[HUM!]

A huge sphere of yellow energy descended in front of the entrance of the main city. Arav and Yaksh slowly landed on ground beside the sphere and gazed towards the city. They could see the tall blue houses along with some part of the large castle right from the entrance. This wasn’t the only change that was noticed by Arav, as he saw the number of soldiers guarding the entrance had greatly increased.

Arav’s eyes fell on Aizen and a man wearing all black clothes, conversing with the guards. The guard shook his head sideways after Aizen said something, the very next moment Aizen turned and began walking towards them.

“Y..Young master, there..has been some issues…I apologize but you have to wait here for a while…” Aizen’s hesitant words did not reduce any suspicion from both Arav and Yaksh’s heart. Arav simply nodded and raised his hand,

[HUM!]

The yellow energy sphere around the children instantly disappeared. They all began sprinting towards the entrance with a bright smile on their faces, oddly accompanied by tears in their eyes. Their innocent hearts raced at a rapid rate as they saw the entrance slowly getting closer.

The guards moved aside and cleared the way for the children to enter, Arav and Yaksh’s eyes caught the image of around fifty men and women impatiently gazing at the children entering the city. Their tear filled eyes perfectly described their heart’s state, some of those pairs of eyes brightened immediately as they recognised the ones in the front. While some of them stretched their heads upwards in an attempt to find their sons and daughters.

Arav and Yaksh could not gaze at the happiness of those parents for long, as their image was suddenly replaced by a pair of distrusting and hostile eyes peeking at them from behind a metal helmet.

[WOOSH!]

Aizen and the shadow member disappeared. Yaksh turned towards Arav;

“Why are they stopping us?” Yaksh’s annoyed tone broke the stream of thoughts inside Arav’s head;

“...The magic surrounding the kingdom disappeared the moment we arrived here. Some brows were predetermined to be raised..” Arav turned away from the entrance and began walking;

“WHAT?! ARE THEY DUMB? WE SAVED THOSE CHILDREN?!” Yaksh exclaimed in anger;

“Be discreet with your kindness…” Arav said while taking out the strange colorless crystal;

“Ugh!...These humans should be glad that we helped them. But instead, they treat us like this..” Yaksh said while sitting next to Arav, he opened a bundle on the boat that revealed precooked food which was still warm.

“....I am not sharing..” Yaksh said while attempting to hide the food from an uninterested Arav;

***

[WOOSH!]

A dark red mass of energy appeared inside a large hall. Aizen appeared out of the red energy and knelt down in front of the throne;

“I greet your highness..” Aizen said while bowing his head;

“Tell me everything that happened…” The old king sitting on the throne spoke in an authoritative tone;

Aizen raised his head and looked around the hall, he saw three men sitting on seats on both sides of the throne around him. Their gazes were filled with hostility and distrust, while having a hint of anticipation for his answer;

“Your highness, the children were kidnapped by the centaurs…But they were under the influence of a demon.” Aizen answered while his eyes stayed on the king,

“Hmm…What is your opinion about Prince Arav?” The king’s next question surprised Aizen, as his eyes showed suspicion while he spoke..

“...I..think he is an incredible man, with qualities that a prince must have..”

“His majesty did not ask about his personality, shadow master....” A middle aged man wearing long blue robe, who sat on the first seat on the left of Aizen said in an annoyed tone;

“If so…I apologize, your highness but that’s my opinion of young master Arav..”

“Tch..” Aizen heard six tongues clicking in unison, he already began forming an image of the situation;

“[SIGH]...Shadow master Aizen, you are the most trusted man of this kingdom…as well as our strongest warrior…I assume you are aware of this..” The king said in a low tone,

“Yes your majesty..”

“I ask you, do you think Prince Arav is in any way connected to the ancient magic disappearing from our kingdom?..”

The king’s blunt question startled Aizen, his brian rapidly began going through all of the experiences he had with Arav. Then he lowered his head,

“No…”

“WHAT?! HOW CAN YOU BE SO SURE SHADOW MASTER?!” The same middle aged man got up from his seat and exclaimed while pointing at Arav;

“...You do not need to worry about young master Arav, he has far better things to do than to aim for a noble’s position..”

Aizen’s answer made the middle aged man’s face red, his veins on the forehead burgled and he clenched his fists;

“HOW DARE YOU MERE SERVANT SPEAK TO ME IN THAT MANNER?!” MY MAJESTY, I SUGGEST WE IMMEDIATELY ARREST AND INTERROGATE ARAV!” The man exclaimed in rage while slamming his legs on the floor,

Aizen slowly raised his head,

“Three things…”

“WHAT?!”

“First, I serve the kingdom, not you…Second, there’s not a single soul in the entire Chandra kingdom who can arrest young master Arav”

“Why?..Has Arav become even stronger than you?” The middle aged man said while mockingly smiling at Aizen;

“And the third,..It’s Young Master Arav..” Aizen's cold voice echoed in the entire hall, while his red eyes began glowing and pierced through the heart of the noble.

With shaking legs, he stepped back and sat on his seat while anxiously grabbing his heart. The entire room went silent, all of the six nobles were frozen to their core and not a single one dared to even breathe loudly to prevent any sound being produced that might bring Aizen’s attention over them.

A smirk appeared on the king’s face, he brought his right palm near his face and formed a hollow fist;

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“AHEM!..AHEM!...The meeting is over. Shadow master, you will stay here to discuss some important matters..”

The nobles began walking away after hearing the king’s order, they all went behind the pillars in the hall and hastily exited the room, not a single one dared to go near Aizen.

***

[TAK…TAK…TAK]

A red haired man sat on a throne inside a dark room, his eyes moved and stopped while pointed directly in front of him;

[WOOSH!]

A purple mass of energy appeared and turned into a large naga. The naga went on his knees while placing the silver trident he held beside him,

“I am honored by your call…my lord..” The naga said in a respectful tone while lowering his head;

A woman walked from the left of the red haired man and sat on his throne’s arm;

“We are aware you seek revenge from a certain human…” The woman said while wrapping a few strands of her black, long hair around her index finger;

“Yes…devi..” The naga responded in a hesitant tone, as he felt a strange pressure inside the room;

“Hehe…You are lucky…Nagraj,...He is in chandra kingdom..” The woman giggled softly and said while placing her head on the red haired man’s shoulders;

“L..lucky?” A stream of confusion filled Nagraj’s mind, as he failed to understand her intentions;

“Not a thread of its existence should remain..” The red haired man said while leaning towards the naga, causing the woman’s head to slip off him.

Nagraj had a surprised expression as he heard to the red haired man's words, but the very next moment, as he realized the true meaning behind it, his surprise turned into a grateful smile, he raised his head and grabbed the silver trident;

“If you fail…your remaining daughter will face the same fate as her..” As he spoke, an intense energy was released from the red haired man that made the atmosphere unbreathable;

“[GULP!]....I will make sure to bring your order to fruition..”

[WOOSH!]

The naga turned into a purple mass of energy and disappeared. The woman stood up and walked in front of the red haired man,

“Dear, why are you so worried about a mere human?!” She asked while getting closer to the man, she placed her hands on his back and looked up in his eyes;

“A mere human…can not defeat an infernal's magic..’’ The red haired man responded while moving his gaze towards her;

“Well, those snakes will take care of him..” The woman raised her ankle after speaking, causing her lips to be placed on his.

***

‘What energy source fueled the magic masking this place’ Arav thought while moving the crystal between his fingers,

[BOOM!]

A huge explosion caught both Arav and Yaksh’s attention, they saw a stream of smoke rising from inside the city.

“Whah happehed?” Yaksh stood up and asked with his mouth stuffed with food;

[HUM!]

Yellow energy appeared under their feet and they both began floating towards the smoke;

The soldiers raised their swords towards them flying away, while some nocked arrows on the bow.

“HEY!..YOU ARE PROHI-....”

[HUM!]

But the very next moment, hundreds of arrows made of yellow energy appeared around them. Their faces went pale with sweat streaming down the forehead and they were forced to lower their weapons.

Arav’s brows contracted with Yaksh’s eyes burning with rage, they both saw a huge black sphere covering the entirety of the Paradise. Arav and Yaksh descended behind the large castle,

[TAK…TAK…TAK!]

“WHAT IS THIS??!” Adhrit came sprinting beside them with his silver sword attached to his waist.

Arav turned towards him and found him appearing as healthy as ever,

[WOOSH!]

Aizen and the twelve shadow members appeared right after Adhrit and looked at the huge sphere with concerned gazes;

“Demihumans are their true targets…and the children were just a distraction.” Arav stepped forward and placed his palm on the energy sphere.

“This is the same energy as that dimension..”

“I..I can’t sense anything inside…” A frustrated Adhrit said with a stretched arm that was shaking due to his constant attempt at creating a portal.

Yaksh held the bow in his hand with a tight grip, the memories of the mistreatment of his villagers and family rushed inside his head, his rage was elevated to almost an uncontrollable degree the moment his sister’s death got reenacted in his mind;

“FORMATION” Arav’s voice echoed, this time all present were able to recognise it;

[WOOSH!]

A mass of blood appeared in thin air, and quickly turned into a familiar man. Adhrit and Aizen gazed at the man with hopeful gazes;

“Ho…Ho…It seems I am needed once again..” He said while bowing down;

“...” Arav stared at him without saying anything while he stepped away from the sphere.

“AHEM!...” Ratri turned towards the opaque black sphere and momentarily gazed at it;

“[SIGH!]...” He turned towards Arav with a disappointed expression;

“Master, I ca….”

[WOOSH!]

Before he could complete his sentence, they all felt a sharp energy rising from the entrance of the city. Yaksh got goosebumps all over his body while the twelve shadow members confusingly stared at Aizen;

“The nagas….” Yaksh unconsciously said with a pale face, his heart began racing as the energy he felt was monstrous.

[WOOSH!]

Aizen just glanced at the shadow members, they nodded and disappeared immediately.

“As…I was saying…I can’t help you here, I am ashamed I can’t be of any use to you, master..” Ratri said with a disappointed expression;

“WHAT?! Why?..Didn’t you do the same before?” Adhrit asked while he felt his heart slowly sinking in the lake of desperation.

“The previous instance, an opening was deliberately left for one to enter…But this,...this barrier is thousands of times stronger than that..” Ratri said while turning his head towards the sphere;

“....Is there any way to enter this dimension?” Adhrit asked in a respectful tone,

“Heh….There are two ways…” Suddenly a long smile appeared on Ratri’s face;

“Tell us!” Both Yaksh and Adhrit said in unison;

“First, If my master decided to remove the limiter on my power…” Ratri said with a wicked smile, while he stared at Arav;

“The second one…” Arav said coldly,

“Fine…” Ratri shrugged his shoulder and turned towards Aizen, he kept staring at him without saying anything;

“....”

Aizen stared back, while he felt the confused gazes of Yaksh and Adhrit;

“You…” Ratri said while pointing at Aizen;

Aizen’s brows expanded, his eyes widened while he silently stared at Ratri;

“How can master help us right now?” Adhrit asked while angrily clenching his fist, oblivious to the sudden change in the atmosphere around Aizen, which was noticed by both Yaksh and Arav;

“No no…not him…but you…HEHEHE!” Ratri said with his smile widening even further, revealing two of his long and sharp canines drenched in saliva.

[BOOM!]

The explosions from the battle happening outside the entrance kept trembling the ground, but Arav, Yaksh and Adhrit completely ignored this fact while confusingly staring at Aizen.

“I apologize for keeping this a secret…” Aizen turned towards the three and grabbed the top of black cloth covering the lower half of his face;

“Huh?..What are you—” Adhrit’s eyes suddenly widened, he took a step away from Aizen.

Aizen removed the cloth covering his face and revealed strange symbols drawn with red energy all over his lips and chin. Countless whispers of a strange entity began echoing in the area,

[SWUSH!]

Suddenly, Aizen’s eyes in their entirety turned red and blood began leaking out of them. Arav’s brows got closer while he stared at Aizen as within seconds, a mass of blood appeared on his left shoulder and began forming a shape of a head.

Ratri smiled while anticipatedly staring at Aizen;

“Hellbringer,..The Blood Demon…”

[Chapter 27: END]