Emperor of the East
The city of Po was the city adjacent most to the city of Kulaima, the city that bordered the east. It was a city surrounded by innumerable overgrown palm trees that provided perpetual canopy from the halo-like sun. The city of Po was famous as the slave capital of the west; Human meat was the most famous delicacy in the area. Ironically, although it was one of the most prosperous cities in the west, no Lord governed the area. Instead, a famous organization called Bruhan oversees the city of Po.
“A little bit more.”
She was panting. Disregarding the numerous cuts and bruises on her petite body, she ran like there was no tomorrow. It was currently noon but the vicinity seemed darker than usual. She had already lost count the number of times she had tripped on the protruding roots from the countless trees that perpetually surrounded her.
“Mother…Hic*”
She tried to steel herself from the harsh reality. She was all alone now. With broken shackles stuck on her pale feet, she tried to move forward regardless of the fatigue from her arduous escape. She knew that it was only a matter of time until her pursuers catches her.
“Huff* Huff* I…can’t…”
She had wanted to stop countless times before, but the idea of excruciating torture that would surely follow after her capture sent shivers down her spine. Surprisingly, the soothing wind that blew towards her direction gave her the strength to move forward. The grassy scent that lingered in the area gave comfort to her shaking body.
~shhhhhhhh
She glanced to her left. Her vision was blurry, but what she heard was definitely the sound of the flowing river. She had been there countless of times before. She was sure.
“The river!” She said in a hushed voice.
Back in her childhood days, there was a cave near the river that was not known to almost everyone. It was their childhood treasure chest. Once she reached the area she was sure that her pursuers won’t catch up to her. The place’s entrance was brilliantly hidden underneath the water. Just the thought alone filled her with undying hope. With renewed vigor, she ran towards the origin of the sound.
~Twack!
She felt striking pain at her back as she fell to the ground. Looking behind her, she saw five blurry figures leisurely walking towards her. The paralyzing poison embedded in the arrow that shot through her body made her unable to move. Ironically, although on the brink of death, the warmth from the blood that embraced her body made her smile.
“Mother…father…everyone.” She muttered to herself. “I’ll be with you guys soon. I can’t wait.”
~Slice
As her head rolled on the damp forest ground, the soothing embrace called death carried her to her eternal slumber. Only the sound of unreserved giggling echoed throughout the entire area.
“Humans~ it’s really fun letting them escape on purpose…then hunt them!”
****
~SCREECH
“Woah that was fast!” Taki said in amazement. The city of Po was supposed to have been around a month of travel by cart. Using the colossal phoenix created by Gashka, they were able to arrive at the sea of palm trees near Po in just half a day.
~SCREECH
“HAHAHA! Praise me heathens! I am great! I know. I know.” Gashka nodded twice as he uttered those words. With both hands on his waist, he looked towards the group behind him. “Did you enjoy the smooth ride my dear~ Onesa?”
Onesa feebly crossed her hands around her chest. With a flushed face, she took a step back and hid behind Mui.
“Heh~” Gashka whistled as he warmly gazed at the women behind him.
[Time’s up.]
A voice sounded inside Gashka’s head. It was Yuje. The agreed time of one day was over.
“Damn. I used up all my time.” Gashka muttered to himself. He then ordered the phoenix to hover down towards the sea of pine trees. Lifting a finger, he unsummoned the colossal mythical beast.
“W-what?!”
Everyone was surprised on the sudden disappearance of the colossal creature they were riding on. Suddenly, the creature disintegrated into countless minute crimson particles. Those particles embraced everyone and gently placed them towards the forest ground.
“So sad~” Gashka muttered in a dejected voice. Heaving a heavy sigh, he then muttered words that made the girls squeal in joy. “Time’s up.”
“S-so Yuje’s coming back r-right?!” Mui said in a trembling voice filled with relief. Her eyes were beaming with happiness. She can’t handle travelling with the perverted God any longer.
“Yeah. But you don’t have to be that happy that I’m going to be gone right? Oh~ the heartache.” The God of Blood made a pretense of wiping down the tears in his eyes. Forming a sad façade, he then heaved another sigh as he turned towards the heavens.
“Don’t worry. I found your company quite interesting.” Taki said. Dusting of the dirt on his garb, he touched the large mahogany-brown bark of the tree beside him. “By the way, thanks for the ride. We reached the city in less than a day~”
“Yeah. And thank you for returning my eyesight.” Raul added. The high ranking noble then bowed down his head towards Gashka. “This power you’ve granted me—I’ll use it for justice.”
“HAHAHAHA! What a serious kid.” Gashka resumed his beaming face. “Humans loved categorizing strength in terms of rank. If you’re able to utilize it to the fullest, you’re probably on A++ by now.”
Gashka moved towards Raul. Placing a hand on his shoulders, he then grinned mischievously.
“Don’t lose control and kill your companions alright?” Gashka looked towards Onesa. “Especially Onesa. I would hate it if I no longer have those huge racks to grab once I’m finally free.”
Onesa’s flushed face became redder with embarrassment. The scene the day before replayed on her mind. Grabbing the cloak of Mui, she hid behind her.
“That’s…” Raul clenched his fists. He was not sure if he could control his newly acquired strength. “How do I control it?”
“Eh? It’s really hard to deal with those without talent.” Gashka took a step back and waived his hands as if saying ‘don’t want to deal with your problem’.
“It’s up to you to figure out. Just practice. That’s what those without talent have to do. Yep. I really am a genius.”
Gashka approvingly nodded to himself. Disregarding the dejected look of Raul that’s in front of him, he again heard the voice inside his head.
[Stop dallying.]
“Sucks. I really have to go.” Gashka said.
“Wait!” Mui said. Keeping her distance, she asked. “How strong are the Gods? Our history professors told us that the Primal Gods are the strongest.”
It was in Mui’s nature to be curious. Unlike her twin sister Kath, she would not stop until she satiated her curiosity.
Gashka scratched his chin as he deliberated if he should reply. He found the question pointless.
“Hmm…let’s just say that a Lesser God is stronger than Yuje—even at his full strength.” Gashka replied. “That incident thousands of years ago. If I did not create a barrier around Quan to contain the battle, the entire mortal realm would have been long gone.”
Gashka walked towards a colossal tree and leaned on it.
“Wait that’s wrong. The Valhalla Continent should have been strong enough to withstand the war that time.” Gashka nodded twice. Scratching his chin he added. “Let’s just use the rank you mortals love to utter. Yuje is SSS rank. A Lesser God is hmmm… SSS+ rank—around the same strength as a Demon Emperor.”
Everyone silently listened to the words uttered by the Primal God. They couldn’t believe that there was such a difference in power. If the Lesser Gods were that strong, then how much more would the High Gods be? The strength of the Primal Gods themselves was impossible to measure.
“Absurd…” Raul was agape. He had seen the fight between Yuje and the thunder dragon. It was on a scale that was strong enough to decimate an entire kingdom. If the fight between SSS ranks were that earth shattering, how much more would the fight between the Primal Gods be? He shuddered at the thought.
“You should be thankful that we’re that strong.” Gashka uttered. “Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been possible to create this world after all.”
~SHUUUUAA
Gashka, still leaning on the colossal tree, closed his eyes. The agreed time was used up.
“Haaa…”He heaved a loud sigh. Looking towards the group that gazed at him, he uttered words that delighted everyone.
“Finally. I’m back.”
“—Yuje?” Taki asked in a bewildered tone. He was surprised that the transition between Gashka and Yuje seemed simple.
No changes in external features were seen nor felt.
“Yes.” Yuje spoke in low voice. Serenely savoring the soothing wind, he then turned towards the students.
“Onesa.”
“Ye-Yes?!” Onesa almost jumped after Yuje called out her name. With a flushed face, she tried to hide her face with her dusty cloak.
“Create masks for each of us. I do not think humans are welcomed in this city.” Yuje glanced beyond the sea of palm tree that perpetually surrounded them. Located on an upslope, the city of Po was visible from where they are currently at.
“Ye-ye-yess.” The feeble red headed girl stuttered. Pulling out both arms from her cloak, she then pointed it towards the ground.
“Earth Construct!”
The ground below her feet lifted unto the air and slowly formed a mask. The process was repeated six times until all six masks were made. She then handed the masks towards everyone.
“Thanks.” Kath muttered as she tried on the mask. Revealing only the eyes, the mask made out of earth magic suited her face well. Everyone did the same and putted their respective masks on.
“The feared city of the west huh?” Taki glanced one more time at the city of Po. In just a few hours, they would be inside the slave capital of the west. They had no choice since it was a safer pick than Lankan which was under an all-out war against the adjacent city of the south.
“Mui. Onesa.”
Yuje walked towards the two girls who instinctively took a step away. Their fear of Gashka was instilled inside their very bodies.
“About before.” Yuje spoke. Everyone immediately understood that he was talking about Gashka. “I’m—sorry.”
Yuje slightly bowed down towards the two. It was an act that was impossible for the former Yuje—before he met Shepa, the ruler of lamias.
“Why are you apologizing?!” Mui asked in an angry tone. Thankfully, the clay mask hid her flushed face. She found it quite rude that Yuje was apologizing for the kiss.
“I-It’s okay!” Onesa shouted. After realizing that she had yelled something embarrassing, she bit her lips as she inwardly scolded herself. Like Mui, her flushed face was hidden behind the mask.
Yuje heaved a sigh and spoke. “Again…I’m sorry.”
The grey eyed man then walked towards the inside of the barouche.
****
From the sea of palm trees, it took the group three hours until they arrived at the outskirts of the city of Po. The city, unlike Baran, was not enclosed by a wall. Instead, it was surrounded by innumerable gigantic boulders that spanned fifteen meters in height. Those boulders that had carved figures of women in each of them served more as an ornament rather than a partition.
“Wow.” Raul exclaimed as he maneuvered the lambards. The boulders with carved figures of women seemed to have no end.
~Clack
~Clack
The lambards loudly traversed the winding road towards the city. The rubbles underneath their scaly feet were crushed with every step they took. After half an hour, the group had finally arrived at the city.
The city of Po resembled the city of Hortal that was once ruled by Merck. With towering dome-shaped structures lined up in an array, the slave capital of the west was as lively as it could be. Most of the innumerable beast men in the city ignored the passing colossal barouche, although occasional glances towards the expensive lambards were thrown by some of them from time to time.
“Halt!” A beast man spoke. His elongated nose that draped down till his fluffy garb was coupled with a tightly clasped white-red armband.
Raul pulled the reigns tied at the lambard’s neck. Still wearing his clay mask, he nervously glanced towards the beast man which appeared to be a guard. He knew that the city of Po was a hellish place for the humans.
“Here.” The beast man held out his rough wrinkled hands. Tilting his pale-blue face, he raised a brow after a few seconds had passed. He was impatient of Raul’s non-response.
“All those who pass through the city shall pay fifteen gold coins.” The beast man glanced towards the colossal barouche. “EACH.”
Blatantly smirking, the beast man went towards the lambards and stroked their scaly neck. Glancing sideways towards Raul, he muttered some words and snorted afterwards.
“These are lambards right?” The beast man asked. He was still stroking one of the lambards. “A single one of these guys costs a few thousand gold coins.”
The beast man then walked towards the metallic carriage and unreservedly opened the door with a loud clang sound.
“Get out.” He yelled towards everyone inside the colossal vehicle. Taki and the rest of the group went out of the barouche in compliance. Everyone stood outside as the beast man repeatedly nodded in approval.
“That will be a total of three hundred gold coins.”
“You just told us that it’s fifteen gold coins per person!” Raul loudly declared. He found the price outrageous. “And now you’re saying that it’s three hundred gold coins? Could you even count?”
The beast man flicked his fingers. Soon afterwards, seven beast men with resembling appearance surrounded the carriage. All were wearing a full plated set of armor.
“Three hundred gold coins. That’s final. If you can’t pay—.” The beast man pointed towards the scaly reptiles. “Give us two of those instead.”
The suggested deal was a blatant rip off. Using a menacing means of negotiation, the beast man which appeared to be an officer smiled wryly as he awaited the group’s decision. He deemed that there were very few who could actually afford the price of three hundred gold coins. Thus, he supposed that the group would have no choice but give the lambards instead.
“Raul.” Yuje spoke in a cold and calm voice.
“Alright.” Raul said with resignation. He knew that what Yuje meant was that they should just pay instead of exposing their selves here. The city of Po was too dangerous a place for humans like them. With a grim expression, he took out exactly three hundred gold coins and handed it towards the beast man with the arm band.
“What?!” The beast man was surprised after he counted the money. He assumed that the group would have no means of actually paying the asked price. After creating a subtle ~tsk sound, he spoke.
“You may pass.”
“……………………..”
The group, after obtaining permission to enter the city continued traversing the main road. With paved asphalt lining the ash-white ground of the city, numerous merchant stalls lined up the city of Po. After a good look at the displayed goods, everyone was shocked and utterly disgusted at what they saw.
“FRESHLY GRILLED HUMANS!” A stubby merchant shouted towards the unending passerby. “TWO GOLD COINS PER KILO!”
“I SELL HUMAN LIVER FOR THREE GOLD COINS PER SLAB!”
“FRESH YOUNG HUMAN HERE! RECENTLY SLAUGHTERED—JUST TODAY!”
Series of shouts that was unthinkable of in Ruan echoed throughout the vicinity. The crowd that passed by the innumerable stalls seemed apathetic to the cries of the merchants. It seemed that such scenario was an everyday occurrence to everyone in the city.
Numerous cadavers were displayed in each of the stalls. Most were hanged upside-down using a sickle-shaped metals that was pierced through the flesh.
“You there!” A beast man selling human meat shouted towards Raul. Thankfully, the clay mask hid the freckled man’s face. Pale beyond comparison, Raul refused to look towards the merchant that spoke to him. Just the appearance of the lined-up cadavers made him nearly puke on the asphalt ground.
“I have a live human here! A child!” The merchant spoke. He was chopping the head of a female cadaver as he spoke to Raul. “For you I’ll give it at a cheap price of only 35 gold coins! It would surely be tasty! Young human meat!”
~Halt
Raul pulled the lambards to a stop after he heard of the merchants offer. He had clearly heard of the word ‘live’ coming from the beast man’s mouth.
“That child. Show it to me.” Raul spoke a deliberately deeper voice. He tried to sound fiercer than normal in compliance with their façade.
“Ohhh~ of course! Of course!” The merchant squeaked. Leaving behind the now headless female cadaver, he immediately went inside the dome-shaped structure. After a few moments, he came out with a naked child in tow.
“Here! What do you think of this merchandise?” The beast man’s eye twinkled in excitement. Grabbing the boy by the hair, he dragged the bruised and torn body of the child in front of Raul. The prospect of earning 35 gold coins enticed the stubby merchant.
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“I assure you of its quality!” The stubby merchant took out a knife and made a cut on the young boy’s arm. With a mischievous face, it then licked the blood that oozed out of the wound. “Delicious~”
Raul clenched his fist tight as he watched the scene that unfolded before his eyes. The rest of the group also resisted the urge to smack the merchant right in the face. The merchant was still licking the blood that oozed out of the boy’s arm. The child’s eyes were lifeless—devoid of any hope.
“Let’s go.” Yuje broke the silence. The grey eyed man nonchalantly watched the mortifying scene. After he determined that it was a waste of time to stay at the place for so long, he ushered for Raul to move the carriage.
“Are we really going to leave just like that?” Raul asked in a hushed voice mixed with suppressed rage. If not for the mask, the distorted face of the freckled young man would have been evident.
“Yes.” Taki responded in place of Yuje.
Commander Loven of the city of Baran had warned them of three things. First, never interfere with the human market of the city of Po. Second, never reveal the fact that you are a human. The beast men inside the city mostly relied on their sense of sight. As long as you put on the proper disguise, you should be able to safely pass through the city. After all, it was very rare for humans to deliberately go inside the slave capital of the west.
The third warning was the one reiterated the most. The Lord of Baran repeatedly told their group not to fight with the Bruhans—the rulers of the autonomous city of Po. Bruhans were said to be almost on the same level as the personal guards of Emperor Thanatos. With each member ranking at least A rank each, the association had gained their right of total control of the city through sheer power alone.
“But!” Raul turned towards the rest of the group. Even with the mask on, everyone felt the anguish in the man’s voice.
“Don’t be conceited.” Yuje said. He was sitting cross-legged and was previously in his usual meditation. “You cannot hope to protect everyone. Try to do so and you’ll end up losing everything instead.”
Raul clenched his fist tighter after those words. He knew where the sole survivor of the Gashka clan was coming from. He—everyone knew that what Yuje had just uttered was the right decision. In their current state wherein Yuje’s strength was limited, it would be a great risk to have the group called Bruhan as their enemy.
“So how is it dear~ Oh precious customer?~” The stubby beast man merchant was rubbing his palms with each other. Still wearing a malicious grin, slightly showing his brown-gray canines, the merchant anxiously awaited Raul’s answer.
“No…we have to go.” Raul slapped the reigns onto the lambards neck and ushered them to move forward. It took him his all to resist the urge of slaughtering the merchant.
“Eh?~ Such a waste.” The merchant smirked as he watched the colossal carriage set off.
“IF YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND JUST REMEMBER TO COME BY AGAIN! I ALWAYS HAVE FRESH HUMANS FOR SALE!”
The shout of the stubby merchant was drowned by the series of voices from the nearby stalls. Everywhere around them had the same scenery—butchered or live humans were displayed in each corner. The city of Po was without a doubt a haven for the beast men and a hellish place for humans.
****
After about half an hour, the group was finally able to locate a stall that sells animal meat. The store stand was a bit tattered compared to those adjacent to it. Still, the group deemed to buy from it since it was the only one around the area that was not selling human meat. Everyone went outside the barouche.
“Oh~ finally—a customer!” A beast man with skeletal head that had numerous cracks at the temporal squeaked. Just by the reaction alone, everyone deemed that they were the first customer of the merchant for today.
“Finally. Finally~” The beast man smiled from ear to ear, revealing an incomplete set of rotten teeth. He then tapped at the table where the animal meats were placed.
“What can I do for you? What do you want? Boar meat? Red Bear meat? Flashkin Tuna? Ask away! Ask away!”
Taki pointed towards a green-red meat that was hanged at the corner. It had the size of around two average humans combined. “How much?”
The merchant glanced towards the direction Taki pointed at and spoke. “Oh~ Flashkin Tuna! A great pick! Are you going to buy the whole stock?”
“Depends.” Taki replied. He had learned to bargain back when he was still a farmer. “Depends—if the price is reasonable.”
“Oh you can have the whole set for only eight gold coins!” The merchant opened out his arms as he squeaked out the price.
“How about those?” Taki pointed towards the meat that was hanged upside-down beside the flashkin tuna.
“Oh Red Bear meat!” The merchant exclaimed after looking at the red slab that hanged beside the tuna. It had the same size as one of the lambards. “That’s eleven gold coins! If you’re going to buy the whole piece—I’ll give it to you at a discounted price of ten coins.”
“Twelve gold coins.” Taki spoke with a poker-faced expression. “Give us both for twelve gold coins.”
“What?! Absurd!” The merchant’s face twisted into agony. It was his first customer for the day, but such customer wanted the product be sold for a ridiculous price.
“I take that as a no then.” Taki turned around and was about to go towards the barouche when the merchant called out to him.
“Alright. Fourteen gold coins. That’s the last price. Really.” The merchant said with resignation. With such a price, his profit would amount to only fifty silvers, but he had no choice. After all, human meat was the more popular product in the area.
Taki was grinning under his clay mask. “Alright. Deal.”
After paying the amount, Kath and Mui heaved the meat inside a large barrel. They then placed it inside the barouche. Such an amount of food would last them around a month or so.
Just like the other areas the group had passed through, the place they were in was enveloped with series of murmurs. Everyone was trying to bargain for a cheaper price in the surrounding stalls. Suddenly, the series of voices that perpetually surrounded the area died down. The beast men then stood stiff as a group of female beast men were passing though the paved road.
“The Bruhans.” The merchant they negotiated with murmured.
Taki and the rest of the group looked towards the direction where everyone’s attention was focused to. Pointed ears, slender figures, and stunningly beautiful oval facial structure, the women that were passing through the crowd were without a doubt elves.
“Oh~ So beautiful.”
“Maricia, master of the Bruhans, is the most beautiful of them all. Still, even her subordinates aren’t bad.”
“My day has just been completed. Oh~ so gorgeous!”
Series of praises one after another were thrown by the agape crowd. The paved road that the Bruhans passed through seemed to sparkle with every step the group of elves took. Even Taki and Raul was left speechless after they saw the stunningly beautiful creatures.
The Bruhans passed by them in just a brief moment, but their effect was astounding enough that everyone was left staring at their shadows long after they were gone.
“Bruhans?” Taki muttered to himself. He had never seen such divine-like creature before.
“As I thought. You’re travelers.” The merchant spoke. Ruffling his green hair, he added. “If those subordinates has left you speechless, then I wonder what would happen if you saw Maricia—the master of those high elves.”
“Maricia?” Raul asked.
“Yes. She was the one ruling this city. Thanks to her the city was relatively safe even though the next city, Kulaima is under a state of war right now.” The merchant sighed. “Really. I wonder when the west and the east would stop warring with each other.”
“So the west and the east are not in good terms with each other?” Taki asked. According to their history class, the western and the southern part of the Demon Continent were in constant war, but he was surprised that it was the same with that of the east.
“Hey? Where the hell did you even come from? Why do you not know such common details?” The merchant eyed the group with suspicion. After staring at the group, his eyes darted towards the masked Yuje. Shuddering from the unusual ominous aura that seemed to emanate from the man, he added. “I-It was just around three months ago. The Western Demon Continent had changed its emperor. Not only that—”
The merchant went inside the deteriorating stall and took out a small parchment.
“Here.” The merchant handed the parchment towards Taki. “Just read it for your selves. You could actually keep it if you like. I have no use for it anyways.”
The letters printed onto the parchment was written in the common language of the demon continent. It was written in Dil. Taki could read some of the words but deemed that that it would be better for Onesa to read it.
“Onesa.” Taki gave Onesa the parchment instead.
Onesa nodded in response and read the words written in the parchment out loud.
Breaking news!
The Eastern Demon Continent had changed its Emperor!
The former Demon Emperor Sven was killed in a one-on-one fight.
The winner of the battle, Yolei of The Thousand Ghosts ascended the throne as the new Emperor of the East.
Soon afterwards, the new emperor declared war with both of the west and the north.
An astronomically large army was being prepared by the newly ascended emperor in anticipation of the upcoming war.
Everyone silently listened to the contents of the paper. The contents meant only one thing. A war so great that would surely change the Demon Continent would surely happen and escalate at any time. It was invaluable information for their group that intends to escape from the continent.
“Thankfully, this place is protected by the Bruhans.” The merchant said. “If not for the protection of the high elves, we wouldn’t have the peace of mind living in this place. After all, it’s just two mountains away from Kulaima, the city that bordered the west.”
“That Maricia you spoke of…how strong is she?” Taki asked. He was curious on how strong the leader of the Bruhans was if just the subordinate alone was at least rank A in prowess.
“Well…she was the only daughter of Thanatos so…” The merchant scratched his bulging tummy. “Probably around…hmm…can’t really estimate her strength since I’ve never seen her fight.”
The words ‘daughter of Thanatos’ took everyone by surprise. The answer on why the city of Po was given autonomous status then dawned to everyone. The daughter of the current emperor of the west was the one ruling the area.
“Daughter of Thanatos? So that’s why Lord Loven repeatedly told us not to fight with the Bruhans.” Mui muttered.
“Seriously! Why do you guys not even know this facts?!” The stubby merchant found the group very suspicious. If not for the presence of the grey eyed man that made his whole body shudder, he would have reported them to the Bruhans.
“Haha~” Taki scratched his head and tried to look as less menacing as possible. “We’ve been travelling the continent for quite some time now. We hardly encountered any city…that’s why.”
The merchant sighed. It seemed that the excuse was accepted for now.
“I suppose you guys are also not aware of the world shattering event that happened two weeks ago?” The merchant asked. He was almost used to the clueless customers by now.
“…No.” Taki responded.
“The Emperor of the North—Elgaia of the Earth’s Origin.” The merchant looked towards the horizon. “He was killed two weeks ago. All of the humans that resided in the north were slaughtered.”
Shocking revelations were heard by the group one after another. Their agape faces were thankfully hidden by the masks that they wore.
“The newly ascended Emperor of the East was the one who did it. The north was in total chaos after such event. Especially the humans—they were mercilessly slaughtered one after another.”
“Y-you mean to say that in a span of just three months—” Mui found it hard to believe the words that came from the merchant’s mouth. “The current emperor of the east killed two Demon Emperors? Impossible.”
“If you don’t believe me then just ask anyone over there.” The merchant pointed towards the array of stalls that perpetually did their business. “It’s common information anyway. What I found hard to believe was that you guys do not actually know it.”
“I see…Thank you for such valuable information.” Taki said. He then ushered for everyone to get inside the barouche.
“Heh~ clueless travelers. Glad to be of help. Come by again at my shop next time!”
Following those words, the group resumed their travel.
****
“So what’s the plan?” Kath asked everyone inside the barouche. They were currently eating the leftover rations that were given to them by Lord Loven.
“We need to change our route.” Taki said after biting out a big chunk of meat. Gulping down some water from his skin flask, he continued. “Kulaima—it’s too dangerous.”
“There is a route here we might be able to use.” Yuje pointed towards the map. He was pointing at an intersection between the west and the east. “A monster infested area, but it’s probably safer to pass through here than Kulaima.”
Everyone looked towards the place in the map pointed by Yuje. A red dot meant that it was a monster infested area, and there were numerous dots that surrounded the area Yuje pointed at.
“I agree.” Taki said. He then turned towards the rest of the group. “Any objections? None? It’s settled then.”
No one objected at Yuje’s suggestion. Based on the merchant’s story, it was perilous to try to pass through the city of Kulaima that was currently under a war with the East. With the alternative path shown in the map, everyone agreed to take a detour.
“Our next destination—Limperd Ruins.”
~SCRRRRIIICCCKKK
The lambards abruptly moved, shaking the carriage the entire group was currently in. Judging by the terrified sound they had just made, something surely have made the docile creatures be enveloped by fear. Everyone went outside after the lambards had calmed down.
~SHHHHHKKK
~SHHHHHKKK
A blurry figure slowly glided towards their direction. The apparition had an ominous aura surrounding it.
“Thanatos again?” Raul readied himself. The same thing happened when Thanatos issued the bounty upon the freckled man’s head.
Everyone readied themselves for anything that might happen any moment from now.
[Yu…]
[Yu…]
[Yu…]
The figure kept muttering the words like a mantra. After it was finally standing face to face with everyone, the blurry figure spoke.
[Yuje. Who among you is Yuje?]
The figure asked. It was gradual, but everyone noticed that the figure was slowly fading away.
[I do not have time. Answer me. Please.]
“I am Yuje.” The grey eyed man replied. Though the figure emitted a dangerous aura, it did not emit even a glint of killing intent.
[Finally. I—]
The figure’s lower body began to disintegrate. Countless minute particles began to be swept away by the wind.
[I have found you.]
The voice of the figure was becoming less audible by the minute.
“What do you need from me?” Yuje asked. He felt that the creature had something important to say.
[I am Elgaia—Emperor of the North.]
Everyone was stunned at the words uttered by the apparition. They all readied themselves in case the worst happens.
[My real body had already perished. This is but a remnant I have created during my last moments.]
The creature glided closer to Yuje.
[I have failed to protect her. Please.]
The figure was blurry and was crumbling to pieces but everyone clearly saw it—it was crying.
[Erika Yuan Rein—such a beautiful name.]
The creature gazed towards the heavens as he softly uttered those words.
All of them knew of the name the apparition had just mentioned. It was the name of the scion of the House of Rein that was currently on her third year in Grimfort.
[I tasked my Royal Guards to hide her—to protect her.]
[She should be still alive by now…hopefully.]
[Before Emperor Yolei annihilates all of the humans in the north…please.]
[…Pleas—]
The figure finally crumbled entirely. The ethereal-like remnants of the apparition were then carried away by the wind.
Everyone was stunned at the implication of the words Elgaia had just told them. Erika was alive and she was currently at the north; a place that was recently vanquished by the new Emperor of the East.
“Erika.” Yuje muttered the name of the girl that had accompanied him and Taki back in Grimfort. Staring at the heavens, the grey eyed man muttered words that were immediately accepted by everyone.
“Our destination has changed.”