The wind blew, lifting light curtains of dust, gently moving the grass on the ground while the sound of an engine resonated. The tires screeched as they collided with some rocks on the path.

"It seems like the road is getting a bit rocky... Let's see how far this friend of ours takes us," Xitlari said calmly while driving the four-wheeled bike, about to reach the spiral mountain Quichua.

"I... I can't take it anymore!" thought Louis, blushing, with his arms around Xitlari's abdomen. "And with all these rocks, I feel even more uncomfortable!" Louis tried not to reveal his nerves with any movement. "What should I do...? I'm trying not to raise my temperature... like that time in Mei's car or when she fought at the bank... I... I... Could hurt her..." he thought, filling his mind with worry. An image of his father appeared again, which grounded him. "No...!" he shouted, letting go of Xitlari and crashing to the ground, leaving a trail from the impact and rolling a few times due to the great speed they were going.

"Louis!" Xitlari quickly braked to turn around, reaching him. She then got off the bike and approached him. "Are you okay? Why did you let go...? Was I going too fast?" she asked, confused by what had happened, moving closer to help him.

"No... You were fine... It's just... It's my fault. Get on the bike; I'll catch up," he replied, raising his hand to stop her from helping. He then stood up from the ground, but kept his gaze downward.

"Is it because my abdomen started sweating and slipped?" Xitlari thought, touching her abdomen with one of her four hands while holding the box with the diamond in the other. Xitlari placed the diamond on top of the bike and then made several hand movements with her four limbs. Louis noticed she was doing something and watched her slightly, showing a bit of his face full of worry and fear.

"I'll see you later, Rhyno," she said, making Rhyno transform into the spiritual owl. "Buh, I..." she whispered but was interrupted.

"First of all, he wears gloves, it wasn't going to slip because of that. Second! His aura is filled with fear, worry, and pain... We don't know exactly what happened, but we need to find out," the owl said directly while observing Louis's aura.

"Discover?! What do you want to discover? We need to deliver the diamond!" Xitlari said, trying to lower her voice so Louis wouldn't notice she was speaking.

"You summoned me to give you a solution, and here it is: try acting like an adult and help him," the owl replied, starting to fly in front of Xitlari.

" 'sigh' Fine... Louis! What happened back there? Is it because of Maber? If you're worried, you can send a message through the church's program," Xitlari said, turning her gaze to Louis.

"It's... hard to explain... And I don't want you to think badly of me," he responded without looking at her, touching his face with his left hand.

Xitlari approached to place one of her hands on his shoulder. "Don't worry... I know you better now, and I know you're a good guy. You can tell me," she said with a slight smile on her face.

Louis turned to look at her, his eyes lighting up slightly. Then he hid his face again and pulled away from her, gently removing her hand from his shoulder. "I could... tell you while we walk up, if you want to walk, of course..." he said, starting to walk toward the mountain. Xitlari hid the bike and followed him after taking the diamond off the bike and placing it on her belt on her left. After a moment of silence and several steps from both, Xitlari walked beside him.

"So... What do you have?" she asked, glancing at him while they kept walking.

"I'm not so sure about telling you," he replied, walking with his gaze down. "I... 'sigh'... I've had a lot of intrusive thoughts, painful dreams because of someone... I had to use dream-blocking potions, which helped me sleep, but he didn't leave. I still had to listen to him, see the images he put in my head... see... that moment..." Louis tried to stay strong, but the more he spoke, the more he fell apart... until tears escaped from his face, which he quickly hid and wiped with his right arm.

Xitlari was surprised by his words and his reaction in the end. "Mei told us about you... The truth is... At first, I didn't pay much attention to that call, but... when she mentioned what happened to you... I can't imagine what you went through that day. That you're here, with me, shows you're strong... And that you've worked hard to get where you are. You're not just anyone," she tried to be as sincere as possible, attempting to lighten the weight Louis felt on him.

"Well done, Xitlari," the spiritual owl said with a smile after hearing her words. "Too bad Louis can't hear me... I could help him too," he thought, watching Louis, waiting for his response.

Inspired by Xitlari's words, Louis replied, "Thank you for those words, they mean a lot to me... if they come from you," he said, finishing wiping his tears and lifting his face to look ahead.

"Really?" Xitlari thought, once again surprised by Louis's words.

"I'm sorry you saw me like this..." Louis said, thinking and feeling embarrassed.

For a moment, Xitlari looked at Louis and knew how he felt. "Don't worry... I think good people always have moments like this," she said as if she had already experienced it. Louis understood what she meant, and both continued walking toward the top.

After a long walk along that vast rocky path, Louis and Xitlari found themselves in an area surrounded by stone walls, a flat path that turned to the right but with many large rocks around. It was almost like a cave, but without a roof.

"How nice! No more giant or sharp rocks," she said, looking around the place, with Louis's communicator in one of her hands. "And... I've also made your profile and posted the capture notice for Maber. They'll be quick to look for him. There are a lot of knights about to ascend to paladin who are dedicated to finishing the capture of certain criminals." Xitlari handed the communicator to Louis before continuing her walk.

"No one is allowed to pass!" shouted a being, 176 cm tall, with a robotic voice. Its body was entirely metallic. After shouting those words, it jumped on top of Xitlari, attacking her from above with its arm, which turned into a blade. Xitlari caught the sword with both hands and then punched the robot in the stomach, sending it flying and embedding it in the stone wall.

"What is that? I don't remember seeing it in any race book," Louis asked, surprised by the being, while holding his katana, already drawn, with his right hand.

"That's a robot... You won't find them in history books," Xitlari responded, getting ready to fight.

"Intruders! Intruders! Intruders!" shouted several robots that arrived from both the front and behind, sealing off their exits.

The robots lunged at them. From behind, Louis broke all of his blades, then punched all the ones he could, making them fall to the ground. Xitlari grabbed one of the robot's arms and, with two punches, removed it from the body and used it to strike.

"Oh God! What's happening?!" an altered man's voice was heard not far away. "Hey! Stop!" the man said, arriving at the scene. Everyone turned to stop their fight, but didn't move from their positions. The man, about 190 cm tall, had an obese build, very short bright green hair, green eyes, and wore a dark formal suit with a green tie and yellow stripes. He had polished black shoes.

"He's really big," the spiritual owl said sarcastically.

The man carefully observed Xitlari and Louis before saying, "Can't you see?! A red-haired boy! And...! A woman with four arms!" The man was upset as he raised his right hand, pressing it firmly.

"Sir... They are thieves!" one of the robots said, only to be struck by Xitlari, sending it crashing into a rock.

"Didn't... Willy tell you about the people waiting?" he asked after seeing the robot crash into the rock.

"No... He told us nothing... He only mentioned that we should guard the entrance because... Maber was nearby," replied the same robot that Xitlari had struck, struggling to get up.

"Damn... Well, step aside. They don't work with Maber, they just brought me a package," the man said, hitting his forehead in frustration. Then, he gestured for the robots to leave. One of the robots approached Xitlari and took the arm she had torn off, then retreated with the others.

" 'Sigh' I apo...", suddenly, the robot that had been embedded in the rock fell to the ground, interrupting the man, before also retreating. "I apologize for the reception. My... Right hand is in its final years, so mistakes like that can happen. I apologize again," the man said respectfully, placing his right hand on his chest and bowing his head slightly.

"Don't worry... You must be Donquichua, right?" Xitlari took out her communicator to check the data Mei had sent.

"Of course! It's a pleasure to meet you. Please, follow me," Donquichua responded a bit anxiously, showing them the way.

Before following him, Xitlari stopped Louis to confirm Donquichua's appearance. Then, she made a gesture with her face indicating they could follow him. Donquichua led them down a path until they reached the entrance of a cave. Inside the cave were many pieces of furniture; the place was very well furnished, with a kitchen to their right, and two doors on the left and right at the end of the room that led to other rooms as luxurious as the first.

"Please, have a seat," he said after pressing a button that rotated the floor, causing a table to appear between two facing sofas. Both Louis and Xitlari sat down. Xitlari took the box from her belt and placed it on the table. With a sigh of excitement, Donquichua took the box and opened it.

"It’s... beautiful... I’ve been waiting for this," he said as he lifted it and admired it greatly, then took a bite from one corner. Louis, Xitlari, and the spiritual owl were stunned.

"How... is it...?" Xitlari said, surprised to see him chewing a piece of the diamond.

"Is... is that a real diamond?" Louis asked, as surprised as Xitlari.

"Of course it’s real! Otherwise, I wouldn’t know it tasted this good..." he commented, puzzled by their reactions while savoring the taste of the diamond.

"But..." murmured Louis, at a loss for words.

"You... are you a chameleon?" Xitlari asked, thinking that was the only explanation for what she was seeing.

"Of course! Half, actually. Didn’t Mei tell you about me?" Donquichua placed the diamond back in the box.

"I see... Sorry, there was a little mishap and she didn’t tell us much, or rather, nothing about you," Xitlari replied, feeling guilty about what had happened at the agency and making it more evident by touching her two right arms with her left hands.

"I understand... Don’t worry, and... Here’s your payment!" Donquichua said, placing a tiny gold cube on the table.

"But... that’s nothing..." Louis replied, looking at the cube.

"Hahaha, that confirms Mei didn’t tell you anything about me. This tiny cube is much heavier than you and I combined, about 37,000 tons to be exact," he assured while getting up from the sofa and pulling out a jar of light blue liquid from his pocket. "With my technology, I can make huge and heavy things become small and light. For example, look at this shelf: if I drop a little of my formula..." Donquichua dropped a drop of liquid onto the shelf, and gradually, it became tiny.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"Incredible!" Louis exclaimed, standing up to examine the shelf. "How is this possible? I’ve never seen this kind of magic," he said excitedly, crouching down to observe the shelf.

"Haha, I’m glad to see your reaction. That means people will love it! Of course, all the kingdoms will ask me for a lot of it!" Donquichua shouted with excitement upon seeing Louis’s reaction, while Xitlari looked surprised. However, her face showed concern. She took out her communicator and checked the information Mei had sent them, confirming everything she saw, which made her feel guilty.

"Well... I thank you for bringing me my precious diamond. I hope you didn’t have any difficulties," Donquichua said, very grateful, taking a jug of water from the kitchen.

"Well... we did. The diamond was stolen from us," Louis said, standing up.

"What?! Hmm... Let me guess... Maber Thief, right?" Donquichua asked, surprised as he approached Louis.

"Yes, sir, but as you can see, we managed to get it back," Louis replied while Xitlari took the gold cube and examined it.

"I see... Did you fight him?" Donquichua asked curiously.

"Yes, Xitlari defeated him," he replied, lowering his head slightly.

"Incredible... The bad part is that no one will pay attention if you send a message for his capture," he said, pouring the water from the jug onto the shelf, causing it to return to its original size.

"Whoa! That’s how it regains its size!" Louis said, amazed as he watched the shelf return to its normal size.

"Yes, be careful. Keep the gold cube in this little bag; it’s impossible for water to get to it," Donquichua explained, pulling out a transparent bag from his pocket. Xitlari stood up to take it and store the gold cube.

"Thank you very much, Donquichua, and don’t worry about Maber. Louis is a paladin of Alahead, and his capture messages will definitely be taken seriously," Xitlari said, putting the cube in her pants pocket.

"Alahead! I’ve heard of that kingdom... Paladin Louis!" Donquichua pulled out the jar he had and placed it in Louis’s hands along with a card. "Could you recommend me in your kingdom? I’d really appreciate it, even with a sum," he asked excitedly.

"Huh? Sure... I could speak to the king about your technology," Louis responded in surprise, looking at the jar, then putting it in his coat pocket.

"Thank you so much. And well, how do you plan to get back to the kingdom?" Donquichua asked, sitting on the sofa.

"We have transportation, don’t worry. I appreciate your hospitality, but we have to leave now," Xitlari replied, heading for the exit while grabbing Louis’s arm.

"Huh...? Wait! I won’t let you walk all the way down the hill. I didn’t wait at the bottom for Maber, but I can save you the walk," Donquichua said, quickly getting up and pressing a button that opened a secret room. "Do you really think I go down the hill every time I want to leave?" he added with a smile, lightly patting his stomach with his right hand. Donquichua led Louis and Xitlari to a spacious capsule that began to descend.

"Incredible... What’s this called?" Louis asked, amazed by the technology as he saw the elevator quickly descend.

"It’s called an elevator... You’ve never ridden one?" Donquichua said, surprised by Louis’s reaction.

"Not at all..." Louis replied while closely watching the capsule.

"It’s true what they say... The kingdom of Alahead doesn’t have advanced technology..." Donquichua thought, looking at Louis with curiosity before turning his gaze to Xitlari, who had her arms crossed.

Finally, the elevator stopped and opened its doors.

"This is where we say goodbye. I hope to see you again," Donquichua said, watching them exit the elevator.

"Goodbye," Louis said, turning around and raising his hand, then following Xitlari. She headed to where she had hidden the motorcycle (among some rocks) and pulled it out, lifting it with her arms.

"Is something wrong? You’re quiet..." Louis commented.

"I’m fine..." Xitlari replied, getting on the motorcycle.

"No, you’re not..." the spiritual owl said. Xitlari looked at the owl for a moment and then started the motorcycle.

"Are you coming?" she said, turning around to face Louis.

"Sure..." Louis replied, getting on the motorcycle with a little doubt. This time, he held on only to Xitlari’s upper shoulders.

"Don’t fall this time!" Xitlari commented when she felt Louis grab on, then accelerated and sped back to the kingdom.

After a long journey back to the kingdom of Ystir, an idea crossed Louis’s mind as he saw a cave somewhat near the kingdom.

"Xitlari! Could you drop me off here?" Louis shouted due to the speed and noise of the motorcycle.

"What?" Xitlari exclaimed as she braked, stopping on the road. "Why? Aren’t you coming back?" she asked, showing concern on her face.

"Of course... I just need to do something first," he replied as he got off the motorcycle. "Hey... Are you sure you're okay? You look worried..." he asked as he observed her.

Xitlari avoided answering, looking away.

"Answer...!" said the spiritual owl, flying in front of her.

"For what?" Xitlari whispered, annoyed.

"To confirm the good friendship you've made today," the spiritual owl responded, landing back on her shoulder.

"Louis... I... I feel guilty about what happened this morning. We arrived with Donquichua and... We didn’t know anything about him. I feel like I didn’t fulfill the mission well. I let them capture me, I let them take the diamond! I tried to ignore it, but I can't anymore..." Xitlari expressed, sadness reflected on her face. The more she spoke, the more upset and frustrated she became.

"It's okay... I enjoyed being with you on this mission, but I also caused problems and inconvenience. Even so... You understood me; thanks for the support and for being yourself with me," Louis said sincerely, with a slight smile, remembering what had happened throughout the day.

Xitlari felt a little relieved by his words and said, "Heh... Thanks for showing me that there are still people who will accept me, no matter how different I am. I'll see you later." After these sincere words, she sped away on the motorcycle.

Louis headed to the cave. Upon arriving, he noticed how spacious it was. There were several spikes on the floor, and the rock had a slight bluish tint. Additionally, the cave was quite deep.

"If I want to get stronger... I must train! And this place is the only one I have to do it... I won’t let my magic destroy what I have now!" he said with inspiration and determination as he removed his coat and left it outside the cave. This revealed his long-sleeve blue compression shirt.

He descended into the cave, stretching and unsheathing his katana, then began cutting each spike around him. He then filled the whole cave with red lava that reached his knees. "You can do this... You can do this," he repeated nervously and with some fear, trying to lower the temperature of the lava at a specific point.

"It doesn't matter how long it takes... I must gain total control of this magic... For my father... For my mother... For my master... For her... For everyone..." he thought as he remembered each important person in his life. This helped him turn a small portion of the lava into solid rock, then back into liquid again.

*Kingdom of Ystir - PT Agency*

"I wonder how their mission went..." Kassie said, lying on the couch in the waiting room.

"I hope Xitlari isn’t any angrier. I would have been really happy if I had been paid a personal account," Ann said with a smile on her face, playing with her communicator.

"We're not all the same..." Kassie replied, then heard the sound of her communicator. She got up and checked it. "They’re back! Let’s go, Ann!" she said, leaving the room and taking Ann’s arm.

"That's great! How did it go?" Ann asked, putting away her communicator as she followed Kassie out of the agency.

"We’ll ask them. Let’s go to my house; Xitlari needs a jacket to cover her arms," she said as many people passed by her side.

"Got it!" Ann said, wrapping Kassie in her yellow wind magic and then flying off at high speed.

Ann arrived at Kassie's house and waited outside while Kassie looked for something for Xitlari.

"Awww, I hope those two got along! Huh?" Ann said anxiously, then saw a woman with short pink hair and a stack of papers in her hands. She was walking on the sidewalk across from the parking area. She looked in very bad condition, as if she might collapse at any moment. "Miss! Are you okay?" Ann called, flying across the sidewalk.

"Yes..." she replied, turning her gaze toward Ann. The girl had dark circles under her eyes, her hair was messy, and her clothes were poorly put on. To Ann's surprise, upon recognizing her, she shouted a little excitedly, "Ann! It can't be... Now I have you right in front of me... I’m so lucky..." she said, then collapsed into Ann’s arms.

"Oh my God! Are you okay?" Ann said, concerned, helping her sit on a nearby bench.

"More or less... I’ve been working a lot on the project of my life... It’s going to make me famous... Heh, even you’re in it..." she mentioned with difficulty while holding her papers, one of which contained a disc.

"I understand, but... you shouldn't push yourself so hard. It looks like you haven’t slept in days..." Ann expressed, worried, while calling someone on her communicator.

"It’s fine, it will be worth it... He’s going to make me famous and I’ll make him famous... My head hurts a lot... Maybe I should sleep a little," the girl commented, touching her head with one of her hands.

"Ann! Ann? What are you doing there?" Kassie shouted, stepping out of her house with a jacket in her arms.

"This girl is really bad! I need to help her, tell me what happened later," Ann said, finally receiving the call.

"Okay... I'll tell you later then," Kassie replied, running toward the eastern exit. "Alright, I’m almost there... What was wrong with that girl? She looked terrible," she thought while running down the sidewalk with the jacket in her arms.

*East Gate*

Xitlari was sitting on the ground, with the four-wheeled motorcycle to her left, helping her keep it out of sight.

"Are you ready for the next full moon? It's in two months. I wonder what it will tell you," the spiritual owl said, resting on Xitlari’s shoulder.

"Me too... By the way, how do the bracelets work? Is there something I don’t know about them?" Xitlari asked, examining her bracelets with blue gems embedded in them.

"Uhhhh! I thought you’d never ask," the owl said sarcastically, then cleared its throat. "Right now, you can't use the full power of the bracelets. They only help you concentrate spiritual magic more quickly," it mentioned, settling on top of the bracelet. "But... when you get your third spirit, the bracelets will allow you to use two spirits at once! Amazing, right?" it emphasized at the end with excitement, gazing at the gem in the bracelet.

"Really? That sounds incredible," Xitlari said, surprised by the revelation.

"That’s right... But you need to get a lot better at hand poses and... learn how to do it with two!" the owl said, getting close to her face with authority.

"Yes, yes, you’ve told me already. I need to practice with just two hands... 'sigh'," she muttered, resting her chin on her left hand.

"Practice makes perfect! Just keep going. There are some who have gotten their third spirit in just one year, but those are the ones who have the least problems, like your father. You still have a long way to go... A 20-year-old human. Yes, they live the shortest of all races, but your life is just beginning. I can’t wait to see you become a master of spiritual magic... Ah! And to see you find that special person," the spiritual owl was very excited and eager about the future. After finishing its words, it returned to Xitlari’s right shoulder.

"Please... That won’t happen," Xitlari responded with discouragement, looking at the ground.

"Why do you say that?" The owl asked. Xitlari raised her four arms upon hearing the question. "Come on! You’ll see that someone will fall in love with you," it said, trying to cheer her up.

"I doubt it... It doesn't matter anymore... I gave up on that dream since I was a child," she mentioned, then pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped them with her four arms.

"How pessimistic... The experiences of the past won’t repeat forever, I assure you," the owl said.

Then Kassie arrived at the entrance.

"Xitlari! Where are you?" she shouted, not realizing that Xitlari was behind the four-wheeled motorcycle.

"I’m here!" Xitlari said, getting up from the ground and walking over to Kassie while brushing the dust off her pants.

"Great! Haven’t they told you anything? What happened? Don’t tell me you fought," Kassie said, approaching to give her the jacket while looking at the carriage drivers and then inspecting her clothes.

"What? Do you think I fought with Louis? Hahahaha, no. We fought with Maber," she replied, putting on the black jacket and then hiding her two extra arms.

"Maber... And Louis?" she said, shaking her head from side to side, unable to find him.

"He said he had something to do before coming back. Hey, Kassie... do you know where I can hide this motorcycle? I really like it and don’t want to lose it," Xitlari pointed to the four-wheeled motorcycle.

"No. They’re illegal here, remember?" Kassie responded, seeing the motorcycle.

"Too bad... Hmm... Hey you! You’re Marti, right?" Xitlari was thinking of a solution when she recognized Marti inside his carriage.

"Uhhh... Yeah, it's me..." Marti responded a bit awkwardly.

"Come!" Xitlari said, while Kassie turned to look at him.

"Oh! I remember you, you’re the one who took Louis and me to the harvest area," Kassie mentioned, recognizing him as he approached them with doubt.

"Right, I remember... So... why do you want me?" Marti asked, a little fearful at the end of his words.

"Could you help me store this motorcycle in the carriage warehouse " Xitlari responded, showing him the motorcycle.

"But they’re illegal..." he replied upon seeing it.

"Using them inside the kingdom is illegal, but storing or using them outside the kingdom isn’t. I know it’s a lot to ask, and you probably don’t even want to talk to me, I just need you to help me store it... Please," Xitlari said, trying to be as respectful and kind as possible.

"Alright... Follow me," Marti said after thinking for a moment. Marti guided Xitlari to the warehouse to store the motorcycle.

"Thank you so much, sorry for bothering you," Xitlari expressed after storing the motorcycle and leaving the warehouse to go with Kassie.

"How bad... I feel guilty," Marti said as he watched her leave with Kassie.

*PT Agency - Mei's Office*

Mei was sitting at the desk, and Xitlari was in front of her, a bit confused because Mei was just staring at her without saying a word... Until... "Did you fight?"

"Are you serious?! 'Sigh' We didn’t fight. The men from Maber attacked us and... I lost the diamond..." she said angrily, pulling the gold cube out of her pant pocket.

"And Louis?"

"He said he had something to do before returning to the kingdom," she replied, placing the gold cube on the desk.

"I see... Did you escape or did you call someone to capture him?" she asked while looking at the gold cube in the transparent bag.

"I sent a message creating a profile for Louis on the church platform," she replied, still feeling guilty as she sat down on the sofa.

"Don't feel guilty..." the spiritual owl commented.

"Great! And that means you’ve made up, right? What do you think of Louis now that you know him better?" Mei said happily, trying to gather information.

Xitlari began to remember the day she spent with Louis, showing a small smile on her face, and said: "I like him. He’s a good guy."

"Oh... I see. I'm glad everything worked out," Mei said cheerfully, putting the gold cube in her safe under the desk. "Tell me more, I want to know how things went with Maber."

"Don’t talk about what Louis told you. That’s personal," said the spiritual owl.

"Alright... I’ll tell you," Xitlari said after hearing the spiritual owl.

Then we moved away from Mei's office, the PT agency, and the kingdom of Ystir... to go back to where Maber was, sitting in a chair while his men tried to fix the mess caused by Xitlari and Louis.

"Why can’t I get that... phenomenon's words out of my head?!" Maber said furiously, clenching his fists.

Suddenly, a man in a black hooded cloak passed through the holographic shield, along with another man in a white hooded cloak.

"Damn it... Are they knights? Get ready, everyone!" Maber said as he stood up, and upon hearing his voice, all his men prepared to fight... despite being injured.

"Calm down! We’re not here to capture you..." shouted the man in the black cloak; his voice was deep and calm, but with a robotic sound.

"Who are you?!" Maber said, taking some amber out of his pant pocket.

"I am the Dark Lord, and he is Yeynos, the swordsman of the White Mist," the man replied as Yeynos lowered his hood.

"It can’t be... What are they doing here? Damn..." Maber thought, pressing the amber tightly in his hand.

"I see you were attacked... If we had arrived earlier, we might have helped," said the Dark Lord, looking at the state of the place.

"What do you want...? Get to the point," Maber asked, wanting to finish this.

"I want to recruit you, and your men," the Dark Lord responded flatly, his robotic voice continuing.

"What...?" Maber said, surprised by the response.

"As you heard... Don’t you want to be stronger? To have the chance to become something more?" As he continued speaking, the Dark Lord and Yeynos moved closer to Maber.

"I... I don’t..." Maber said, with many doubts in his mind.

"Come on... I expect more from you than from that werewolf I found by the river... Apparently, he already had his plans, but you are different," the Dark Lord said, trying to convince him.

"But your leader, Zthur... he’s a..." Maber said, scared.

"Don’t pay attention to that... Zthur supports us because he knows what we’ve felt," the Dark Lord replied, stepping in front of him. "We will make everything disappear, dominate each kingdom... We will make people like us rise to the top, and everyone else will become what we were: no more contempt, no more persecutions. We will have the glory we’ve always desired... What do you think?" he said with unwavering conviction, revealing his face, covered by a black iron mask. His eyes could be seen through the mask, reflecting strength, conviction, and great power.

Remembering the humiliation he had gone through that day, Maber responded: "I accept!" His eyes reflected a desire for revenge and fury.

"Perfect!" said the Dark Lord, shaking his hand after Maber threw the amber he had.

Suddenly, two people in silver armor crossed the holographic shield. They were chatting, and everyone turned to look at them.

"Of course, buddy... Wait! It can’t be... Yeynos! Let’s go!" one of the knights shouted, rushing out of the place.

"Wow... Looks like they came to capture you. Yeynos... could you handle this?" said the Dark Lord calmly, firing a device into the air with his right arm.

"Sure..." Yeynos replied serenely, unsheathing his sword and moving toward the holographic shield.

"Don’t kill them! We don’t want the church to get alerted. Make them swear and that’s it," the Dark Lord said before Yeynos leaped out of the place at great speed.

"Go! You report through the communicator!" one of the knights said, getting into a car.

"Damn it... It's not responding!" the other one said in desperation.

"How is it not?!" he asked frantically, starting the car and speeding off. A huge crash stopped the car... Yeynos removed the car's roof, cutting it with his katana, then stood on top of the car, placing the blade of his katana on the neck of both knights.

"Do you want to live?" Yeynos asked, completely calm in the situation.

"Y-y-yes," one of the knights answered.

"Good... Then swear to me you won’t tell anyone what you saw, and I promise I won’t kill you," Yeynos said, making black mist surround them and him.

Both knights hesitated. They weren’t sure, they were terrified.

"It’s a good offer, guys... If you swear not to say anything, you’ll see your loved ones once more. But if you refuse... I’ll make you suffer before I kill you," he said, moving his face closer to theirs.

"Okay... I... accept," said one of the knights, tears in his eyes.

"I too..." the other added.

"Good choice..." said Yeynos, as the mist around them turned white.

End of chapter