses was gathering, although my body has great efficiency, effectiveness and physical and energetic performance. It was certainly very tiring when you're already going for about 1,000 rats.
I released a clone and this clone, controlled by Linda, applied her divine powers, releasing clones of Linda like whips of roses, cutting off the heads of the rats.
Are you okay, master?
I just need a rest and stretch my muscles-
Don't worry, I'll take care of it-
Linda couldn't use all of herself because she was limited to using my divine energy; however, using the shadow clone as an energy intermediary and especially the ability {Shadow Devourer} on the enemies to recharge. Practically, as long as she was careful in her energy savings, she couldn't get exhausted and fight as long as she had divine energy. Linda, who would work with Rose, would practically be the brain and the body; unfortunately, Rose is currently incapacitated for combat because she is evolving into a Devouring Queen for the next few months.
While I was stretching, eating and drinking some elixirs, I was thinking of using my threads to train a little and when I release them, my sensitivity always increases and I feel something nearby. From my shadow, I take out a bow made with the spider's leg, highly hard and flexible threads that use all my current strength to be pulled with an arrow made of compressed iron focused on piercing at full speed and shooting at 1k in the forest a series of continuous arrows.
The arrows made a hidden shadow appear and it was an adult woman in black clothes. This woman did not recognize her and I did not notice her presence until I became extremely sensitive with the threads. I shoot continuous arrows and this woman evades and blocks them while approaching me at high speed. When I was about 10 meters from my person, Dark created a passage from the shadows for the rats that come out underground, taking her by surprise because she has a bad base to move.
I shoot an arrow straight to her chest.
The woman, seeing the arrow go through her heart, immediately uses the darkness like a sea of water avoiding my arrow and covering the hole while charging towards me, before she could touch me her movements stop dead. From her nose, flowers begin to appear and she vomits blood while a tooth with poison is torn out. I look the woman straight in the eyes, stretching my finger to her forehead using an augmented version of [Dream Domain-Dream Server] I am developing it to please Ruby, who has not grown up.
Who are you? Why are you following me? Depending on your answers, I will spare your life
Where the hell am I?
A steamroller appeared under her feet, starting from her legs to her head, crushing her in a highly painful process that expelled her organs through her mouth. The girl regenerated again and this woman was out of breath, panting and trembling.
-I will not accept any other questions apart from mine, answer or I will make you answer with unimaginable pain until you break and give in out of good will, you are not going to die and after different ways of dying even the strongest gives in, so decide, let's go for the hard or the easy, who the hell are you and why are you following me? -
The woman trembling.
-...I am part of the intelligence and shadow team of the empire...Amanda, the empress sent me to gather information about you and your actions due to the recent events with the demons...she only sent me to observe and collect information-
- Why the hell did you attack me?
-…I have a silver rank, I thought I could take extra information from your combat capabilities directly and extra by incapacitating you, since you discovered my whereabouts… I didn't plan on hurting you-
- Are there others following me? –
-There are others following, gathering information from your close followers, but no, we were ordered to attack-
-That they are gathering information from me is already a problem, I don't think I have done anything questionable-
-He is a person who collected a lot of information from the underworld and eliminated and found many demons on his own while remaining discreet. Any type of information about you, we do not know your objectives, goals and neither affiliations or if you are a danger to the empire without control or corresponding measures, if you attack-
-I see, what would happen if I killed you?
-The possibility is that they send more qualified personnel to treat him in an emergency-
-Problematic-
It was my mistake in part to show myself as the mastermind, more at that moment Celeste who lives like a greenhouse flower, being a decoration without any kind of authority practically ended up in a difficult situation. I personally have no interest or anything against the government, I don't give a shit, as long as my loved ones are not affected everything seems fine to me.
-... What do you plan to do with me?
-I will erase your memories of having been found and I will leave you a mental seed of loyalty, in case one day you and your group start to touch my loved ones, I can act and kill them before they do something crazy-
-You are not afraid of being discovered-
-I am more afraid that they cannot discover her, after all they are an intelligence team-I said holding a small image of Amanda.
-…That-
-Souls are a bunch of data from deep-rooted experiences, if you get into the subconscious-
-AHHHH-
-It's a painful process, you tear out the correctly collected information and put in new ones that reconstruct the image, it will be as if nothing had happened, you won't lose your job, fortunately for you, I'm benevolent-
Amanda reappeared from a distance watching me and I was resting, killing rats.
-Master, there are 5 other idiots collecting information-
-It's not so worrying, we already left a seed of control-
In Amanda's brain was a seed of Rose. Returning to the rats with the hole sealed by Dark. Only this time I used my threads from a safe distance with electricity and making them vibrate, I only made Dark expel them with more power.
-Splash, Splash, Splash, Splash-
The rats entered a super sharp instant meat grinder that cut them like lasers. They ended up as little squares of meat from what was once a rat. It was a quick method, although it relatively wastes a lot of resources that can be obtained from them. But I will have to settle with Rose turning them into elixirs later and avoid thinking about obtaining spoils. This process accelerated the hunt from several hours to just 30 minutes with the rats fleeing desperately to death. In my shadow Linda only made sure that the rats were turned into a concentrated elixir useful enough to be a resource.
The rats were too weak to be useful for my growth, however, making a concentrate of several thousand to generate a few drops of life elixir is effective. It is a clear image of quantity before quality. If the elixir is made from enemies more powerful than me the effect is more positive and easier to obtain.
I stretch out collecting my threads eating them, they were pure protein and vitamin from my own body. If I had to compare my threads to each other, it would be like a secretion similar to semen, only with a solid structure. Although it is something that only I could process back into protein, if someone else tried to eat it they would die. If I ate them and processed them, they could be reused to a certain extent.
I was thinking of taking this mission to train and develop my skills a bit, plus there is an intelligence team near my girls, it is better to make sure my group is safe.