~ Chapter 163: Reunion on Phantom Island ~

[Shanteya’s point of view]

Cold winds were howling like angry beasts, while the ocean was more and more wrathful. The waves that crushed against the shoreline had grown by almost half a meter in height, and the clouds above the island have gathered like angry devils who planned to rain down only suffering and abysmal hate upon us. It almost felt as though the souls of the recently departed were screaming at the heavens for justice and retribution against me, the one who took their lives with unimaginable ease.

Yet, I felt no fear or worry from them. It was... their fate.

Only a moment later, the raging howl of a metal beast echoed throughout the entire region as it got closer and closer to me. From what I could tell, it had slowed down considerably ever since coming into view, and seeing how loud it was, it could have easily made itself known to all the ships in the area. Let alone his presence, the noise was enough to let the whole Phantom Rage Island know that something or someone was coming.

When the metal bird reached the shoreline, it vanished into thin air, leaving behind only its rider. Even from afar, I could still recognize my own husband. I had missed him greatly, and a soft smile was formed on my lips.

While he slowly descended, I made my way from underground to the top surface, while I had my other clones prepare to enter the Guild Master’s room. Once the battle had reached a certain favorable point, I intended make my appearance in full strength to let him know just how hopeless it was to fight against me.

“Shanteya, I came as fast as I could. Erm, Ayuseya is fine, by the way, she’s managing Teslov for now.” Illsy told me as soon as he landed on the ground, close me.

“It’s good to see you again, my love.” I said as took a step forward and then gently pulled him into my embrace.

“Where are you right now? Your original, I mean.” he asked as he looked into my eyes.

With a soft smile on my lips, I replied to him “I’m going to arrive in a moment, meanwhile, let me guide you to where I am currently facing off against the master of this island.”

“You are already in the middle of a battle? Do you require my assistance?” he asked with a furrow on his brow.

“No, I only wish for you to bear witness to the moment when I finally cut down the monster who stole my childhood from me. Today will be the day when the Phantom Rage Guild is no more.” I told him.

“Will this be a good thing for the world? Won’t it cause an unbalance in powers?” he asked.

“No. My love, you may not be aware of this, but among all the powers in the underworld, the Phantom Rage rules supreme. They are the only power you can speak off, while everyone else is but a simple loyal dog to them. Once this organization is gone, there will be a void in the underworld, which I plan to replace with some of our own Illsyorea’s spies. They will be placed at the head of the various underworld organizations that will appear to fill up that void. Thus, no matter who dares to make a move against us, we will know and act before they are able to do so.” I explained.

“An ambitious project, but why?” he asked.

“Because, in the end, this is the world where I belong. My hands had long been stained by the blood of the innocent and guilty alike. To turn a blind eye to it and pretend it doesn’t exist is an insult towards all those whose lives I took.” I replied with a bit of sadness showing in my eyes.

“Does this mean... you don’t want to return to Illsyorea?” he asked, a bit afraid of the truth that I could set loose from my lips, but he had nothing to fear.

“Heavens, no! I can’t bear the thought of being separated from my little ones any longer, but I also can’t accept the thought that the underworld will be consumed and morphed by whoever will please to take over Phantom Rage. Rather than let such a possible threat loose upon the world, it would be best for me to be the one to rule it. After all, whether we like it or not, civilization had not yet reached the point where it can calmly declare its independence from the darkness.” I told him.

“It needs to accept it... and integrate it... to make a choice between the light and the darkness.” he told me as he looked down at the ground, a thoughtful frown appearing on his forehead.

“Indeed, more or less.” I nodded. “It’s more along the idea of fighting fire with fire. Since we do not know what sort of organization plans to rise up in the darkness, it would be best if I was the one to do it, thus, becoming a shield against any who dared to oppose us. Although, at this point, this is nothing more than a suggestion, an idea, I honestly do not know how this whole thing is going to evolve in the future. There’s no saying what the moves of the other countries will be when they realize that they have no need to fear anymore the powerful assassins of the Phantom Rage.” I said with a soft smile on my lips.
“They were the Boogeymen of this world.” he nodded.

“That is indeed one way of looking at it. Ah, I seem to have arrived.” I said as I looked towards my left, where the figure of my original body was approaching us at a fast pace.

“I won’t say to duck, but if you do, I won’t forgive you easily.” I warned him.

“Huh?” he blinked a bit confused, but then saw my original body as she took a giant leap towards him.

“ILLSY!” I shouted in my original body as I crashed into his embrace, rolling on the ground a few times before coming to a halt, my arms wrapped around him tightly as I snuggled up to him. “I missed you!”

“Ugh... I missed you too... Umf!” I cut his words short as I stole his lips into a kiss.

While I was enjoying my reunion on the surface with my beloved husband, the clone underground had just unsheathed her daggers and locked herself in a game of life and death with the Guild Master of the Phantom Rage Guild. The old elf jumped at me with a hidden intent to kill and a weapon in each hand. His dagger was enchanted to cut through thick Magic Armor, while his sword could send shocks of energy designed to weaken his target. Even a Supreme would find it difficult to hold their ground against him, but even though my own clone had less Magic Energy than my original body did, it was still powerful enough for her to hold her ground against him.

My own Godlike daggers were very sharp and enchanted to cut through powerful Magic Armor, but my own physical skills were far beyond those of a Supreme. When the Guild Master’s dagger was half a meter away from my neck, I blocked it with my dagger. Pushing it away, I then turned to the side, avoiding the stab of his sword, letting it brush close to my Magic Armor but not enough to touch it. Leaning to the left, I then kicked him in the stomach, sending him back. He recovered in midair and pushed himself from the bookcase behind him and launched himself towards me.

The look in his eyes was that of a calm man not of a killer. His aim was to execute a clean and precise kill, not waste time playing around. He was a machine designed to complete his mission, not an individual with whom you could reason with. Thus, the moment he decided to go for the kill, he had no intention to stop. I would either die by his hands or succeed in ripping his life right out of his chest.

Besides his unknown items, there was also the spells he could cast. There was no information about them, and all those who could tell were not alive anymore or had been disposed of already. There was no way of getting this information out of the assassins in the guild because they would rather die than so much as even think about giving away any information regarding this elf. Actually, I wasn’t so sure even they knew that he was an elf and not a human who used some sort of powerful rejuvenation or age-defying spell to maintain his youth and strength.

“Die.” he spoke a single word before he vanished from my sight.

One moment he was heading towards me at an incredible speed and then he was nowhere to be seen. If I didn’t see something similar used by Tamara one time, I might have failed to catch up on this disorientating illusion skill and forget to block his attack. I immediately jumped back, and the elf’s sword was stabbed in the ground in the spot where I was just standing. His body then appeared above the sword, and a frown was on his face.

Looking back at me, he caught my gaze and then lifted his palm up. Shadow tendrils formed from the wall behind me and rushed at me with their sharp ends. I could have dodged all of them, but I let two of them slide to test out their attack power against the durability of my own Magic Armor. If things at this level were able to crack it, then I could only conclude that my training so far had been insufficient.

The two tendrils smashed into me with all their might, sending me off to the side, but my Magic Armor was only chipped a little, not at all cracked or broken. A Supreme like Dankyun would have certainly been unable to resist their assault and would have gotten skewered. It was a deadly sure-hit sure-kill move against anyone with a Magic Armor weaker than that of an Over Supreme. This was why, the elf was a bit surprised to see me still standing on the other side of the room unhurt and eager to continue our battle.

“You surprise me yet again, little one.” he said as he tossed his sword to the side and took out a different one from his Storage Crystal.

This new weapon of his had a jagged edge and was far more powerful than the previous one. I could tell that this one had been heavily enchanted just from the many runes that covered its obsidian blade. From looks alone, it was a weapon that could only be seen as devilish. It released a thick black miasma around it, which made me remember the Acolytes we met back on Sorone when we found Tamara. I couldn’t tell, however, if this was the result of Black Magic or Dark Magic. When put side by side, both of them were rather similar in appearance, only the first rejected the world and its gods, while the last one was controlled and cast by a Dark God or Evil God.

“That’s definitely a rather peculiar weapon.” I pointed out as I kept my guard up.

“This one was given to me by an Apostle of the God of Darkness Devorath. It’s meant to be used as a weapon of sacrifice, but in this case, I’ll use it to cut up your flesh to pieces.” he replied.

“I thought Brasil was the Patron God of this Guild.” I remarked.

“Brasil? The God of Shadows has a connection to use, indeed. A lot of our members revere him as a Patron God, but the one I bow down to is Devorath. Only through his might could I cast the curse that keeps all members of this guild bound to me. Although, trying to find a Black Magic Acolyte was also a rather interesting offer, but I wasn’t a fool to anger the gods of this world when the very fate of my guild depended on them.” he explained as he looked at the obsidian blade of his sword.

“You are the founder of the Phantom Rage Guild, so it’s natural that you are also the progenitor of that curse, however, it seems like you are confident that you will win this fight against me. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be so chatty and eager to reveal so much about the secrets of your organization.” I pointed out.

“Oh this? Yes, indeed. This weapon as well as my own prowess is what grants me this confidence. Do you really think you are the first one to ever reach this point? Don’t make me laugh.” he scoffed.

“There were others?” I asked furrowing my brow.

I didn’t think there were others before me who managed to reach this far. Considering how tight his security was and also how everyone around him was bound by that ridiculous curse, even the very thought of trying to go against him would result in death.

“You seem surprised.” he remarked.

“I guess I am.” I replied.

“In the beginning, the Phantom Rage wasn’t as powerful as it is now. Back then, there were plenty of those who tried to go against me. Their ridiculous attempts were all welcomed by me, but as you can see... no one succeeded.” he smiled.

“Maybe there simply wasn’t anyone as powerful as me before?” I asked.

“The past me wasn’t as powerful as the current me either. There were plenty of so-called heroes and justice upholders who knocked at my door claiming just as you that they were going to take my life. Yet, each and every time, they were the ones to forfeit their lives to my blade.” he replied with a wry smile as he began to pour down Magic Energy in his blade.

“In that case, can I know one last thing?” I asked him.

“What is it, little one?”

“Have you never considered putting down your dagger and retiring?”

An expression of sadness appeared on his face as he looked down at his obsidian sword. A small smile formed on his rigid lips, but when he looked back at me, there was a ghastly emptiness in his eyes. It was as if I was looking at a man with no soul, with no emotions or even thoughts of his own. I would dare say that he looked similar to a monster, but even the summoned one showed a horrified expression when they became aware of their impending death. This elf, however, had nothing to hide behind the mirror of his eyes. There was neither light nor life, nothing that could give trace of an emotional soul.

His gaze made me feel goosebumps crawling on my back.

“Once, there was such a thought... but each curse has a price... for me, it was the life of my unborn child and that of my wife. It was a... fair price.” he told me, but the moment he finished his words, I felt anger in my heart.

Treating the life of his child and wife as nothing more than disposable pawns was an atrocious act. No matter who they were and what their status was in society, there were no gods out there who could allow for such a heinous act. It was absolutely disgusting and horrifying to think what that poor woman went through in her final moments. Right now, I began to feel as though this battle against the Guild Master had never been more justified. My blades carried the outcries and demand for justice from the countless souls this elf and his organization had robbed of their lives throughout the past millennia.

“After hearing something like this... you won’t mind if I take my time killing you, will you?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes at him and prepared my dagger to go for the attack.

“Foolishness, but do as you please.” he said.

Up on the surface, I had already brought Illsy to this place. We were on the very top of this office, looking down through the glass ceiling. I took the liberty of telling him what the Guild Master had told me so far. My original body did far better in expressing the rage I was feeling in my heart against this mad elf.

“How will you end his life?” my husband asked.

“There are no more assassins on this island. He is the last one, that was why I wanted to make this event last as long as possible, dragging on the fight while I kept pulling his tongue. He believes that he will win no matter what. He is absolutely confident in this.” I told him.

“Does this mean he has some secret item?”

“Maybe, but I won’t know until he uses it, if he uses it. My clone down there will be the only casualty though, but just in case, I had all of my other clones be ready to jump in, while I prepared myself with my best weapons and armor as well. If he can manage to get through all of my clones and reach me up here, then I will reward him with a battle to the death at my full strength.” I replied.

“Your clones are pretty strong and pretty scary at the same time. They have hidden themselves well, and I can see that you brought out here four of them while the others are inside the tunnels below.” he remarked.

“Very perceptive of you, my dear husband.” I said.

“Yet, if I were to call for Colly...” I stopped his mouth from moving with a kiss before some unspeakable crime was perpetrated.

“My dear, don’t speak of nonsense that could distract your beloved wife from her difficult battle.” I showed him a wry smile after we parted lips.

“Ahem... very well...” he nodded.

“In a few moments, I will ask you to destroy this cheap ceiling and reveal yourself to him. I will stand here, away from his gaze and hidden from his perception.” I told him.

“Alright.”