Several minutes later, a group of fifteen people arrived at the Chand House and stood outside with several meters of gap separating them and the house.

Standing at the front of the group was the September figure that had exited out of the prison on that day. His name was Jagav Magrad, and he currently was there with his minions on a mission, which none of them know about.

“This is the house, boss,” said one of the men standing beside him.

Jagav turned to look at him and said in a loud exasperated voice, “Yes! This is the place because it's the only place in this entire forsaken land, you dolt!”

His minion fell silent, and Jagav gave him a fleeting look before turning to look at the house in front of him.

“Let's make ourselves known to them,” he said and gestured at the house. “Two of you go.”

Two from the group nodded and broke from the ranks to head towards the house. A few seconds later, they entered the house and disappeared from view. Outside, the remainder of the group watched in silence and, like that, several minutes went by in silence.

“Um… Boss?” One of the people from the group asked in a puzzle voice. “Aren't they taking a bit longer than necessary?”

Their boss, Jagav, did not say anything but folded his arms and stared at the house with an expectant look on his face. A few more minutes later, several people exited out of the house, first to come were the two men that entered followed behind by three women.

“Um…?”

“What the heck?”

“Shuush!” Jagav said in a dangerous voice, causing them to become silent.

The two men stopped in front of their leader and, with shame faced expression on their faces, said to him, “Boss, we're sorry. They said they would speak to you directly that's why–!”

They fell silent when Jagav raised a hand to stop them from continuing any further. With a wave of his hand, they stepped aside to let their boss face the three women that were standing several meters away and they were Ondine, Tetra, and Sumara.

“It's rude to send your underlings to make conversation with us, don't you think?” Ondine asked politely.

Jagav did not immediately answer as he stared at them with an expression of amusement. He was actually thinking he recognized two of their faces from when he saw them a long time ago before his jail sentence but was having difficult identifying who they were.

“Also, it's rude to remain silent when we're trying to make a conversation here,” added Tetra with a look of annoyance on her face.

Her words angered his men and they began speaking arrogantly to them. Seeing this reaction, all three women sighed with exasperated looks on their faces.

“I think you should just leave if you're going to make a disturbance,” said Sumara firmly.

As the group was taken aback, Jagav narrowed his eyes as he recognized her immediately in comparison to recognising the other two.

“You… You're… a demon, aren't you?” He asked uncertainly, causing her to widen her eyes in surprise. Slowly nodding his head with more confidence, he said, “Also your name starts with an 's’ doesn't it?”

“Yes. My name is Sumara,” she said, introducing herself in a cautious voice. “Who are you?”

He bowed a little and introduced himself with a smile.

“It's probably a long time since you've heard my name but... I'm Jagav Magrad.”

His proclamation of his name shocked all three women into widening their eyes in shock. Ondine and Tetra finally remembered him as the guy they had met over seventeen-years-ago when he had caused a riot and was jailed for his actions.

“Jagav… Magrad?” Sumara asked back, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “That's the name of the Mercenary Sorcerer! Y-You were let out?”

“Oh! I'm honoured that the Magic Sage knows me, but then again, I am famous.”

“I’m Magic King now, but yes, you are famous… for being a one-time criminal that was taken down by a kid of thirteen years of age,” she replied smugly, remembering the story she heard from the others regarding the outcome of the encounter between Lakshman and Jagav.

There was an instant uproar upon hearing her words and the group of strangers began shooting at her for looking down on their leader. Jagav wore a sour look on his face as he stared at the calm expression that Sumara wore while the other two looked surprised.

“Do you know him from before?” Ondine asked curiously.

Sumara shrugged her shoulders and said, “Only by reputation and it was notorious. While I was traveling around the Human Continent, I heard a great deal about him; that he was a powerful mercenary that would do anything for money and also possessed a great deal of arrogance because of his powers. There were even rumours circulating around that he was preparing for world conquest but… I guess he quickly failed when he landed in jail.”

Ondine smiled happily at her words, and Tetra said in a bright voice, “Yes and it was all because of Lucky.”

“Lucky?” Sumara asked, looking amazed. “Lucky did it? I mean, Lucky was that thirteen-year-old kid who put him in jail?”

“That’s right!” Ondine and Tetra replied simultaneously with smiles on their faces.

While they were feeling happy, Jagav stared at them with a narrowed look on his face. He could not help but overhear them speaking merrily about the kid that was the cause of his miserable seventeen years of life behind bars. So, seeing their smiles made his blood boil but he controlled his temper as he prepared to handle this in a calm manner.

“It appears that you know who this kid is,” he said slowly and carefully, grabbing their attention and making them turn back to face him in the process. “Lucky, was it? Who is he? Do you know where he is?”

Ondine, Tetra, and Sumara looked at one another before turning back to face him with a look of suspicion on their faces.

“Don't you really know who he is?” Ondine asked slowly.

“No. That's why I'm asking you,” he replied, his smile shining through his bearded face.

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“Oh,” said Ondine shortly, looking uncertain.

“Why do you want to know about him?” Tetra asked cautiously.

“Ah! It's nothing bad. I just want to thank him along with the Sword King and the Monkey King. My life in the jail centre has made me realise how foolish my decision was to try and conquer the world, and in doing so, hurt many people. I owe that kid especially for splendidly taking me down and teaching me a lesson. That's why, I want to personally thank them and it's not just me; my group also wants to apologise as well for their misdeeds!”

At his statement, he bowed and surprised his entire group by his unexpected behaviour. Still, they decided to go with the flow and dropped their heads down as well to match their leaders bow.

“Uh…” Tetra said, looking uncertain as she turned to look at Sumara and Ondine.

They drew closer and whispered to each other about how much to trust their behavior so far.

“Do they really mean it?”

“Their men seem surprised at first when he bowed but quickly did as he said.”

“I think it was a case of them not being aware of their leader's plan beforehand.”

“Yes, and he seems to truly regret his actions from what he's done so far.”

“Yes, but sending his people in to speak to us instead of coming directly is rather rude, I must say.”

“That is true but we shouldn't expect anything more considering he still has some face to keep.”

The three of them glanced at the group of fifteen men and looked back at one another.

“Well, there's no harm in telling them anyway.”

“Besides, I thought they'd have known about those three by now.”

“Who knows how news circulates in the prison. As for this group, I suspect they don't know about Lakshman’s nickname but that they would find their answers here.”

“Yeah. I think there's no harm telling them and making them leave since I'm not feeling comfortable with them  being here.”

Nodding their heads at each other in a silent agreement, they turned to face the group once more and it was Sumara who spoke to them.

“You may rise your heads.”

Everyone from the group looked relieved as they straightened up and looked gratefully at her. She smiled at them and continued speaking in a friendly voice.

“I am glad to hear that your time in the prison has taught you a valuable lesson, and I hope you make wise decisions from here on.”

“Of course,” he replied with a nod of his head. Then he looked curiously at them and asked, “About this person called Lucky…?”

“That’s his nickname. His actual name is Lakshman, and he is our husband,” stated Tetra with a pleasant smile.

Jagav slowly widened his eyes in surprise and asked, “Lakshman? Your husband? Wait…! Isn't that… the name of the Phoenix Titan that lives here?”

“Yes. The very same man,” said Tetra with a nod of her head.

“Obviously you came here for answers knowing this is the place that the Phoenix Titan lives in, right?”

“That's right but… Wow… Phoenix Titan… That kid certainly grew up in life,” he commented much to their pleasure. He suddenly looked imploring as he asked them, “May I have an audience with him please?”

The three women looked at each other and Ondine said sadly, “No. He's not here.”

Jagav looked disappointed upon hearing that, and it was clear how he felt when he said, “Oh. That's sad to hear. I mean, the people in the city did say he had gone somewhere far away but… I didn't believe it to be true.”

“Yes, but it's only temporary but he will return soon,” stated Tetra with a confident look on her face.

He nodded and smiled as he said, “Yes. Then where are the Sword King and the Monkey King?”

Once again, the three girls looked sad as Sumara replied, “Darian is dead. Rumble, however, is currently on the Bazaraka Continent.”

“That's… sad,” admitted Jagav, putting on a sad face when he discovered Darian’s fate. Then he brightened up a little as he said, “Still, I'm glad to hear about the Monkey King. At least I have the chance of asking for forgiveness from at least one of the three. Thank you, ladies. You really helped me out today.”

He smiled happily at the women, and they smiled back at him. Unlike before, where tension was high, everyone was looking pleased with the end result as a pleasant mood hung over them.

“Well then, I've needlessly caused you worry with our presence. We'll be leaving now,” he said finally to break the silence that stretches between them.

“Ah. Why don't you drink a glass of water at least?” Ondine asked, realising the courtesy they should at least do for them.

However, Jagav shook his head and said, “I like the idea, but another time. I've got some things to do, and I must hurry or else I'll be late.”

“Oh. That's fine when your work is so important,” replied Ondine with a look of understanding on her face.

“Yes. Good luck with it,” wished Sumara with a smile on her face.

The group of men has turned and we're about to leave when he heard her statement. Turning back to look at them one final time, he smiled a little faintly and whipped around to quickly march back the way they came from.

Ondine, Tetra, and Sumara stayed and watched them quickly retreat up the mountain. It was when they vanished from view that the three women decided to get back into the house.

Inside the house, Silvera and Emilia were waiting for them with anxious looks on their faces. It appeared that they had stayed hidden inside and watched the proceedings outside through the tinted windows.

“Was it wise to tell them so much about us?” Silvera worried with an anxious expression on her face. “I mean… he's a criminal!”

“Used to be but not anymore. I can sense it in him,” said Sumara with a smile. “It seemed like the life he spent in the prison had served him well.”

“Possibly but…” said Silvera nervously.

“Whatever the case, I'm glad nothing major happened,” commented Emilia with a look of relief on her face, “and if he truly has changed for the better, then I also wish him a best of luck at starting a new life.”

“Is there anyone in the vicinity, Tetra?” Ondine asked her curiously.

Tetra shook her head and replied with, “None. They were the last to be here and to leave.”

“Even so, an attack can strike from any direction,” said Silvera in an anxious voice.

They looked at Sumara for a moment before turning to face Emilia, who was capable of sensing their surroundings better than them.

“What do you think, Emilia?”

“I think Silvera's worry is something to accept because I'm also feeling a little nervous that something bad might happen,” admitted Emilia in a quiet voice.

“Oh. In that case, let's cast a barrier around our house and only drop it when the girls come home. Okay?” Ondine suggested.

“That's a great idea, Ondine,” replied Sumara with a smile while the others also smiled and nodded in agreement.

Coming to a silent agreement, Emilia, and Sumara cast their King Ranked Barrier Magic Spells called Barrier Bubble. It creates a virtually invisible aura around a kilometer from their house and the only way to know that it was up was that it kept shimmering rainbow colors from time to time.

“Alright. That should keep us safe,” said Sumara in satisfaction.

Like the rest, Emilia also smiled at her, but deep down she was uncertain and thought, “Let us hope it is safe because I don't think we're in the clear yet.”

***

The group of fifteen men, along with their leader, climbed up the mountain and entered the forest. The men watched their leader walking at the front in total silence until then, but once they felt they were out of the sensing range of the women, they broke out with complaints.

“Shut up!” He snapped at them, causing them to go quiet as quickly as they burst out. Looking around, he gave them a deadly look that was filled with death and said, “Whatever your complaints are, I don't care about them!”

“But, boss, why did we have to bow our heads to those women including you?!”

“Yeah, boss! You said we'll fight them but we only learnt what we already know!”

“That's right! We literally looked like cowards begging for their forgiveness!”

“The humiliation–!”

Before the guy could complete his sentence, he found himself choking with a hand grabbing his neck. The owner of the hand was Jagav, who was staring down his minion with a truly cold look that made it appeared as if he was ready to murder. Finally, feeling that the minion was going to die, he hurled him across the forest and the man crashed down after smashing against a tree. The remainder of the men stepped back in fright by the fearsome aura that surrounded their leader.

“Humiliation?” He slowly asked, turning around to give them a deadly glare. “You're telling me… what humiliation is…? You idiots!”

He suddenly began beating the nearest of the group several times to vent his anger out before releasing them. Everyone was frightened by this display of power and fury they had never seen in him before.

“Get defeated by a brat and then get jailed for more than seventeen years before you come and tell me what humiliation is!” He roared at them.

He swirled around to launch at a tree, causing it to break in half and fall, shocking everyone there. Turning back, he lifted up a finger to them and said in an ominous voice.

“I wanted to kill them all right there and then, but it wouldn't satisfy me. They robbed me of my goal, they trashed my dream, and they destroyed my life! I… want the same repayment! I want a satisfying vengeance on them! Yes…! I will thoroughly enjoy it... Enjoy. Every. Moment. Of. My. Revenge!”

With those words, he formed a truly evil grin with a half-crazed expression on his face before letting out a bone chilling laughter that only the mad were capable of accomplishing when all reason is lost.