Author Note: It's been a while hasn't it?

Chapter 26

In a vast desert that had multiple flowing rivers of varying sizes across it, a single figure can be seen traversing through.

The figure wore a white colored hooded mantle as well as tunic with a slightly darker color, dark brown pants with a couple pockets along with gloves of the same color topped by hard leather armor with multiple pieces that had all been dyed black. The figure also wore a pair of black sturdy boots and a warm grey colored cloth mask that only covered the mouth.

Mounted on the figure’s back were a pair of bow and quiver and on his waist was a sheathed curved sword.

The bow reached 1.5 meters in length with both its limbs appearing to be reinforced by a certain type of silver metal. Each limb had multiple magic runes chiseled into it giving it a beautiful finish while its bow string seemed to be made by weaving thin strings of the silver metal mentioned before together.

The quiver was made with the same design as the bow, at first glance may seem to be ordinary but was actually an interspatial storage device that allowed the user to store a large amount of arrows in. As for the sheathed curved, not much detail can be seen.

“Damn, when Amitiel said that there was going to be a ‘rather large desert’, I never expected it to be this vast!”(???)

The figure cursed as he kept on walking forward.

But as soon as he took another step, the sand beneath his feet started churning as they moved about. In front of the figure erupted an enormous worm like monster.

Its skin had a rock like exterior, sprouting multiple cracks here and there as the large worm like monster dug its way out of the sand. As it did, its head was shown revealing a monstrous appearance.

Its head was divided into four which opened to reveal the uncountable amounts of sharp yellow teeth, from its mouth spewed out a green pus like liquid. As the liquid fell from its mouth, it slowly corroded the sand it landed on, causing it to slowly erode into a dark yellow substance.

The worm like monster opened its mouth widely before a deafening roar followed after.

*GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!*

“A Sandstorm Hunter? It’s been a while since I saw one of these.”(???)

The figure said as he dismounted the bow from his back. The figure then grabbed an arrow from his quiver, nocking it swiftly as a bright blue light enveloped the arrow before shooting it directly into the Sandstorm Hunter’s mouth.

Its previously wide open mouth immediately closed shut before a yellow liquid starting dripping from the gap in its mouth. A few moments later, the Sandstorm Hunter limped towards the figure before it slowly fell down lifelessly on the ground.

*Swish*

“Little White, what is it?”(???)

The figure looked at the white owl that landed on his shoulder, asking it a question. Soon, a window opened in front of figure.

Little White has discovered large amounts of monster activity ahead. Threat level: Extremely LowDistance away: 12.5 Kilometers

Seeming a bit unfazed by the window, the figure grabbed a small stone that had been engraved with multiple magic runes from a small bag that had been attached to his waist.

“Amitiel.”(???)

Soon after, the voice of a woman responded.

“”(???)

“Oh? Charlotte?”(???)

“”(Charlotte)

“*Tsk*, tell him to call me when he returns.”(???)

“”(Charlotte)

“I’ll be going now.”(???)

“”(Charlotte)

Placing the stone back into his bag, the Renya stood still with Little White on his shoulder.

“This is gonna be a long trip...”(Renya)

Renya sighed as he continued on his journey.

-•••••-

[Several Days Ago]

[Ostwald City]

Inside the [Ember Tongue] sat Renya together with Little White on his shoulder, seated across him were Chris, Maria, Nana, and Jennifer. All of them, apart from Nana, had relatively calm faces.

“You’re leaving already?”(Nana)

She asked in surprise.

“Well, I’m gonna be heading towards the nearest city in the [Notus Empire]’s country.”(Renya)

He said as he leaned back on his chair.

“Well, I expected something like this to happen.”(Jennifer)

“*Sigh* same, although I didn’t think that it’d be this soon.”(Maria)

As the three of them calmed down, Chris spoke.

“Well, I kind of assumed from the start that you only joined us for the heck of it. It was fun though!”(Chris)

“Yeah, sorry about my sudden leave.”(Renya)

“It’s fine, really! It is!”(Chris)

Chris said as he waved his hands around in rebuttal.

“We can still remain friends right?”(Chris)

Hearing his words, Renya gave out a small chuckle before responding.

“Yeah, of course we will.”(Renya)

Nodding in affirmation, Chris asked a question.

“Since you’re aiming for the nearest city from here, shouldn’t it be [Ferron City]?”(Chris)

“I think so.”(Renya)

“Well, you should be careful, I heard that the deserts in that area are extremely dangerous. I’ve also heard rumors about the monsters there, they’re known to be extremely savage. So much so that one had to have an extremely well-armed party to travel across some of its parts.”(Chris)

Listening to his warnings, Renya gave him a nod as he replied.

“I’ll keep that in mind then.”(Renya)

He stood up from his chair as he grabbed several vials from his bag before placing them on the table. As he did, Chris and the others became somewhat wide eyed. After Renya finished placing the potions down, Chris immediately asked.

“Potions?! Why do you have these?”(Chris)

“What? Are they rare or something?”(Renya)

“No, they’re not, but they’re extremely expensive right now.”(Jennifer)

She replied with an amazed expression.

“Oh, Is that so? Well, take them as a gift from me. You might need them in the future.”(Renya)

He said as he grabbed a few more potions, placing them in front of them.

“Are you sure?”(Chris)

“Yeah, I have a plenty to spare. Giving you guys this much isn’t a problem.”(Renya)

“Thanks!”(Chris)

“The least I can do for you guys. Well, I plan on leaving at dawn tomorrow. So no need to see me off.”(Renya)

“But still!”(Chris)

“It’s fine, we’ll probably meet again soon.”(Renya)

With that, Renya walked out of [Ember’s Tongue].

“Leaving so soon?”(???)

As he did, he came upon a familiar figure waiting for him.

Standing near the entrance was a beautiful elven woman with golden irises who looked to be around 18-19 years old, she had fair skin as well as ashen blonde colored hair tied into a side ponytail. She wore some relatively simple elven-like clothing.

“Talia.”(Renya)

“It’s been three days since the last time we met. And here you are, about to leave for [Ferron City].”(Talia)

She said as she crossed her arms.

“Well, I did tell you beforehand.”(Renya)

“Well, you did. But you never told me when you were going to leave. If not for the fact that I chanced upon you here, I would’ve never known.”(Talia)

“My bad then.”(Renya)

“Never mind all that, Come with me.”(Talia)

“Where to?”(Renya)

“To where Michael’s at of course.”(Talia)

“Why do I want to pay a visit to him again?”(Renya)

“He wanted to see you. Besides, he be able to help you in a way.”(Talia)

“Fine…”(Renya)

With that, the two of them headed for the Cathedral. Passing through the multiple buildings, the liveliness of the city returned since the conclusion of the attack.

“Things are looking well for the city.”(Renya)

“It is, thanks that friend of yours, the damage done to the city was nonexistent. Apart from the fear they acquired after seeing his display, nothing else major happened and everything went back to normal.”(Talia)

Hearing her mention ‘his friend’. Renya wore a slight smirk. He then continued to ask.

“Back to normal? You guys never sent anyone to investigate the Nether Rift?”(Renya)

“We are planning to, though gathering the necessary people required to do a thorough investigation will take some time.’(Talia)

“I see, well that’s good.”(Renya)

After a while, the two of them reached the cathedral. Unlike on the day of the wedding, the decorations have been removed.

As the two of them entered, they caught sight of Hilda who was walking towards them before they were immediately guided inside by her. Just like before, they were guided inside the luxurious room

Inside sat Michael who wore a set of white formal attire and a woman who was dressed in a similar fashion. The woman had a slightly darker skin color compared to Michael, her raven black hair being tied into a full braid and her eyes had an amber color, making them stand out.

“It’s been a while Renya.”(Michael)

“Not long enough Michael.”(Renya)

“My my, already so lively?”(???)

“They’ve been quite hostile these days haven’t they, Diana?”(Talia)

She replied to the woman named Diana.

During the wedding reception, Renya met Diana as he congratulated Michael for the wedding. Since then, the two of them remained became somewhat familiar with one another as the amount of interactions they’ve had have been quite a few.

“We can’t really do much about them really.”(Diana)

“Anyways, why did you want to talk about?”(Renya)

“You’re heading towards the [Notus Empire] right?”(Michael)

“Yeah, what of it?”(Renya)

“Diana.”(Michael)

He called her name as she replied with a nod. Diana then took out a silver badge like object before throwing it towards Renya.

Catching the badge, Renya inspected it. The badge had an intricate cross engraved in the middle with two crossed curved swords at the bottom and on the it’s rim read “Through metal, our bodies are encased. With coal, our souls are fueled”.

“Quite poetic.”(Renya)

“Why thank you, it was my great great grandfather who said those very words.”(Diana)

She replied with a bit of enthusiasm.

“So, what am I to do with this?”(Renya)

“Similar to the badge I gave to you. It shows that you are, in one way or another, related to the royal family of the [Notus Empire]. By the way, it works the same way as the badge I gave you.”(Michael)

“This is great and all, but what did I ever do to deserve this badge even?”(Renya)

“Oh, consider it as a sign of gratitude from me.”(Diana)

“Right…”(Renya)

“Oh please Renya, it’s not like I have a hidden agenda or any of that sort.”(Diana)

She said as her eyes turned into crescents.

“Alright then, now that that’s settled, don’t you have a journey to prepare for?”(Michael)

“Yeah… I’m guessing that that’s all you had me come here for.”(Renya)

“I was kind of expecting something else.”(Talia)

“Well, all that needs to be said have been said. Adding anymore would make it useless chatter, no? I wouldn’t want to delay your trip after all.”(Michael)

“Then I’ll take my leave.”(Renya)

“I’ll do too.”(Talia)

Just as the two of them were about to leave through the door, Michael spoke.

“Ms. Talia, we have a few things to talk about that concerns the three countries. So please do stay behind.”(Chris)

“Alright.”(Talia)

She said as she turned around.

But as she was about to go back, she looked back at Renya as she said.

“Take care out there.”(Talia)

Stopping briefly, he replied.

“Will do”(Renya)

With that, the two of them parted ways. After Renya arrived outside the cathedral, he went straight towards the [Green Horn Inn]. Walking inside, the amount of hunters that are in the lobby are far fewer than before.

“Yo.”(Renya)

He said to the inn keeper.

“What can I do for you?”(Inn Keeper)

“So how many nights do I have left?”(Renya)

“Till the day after tomorrow.”(Inn Keeper)

“Good, I’ll be taking my leave then.”(Renya)

He said as he walked outside.

“Shall we go back home Little White?”(Renya)

He asked the white owl on his shoulder.

-•••••-

[Titan City]

[Nocturnal Citadel]

In the throne room, a bright light appeared in the middle of the room. As soon as the light became dull, the figure of Renya and Little white became clear.

“Now then, where’s Charlotte?”(Renya)

Looking around the room, not a single person could be seen. Not minding the lack of people, he removed his hunter’s attire, replacing it with his casual clothes, before going outside.

But just as he was about to reach out and open the massive door, it opened. On the other side stood Laura, who was opening the door, and Charlotte.

“Oh? You’ve returned home father?”(Charlotte)

“Yeah, for a while only though.”(Renya)

“For a while?”(Laura)

“I wanted to make a trip to the [Notus Empire]. So I came over to prepare a few things. Have you seen Amitiel?”(Renya)

“Yes, he should be on his way here.”(Charlotte)

“Yes, I am indeed on my way here.”(???)

Behind the Laura and Charlotte stood Amitiel.

“From what I’ve heard, Lord Renya is on his way to [Ferron City], which is the nearest city of the [Notus Empire].”(Amitiel)

“Yeah, I am.”(Renya)

“Excellent, would you be kind enough to lend me the equipment that you’ve been wearing for a while.”(Amitiel)

Doing as he asked, Renya handed Amitiel his hunter equipment. Not long after, a man dressed in assassin’s attire appeared from out of the shadows. Amitiel handed his equipment to the man, after the man received Renya’s equipment, he immediately disappeared into the shadows.

“Now then, apart from preparing for your journey, you also wanted to hear the current state of the city I reckon?”(Amitiel)

“Yeah.”(Renya)

“Understood, then I shall give you a detailed report on the city’s state of affairs.”(Amitiel)

With that, the two of them continued their talk in Amitiel’s room. Charlotte and Laura did not follow after since the two of them had a few thing that they had to take care of. As for Little White, she herself decided to stay with Charlotte for the time being.

Inside the room, Amitiel began explaining their current grasp on the world.

Apparently, his men have begun their travel towards the rest of the continents, the [Sylvia Continent] and the [Avium Continent]. Not just that, but the prisoners they’ve captured when the attack on [Ostwald City] have been integrated into our ranks and are obediently doing as they’re told.

Their treatment has been fair, they’ve been given a proper home in the city. Not only that, but the benefits they’ve been given far exceeds that of what they had when they worked under the Demon Queen.

Hearing his words, he felt a bit skeptical since this ‘is’ Amitiel we’re talking about. After mentioning the recently acquired forces, Amitiel then continued on suggesting Renya to stay for a few more days as he’s having Borri make some improvements on his equipment for his trip.

“Alright, I’m not in a rush to head towards [Ferron City].”(Renya)

“Good! May you enjoy the next couple of days.”(Amitiel)

With that, Renya left the Amitiel’s room.

Author Note: Hello! I am back! The PDF can be found >>here!

I'm so, so, so, so, sorry! For the lack of any chapters. I just got stuck in editing hell for the longest time, and that I've lacked the time to do some editing. Even forgetting to edit at times even! But thankfully, you guys care still! You went over to my Novel Updates Forum profile page and bugged me about the series, and so, I finally finished thanks to you! Now that I'm starting a new arc, I can work a whole lot faster than when I did the editing. However, I can no longer do the daily chapters that I promised. However, I'll try to write as much as I can during my free time! I only hope that you can understand my circumstances!

Other than that, please do point out some mistakes that you find in this chapter AND the PDF! Since I may have missed a sentence or two in both.