The sage shivered now, and his face slowly turned toward mine. His eyes, though, still focused on the floor.
“What are you doing here, Phantom Lord?” Another man asked.
“Well, I came to investigate a unique energy signature inside your facility,” I said. “Unfortunately, it disappeared moments before I got here. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, now would you?”
Gorias met my eyes now, but he said nothing.
Got you. I grinned. “You know something about it, Gorias?”
He turned away.
“Council.” Freya stepped forward, with Acnologia walking behind her. The men looked at her, and a few of them grunted.
“What do you want, elf?” One asked.
“There are many forces that are beginning to visit our world,” she said. “The Phantom Lord himself had to face attacks from Dragons and Skeletal Armies. We are all on one side on this issue. If you do not set aside your differences, there will be nothing left.”
The man chuckled. “Nothing left? Don’t make me laugh, Elf.”
“You are aware the Dark Lord had risen, yeah?” I asked.
He froze. “Yes,” he whispered, much less energetic now.
“Look, I can’t say much, because you won’t believe me if I do. But there is a ton of stuff going on in the background that you idiots don’t seem to be aware of. If you have any information, now is the time to share it. If you’re going to go with the same ‘Oh he’s the Phantom Lord, we can’t work with him’ attitude then I’m just going to do what I need to do.”
The men thrust their palms out, and a multitude of words escaped their lips. I gently pushed at Freya, sending her stumbling away and back to the Dragon. A stream of attacks landed into me, as colors of all sorts slammed against my body.
I stood in the middle, not moving even a single inch, and let a yawn escape my lips. Eyes around me all widened, and hands were trembling now.
“Are you done?” I smiled. “Five percent.”
“What?”
“Five percent. That’s how much of my health you managed to take out with that barrage of attacks.”
“You,” Gorias gasped. “You’ve broken through your seal.”
"One more to go," I grinned. "Now,” I turned to everyone else, “are you all going to listen to me, or no?"
A door thudded down, and a line of Knights surged in, with weaponry in their hand.
“I’m going to take that as a no.” I shot forward, and used my bare fists this time. I smashed into the first man that headed up to me, using Meteor Fist and sending him flying back, knocking over ten more men behind him.
“No weapons?” Nyx asked.
I’m going to use my Arts. This place is too small for me to move around the way I want to anyway.
Sounds of metal came from behind me. Freya was hacking through a few Knights that had come her way. They were all Level 500, much above what she was at, and yet she was keeping them at bay, knocking them down.
Elves really are special. I thudded into another man before me, smashing him through five of his own Knights and through the walls of the chamber. Acnologia spent his time threatening to burn people and then tossing them out the tower if they got too close to him.
The council of sages attacked me in between, but their strikes hardly put a scratch on my body. I launched myself at two of them and struck hard, smashing them against the floor. A quick backflip later, I was back in front of the knights, with about thirty of them left. I surged into their ranks, and used Meteor Fist more times than it was necessary to send them all out the tower.
A chuckle escaped my lips as the last man flew out the walls. I turned to the sages, the remaining four standing in the middle of their broken council circle, their bodies trembling.
“I won’t hurt you.” I looked at them all. “But I need a favor.”
The men all looked at me, their eyes bloodshot. On a quick Analyze I could tell Gorias was the strongest of the lot still left.
Perfect.
I leapt forward and placed my hand on the old man’s shoulder. “Ceebros!”
Darkness surged from underneath the surface, and consumed us both, drowning us in black.
“W-what is this place?” Gorias jerked around, and his hands shook.
“Now,” I stood before him, “you’re going to tell me everything you know.”
The sage slowly looked at me, still shivering.
He knows something for sure. Just why is he afraid to tell me?
“Well, you are the Phantom Lord,” Nyx said. “He has to treat you like the enemy.”
I just have to scare him more then.
I stepped forward. “You realize you and I are the only ones in here right?” I smiled.
The old man jerked around again, even more paranoid than before. Sweat collected around his brow, and his eyes blinked profusely.
“You sensed those signatures, didn’t you?” I asked.
He looked at me, and his blinking stopped. His gaze turned down, to the dark surface. “Yes,” he said softly.
“And did you send people to search for them?”
He nodded again.
“What happened to those people?”
He looked at me. “They didn’t come back,” he said. “We lost all contact.”
“Eh? What about the signature here, inside your headquarters?”
He shook his head. “Our head Knight took a squadron and headed for it. We’ve been trying to contact him since. The signature disappeared too.”
“What the heck?” I blinked. I thought the Alliance of Light might have someone to do with the lost signature.
“This is odd,” Nyx said.
“Do you know why this is happening?” he asked.
“I might have a hunch.”
He looked at me, but said nothing.
“The Dark Lord might be behind all this.”
His eyes widened. “What?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved. “Which is why I’m going to ask you to help me out here.”
“Wait what?” Nyx asked.
The old man looked at me, and the veins on his neck were visibly throbbing.
“Think about it,” I said. “The Dark Lord is attacking you once again. You don’t really have anyone who could help you out here. You have no strong warriors left. Taking me as an ally is your only option.”
Sage Gorias kept his gaze on me, but still remained silent.
“The Alliance of Light might even praise you for getting the Phantom Lord on your side.”
His eyes perked up at the sound of that, but he still looked hesitant, fidgeting around.
“What?” I walked up to him. “Is this not good enough a deal for you?”
“But you…you killed Markus,” he said. “We can’t possibly accept the man who killed our king as our ally.”
“Are you sure?” I said. “Between the two of us, you seem to be the one who has no clue what’s coming. Are you really ready to bet all of this on the fact that you might be able to survive the Dark Lord’s invasion on your own?”
He glanced down at the darkness.
This idiot won’t do anything if I leave it like this.
I sighed. “I didn’t want to do this, but you’ve left me no choice.” I stepped forward.
The old man stumbled back, just from my step, and fell to the ground.
I knelt before him. “You really don’t want to make me your enemy. Not when we’re in here.”
Sage Gorias shuffled back, his hands scraping the dark floor. “W-what are you saying?”
I smiled. "We can stay in here for a very, very long time, you know," I said. "And no one will even hear you scream."
His body stiffened, and his eyes went wide, while his hands shook terribly. This was a man who had dominated me a mere year or so ago, and yet now I was completely overbearing him. He couldn’t do a single thing against me.
How fortunes change.
“So.” I lifted my finger, and a fl
ame of bright red emerged over the tip. “What do you think? Will you help?”
“What do you want from us?” His voice shook. “I can’t even help you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Can’t help me?” I asked. “I know your status in the Alliance of Light. You’re the strongest man on the council.”
“Eh?” he blinked.
“Well strongest man now. I kind of killed the other two guys.”
His body froze once again.
I sighed. “You really have to stop freezing up for every single thing I say.” The flame in my hand grew.
Sage Gorias sat where he was, and the bright fire reflected in his eyes.
“So?” I asked. “What do you say? All you have to do is take me in as an ally. I won’t do anything drastic. All I need from you is manpower and information. If you ever find anything about the signatures, I need to know.”
The old man looked at my face, then the flame, then at me again. “Very well.” His voice was soft.
DING!
Congratulations! You have gained a new ally:
Alliance of Light.
Members of the Alliance of Light will recognize you as an Ally. However, attacking any member of the Alliance will void this relationship immediately.
Hell yeah. I punched the air.
“Will you protect us from the Dark Lord now?” he asked.
“You can bet on it.” I focused my energy and diverted it into my palm. “Ceebros break!”
The space around us shook, and the darkness quickly receded, like waves moving back to the ocean. Sage Gorias stumbled onto his feet, just as the black faded away, and reality came into vision.
I grinned. "Pleasure doing business with you.”
***
CHAPTER SIX
Bodies and blood filled the ground around us.
Sage Gorias gazed at the sight, and his arms shivered, as they had for the five minutes I’d spoken to him. Three other Sages stood beside him, all just as panicked as he was. Acnologia and Freya stood behind me, and the elf was already seated on the Dragon.
“I look forward to hearing from you, Sage Gorias.” I smiled and jumped, landing flush on the beast’s back, in front of Freya.
The Dragon reared into the air and tore through the stone walls, emerging into the skies outside. Yells sounded from beneath us, and blasts of white energy shot upward, grazing the air around us.
I sighed, looking down at the multiple canons that stood pointed up at us. I guess it takes a while for the Ally stuff to work huh? I thought.
“Remember, no killing them,” Nyx said. “If you do you lose your Ally status.”
I know, I know. Acnologia, let’s get out of here.
The Dragon nodded and rose into the skies, surging above the clouds in a flash. The blasts of white still rose to that height, but we were at least beyond the enemy’s sight now. They were just shooting wildly, and that never really resulted in much.
“So,” Freya gripped my shoulder, “what happened back there?”
“What?”
“We just left the Alliance of Light’s headquarters, and you didn’t kill a single guy who attacked us. So, I’m assuming something happened in there.”
“Wait, so something happened because I didn’t kill anybody? I’m not some mass murderer you—”
She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
I stared at her, and then exhaled. “Something did happen in there,” I said. “Sage Gorias agreed to become my Ally.”
“What?” Her eyes widened.
“Yup,” I said. “Basically, means the whole Alliance of Light is my Ally now.”
“Also means you can’t kill them,” she said. “Oh wait, so that’s why you didn’t kill those men.”
I nodded.
“Did Gorias give you any info on the energy signatures?”
“Kind of,” I said. “The Alliance of Light apparently sent out their own members to investigate it a short while ago. All of them disappeared.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What?”
“Yeah,” I said. “What’s the status on all those energy signatures? Have they all disappeared as well?”
“I’ll check.” The elf opened up her Ga’em menu and typed a message, presumably to Ijyela.
DING!
Boy, that was fast.
“Ijyela says a few more have disappeared,” Freya said.
“What’s the closest one?”
“Over inside the Dargonian Empire.”
“What?” I blinked. A chuckle left my lips. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “Amusing, isn’t it?”
I laughed. “Didn’t think I’d be making a trip from the Alliance of Light to the Dark Alliance so quickly. Can you send the location over to me?”
“Yeah.”
Nyx, get Acnologia the coordinates.
“On it,” the spirit said.
“How far into the Empire is this?” I asked.
“Closer to the border,” Freya said. “We’ll probably take a few hours to get there.”
You can fly that long right?
The Dragon chuckled. “Are you underestimating me, Eternal?”
I smiled. I’m just checking. I’d rather ask than have you drop from the sky because of exhaustion.
“I don’t believe ANY dragon has ever been in such a circumstance.”
Fine, fine, I get it.
The beast picked up pace, molding the shape of the clouds beneath us as he shot through the upper skies. The light around us turned a buttery orange—the sign of the setting sun.
DING!
You have received a message from: The Death Lord! Would you like to open it?
I hit ‘open’.
Diablo, I just heard from Ijyela that you and Freya are heading to one of the energy signature points in the Dargonian Empire. I’m currently heading to one a little further than you are. Update me if you find anything important. Hopefully we can gain good information through this.
I quickly typed out a reply.
Yeah, we’re heading to one close to the border. I’ll let you know if I find anything. So far, I heard that the people who investigated the signatures in the Kingdom of Aingard have all gone missing. No clue how or why. A few of the energy signatures disappeared too.
DING!
I’m aware of the disappearances of the energy signatures. However, I had not heard of adventurers going missing as well. Will be on alert. You too. And keep the unnecessary killing to a minimum.
I scuffed my eyebrows. What does he mean ‘unnecessary killing’?
“Well, everyone has their opinions,” Nyx said.
That statement helps me in no way at all. I closed the screen.
A chilly gust blew through the skies. Another set of clouds emerged ahead, hovering just a few inches above us. We were flying through a small section of open air between two thick layers of clouds now. I glanced up, at the misty puffs swirl as we rushed under them. A melody of purple and orange glittered between them, sparking in my eyes.
I grinned. I lifted one foot up from the Dragon’s side and placing it on his back.
“I’ll catch you if you fall,” the Dragon chuckled. “After all, you’ve made me do that before.”
Good point. I lifted my other leg onto its back as well, and sat there, hunched up.
“Zoran?” Freya asked.
I lifted myself, first an inch, waiting a few seconds, then pushing up. I stood up amid a hundred ‘sit down’s from Freya. My feet were planted solidly on the Dragon’s back, getting good traction against its scales. I lifted my hand up, touching the puffy clouds, and my fingers danced between the purple lights that swirled within it.
“This is what you wanted?” Freya asked.
I slowly turned my head down to her. “It’s fun.”
“Yes, but is now really the time for this?”
“Please, you want to do this just as much as I do,” I smiled. “When was the last time we had enough time to do something like this?”
&n
bsp; She frowned. “Definitely not now.”
I leaned down, gripping the elf’s hand. Her eyes jerked to me. “What are you—”
My fingers wrapped around her wrist and I jerked her up. She stumbled up to me, and I caught her by the waist, slowly letting her find her stance on Acnologia’s back. She looked down, securing her footing, and then turned to me, with a glare in her eyes.
I laughed. “Your face is about as red as the clouds were before.”
“That was not funny, Zoran.”
“I know, I know.” I smiled. “But look.” I lifted my hand, putting in the clouds, and traced a line inside them as we rushed through the skies. “It feels surreal.”
The elf looked up, and the purple colors danced inside her eyes. I sighed and took half a step away from her.
“What?” The elf stood still, too uneasy to do the same.
I grabbed her hand, and lifted it into the air. The chilling mist flowed between our palms, and laced a smooth sensation on my skin. The Dragon jerked ever so slightly and Freya tumbled forward. I caught her, and my free arm wrapped around her, holding her still.
Her eyes were beautiful — moons of silver that had purple mist flowing within. I looked into them, and the sensations around me numbed the more I did. Her hand squeezed mine, and I did in return. Our fingers intertwined within the clouds, and warmth spread between them amongst the chilling moisture.
Heat rose within me, filling my veins and rising through my limbs. Warm breath fell onto my lips, and tickled my skin.
A crack of thunder echoed, and we stumbled, falling forward. I flipped around, hitting the Dragon’s back first, with my hands still around Freya. We tumbled together, and the elf fell onto me, her head bouncing against my chest.
The clouds above us were a dark gray now. Freya laid on me, and her warmth seared into my body, even more than before.
The elf reached out, cradling my face in her hand. “Does your heart always beat this fast?” She looked at me, her eyes of silver more mesmerizing than they had ever been before.
“Never.” I smiled, gazing at her.
The Eternal: Hellbringer - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 5) Page 5