Author's Note:

So here it is. Somehow I still managed to release it this week even if by a hair's breath :D Nothing much to say just that I hope you like the dungeon. I recently noticed that there have been MANY chapters of this story written by me and through all of them Ace had entered only a single dungeon. Someone might even get the feeling they are rarities in this game :p So to remedy the situation in the last chapter and here I tried my best to explore one. Of course, it's not how it's suppose to be because it's written by me but I hope you like it none the less.

And about the dungeon having no table about them being the first to enter, well, I think it was already answered in this chapter, but just to explain why I had said I would change it and didn't. It's pretty simple really. Xion's reply made me think of what if they weren't the first one's to find it and I decided to combine the ending of this volume with the dungeon exploration

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Heat. Inferno burning with the fires of hell. Scorching flames of anger blazing inside the veins. Crimson coloured eyes glaring at an unfortunate soul who dared to challenge the devil. Stupidity beyond belief. Hard to say whose.

"Now now, I know you wish for my death, but does it have to be so violent?" Nein asked with a laugh, his eyes shining with mirth.

Ace tried to take a deep breath but he couldn't even do that. His body was no longer his; he was only a guest in it. Even moving eyeballs was beyond him. If his head was raised his eyes opened, but if he was laid down they closed up.

And he couldn't do a damn thing to change that.

"Hey, if not me, you would be dead by now! Be more appreciative of my sacrifice! I had to jump over that pit full of spikes in a rush to save you and I'm no rogue like you!" he said, not losing his smile.

'What is he so happy about?' Ace wondered in a back of his mind. 'And I'm no rogue! I'm a mage kid and assassin monster! Can you hear me! There is no word rogue there!'

"But really what class are you? I saw you using a dagger, showing awe inspiring trap dodging skills and casting a spell. That last thing just doesn't fit with the rest at all. Would you mind helping me out on this?" Nein asked, looking Ace straight in the eyes. "Weren't you blue eyed? I could have sworn you were!" he said in surprise.

'His observation and analytic skills are as good as I thought. He never misses a thing even if it's an insignificant action in the middle of a life and death situation. Luckily, there are no way for him to see my emotions in this state and how his words resonate with me.'

"Truly were your eyes deep red on the verge of becoming purple?"

'Of course, not! Are you blind? Wait, that would give me away! So yes they were blue, you're just seeing wrong now.' Ace tried to calm his frustration and anger to regain the balance as that was the main meaning of blue. He only needed a bit more of logical thinking before his eyes would turn dark blue.

"You know you don't have to stay so silent... I would feel better if you said at least something" Nein said, scratching his forehead. Ace's eyes darkened. That blue was miles away. "Oh could it be that you haven't noticed? You can leave the body as a spirit! I will be able to see your emotions that way at least. It's kind of eerie to be talking and see only a blank stare directed at myself all the time."

'Leave my body?' Ace asked taking a step back and to his surprise he was out of his own body. 'Does that mean that I was always moving and he could see parts of me getting out? How much did he find out from that?'

"So you really didn't know? I'm sorry. I didn't take into account that maybe you're not the solo guy like me who'd rather die than ask for anyone's help in finding something out."

'If that was true why would you be with Perry's group? You're lying now, but why?'

"Now that we understood each other, I think we should start moving. We still need to get out of here and I think you're eager to get your character back. Don't worry once we meet a sufficient cleric, I'll turn you back into a human."

Ace nodded as if agreeing to it and looked at himself. He was see through but there was colour to him - orange and red mixed with green. 'What could it possibly mean?' He tried to move and this time he could do whatever he wanted. To find out more about his new state he tried to walk through the door. Like a ghost he passed it and appeared on the other side.

The place was exactly the same. Even the water seemed to drop from the ceiling on the same intervals. 'So this is what I so desperately tried to reach?' A bitter laugh escaped his mouth but no sound could be heard. He tried talking then. Lips moved, but nothing came out and there were no reflection of him in a small hole of water collected on the ground.

He walked further ahead, exploring his surroundings but nothing interesting ever turned up until another door came into view. There were nothing to suggest another set of traps but Ace didn't trust it this time. Last place seemed safe too and look where it got him. It will be interesting to see how Nein planned to cross this by himself.

That made him turn around and walk back. He didn't want to miss any of the fun when Nein tried to cross traps and such. It would also provide much information about who the guy truly was and what he could do.

The doors set in stone were still closed. 'Did he not even take a step while I was away?' He passed through and saw the guy sitting against the wall with his head down.

As if he had made some sound, Nein raised his head. "You're back! Where did you go for so long?"

Ace tilted his head sideways.

"You took the light away with you! How was I supposed to do anything?"

'I took the light away?' Ace looked around and saw [Flare] hanging slightly over his head. 'So that's why I could see everything when I went there. But why is it following me and not my body?' He pointed at Nein and then the small flame and then back at the guy.

"Hm? Are you asking me why I didn't call it out myself?" Ace nodded. "It's easier to just show it. Flare!"

A wavering flame appeared from out of nowhere before Nein. It was the size of a human eye and lighted no more than few centimetres around itself. 'Was mine like that too once? When did it change so much?'

"I have no idea what you did with yours but it's way beyond what I have seen before. I don't dare to think of what would have happened to a real spell if you had been as dedicated to raising it as you were with this one."

Ace shook his head and turned around pointing to the door. It wasn't fun to argue when he couldn't utter a word or even express his opinion.

"Okay okay! I get it. I'll get moving, you want to return back to normal after all."

Ace nodded as if that was most important to him now and waited for Nein to open the door. He was waiting eagerly for the trap time.

"It's locked!" Nein said in surprise. He hadn't expected that. Now how was he supposed to learn more if there was no way to go neither back nor forth? He had many tricks up his sleeve but being able to pass through walls wasn't one of them.

The kid started to move and Nein returned his attention back to him. Usually those he made into puppets were terrified, quickly logged off and if younger started to cry but this child was only angry like a few criminals he used once. Yet even that passed quickly. Maybe it was especially because of his youth? Instead of having fear he was full of adventurous spirit and wanted to learn more about being a spirit... But wasn't he smarter than that?

And that spell was a mystery too. Why did it follow his spirit instead of the body? It was illogical. No one could see spirits besides a few certain people and not even spells could touch them.

Hand waved before his eyes and he shook his head to clear his mind. "Sorry. I've just been thinking how stuck we are here. It's pretty hopeless."

Ace rolled his eyes and started to write letters in the air. One as column, another as a stick with a belly on the left side and one more a straight line down.

"I... d... i..."

Ace widened his eyes in disbelief before finishing with a doughnut and a cross.

"O... t... Hmm... I.d.i.o.t. Idiot! Wait what? Why would you say something like that!" Nein shouted in sadness.

'Because you don't listen to me at all!' Ace made sure that Nein was watching him this time and came close to the door. Then he pretended to do something around the lock and with a big smile opened imaginary doors. After that he pointed to his body and the door as if saying now you do that.

"You mean you have lock picking skill and tools?" Nein asked surprised. Ace raised one finger. "Level one?" He nodded. "But that's almost nothing..."

He said that but none the less ordered the puppet to approach the door and start picking the lock. "Open the door". The body moved swiftly and took out the required tools. 'So he can use things in my inventory on its own accord? But it looks like Nein can't just look inside himself.'

Hours passed and the puppet was still at work yet he showed no signs of tiredness. Nein on the other hand did. A few drops of sweat ran down his forehead but he pretended like nothing happened so Ace did that too. It was useful information in itself without any explanations.

Nein glanced at him so Ace decided to check something. He waved his hands showing the whole dungeon and then raised his fingers, one, seven and two. The guy stared at him for a moment before shaking his head in quick motions. "Can you repeat it?" Ace did, this time showing different fingers. "This place?" A nod. "One, six, five?" Another one and a questioning look towards the door. "This place, numbers and a door. What could you be thinking?"

'He's clearly tired. Otherwise he would have picked up on it by now. So this puppet controlling actually takes a lot of energy even if the doll is doing almost nothing. Or is it because of the skill being used?'

He pointed at his body and raised one finger, then made an oval with two and showed five. After that he pointed at the wall with another questioning look. "Oh you're asking what level this place is?" Ace sighed 'Finally.' "Well, I don't know.” Ace face palmed and dragged the hand down slowly with murderous intent in his eyes. They were asking whether he was really that stupid or just pretended.

Nein yawned and dragged his attention back to the kid who was making fun of him now. What a spoiled brat. Didn't he know that tired people aren't up for quick wit games? 'You're the one that's hiding that from him!' his conscience tried to say but he shut it up.

That wasn’t his problem. And what was that the kid wanted of him now. He was pointing at the walls again and showing random numbers. Another yawn, this one wide enough to swallow a hippo. 'So sleepy but I need to act as if I'm fine. I can't show just how much it actually drains me to keep the doll active.'

Ace tried to get the answer again but Nein seemed lost in his own thoughts and no longer paid any attention to him. 'Is he tired enough to not be thinking properly any more or is he just faking it? How am I to know whether he really suspects me of being Silver Wing or is just doing it out of duty to check every suspect?' Plagued by these questions he decided to give himself more time to think.

He got in Nein's face and kept on making gross things until he finally saw him. His eyes widened as he saw Ace eating his own hand. "What are you doing?" he asked in a shout, all his other thoughts scattering away. The kid smiled brightly and fell to the ground pretending to be asleep. Then he quickly jumped up and pointed to him and the ground. It was obvious what he wanted to say.

"I can't. There's still a long time till your character will be able to open the door. But I appreciate the thought" he said, surprised that the kid had noticed his exhaustion. There was annoyance on the child's face and a mischievous fire lit up in his eyes. 'What could he do now?' Nein asked himself running through his mind all the possibilities. There wasn't much a spirit could do besides staying in his face.

Darkness.

That was the genius idea.

And it worked.

The puppet couldn't work by himself without light yet even if Nein took manual control of it he didn't know even the basics of lock picking. 'How did he manage to become the boss of the situation while being in a most powerless state in the whole game? I just don't get it...'

With a tired sigh he sat down where he stood. It's not like there was a difference where he laid down. "You can come back now, you win" he said yawning again.

There was distrust on the kid's face as he walked back through the wall but seeing him on the ground and the puppet fallen next to the door, he smiled and came to sit next to him. "Why are you forcing me to rest now? I thought you wanted to hurry ahead."

The child nodded and stood up to act something out. He walked slowly as if dragging himself forward. But then his legs stumbled upon each other and he rolled forward landing on his back, pure terror appearing on his face as he looked up and light died down in his eyes. There was no movement for a moment before the kid jumped up and pointed at him. "That's what will happen to me?" He nodded and pretended to go to sleep again. "But I'm really not that tired..."

The kid glared at him and walked to leave again. "Wait, wait! I'm going to do as you say. There's no need to leave!" The kid tilted his head, thinking if to trust his word. "Don't worry, you can leave any time you want if you see me trying to work."

He was used to being alone but sleeping in a dangerous cave... That was one of the more stupid actions a player could do in a game. More than half of those who did, found themselves locked away in real life for a couple of hours. Yet he was given no choice so it was better if the kid stood guard. He might be a spirit only but he clearly had the ability to think of a way to make himself known.

'Are you scared of the dark?' Ace asked him with a laugh and settled down. It was really annoying that he couldn't read or do something of a kind. Now he was only wasting time here. If only the guy could fall asleep faster.

Nein took out a blanket and used it to soften the ground under him. He had only one as some inns had bad accommodations and he used it to warm himself up. Sleeping outside wasn't his favourite past time. The question what he was doing here was at the front of his mind, preventing him from actually falling asleep.

Ace crawled before him and noticing the furrowed eyebrows knew that something was wrong. He clenched his teeth and faked another smile. What could he do to get the guy’s mind back from where it was stuck?

A sudden thought struck him, now if the guy just grasped it. He tried to talk and Nein raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing? You know I can't hear you..."

Ace nodded quickly and started to sway as if hearing some melody. Nein looked at him for a few long moments before his mind came to a conclusion. "Are your trying to sing me that song as a lullaby?" His reward was a wide smile coming to bloom on the kid's face. He looked really cute like that.

"London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down..." he murmured the words under his breath and watched the kid. There was something in the simple repeating movements of his that calmed his mind down and he could almost hear the kid's soft voice singing the lyrics. It wasn't a lullaby but if one slowed down the music and...

Ace watched Nein following his movements with his eyes and becoming sleepier. His eyes grew heavier and soon enough they closed for the last time that day/night whatever it was at the moment. Ace had no idea how long they had spent there and didn't really care. He had forever in his hands.

He left the room and waited some time before returning and making sure that Nein was really asleep and not only pretending. There was no movement so he went out again.

This time he planned to scout way more ahead and see what was at the end of the tunnel. Also if there were other life forms or only traps. It was unusual that in a dungeon they haven't met anyone for so long. There was something at work here and he planned to find it. There was still a long time before Nein would be waking up.

He walked on and through many doors. It was going to be hell for Nein to reach the end for sure. After four or so the path branched off into three different ones. He chose left and continued forward.

It was eerily quiet there. Even the sounds of dropping water were absent. Now that he took notice of it the cave seemed dryer and well maintained, if he could say it. Could it be that humans lived here?

Up ahead another set of doors stood but they were different from the previous ones. These were clearly human made from iron and with supports against the walls. There was nothing unnatural to them like to previous ones.

He walked past and saw one more door and one more. Every five steps or so there was a different set of doors blocking the path and he had a feeling it wasn't only them.

He returned to the first ones and started to count. One... Two... Three.. Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. 'Not bad. I don't envy the guy who was forced to do all this. It's a masterpiece of the highest quality.’

Behind the last ones he saw a group of humans sitting next to a fire and playing cards. One of them raised their head for some reason and looked straight at him. Ace was about to run back but the eyes of the guy passed through him and stopped at [Flare]. "What is that fire doing here?"

"What fire?" another asked. "That blue one" the first said, pointing at the floating flame.

Now others noticed it too and rose to see what it was. One tried to touch it but his hand passed right through it and it seemed like he didn't even feel the heat. "What the hell?" he asked in surprise. Ace watched it with interest too. Last time he checked [Flare] wasn't incorporeal and released a small but existent amount of heat.

"Do you think we should call the boss?"

"For something so trivial? Nah..."

"But what if it's some sign? I don't want to be the one to say that we knew that something was wrong and didn't tell him that."

"You've got a point" another said circling the flame and passing right through Ace. 'It feels like I don't even exist...' he murmured to himself and decided to leave. He shouldn't arise too much suspicion or they might decide to investigate the dungeon and will find Nein. And he needed that guy alive to return to being real. It was fun walking through walls but that's it. Being alive brought much more joy than that.

He went all the way back and this time chose the middle path. It went down and branched off quite often but most of the paths lead only to dead ends. It was boring without enemies or traps to create some action so he started to experiment on what he could do.

From what he had seen already nobody could hear or see him. Nein was an exception as he could see. Maybe it had something to do with him being the puppeteer? There was a ghost quality to his body that allowed him to pass through walls but nothing else of the sort. Or was there? He tried to jump up but there was no power behind his muscles! It was like trying to use a mountain of feathers as a support to lift you up! They just scattered around and nothing happened!

'What if I'm doing it wrong? I never saw a ghost jumping into air; they all just started to float... Hmm...' He closed his eyes and imagined himself rising from the ground in slow motion. Little by little he reached the ceiling and stopped there. And opened his eyes.

To his utter surprise he was actually flying. He tried to move, turn around, roll over the head and even do some air swimming. Everything was done just as he imagined without him having to even lift a finger. 'So this form is made more to play around than go for realism? What else can I do?'

He imagined himself moving twice as fast and it happened, his flying speed increased so that soon enough he was passing through stone. Stopping and turning around he returned to finish his exploration in the centre path.

There were only dead ends, no matter which side he chose. He had an idea that this whole path was only a big death trap but just to make sure he went everywhere and even tried to pass through walls in case there were hidden rooms. None existed.

Then he chose the right path and tried to control [Flare] as he walked into another dead end. It listened to his mind's commands as if hearing them. It even used Burst.

That made him feel a bit better about his situation. Now he had a real way to influence what was going to happen. Well, if it was going to happen. It would be really anticlimactic if after all his work finding out about the right path, Nein would just go and die at the first trap.

He had to return and make sure that didn't happen.

There was no way to tell how long he was exploring while being underground. What if many hours had passed and Nein has been waiting for him? That would be disastrous! He rushed forth with all his might.

Only when he stood next to the sleeping Nein did a question arise in his mind, why would it be disastrous? It wasn't like Nein could take a step without him even if he woke up. 'So why did I run here as if the whole hell was chasing me?'

Angrily he tried to hit the wall but his fist passed right through it. 'What is going on? My acting is slipping; I do things without thinking and even almost revealed my alter ego! Dammit! What am I doing?' He cursed and tried to pull out his hair but he couldn't grasp them. He was incorporeal even to himself. 'Bastards' he hissed and fell to the ground. 'And I don't even have my flute here!' He punched the ground in a desperate attempt to feel the pain of it but it was in vain. There was nothing in the world that could touch him now.

He chuckled. And full blown laughed with his head falling back. It was just too hilarious.

Sometime later he fell asleep.

Nein didn't move and looked asleep too but a spell of his was active [Third Eye]. It allowed him to see things up to a mile away as if he was standing there but he had never expected to use it to spy on a kid who was standing just a meter away from him.

What he saw shocked him to the core of his being. The kid believed his lie and left after deciding that he had fallen asleep and for a long time. So long that he had actually fallen asleep and even woken up again. He had lain still and sometime later the kid showed up in a hurry. There was fear on his face which soon turned into surprise. He looked around as if not believing what he was seeing. And then he started to cackle madly.

Nein had no idea what it was truly about but he could see waves of self-disgust leaving the kid's body. It convulsed from the laughter and hatred. It took all Nein had not to rush over and comfort the child. He had prided himself in being a cold hearted person but now he knew it was only because he had never seen anyone truly lost and heart-broken. 'What happened to him?'

But he couldn't ask that.

He was here only to find Silver Wing. Nothing more, nothing less. Saving broken children allowed inside the game wasn't part of it. Not even close to it. He was already lying and bringing more misery to the child's life and he would continue doing that until he learnt what he needed. Even force was allowed if that brought results. It was only a game.

Nein rose, not able to stay still any longer, and came closer to the sleeping form. He crouched down and brushed the kid's hair or imagined doing so as he was a ghost. "So innocent looking..." he murmured laughing at himself. Wasn't that word created to describe sleeping children?

And he had to destroy it.

"Take care of the lock" he said quietly to the puppet and took out an array of bottles before himself. All of them contained different liquids but they had one thing in common - they were all deadly poisons. He picked some and started to mix. It had been a long while since he used books to tell him what to do.

They didn't contain anything of interest to him so he abandoned the idea to be taught by past's greatest minds and decided to carve his own path. He experimented often with everything ranging from poisons to holy water. As long as it could be put into an elixir he did it. And tried everything on himself.

This time he didn't have the time to try anything new so he would have to come up with some buffs to strengthen the puppet's body and make him indestructible for the moment. With this idea in mind he started to work even more quickly. His vast knowledge of herbs and potions' characteristics allowed him to do it in a fast and efficient way.

In half an hour he was done and knew that the puppet was almost finished too. So he poured the potions inside its mouth and told to be done with it. The kid should be happy because his lock picking will be many levels higher when he returns to his body.

Now he only needed to wait for the kid to wake up. It would be nice to get ahead while he was asleep but he really didn't have any way to light the cave. He was so stupid to think he'd never come to need it. One of the first things to do when he leaves this dungeon will be getting some spell to light the surroundings. [Fire Globe] or something of the like.

He returned back to the kid's side and took out a book about unsolved mysteries. It helped him to rise intelligence and sometimes even pointed to the direction of extra rare spells or items. Dungeons too but he preferred to sell that information instead of acting on it himself.

*... is fire. It burns without fuel yet never runs out. It takes power from no wizard or artefact of power. It is an eternal source coming from itself. The only example is said to be in Gerdiusb Kingdom's hidden vault but there are people who call it only a myth because in the last few ages no one was allowed in to see it.

What I was interested was that it actually...*

A see-through hand blocked the page and Nein raised his head. A kid had woken up and was pointing at the puppet who was sitting calmly next to an open door with a wide smile. Nein matched it and rose.

"That's amazing! He actually did it!" he said in a surprised tone.

Ace took that as an insult but just smiled and nodded as if proud of his work.

"Oh and you learnt to fly?"

Ace looked at himself and saw that he was a feet above ground and it was too late to pretend that nothing happened so he just smiled brighter and nodded eagerly. Then he went to show off his new flying skills acting as a Peter Pan.

"Not bad" Nein laughed. "What else can you do?"

'Is he trying to get information from me or is just curious?' Ace wondered shrugging and floating beside Nein's head on his back.

"Are you trying to make me jealous?" Nein asked with a chuckle putting his book back in the bag. Ace showed him his tongue and flew towards the puppet, motioning for him to follow. "Okay, okay! I'm coming! Let's explore this dungeon together."

They passed through the doors and Nein felt quite disappointed. He had expected to see at least some change in the scenery but he was met only by the same damp and dark walls. "What a let-down..." he murmured and saw Ace look down as if it was his fault. Had he been so sad previously because of this? But it's not like he could do anything about it! "Is it like this further on too?"

Ace nodded. He was doing a lot of that lately. But it wasn't like he had many other ways to express himself when words were unavailable.

The path twisted and moved like a snake but didn't change at all. "And you can't even sing now to brighten the mood."

Ting!

A new message has arrived!

Ace tried to click on the window that had appeared before his eyes but his fingers didn't touch the surface. They passed through it just like anything else. He jumped in front of Nein to get his attention.

"What is it?" he asked.

Ace pointed at himself, put a hand at his ear and pretended to talk. "Phone talk?" Ace drew an envelope. "A message?" Ace nodded. "So?" He tried to touch the surface again and emphasized the fact that nothing stopped his finger. "You can't touch it?" Ace shook his head with sadness. "And what do you expect me to do about it?" Ace rolled his eyes and pointed at the puppet. "Use him to allow you to see it?"

Ace jumped towards the puppet and inside his own body. "Open the newly received message."

*Hey, Ace! I'm finally back! Where are you now? I'm leaving the hut and meeting up with Monthu! That was a thing that had to be done for me to return. I hope you don't mind... I'm really sorry. I know we promised to travel together but my brother is everything to me. It is not right to leave him behind... Please can we still be friends?*

Ace was so shocked he took a step back and out of his body. Why was Par coming back? He was supposed to follow everyone else and leave him alone! He wasn't allowed to twist the rules and return with his brother in tow!

"Is something wrong, kid? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

'Worse' Ace murmured. He clenched his fists and tried to control his anger. 'It is going to be all right. You'll pull through no matter what. But he shouldn't have returned!'

Angrily he walked forward. Nein had no idea what was happening so he decided to just follow.

Dark blue flames lightened under their feet in an intricate design and Nein knew something bad was going to happen. Magical circles didn’t appear randomly. He had walked straight into a trap. To get a plus for bravery he tried to get out but was stopped by columns of fire until the spell charged itself and he was transported together with the puppet and the spirit kid to another part of the dungeon.

He knew they were still inside it as he was surrounded by the same damp walls. To the capturers’ credit, he could say they had tried to soften it down with the hearth but without wood it was pretty damn useless. Or was it made to make fun of the victims? That could also be the case. Three people appeared before him having malicious smiles directed at the kid. They had shining armour with some insignia drawn on them that he was sure he had seen somewhere before, but where could it have been?

“So we meet again, young liar! What a coincidence!”

Nein looked at the spirit instead of the motionless puppet but there was no emotion on the kid’s face. He couldn’t tell whether the kid knew those people or not.

“And who might you be?” he asked them. There was no point in waiting for the puppet to answer. It wasn’t going to happen.

“You shut up. I’m talking with this bastard at the moment.” the leader of them growled.

“I’m sorry to say that but if you wanted to have an intellectual conversation with him, you’re a bit too late.”

“And why so? Do you want the same treatment as he will get? I had planned to give you a swift painless death but if you’re asking for it…”

‘What has the kid done to them? Why would they even think about torturing him?’ “I’m a puppeteer and I needed a good doll. This specimen showed up in my sight and I took the chance. It was a smart move by me” Nein said with an all-knowing smile.

“What do you mean? Does it have to do something with him being so quiet?”

“You could say so. I’ve taken his free will away and control his actions. All he can do is watch and be able to do nothing to stop me. It’s a beautiful world we live in, isn’t it?”

“You can’t be serious… Such a thing shouldn’t even exist!” one of the henchmen shouted out.

“Really?” Nein asked with a raised eyebrow. ”Let’s see what he wouldn’t normally do… Oh! Kid bow before me.” The puppet did as told and Nein watched the real kid from the corner of his eyes. He had guessed right and the boy was disgusted. ‘So it’s good that I made him bow only to me.’

“That’s amazing…” the henchmen said in awe while their leader watched with furrowed eyebrows. Nein didn’t like it at all. “It is of no importance to me what had happened to the kid” the boss finally said.

“So?” Nein asked in a laid back manner while his mind was working over time to think of a way out of this situation.

“Both of you will the face the same fate. I promise you, it won’t be pretty” he said with a laugh and activated some spell that made his body start to grow fainter.

Without thinking it through Nein pushed his hand to the puppet with a scream. “Speed of light!” It was a buff that doubled the puppet’s movement and attack speed.

The puppet moved faster than the eye could see and used all of its skills to prevent the trio from leaving. Two received many stab wounds while the boss only a single deadly attack that passed through all armour. Everyone watched in surprise as that single attack fell the heavily armoured leader, stopping the spell altogether.

The boss laughed heavily. “So once again… I’m to die from your hand... It’s no surprise… you’re the world’s biggest liar… with your innocent looks.... It is only me… who has seen the darkness behind that fake… niceness of yours.... But no worries… I’ll be back in a few days to... to get my revenge on you… It was your falling… to send that light of yours to scout… I knew… I just knew… it… it couldn’t be… be anyone... anyone but you…”

Nein listened to that talk without really caring for it but then one part caught his attention. Send that flame to scout… ‘So it wasn’t an accident that I got caught? I’ve been had by a child.’ He turned around to pay Ace his respects for tricking him so masterfully but the kid was gone. There wasn’t even a trace of him left in the room.