Sebastian arrived at the Carlyle Palace with his two General Knights. The Duke of Astrid has a unique office inside the palace that is intended to recognize his status within the empire and demonstrate his support for the Carlyle monarchy. His office, which is the most heavily guarded section of the royal complex, is designed similarly to King Joseph's office. Since it has a separate entrance and exit point from the outside, no permission is needed to access through the Carlyle Palace's entrance gates.

As soon as they entered the Duke's office, his Knights cast a powerful soundproof spell. The Underworld Trade Master with his two trusted subordinates bows ceremoniously before their master.

"We greet His Majesty, the Great Duke of Astrid. Your loyal servants are here waiting for your command".

"Rise. Be at ease Garaitz. What is the situation with the annoying flies?". Sebastian sits comfortably while lighting his cigar.

"Your Majesty, we found their hideouts in the Alava slums two days ago, but they discovered our tracks. It seems they were backed by a powerful dark sorcerer". The Underground Trade Master, Garaitz, is regarded as the most formidable assassin and sorcerer in the underground world since he is a haft-bred human and a fallen dragon guardian. His golden hair combined with his orange eyes makes him the most beautiful shapeshifter in this realm.

He became well-known for his unusual abilities thanks to his ability to shape-shift into any human or animal form and his power to cast a blue fire that could burn and melt the rarest mana metals. Only the Duke of Astrid is capable of taming this formidable creature. Sebastian discovered him in the Arkash forest ten years ago, on the verge of being torn apart and devoured by monsters. He was cast out in the Krohnis City of Monsters realm after it was discovered that he was a haft-bred human. After saving his life, the Duke offered to appoint him as his top assassin and spy in the underworld.

Because Garaitz's ability to breathe blue fire can never be controlled, the Duke gave the Master Wizard the order to develop a device that would suppress his burning mana. Garaitz thereafter turned into the Duke's devoted follower. He will devote his life to serving his master till his mana will disappears.

"Hah! This motherfucker knows how to cover his tracks. I've been tracking him for ten years already and he sure knows how to hide". Sebastian taps his finger to signal Alfred to give Garaitz the document.

"Lord Garaitz, this being the dark sorcerer can shape-shift and live among us concealing his power undetectable even by the Guardian's power of Astrid. Although we don't know how he did it, you are currently our best lead for luring him out". Sir Alfred revealed to him the master dark sorcerer's various human forms over the years as he opened the document.

Garaitz arched his brow in confusion. A shape shifter of this kind is dark and powerful. In the monster realm, shape shifters are seeded according to your rank level and type of beings you belong. This dark entity cannot possibly have originated in the monster realm. He won't be allowed to live there by the demon clan because he poses a threat to their existence.

"Your Majesty, this being does not come from the monster realm. I believe..." He paused and looked at the Duke to allow him to speak freely. Sebastian nods and permit him to continue.

"I believe he is a protégé of a dark powerful mage, the late Duchess Catarina Astrid". Garaitz bowed his head and waited for his master to punish him for touching a sensitive matter involving a close family of the Duke.

Sebastian puffs his cigar and toss it in the ashtray. "I'm waiting for your confirmation to say that". He stands up and taps Garaitz on the head.

"Good work. Now I want you to find their new hideouts", he chuckled and continue, "Don't fail me Garaitz for my time is limited. My hands are itching to catch the annoying flies tonight".

Garaitz trembled slightly as he sensed his master's impatience and anger in his tone. He knew what he meant when he said that his time was limited. His master is pissed that his valuable time was cut short since he is preoccupied with a matter that is more important than this hunt.

He glances at Sir Ian to confirm his suspicion, the General simply smiles slyly at him. 'His important matter is... Is it the Duchess?' When he realized, he made a shocking facial expression that caused the two Generals to laugh across the room. As he stood up, the Duke had already left the room.

***

On the dangerous streets of Ermua, a neighboring city of Alava, the city is bustling with hidden illegal activities. The streets are packed with illegal traders, prostitutes, and narcotic addicts. This is known as the "Sin City of the South". Tonight, an alley hidden at the back of the casino will be the point of meetup between the peddlers and dark sorcerers. Their tracks were discovered by the Underground Trade Master, so they changed their location to avoid the hunters.

A group of 3 dark sorcerers wearing a black hood entered the back alley to meet with their peddlers. Unknown to them, there was a movement in the rooftop of the buildings waiting for a hunting game. Sebastian is standing tall while looking down at his target. He used to enjoy going on these kinds of hunts, but now he finds them boring to the point of getting pissed. He rubs the hair clip between his fingers to control his rage and not kill the targets since he needs them to be alive.

Sebastian whistles to signal the start of the hunt after the sorcerers and peddlers have traded the goods. He leaped from the sky and came down behind the targets while the Knights and underground blood hounds' assassins surrounded the area. When the sorcerers recognize the Guardian is there, they attempted to use their magical portal device to flee, but Sebastian uses his power to freeze the gateway and set the device on fire. Since their escape strategy had failed, they began to run and leap.

Sebastian walks leisurely while signaling his men to set the trap. He wanted them to run for their life and give them false hope so he can enjoy the hunting game.

When the Duke gave an eerie whistle, the blood hounds began to howl and hunt the preys. The sorcerers used their black magic to increase their speed and cast a spell to throw the shadow eaters. Sir Ian and Alfred scoff at the cheap tricks and dispel it with a chain shield and burst them in a cloud of black smoke.

The Sorcerers found an alley to escape and blow up the structures nearby to barricade their escape area. They spotted an abandoned structure and jumped to the roof thinking they had finally discovered a way out, but when they got there, Garaitz was waiting with his blood hounds.

Garaitz snickered evilly and cast a blue flame to encircle the area.

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Author's note: I'm so back! Wow I'm so happy my novel made an impressive rankings. Thank you so much to my dear readers and supporters!

Enjoy reading the sneak peak of my character's powers. ☄️💥❄️