“So, how was it?”

Vanessa Crimson, who had been staring at the contract for a while, snapped out of it as Halric’s young voice echoed inside the room.

While absent-mindedly tapping the table with her index, she responded,

“I still don’t know, honestly. He was characteristically unlike the other parasites I have met so far. I would even dare say he behaved more like a human than a parasite.”

“So that’s your verdict? Kind of plain, I must confess.”

Halric unceremoniously sat down opposite her and caressed the table as if he was attempting to ascertain something.

“There was nothing else to judge. He’s definitely a liar, but unexpectedly cooperative.”

“Of course he was!” Retorted the young boy, sneering at her. “You gave him the agent’s body and added one of your special magical bags… and five thousand Blakin Golds. For that sum, even I would be inclined to sign.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll offer you a hundred times that amount if you agree.”

“Hmm…”

With an expression of serious pondering, he closed his eyes and thought for half a minute.

“Too late for that now, I’m afraid. The Duke is preparing to attend the meeting and I have to stay back and ‘guard’.”

In the dimly lit room, Vanessa’s azure eyes glowed brighter as she stared at the nonchalant Halric.

“What are you not telling me, Halric? Surely, you didn’t give up on the parasite just because I told you so.”

“My my, ever the perceptive person, Miss Vanessa. I expected no less from the fledgling of the Red Wyrm Dojo.”

“...”

“Still bitter about your past, no matter.” Seeing her cold eyes and expressionless face, he chuckled.

“You are partially right, however. Yes, your words were not enough to deter me, but they did make me investigate more.”

“And?”

“Although I lack your connections, I still have the means to gather sensitive information. Thus did I learn about Marjory and her pursuit of that rogue vampire.”

“So you’re afraid of Marjory?”

“Why the hell wouldn’t I be? What if she wants him alive?”

“I didn’t take you for a coward, O’sweet Halric.”

“Hardly. Marjory and the Emperor of Azakin are the only two people I never want to provoke, much less cross.”

24th of the Red Moon.

The Aristocratic Consortium was the ruling entity of the Militant Syndicate. Its members were, unquestionably, individuals equipped with absolute prowess and peak societal status.

Ever since its conception, the Aristocratic Consortium always had ten members, commonly known as the Ten Seats.

Unless there were important matters, seldom did the Ten Seats gather in one place. However, a meeting has been called less than a month after the Blood Purge, and after dealing with the minor troubles within Blackcrest, Terden Sidus departed to the Militant Capital.

“The Aeternus Family is growing more aggressive by the day. The South is showing signs of movement too.”

The Seat of Protection angrily spat with a clarion and characteristically loud voice. He was the oldest of the ten and has been in the Consortium for almost 60 years.

“Be that as it may, the South will not dare break the Treaty. If peace is broken, the North will side with us, thus ending the war before it even begins.”

The Seat of Deliverance, a short and slim man with a blindfold over his eyes, spoke up with a soothing voice, contrasting that of the old man. Despite his missing eyesight, he moved his eyes around as if he was able to see.

“I heard that an Undead has been spotted in Blackcrest, is this true, Terden?”

His words were obviously directed at the Seat of War, Terden Sidus.

The Duke was solemn and his compeer’s question was expected, after all, they all had spies everywhere.

“It was a trivial matter. Halric has caught the undead already.”

“I don’t understand how you can trust that slimy Alchemist. He’s dangerous.”

Sancha Sanguis, the Seat of Honor, lashed out instantly. She did not hide her displeasure and dislike of Terden and Halric, specifically the latter.

“My relationship with Halric doesn’t concern you, Sancha!”

“I agree with Sancha.” Chirped the composed Seat of Deliverance. “It’s better to keep that Alchemist under control. We don’t want another Mad Prophet in our hands. Also, did you determine the origin of that Undead?”

“Not yet… I’m working on it. As it was relatively weak, it’s bound to be the summon of an apprentice Necromancer.”

The Seat of Protection, ever the sceptic and erratic, banged his fist on the table.

“Apprentice or not doesn’t matter! Necromancers are the bane of our existence! Did you all already forget about the damned Death Legion?!”

“Are you sure Halric can deal with it, Terden?”

Another one of the Ten Seats joined; It was the Seat of Nobility, an elderly woman with a hunched back, thin and short grey hair, and uniquely golden eyes. She wore a lot of shiny jewellery on her fingers, wrists, neck, and even ankles.

“Certain. It’s but a minor inconvenience, nothing else. Actually, why are we talking about this while ignoring the rising conflict between Marjory and the South?”

“Because we know nothing big will actually happen, dumbass!”

Sancha snarled at the Duke, showcasing neither politeness nor etiquette.

“I dare you say that again, wench!”

“Order! This is an official meeting, behave yourselves!

The Seat of Order, a man with feminine facial features, light make-up, and a very long blue hair that reached his lower back, raised his tone and eased up the tension. In contrast to his gentle appearance, he had a deep and authoritative voice, one which carried a commanding pressure.

“Tsk! This is a waste of time. I have things to do, you know.”

Sancha leaned back and crossed her arms, unwilling to contribute to the conversation anymore.

“Militant Inspector James informed me of the massacre in Wilsden. The Baron has been killed and his daughter took over his role. Apparently, the Blood Purge was the doing of a Vampire whereas Xander was killed by a fledgling Demon.”

The Seat of Deliverance kept staring at Terden, hellbent on causing trouble.

“Greenbell Forest is a joint territory between me and Sulong. From what I've heard, he already took care of the matter.” Gloomily responded Terden.

Sulong, the seat of Order, cleared his throat and explained,

“The Holy Church already sent a Holy Knight after the Demon. As for the vampire… Marjory is apparently hunting for him. She sent her youngest to investigate.”

“It’s not her territory to send someone whenever she damn pleases!”- The Seat of Protection bellowed with a reddened face and gritted teeth.

“Oh? How about you go tell her that, big boy? Let’s see how you fare.”

Sancha taunted the burly old man, but he did not offer a response. He let out a grunt of annoyance and swallowed any words he was going to say.

“We are on fairly amicable terms with the Masked Queen. She’s helping us uproot the evil lurking in our lands, so we should thank her instead.” Calmly stated Marquess Olivia Vir Divitiae, the Seat of Nobility.

“Speaking of which, Sancha, I heard that your cousin had died during the Blood Purge.”

“Many people died. So what?”

“Oh, nothing at all. I heard you two were particularly close back in the days.”

“Hmpf! Why don’t you busy yourself with the plague spreading through your territory? That seems a more interesting subject to argue about.”

After a long and tense silence, in which they stared at each other, Terden spoke up again.

“How will we respond to the call of aid from the Western Continent?”

“What of it? It doesn’t concern us.” Retorted Olivia while coldly snorting.

“Nonetheless, things are escalating. The Dwarves promised us a sizable amount of Lunar Adamantite if we agree to help.”-Terden

“I refuse to send any of my men to that godforsaken land.”-Olivia

“I’m not helping either.”-Sancha

“I’m also disinclined to take such a big risk.”-Sulong

“Let's vote, then. Those against, raise your hands.”-Terden

In a matter of seconds, seven of them raised their hands. It was apparent that most were unwilling to dispatch any of their subordinates to the West.

The Seat of Protection, who was one of the three that didn’t raise their hands, furiously stood up and swept his rage-filled eyes across them.

“Just you wait until that Parasite in the West decides to enter our lands. Then, it will be us requesting aid, not the Dwarves!”

Meanwhile, on Earth.

“Do you seriously think I’m going to tell you where they are?”

Christopher Vreski, Arthur’s best friend and business partner, was chained to a chair, his body riddled with nasty and gory wounds.

Facing him stood Rebecca, his friend’s ex-wife and the one who forcefully dragged him to this hellhole. It was the same place Arthur was kept at for over a year, and the nauseating stench of dried blood on the ground and walls was proof of that.

Seeing Christopher’s adamance, Rebecca, her face distorted in anger, viciously slapped the man multiple times. Her long fingernails scratched his reddened cheek, causing blood to leak out.

When she was done venting her frustration, the ruffians behind her stepped forward and proceeded to brutally beat Christopher. Then, when he was about to fall unconscious, they dumped cold water over him then tightened the chains around his limbs and chest.

“Sooner or later, you will talk. It was the same for Arthur too…”

“Ah…ah…”

Gasping for breath and bearing through the excruciating agony, Christopher tried to free himself but to no avail. He could only watch as one of the burly men held his hand and unhesitantly and slowly cut one of his fingers.

There was a painful loud cry that resounded across the room, but it was only music to Rebecca’s ears. The ruffians too, laughed in joy, their sadistic nature surfacing.

“A-alright…”

Breathing rapidly and heavily, he finally relented as the pain had become too much. With an expression of fear, he closed his eyes.

“Don’t worry. If you tell the truth, I promise that I’ll let you go. After all, I have no more use for you.”

“Hahahaha….”

Out of the blue, Christopher started laughing like a maniac.

Rebecca looked at him with a frown, but his laughter became louder as he furiously thrashed around, his eyes red.

“I will kill you! Even if I have to crawl from Hell! I will do it!”

“Bah! Rambling of an idiot. Cut more of his fingers!”

The torture continued but Christopher seemed to have completely mad, his cries mixed with laughter.

Eventually, after many days, Rebecca gave up on him and ordered his death.

However, he was killed in an extremely brutal way as the ruffians deployed an ancient and gruesome method.

Unexpectedly, however, Christopher did not find himself in neither Hell nor Heaven.

Butt-naked, he was falling from an absurd height, the strong wind pushing against his body, sobering him up instantly.

Shocked by the ridiculous sight, Christopher shouted as his body continued falling. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a vast barren desert.

Right below him, the ground took the shape of a black and purple vortex, and he seemed to be falling right into its abyss-like center.

When he was getting closer to the surface, the man closed his eyes and prayed, but the pain he was expecting did not come, at least not to the degree he had expected it to be.

His body thudded on a relatively soft ground then bounced to the side. Delirious and in disbelief, Christopher opened his eyes and looked around, his face pale and body trembling from the shock.

“W-what’s going on?”

Before he could process what happened, he saw something appear in front of his eyes; It was translucent blue with white English letters written on it.

The man wasn’t afforded the time to read anything as he heard a rustle to the side, alerting him. He seemed to be in a crystalline cave dominated by an ominous darkness.

The origin of a rustle was a sharp crystal that was slowly moving towards him.

Panicking, he tried to back away but the ‘room’ was small and there were crystals everywhere.

The approaching crystal suddenly halted, then it let out a soft violet light before speeding toward the fearful Christopher.

Desperate and defenseless, he instinctively raised his hand. Yet again, the pain did not come and, instead, he felt a gentle cold breeze wash across his naked body.

As he opened his eyes, he saw a colorful forest and a glistening spring, a totally different sight from a second ago.

What he did not notice, however, was a small piece of that black crystal latched to his left calf.

“Where the hell am I?”

Around the time Christopher was being tortured.

In a backstreet alleyway, somewhere in China, a solitary girl was gasping for breath and surrounded by corpses.

There were three bodies, to be precise, all stabbed to death by a bloodied knife in the girl’s hands.

They were about to violate her, so she defended herself. Her age notwithstanding, it wasn’t the first time she killed someone, nor would it be the last.

She lived in a crime-filled region and it was not uncommon for girls of her age to be forced into prostitution or kidnapped by human traffickers.

Fortunately, she managed to survive so far by thieving and laying low. However, the people she just killed were part of a gang, so the consequences would be dire, if not disastrous.

As she wiped the knife and was about to leave, she was startled to see someone appear a couple of meters away.

It was a man a head taller than her, wearing a clean black suit and holding an exquisite cane. It was a rare and unexpected sight as wealthy people never come to this place.

What was most striking about the man was his face, which was shrouded in a mist, making it impossible to see his features.

“Greetings, you are Isabella, yes?”

“...”

The girl did not respond, she raised her knife, ready to attack.

“No need for violence. I come in peace.”

While avoiding the corpse under his feet, he approached the alert Isabella. Once he was close enough, she thrust her knife but, much to her surprise, it went through the man.

“I told you there is no need for violence. First, let’s clean you up.”

He tapped his cane on the ground, causing a gentle light to envelop the surprised girl.

Her body was cleaned of any dirt and blood, and her shredded and old clothes were replaced by a comfortable black outfit.

Before she could react, the man tapped on the ground again, teleporting himself and Isabella to a suitable place.

The girl could only stare in awe as her surroundings distorted and, in the blink of an eye, she was standing atop a skyscraper.

“Better, yes?”

“...”

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but…”

He raised his head and looked at the night sky, focusing on the luminous moon.

“Time is of the essence.”

He retrieved a purple orb with all kinds of runes engraved around it.

“In return for swallowing this, I can make your life better. What do you say?”

“Okay.”

Isabella replied almost instantly, showing no hesitation or doubt. She snatched the orb and swallowed it on the spot.

The orb itself was small, its size the third of her hand, but the process was still difficult. When she was done, she looked at the man.

“O-oh… I didn’t even tell you the benefits.”

“I don’t care. As long as it makes my life better.”

“I see…”

He scrutinized her for a couple of seconds then cleared his throat.

“First, you won’t be living on Earth. Mind you, it’s too late to change your mind.”

The girl did not seem to be bothered or excited, she just listened to him in an eerily calm manner.

“Second, thanks to that orb, you will have the chance to become strong. Stronger than anyone else. Your life there will be nothing like this one!”

“Can you take me away already?” She retorted in a snappy manner.

“Wooh, easy now. I have to warn you that, eventually, I’ll have to take that orb back.”

“I don’t care.”

“...”

X kept looking at her, his hidden eyes trying to read through her inscrutable face. In the end, he found nothing peculiar, but he could not shake off the inexplicable and negative vibe he was getting from the girl.

Finally, he had found a suitable and willing host, and it was too late to retrieve the orb.

He tapped his cane with a lot of force, causing the space to shatter like glass.

Isabella was assaulted by a strong dizziness, which made her fall unconscious for an indeterminate amount of time.

When she came back to her senses, she sat up and curiously looked around. At a glance, she determined that it wasn’t Earth, which made her smile.

She was at a steep cliff on a black-ish mountain, but what caught her sight were the unfamiliar and demonic settlements down below, hundreds of meters away.