~ Chapter 142: A journey of blood ~

[Shanteya’s point of view]

The Risteza City State was said to have a history spanning back centuries to the times when mankind first settled on the Sorone Continent. This claim, however, was often contradicted by the historians in the Rukarta Empire who claimed that the white skin variant of humans came after the black skin variant. Thus, declaring their nation as being the oldest form of human civilization on this continent.

For the el’doraw, however, this was nothing more than a silly quarrel which would be extinguished once the most powerful civilization among them conquered all the others. The supremacy of each species was put to question with every war and every battle around Sorone, Thorya, and Allasn.

The draconians once thought themselves to be the supreme species, but they were defeated by the humans of the Paramanium Empire. Then they were the ones who thought the same until my husband, Illsyore, stepped in to show them the might of a Dungeon.

But he was not alone... He stepped in front of the armies of the Paramanium Empire together with us, his wives, each a representative of our own species, each of us powerful beyond the imagination of all those who dared thread our path.

As I stood atop the walls of Risteza, I could feel the power flowing through my veins and knew that if so I wished, if so I desired, I could erase this entire settlement off the face of this world.

“It would be so... easy.” I whispered.

What my dear husband did not know or maybe had only suspected was the fact that each of us constantly struggled with the desire to put our power to use by crushing all of these nations who dared to challenge us, who dared to aim for our friends and family, for our children and for our students.

So, what was stopping us from doing this?

Illsy’s words did...

“Within any capital city in the world, only 1% of the entire population holds governing power, less than that can give the order to attack someone like me. Yet, the other 99% are forced to obey whatever the 1% chooses in the end. Thus, why should I kill all those 99% when my enmity is with the few within the 1%?”

None of us could bear the guilt of having killed so many innocents, among which many would be children, elderly, and unarmed civilians. We could not allow Illsyorea to become a symbol of fear in their eyes. This little island of ours was supposed to be a beacon of hope and a proof to show that things can be better, that all of us had a future to dream of and a voice that could be heard.

On the other hand, we did not mind if the members of the underworld trembled in their boots with their tails between their legs at the mere mention of our name.

The Phantom Rage was our enemy, so I had no reason to spare them of my wrath. What innocents were among their ranks had been damaged beyond repair. Broken Dolls like me had it the worst, that was why I saw myself as a special case. The exception which confirmed the rule.

Remorse for those I had killed so far? There was none.

Jumping off the edge of the wall, I landed in the back alley that was lighted up only by the sparks of a barely lit torch. Like a ghost whose shadow could not be caught, I slipped through the darkness and moved in close to my target, one of the unsuspecting guards which patrolled these streets.

It was a man in his late twenties, average in build, with a brass chest plate, and thick leather armor covering his body. The sword hanging on his waist held only three enchants and was dangerous only to the poorly equipped bandits lurking in the shadows of these streets.

I moved behind him without making a noise, and I extended my hand towards his mouth. He let out a yawn without realizing how close I was. Then, in the blink of an eye, I dragged him back into the alley. Not even a whisper was released from his throat. The guard simply vanished within the night.

When one of the patrols arrived here, they spread more light with their torch by raising it above their heads, but they did not spot me.

I waited patiently until they passed and then I looked back at my target, his own sword was sticking to his neck, ready to slice it open. The man was afraid of me and his unknown fate.

“Now then...” I said and showed him a gentle smile.

He was trembling like a wet dayuk after a heavy rain.

“Where is the Tamulus Inn?” I asked without showing even the smallest sign of change in my expression.

The man flinched as fear poured down his body like a cold autumn shower.

“D-Down the s-street... t-take a l-left t-turn a-a-and t-then a r-right.” he stuttered.

“Thank you.” I said and then struck him in the temple with the hilt of the sword.

It was lights out for him, but I was not such a cold woman as to let him fall face first in the horse dung on the ground. I stopped his fall with my other hand and then slowly leaned him against the wall. The sword I snatched from him was returned to his scabbard.

With calm and relaxed steps, I walked down the road, took a left turn and then a right. The sign for the Tamulus Inn was right where the guard said it would be. It was a three-story building made out entirely of wood with the exception of the foundation, which was made out of cemented stones. Judging from the lights and noise coming from it, the locals were sparing no coin enjoying their drinks.

I did not wish to disturb them, so before anyone noticed my presence, I walked up to the building on the opposite side to it, a humble-looking bakery. It didn’t even have a sign with its own name, just the crude drawing of a loaf of bread.

The door was, as expected, locked, but most of the spells and skills I learned back on the Boss Island were designed specifically for infiltration, espionage, and assassination. They definitely had nothing to do with recovering my good pair of panties from a certain perverted Dungeon, coercing a certain perverted Dungeon to stop teasing Zoreya with erotic clothes, and definitely NOT for running away from Nanya when she got drunk.

What I learned in the Phantom Rage Guild paled in comparison to what Illsy showed me I could do.

“[Unlock]”. I chanted and a click was heard coming from the small lock.

Pressing down the handle, the door opened, and I stepped inside.

For a simple humble bakery, they sure used a rather expensive lock. I thought.

Most businesses preferred a simple lever tumbler lock that required a key with one, two, or three teeth at most to unlock. This one, however, was a pin tumbler lock which required a special type of key that raised the pins inside at just the right height. To open it, you would need special picklocks.

They were extremely unusual for a humble bakery shop like this one, since most of the times they were used on the doors of rich nobles or treasuries. Back home, I had Illsy install complex pin tumbler locks on every door. Each of us had a set of keys, but for the most part they remained open, since we did not have anything important to steal. Only the entrance doors were closed every time we entered or left the house, mostly so that wild animals would not get inside rather than thieves sneaking in.

To be honest, I never thought I would need to worry about thieves since 1) as a Dungeon, Illsy could detect any intruder on our property, and 2) all the important things were either unusable by others or magic locked behind doors only the members of our family could open.

Leaving aside the fancy lock, I walked up to the oven mister Hermandez mentioned in his hearty confession and knocked on the fake wall on the left.

“...!”

While the person behind the wall didn’t say anything, the sudden knock startled him. His movements caused his armor to make a subtle metallic noise that made me aware of his presence.

With a smile on my lips, I picked up a nearby kitchen knife and then tossed it right at him. Thanks to the speed and Magic Energy infused in it, the blade pierced the wall and stabbed the slab of meat behind.

“Now then, let’s find mister Robertian Barg.” I said with a smile as I ripped apart the fake wall with my bare hands.

[Random Guard by the name of Postirnavikovich]

The booze at Tamulus was as good as ever! Sharp and spicy, hitting the gut like a jackal on a hunt!

As I opened the door, my mates laughed like idiots and called for another round. Those blunderheads did not know when to quit! Haha!

On the other side of the road, I saw that rundown bakery. A woman walked out of it. She was as beautiful as an angel out of a fairy tale. She made my blood rush to my head, turning my ears and nose all red! Or maybe that was because of the booze?

Well, the beauty showed me a smile, gentle as a mother’s kiss, but in the very next moment, she vanished!

She was gone... just like that... just like a ghost!

A second later, the ground shook, and a cloud of dust struck me from the front. I fell on my bum, and I coughed a few times.

Wha-What’s happening? I wondered as I waved my hand in front of my face.

When the dust settled, the bakery was gone, and in its place was now a sinkhole that reached all the way to the middle of the road. I gulped.

“That’s enough drinkin’ for the night... or week...” I said.

My mates rushed out of inn, startled by the noise, while I remained sitting on my bum, looking at the giant hole in front of me that caught everyone’s attention.

[Shanteya’s point of view]

Robertian Barg was the leader of the Phantom Rage group in the Risteza City State, a man whom 10 years ago could have made me shiver in fear in front of him, but who now was no different than a simple bug I could crush by accidentally stepping on him.

He called himself a master of daggers, but his blades were neither as fast nor sharp as mine. After I broke his arms and legs, I made him spill the location of his superior’s base as well as his name, Primus Castella.

Within the Phantom Rage Guild, the idea of respecting your elder or being loyal to him was nothing but a fool’s thought. If you could take down one of your superiors, most of them would do it without batting an eye, however, anything related to the Master of the Guild was impossible to find out. The curse would have killed them instantly.

After blowing up Robertian Barg’s hideout, I rushed out of Risteza and headed straight for the Cordina Kingdom, and more specifically, the Calleatar Town. I didn’t forget to loot that place though, I got a lot of basic items, jewelry, and goldiettes, about 7000 coins according to a note there. I did not stay to count them.

The speed at which I traveled would allow me to arrive at the town’s gates a little before sunrise. I didn’t need to worry about border patrols or monsters I encountered along the way because thanks to my skills, I could easily slip past them unnoticed. In fact, near the border of the Cordina Kingdom, I jumped over the heads of a knight patrol, and they confused me with a passing gust of a wind.

The Calleatar Town was located to the South of the capital city, North of Pollian, the small village near the border point between Aunnar Kingdom, Tesuar Kingdom, and Cordina Kingdom where we stayed with Illsy back when the Darkness was trying to take control over him.

I remembered well those days, including the tragedy of Tuer Town, an adventurer settlement which was completely whipped off the face of the map by the Darkness’ attacks. All of that destruction and devastation had certainly marked the people of the Tesuar nation, but if not for Zoreya’s efforts, Tuer might not have been the only one to fall that day.

From a distance, the Calleatar Town appeared like an old settlement scarred by the passing of time like an old human still braving the winds despite the cracks in his skin and his withering bones. It gave me the feeling of a town that was slowly waiting to meet its end, to lay down and rest for eternity.

Even the trees surrounding it were old and gloomy, with a graveyard right outside filled to the limit with tombs from different ages.

Even the beauty of the sun that cast down its warm rays upon this land could not improve the image of this settlement that barely maintained its heavy weight upon the land.

With a powerful jump, I landed on top of the wall, and what I saw from there was the apathy of life that had sunk into the bones of countless generations. All of the buildings showed signs of neglect, and there was not even a single smile upon the lips of those who woke up with the morning rays of the sun.

I took a step closer to the edge, and in that very moment, I felt a chill run down my back and my hair stand on its end.

“This feeling...” I said to myself as I looked at my hand.

My body was alerted by something or someone that was here, in this old town. Yet, it was impossible for a human or el’doraw to make me feel like this, on my toes and with my ears perked up. It was as if I was being watched or more as though someone was trying to reach out to me with their very energy, yet at the same time, it was a familiar feeling.

From within my Crystal Storage, I took out a small Dungeon Level Detection Stone and poured a bit of my Magic Energy within it. The number displayed on it was 247, and with this, I had my confirmation that the feeling that washed over me was none other than that of entering an unknown or possible enemy’s Dungeon Territory.

A smile appeared on my lips as I absorbed the stone back into my storage.

This is quite an interesting find. I wonder what they can tell me about the Phantom Rage? Unless the humans here already brought the poor Dungeon to its knees and caused it to go mad? I wondered and then jumped down.

With the movements of a graceful dancer, I landed on top of the closest building to me. The wood squeaked no louder than it would have when a big bird landed on top of it. From there, I made my way around the town, searching for an old mansion with two big brawny guards inside.

Within this town filled with aged log buildings, it was like looking for the needle in the haystack, but I eventually found it. The mansion was located near the outer wall of the Lord’s castle, which didn’t even have a proper gate to keep the possible invaders out.

There was no need for me to talk with the guards, so as soon as I stepped within the house, I killed them with a precise stab to the heart. They did not even see the face of the one who took their life, but if one of them yelled, it would have been inconvenient later on.

The hidden entrance was behind the old dresser in the main bedroom. It was the only piece of furniture which was made to look old and rotten rather than ending up like that due to the passing of time. To the normal eye, there was no difference, but it could not fool mine. After opening the door, I saw the fake wall behind it and pushed it aside. With a smile on my lips, I entered the hideout.

One hour and a half later, I stepped out of the old mansion.

It was a good thing the Dungeon was cooperative. I would have hated to destroy such a young one. I thought as I dusted off my dress.

Looking around, I could see that the town folk were already starting to wake up, which was the sign that I had to make myself unseen. I had no intention of sleeping in this place tonight when Illsy provided me with a far better alternative!

Thus, I made myself scarce.

Although the day was barely starting, I could feel my body growing tired from the lack of sleep. Sure, there were a few potions that could help with that, but I did not feel like using them.

Once I found a good place in the forest outside of Calleatar Town, I took out Illsy’s portable inn that had all the necessities a lady would require during a long journey across the continent while eliminating the hideouts of one of the most dangerous organization in this world.

Before I went to bed, I decided to take a hot bath to get rid of all the grime and sweat that made me feel all sticky and nasty. The warm water and pleasant rose scent of the soap helped me relax and relieve the tension in my body. Running around, hunting for assassins while still easy to do thanks to my stats, it was still tiring if done over the course of a long period of time. Besides, this wasn’t a war of attrition where I had to be on my toes at any given moment, I could allow myself to take a break and relax, to tend to my womanly needs without worrying of attacks or that my target would slip through my grasp.

While I was relaxing in the bathtub, I thought back at my children and wondered, a bit amused, how they were scheming to trouble their beloved father. Anette was the one most likely to pull a prank on him, while Bachus would follow around with whatever his dear sister had planned.

Although to me they were still my little babies, I couldn’t imagine them being able to play normally with other children of their age. Both of them were powerful enough to defeat at least a Master Rank Adventurer, although if they played their cards right, then even an Emperor Rank would be a good match for them.

Maybe the others never noticed, but even our students at the academy grew surprisingly fast when it came to strength and skills. When they arrived, they could not even take out a simple Dayuk of level 15, now those in the senior years could hunt down on their own an entire pack.

Out of all of us, Nanya was probably the best at judging how far they progressed and what sort of enemies they could take on without a problem.

The Dungeon in the Calleatar Town should be quite easy to conquer for them. After all, despite him being a Master Dungeon with a level of 247, it appeared as though he was chained and tamed by the Phantom Rage Guild ever since his birth. He did not have any traps I would call deadly, but they were dangerous if you weren’t careful. The Dungeon’s job was not one of capturing adventurers or building complicated mazes but of acting as a miner for those who had enslaved him as soon as they discovered him.

Deep beneath the Calleatar Town laid a vein of gold that stretched for miles. Up until now, the Dungeon, with the little Magic Energy he could produce, was forced to mine the valuable mineral day in and day out.

When I found myself in front of his Crystal Body, I could not do it, I couldn’t slay him like I did all the other assassins up until then. I looked at him and spoke to him. There was no energy in his voice, no will to fight back, no desire to stop me from ending his life. Just like a drained soldier on the battlefield, he waited for me to land the final strike and lay him to rest.

Renkados was his name, it was the word written on the wall in front of him when he spawned in his room. It meant ‘to prosper’ in his language, yet he could not see himself as prospering in any way or manner. His shackles kept him from dreaming, from seeking out his own strength. Everyone around him also told him that he was a weak Dungeon who will never amount to anything.

When he spoke, I could feel the sadness in the tone of his voice, the desperation of his soul, and the pain he had to live through up until now at the hands of those who never even tried to understand him. At the very least, he did not go mad or crazy like most Dungeons did when under human control.

As I clenched my fist and prepared myself to shatter him to pieces, I thought back at Anette. If Illsyore did not build that room there that day, then what would have happened to her? Would she have found herself in an empty cold room like Renkados? Destined to never have the chance to meet her parents or her sibling?

In the time I got to spend together with Illsy and my children, I learned step by step what I should do as a mother of a Dungeon. Raising Anette proved to be just as challenging as it was raising Bachus. There were times when I made mistakes, when I panicked, when I was scolded by my sister-wives, but together with them, I was able to learn and grow.

Being a parent wasn’t easy, but it had a certain charm to it that simply changed you as a person. Your focus became the safety and well-being of your child rather than your personal goals. Balancing them out was the key to enjoying each moment of your time spent together, and no matter how many times my husband complained about the smelly diapers or the pranks the kids or Nanya pulled on him, he was never truly mad or angry about it. His goofiness made it more pleasing to endure and looking at him taking care of the little ones soothed my heart.

On the other hand, Renkados, like many other young Dungeons out there had no parent to take care of him, no siblings to play with, no friends to learn from. He only had one cold wall with scribbled letters on it and a bunch of humans who did not even see him as a living being. Maybe that was why I was so inclined to offer him a helping hand even if it was only at the level of basic advice.

I spared his life, but before I left the hideout, I advised him on what to do to survive and remain hidden in this settlement. A good start being to close off the upper two floors of his dungeon, to fill them up with dirt and open a passageway all the way into the forest, in a place where it was unlikely for humans to stumble upon. Then he should focus on growing strong but also try and gain allies. Acting non-aggressive towards good humans was preferable but killing or capturing bandits and criminals was also good. Differentiating between the two was going to be a bit difficult, but I left him a small guide on how to do that. Then, if in the future, he survived and prospered, we would most likely meet each other again, as Illsyore was definitely on the lookout for such reasonable Dungeons.

Of course, I didn’t leave the hideout empty handed, I looted it for all the coins it was worth, but I left the gear to Renkados to use for his summoned monsters or as rewards for those he met.

I fell asleep thinking about my children and that maybe I did a good thing with this lone Dungeon and woke up when it was already starting to get dark outside. After I ate my ‘dinner-breakfast’ I absorbed the portable inn and left for the Mitosvak Town in the Mumra Kingdom to the North of Cordina Kingdom.

Primus Castella, the leader of the group in the Calleatar Town, was a bit reluctant to reveal the location and name his superior, but in the end, my torture techniques prevailed. It was a good thing I forgot to toss out of my Crystal Storage some of Bachus’ used diapers. The stench was absolutely horrible, but that was just the sign of a well-growing happy baby. But maybe that wasn’t why he told me? Was it the promise of a quick painless death after I ripped out the bones in his left hand and then placed salt on the wounds?

Anyway, I was now heading to Mumra Kingdom. My target this time was Merius Bargan, the leader of the assassin group in the Mitosvak Town. The journey there took me almost two days, unfortunately.

To my embarrassment, I got a bit lost along the way. We Over Supremes might be insanely powerful and fast compared to regular Supremes, but without a well-drawn map and a good sense of direction, any one of us could get lost, not that I lacked the latter. The advantage we had was that we could be self-sufficient for the most part. We did, after all, survive in the middle of the ocean without any problem back when we left the Boss Island.

I managed to find my way to the Mumra Kingdom and then to the Mitosvak Town by asking several traveling merchants, a border patrol, and some adventurers I stumbled upon. The language barrier became a bit of a problem once I crossed the border.

When I finally reached the town, I was surprised to find out that Merius Bargan was the local lord, who the people saw with favorable eyes. The settlement itself appeared to be doing quite well. The outer wall was properly maintained. With the exception of a few buildings, they all looked like good places to live in. The roads were kept clean of horse manure, and the people looked happy. Unfortunately, I did not know the local language, so without further inquiry of the locals, I could not tell if this was or not just a nicely presented facade in order to ward off any suspicious travelers.

The Mumra Kingdom had its own language, but since it had an opening to the ocean, the Paramanium and Teslov languages were secondary, leaving me with very few individuals I could try to speak with.

On the Sorone Continent, only within the port cities could you hear the Shorayan Language, but for the most part, the goods trade was monopolized by the Paramanium Empire. This was also one of the reasons why Illsyorea was slowly turning into a trade hub for merchants. Our island was the closest to all three continents and the peace and defense of it was guaranteed by a Leviathan monster and a Godlike Dungeon Lord with Over Supreme Rank wives.

Instead of sneaking through the city, I entered through the front gates and paid a fee of 10 silverettes for being both an outsider and an el’doraw. Discrimination against my kind appeared to be in the bloom within this Kingdom since the Human Supremacy idealists from Paramanium made their new nest here. It was a bit troubling, but I planned on simply taking a mental note of this kingdom’s condition for future reference.

With a question here and there, I learned that the Lord was the one who welcomed the human supremacists to this city so that Mitosvak Town would fall in line with the rest of the nearby settlements. It didn’t take long afterwards for the el’doraws, dwarfs, and nekatars to leave this place and migrate South towards Aunnar Kingdom, of which they heard it was a prosperous nation that welcomed everyone.

A few of them even urged me to do the same before the slavers caught wind of my presence here. Well, by the time they finished their warning, three big brutes were already walking towards me with a chain in their hands.

The aftermath of that encounter, well... let’s just say that a sudden slave merchant’s building suddenly exploded, and all of his slaves mysteriously vanished.

Thanks to the impressive amount of goldiettes found in that man’s coffers, those poor folks were granted a safe travel all the way to Aunnar, where they could hope for more than just the miserable life of a slave.

My little fireworks display, however, forced me into hiding, which for me was not all that difficult to do. I spent my time walking around and keeping an eye out for any Assets of the Phantom Guild. Those people were the easiest to spot, while the Moneybags were a bit more difficult without reading the flow of money from their businesses.

When the sky began to darken, I made my way to the Lord’s castle. There was a tight guard on the walls and at the gates, more so than the small Lord of a humble town like this one would ever need. To untrained eyes, it would look as though he was exaggerating with this amount of protection, but for me, it looked as though he was taking precautions against thieves and possible assassins using the knowledge he learned while within the Phantom Rage Guild.

While I did admire his preparedness, I had to admit that none of this could stop me. I slipped past his guards unnoticed and then made my way to the second floor of his castle where the light in his study pointed out his presence.

The moment when I wanted to open the door, I stopped as I noticed the flow of Magic Energy around the doorknob. It was not a lock but an alarm.

Clever little Merion. I thought with a smile as I turned around and looked at the door on the opposite side.

It appeared to lead to some other room, maybe a bedroom, but there was no light coming from behind the cracks. While others would have ignored this little detail and thought of the room as empty, I believed it was actually the opposite.

Before I move forward, I decided to scatter around the corridor a bit of the sleeping powder I looted from the previous hideouts just in case noisy guards wanted to come and spoil my fun.

Turning the knob, I opened the door and was met with a black drape blocking the light. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. When I pulled the drape, I was met with the pointing end of a crossbow bolt. The projectile bounced off my Magic Armor without leaving a scratch.

“Good evening, mister Merius Bargan.” I said and showed him a gentle smile.

“Who are you?! State your business or I will call the guards!” he declared as he reloaded and then aimed the crossbow at me.

“Please, spare me your useless threats.” I said as I shot a small ice spike right at his weapon, knocking it out of his hands.

This study room had a big bookcase to my left and another to my right. The windows were nonexistent, making this a completely sealed room. Since Merius was a member of the Phantom Rage, then he certainly had a hidden passage or two as well as several hidden weapons just in case. Poisonous gas and poisoned darts were some of the few tricks his kind tended to use in order to overwhelm their target. After all, not everyone could fully block poisonous substances with their Magic Armor, especially when even a higher concentration of Oxygen or Carbon Dioxide or any of the other gases naturally found in the air could lead to a state of intoxication. Illsy made sure to teach us back on the Boss Island how to control our Magic Armor in such a way that we could avoid this situation.

I took a step closer to Merius, and he immediately reached for the hidden sword behind his desk. Once unsheathed, he pointed the tip at me.

“I will have you fall to my blade!” he declared but did not attack, he was luring me in.

“Alright, I’ll bite.” I said with a smile as I walked closer.

Just as I expected, poisoned darts, daggers, and even an axe were thrown at me from hidden slots in the walls and ceiling. To my eyes, they flew towards me in slow motion, but I did not move a millimeter out of the way. I stood still and allowed them to hit me because I knew not even one of them could pass through my Magic Armor.

When Merius saw that his attack was ineffective, he tried to attack me with his sword, but I caught it between my fingertips.

“You lack manners, mister Merius.” I showed him a smile and then pulled the sword right out of his hands. “Let me teach you some.” I said before I struck him with the hilt of his sword.

The man flew to the left. He hit the bookcase and then fell on the ground with a broken lip. A few drops of blood stained the rather expensive-looking carpet on the floor. I did not even notice it until now.

“W-What do you want?” he asked as he tried to get out.

“Hm, I wonder if you’ll answer truthfully though?” I said as I stepped on his back and pushed him to the floor.

I heard a crack coming from his rib cage and then he let out a scream of agony. I did not bother shutting him up.

“Master Merius, are you al...” a guard rushed in here to check up on him, but the moment he steeped through the door, he fell on the ground.

“That’s some good sleeping powder.” I commented and then looked down at Merius. “But now, let’s cast a more serious spell, shall we?” I said before using [Noise Dampener Barrier].

This one was a skill reserved usually for Emperor Rank Assassins. I picked it up while raiding the previous hideouts, or to be more exact, I stumbled upon the manuals that taught it and then learned it myself while I was heading here from the Cordina Kingdom.

Frankly speaking, it was a remarkably simple spell that slowed down the vibration of the air that passed through it. If I showed the books too Illsy, I was sure he would come up with something better, unless he already had something up his sleeve.

“Now I can torture you as much as I want without having to bother about anyone else. So, what can you tell about Phantom Island?” I asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you crazy woman!” he declared.

“Hm, I was once a Broken Doll, mister Merius, you can’t fool me about who you truly are.” I narrowed my eyes at him before I bent his right pointing finger in an unnatural way.

CRACK!

“AAA!!!” he screamed in agony.

“Phantom Island. Or your superior’s hideout, that works too.” I told him as I moved to his next finger.

“I-I’ll die before I’ll betray the Master!” he declared in a powerful tone of voice.

“Well, we’ll see about that. I’m a rather good healer too, and you don’t need to die just go insane from the pain.” I showed him a smile and then broke his next finger.

“GHAAA!!!”

His screams could be heard only within this soundproof barrier of mine.

Seven hours later, I finally walked out of his room. Merius Bargan was laying in the middle of the room in a pool of his own blood. His end was neither merciful nor easy, but in the end, he was the one who begged me to kill him just to stop the torture. As for the guards and servants that often dropped by to check up on him, they were all laying in a corner, knocked out by the sleeping powder.

I so dearly hope that neither Illsyore nor my children will ever witness this side of me. I said with a smile, and in my heart, I feared the possibility of them hating me for it.

Never, my love... I heard his voice.

Thinking that it came from behind me, I turned around, but there was no one there, just the empty corridor.

That was odd... It sounded like Illsy, but... different. I thought and then shook my head.

“I think I need a break after this. Yes! Let’s go shopping!” I declared with a smile as I fled the crime scene.

That night, I camped out in the forest at about seventeen kilometers away from the Mitosvak Town. The guards would certainly be alerted once they discovered Merius’ dead body and then a search party for the criminal would be organized. They would start with the castle and then spread towards the city, finishing up with the nearby forest. I did not want to be bothered with their nonsense, that was why I camped out so far away from them. It would take them more than a day to search through this terrain, especially with all the monsters lurking around.

Speaking of Merius, he did answer all of my questions in the end. I found out that there was a hidden place in the Gastruza Port in the Mondravia Kingdom, where I could pay a fee with which I would be taken to the Phantom Island. The fee itself was of 200000 goldiettes and the Insignia of a Phantom Rage Elite. It so happened, that Merius here was an Elite and a Godlike one at that.

There was no need to worry about the coins either, I acquired around 247051 goldiettes from plundering all the hideouts so far, especially the one with the Master Dungeon in it. All that was left now was to travel safely though Fugen Kingdom while enjoying the scenery and buying souvenirs for my family back on Illsyorea.

And that was exactly what I did. Three days later, I was in Albarda City, the capital of the Fugen Kingdom. My destination was the Skiek Market, where ordinary people would come and sell their handmade items or various goods they did not use anymore. There were all sorts of useless junk on display, but if one looked carefully, they could spot treasure hidden among the said junk. I, for one, looked forward to finding it.

While I was shopping, I asked one of the merchants about the history of this kingdom.

“That be easy, madam. Over eight years ago, this Fugen Kingdom was once part of the big Tesuar Kingdom, offering two great ports through which it could sell its goods to the kingdom far away, on the other continents.” he said.

“What happened to cause it to split?” I asked as I picked up a silly-looking toy that resembled one of those action figures Illsy made for him. I think Bachus would love this. I thought.

“The Tragedy of Tuer happened.” he said.

I froze.

Isn’t that... is not that the place The Darkness blew up? I thought.

“We still don’t know what happened there, but one day, the growing town of Tuer vanished off the face of the map and together with it the heir to the throne of Tesuar, Prince Rezmadan the Second. With no other heirs, the King then turned to his concubines, but this caused a big dispute with his wife, the Queen. A civil war was unleashed between the two, while the population grew restless because the nobles would rather bicker among themselves than find the cause of that tragedy and make sure it never happened again.” he explained with a sad look in his eyes “My wife died in Tuer...” he looked down and let out a deep sigh.

“I-I’m sorry.” I apologize while I felt a sting in my heart.

“There’s nothing to be sorry of, madam. You weren’t there.” he showed me a warm smile.

“Yes... I wasn’t there...” I looked down with sad eyes at the toy in my hand.

“Well, while the royal bickering grew to national proportions, Archduke Fugen decided to stand for the people and declared the independence of his lands from Tesuar. Since he was the brother of his majesty, he had the royal blood needed to be recognized as a king. A war between the two countries started because the King of Tesuar would not allow it, but half of his army betrayed him. In the battle of Trozka, we won our independence, and the Fugen Kingdom was formed. As for Tesuar, I heard that the old King now has three boys princes and four princesses from his concubines.” he said with a nod.

“I see...” I leaned over the stand and handed him 10 goldiettes. “It’s for the toy and the story.” I whispered to him and then showed him a warm smile.

“Madam, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! This will certainly help my business!” he declared with a bright smile on his face.

We stole something irreplaceable from you and that I fear no amount of gold can cover it. I thought as I left the stand behind while looking at the small toy in my hand.

As I made my way to the center of the Skiek Market, I suddenly heard something that made me feel as though struck by lightning.

“...El’maru Rokan.”

I slowly turned to look at the one who muttered that name. It was a man who wore a hood and had an unpleasing air around him.

In a moment’s notice, I moved in front of him and with killing intent in my gaze and words, I asked him “Where is El’maru Rokan hiding?”

The man gulped and trembled.

“WHERE?” I question him again and pushed him into the wall hard enough to make his Magic Armor shatter.

“Y-You’ll find him in Shortel City in Mondravia... That is all I know, I swear!” he declared.

“Why do you know this?” I asked him.

“Are you kidding me? That man’s a legendary assassin. Not even the nobles dare to touch him!” he said.

A legend, huh? I cannot believe he is alive... Guess, I will need to make a detour on my journey and rectify this error of fate. I said as I retracted my killing intent and then slowly left the two behind.

They tried to chase after me, but I was already running at full speed towards Shortel City. My next target of assassination was going to be the el’doraw I had to thank for me becoming a Broken Doll of Phantom Rage, my teacher, my rapist, my nightmare... El’maru Rokan.