Chapter XVI: Monster...

After barging into the girls' room with Jacob right behind him and telling them they had something very important to talk about, Angel took a seat on one of the beds.

He had exceeded in getting everyone's attention, but now that he had them, he wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to say. Or to be specific, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to reveal the information he had.

It was a shame, but these types of things weren't something he could casually reveal to them. No, what he had to tell them was something they need to be prepared to hear. If he simply came out and told them some dwarves wanted their help overthrowing the current Emperor, then there would for sure be an uproar from them.

"So, what exactly do you wanna talk about with us?" Shannon asked with curiosity in her voice. It was obvious what Angel wanted to say was something very important, but what she couldn't help but wonder was what had happened in the past few hours.

She could easily remember him vehemently denying about going to the library, so what had happened in the few hours between then and now?

"Yeah, what was the oh so important thing that you needed to talk to us about that couldn't wait until I was done changing?" Marianna agreed in a slightly irritated voice.

Releasing a sigh, Angel spoke in a grave tone. "What I'm about to tell you is something that can't leave this room, okay?"

Taken back by the seriousness in his voice, a few of the girls couldn't help from saying in uncertainty. "Okay?"

With that said, he let out another sigh before saying, "Alright, so while you guys were gone, a dwarf snuck into my room, and offered a deal, but I wasn't sure if I should accept it, so I told him I'll think about it, and make my decision when the time comes."

"Okay, so what did he offer?" Marianna questioned with furrowed brows.

"Yeah, what was the deal he tried to make with you?" Noelle asked in a curious manner.

Angel said nothing at first, and waited a few seconds before answering their questions.

"He's part of an organization that wants to replace the current Emperor, and they want us to deal with the demons inside of the palace, specifically the Black Knight's group." He declared with a firm look in his eyes to show that he wasn't bullshitting.

It took a second or two for the words to sink in, but once they did, both Noelle, and Gabrielle yelled in shock, "What!?" while Xenovia and Marianna said, "Are you fucking for real?"

"You think I'd joke about this type of thing?" Angel retorted in a solemn voice.

"Of course not," Xenovia started in a little taken aback voice. "I just couldn't believe what you had said, and had accidentally let that slip."

Angel opened his mouth to speak, and had started to say something, but ultimately was interrupted by Shannon who had spoken as well. "It's obvious we're going stop these guys and side with the Emperor, right?"

"What?" Marianna said in surprise as she sent Shannon a questionable look. "No, fuck that, why would we side with that guy? He is practically friends with our enemies. We should help the people trying to overthrow him."

"I disagree with that." Jacob declared with a displeased expression. "The Emperor has confined the demons to their rooms just like he has done so with us, and even if he was their allies, do you truly believe we could take on the Black Knight and those Dark Knights? The numbers are against us, and the guy was able to go toe to toe with Angel."

At this, Marianna remained silent. She wasn't an idiot and knew it was going to be an extremely hard fight if they fought the Black Knight and his men by themselves, but they weren't going to be by themselves. She believed that they were going to have some assistance from the dwarves that wanted change.

"I agree with Jacob," Shannon stated in a slightly firm manner. "the Emperor may be a little closer to the demons than us, but at the end of the day, he considers his Empire to be neutral in this conflict and wants no part in it."

"Even if he tells us that, do you really think he isn't bullshitting us?" Xenovia sternly questioned. "I mean, he could just be saying that and be secretly supplying and supporting them for all we know, which is why I think it's best for us to help the dwarves that want him removed from power."

As Gabrielle and Noelle voiced their thoughts on the matter, Angel let out a somewhat irritated sigh.

He, in all honesty, was still at a loss when it came to what to do. He wanted to do both, but he knew they couldn't play both sides, he needed to make a choice, and that was either siding with the Emperor, or the dwarves who want change.

It was unfortunate, truly it was, but that's how life worked.

"I," Angel started, which had gained everybody's attention. "I think we should side with..."

As Lord Phenex and his wife, Lady Phenex, a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes who had her hair done up with ornate hair decorations exited the meeting room they were approached by a man.

He was a tall and handsome man dressed in black armor with a fur cape. He had long brown hair that went past his shoulder blades and had many bangs covering his right eye, his eyes were light brown.

"A bold and honest statement, Lord Phenex, I approve of that." The man declared with a smirk. "It's a shame though that His Highness doesn't want to go to war."

"What do you want, Lord Berith?" Lord Phenex asked in a voice that made it obvious that he didn't want to deal with him.

"Nothing, I just simply wanted to tell you that I liked your statement." Lord Berith answered with a chuckle. "Is there anything wrong with that?"

Lord Phenex said nothing for a good while, and simply stared at the man to see if he would crack and reveal his true purpose, but the man before him didn't do anything except continue to smile.

Seeing as he wasn't going to say anything else, Lord Phenex said in a slightly tired tone. "Well then, if you have nothing to say, then we're going to take our leave, Lord Berith."

After that was said, Lord Phenex began to move past him along with his wife, but right before he could walk past him, Lord Berith put a hand on his shoulder and spoke in a low tone.

"You do however agree with me and think we should have gone to war, right Lord Phenex?"

Lord Phenex chose to remain silent for several seconds before saying, "I don't know, His Highness did have a valid point as to why we shouldn't go to war."

At this, Lord Berith released a chuckle as he let go of Lord Phenex. "You're right, she did have a good reason, but to be honest, it sounded like she was afraid of something, which is a little unfitting for our king."

Upon hearing that last part, Lord Phenex grabbed ahold of Lord Berith's arm and forced him to look at him. "Disrespect His Highness again, and I will make sure you never speak again."

Lord Berith in response to this declaration gave the blonde male an amused look. "Oh really? I'd love to see you try."

As Lord Phenex's grip tightened, Lady Phenex placed a hand on her husband's arm and said in a gentle voice. "Dear, do not do this, he is not worthy of your attention."

Hearing these words, Lord Phenex's grip loosened, and eventually, he let go of Lord Berith, much to the latter's disappointment.

"A shame, I was looking forward to you trying to silence me, but I guess the Unyielding Phoenix has become nothing but an ember, a shadow of its former self." Lord Berith stated with a laugh before walking away.

Lord Phenex watched as the man moved away from them and glared daggers at him while muttering under his breath. "That man, one day I'm going to kill that man."

"Dear!" Lady Phenex said with urgency in her voice. "You shouldn't say those types of things, at least not here!"

The last part she said in a hushed tone, and the reason, why she warned him of this, was because they weren't alone. There were dozens of nobles around them, and while they didn't intervene, they never knew who could be listening or observing from a distance.

Lord Phenex only grumbled at this. He knew his wife was right, but that didn't mean he was going to apologize and say that she was right, for he was still vexed by the comment Lord Berith had made.

Throughout the years House Phenex was known for their mastery of fire magic, and before he took the title Lord of House Phenex, he earned the nickname the Unyielding Phoenix for his flames were everlasting and no matter how many injuries he sustained in a tournament he never went down.

Seeing that her husband had yet to calm down, Lady Phenex gently rubbed the arm she was holding onto and said in a gentle/affectionate tone. "He's a little man, dear. Let him make those comments of his, after all, it's all he can do."

Begrudgingly, Lord Phenex listen to his wife, and said, "You're right. He is a little man, and I shouldn't say that type of stuff, but still, he infuriates me."

"I know, and I understand where you're coming from, for he did say something extremely disrespectful to you, and about our king, but everyone knows he wouldn't stand a chance against you in a duel." Lady Phenex stated as she continued to rub his arm.

She wasn't exactly wrong when she mentioned this, for Lord Phenex had never lost a single fight when he was younger. Of course, it has been quite some time since he had fought in a tournament, but that was beside the point.

Smiling at her words, he replied. "Yeah, I am known as the Unyielding Phoenix after all."

With that being said, the two of them moved to go speak to others who shared their views/thoughts on the things going on at the moment.

After easily slaying the three remaining swordsmen, Donovan turned to see Camillia finish her opponent off by crushing the dwarf's skull with the warhammer that had been strapped to her back.

It hadn't been long since they had entered the House of Shadow's hideout, but the number of people Donovan had cut down were far too many. If he had to guess it was around two dozen and a half to three dozen.

"Hmm, she's really not that bad." Donovan thought to himself as he watched her lifer her bloody weapon up. "I mean, for a princess, she is pretty skilled in terms of fighting, but then again, she is that guy's daughter."

With the thought of Emperor Havel coming into his mind, Donovan couldn't help from wondering how he got a daughter so beautiful. Sure, he had yet to see her face, but Donovan believed that she was going to be extremely beautiful. He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that the most brutish of men had the most delicate of daughters.

As he thought this, Camillia saw one of the dwarves she had faced trying to crawl away, which had caused her to frown and furrow her eyebrows.

"Where do you think you're going, sir?" She questioned as she closed the distance between them before bringing the hammer down on the man, and killing him almost instantaneously.

Watching her do this, Donovan started to wonder if he should use the word delicate with her, for what he saw wasn't something most people would consider delicate at all.

Once she confirmed that the man was dead, Camillia pulled her hammer away from the deceased dwarf and had it rest on her shoulder before glancing over at Donovan and seeing that he was already done with his enemies.

"How long has he been standing there watching me?" The Dwarven Princess wondered as her cheeks became a little red in embarrassment. She knew he was very strong, but she didn't think he'd be able to take on eight fully grown men at once. Especially when he was surrounded and didn't have his shield equipped, but apparently, she had thought wrong and underestimated him.

"You ready to move on?" He questioned in a respectful manner.

"Huh, oh yes, I am." She was taken back by his question due to her being too busy thinking about how long he had been watching her.

"Great." He affirmed before leading the way to the next door and opening it.

Upon opening the door, and entering the next room, Donovan and Camillia were met by several men at the opposite side of the room holding crossbows that were pointed at them, and a dwarf that was slightly taller than the others, but not as tall or wide as Havel.

The tallest of the dwarfs had a serious look written on his face, and in both of his hands were two maces.

"So, you're the two little shits that's wrecking my hideout." The dwarf declared in a gruff/annoyed tone.

"Give the word, boss, and we'll drop em." One of the crossbowmen stated while keeping his weapon pointed at Donovan and his finger on the trigger.

"Hold fire, for now, I wanna hear why they've come here." The leader ordered as he held up his left arm.

Donovan didn't say anything, for he was hesitant to speak, but Camillia wasted no time in moving past him and saying, "We know you've been meeting the Emperor's most trusted advisor here in secret, so tell us why and what he is up to."

At this, the dwarf's face became one of surprise real quick. "How did you hear about that?" He asked in a deadly tone as he narrowed his eyes and glared at her.

"That doesn't matter." Camillia brushed off. "What does-"

"It does matter." He affirmed in a stern manner.

A little startled by the interruption, Camillia said, "N-No, it doesn't matter. Now tell us what we want to know!"

The dwarf leader remained silent for several seconds before breaking it by saying, "I got a better idea. Instead of telling you, how about I just kill you both? Yeah, I'm just gonna do that, so open fire."

Camillia's eyes widened as the seven dwarfs pulled their triggers, but what came next was what surprised her the most.

Donovan, who was acting on his instincts, had grabbed ahold of Camillia and pulled her in close while turning his back on the dwarfs. His intention was to become her human shield and take all seven crossbow bolts.

As the majority of the bolts slammed against Donovan's shield, Camillia felt her heart beating at an incredibly fast past. She had danced with death many times, but this was the closest encounter she had ever had.

In fact; she believed that had Fane not been there, then she most likely would have been killed there, for there was nowhere she could have gone to evade their arrows.

"He, he saved my life." She said to herself as she tilted her head back and stared up at his face. Of course, what she was actually seeing was Donovan's helmet, but for some strange reason, when she looked up at him, she was seeing his face and not his helmet.

As her cheek heated up, Donovan let go of her and turned around to face their opponents as the dwarf leader asked how their arrows were ineffective against him.

Donovan didn't bother answering the man's question, and his subordinate weren't even given much of a chance to talk, for Donovan rushed them as fast as he possibly could.

He covered the ground between him and the eight dwarves quickly, and swatted the leader of them away with his free hand, which had made him go flying to his left before cutting down the seven archers with ease.

Two of them had tried to use their crossbows as a means to defend themselves, but their attempts were futile, and in vain, for in the end, they met the same fate their comrades did.

Once he was done eliminating them, Donovan turned back around and looked at Camillia, and saw that she was standing in the same spot he had put her in when he had pulled her in close.

With his face changing to that of concern, Donovan said as he approached her. "Camillia, you okay?"

Camillia didn't respond.

"Camillia?" He said, this time a little louder than before.

"Huh?" Came her response as she snapped out of her dazed state and saw that Donovan was not very far from her. "Oh, um, yes, I'm, I'm fine."

Donovan didn't reply at this, for he wasn't exactly sure what to say. A part of him had thought about just accepting her words and moving on, but it was obvious she was shocked by what had happened.

As he opened his mouth to respond, the dwarf who he knocked away, spoke.

"You, what the hell are you?"

Upon hearing those words, Donovan turned away from Camillia and saw that the man was up against the wall glaring at him.

"Something you don't need to know." Donovan stated after a few seconds of thinking.

At this, the man let out a chuckle that soon turned into a full-blown laugh, which lasted for quite some time.

Donovan in response to all of this just simply stared at the man with a curious look in his eyes, for he couldn't help but wonder what was causing him to laugh like a madman.

Eventually, when his laughter started to come to an end, the dwarf spoke. "Clever response, but it doesn't matter, I now know what you are. You're a killer, a man-no, a monster who knows nothing but killing. I mean, you have to be, right? It's the only way you're able to do all of this without having a second thought."

Donovan's eyes narrowed at this, and his grip on his blade became tighter. "What are you trying to do? Take the moral high ground? If you are, then I suggest you stop because you have no room to talk since you're the one-"

"I'm not trying to take any moral high ground." The dwarf confessed with a burst of laughter. "I have done plenty of bad things, which is why I can tell you're a monster because I can see myself in you. You can deny it all you want, and try to run from it, but in the end, your existence in this world is solely to take lives, just like how mine was."

As he opened his mouth to reply, Camillia spoke. "Don't talk about Fane as if you know him, you know nothing of him."

"I know enough." The dwarf sharply answered while keeping his gaze on Donovan. "Now, go ahead. Ask me your questions, and then cut my throat and be done with it. In the end, this is the fate of all monsters, death, and loneliness."

Unbeknownst to the dwarf, the words he had spoken here today would stick with Donovan for a very, very long time.