{Six months after the destruction of the dark dimension}

A dense silver energy surrounded Adhrit, who stood in an open area covered in grass, with only a single tree present in the corner. His eyes were closed and with complete concentration on his senses, he scanned every inch of his surroundings.

[WOOSH!]

A portal opened in a split second right in front of Adhrit, before the energy creating the portal could properly stabilize, Adhrit moved at such speed that it left a trail of silver light behind him. The next instance dozens of similar portals appeared all around the area, with the stream of silver light rapidly going through all of them.

Then suddenly, all of the silver energy Adhrit had summoned disappeared. He opened his eyes and turned towards the tree, “I got them all..” He said with a smirk then with a swift movement, he removed the water droplets sticking on the sword’s blade.

A woman sat under the shadow of the tree, she stood up with a smile that began worrying Adhrit. He frantically looked around as if in search of something. “Heh..” Ambu’s smile turned into a chuckle, she lightly covered her mouth while she stared at an anxious Adhrit. “You missed one.” She said while pointing her fingers above Adhrit’s head. His brows suddenly expanded, with an expression of disbelief, he gazed at the sky.

His disbelief immediately turned into horror, as soon as he saw a single water droplet floating above his head. “Oh…no.” Adhrit said with his expression more and more fearful.

"A dance in the middle of the Paradise…remember?" Ambu said while her eyes gazed at Adhrit with pity. "Can't we change the punishments?" Adhrit asked, his eyes glimmering with hope. "No, you are a prince, breaking promises will taint your dignity," Ambu said, attempting to form a serious expression, but her mind kept forming the image of Adhrit dancing, which made holding her laughter a daunting task.

"So...will be doing dancing in the middle of Paradise," Adhrit said under his breath, as Ambu kept laughing without paying any attention to the pain on his face.

Slowly, Adhrit's mind began shifting to a different thought. He gazed at Ambu, who was still laughing, with curious eyes. "The first day of my training, you could barely stay for half an hour," Adhrit's sudden words halted Ambu's laughter. She looked at him with her expression slowly becoming neutral. "I haven't sensed any instability in your presence yet," Adhrit said as he turned towards the red sun slowly hiding in the horizon.

"It seems your training has been quite fruitful," Ambu replied in a calm tone that perfectly masked her pride in Adhrit's abilities.

Adhrit turned his eyes towards her. "I have been wanting to ask something..." Adhrit hesitantly spoke. Ambu just nodded her head, as if already aware of Adhrit's upcoming question.

"How were you related to my brother?"

Ambu smiled, her prediction turned out to be true. "For that, your knowledge about the world is far too limited." Her answer caused an annoyed expression to dawn on Adhrit's face. He rolled his eyes and turned away from her. "So you are just a summon like Ratri, that’s it right?" Adhrit said as he began walking away. Ambu’s brows flinched, this sudden mention of Ratri caused a peculiar laughter to ring inside her head. Just as she was about to speak,

[WOOSH!]

A mist of dark energy appeared in front of Adhrit, just a small distance away. A man appeared out of the mist while on his knees, "I apologize for interrupting your training." He immediately spoke while lowering his head. Adhrit gazed at him with a serious expression, "A shadow member,...It must be immortal I suppose." he said with a strange uneasiness creeping in his heart.

"We just got the information that a fleet of demons attacked the east of Padma kingdom." The shadow member said in a shaky voice. Adhrit’s mind immediately began racing with thoughts, just the moment he heard him mention demons. "What is the extent of damage?!" He followed by a question in an anxious tone.

"None, Sir Drona's Mantra shielded the place."

The shadow member's answer sent a wave of relief all over Adhrit. He took a deep breath while thanking the heavens in his mind. But Ambu had a different reaction to the situation, she briefly thought about something with her hands holding her chin.

“You shouldn’t be so short-sighted.” She spoke in a serious tone, catching Adhrit off guard. He turned back towards her and gazed with an intrigued expression, “Chandra kingdom has already received threats regarding the elves…” She continued while her gaze demanded confirmation from Adhrit, who nodded in response. “Sir Drona is the strongest ally Chandra kingdom has, him being busy while protecting Padma kingdom will leave this place vulnerable.” This conclusion from Ambu sent chills down Adhrit’s spine. He quickly turned towards the shadow member, “Remove all the soldiers from my palace and order them to defend Paradise.” Adhrit ordered with a concerned expression slowly darkening his face.

“No disrespect to the young Master, but this will leave you defenseless…” The shadow member voiced his concern.

[WOOSH!]

A dense silver energy immediately made the air heavy. The shadow member’s heart began racing with sweat covering his forehead.

“Do I appear to be in need of protection?” Adhrit’s voice struck fear in the shadow member's heart. He quickly lowered his head and dared not to speak any further. “Haah…I apologize,..I know you were just concerned about me. But they managed to create that dimension right under all the security we had, and they weren't concerned with humans.”

“I understand…” The man replied, then disappeared after turning into a dark mist the next moment.

[GLUB!]

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Adhrit heard the sound of water on his right, as he turned in that direction, “Well, it seems that dance has to wait for the next time.” These were the words Ambu spoke right before turning into a mass of water, then disappearing into thin air. Adhrit showed next to no reaction to her last sentence, his mind still stuck on the thought of Paradise getting attacked. He lowered his eyes, causing his gaze to fall on his open palms. His hands were covered in calluses from holding the sword. For a brief moment, his eyes shivered but Adhrit quickly brushed off the feeling and clenched his fist. “I can’t falter… I am still not strong enough.” He thought with the image of the figure forming in his mind.

***

The sound of people laughing and chatting echoed throughout the entire room. Groups of four to five men sat around tables arranged in a pattern. Some of the men had swords attached to their waists, while others had spears resting against the tables with bows on some of their backs.

[CREAK!]

The wooden door suddenly opened wide, and the laughter and chatting stopped immediately as everyone present gazed at the individual walking inside. They could barely get a glance at his face, as the man entering had a black cloth covering his head all the way to his back. The man momentarily scanned the room and then began walking upon noticing an empty spot in the corner.

The man sat next to the table and raised his right hand, trying to get the attention of the server. While failing to do so, he did manage to attract the attention of some unexpected individuals. A man with a huge build, who was wearing armor with small damages all over it, noticed the golden bracelet on the man's hand.

[SLAM!]

He placed the huge glass of beer back on the wooden table and stood up. The man wearing the black robe slightly turned his head in the direction of the sound. Without anyone noticing, a strange smile appeared on his lips, as if anticipating what was occurring.

[THUD!]

The man slammed his fist on the table. "Hello, little brother. You seem to be from a rich family," the man said with a wide smile, failing utterly to hide his watering mouth. The man in the black robe moved back and rested his back on the chair, resulting in a clattering sound coming out of the pouch placed on his waist, which was all too familiar to the ones present in the room.

While the huge man sitting in front of him was mesmerized by the sound of the coins, another man stood up from his chair right behind him and said, "Ohh! Let's have a look at that rich face of yours," while moving forward to grab the black cloth covering the man's head. The next instance, everyone present had their eyes opened wide, as the removal of the cloth revealed the man as having green hair and eyes along with long ears.

The men present around swiftly grabbed their respective weapons and prepared to attack at any instance.

"YOU FILTHY ELF!!" The man's muscles bulged with his greed completely replaced with anger, he stretched his hand forward to grab the elf's head.

“Heh..” The elf chuckled while unalarmed by the situation,

The man who had removed the black cloth, along with the one with a huge build, suddenly froze with their faces getting pale. Everyone else gazed at them with a confused expression, while an ominous silence suddenly ensued.

Their confusion didn’t last for long, as the next instance both of the men’s arms that were stretched towards fell on the ground. Faster than anyone’s eyes could follow, both of the men had countless red lines appearing all over their body. An horrifying realization came with an equally potent pain, as each line marked on them began leaking blood while they fell back.

[SPLAT!]

Their bodies were sliced up into pieces, scattering as they fell on the ground. Chaos reigned in the entire tavern. Some patrons stood holding their weapons, prepared to attack, while others were frozen by the sight of the dead.

"Hehehe....let the hunt begin..." A strange voice echoed in the head of the elf wearing the black robe, unheard by anyone else. The men jumped at him from all directions, frantically thrusting their weapons forward.

[WOOSH!]

The elf disappeared right in front of their eyes. They looked around the room in search of their target, but before any of them could realize what was happening, red arrows began showering down from the roof of the tavern. Screams of horror and pain echoed throughout the room, with blood covering every nook and cranny. The bartender, holding a recently served glass of beer, stared at the roof with horrified eyes. His face went pale at the sight of the elf hanging upside down on the roof, but his fear made him stay silent in a failed attempt to avoid the elf's attention.

[TAK!]

The elf jumped down from the roof, landing on a man's head. The pressure made the already dead man's head explode, splattering the elf with blood and flesh. The bartender's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the elf heading his way.

[CLING!]

The elf placed a coin in front of the shivering man and took the glass of beer from his hand. "Oh?...you've got some good stuff. How long have you been working here?" The elf asked in a calm tone, with a smile indifferent to the blood covering his entirety. "I own this place...for thirty years," the bartender responded with intense fear echoing in every word he spoke.

"Hmm...they attacked me first...it was self-defense," the elf said while looking directly into the man's eyes. The bartender felt as if this single answer could decide his entire life. "Of course, sir..."

[WOOSH!]

Dark energy began rising out of all the dead men lying on the floor. The bartender felt as if he would faint at the sight. The dark energy rising was not without direction; it began entering the elf at a rapid pace, leaving wrinkled skin sticking to the bones on the corpses behind. The elf's green eyes glowed red for a split second, which the bartender immediately noticed. "It was a pleasure meeting you," the elf said while standing up from the chair in front of the bartender. A sigh of relief escaped the man's lungs the moment he realized the elf was done with his business.

"FATHER!" A concerned voice came from outside the tavern, rapidly getting closer. The man's eyes widened with horror, and he began internally screaming for the person not to enter.

[THUD!]

The door opened wide with a loud noise, revealing a young woman standing with a concerned expression on her face, “What was that lou-..” Her words were halted the moment she saw the horrifying sight in front of her eyes.

“Heh…You have a beautiful daughter..” The elf said while turning his head slightly towards the girl.

A terrifying thought appeared in the bartender’s head, he collected all the courage he had, “P–please…she didn’t do anything…please spare her..I-I would give you-..” his pleading had just begun, but suddenly a red line appeared directly in the middle of the man’s face.

[SPLAT!]

Both halves of the bartender fell in opposite directions, along with a great deal of blood raining on the elf.

The young woman’s face went pale, with her mind still processing the incident, “FATHER!! YOU MON-..” She began sprinting towards the now dead bartender, but before she could take her fourth step, a red line appeared directly on her abdomen. A gasp escaped the woman's face, right before her body was split in half.

[Chapter 41: END]