Blood and screams filled the streets. Piles of rubble that once used to be homes were stacked on top of crushed corpses, some big, some small. The cloud of ash had fallen by now, exposing the rest of the trail leading to the ruined buildings at the back of the Underground.

"I need an explanation," Alexander said as he pulled his feet out of the creature's black blood, which now covered the ground. While he was only a bit taller than Doevm, he towered over him more than the creature. As he looked down into Doevm's eyes, Doevm recognized a worldly wisdom that only masters and ancient beings possessed. It was a look that, although it held no magic, could see right through any lies or flowery words.

Doevm pointed to the creature's corpse: "I got lost looking for an exit and ended up in a collection of burned down houses. I got attacked by a group of men. One of them turned into this thing and chased me. I had to run away to live." He cut everything short in a vague summary.

Alexander frowned: "And the bang?"

Doevm shrugged: "It yelled with enough force to knock me into the air, sort of like what my opponent did to me. That was probably what you heard."

Alexander kept pressing Doevm for information as he inspected the creature's body. He played with its hair, finding it difficult to move without the delicate strands breaking apart. "I saw a fireball just before I arrived. Any idea where it came from?"

"A Lich summoned it while I was hiding under a bed." Doevm nearly kicked himself for making such a risky mistake in the heat of the moment.

"Just great," Alexander took out a paper and wrote something on it. "You're free to go. I'll see you at the academy." Before Doevm could store the creature's corpse in his spatial ring, Alexander pulled it into his. He just looked at Doevm, as if asking with a look if he had any issues with his taking of the corpse. Doevm shrugged and Alexander walked out of the room through the eight-foot hole the creature had made.

While Doevm was curious about who or what organization had attacked him, he was also worn out from the fight. Even though his energy had been renewed, not much of it was left over. He looked at Alexander's back, which was fading into the crowd, then back down the path of destruction the creature had left in its wake.

'I could go get my things and get the corpses, but I…' He looked at his hands, which he could not keep still. 'I am much too tired for that. If I get attacked again, I would be finished.' He sighed and his gaze fell to the bed, more specifically at the two corpses on top of it. He used the bloody bedsheet to cover the hole in the wall, so there would be no witnesses. Black tendrils of mana entered the two corpses, who got to their feet, got dressed, and bowed to their new master.

'Go find the corpses and my mask and hide them away,' he thought. The two bowed again and ran towards the ruins. 'They won't be able to fight, but they are all I can do for now.'

'Now,' he turned back to the crowd. 'I still need to talk to him.' He maneuvered through the crowd which had gathered to watch the chaos and guess as to what happened.

One who had watched most of it was practically standing over them, regaling them like a priest at a service: "I saw it I tell you, the creature. I had to run away, but it went after some kid who was covered head to toe in black soot. I don't know the brave boy, but I hope to the goddess that he is alright. I didn't see his face but…"

Doevm snuck past him, cursing at himself for not bringing a second mask. While the soot had prevented anyone from guessing his identity this time, what if this happened again? Then he would be tracked down by whatever group he had just fought. They would most likely have some of those "guns" as Frank called them.

Doevm took a guess, thinking of them like high-powered crossbow, but he didn't understand why there was smoke and no bolt. 'I'll need to research that later as well as find information on who they were. I have so many questions, but I need to stay focused. I'm not an immortal Lich anymore, I'm human, and I have a time limit. First, find him.'

It was easy to catch up. Most people were at the trail of destruction or hiding in their homes. Doevm pulled out the recommendation letter from Jameson and handed it to Alexander, who read the contents.

"I take it that you want to be my disciple," Alexander said as he finished reading. "even though you fight like crap most of the time, you don't fight consistently, and you are a magnet for trouble," he pointed back to the mess. Doevm nodded and Alexander ripped up the letter: "I refuse." He tossed the scraps over his shoulder and stared at Doevm. "Do you have any complaints?"

"No," Doevm held his hands up. "I know that a letter isn't proof of worthiness."

Alexander nodded: "I don't want to choose someone who can't take the training. I can see you have potential, and that Jameson trusts you. Now, I need a reason why you are fighting or I won't teach you a damned thing. What is your reason?"

"A promise," Doevm said. "And my own passion."

Alexander pushed him away: "A lady huh? Rejected."

"No, far from it. A duel. I want to beat the crap out of someone."

"Revenge?" Alexander sighed. "Another stupid reason. Stop wasting my time."

"I bare no hatred towards him," Doevm blurted out. "I only want to beat the crap out of him and move on with my life." Alexander didn't say anything but gave a look to keep talking. "That's not all," Doevm continued. "I don't just want to beat him by a narrow margin. I want to win. I want no one to say I won unfairly. I want to fight him on his own field and win."

"And after?" Alexander asked. While he tried to keep himself in an indifferent pose, he was unconsciously leaning forwards.

"After," Doevm smirked. "I will continue to seek out more opponents. I don't want to bathe in my opponents' blood nor do I want to impress a girl. All I want is to do cool flips and stuff. I don't even care about winning as long as I can keep fighting. Please, train me like you trained my father." He bowed even lower than if he were in front of lord Virility.

Alexander shook his head: "No, I won't train you like him." He gestured to the dagger and throwing knives on Doevm's person. "You might be related to Jameson, but you are not him. He has a heart of a warrior. He got as far as he did because of that. Only one who carries that determination and grit can survive my training and become a true knight."

"You, on the other hand, are a disgrace. Your many blades reek of indecision and an emotional detachment. When you fight, you have to use everything, even your emotions, but you abandoned them. You threw away a weapon and didn't look back. You are more suited to be one of those emotionless mages, not a proud knight." He walked away. "Later."

Doevm took a breath and leaned against a wall. 'That man, he's not the typical human. It was as if he could stare straight through me. He knew I was about to lie to him; I could feel it. He knew I wouldn't want revenge or love. He just said those things to push out the truth. This body,' he grabbed his skin. 'Is it just because I'm in this state that I felt pressure from him, or would I feel this way even as a Lich?' He awkwardly followed behind Alexander to the exit, both of their destinations. When Doevm got to the surface, he went back to the inn and sat at the tiny desk in his room.

'That is the second time my body has betrayed me,' he thought. 'Alexander and that creature put me in a state of fear, which made my strength return, but that is only a temporary solution. Alexander knows what's wrong with me, but I can't get an answer out of him now. I'll need countermeasures in the meantime.' He unsealed his mana and some magic circles appeared over his desk.

'I'll make some basic magic artifacts that cause fear for later. If I use them, I should be put in enough fear to give me my strength back, but they'll take a toll on my sanity similar to how the drug, Thrin, works. Maybe I should have bought some Thrin instead of making my own, but I need to save my money for those advanced healing magic books. Even if I tried to buy Thrin, however, the Underground is a mess right now. I doubt anyone would be in the selling mood' He finished the products, simple brown pellets, stuffed them into his spatial ring, and went to bed. His tired body sunk into the thin mattress, rejoicing at finally taking a rest.

Just before his eyes closed, however, he jerked himself up. The mental connection to the two Undead vanished. 'They were killed in the same way as the snake. I didn't see the attackers. Luckily, I know the Undead managed to hide my mask and some of the bodies. I doubt the group knows who I am yet but they should have gathered enough to know that there is someone onto them.'

'Oh well, I can always go back later and find the drops…Is what they'll expect me to do. I bet they'll assign people to watch over the location, anticipating my arrival. Even if they didn't find the drop, I can't go get it. I'll need to hire someone to go find the dropped items for me, someone I can trust. That leaves Frey or Thomas, but they don't know the area well. They'll most likely get lost. Maybe another Undead. Can I go post a job? No, then the organization will take care of it and realize who I am. Wait, they'll just attack whoever shows up. I need to think of something, but that will have to wait to later.' He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

…

Hector wiped the blood off his blade. "I can't get any decent men anymore. I have to do everything myself." He turned to his men. "Go question everyone in the area and search the ruins. I want to know who did this and what they found out." His men bowed and hurried off.

Hector turned back to the two bodies. 'Two more undead huh? Looks like someone is trying to spy on me after all. I'll need to be more careful with my men's movements. Judging by the smell of gunpowder, Frank must have shot the attacker.' He picked up the crushed pieces of Frank's armor, finding a flattened pistol inside of it.

'Good. Whoever attacked Frank was unable to grab the most important thing.' He put the contents into his spatial ring. 'Now, I should get back to the Colosseum, the noble tournament is in a few hours and I need to get ready for my next move.'