Chapter 476: Left For Dead
Chapter 476: Left For Dead
“Tch…!” I turned around and tried to run, knowing we were outmatched, but Zhao Xiuying would not move.
“Xiuying!” I called out, tugging on her slender, pale arm. “Listen to me—I know what that feeling is like… but we have to go. Now!”
“Butler… m-mother… father…” She whispered, voice as frail as an old ghost and eyes as dead as a corpse. She was usually already expressionless enough, but this only made it worse. If her butler had fallen like that, then her parents, who were presumably still in that house, were next in line.
“Tch… you leave me no choice.”
Gritting my teeth, I struck the back of her neck with my hand, knocking her out cold, then picked her up on my back and began running.
Ran, ran, ran.
For there was no turning back. Not after this.
“Heheh…!” The wolf demihuman took off after us like a predator hunting its prey, and his bestial body made it easy for him to catch up to us. Narrowing my eyes, I took off into the air using Flight, but he only laughed.
“Hahaha! Think you can simply fly away?! Get a taste of this too!”
He pointed his palm at me, then shot out a devastating beam of white light, too fast for me to dodge. It struck me in the ankle, but…
… Didn’t do a thing.
“… Heh, eat my dust!” I chuckled before soaring away, and the wolf demihuman narrowed his eyes before glancing down at his own hand where had had shot the ray from.
“Why didn’t the Antimagic work on him…?” He muttered, confused.
Then, a set of loud footsteps came from behind him, and he turned to see his Demon companion with two wings and two strong, muscular arms, a solemn expression on his face. The wolfman chuckled.
“Finished over there?”
The Demon nodded. “I took care of the one you left alive, as well.”
“Oh, yeah, my bad. Thanks,” the wolf demihuman laughed, then patted the Demon on the shoulder. “Let’s regroup with the boss, then. Our men should be all over the city by now… and anyone who resisted should’ve died already. This was a success, eh?”
“Yes. Master X’s plans are absolute.”
“Indeed, indeed… though I really wish he would agree to having that duel with me sometime,” The wolfman muttered with a sigh.
“He would crush you,” the Demon replied in monotone. He wasn’t saying it in a derogatory way, only the truth.
“Maybe, but even so… heh. I live for the thrill of hand-to-hand combat… not that stupid magic or whatever that thing you use is called.”
“I use Demoncraft. It is different from the power the people of the surface call ‘magic’.”
“Well, either way. But we’ve spent enough time here talking. Let’s go.”
The wolf demihuman smirked and leaped up onto one of the buildings’ roofs with no effort at all, but the Demon called him back.
“Wait. What were you doing over here? You are not usually one to leave prey alive.”
“Oh, something else caught my eye. They ended up escaping though,” the wolfman hollered down from the roof. “The Antimagic didn’t work on them for whatever reason…”
“… Hm.” The huge Demon fell into thought. “… I suppose Master X did say the formula is still in its beta stages. Some malfunctions may occur.”
“Right? So let’s go already!” The wolfman said with a cackle. “Come on, slowpoke!”
The Demon didn’t respond to his jab and instead merely took off into the air, flapping his two wings slowly as he followed the wolfman who jumped from roof to roof.
*****
– Fragment, Central Plaza –
“… Heheh~ looks like the other two are back,” a woman in revealing succubus clothing said with a smile, licking her lips as she finished draining another citizen’s lifeforce.
“… Master X, the city is clear,” an old woman croaked, sitting on the floor with a book in her lap and a wooden staff in her hand. “Most of the citizens have been killed, and the few who weren’t have fled.”
“…Good. Order everyone to initiate the rebuilding process. I want it done by tomorrow night.”
“Of course… but with the magic-restraining enchantments still in place…”
“… Hmph.” The masked man named X tenderly raised his hand, then snapped his fingers.
Instantly, a faint white shockwave erupted from his body, covering the entire city of Fragment and breaking all the enchantments set in place. None of his subordinates, despite being hit directly by this force, were hurt one bit.
“Report to me when the rebuildment is complete,” X then said, turning on his heel and preparing to leave.
“Understood… but please wait, Master X,” the Demon Nael suddenly said, stepping forward. “I have something to report. Privately, if possible.”
X stopped in his tracks, then opened up a Warp Gate in front of him and stepped through. Nael, taking this as consent, bowed and followed after him, with the portal closing right after.
*****
– Throne Room, Midnight Syndicate Headquarters –
“… Speak,” X said, sitting down on his ominous black throne.
“Yes, Master X.” The Demon Nael knelt down on one knee and bowed his head. “Earlier, when Alphis and I were fighting the five Council of Arcanity members who attempted to stop us, he was distracted by someone, and thus chased after them.”
“… And? What of it? Did you come here to be a telltale?”
“No, Master X, I would not dare. What I mean to report was… the distraction Alphis spoke of was able to escape. He claimed that the Antimagic, which he had presumably attempted to use against Flight, failed to work. I assume this is because the formula is still in its beta stages, however…”
“… No.”
X suddenly stood up from his throne, as if agitated.
“… Bring Alphis here. Now.”
Nael bowed. “Understood, Master X.”
*****
“Yo, boss,” Alphis, the demihuman wolf, said with a smirk as he waltzed into X’s throne room. “Did Nael tell ya I didn’t get to finish off that tiger girl? That’s my bad, I got distracted by a kid with a girl beside him. Lil’ brats were eavesdroppin’ on me.”
“… Tell me, Alphis,” X said, voice dark and booming through his dark knight helmet. “… What did this kid you speak of look like?”
“Huh? Well, they turned tail and ran the moment I went after them, so I couldn’t get a really good glance even with my night vision, but… he had black hair and red eyes, I think? I’m not sure, he was wearing a helmet and mask that covered most of his face except the eyes, so… and the girl was pretty cu-“
“I don’t need to hear about the girl,” X cut in. “Describe the boy in more detail. As much as you can.”
“Hm… well… he was about 6 feet tall, and pretty fast. I’m guessing he’s around 20 or so, judging from his movements.”
“… Anything else?”
“Hm… well, the Antimagic didn’t work on him when he flew up into the air and took off, but that’s about it.”
“… Could he be…” X murmured under his breath, then let out a deep sigh. “This is getting me nowhere…”
Suddenly, he disappeared and reappeared behind Alphis, who was frozen.
“H-Huh-?!” He gasped, but could not do a thing against the terrifying aura of X, whose very presence made cold sweat trickle down the poor wolfman’s back.
“… Relax,” X ordered, and gently pressed his armored fingertips against the back of the wolfman’s head.
“—!”
Alphis’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as his body fell into a dazed state, and X closed his eyes as he accessed his subordinate’s memories.
The images played through like a movie, and X could see the boy Alphis spoke of. However, he did not have the same night vision the wolf demihuman did, so he could not make out any clear details.
Clenching his fists in annoyance, he cursed and took his hand off of Alphis’s head, causing the wolfman to snap back to consciousness.
“W-Woah… what just happened…” He whispered to himself, scratching the back of his head, feeling like someone had touched him there, but X and him were the only two in the chamber, and the former was on his throne, having not budged an inch.
After some careful consideration and thought, X decided to trust his instincts and take the risk.
“… Gather the four other Archbishops here,” X said calmly. “I have a new series of orders to give out.”
“H-Huh? Uh, okay…”
Alphis left the throne room, and soon returned with Nael the demon, the succubus woman, and the old hag in tow. They all collectively knelt down in front of X, then rose to their feet once more after a few seconds.
“So, I heard you have new orders for us,” the succubus said with a wry smile. “What are they? I’m a busy woman, you know…”
“Watch your attitude, Eve,” Nael warned in a deep voice.
“Yes, yes…” The succubus, named Eve, rolled her eyes slightly and gave a laugh.
“But jokes aside… what really are the orders?” Alphis asked, scratching his head. “As long as I can fight someone, I’m all for it.”
But X’s next words surprised all of them.
“A human boy with black hair and red eyes. Age 18-22. 6 feet tall. I want you to look for him.”
“W-What…? The kid I came across?” Alphis’s eyes widened. “Why him?”
“Do not question my orders… or have you forgotten your place?”
“A-Ah, no…” Alphis whimpered, almost like a sad puppy.
“Hoho… a human boy age 18 to 22, yes…? Sounds like the perfect meal, fufu…” Eve giggled, biting her sharp nails playfully with her teeth.
“You are not to kill him under any circumstances,” X continued, voice demanding and dark. “Bring him to me, alive… or it is you who will die. Is that clear?”
After hearing this, the four Archbishops of the Midnight Syndicate knew their leader wasn’t joking around. They bowed down simultaneously, and gulped in fear.
“… Understood, Master X.”