Chapter 5

“Now then, should we dance one last time before we end this spar?”(Renya)

Unable to hide the excitement in his eyes, Brutus went over to the spot were [Jormungand] landed. Picking it up he waved a couple time regaining a proper grip on it.

“Indeed father, let us.”(Brutus)

Just like that, the two resumed the spar. With Brutus taking advantage of his race’s abilities, after a series of popping sounds, his height had reached 3 meters with his body’s overall figure becoming bulkier. The wings on his back became more prominent, his tails and claws grew longer and sharper, not only that but there were also a pair of actual dragon horns protruding from his helmet.

Fortunately the armor he was wearing had special properties where it would adjust in accordance to the users size. This way he has no trouble displaying his full ability, even if he was wearing armor like this. Not only that, but even [Jormungand] had this property, making it look all the more fearsome in that hands of Brutus.

With a flap of his enormous wings he moved forward. As if wanting to take Renya by surprise he released a flurry of fierce blows, not wanting to giving Renya any time at all to counter attack.

*PENG!* *PENG!* *PENG!*

However, the actions he took were all in vain as all of the blows were blocked and repelled by either [Devourer] or his helmet’s tail. Seeing that his attacks were ineffective, rather than being discouraged, he took it as a challenge causing his blows to become faster and even more deadly.

But to no avail Renya blocked each of his blows effortlessly. Completely letting himself get absorb in battle releasing all the built up stress he had accumulated ever since he came to this world through this battle.

Finally, he used more force in one of his parries causing Brutus to be slightly knocked back. Following up the parry he dashed forward, sweeping [Devourer] diagonally. Fortunately for Brutus he was able to dodge.

Brutus looked over the area where he was in just now, but his expression became grave as what was left of it was a deep 7 meter long cut in the ground. After taking a deep breath he spoke.

“Terrifying as always.”(Brutus)

His words were cut short as he began to launch a counter-attack. Flapping his wings, creating a powerful gale of wind behind him. He struck [Jormungand] forward causing the winds to rile up making a barrier of wind to form around him. Wielding [Devourer] with both hands he stood in the path of Brutus’s charge not moving at all.

Only when Brutus was only a few meters away from Renya, using [Devourer] he did a downward sweep cutting the barrier of wind in the middle making it disperse, not only that but the sweep stopped the momentum of Brutus’s charge cutting through his defenses causing a deep cut to appear starting from the middle of his face plate to the middle of his chest plate, launching him back a few dozen meters before stopping.

Although both of them had reached the pinnacle of their class, Renya had an absolute advantage when it comes to weapon quality. Not only that, Renya’s class, The [Black Flame Sword God], was actually a special variant, a legendary class, making the stat boosts it give to be many times better than the original. Even in [Alt Online] he was considered as one of the top rankers in the whole server, as to why the [Red Sun Alliance] attacked him was because despite being a powerful player, he was guildless. Even if Renya was the most powerful player in [Alt Online], he’s only one person and that he can be overwhelmed by sheer number.

The problem could’ve been solved if Renya were to join a powerful guild. Joining one would’ve been easy as his fame is widely known in [Alt Online] and the fact that he owned a city of his own made it even more so. But as Renya enjoyed the freedom of having nothing to restrain him is one of the reasons he’s yet to join one.

Even though he may look severely injured, damage of this level is actually not enough to even shake him up a bit. Standing up he retracted his dragonic appearance, returning to his 2.3 meter tall self. He stretched his limbs a bit before removing his helmet and putting it under one of his arms, his face was somewhat similar to Renya in his mid 30s, although more handsome and charming in a way, but had a few black scales on the side of his face.

Heaving a sigh of helplessness Brutus spoke.

“I’m still a great distance away from father’s level.”(Brutus)

“Nonsense! The only reason why Brutus lost is because father cheated by using [Devourer].”(Charlotte)

She said teasingly on the side of the field.

“No, even I used [Dragonic Shapeshift] in the end to contest father.”(Brutus)

On the other side of the field where Renya stood. He closed his eyes, as if already knowing that Brutus is fine, sinking into his thoughts.

“(The feeling I got when fighting Brutus is almost exactly the same as before, back when it was still a game. Even when moving my body, it no longer felt all that stiff. Not only that but this battle felt real...... and exciting.)”(Renya)

Smilingly he opened his eyes with a different feel to them behind the face plate. Ever since coming here Renya has withstood all kinds of baptisms. From one that completely changed his originally reserved self, to ones that changed his outlook on many things. With a calm heart, putting all of his past history behind, he was finally able to fully don the cloak of the city lord.

After sheathing [Devourer] and placing it on his waist, he walked to the area where Brutus and the other sentinels stood.

Seeing him come, the sentinels stared at him as if something was different. Sensing his change demeanor, Charlotte spoke.

“Is something wrong father?”(Charlotte)

“Every things fine, it's just that the spar just now cleared my mind. Thank you Brutus for agreeing with it.”(Renya)

“Father is more than welcome to spar with me.”(Brutus)

He said revealing a calm smile with a hint of anticipation.

“Good! In the next few days, I’ll come when I’m free.”(Renya)

Hearing this Brutus became overjoyed as he gained another chance to fight with Renya.

“Also Brutus, hand me your armor. I’ll take them to Borri’s to have them repaired..”(Renya)

“Alright.”(Renya)

He unequipped his armor, putting on casual clothing similar to what a city folk would wear, giving them to Renya for repair. Accepting the armor he placed them inside his [Inventory].

He walked away from the field heading towards the [Inner Crafting Station]. After a moment he’s reached the door to Borri’s door. Knocking three times like always, he heard heavy footsteps approach, the door opened revealing Borri.

“Lord Renya! Have you come to see the equipment you’ve asked me to prepare?”(Borri)

“Are they done already? I originally came here to have Brutus’s armor repaired.”(Renya)

Saying so he removed the armor from his [Inventory] and placed them in front of Borri to examine.

“Hohoho, from just how deep the armor’s been cut I can tell that you didn’t hold back one bit.”(Borri)

He said in an amazed tone, even glancing at [Devourer] at Renyas side.

“Naturally I know Brutus could withstand it. He’s has the highest defense amongst all of us after all. ”(Renya)

“Alright now Lord Renya, please follow me inside.”(Borri)

He said as he guided Renya inside. Not long after they were in front of an armor stand. Naturally the equipment Renya requested was mounted on it. The equipment consisted of mostly rare leathers and cloth with barely any metal in it. This way the one using it wouldn’t feel much restriction to his/her movement. The set contained a dark blue colored hooded mantle as well as tunic with a slightly darker color, dark brown pants with a couple pockets along with gloves of the same color topped by hard leather armor with multiple pieces all dyed black with the last pieces being a pair of black sturdy boots and a cloth mask similar to the one Lilith was wearing wear only covered the mouth, except slightly thicker.

On another side was a bow and quiver. The bow reached 1.5 meters in length with both its limbs appearing to be reinforced by a certain type of black metal. Each limb had multiple magic runes chiseled into it giving it a beautiful finish while its bow string seemed to be made by weaving thin strings of the black metal mentioned before together. The quiver was made with the same design as the bow, at first glance may seem to be ordinary but was actually an interspatial storage device that allowed the user to store a large amount of arrows in.

“As expected of you Borri, even in such a short amount of time you’ve managed to create such a set.”(Renya)

“Hohohoh, you’re flattering me!”(Borri)

 Laughing loudly he passed the set onto Renya before taking Brutus’s armor from his hand.

“I won’t disturb you further, I’ll be on my way.”(Renya)

Waving his hand he left the room.

“(It should be noon by now, better grab some lunch I guess)”(Renya)

As he thought to himself he continued to walk towards [Nocturnal Citadel],

-•••••-

Just like that three days passed. With the occasional report from Amitiel, through a magic item used for communication, about their current progress, he spent these days enjoying the city life occasionally sparring with Brutus, with him winning almost every single time of course. As he was just getting used to such a life Amitiel returned along with his men.

With their return another meeting was immediately issued to all the sentinels.

“Everyone has gathered. We shall now begin the meeting, Amitiel you may start.”(Renya)

“I was expecting at least a word of praise, or a pat on the head but, oh well.”(Amitiel)

As he said in a joking manner he stood up, making the map of the area where the four town and villages were located appear.

“First of all our infiltration of the town and villages were successful.”(Amitiel)

He said glancing over at Renya who wore a serious expression before continuing.

“Not only that but we’ve managed to gather information as to why the mines were abandoned. First I’ll begin with the situation of the town among the four.”(Amitiel)

He said pointing over to said Town.

“This town, like Lilith said, reeked of blood. Not only that but I discovered that the majority of the townspeople as well as all the miners are being controlled by demonic energy. Fortunately the one manipulating them appeared to be a lesser demon, maybe weaker. Thanks to that I was able to secretly dispel the the demonic energy on a selected few allowing me to gain Information.”(Amitiel)

He looked over to the anxious Prynn, sighing and continuing his words.

“As to why I only freed a few, it is because freeing all of them at once from the control will alarm the culprit making him realize that a strong enemy is approaching, forcing him to leave making it even harder to catch him.”

Hearing this Prynn calmed down.

“For the information I gathered, I will begin to state them. First would be the case of there being demon which everyone should know already, the next is about the world we are in. The continent we are in is the [Helia Continent] as we are currently in the borders of two large countries, with the [Aelynn Empire] in the north and the [Notus Empire] in the south. Based on the information, the two countries are in a peaceful alliance as the engagement of the two’s royal family members has been announced a few weeks ago. Not only that but based on the equipment and the level of technologies this world has, this world should have little to no difference when compared to the [Altinea Continent]. But...”(Amitiel)

“But?”(Renya)

“The number of powerful people in this world seem to be significantly lesser compared to the [Altinea Continent]. It appears that the number of people like us are lower it seems.”(Amitiel)

“The information about the world can wait for now, do you have any more information about the town and villages?”(Renya)

“Yes, it appears that the Demon is getting ready to use the people for a mass sacrifice this is also the reason why the mines are empty as all the miners are part of the sacrificial group as well. Most likely the demon intends to summon a more powerful demon to control.”(Amitiel)

“Your estimation on when he’s going to do it?”(Renya)

“In a few days after controlling the rest of the people in the town, by then he should have enough sacrifice candidates.”(Amitiel)

“If he’s going to sacrifice the people for a ritual, then why did the place reek of blood already?”(Lilith)

She asked with her usual timid demeanor.

“They were the people who knew what was going on, the demon most likely killed them to keep them silent.”(Amitiel)

“Do you know where the demon is at?”(Renya)

Hearing his words Amitiel made a face of disbelief, as if unable to believe what he was hearing,

“Did you really think that “I”, a Transcended Demon, would have a hard time tracking a lowly demon such as this?”(Amitiel)

He said seriously but the wholeness of it sounded all too humorous, as if in a joking manner.

“Just say it.”(Renya)

“Of course I have.”(Amitiel)

“Good. Let’s not waste any more time. We’ll attack the demon then capture him alive for questioning. Also Amitiel, assign someone to write a detailed report about your findings about this world then give each of the sentinels a copy including me. For now I’ll assign the people who’ll be part of the task.”(Renya)

The rest of the people nodded to his words, especially Amitiel.

-•••••-

[In the dense forest below a few dozen kilometers away from [Titan City]]

“These trees are taller than what I’ve expected.”(Charlotte)

She said while running alongside Renya, Prynn and Amitiel. All of them having an appearance of a novice party back in [Alt Online], if one didn’t look close enough you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

“Of course, from what the townspeople told me this forest should at least be a couple hundred years old.”(Amitiel)

“So why did you take so long to report back?”(Prynn)

“Naturally I had to cover my tracks as to not alert the Demon.”(Amitiel)

“Which took you a couple days to do so? I don’t believe you.”(Renya)

What he said was correct. For Amitiel, not being discovered by a demon of a much lower level shouldn’t be a problem. In fact he could do so without even trying as he can basically suppress his aura then go around doing as he pleases.

“Tell me what took you so long?”(Renya)

“Naturally after finding out his location I’ve already took note of him. As to what I was doing in the last couple day was gathering Information in the town, plus leaving so suddenly might arouse the suspicion of that demon so I waited a couple days before pretending to continue my travels.”

In just a short while they’ve reached the town. Just like what Lilith said, the town had numerous buildings, all built using advanced methods not looking crude at all. But just like her report, the town had a sense of dread in the air.

Slowing down their pace, they walked to the entrance. With Amitiel taking on a completely different appearance from before the town guards didn’t mind them too much and let them in the town after telling them that they came from the [Aelynn Empire] as travelers.

Inside the town barely anyone was outside despite its size. Most of the places were closed, while the few open ones were empty. Looking around Amitiel guided Renya and the others towards the demon.

After walking for a while they stood in front of a large building, it had a total of three floors and according to Amitiel, this place was where the town mayor lived. They entered inside as no one was standing guard at the entrance then proceeded towards the basement.

After walking into a couple rooms they found a trap door leading to the basement. With Amitiel in the lead he opened the door and dropped down inside with the rest of the group doing the same.

Once they dropped down what entered their vision was a gruesome place. The floor had wet blood stains splattered all over, the walls were the same and in the middle of the room sat a man with a pair of black horns on his forehead along with red eyes, wearing a shocked expression on his face.

“What are you doing here!?!?”(???)

The man said in a panicked voice, quickly attempting to use [Hypnotism] on them. But to no avail was warded off easily, before he was restrained and thrown in to the corner by Amitiel

“Is he the one?”(Renya)

“Yes. Not only that but he also appears to be the town mayor. From a mere glance I can tell he’s not someone who is possessed. He must’ve hid here for a while, earned the townspeople trust and then became the chief.”(Amitiel)

He spoke in a cold tone, staring at the demon as if he was looking at a scum.

“Does he posses any valuable information?”(Renya)

“No, I actually already gathered all the necessary information we need.”(Amitiel)

“Then why didn't you just dispose of him?”(Prynn)

She suddenly spoke.

“I needed someone who can easily dispel most of the demonic energy in the area. If I were to dispell them myself I’m afraid that I might replace his demonic energy with mine making the effect worse.”(Amitiel)

“No, what I asked is why didn’t you just “dispose” of him?”(Prynn)

She said the same words again putting an emphasis on the word “dispose”.

“It wasn’t part of my task to do so.”(Amitiel)

“Enough, then do you know where the rest of people in this town are, as well as whether or not they're safe?”(Renya)

“Of course, we’ll head there after purifying him, and yes they are safe and sound. Apart from those that are already dead that is.”(Amitiel)

He said pointing at the demon in the corner. Upon hearing this the demon became even more agitated, struggling more to break free of his restraints.

“Charlotte can please use [Purify] the demon?”(Renya)

“Alright.”(Charlotte)

[Purify] a [Medium Grade lvl 6] skill that would cleanse a target using holy energy effectively removing all negative debuffs on the target, not only that but it can also be used on enemies like demons, undead or ghosts dealing high amounts of damage to them.

*Shzzzz*

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”(???)

After casting [Purify], the demon’s cry of agony quieted down as he slowly disintegrated into dust, leaving behind his clothes and a few other of its belongings.

“Now that the demon is taken care of the villages should return to normal.”(Renya)

Looking over to Amitiel as if asking for his confirmation before seeing him nod enthusiastically and with that they returned to the surface of the town to the place where the rest of the townspeople are.

Author Note: This chapter took longer than expected >.< I'm sure a lot of you are gonna feel that the demons demise felt anti climactic and yes I purposely made it so because ya know, Renya's op n stuff a mere demon wouldn't be enough to rustle his jimmies, If you want action well, your gonna see more in the future. For Now I hope the spar with brutus will satisfy you. Also Im gonna change the 4 villages to 3 villages and 1 town. Tomorrow expect the next post to be of similar time to this one but I'll still post it so no worries~

Author Note 2: I made a map! yay~ As to not spoil anyone Ive only placed the [Titan City] location as well the tow countries near it so yeah~