I received an escort back out of the Tower with Liv and Mei. Thanks to Titan Helm we didn’t run into any more problems. Larc disappeared right after Eshner was killed, so none of us were able to get what we wanted out of him.
I thought I had missed out but Mister Adder took it the worst. The entire trip back he refused to even look at me, he sulked like some kid who didn’t get what he wanted.
We arrived back into Istoria and Titan’s Helm gathered into a massive crowd just outside the entrance doors. The other adventurers waiting to go inside watched with star-struck eyes at the guild’s appearance.
The mob of peering eyes grew by the minute and soon, even I was being pushed aside by their budging arms. Liv grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the crowd, into the inner circle of their guild. A group of lower-ranked adventurers in the guild pushed the fans and mob away from us like bodyguards, they created a perimeter with enough room to move around comfortably.
Liv cupped her hand and leaned closer, “This kind of stuff happens all the time, you’ll get used to it.” She whispered.
“I’m not so sure I want to.”
Adder’s eyes hung in a permanent scowl, even as he addressed his subordinates. His eyes glanced over in our direction and Liv pulled away.
“We’re leaving. Everyone, head back to HQ!”
Liv’s head lowered slightly and her face was left in a gloomy state as she turned to walk away. She looked disappointed and gave a half-hearted wave as the guild walked on.
I didn't want her to leave, there was still so much I had to say to her. My hand was already around her wrist, by the time I realised my arm was moving I already had her in my grasp. She turned back startled and my heart sped up. Nervous that my sweaty hands would gross her out, I let go.
“Uhm…I wanted to say something but…I’m not sure what it was.”
Liv smiled.
“You were amazing back there, I would have thought you were a seasoned veteran from the way you moved. You looked like a real adventurer today.”
“Thank you.” I blushed.
Liv gave a small wave as she walked on and disappeared behind the crowd of fans and cheering adventurers.
With the crowd mostly gone, Mei and I walked to ASH where she and I spoke on the staircase in front of the building. She held a hand over her notebook and the papers fluttered aggressively, as if a strong wind surrounded it.
A blue light encased the pages and the book was lifted into the air, where it disappeared into the light's grace and vanished. That was the second time I had seen her magic up close and it still amazed me. I watched the papers vanish like a wide-eyed child at a tourist show and turned to her with a bright expression.
“I know I saw it before but that spell is amazing, Mei.”
Mei grinned at my childish grin and took a victorious pose, with both fists against her waist.
“Thanks but after seeing what you were able to do in the Tower, I’m not so sure my abilities are even worthy of a silver rank anymore.” She smiled meekly. “I’ll get these papers filed and the results should be announced a week from now, possibly sooner.”
“Thank you for everything, I’m sorry for the trouble I caused.” I bowed.
Mei waved her hands trying to dismiss my apology. “No, please don’t say that! It was me that wasn’t very helpful, besides, it’s impossible to account for these kinds of occurrences so it’s nobody's fault. It’s unfortunate about the ones who didn’t survive but at least the monsters were slain and everyone else got out alive.” She replied hastily.
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“I suppose you’re right…I’ll get going then.”
***
I lay back in my bed with my eyes closed. After everything that happened, I wanted nothing more than to be alone. The dingy old inn I was staying in usually made me pretty depressed but at that moment, it seemed appropriate for the mood I was in.
{System has been successfully upgraded}
The sound of Uriel's voice broke me out of my reposed state and my eyes fluttered open to the floating message screen.
Uriel's voice had deepened since last I heard it, he had grown again. If I had to guess, he sounded pretty close to my age.
{Would you like to claim your rewards?}
{Fragment Memory is available to accept, will you?}
“He’s talking a lot more casually than usual, is this from the upgrade?” My eyes hovered over the message screen curiously and with a sullen sigh, I nodded my head. “Accept.”
Uriel's message screen flew at me, I pulled back but it was too fast to avoid. The room around me, as well as everything in my peripheral vision, flew by. I had been sucked into the screen that floated in front of me and my vision turned blank.
It was as if my eyes were forced shut and once I opened them, I was in an entirely different room. A much nicer one.
A clean white ceiling with purple decor surrounded me, the only light was the subtle blood-coloured horizon that pierced into the room. Long curtains hung from the ceiling high into the room, and straight away I realised I didn't belong.
It was a room fit for kings, a peasant orphan like myself had no business being in a place like that.
I wanted to move but I couldn't feel anything, my body wasn’t my own. I wondered if I was still dreaming when suddenly, things began to move.
My view panned to my right-hand side and standing beside me was Ilinore and the mage I saw before, Larc. There were others there too but I didn’t recognise them.
We were lined up, staring at someone, or rather something. All of us fell to one knee and waited respectively for whatever was at the centre of the room.
My vision moved again and I wasn’t able to fight it, I was a mere observer of that body.
My eyes were fixed on the throne positioned at the centre of the room. It was large, far larger than it needed to be for a single person.
A silvery voice spoke out from the other side of the throne,
“I don’t want anyone else to risk their lives against the humans. However…”
A smooth tail peeked out from around the throne as the speaker emerged off of his seat. Purple hands gripped the armrests and a moment later I heard the thumps of his feet land on the floor.
“I know more than anyone how difficult it is to be caged in this prison. For that reason, I won't stop any of you. If we are to destroy the boundary, we’ll need larger forces and nothing to stop us.”
A young man with snowy hair and purple skin stood opposite us, at the centre of the room. The violet glow from his eyes had me in a trance, captivated by everything he had to say. He looked far younger than the rest of the demon in the room and yet, there was a clear wisdom behind his words.
He looked to Ilinore and spoke firmly, his voice alone commanded her undivided attention. She looked somewhat nervous.
“Ilinore, did you retrieve the dragon child?”
“Not yet my liege. There were a few… complications.” Her eyes jolted wide, almost as if she had just made a huge mistake. “Uh–but I’ll get her in my next attempt, I swear it! I won’t fail you, my lord.”
The demon king's lips curled up.
“I believe in you.”
A look of relief passed over her face as if she had just escaped death. A warm grin formed on her as well. This young man somehow brought about expressions I didn’t even know Ilinore was capable of making.
My head lowered and Eshner’s voice followed with a slight tremble in her throat,
“My king please, allow me to destroy the humans!”
“...”
“How dare you speak out to his excellence without permission. You insolent little mutt, you’re not even a fully awakened demon!” Ilinore stood up angrily.
The intense pressure of his highness silenced the room and Ilinore dropped back to her knee. I couldn’t believe my eyes, all of these incredibly strong enemies called themselves apex predators or superior beings, and yet none of them held a candle to him.
“Eshner, do you hate the humans?”
She didn’t respond, maybe it was out of fear. She possibly just didn’t have an opinion and simply wanted to kill us.
“Demons are the superior beings of this Tower, we stand above all other creatures so it’s only natural that we’d look at humans as nothing but insects.” His eyes sharpened and a disgusted look contorted over his face. “Humans were given the ability to come and go from this prison as if it were a game. So indulge a little, Eshner. Give them a game they won’t ever want to play again.”
Everything turned dark as Eshner lowered her head to the ground.
“Thank you, my lord!”