My expression changed to that of surprise when I opened the door to an underground festive village with shops, houses, and even a few crops. Firelight danced on the walls, illuminating the huge palace at the end of the town—its guards looking weary from their duties. As I walked slowly into the village, nodding to the two sentinels at its entrance, I noticed that lanterns hung from the ceiling and glowed with fireflies inside them. Attracted by numerous stalls along the streets, I approached one selling decorative masks for festivals.
"Which mask would you like, young man?" The vendor asked me as I approached his stand.
"I'll take the purple demon mask," I responded.
"Sure thing!" He said as he handed it over. "It'll be 25 coins."
I fished out my coins and paid him before realizing I was now out of money—I'd have to take up bounty hunting temporarily, it could be a learning experience for Darius if I could find him. A thought then flashed inside of my head, if I found him hurt, I'd make them all answer for it.
As I exchanged the mask and coins, my eyes widened in surprise: "Wow, it's made of metal?"
"Yeah, the straps are also made out of leather" he replied while pointing out the leather straps. "That's why it costs this much."
"I see," I noted before turning away.
It felt odd that the people of this small town would ignore me whenever I tried to ask questions. Was it due to living beneath the ground, or because of the "Young Master" who lived nearby? As I strolled away from the village towards the palace, I tapped into my inner energy as it had recharged around to 78%. Then, I sent out pulses of energy to detect any abnormalities on the ground. After some time, the gravel and rugged path transformed into a smooth stone walkway. With my enhanced vision, I spotted around four gray-clothed armored guards patrolling the area. Even from a distance, their arrogance was clear as day.
"Hey! What are you doing here? You know only those associated with the palace can step foot in this place," one of them called out pompously.
"Oh, yeah sorry. I'm new around here – didn't mean to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," I replied sheepishly.
"Did you really? I thought people like you were educated," he said mockingly while his cohorts snickered.
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My anger bubbled inside of me as I realized how unjust society was to those of a lower class.
As the leaders raucous laughter died down, their voice took on a more somber tone: "I suggest that you leave this area as quickly as possible. Who would even notice an underclass guard like you?"
My hands balled into fists as my inner energy leaked out and spread through the ground around me. There was nobody else here besides these guards, so I acted quickly. Drawing my sword from its sheath, it shone with a vibrant purple light. The guards soon followed suite, encasing their blades in a grayish hue.
"<(Sword Dance 1st Form, Crescent Dash)>" My command wasn't loud, but they heard it just fine.
"What a foolish sword style; is this what commoners use?!" the leader replied arrogantly.
To his surprise, I had already closed the gap between us and now held my blade to his throat, my weapon stained with the blood of his companions.
"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you what you want to know - anything," he stammered hastily.
"Where is this 'Young Master' located? Where does he keep his hostages?" I asked sternly.
...
The air in the palace felt cold and damp, and I was wearing a disguise I had taken from the late person I had killed and interrogated. Being told of its secrets, the labyrinth like palace was easy to traverse. As I walked towards the prisoners' dungeons, I noticed the guard in front of the entrance. After saluting him, I killed him quickly and propped his body against a wall. Treading noiselessly through the cellars, I radiated my innate energy around the dungeon, projecting a vibrant purple light. When it shone upon Darius, he appeared weak and chained to the wall.
"There you are," I sighed with relief. "Where did they hurt you?"
His voice sounded raspy as he replied, "They didn't;
they just starved me and kept me chained up... But I think I remember one of them mentioning something about calling their master on you."
"I see," I said. "Thanks for the info. Now let's get you out of here." I used my katana to break his chains and helped him stand up. With my arm supporting him, we tried to sneak out of the palace back door while avoiding the maze-like hallways.
We stepped out the back door and right into a fully silver armored palace guard, the highest rank in this castle.
"I was told the prisoner is not to leave the dungeons no matter what," he said in an even voice.
"I'm taking him for one last walk before his execution," I responded.
"I'll be coming with you then," he replied. "Can't let any chance of escape."
Confused, I agreed and the three of us set off down the smooth stone pathway. I whispered to Darius, "On my count, I will pick you up and we run. Clear?" His only response was a nod; he seemed to be too exhausted and hungry to say anything more.
"Three, two, one!" I lifted Darius up and readied to bolt.
When suddenly, the high guard put out his hand and shouted, "Stop right there!"
Taking a closer look, I could see that his power was manipulating earth elements - which posed a serious problem for our escape attempts.
"Wait here while I fight him," I murmured to Darius. I wouldn't want to lose Darius again by telling him to go hide, I couldn't stomach the idea of enraging and stressing myself out in trying to find and save Darius once more.
The guard signaled with a raised katana, glowing a dark brown, and murmured "<(Earth Sword 3rd Form: Mineral Mince)>".
Instinctively, I sprang into the air as I felt an underground rumbling. Spiked rocks and dirt came up from the floor and ceiling at his sword's wave. Just barely avoiding them, I got several cuts in some serious places as I dropped back to the ground. My eyes lit up as I invoked
Weaving my way through the continuously rising spikes of earth, I gathered energy towards the tip of my blade and shouted "<(Sword Demon Dance 6th Form: Lunar Beam)>".
The violet-colored beam shot out from the katana at immense speeds and pierced the guard's left shoulder, immobilizing it. He let out a howl and a string of curses before he cloaked his sword with the same brownish aura once again...