Chapter Twenty-Five: Dark Witch Madonna
"... I am not from this world," Dusken stated placidly, facing the startled Lillian.
Her eyes widened as she pointed.
"Y-you are not from this world?" her voice held a sceptical tone. "You are lying, right?"
Dusken shook his head as he took a step forward.
"I'm not. Why should I? In fact, not only me. Every individual capable of summoning portals and taking weapons or cards from them is also an otherworldly being." He insouciantly smiled, not caring for his traitorous act. "So that's the gist
If you're from a prominent family, kill those people on sight. They're all trouble."
Dusken wasn't certain, but for the briefest of moments, he thought he saw the corner of Lillian's lips twitch slightly. However, a second later, it vanished making him wonder the validity of it.
Lillian frowned slightly as she walked forward.
"You are one of them, aren't you?" Her voice travelled through the breeze, reaching his ears. "So if I were to ask my family to kill all otherworldly beings, you'll be the first."
Dusken's smile faltered. Coughing lightly, he followed after her while adding.
"They are different from me you know," he said. These were the only words that came to mind, even though that was not his real objective. The next moment, he said what he truly wanted to say. "So, about the Starlian family, how powerful are they? How many powerful families are present in this world exactly?"
All these were his true questions, and now was the perfect time to ask.
'I have successfully made the atmosphere comedic to lower her guard. Good thing the skills attained from my previous life aren't in vain.' He let out a silent sigh, waiting for Lillian's response to his questions.
Not pausing her steps, she spoke.
"This has been your plan all along - to try and calm the atmosphere so you can extract more information from me, right?" Lillian's words echoed in the area, making Dusken secretly bite his lower lip.
'Even if you know my plan, must you blurt it out to sound smart? Just give me the information I need, curse it!' Although he thought this, vigilance was born within him against Lillian.
His heart stirred as he knew that this was all her plan. She wanted to exert dominance on him by showing that she couldn't be easily fooled.
He had to admit that this 14-year-old girl had broken his expectations.
'Maybe she is the heir of some powerful family, making her develop political skills, but she is still too young. How can she compare to my artful duplicity?'
Snapping out of his thoughts, he let out a fake sigh.
"You really got me there, Lilian. I had made you angry, thus, I wanted to diffuse the tension. However, I am truly not from this world and need crucial information to progress on my mission. If you can help me, I'll be truly glad." Dusken spoke with such sincerity that he even felt goosebumps himself.
Glancing at Lillian's side profile, he saw that she opened and closed her lips several times as if dumbfounded.
'Although she's behaving like this, I should still be wary and not underestimate anyone from this trial, most especially Lillian' A sharp light ran past his eyes, all he needed was one more push.
"The truth is I've always been an outcast. The world I came from was peaceful, but then one day I suddenly found myself in a place filled with magic and had to pass a so-called trial. Believe me when I say, I'm neither good nor evil, I'm just selfish and seek survival in a world where treachery rules all," Dusken made sure to implant all his emotions into his speech, that even him felt stunned by it.
'This should be enough.' he sighed internally, if even this didn't work, then he would just give up.
Some time passed in silence as they both travelled deeper into the forest. A serene expression appeared on Dusken's face as the cool breeze caressed his body.
It was at this moment that Lillian's voice sounded, making him face her.
"The Starlian family is the 6th most powerful household in Kingdom Veltria. They normally send guards to traverse the forest to search for resources for their house." she paused for some time, before continuing: "However, lately they stay in the vicinity of the forest. Some rumours have it that they found an inheritance relating to the god of darkness."
Dusken's eyes blazed with a bright light.
'If there is an inheritance of the god of darkness here, then there is a very high likelihood that the tablet I'm seeking is there' He trembled internally at this thought.
He naturally knew of inheritances, especially those of gods and devils.
In the real world, there were many records of what an inheritance held; sometimes, it may possess spell cards, material cards, scrolls, forgotten knowledge - both good and bad, or even the chance to evolve one's talent.
Of course one's talent could only evolve if it was similar to the god's or devil's inheritance, and he very much met this criteria for the god of darkness's inheritance.
Frowning slightly, Dusken asked:
"Have they attained the inheritance yet?" This was his main question; the tablet was very much in that inheritance; the sooner he got it, the better.
To his surprise, Lillian shook her head while walking.
"No, they can't," these three words made Dusken's lips quiver, as he felt a surge of elation pressing down on him.
However, a question soon arose in his mind.
"Why can't they take it? Is there an impediment that only people with dark affinity could get it?" He asked this question but wasn't sure that this was the reason. Not all the candidates had dark affinity; they had all used their abilities in the battle, and none met that criterion.
Lillian once again shook her head while letting out a slight, trembling sigh.
"It is because of the witch, a practitioner of dark magic and a great pursuer for all the inheritances of Nothing, the god of darkness." Lillian's words held a subtle shiver in them, laced with unmistakable, visceral dread as she continued. "She holds the legacy of the god of darkness. She rose to power due to only one thing; the tablet of the god of darkness. She made all the three kingdoms vibrate in fear, her name became words used to scare disobedient children - the grand, dark witch Madonna."
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A/N: Don't worry much, I'll mass release on the weekend. Right now, I'm preparing my stockpile, so one chapter a day until then.
Comment below if you have anything to say.