After I left the inn, I searched Illsyore around the city for the next couple of hours, but I wasn’t able to find even a trace him. It was already getting very late, and people were heading off to bed, putting off the small candles that flickered at their windows.

I stopped near a small well at the now empty market. I had no intention to have a sip of water from it, but I was feeling rather hungry, so I took out some of my supplies. I had a quick snack: a sandwich, a fruit, and three glasses of pure water.

The temple of Melkuth was a building made from soldi granite and decorated with beautifully carved marble arches and support pillars. Seven big steps raised the whole construction from the ground, each representing the most important laws of my god.

The first was the step of duel, which dictated that a battle between two followers of Melkuth should always be one fought with honor and honesty. This law didn’t apply if only one of them was a follower.

In the past four months, I have carefully watched and analyzed the behavior of the Godlike Dungeon Lord Illsyore. Most of the times, he acted like a calm individual with an unusually good nature.

We traveled throughout the entire continent at a speed I rarely had the chance to. Back when I was in Prince Reginald’s service, I never once went faster or slower than him, but with Illsyore’s group, I could use my top speed without worrying that I might leave them behind. On the contrary, there were times when they were the ones who more than once left me behind.

Ah~ Sweet harmony of death… Such a long time has passed since I last quenched my thirst with the blood of my enemies.

My memories were stranded on small islands across and endless ocean.

Time of past and moments of the future all seemed to clash in but one single body, yet our memories neither belonged to one or all… We were something else, a hive… a swarm… simply put, the darkness in Illsyore’s Inner Mind.

It’s been almost four months since Zoreya became part of our little group. With her help, we were able to travel safely throughout the entire continent and complete a lot of quests. Rumors of the once unruly prince from Aunnar Kingdom who turned his blade against slavery reached far and wide, especially since he himself began to hunt down those who defied this law.

I woke up in the morning and let out a big yawn. It was around the time the sun started to rise at the edge of the world. Getting out of bed, I jumped on all fours and sniffed the air. Only Ayuseya and the metal lady were here.

Sneaking up between their beds, I peeked at the dragon lady and saw her sleeping peacefully. Her chest going up and down each time she took a breath. On the other bed was the metal lady. She slept wearing her armor and used her own shield as a blanket. It looked extremely uncomfortable, but she didn’t seem to mind. Maybe she was used to it?

Upon returning from my ‘cozy’ spot, where I was smashed into the face of a cliff, I was surprised to find Zoreya being nursed by Nanya. That armored woman was probably Dankyun’s relative… or something like that. She was clearly not a draconian though; the lack of scales, a tail, and relatively smaller height gave her away.

“I’m back…” I announced in a not-so-excited tone of voice.

After I left Prince Reginald’s room, I took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

Melkuth’s light guided me through thick and thin whenever I found myself at a crossroads in my life. My prayers as his Apostle were always heard and replied with his Divine Voice. At heart, I felt free and unburdened by a mortal’s man daily worries.

Of all the things I loathed in this world, my own flesh and blood brother had to be in the top ten on my list. Always so easy to quit half-way through anything, always eager to punish the innocent, always acting and thinking like an idiot without so much as taking into account what would happen if he were to give a certain unreasonable order. All of these things represented and identified my one and only brother Reynolds.

The calm winds gently flowed through the dense foliage on the tree crowns. The leaves rustled softly, adding a few notes to the song of the forest, while the critters filled out the rest of the score. Surrounded by the darkness of the night, with barely any moonlight rays guiding us through, we made our way into the unknown.

The terrain was treacherous, with slippery steeps, and roots popping out of the ground in an attempt to make us stumble. Fallen trees and moss-covered boulders acted as annoying obstacles on our path. Insects and predators lurking in the night had their eyes locked on us, following our movements either out of curiosity or intent to prey upon us.

Although I stood in front of this so-called Prince surrounded by his so-called knights, all I could see were puppets pulled by the invisible strings of their own greed and lust. His words were meaningless to me, and the Dungeon behind him was a weakling I could shatter whenever I desired.

“Why are you obeying him?” I asked in the language of the Dungeons, the same one I used with Deusur.

No reply came.

When I took a seat in the Gatling Laser Turret I built, I felt neither joy nor sadness, neither fear nor excitement, neither exhilaration nor sorrow of what I was about to do. My fingers gripped the joysticks responsible for controlling the terrifying guns, and with a simple press of a trigger, powerful beams of concentrated magic enchanted light were fired upon my unsuspecting victims.

My target was the palace in front of me. Beautifully decorated towers rose up to the skies, sheltering vigilant archers and mages.

We were dragged off to the palace’s dungeon and locked inside a big cell meant for draconians. The floor was made out of hard stone so the prisoners couldn’t dig their way out. The walls and bars were enchanted, so they couldn’t break them. For good measure, both me and Tamara were forced to wear shackles that reduced our power to half of what it was if not less. Ten Godlike Ranked Guards were placed here to watch over us.

We woke up that morning thinking we would see Master’s happy smile and be greeted with a kiss, however, there was no warm embrace or soft touch to graze our lips. In a way, we felt empty.

“Where’s Illsy?”

The first to ask was Ayuseya, then Nanya woke up and looked around to find him gone. They both looked back at me, and I shook my head. Even I had no idea where he went.

“Maybe I was dreaming, but I think I remember Illsy going out… Erm… I can’t remember what happened next.” Ayuseya said.

After we parted ways with Master, we were brought to a special room where fighters waited for their turn in the arena. For now, there were only the three of us here, but I was made to understand that on the other side of the coliseum was another room just like this one. They were placed like this in order to avoid foul play from either side.

Of course, there would be no such thing from the three of us. We waited patiently for our turn to enter the ring and then proceed just as Master instructed us.

Upon arriving at the coliseum, we found out we couldn’t go inside until Deroak or someone representing him arrived and confirmed our identity to the guards. If we wanted to pay for the show, it was only two silverettes for one entry pass, but since we wanted to fight, I would receive free seats in the VIP section while my fighters would have to be guided to the waiting area.

To reach the Slave Market, we had to walk all the way to the other side of the city, in the same area as the coliseum. It was located near the outer wall and was filled with small warehouses where they kept the slaves locked up in cages.

As soon as we arrived there, Tamara hid behind Shanteya, who gently patted her furry head. As for me, I watched the adults as they were put on display, and I felt nothing, but then I saw the children… and I felt rage.

“Well?” Nanya asked with her arms crossed at her chest.

She was angry.

“Erm…” I tried to say something, but what could I tell her?

“What’s wrong, Nanya? You said it yourself, I need to make a choice and stick with it, and so I did!” Ayuseya teased with a giggle as she embraced me from behind, pushing those firm breasts of hers on my back.