Chapter 175: A Stranger Appears (Part-1)
No matter how hard I try, I cannot even move a finger. Nothing else around me moves either— it’s as if the air itself has been frozen. I heard a loud cracking noise a second ago, but I couldn’t even turn around to look at the source.
“These bastards are quick to act as always…”
Marianne grumbles. Her hand glows for a moment and I feel my body unfreezing. I swiftly turn around to see what the heck’s going on, only to discover that the hooded ones have appeared out of nowhere. Standing at a considerable distance from us, they are forming a loose circle together with the leaders who were previously positioned around the dome. At the very center of their formation, a weird black crack is floating in midair. Everyone is staring at this crack with serious expressions, the atmosphere turning very tense.
“Come here! Quick!” Marianne suddenly pulls me towards herself. She, too, looks very much alarmed. “I’m putting you inside my shadow. Try not to move unnecessarily.”
“Inside your wha—?”
I nearly have a panic attack as my body starts sinking into the ground. I try to shout but my voice has been silenced as well. And within seconds, I get fully submerged within her ‘shadow’.
To be honest, this isn’t as suffocating or restrictive as one might think. In fact, it feels similar to being in water— except I’m not getting wet and still breathing freely. On top of that, I can even see and hear everything that’s happening ‘above’.
Marianne slowly walks closer to where everyone else is standing, and as her ‘shadow’, I automatically move as well. From here, I can make out the weird crack better. It seems to be shimmering a little.
Suddenly, two hands appear from inside the crack and grab its sides. With a loud shattering sound, they rip open the crack until a large dark hole is formed. And from within, a peculiar man steps out.
He’s dressed in a very formal and nice manner— wearing a high-end black pinstripe suit and shoes so shiny I can probably see my face in them. He’s also very handsome, having a lean and muscular body, a good-looking face, long black hair that are stylishly tied up, and a short well-trimmed goatee.
There’s only one thing abnormal about him. His height. He’s extremely tall— standing at at least 9 feet, dwarfing everyone else present.
“Well, well. I see you’ve all gathered here to welcome me. Consider me flattered.”
The man says emotionlessly, slowly looking around. Although he seems calm, there is a cold fury in his eyes. And I can already tell that he is dangerous, very dangerous.
“By the way, why are you glaring at me like that, Marianne? It’s as if I caught you doing something bad. Like hiding something you shouldn’t hide? Or perhaps, someone?”
I can feel a chill down my spine, but Marriane appears calm.
“Whether I’m hiding something or not, it’s none of your concern.” She says haughtily. “But I must compliment you, Aburus. You are quite brave— coming here all alone. You couldn’t have possibly deluded yourself into thinking you can take us all, right?”
…!
Don’t tell me! There’s only one person who comes to mind when hearing the name Aburus! He’s the supreme king of the demons! Although I’ve heard his name being mentioned hundreds of times, this is the first time I am actually seeing him. Rumor has it that he doesn’t like his pictures going public.
But why is he here right now?
“When did I ever say I’m alone?” Aburus smiles.
Strange fluctuations suddenly appear from the hole behind him. And the moment they appear, everyone’s alertness heightens to the limit. I can see Marianne donning a very grave expression.
“Fortunately, you disturbed us when we were having a little meeting of our own. So, you see, I advise you all to not do anything reckless— for while I’m the spokesperson, the rest of my friends are present right behind me,” he says in a chilling tone.
A few seconds of long silence follow this before one of the hooded ones slowly takes a few steps forward. I recognize her immediately from her voice, being the one who talked to me in the morning.
“We’re too close to the city. Don’t start anything that you might regret later, Aburus.” She warns him gravely.
“Yrathea, are you? I see you’re still hiding your face like a coward,” Aburus smirks disdainfully.
So that’s her name…
“And you’re telling me not to start anything? Did you forget the agreement? The right over the last ruin shall belong to the side that wins the war! Isn’t that what YOU promised us!? Isn’t that the sole reason why we even let you keep the tower in the first place!?” He booms, looking as if he’s close to losing his temper. But then he takes a deep breath and calms down.
“But we’ve all just seen that your side has broken the agreement. We have all the right to demand answers, and act as we see if they’re not satisfactory.”
“Oh, let’s not pretend to be righteous now,” Yrathea lightly scoffs at him. “You agreed to the pact because neither of us had the means to activate the last ruin. And it was considered voided the moment your daughter showed what she’s capable of.”
“…”
Aburus looks surprised for a moment before a deep frown appears on his face.
“Yes, we know about her. And we also know what your side plans to do once she gets sufficiently powerful. So, don’t blame us for doing what was needed to be done to protect our interests.” Yrathea continues.
“If… If you think your baseless claims are going to change anything…. you are sorely mistaken.” Aburus quietly says, his face darkening significantly. “The fact remains that your side has broken the pact, and we now present you with two choices going forward. Consider them carefully.”
“Your first choice is to evacuate this area, including the nearby Elven city, and hand over all the rights to the System tower and its surrounding land to us. We shall give you a few days to oversee the evacuation, but the tower needs to be handed over effective immediately.”
…
“Don’t even try to jest when you are this bad at it.” Yrathea sneers disdainfully. “This is not just an Elven city, it’s our capital. And the System tower, being within its borders, is also rightfully ours. How dare you even suggest—”
“Your second choice—” Aburus cuts in before letting her finish.
“— is to hand over your Chaos magic user. I know Marianne has hidden him here somewhere. We’re willing to absolve your side of what happened here today, but someone needs to be held accountable. So, just give us the person who activated the last ruin, and we shall leave peacefully.”
What the fuck!? Why is this bastard asking for me!?
I can feel my heart pounding, looking at Yrathea anxiously for her reply.
“And what will happen if we refuse both choices?” She asks calmly.
“War.”
Aburus’s deep voice resounds throughout the otherwise silent field, making it sound foreboding.
“Not like those sham Century-wars that we fight to display and gauge each other’s strength… but a real, full-scale war. Every single being who shall stand in our way will be slaughtered until we get what we want. So, decide carefully whom you want to protect. Millions of your people or just one?”
He stops speaking, awaiting Yrathea’s answer. She doesn’t reply immediately, sighing tiredly while slowly shaking her head.
“Alright, we choose the second option. You can take our Chaos magic user…”
…