I had nothing against the three knights, but the less people that survived, the better. Kaia was a bit foolish, and there was very little she could probably glean from me. Her knights might have been more observant, and while they hadn’t spoken, they might have realized things she didn’t. It was also one of the reasons I killed Nerissa. She was too observant, and I feared she might figure things out about my identity.
The other reason I killed the knights, and subsequently allowed the dungeon to consume the girl, is because of Elaya. Although the dungeon had absorbed enough mana that I could make a portal home, it would also paint a red flag to where we came from to those that were coming toward us. The only way to hide our actions would be to self-destruct the dungeon behind us, and that needed more mana than we had time to gather. The corpses of the twenty-four bodies were just enough that I could cause the dungeon to explode and hide all of our presences.
“You… monster!” Kaia shouted.
“Do you wish to join them?” Elaya asked casually.
Of everyone present, she’d be least bothered to be called a monster. In fact, calling her a human would be grossly inaccurate, despite her appearance. With the miasma leaking from her body and sucking the three knights dry, Kaia didn’t show any restraint in her revulsion. She turned away. Her hands clenched and tears fell down her face.
“This isn’t over…” She breathed.
“You’re going to threaten me like your sister? Where did it get her?” I glowered.
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I normally wouldn’t act so hatefully, but the truth was that I was running out of time. We had only minutes before more fey arrived. I could even see them on the edges of my sense life. If I was going to escape and destroy the evidence, this woman definitely couldn’t be there.
Had she thought clearly about it, then she would have tried to procrastinate longer. Thankfully, she was too angry to think clearly, and instead began to walk away.
“Remember my name!” She shouted. “We’ll meet again!”
She disappeared into the forest.
“I fear you’ve created an enemy. You should have just killed her.” Elaya shrugged.
“My lord, you must escape.” Demetri finally stood up and approached us with a lowered head.
“Demetri… I live on the original continent of the Faerith. I don’t know how much you know, but humans once came from dungeons, and we forced the fey from their continent. We still live there today and thrive. Will you join us?”
Demetri shook at this news. “I had heard rumors…”
“They’re true… Now that I know what is going on here, in time, we will help free our brothers. If you come with me, then you can live a free life with less danger.”
Demetri genuinely looked tempted, but after a moment, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, my lord. I would very much like to follow the human king, but my fight is here. It may be years before you gather the strength to invade.”
That was an understatement. I wasn’t even a king. I had no clue how I was going to gain help. The only advantage I had was that I could just open a portal when the time came. At that point, my dungeon should be powerful enough to be able to do it without too much waste. In that case, it was just a matter of bringing together all my allies and then trying to collect all the humans I could. I even had a dungeon skill called advanced sense life. It could probably help me identify and find humans quickly. Well, I wasn’t going to destroy his confidence by telling him that right now.
“Then, you will stay?”
“I will do the best I can to prepare them. You will bring our people hope. Great Human King, we await the day of your return!”